A King Like No Other

We trace the Magi’s gifts—frankincense, myrrh, and gold—to their deeper meaning and land on the claim that changes everything: Jesus isn’t a symbolic figurehead but a King like no other, who chose humility over hype and compassion over control.

We get honest about expectations. People wanted a palace-born ruler; they got a child in a cave who grew up to touch lepers, welcome outcasts, and overturn the tables we keep polishing. From there, we map three timeless responses: Herod opposed Him to protect his throne, the priests dismissed Him with tidy theology, and the Magi traveled far to bow low. That pattern still fits our lives. Control, apathy, or worship—one of them is shaping our choices, our peace, and our future.

Chapters

• 0:00 A Christmas Candy Misstep
• 1:55 An Unusual Christmas Message
• 4:47 Gifts Of The Magi Explained
• 7:40 Name That King Game
• 9:06 A King Like No Other
• 12:02 Expectations Upended: The Humble Messiah
• 16:14 Cross, Resurrection, And Reign
• 18:29 Three Responses To Jesus
• 23:15 From Opposition To Surrender
• 26:02 A Teenager Meets King Jesus

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

I have a question I have to ask you. Have you ever had a weird Christmas morning?

unknown: 0:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 0:08

Okay, yes. All right. I hope that wasn't that weird. Okay, okay. So maybe it may have not been weird. It could have been unusual though, maybe a little difficult. I remember a few years ago when my daughter, who's now seven, when she was around two, um, she was starting to understand Christmas and that there was an excitement to Christmas morning, there's a joy to it. We just at this time we just moved to Richmond, and so we went and we went home to Virginia Beach and had Christmas at my mother-in-law's house. And so here you go. So we're in Virginia Beach. It's Christmas morning. Kingsley wakes up early, and uh, and and which I wake up early too. So we go, so I grab her, and then we we all go downstairs. And what we always like to do first is we do stockings first, okay? Before we open presents. And so here we go. So we're opening the stockings, and Kingsley gets this piece of candy in her stocking. And here I am, I make what I now call a rookie dad mistake, okay? Okay, so I'm trying to be like a responsible dad, and she asks if she can eat this piece of candy. And I say, no, you can't have candy for breakfast. And so here you go. After that, her Christmas was downhill, okay? No matter what presents we had, big presents, small presents, thoughtful presents, presents made of glue, whatever it was. She did not care because all she could think about was that piece of candy that me, Mr. Scrooge over here, denied her. And I actually have a picture of her. That was that's how she felt. She eventually recovered. She still makes that face when she's mad at me. She eventually recovered, but it was a little bit of an unusual Christmas morning. It wasn't exactly how we thought it was going to go. All over a piece of candy. Now, here you go. Today I have an unusual Christmas message for us today. It's a little different, it's a little different than the normal Christmas message. Is that okay? Is that all right? Some people are like, no, it's not. And I'll be like, too bad I'm doing it. Okay, here you go. Um, but but here you go. Here you go. Because we serve the reason why I'm doing an unusual Christmas message is because we serve a God who chooses to who chose an incredibly unusual way to show his love to the world. It wasn't flashy, it was not predictable, it was not what anyone expected, but it's what everything we needed. And so today we conclude our series called The Gift, where we've been looking at these gifts at the three wise men who are awesome, um, um, give to baby Jesus. And I and I love, I actually love the kids' play because the truth is, there actually wasn't just three wise men. You probably you might think there was because of your grandma's the Timothy scene, but um, but but there were actually probably more. There was dozens in a caravan of people that came to visit Jesus to worship Jesus, and and it didn't happen on the same night that Jesus was born, it actually happened a few years later. So when the wise men came, they were working with pull-up diaper Jesus. That was kind of funny. Okay, okay. Uh and so and so that's so this is when this happens. And they bring Jesus three gifts, three kind of unusual gifts, that what do they mean? And so we've been exploring what these gifts look like. And check this out, Matthew 2, verse 10 says this when they, the wise men, saw the star, they were filled with joy. And I just want to pause again like I did last week. I want to pause again because I love this little part of the message. It says, when they saw the star, they were filled with joy. So they were in a dark place, but they saw a light, and joy came into their hearts. And I just want to say to some people today, you might be in a dark season, you might be in a tough spot, you may be