The title of this article may be reminiscent of a popular Christmas song, but it is more appropriate to the Holy Week season we just celebrated in March. To add to the confusion, the three kings are actually one person who was and is and is to come.
Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, shortly before his rejection by the crowds and religious leaders. As he entered, he was rightfully recognized by the crowds as their king and savior. A few short days later, on what we now call Good Friday, Jesus was rejected by that crowd and crucified. On our Easter morning, he emptied his borrowed tomb, never to enter a tomb again. He ascended to heaven to receive his kingdom and will return in glory to rule the world forever (Luke 19:11–27). Some background to this story is needed to understand how one man can be three kings.
In Israel’s ancient history, the country was ruled by judges. There was no king in Israel, and the people asked for a king like the surrounding nations. When the prophet Samuel reluctantly brought their request to the Lord, the Lord replied, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). In other words, the people rejected their true king: God. They did not want God to rule over them anymore.
When Saul, Israel’s first king, chosen by God, went sour, the Lord chose another man, David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David is still considered Israel’s greatest king. After David was established and desired to build a house for God, God established this covenant with David: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). This promise will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose resurrection from the dead guarantees it will come to pass: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Timothy 2:8). Christ is “ the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). Jesus, himself a man after God’s own heart, could say, “[H]e who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him” (John 8:29).
Jesus Christ will return and “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 20:15–16). Jesus, the Son of Man and Son of God, chosen by God, “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32).
The early Israelites did not want God as their king. Israel’s greatest king died and remains buried. Later generations did not want Jesus Christ as their king. However, God’s purposes will not be thwarted. When Christ returns to set the world straight, the world will get all three kings: God, in the person of Jesus Christ, the son of David.
He will make a true triumphal entry: “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Revelation 1:7).
