Nothing Can Topple the King
Psalm 2
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
They didn’t want him. God sent his Messiah to come and free people from their sin. He came “to proclaim good news to the poor, … to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:1-3). He brought all the blessings of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And they didn’t want him.
When the Jewish religious leaders brought Jesus before Pilate, Pilate asked them, “Shall I crucify your king?” (John 19:15). They and all the people gathered their loudly responded, suppressing their own true feelings, “We have no king but Caesar.” The leaders were jealous of Jesus. They saw the crowds he attracted. They saw their control over the people with invented rules and norms slipping in the face of the Messiah who came to pronounce freedom. They wanted him dead.
But they plotted against him in vain. Though it appeared Jesus lost, he actually won. He had already predicted, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). He tells us why, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14,15). Jesus gave himself over to the control of the raging mob so that he would die to pay for the sins of the whole world. They could not keep him dead. Their plotting was in vain.
Now, the Father has seated Jesus at his right hand “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:21-23). Though the kings of the earth take their stand against Christ’s body and the rulers continue to gather against the Lord, the nations are his inheritance. He will always rule for the good of his church.
We shouldn’t be surprised when the world rages against Christ and his Church. He told us it would. But we can say with the same air of incredulousness, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?” What will they truly accomplish? Whatever the Lord’s will is, it will happen. If we are swept away in the raging, we will be swept up to heaven in the arms of angels. Just as Christ’s apparent defeat turned into victory, even what appears to be the end of Christ’s church will be used to continue to extend the gospel of salvation. His kingdom will never end.