The King

The poem, Lead Me to Calvary, by Jennie Evelyn Hussey, was set to music by the famous hymn writer William Kirkpatrick shortly before his death. For almost one hundred years, thousands upon thousands of believers have sung this famous hymn which begins: “King of my life I crown Thee now.”

The sign above Jesus’ head read: “King of the Jews.” The irony of the scene cannot be missed. Of the three accused, hanging on crosses that day, only the Man in the middle produces intrigue. He explained to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world (Jn. 18:36). Unlike the current Queen of England, true monarchs need to be in control. They must be more than a figurehead. Certainly, He was not in control of those final moments. The King of the Universe is mockingly called the King of the Jews, but clearly presents Himself as the victim of circumstance. This victim, however, has His eyes beyond the immediate and riveted on His Heavenly Father.

A kingdom has two requirements. First of all, there must be a person who is king; then there must be a realm where he rules. The Bible predicts a day when Christ will rule all of creation. It will be a day of sinless perfection, peace, and joy beyond compare. It will be a day when we will see with our eyes what we can now only hold by the hand of faith.

Until that day of finality, God’s design is that we trust Him and rely on Him and invite Him to be the King of our life. This relationship means that He has the right of control. This relationship means that we promise to surrender to Him. This relationship begins at, and is motivated by, the crucifixion. The love of God has been demonstrated by the sacrifice He has made to redeem us from sin. The evidence of our love for Him is yet to be seen.

Our security is not in our love for Him, but rather of His love for us. We trust not in the inadequacies and inconsistencies of our expressions of love to Him, but rather in the finality and completeness of His love for us. Before He laid down His life for us, He taught His disciples to remember Him and specifically, to remember Him as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

As the great hymn reminds us, we are prone to forget. We are tempted to take up issues and arguments that distract from the majesty of the cross event. Nothing in human history can compare to the miraculous demonstration of God’s love for us in the crucifixion. So, in obedience to what He told us to do, today we center our attention not around an exposition of the truth of God’s Word, but rather a remembrance of God’s expression of love to us in the Person and work of Jesus.