Jesus as King is another difficult metaphor. Not because I dislike it in this case but because it is so unfamiliar. Kings are the stuff of history books and fairytales.
Fortunately I’m married to a closet historian who is happy to explain the role of kings and tell me all of his thoughts about good kings and bad kings.
All kings held tremendous authority and responsibility. The underpinning idea of feudalism being that the King basically owns everything. Kings own all the land, all the belongings, all the labor, all the money, all the people (including you, your wife, your children). EVERYTHING, your very life, all assets at the disposal of the king. The king says we go to war - you go to war. The king says he wants your wife - bye wife. You get the idea.
Good kings ruled in ways that allowed their people to prosper and be happy. The people lived in peace: without fear from within or without. Bad kings ruled in ways that allowed their people to be disadvantaged and to suffer. The people lived in fear: fear of their enemies or their officials or the king himself.
I don’t think it’s an accident that God uses this metaphor to communicate our relationship to Him. That He narrates Jesus as “The Forever Good King.”
It’s reflected in everything Jesus promised and required. He promised us peace and joy and prosperity (to live without fear from within or without) but also he required complete authority (to give everything we are and everything we have over to Him).
But unlike every other king our membership in the kingdom is entirely voluntary. We can choose to be citizens or not.
In my mind this makes Jesus the ultimate good king - He does not presume ownership of your life, you are asked to surrender it if you believe He is a good king.
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