Jesus is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
Matthew 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Dr. Roger W. Thomas the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 made the following observation about The Lordship of Jesus.
That’s quite a statement. Think about it a minute. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The statement leaves no room for debate. It is not “I feel” or “I think.” It isn’t “most opinion polls say.” It isn’t “might be.” It is a straightforward statement.
He isn’t just claiming personal or private authority. All authority. Not just authority in church. Or just authority in religious matters. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and in earth.” Jesus claims to be the top dog, the boss, the one who has the right to call the shots! To use more traditional language, he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. That’s quite a claim. Either he is or he isn’t. He leaves no room for compromise.
I am reminded of the story that Max Lucado tells in one of his books. Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. Patchy fog made for poor visibility. The captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." “Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain." That meant the ship was on a collision course with the other vessel.
The captain called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: ’We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.’" Moments later a signal came back, "Advise you to change course twenty degrees." The irritated the captain ordered, "Send: "I’m a captain, change course twenty degrees.’" Again a reply quickly came back, “I’m a seaman second-class. You better change course twenty degrees."
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: ’I’m a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.’" Back came the flashing light, "I’m a lighthouse. You change course!" (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 153.)