Christ Is King

April 7, 202

     If you follow Twitter “X” Drama at all you will know that the last week or so it has become somewhat controversial to say, “Christ is King.” To be fair there have always been and always will be those who find it problematic when people claim an allegiance higher than a human institution. In this case it has been labeled an antisemitic slur. It could possibly be argued that when Candace Owens tweeted it out recently, she did aim to upset her previous employer Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire. Ben being an Orthodox Jew of course does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah. In a few videos he has been confronted with the gospel. His response is usually to say that Jesus does not meet the Jewish expectations of the Messiah as a political and military leader who will restore the fortunes of Israel as a nation. Historically Jewish rejection of Jesus has been a source of ridicule my dad once recounted how as kids him and his friends would yell “Jews Killed Christ” at a local Jewish vendor before running away. I would suggest that when Andrew Tate a self-proclaimed Muslim shared the hashtag he was not truly claiming allegiance to Jesus (others would fall into this camp as well). 

     This current drama raises a couple of important questions. How should Christians view religious Jews who share some beliefs but who don’t accept Jesus? Second how should Christians respond when cultural trends interact with their statements of faith. 

The first question is fairly straightforward we should share the sentiments of Paul who loved his Jewish kinsmen and wished that they would accept the gospel which is now the only way to be right with God (Rom 9:1-5 and 11:26). 

     The second question is also not terribly difficult because truth remains true regardless of who may try to manipulate it to their political purposes. A good way to think this through is to use another recent example. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” came to prominence a few years ago. This phrase is obviously true as every person is valuable in the eyes of God. However, in this case the phrase was used by neo-Marxists to gain credibility for their subversive communist ideas. Those who saw through the ruse were able to say of course no human should be regarded as less than others but could point out that the phrase didn’t mean what it was claimed to mean. 

     In a similar vein as Christians of course we know that Jesus rules and we claim his as our Lord and King. However, we also know that when shared on social media as a way of sticking it to a particular group the phrase “Christ is King”  loses the meaning and devotion which it must convey. Further while I am glad that the name of Jesus is being given attention this is not the first time that the name of Jesus has been used to gain credibility by those who really don’t submit to his rule. 

     My prayer is that all in the household of faith submit to the rule of Jesus. Not only that but through our efforts many more learn about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t affirm that with a hashtag we affirm it with our lives each and every day as we take up our cross and follow Him. 

~ Kevin