in a place that you did not expect, but with Jesus, there is a light. And even though your darkness is still your current reality, he brings you a light and a joy and a hope and a future. And when you look to him, no matter what the world tries to throw at you, you are still an overcomer. Come on, come on. There's still light to come. So they entered the house and they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him, and then they sung her a song. Mary, did you know? The show of hey, be a boy. So that was my audition for the worship team. Okay, anyway. Okay, so then they opened their treasure chests and gave them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Now, over the last few weeks, we've been looking at all these things, the practical and the spiritual significance of these gifts. Frankincense pointed to Jesus as our high priest, the one who stands between God and people, who will give his life for us so we can now enter God's throne room boldly without fear, and and and on our own behalf. And then we also looked at myrrh, which represents Jesus as the suffering servant or the Lamb of God. And today I want to look at the gift of gold, the gift of gold. Now, throughout history, because of its scarcity and value and value of gold, it has been known as a gift fit for a king. And I want to talk to you today about something I think is so important for us. Jesus as King. Jesus as King. Now, before we do that, though, can we play a little game? Can we play a game? Since we're already having fun with the kids and stuff today, okay. But I need full church participation with this game. Okay? Okay, here you go. What I'm gonna do, this is how it works. Everyone, everyone plays. We're gonna play a game called Name That King. All right? So we're gonna we're gonna put a picture on the screen, and then you gotta shout what king that is, alright? You you ready for it? Okay, let's do it. Go ahead. Dumb up that first one. The lion, yeah, mufasa, symbol, the lion king. Okay, a very good one. Okay, what about the next one? Who's this next person we got up here? King Kong, alright, alright. That's how I look before I get coffee, actually. Okay, okay, so the next one, when you're feeling hungry, this is your king. Actually, if you don't like yourself, you go to this king, okay. Okay, then the next one, he's known kind of as a scary king. Stephen King. Okay, a couple people are like, who's that? All right, but if you want a good interview, you talk to this king. All right, okay. But now, if you want to know who is the best basketball player of all time, you hang out with LeBron King, James. Come on, come on, yes. But if you're really a fan of sports, you know who this king is. Alright. But if tennis makes you feel kind of blue, you know who this king is. But if you're not really into blues, you're more into jazz, you know who this king is. Alright, you guys do good. You know you're kings. You know them. There's a lot of them, okay? All right. So I but today I want to talk to us about the kingship of Jesus. The kingship of Jesus. And as the Magi gave him gold, we're gonna talk about a king like no other. A king like no other. Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy, he says, For just at the right time, Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only Almighty God, the king of all kings, and the Lord of all lords. And now when Paul says this in the Greek language, it was completely impossible for him to state this more powerfully. There is no more way he can emphasize this. Jesus is the supreme authority over all the kingdoms of the world. The entire cosmos is in the hands of King Jesus, and he is king like no other. And again, I told you this might be an unusual Christmas message because our God had a very unusual and unexpected way to show his love to the world. You see, people were expecting a Messiah. They were expecting a savior, a king to be born. The problem is that the Jews expected their king to be born in a palace surrounded by wealth and luxury and comfort. No one expected the king to be born in poverty, in a cave next to some farm animals. They didn't expect the Savior, the Messiah, to be a son of a carpenter born in Nazareth. Even in the beginning of Jesus' ministry, one of his own disciples said, What good can come from Nazareth? And so they weren't expecting this. No one predicted that the King of Glory, the Son of God, would befriend prostitutes, touch leopards, and love those that the religious institutes rejected. They never imagined a king who would choose uneducated fishermen and despised tax collectors and rebellious troublemakers to be his own disciples and friends. No one ever imagined that a king will forgive a woman caught in the very act of adultery when the law said that she should be stoned, and yet he would confront the hypocrites of the Pharisees again and again and overturn tables when people misused his temple as a place for their own personal profit. They never imagined the king of the Jews would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey