At our special service on Sunday we looked at the fact that Jesus is the ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ (Rev 19:13). There, we read that on His head were many crowns – crowns even more splendid than the St Edward’s Crown, Imperial State Crown and Queen Mary’s Crown used in the Coronation service on 6th May.
Yet we see from the description in Revelation 19 that Jesus is not a king like any earthly king. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood (Rev 19:13) – not blood from having killed many, which is what kings of old were famous for: how many battles they had won, how many enemies they had killed. His robe is dipped in blood and His name is the Word of God because Jesus is our King through His sacrifice on the cross for us. One of the greatest crowns He ever wore was the crown of thorns which was rammed onto His head by Roman soldiers just before His crucifixion. (John 19:2-3) There, He was called the ‘king of the Jews’ somewhat scornfully and the crown He was given was really a badge of shame, but in actual fact, we still remember this crown today because we understand that it is through what happened at the cross that we are saved.
The armies with Jesus in Revelation 19 wear white linen – they are white and clean because His blood was shed. Paul reminds us that ‘For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’ (Col 119-20) Christ did not come to be served but to serve. Amazingly, He will give us crowns too:
- A crown that will last for ever (1 Cor 9:24-25)
- A crown of rejoicing (1 Thess 2:19)
- A crown of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8)
- A crown of glory (1 Pet 5:4)
- The crown of life (Rev 2:10)
Yet when we see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, we will find that those crowns will mean nothing compared to the greatness of being with Him forever. Rev 4:10-11 tells us, ‘They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”’ Only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is worthy of our worship, worthy of our crowns.