Newborn King: Ruler-Shepherd
East Rockingham Campus
Newborn King: Ruler Shepherd
Welcome to the fourth message in our Advent Series The Newborn King
We are seeking to answer one last question: What kind of King is this?
Answer: The King we celebrate at Christmas, is the King with all of the power. Yet he is the all compassionate King.
Matthew 2:1-3
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
King Herod was a prime example of worldly power. He was ruthless, violent, and he used any means necessary to maintain control.
Most of his power was exercised not for Rome, but for his own prestige and image.
Matthew 2:4-6
When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
What Matthew quotes in verse 6 is the combination of two different prophecies of the Old Testament. Micah 5:2 and 2 Sam 5:2 are brought together to give an accurate picture of the Newborn King and how he would rule.
“For out of you will come a ruler”
The original language here for ruler carries all the things we might think of a King
“Who will shepherd my people Israel”
The imagery of a Shepherd brought in here, is that of compassionate and tender care.
The one with all the power, is all compassionate. He is the one with all Majesty and all Mercy.
Ask yourself, what kind of ruler do you want? One to control you? Or one to comfort you?
John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
In John Chapter 10, we find Jesus declaring for himself, the kind of King he is.
John 10:12-13
The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
There is an enemy that Jesus describes just a few verses before as the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
In the face of the enemy, the compassionate all powerful King fights for you.
John 10:14-15
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
That’s the story of Christmas.
The one with all the power, stepping into our broken and fallen world, to lay down his life, demonstrating the power of Love and compassion.
The beautiful truth of Christmas is that we are known and loved by the all-powerful King
Christmas poses us a searching question:
Is Christ your King?
The reality of our human story is that we are all ruled by something.
We can be ruled by so many things…
Our lives can be ruled by our desire for acceptance.
We can be ruled by a desire to succeed
We can be ruled by our past mistakes
Addiction may be the tyrant of your life.
Anger or fear may reign over us.
All of these things are power structures of evil, that rob us of our rightful life, our created purpose in Christ Jesus.
The good news of the Newborn King is that your life can be different.
To know Jesus as King is to flip the script on that power struggle.
To know Christ as King means that “I am not my own, and I am not on my own”
Wont you invite him to be your Shepherd King?