of all creatures. And those who would be cheering on his arrival would be the outcast, the overlooked, and the immoral ones. No one expected a king to stand trial for crimes he did not commit. No one ever imagined that an innocent king would be beaten and whipped and stripped naked and hung on an instrument of torture known as a cross, dying a death that only criminals deserve to die. No one would ever imagine, no one would have imagined that this king hanging on a cross as the creator in flesh, as the creation, the people mocked him and spat on him, that this king, while he was suffering, would look up to heaven and cry out, God, have mercy on them, for they know not what they do. No one would have imagined that this king, when offered a drink to dole the pain, he will reject it so that he can face the full agony of sin in the world. And he declared it is finished. I did what you sent me to do, Father. Into your hands I commit my spirit. No one ever expected the king to die a shameful death in front of people mocking him. And when he breathed his last breath, there was no one predicting that the sky would go dark and the earth would shake and the world will lose hope and they would bury a dead king in a borrowed grave. And no one, come on, expected that three days later that that king will get back up again, that that king will get back up again so that you and I, when life beats us down, when life gets hard, we can get back up again. Come on, I'm preaching too good right now. This risen king from the dead sits at the right hand of God the Father. I want to tell you about a king like no other. So an unusual Christmas message because it's an incredibly unusual way for God to show his love to a broken and sinful world. Now, what's interesting to me when we look at this story, the in the very first century, we see three distinct responses to Jesus. And these three distinct responses to Jesus, we still see it today. We see these three distinct responses that people have to Jesus today. In fact, I'm guessing if you have the courage to be honest with yourself today, you might find yourself in the middle of one of these three very distinct and very common responses to Jesus as King. The first one is this, represented by King Herod. If you know his story, Herod opposed Jesus as King. He opposed it. He wanted to guard and protect his own kingship. He so he issued a degree, a degree, a degree to that all the boys under the age or two in Bethlehem would be put to death because he heard there might be a king who might threaten his kingdom. Now, I don't know who this might be, but there might be some of you today that said, no, no, no, no, I don't need this religious stuff. No, no, this that Jesus, that's for people who need a crutch in life. That's for people that's not for me. That's not for me. I'm not, I'm not even, I don't even want, I don't even want to do that. That's an outdated book. That's an outdated book for for some religious from from some religious people. They can't help me with my life. I'm opposing Jesus as king. But then there's a second group, and I think a profoundly common today. The Jewish priests. They dismissed Jesus as king. So you have people who who who who oppose them as king, but you have people who just dismiss him as king, which is so bizarre because the Jewish priests they actually quoted scripture. They quoted an Old Testament verse from Micah 5.2 that prophesied that there would be a ruler from Bethlehem, and yet these priests were only five miles away, didn't show up to worship Jesus as King. And the same kind of thing can happen all the time. Hey, do you want to go to church with me? Hey, do you want to go? I know you kind of got some stuff. I think church will help you. Nah, I'm good. But I know maybe you just like constantly scrolling on your phone all the time. Like just like constantly, and you're like, you know, you're asking your chat is like your personal therapist. Maybe you should have a therapist that like has a soul or something. Nah, I'm good. I don't need that. Hey, hey, but maybe if you spent like this daily time with God, if you hung out with God, the one who made the heavens and the earth, the one that made the sea and everything in it. Maybe if you hung out with him, you'll find purpose and meaning and hope and joy. Nah, I'm good. I'm good. I got my lifetime Christmas movies. That's that's really what life is really like. And we dismiss. And we can dismiss. And then the Jewish priests do what's so commonly common today. They dismiss Jesus as King. But then there were the wise men who traveled a great distance. Because in the dark they saw a star. Because in the dark, they saw a light. In the dark. They said, This is darkness. Must not be the only reality. There must be something more. And so they traveled. They traveled. And the three wise men bowed down and worshiped Jesus as King. And the ultimate response to show reverence, awe, and honor to the God of heaven who became one of us in the person of Jesus. They said it's not about me, it's