{"id":712,"date":"2026-05-17T21:50:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T21:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=712"},"modified":"2026-05-17T21:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T21:50:18","slug":"jesus-christ-is-king-of-kings-and-lord-of-lords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=712","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Acts 1 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 <\/sup>After he said this, (Jesus) was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.<\/em> 10 <\/sup>They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 <\/sup>\u201cMen of Galilee,\u201d they said, \u201cwhy do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Thursday was a special day in the church calendar. It was Ascension Day, 40 days after the resurrection when Christians celebrate Jesus\u2019s Ascension to glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you think about Jesus \u2013 how do you picture him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • A baby in a manger?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A preacher and preacher<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • A healer and miracle worker<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Or Jesus before Pilate, then suffering and dying on the cross?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Or do you picture Jesus after the Resurrection, appearing to Mary and then to all of the disciples?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    None of these is an adequate picture of Jesus. They remind us of how He once was \u2013 but not how He is today. Because Jesus has now ascended to glory in heaven. Remember what the first Christian martyr Stephen saw just before he died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acts 7:<\/sup><\/em> <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>55<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>56<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>\u201cLook,\u201d he said, \u201cI see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jesus today is not the way people encountered Him on earth. Now He is exalted in heaven, in the place of highest authority at the right hand of God the Father, until He returns to judge the living and the dead, Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By his resurrection, Jesus had completed his mission of salvation. In the Ascension, the Son of God has returned to the glory which he had with the Father before the world was created. The glory which He laid aside in coming to earth has been restored to Him. That is how our Lord is today, exalted on high at the right hand of God. This morning I want to suggest that there are at least three implications which the Ascension should have on our Christian lives. The first is in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    OUR WORSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Half a century ago Gordon Dahl wrote a book, \u201cWork, play and worship in a Leisure-Oriented Society.\u201d In it he observed that in the modern world, \u201cWe worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship\u201d. As A.W. Tozer remarked, church has been hijacked by \u201cthe great god Entertainment.\u201d This is even more true today. People view church as a leisure activity. They evaluate their experiences of church by how much they enjoyed themselves, when what actually matters instead is whether we have truly met with God or not. One of the causes of this problem is that our God is too small. We have lost sight of who we are actually worshipping \u2013 the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A Vicar I once worked with called Donald Eddison was always very unhappy when Christians referred to our Saviour as just \u201cJesus\u201d. He always insisted we should use the full title \u2013 \u201cThe Lord Jesus Christ\u201d. Because the Lord we serve is not just Jesus of Nazareth the carpenter\u2019s son, poet and rabbi. We serve the ascended glorified Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is a strength in the forms of worship practiced by Roman Catholics and Anglicans, and even more by the Orthodox Churches. Their buildings and their rituals mean that people are always confronted by the greatness and the holiness of God. In the free churches we risk becoming over-familiar with the Almighty and everlasting God who is creator of heaven and earth, and with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of God, the firstborn of God, and the fullness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Worship in the Bible is focused on praising Almighty God for His majesty and His glory and His holiness and His love and for his marvelous acts of creation and salvation. Ministers of my generation are troubled by a controversial trend in some modern worship music, which uncharitable critics label as, \u201cJesus is my boyfriend\u201d songs. Some songs stress our personal emotional response to God and ignore the character of God. Our worship can be intimate, but worship in Spirit and in truth must also always be reverent and respectful. The Ascension fixes our attention on who the Lord Jesus Christ is today, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Revelation 1 13<\/sup> \u2026 among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest. 14 <\/sup>The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 <\/sup>His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 <\/sup>In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    17 <\/sup><\/em>When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: \u2018Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 <\/sup>I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The apostle John had walked and talked with Jesus for three years. But when he had his revelation of the ascended Son of God in all His glory, the first and the last and the living one, John fell at his feet as though dead. We must never forget who it is we are worshipping. Bow down and worship, for this is your God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then there is a second implication of the Ascension for us, and that is in<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    OUR PRAYERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A missionary friend from London Bible College called Sandy has the distinction of having been thrown out of almost every country in the middle east for preaching the gospel. In particular, the story goes that there was one country where Sandy had been arrested and he was about to be imprisoned for his faith. But then he played his trump card. In his days at Oxford, one of Sandy\u2019s friends had been one of the sons of the King of that country. With one phone call to his old college friend, Sandy was released \u2013 although there is another country he couldn\u2018t ever go back to! But that all goes to show that it helps if you have friends in high places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Ascension reminds us that we Christians all have the greatest Friend in the highest of high places! Seated at the right hand of God \u2013 Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We may be praying for ourselves or our loved ones, going through all kinds of trials. We may very well be troubled by the state of the world, wars and rumours of wars, suffering and injustice. When we are praying, let us remember who we are praying to. Let us keep in mind in whose name we are praying. Our Saviour, the Ascended Lord Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hebrews 414<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>15<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are\u2014yet was without sin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Lord Jesus Christ in heaven is our great high priest. He prays for us \u2013 he intercedes for us. He is there to give us help when we need it, and is more than able to help us when we are in need. Not only because Jesus has the name above all names, but also because he completely understands our situation. Christ didn’t come to keep us from suffering; He came