Have You Ever Wondered—
What Is Jesus Christ Doing Now?
JESUS CHRIST was an outstanding man. He is viewed by millions worldwide as one of history’s greatest teachers—even by many who are not his followers. But he lived and taught a long time ago, nearly 2,000 years ago!
HOW DO YOU VIEW HIM TODAY?
Many, during Christmastime, think of him as a baby cuddled in a manger. For instance, a little girl was taken to view the Nativity scene. Looking into the crib, she was puzzled and asked her mother, “Did Jesus ever grow up?” “Of course, dear! Why do you ask?” came the reply. “Well,” responded the girl, “he hasn’t grown at all since I saw him last year!”
We may smile at her youthful curiosity, but her question does make a point. He was not always “baby Jesus.” You no doubt realize that Jesus grew up to become a great teacher. But did you also know that during his lifetime thousands of persons were convinced that he would become a great king? He is even called “King of kings.”
JESUS AS KING—BUT WHEN?
Many in Jesus’ day felt he would take up his kingly power over the world right then. But they were wrong. In one of his parables, Jesus showed that there would be a long wait before he became a world king. Alluding to himself, he spoke of ‘a certain man of noble birth who traveled to a distant land to secure kingly power for himself and to return.’ In Bible times such a trip “to a distant land” would take considerable time.—Luke 19:11-14.
So Jesus, after his death and resurrection, ascended to heaven and sat down at his Father’s side waiting till he was given “rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him.”—Dan. 7:13, 14.
To guide those who longed to “serve” this King of kings, Jesus gave a detailed sign to determine the start of his rule. He foretold that there would be international warfare, food shortages, earthquakes, disease epidemics and lawlessness or crime, to mention a few. Not that his rule would bring such conditions, but they would be prevalent when his rule began. Conditions would become so perplexing, Jesus said, that men would “become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” (Luke 21:26) Why not read for yourself the details at Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21?
By comparing conditions on earth since World War I (1914-1918) with Jesus’ prophecy, one can see that he depicted conditions in our time. Therefore, Jesus must now be ruling in heaven.
IF NOW RULING, WHAT IS HE DOING?
He is finding those who really want to be his subjects and is gathering these into a united worldwide brotherhood. Jesus indicated this in a parable that described the start of his rule when ‘he sits on his glorious throne.’ He gives his attention to “all the nations” and begins to “separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”—Matt. 25:31-33.
People are given the opportunity to show how they really feel about the kingship of Jesus. After all these sheeplike ones have been gathered, Jesus will destroy the “goats” and invite the “sheep” to “inherit” the earthly realm of his kingdom. Psalm 72 describes how the King will richly bless his subjects. He ‘will deliver from oppression and violence the poor one crying for help.’ Also, there will be “plenty of grain on the earth.”—Ps. 72:1, 12-14, 16.
Gone will be a society of wicked, oppressive, violent persons. Also eliminated will be food shortages, sickness, yes, even death. It is for these blessings that Jesus is now gathering his “sheep.”—Rev. 21:3, 4.
WHO ARE HIS SUBJECTS TODAY?
Not everyone wants to be a subject. Obedience to him as King would mean changes in their lives that many are unwilling to make. These would rather think of Jesus as an innocent baby, not as a mighty King.
For instance, an Englishwoman became very interested in Bible reading following visits made by Jehovah’s Witnesses. After a short while she became convinced that the ‘sign of the times’ heralded that Jesus was ruling. Being an active church member, she spoke to her vicar many times about her findings. He enjoyed these discussions and eventually felt the time had come to alert his congregation to Christ’s kingship and the coming Kingdom blessings.
In his Christmas Day sermon he spoke seriously of the need to look beyond Jesus as a baby, to accept him as King and to study the Bible so as to identify the ‘sign of the times.’ Alas, the congregation was highly displeased! Banding together, they sent a spokesman who told the clergyman: “Although we appreciated your sincerity in all you said, it was not what we came to hear.” He was then warned: “If you persist in talking to us this way, we will all go elsewhere.” Fearing the loss of a job, the minister complied. But who were the real losers? The congregation, which was content yearly to relive the “Christmas story.” Jesus’ kingship meant nothing to them. And the minister, too, was willing to quit talking about it. How much does it mean to you?
This experience does draw attention to one group who not only want Jesus as King but are recommending his kingdom to others in over 200 countries, just as Jesus foretold. (Matt. 24:14) They are well known for their unity and loyalty to this heavenly King. Eagerly they anticipate the blessings that Jesus’ rule will soon bring to this earth. These Christians will gladly share with you even more knowledge about this hope and what Jesus is now doing as a heavenly King.