not about my throne and my desires. With everything in me, I bow down. The most surrendered posture you can take. And I know, I know, guys, I know LBC. We live in a world, we don't like that word surrender. We don't like that word. And we got it all, I got it my way. I know how to do it. But what if I was to tell you today that the way you really want to live your life is not by doing it your way, but it's by surrendering to God's way. And living in a place of surrender to God's way. For others, it was opposition. For some, it was dismissal. Yeah, it's a good story. Yeah, I'll deal with that later. I came to church one, I don't really like church people. And then there's those who decided. There's those who decided, hey, he's he's he's just he's just more than just a good teacher. It's more than just an inspiring story. He's the king of my heart, the king of my life. So the question I have for you today is this where are you today? Where are you today with this? You see, with everything inside of me, I really, really, really, really, really, really want you to know God. And I just like know him, like I know LeBron James. But know him. Know him in the deepest parts of me. Know him in the deepest parts of my heart. And the reason why, the reason why you may say, Jacob, why do you care so much? Why, why do you care? Why would you bet your life on all this? Why would you give everything you got to help in God's kingdom mission? Because when I met King Jesus, it changed everything. And I remember, I remember I was I was 15 years old. I was 15 years old, and and my brother and I, my brother and I, we were walking to the YMCA, which is right next door, to a church we started to go to a little bit, and we saw all these youth outside, and we remember being invited to come to the youth service. And so we were walking to the YMCA, and and all of a sudden we said, Well, let's just go in. Let's go in. Let's go to church. Let's go to youth church. And we went in, we sat down, and I saw people singing songs and raising their hands. I'm like, What weird places I go into? Like, what is this? What's happening? The whole time I felt something in my heart. Couldn't put the words on it, but I felt something in my heart. And then at the end of the message, at the end of the service, the pastor who became my youth pastor, he gave what was called an altar call. And he said, if you want to make a decision to follow Jesus, I encourage you to get out of your seat and come up front to the altar. And I remember sitting there, I remember sitting there and feeling in my heart that I wanted to jump out of my seat. I remember feeling that, but I also remember feeling what would people think about me if I did that? Well, I mean, what am I, what is it that I'm feeling right now? And I remember this feeling, and I said, okay, I'll just sit here. But then I got a nudge from my brother. And he looked at me and he said, Maybe we should both go up together. And so me and my brother Isaiah, we stand up, we walk up front, we kneel down at the altar, like how we used to do that back in youth group. We kneel down at the altar, and there I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't really understand what's happening. But then all of a sudden, I feel God's love. I feel I have I feel like I have purpose and meaning in my life. And I'm gonna tell you this, LVC. That one decision on that one day changed the entire trajectory of my life. My life was going one way, and then I met Jesus, and it went a completely different way. Now, was my life perfect after that moment? Heck no. Did I still have problems? Did I still have challenges all the time? But now I had a relationship with Jesus to make sense of the troubles I was going through. I had hope for tomorrow, I had faith for today. I had a community around me that gave me a shared sense of joy and purpose, and then I had an intimate relationship with Jesus that gave me a hope and a future. Changed everything. And when I surrendered to Jesus, when I surrendered, when I gave my life to Jesus, I truly found life. I found a life. A life worth living. A life worth going after. And so I say to you guys today. Where are you at in your journey? Because I'm overwhelmed when I think about Christmas. When I think about that baby in a manger. I'm overwhelmed by this truth that the baby grew up and lived the life I couldn't, died a death I deserved, rose again in victory, and now reigns as my king. And my heart for Melothian and my heart for Richmond is simple. That everyday people from all backgrounds of life, from every different story, would encounter the same Jesus I met when I was 15 years old. The Jesus who gave my life meaning, direction, hope, and freedom. Because when you meet him, and when our community meets him, when our friends meet him, when our family meets him, it will change everything. It would change everything now and it will change future generations. Legacies will be different because of a relationship with Jesus. And there was a king who stripped himself of the glory