Jesus: King of Heaven and Earth

We live in a world torn apart. A world of chaos and conflicting kingdoms. A world where unrighteousness is rewarded and injustice often goes unpunished. A world that has lost its identity and direction. We live in a world that lost sight of its Creator and fallen short of his design and vision for creation.

We live in a world of rebellion—not merely on earth but against heaven. A world that has thrown off God’s rule and sought to replace it with our own. A world filled with skepticism toward the very idea of God, and outrage at the suggestion that he has any right to rule us, judge us, or tell us what to do.

Yet for all our passion, all our innovation and progress, we live in a world where the fracture grows deeper every day, and though we hate to admit it, we are powerless to do anything to stop it.

We live in a world in desperate need of a Savior and King.

Into this fractured world the Gospel of Matthew speaks a radical message: Jesus Christ is King of heaven and earth.

He is the one who fulfills ancient Israel’s story, taking their identity and calling onto himself and fulfilling all God’s promises through his faithfulness to the Father.

He is the one who accomplishes all that his Father sent him to do in rescuing his people from their sins, restoring them to God, and establishing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

He is the one who answers all the longings and cries of this broken world—a king who will shepherd his people with justice, who will right wrongs and bring healing and hope.

He is the one who has all authority, and to whom all allegiance is due, who challenges the would-be kingdoms of this world and calls us to follow him and make disciples of all nations.

He is the one who establishes God’s kingdom not with sword and arrow, but through his cross and resurrection, taking the chaos and sin of our broken lives onto himself, defeating evil and exhausting God’s holy anger against our rebellion, in order to give us new life and fit us for his kingdom.

Jesus is the King who rules over heaven and earth, and he alone is worthy of our worship.

If you’re in Boston’s MetroWest, I invite you to join us at Westgate Church as we explore the Gospel of Matthew and wrestle with the wonder and weight of what it means that Jesus is King over our lives, our relationships, our communities, New England—over all of heaven and earth.