Scripture Study for

Although it was the people who anointed David as their king, they believed that it was really God who had chosen him. They acknowledged the intimate bond that they shared with this new king. They were his bone and his flesh, his very kin. As king, David is characterized as a shepherd because shepherds were familiar with and personally concerned about their flocks. He is also seen as a commander or captain, one who leads the people. Both images represent the king as a leader for the people, not one who is removed from them, expecting only to be served by them. 

The hymn from Colossians extols the divine character of Christ rather than his human nature. Paul characterizes Christ in several ways, each reference adding a significant dimension to our understanding of him. He is a visible manifestation of the invisible God. He enjoys priority in time and primacy in importance. He is the agent through whom all was created, and he is also the goal of all creation. He holds all things together. He is the agent of reconciliation. The sacrificial death of the human Jesus becomes the means through which the cosmic Christ reconciles all of creation with God. 

Jesus claimed to be the chosen one, the Christ of God, the King of the Jews—all messianic titles. In the unsettling fashion that so often characterizes the gospel story, Jesus was ridiculed for being who he really was. What the people did not realize was that he was indeed the Messiah, the one for whom they longed; their error was in their messianic understandings and expectations. The inscription on the cross, “King of the Jews,” is significant. Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews,  even though his manner of ruling did not conform to the standard of the day. True to the paradox of the gospel, what was intended as a sign of derision actually became a proclamation of faith.