to suffer as we must suffer. He didn’t come just to keep us from being afraid; He came to be afraid as we are afraid. He didn’t come just to keep us from dying; He came to die as we must die. He didn’t come to keep us from being tempted; He came to be tempted as we are tempted. And because He has faced all the problems we face, and is victorious, the Lord Jesus Christ is entirely able to help us whenever we need it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hebrews 4 \ufeff<\/sup><\/em>16<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We can be encouraged that the One who helps us not only understands us completely, but also has all the power and authority which could ever be needed! He is the ascended exalted King of Kings and Lord of Lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ephesians 1  <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>20<\/sup><\/em> \u2026 (God) raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>21<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. <\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em>22<\/sup><\/em>\ufeff<\/sup><\/em> <\/sup><\/em>And God placed all things under his feet \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That is how supremely important the Lord Jesus Christ is. It is HE who is in heaven interceding for us! He hears and answers our prayers. That is what we celebrate in the Ascension!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our worship. Our prayers. And I want to look at one more implication of the Ascension for our lives as Christians, and that is<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    OUR BOLDNESS IN WITNESSING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acts 1 8<\/sup>But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That was not a command \u2013 you must go and be my witnesses. That was a promise. You will be my witnesses. The Holy Spirit will give you the power to be my witnesses. Today I want to ask, what was it at a human level which gave the first Christians their amazing boldness and courage to preach the gospel, despite the fiercest persecution? I believe it was because they knew that the Lord Jesus Christ had ascended to the right hand of God. On the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Acts 2 32<\/sup>God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 <\/sup>Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    God\u2019s gift of the Holy Spirit to the church was proof that Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God. He is indeed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That was the heart of the message which the Early Church preached to the world, and which the church today continues to proclaim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Early Church testified with great boldness that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is why all the apostles apart from John were martyred for their faith. Because in those days the Roman Emperors were treated as gods. From time to time every subject was required to offer incense to a statue of the Emperor and declare, \u201cCaesar is Lord.\u201d But the first Christians refused to bow the knee to the Roman Emperor, because they knew there was only one Lord and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. So it wasn\u2019t only church leaders, but many, many ordinary Christians who were also put to death, especially later in the years of terrible persecution by Emperor Nero. Nero blamed the Christians for the great fire of Rome in 64 AD. Some were forced to become gladiators, others thrown to the lions. Some were crucified and others were set on fire to be torches in Nero\u2019s garden. All because true believers refused to say \u201cCaesar is Lord\u201d and would only say \u201cJesus is Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let me just make one thing completely clear. Jesus isn\u2019t Lord because people let Him be Lord. Jesus isn\u2019t Lord because people have voted for Him to be Lord. Jesus is Lord because God has said so! It\u2019s a fact and the different opinions people might have about that fact don\u2019t change anything. Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Fact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It doesn\u2019t make any difference whether a person believes Jesus is Lord or chooses not to believe Jesus is Lord or even if they don\u2019t know that Jesus is Lord. The Lordship of Christ is like gravity. It is a fact. Gravity isn\u2019t affected by whether we believe in it or not. If we are sensible we will recognise that gravity exists and has a claim on our lives. Sooner or later, everybody is going to know that Jesus is Lord whether they have chosen to accept Him or whether they have devoted their lives to rejecting Him. Jesus Christ is Lord. Fact!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Philippians 2 9<\/sup>Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
    10 <\/sup>that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
    11 <\/sup>and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I like this quote from the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper.  \u201cThere is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not declare, \u2018This is mine! This belongs to me!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jesus is Lord of all. The Boss, the Manager, the Director. The Leader, the Commander in Chief. The Emperor; Ruler; Sovereign; Monarch; King; Tsar; President; Premier. With all these kinds of people, you do what they say!  They are in charge. They lead, you follow. They tell you what to do and they tell you what not to do. And you don\u2019t argue. You obey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And that is what it means to declare that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So much more important than any boss or political or military leader. We do what Jesus says, without reservation, without qualification, without hesitation. Because Jesus Christ is the Ascended Lord of all. So Christians should be bold in declaring that Jesus is Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One day every living thing in the whole of creation will declare Jesus Christ to be Lord of all. Until then, those of us who have recognised who Jesus is and just how important He is carry the responsibility of showing with our lives and telling with our lips that Jesus Christ is Lord, however much that costs. We are inspired to be courageous, precisely because Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christian need to be bolder, taking every opportunity to talk about Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our church in Brentwood had close links with churches and orphanages in Bulgaria. I made three visits there and one evening I attended the Bible Study for their 15s to 25s group. They were discussing this question. \u201cSuppose we were proclaiming the gospel in Aleksander Nevski Square outside the cathedral and the police told us to stop, would you obey them? Or would you keep on preaching?\u201d What would you do? I found out that years before, some of their own parents actually had been put in prison for being Christians and sharing their faith. It is humbling, and challenging, to meet Christians who had been persecuted. And who had friends who had been martyred for their faith. Witnessing for Jesus. We should be as bold as them in our witnessing. As bold as the apostles and the first Christians and all our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church through the ages. Because Jesus Christ is Lord of all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Today we are celebrating the Ascension. Jesus Christ is exalted on high, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is who we worship. That is who we pray to and who is interceding for us. And God calls us to be bold in our witnessing for him. Bow down and worship, for this is your God.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Acts 1 9 After he said this, (Jesus) was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They…<\/span><\/p>\n

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