Jesus the King – Being a Pilgrim

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. … He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm.”
Isaiah 11:1, 5-8 NLT

We read these verses today and wonder about their message. The picture of a world where animals, normally enemies and predators, coexist in a way that seems more of a fairy story than the environment Isaiah sees. A wolf and a lamb living together? The thought must fill any sheep farmer with horror because he will know that a wolf would desire a lamb for food. And children’s stories such as “Little Red Riding Hood” return to our memories, a story that is the staple diet of many a young child, taught at an early age about the behaviour of predators and evil animals, and people, in our world today. “The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all” conjures an image in our minds that is clearly wrong from a worldly perspective.

But if we can see beyond our prejudices, we may glimpse what God’s design was originally intended to be. A world where peace is the norm. Peace between all the animals. Peace in all that exists. Peace is something every heart longs for, yet our world seems to know so little of it. Every day brings fresh reports of conflict, division, and violence. Even our personal lives can be marked by anxiety, strained relationships, and inner turmoil.

The Messiah, the shoot from the stump of David’s family, “will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment”. In other words, when Jesus returns, His character will shape His kingdom. Because the King is righteous, His reign will produce peace. The images Isaiah uses are astonishing. Wolves will no longer threaten lambs, and leopards will rest beside goats. Calves and lions will share the same pasture, and, amazingly, a little child will lead them. An infant plays safely near a cobra’s den. These are not merely charming scenes from a children’s story. They are vivid pictures of a world where fear has been conquered because the King has set everything right.

If we go back to the Genesis story, we read, “Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:24-25). God “saw that it was good”. God was never going to create an animal kingdom marked by strife and predatory behaviour, as one species caught another for food, and then call it “good”. God’s design, as Isaiah described in the verses we read today, will be restored when the Messiah returns. Why did everything go so wrong? It was all due to sin, the wickedness and evil that shattered the harmony of God’s design, introducing fear, death, and conflict.

What about us pilgrims? What can we learn from these verses from Isaiah’s prophecy? Perhaps we are saying that it’s all very well to look at the relationship between animals and little children, but what about all the issues that are causing us so much angst in our world today? We walk around conflicted and conscious of a lack of peace in our own lives. Well, the good news is that when Jesus returns, bringing righteousness and truth, there can be only one outcome – peace. Peace in the animal kingdom certainly, but do we dare to believe that He can introduce peace into a world that has got it so wrong?

Peace starts in the hearts and minds of us pilgrims. He softens bitterness and calms anxious hearts. He reconciles broken relationships. He teaches forgiveness where resentment once ruled. Today, the transition will not be instant, but as we let Christ rule and reign in our hearts, the reality of peace will flood over us. The same Jesus who will one day transform creation is already transforming His people. We all have “wolves” in our lives. These can be circumstances that frighten us. Perhaps difficult people we come in contact with. We all have fears within us, perhaps put there by our upbringing, when we saw the reactions of older siblings or parents to things like spiders and snakes, or even to natural events like lightning. Our instinct is either to fight or to run, usually the latter. But Jesus invites us to trust His rule instead.

As Jesus told His disciples, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). The peace He gives is not merely the absence of trouble; it is the presence of the King.

Dear Lord Jesus. We look forward to the day when You return to this world, bringing peace to the chaos that exists here. We pray, “Come Lord Jesus”, every day. But in the meantime, please help us share the peace in our hearts with all those around us who are terrified about their lives and the chaos within them. Only You are the one who can bring “the peace that surpasses all understanding”. Amen.

“When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.”
John 6:14-15 NLT

What connection did that great crowd of people make between receiving a free lunch and making Jesus their King? They must have extrapolated the “miraculous sign” of feeding them and concluded that Jesus had the extraordinary capabilities needed to resolve the Roman occupation problem for good and all. There is no doubt that Jesus could have called upon the necessary resources, had they been needed. Matthew 26:53, “Don’t you realise that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” But the people could only see a nation of Israel without the hated Romans and provided with free food forever. A Utopian state that, up to now, they could only dream of. But as we pilgrims know, particularly here in the UK, a change of government does not often add up to a change for the better. It is true that a government under the rule and reign of Jesus would be a fair and just administration, but there is a warning such as Jesus gave to the church in Thyatira, as John wrote in Revelation 2:26-27, “To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots”. And we have Psalm 45:6, “Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a sceptre of justice.” Perhaps the crowd on the Galilean shore failed to see that if Jesus appointed the government of their nation, there would be a requirement for righteousness.

But Jesus wasn’t ready or willing to fit into the people’s mould for a King. Jesus was not their warrior King in His first coming, but He certainly was for His second. The Jews would remember the song of Moses in Exodus 15. “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him— my father’s God, and I will exalt him! The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!“ (Exodus 15:1-3). In their minds, the people would imagine a King able to do again what He did to the Egyptian army. The Apostle John in his revelation wrote, “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. … From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all Lords” (Revelation 19:11,15-16).

God’s plan for the salvation of mankind was not bounded by time. Romans 5:6, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners“. And at “just the right time” Jesus will come again, a second time, as the warrior King the Jews of His day were looking for.

Dear Lord Jesus. You, who came as a baby, born of a peasant girl in humble circumstances, will one day return to rule and reign in righteousness. The King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. We pilgrims look up and see in our spirits that white horse carrying our Lord and King. Come Lord Jesus! Amen.