Get a picture of the scene before us. It is a scene full of majesty, wonder, and adoration.
Now catch these words, "And On His Head Were Many Crowns." You all know whose head this is. It is the head of Immanuel, our Savior, our King, our Lord Jesus Christ. "On His Head Were Many Crowns."
The Betrayer's kiss identified this Head. The soldiers put a crown of thorns on this Head. They spit upon this Head. They beat this Head. They plucked the hair off of this Head.
In the grim agony of death, I hear the Son of God, his Head crowned with thorns, covered with blood, bruises, and human spit, cry in agony "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Yet, even then as a mighty conqueror, he cried "It is finished!" At last he cried, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and gave up the ghost;" and he hung his Head in death.
But when these three days of death were ended, this Head rose to life again. This Head looked with radiant eyes of love toward these holy women who were waiting at the tomb. Forty days later this Head was crowned by God the Father with glory, and honor, and everlasting dominion. This is the Head which John said in our test, Who would have thought that Head, the visage of which was more marred than that of any man, who would have thought that Head which suffered more of human scorn and Divine wrath than any other would be crowned with many crowns. Yet, now, as John beholds him riding forth in majesty, his Head was surrounded with these diadems of glory, these star-studded crowns – "On His Head Were Many Crowns."
We need John himself to expound this glorious vision to us. My eye has not yet seen the heavenly glory. My ear has not yet heard the celestial song. I am like a little child in the King's palace, overwhelmed and awed with the grandeur, speechless with wonder. But if God the Holy Spirit will enable me, I want to simply point you to our great Savior and King and call your attention to a few of the glorious diadems upon our mighty Savior's brow. "On His Head Were Many Crowns."
Because our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died at Calvary, accomplishing the redemption of his people. He Is Now Crowned With Glory, Honor, and Dominion, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Divisions: "On His Head Were Many Crowns." 1. The Crown of Heaven.I. First, our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, wears The Crown of Heaven.
He is that God and King whom Isaiah saw, High and Lifted Up - (Isa. 6:1-6). The angels belong to him. The cherubim and seraphim continually sing his praise. The mightiest spirit in heaven waits to do his will. He has but to speak, and they obey. In heaven Jesus Christ reigns in sovereign, majestic splendor. There he is reverenced, worshipped and ordered as King. The angels, though they are pure and holy, bow before him. Though they are bright and glorious, they cover their faces with their wings when they draw near to his throne.
A. The Angels of Heaven Worship Christ The Great King.
B. The Glorified Spirits Of the Redeemed Continually Worship, Praise, And Adore Christ As The Monarch Of Heaven – (Rev. 4:11; 5:9-14).
C. In The Realm OF Heaven's Eternal Glory, Christ Is All.
1. He is the Foundation of that city whose Builder and Maker is God.
2. He is the Gate of the Celestial City.
3. Christ is the Light of the City Beautiful.
4. In the blessed Glory Land, there is a Tree of Life, whose name is the Son of God. There is a Fountain of Living Water, whose name is Christ. There is a Great Reward, whose name is Immanuel. The Joy of Heaven is Christ. The Satisfaction of Heaven is Christ. The Glory of Heaven is Christ. Among the saints in glory, Christ is all.
II. Our Lord Jesus Christ Wears The Crown of heaven, and he also wears The Crown of Hell.
Christ reigns as supreme King in hell just as freely and completely as he reigns as the supreme Monarch of heaven. Spurgeon said, "In the black impenetrable darkness of hell his omnipotence is felt, and his sovereignty acknowledged; the chains which bind the damned spirits are the chains of his strength. The fires which burn are the fires of his vengeance. The burning rays that scorch through their eyeballs, and melt their very heart, are the flash of his vindictive eye. There is no power in hell besides his. The very devils know his, might."
A. SATAN AND ALL THE DEMONS OF HELL ARE UNDER THE SOVEREIGN DOMINION OF KING JESUS – (Rev. 20:1-30.)
Christ has chained the great dragon. Satan has no power, no authority except that which Christ permits him to exert. Hell trembles before his majesty!
B. HELL IS THE PRISON-HOUSE OF KING JESUS.It belongs to him. It is the place where he sends his enemies, the rebels against his throne, to execute justice upon them. One of the old writers said – "The very howlings of lost spirits are but deep bass notes of his praise. While in heaven the glorious notes shout forth his goodness; in hell the deep growlings resound his justice, and his certain victory over all his foes. Thus his empire is higher than the highest heaven, and deeper than the lowest hell!"
C. HEAR WHAT I SAY, AND BE WARNED, THE LORD OUR GOD WILL PUNISH SIN.
III. Look at our mighty King and Savior again. There is another crown upon his Divine Head. He wears The Crown of Creation (Col. 1:16:19).
This earth is also within the province of his sovereign domain:
IV. And our Savior, God's exalted King, wears on his blessed head The Crown Of Divine Providence.
As the result of his obedience, his sufferings and death at Calvary for the salvation of his people, the Lord God has turned this world over into the hands of the God-man Mediator. As our Mediator King, the Lord Jesus Christ bought the right to rule this world. This is the result of his altering sacrifice (Isa. 53:10-12; John 17:12; Rom. 14:9; Phil. 2:9-11; II Pet. 2:1).
