A Kingdom Like No Other
Scripture Reading — Mark 15:22-39
The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
Suppose you went to Jerusalem, looking for God, in the time of the kings of Israel. The locals would tell you, “You’ve come to the right place.” And they would point to Solomon’s temple, saying, “That’s where God is.” Because at the heart of the temple, behind a thick curtain and between golden cherubs, God was enthroned as King. By the time of Jesus, however, history has taken its toll. Solomon’s temple is long gone. A new temple has taken its place. Well, suppose you came to Jerusalem in those days, on a certain Friday afternoon, looking for God. Where would the locals point?
The news that afternoon was stunning. The temple curtain was torn. And there was nothing behind it: no golden cherubs, no ark of the covenant, and certainly not God. Some of the locals might take you outside the city walls to a rugged hill called Golgotha. And they might point toward a dead figure on a cross and say, “There. That’s where God is.” Because the sign above the corpse is right. This is the king of the jews. The Roman commander is right too. This is the Son of God.
What sort of kingdom can it be when the king is a dead guy on a cross, and when that dead guy is the Son of God? A kingdom like no other. That’s for sure.
Jesus, you are a king like no other whose kingdom is like no other. Help your church to be a people like no other—in all the best ways. Amen.
About the author — Bob Arbogast
Bob Arbogast is the pastor of Celebration Fellowship church in Ionia, Michigan. In his spare time, he plays guitar in a West Michigan blues band. He and his wife Jan have been married forty years and have three adult daughters. Bob has been praying the psalms since 2002.
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