A Tale of Two Kings!!!
Reflection: Today, we have a tale of two kings. One, King Ahab, who had allowed evil in his reign, and yet God in his mercy allows him to be victorious over Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. Perhaps because God was honoring His covenant to King David, in spite of Ahab’s disobedience, or maybe because Ahab had finally listened to the prophet God had sent in repentance to how he treated Elijah. God enables him to have victory.
Then, in our gospel, we see and hear about the Passion of another King, King Jesus. John’s gospel gives us more insightful details of the trial before Pilate the Roman Governor. They focus on Pilate’s deliberation and his play on the words of Jesus being their king. Jesus uses the moment to reach out to Pilate, and calmly displays no reaction proving His kingship is under a different type of rule. The Jews uses political manipulation to get Pilate to render his judgment, though he sees no reason to crucify Jesus. But at the defining point, both the Roman governor representing the nations and his own people, representing the Jews, make a choice of who is their king! The Jews say, “We have no king but Caesar”! This is so sad, in that every day in their prayers they would bow to the king who would come from heaven, and yet reject him when he is right there in front of them.
In the end, Pilate publicly posts in Aramaic, Latin and Greek (representing all 3 worldviews and languages spoken at that time!) that here is “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. Despite the rejection by the world, the truth of who Jesus is shines for all to see in contrast to the unbelief of all to whom He was sent! Jesus, the king of Kings, would then carry His own cross to the scene of His crucifixion. There in a few days the suffering King would open the door for God’s kingdom to come in a new and more powerful way for all who would choose to put Jesus on the throne of their lives! There will always be this tale of two kings. The only question is: which one will you serve?
Psalm 135:13-21
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
1 Kings 20:1-21
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
20 Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’” 4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’” 7 The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.” 8 The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.” 9 So he replied to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.’” They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad. 10 Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.” 11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’” 12 Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab. The prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’” “And who will start the battle?” he asked. The prophet answered, “You will.” 15 So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17 The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first. Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, “Men are advancing from Samaria.” 18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.” 19 The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20 and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.
John 19:12-24
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.
In your days I will speak the word and fulfill it, says the Lord God. Ezekiel 12:25
Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40
Promise Keeper, each day our anticipation grows as we grow closer to you, and know in our hearts that the promises you make to us will be fulfilled. We believe we will see your glory. We shall be blessed. Amen.
Then, in our gospel, we see and hear about the Passion of another King, King Jesus. John’s gospel gives us more insightful details of the trial before Pilate the Roman Governor. They focus on Pilate’s deliberation and his play on the words of Jesus being their king. Jesus uses the moment to reach out to Pilate, and calmly displays no reaction proving His kingship is under a different type of rule. The Jews uses political manipulation to get Pilate to render his judgment, though he sees no reason to crucify Jesus. But at the defining point, both the Roman governor representing the nations and his own people, representing the Jews, make a choice of who is their king! The Jews say, “We have no king but Caesar”! This is so sad, in that every day in their prayers they would bow to the king who would come from heaven, and yet reject him when he is right there in front of them.
In the end, Pilate publicly posts in Aramaic, Latin and Greek (representing all 3 worldviews and languages spoken at that time!) that here is “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. Despite the rejection by the world, the truth of who Jesus is shines for all to see in contrast to the unbelief of all to whom He was sent! Jesus, the king of Kings, would then carry His own cross to the scene of His crucifixion. There in a few days the suffering King would open the door for God’s kingdom to come in a new and more powerful way for all who would choose to put Jesus on the throne of their lives! There will always be this tale of two kings. The only question is: which one will you serve?
Psalm 135:13-21
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever your renown, Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
1 Kings 20:1-21
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
20 Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’” 4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’” 7 The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.” 8 The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.” 9 So he replied to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.’” They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad. 10 Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.” 11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.’” 12 Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab. The prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’” “And who will start the battle?” he asked. The prophet answered, “You will.” 15 So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17 The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first. Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, “Men are advancing from Samaria.” 18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.” 19 The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20 and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.
John 19:12-24
12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. 15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. 16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did.
In your days I will speak the word and fulfill it, says the Lord God. Ezekiel 12:25
Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40
Promise Keeper, each day our anticipation grows as we grow closer to you, and know in our hearts that the promises you make to us will be fulfilled. We believe we will see your glory. We shall be blessed. Amen.
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