of heaven, born of a virgin in poverty in a cave, reaching out to the lowest of lows, those who were despised. In our context today, those who just can't get it right, those who are financially amess. Those whose first or second marriage didn't work out, and now they're in a bad place. Those who use substances just to get up, that makes them come back down harder than when they started. He came for people like me. And he loved me right where I was and forgave me, not because I was a good person, but because he's incredibly good. And he just wants to know me. And I pray that there's someone in here today that you just don't pass through the Christmas season, that you just don't oppose them or dismiss them, but somehow you would see that this unusual love of God can find a way in your heart and you say, I surrender completely. Let me tell you again about my king. He's not some distant deity in the sky. And who is this king that he gave his life for us? Well, my king, according to scriptures, is the king of glory. He is the king of righteousness. He is the king of the ages. He is the king of all kings. Jesus is king. He heals the sick. He opens blind eyes. He heals deaf ears. He strengthens the weak. He delivers the captives. He restores those who are broken and hurted. He is the king. He is a shelter in your time of trouble. He is a light when your world is dark. He is the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the Alpha and the Omega. He is the resurrection in the life, and He is our King. His goodness is indescribable. His power is amazing. His grace is irresistible. And at his very name, like we sung today, darkness trembles. In his presence, demons flee, for the devil hated him, and he but he could not stop him. Death could not defeat him. Grave could not hold him. Jesus is that king, and he is a king like no other. So God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. We surrender again to you. We surrender again to you, Jesus. And we say, Lord, come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit. Jesus, we pick up the phone because you're calling us. But for real, you are calling us. You're calling us into a place of hope. I just really feel like the Holy Spirit is saying, um, yeah, forgive. I don't know who it is, I don't know who I'm talking to, but you know exactly who it is. There's someone in your life right now, man, you just need to forgive them. It's not hard, it's not, I mean, it's it is hard, it's not easy. But yeah, I just feel like the Holy Spirit is saying forgiveness is your pathway to freedom. So, Lord, give that person, our people, whoever it is, that strength, Lord. That ability to forgive, even if it's scary and uncomfortable. I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying to someone, you are no longer a victim, but you are a victor in Christ Jesus. And I pray, I feel specifically he wants to pray for your mental health. That um, yeah, and you're in your mental, in your mentality, your mental mentality, you mean you have a victim mentality. And so, Jesus, I just pray, Lord, that they will find freedom in that mentality, Lord. They'll find healing in that mentality, that they are not a victim, but they are a victor in you, Christ Jesus. That's just like the Holy Spirit saying that you're a survivor, too. She learned how to survive. And now the Holy Spirit saying, but learn how to lean in on me. Come, Holy Spirit. I just pray for those who are dealing with grief this year, a loss of a loved one. Christmas is different this year. Holy Spirit, you say you are the great comforter, so bring comfort. Bring comfort to grieving hearts and grieving households, Lord. Bring comfort like only you can, Lord. And I just feel the word legacy. God, thank you. Thank you, Lord, that our young people led us in devotional in a way today, Lord. But your true kingship, Lord. That you met us in the most unusual way. So if you're in here today and you're like, Jacob, this is a good preacher, but I don't know this Jesus you're talking about. Or maybe you have, but life has gotten in the way. You have walked away from Jesus. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life for the first time, or trust Him with your life again, I just want to pray a simple prayer with you. And what I want to do, I'm gonna count in the three. And on three, I just want you to toss your hand up in the air. I'm not gonna call you out, have you come up front, nothing like that. I just want to see who I'm praying for. And there's something powerful about a physical response to what God is doing in your heart. And so if you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life for the first time, or trust Him again. On three, would you just put your hand up in the air? One, two, three. Amen. Amen. Amen. And if you can, right at your chair, you can say it out loud or say it in your heart, but just say this prayer with me. Say, Jesus, forgive me for my sins. Make me new. Today I follow you. Today I surrender to you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.