A. THE EARTH ITSELF IS UPHELD AND MAINTAINED AND GOVERNED BY CHRIST.
He upholds all things by the word of his power. By him all things consist. Everything would cease to be, did he not hold all things together. Everything in God's vast universe knows and does his will. The heart of the universe beats with his power. The laws of nature are simply the decree of his mouth. The elements of the world fulfill his decree (Isa. 45:7).
B. ALL MEN AND ALL EVENTS ARE SOVEREIGNLY GOVERNED AND MANIPULATED BY JESUS CHRIST OUR SOVEREIGN GOD.
Our Savior, the God whom we worship, is not only the eternal God, he is also the reigning monarch of the universe. He is God upon an indisputable and incontestable throne.
NOTE: If God does not rule everywhere, then something rules where he does not, and he is not omnipresently supreme. If God does not have his will; someone else does, and that someone is a rival to God. Such a blasphemous doctrine would scare me to death. Nothing would be safe. Nothing would be secure. No promise would be sure. The very throne of God would be in jeopardy. I dare not believe that even man's sin is exempted from the sovereign control of God's providence, or the over ruling dominion of our Lord's power (Ps. 76: 10).
C. THE ULTIMATE END OF OUR LORD'S MEDIATORIAL REIGN IS THE SALVATION OF HIS PEOLE AND THE GLORY OF HIS OWN GREAT NAME – (Rom. 8:28-31).
When the Lord Jesus Christ is finished with this world, everything will end up precisely as God ordained it in eternity.
V. I see yet another diadem of glory upon our Savior's brow. He wears The Crown of Grace.
He who sits upon the throne of grace rules over the kingdom of grace and wears the crown of grace – (Rev. 1:5-6).
Jesus Christ is the King of Grace. He gives or he withholds as he sees fit. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he has compassion on whom he has compassion. "The Son quickeneth whom he will." The river of God's mercy flows from beneath his throne. He is the sovereign dispenser of mercy – (Illus: He is God's Joseph). He has the key of heaven. He opens, and no man shuts. He shuts, and no man opens. He calls, and the stubborn heart obeys. He speaks, and the rebel bows before him. He beckons, and sinners come to him. He reveals himself, and hard hearts melt before him.
He is the Church's Head! Salvation Is His Work Alone!
A. YOU WHO REBEL AGAINST HIM ARE FOOLS.You cannot resist the will of the mighty sovereign King. You must bow to this King. And one day you will bow to him. You cannot resist his dominion – (Ps. 2:1-12).
B. THE CROWNS OF OUR GREAT GOD AND SAVIOR PROVIDE OUR SOULS WITH GREAT COMFORT.
Nothing yields more true comfort and peace to my soul than the absolute, sovereign dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
C. COMMIT YOURSELF, BODY, SOUL, AND SPIRIT, INTO HIS HANDS.
Spurgeon said, "I am sure there is no more delightful doctrine to a Christian, than that of Christ's absolute sovereignty. I am glad that there is no such thing as chance, that nothing is left to itself, but that Christ everywhere hath sway. If I thought that there was a devil in hell that Christ did not govern, I should be afraid that devil would destroy me. If I thought that there was a circumstance on earth, which Christ did not over-rule, I should fear that that circumstance would ruin me. Nay, if there were an angel in heaven that was not one of Jehovah's subjects, I should tremble even at him. But since Christ is King of kings, and I am his poor brother, one whom he loves, I give all my cares to him, for he careth for me; and leaning on his breast, my soul hath full repose, confidence, and security."
VI. The sixth crown which I see adorning our Savior's majestic brow is The Crown of Victory – (John 12:31-33).
By means of his death upon the cross and his resurrection from the dead, our great God and Savior has gotten himself the victory. Never look upon the death of our Lord Jesus Christ as the death of a defeated and frustrated victim. In his death our Lord Jesus Christ was a mighty conquering King. "The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly." He has gotten himself the victory!
A. IN HIS DEATH AT CALVARY OUR MIGHTY SAVIOR WAS TRIUMPHANT.
Throughout the ordeal of his crucifixion, he ruled all things as a mighty King.
1. He triumphed over Satan.B. IN HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST WAS TRIUMPHANT.
By his death, he conquered death, hell, and the grave. Then he proved the reality of his conquest by his open and manifest resurrection and exaltation - (Ps. 68:18-19; Eph. 4:8).
C. TODAY, CHRIST THE EXALTED KING IS VICTORIOUS OVER MEN – ( Ps. 65:1-4; 110:1-7).
1. By irresistible grace he triumphs over men to save whom he will.VII. Let me finish by showing you that our Savior, the Lord of Glory, the Prince of life, rightly wears The Crown of Eternal Praise – (Rev. 4:10-11).
Assemble yourselves and draw near to him. There is no God like our Lord, our King, our Savior Jesus Christ – (Is. 45:20-25).
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