Jesus is the King we need
Jesus must have seemed like the perfect king for the average first-century Jew. Frustrated by suffocating taxes and the Roman occupation, most Jews begged God for a king who could conquer the Romans. That’s what made Jesus so exciting when he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus could read people’s thoughts, meaning he could anticipate every strategy of every Roman general. Jesus could defeat a legion of demons with a word, meaning he could take on legions of Romans by himself. Kill a Jew, and Jesus could bring him back to life. Surround and starve Jerusalem, and Jesus could multiply a few loaves and fishes. Jesus was the king they had always wanted.
Much to their surprise, Jesus insisted on being the King they needed. They needed someone to forgive their sins, not fight the Romans, so Jesus didn’t march into the Fortress Antonia and threaten the soldiers. Instead, he flipped tables in the temple, preached fearlessly about religious hypocrisy, and dealt with sin as he hung on a cross.
While Jesus could have cured our cancer, erased our anxiety, and solved our earthly problems, he instead chose to do something better. He gave us what we needed most, a way for sinners to be saved. “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4). Ask God for that “one thing” you most need, and he will always answer as promised. In Jesus, you get what you need.