The Delight of Jesus for the Nations
I. REVIEW: THE DEPTH OF THE COMMITMENT OF JESUS FOR THE NATIONS
A. Jesus is so committed to the nations that He commits Israel to disobedience that they might be brought into His
merciful plan:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your
own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
(Romans 11:25)
28 Concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sake but concerning the election they are beloved for
the sake of the fathers. (Romans 11:28)
32 For God has committed (shut them all up in) them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
(Romans 11:32)
B. Israel, having been “provoked to jealousy” by the predominantly Gentile church at the end of the age, will in turn
provoke the nations of the earth under the leadership of Jesus to walk out the commandments of the Lord (Sermon on
the Mount). The nations will flock to Israel to learn from her, that they might walk in the same blessing and abundance:
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall (be forever separated from God’s plans and purposes)? Certainly
not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. (Romans 11:11)
2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established on the top of
the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And
we shall walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3)
C. Jesus has a great longing and desire to deliver the nations and establish them in the fullness of His kingdom.
Just as He did not forsake Israel after her rejection of Him after He came the first time, neither will He forsake the nations
after their coming rejection of Him when He returns to the earth. He has a plan to cleanse the nations of resistance and
provoke them into wholehearted devotion and obedience to Him. All Israel will be saved at His Second Coming, then
all the nations will be saved as well – “all nations” will be discipled and taught to observe “all things” He commanded:
1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His
commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God…”
(Deuteronomy 28:1-2)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.” Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)
D. The nations, then, will partner with Jesus to help cleanse, restore, and renew all of creation itself. The Bride (the
redeemed with resurrected bodies), the nation of Israel (natural Jewish humans), and all of the peoples of the earth will
join with Jesus to labor to prepare all of creation itself to be joined with God. The ultimate purpose of Jesus is to bring full
reconciliation of all creation with the Father (Romans 8: 18-30; Ephesians 1:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28). They must do
so in the context of full agreement with Jesus and His leadership, in full submission to His sovereignty – thus He will rule
over them with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15).
E. Psalm 2 provides the “blueprints of the end of the age” in that all of the components that describe the apex of the
rage of the nations and God’s plan to give the nations to His Son are briefly described in what could be called an
“overview” of the book of Revelation.
II. THE KINGS OF THE EARTH RAGE (PSALM 2:1-3)
1 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and
cast away Their cords from us.” (Psalm 2:1-3)
A. Paul spoke of “the mystery of iniquity” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) or the mystery of man’s hidden hatred of God and
His ways. Men despise the leadership of God. The great error is thinking that if God revealed Himself to men, they would
believe and repent. One does not necessarily lead to the other. For the last 2000 years, God has “pleaded His case with
the nations” to believe and repent in what Jeremiah called His “controversy with the nations” (Jeremiah 25:31). Jesus
understood that men love darkness (the works of sin) rather than light and truth (John 3:19).
B. King David is describing here the exposing of the mystery of iniquity at the end of the age. When God reveals
Himself and His plan to rule according to His righteousness, men will not repent and submit – they will rage against Him.
The book of Revelation describes this scenario in great detail (Revelation 9:21).
C. When God is revealed in power to the nations, the people will rage and “murmur”, or plot vain things – or fruitless,
empty plans fueled by what Peter called their own “lusts”, or agendas apart from God’s leadership (2 Peter 3:3). Men will
be lovers of themselves and of pleasure, only seeing godliness as a means to further and advance their own vain schemes
(2 Timothy 3:1-5).
D. Kings and those in power will have the most to lose – and therefore they will “set” themselves and gather together
in unity against the Lord and the One He desires to establish as the King of the nations. Zechariah, Isaiah and John in
Revelation described an end-time scenario in which not one nation will stand with Jesus (Isaiah 63:1-6; Zechariah 14:2;
Revelation 16:14; 19:19).
E. They will “break Their bonds” and “cast Their cords” – as kings, they will violently break off and hurl away all
restraint; all that represents biblical morality will be angrily removed from the social context in that time. They see the
morality and laws of God as “chains” that restrain them in a negative manner, hindering them from their goal of power.
The rulers of the earth will not only reject God and His Son (or Anointed King), but they will in full unity completely reject
God’s ways and influence over them or their people. Revelation 17:13-18 gives an example of this.
III. THE GOD OF HEAVEN LAUGHS (PSALM 2:4-6)
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision. 5 Then He shall speak to them in His
wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” (Psalm 2:4-6)
A. Throughout the scriptures, God is usually depicted as One who is seated on His throne, fully confident and in
control – completely unbothered and not threatened by the rage of sinful men against Him (i.e. Daniel 7:9-14; Revelation 4).
Here, King David provides a much more terrifying picture of the Lord. Not only is He fully confident and in control, but
He has great contempt for these foolish kings – “deep displeasure”.
B. He expresses His displeasure and rage against them, as well as the absolute certainty of His plan, through mocking
laughter. This terrifying laugh expresses the utter hopelessness and silliness of what these kings are hoping to accomplish
– they seek to overthrow God Himself (Revelation 19:19). Joel described a similar scene in which God mockingly calls the
nations to war against Him (Joel 3:9-11). Yet His laughter makes clear that it is not really a war at all, but a “winepress”
they are gathering to (Isaiah 63:1-6; Joel 3:13; Revelation 14:17-20; 19:15). It will be an effortless removal of all who
seek to hinder His plans to establish His Son as the appointed King of Israel and all the nations.
IV. THE FATHER DECREES AND THE SON DESIRES (PSALM 2:7-9)
7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. 8 Ask of Me, and I will
give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a
rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ” (Psalm 2:7-9)
A. Jesus breaks in to the narrative, declaring both the Father’s heart and His own desire. He fully understands His
place and the Father’s delight to set Him over the nations of the earth. He is the only Man worthy to receive leadership of
the earth:
5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has prevailed
to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)
1. The incredible scene unfolds before John’s very eyes – a Jewish man has prevailed, or emerged victorious, from
death to life to now be the only one qualified and capable of approaching the Father, taking the scroll (leadership of the
earth) from His hand, and administering perfectly the judgments of the Lord.
2. He approaches not as God, but as One from the tribe of Judah and the lineage of King David. One of King David’s
family members is able to boldly approach the throne of God Himself and take from Him the leadership of the earth.
B. Even in the face of the nation’s great rage and defiance, the desire of Jesus is clear – He longs for His inheritance.
Though the nations would fully and completely reject Him at His Second Coming, He still longs for His inheritance. He will
do what is necessary to remove the obstacles to His love that He longs to express to the nations, completely shattering all
resistance to Him:
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return…14 But
his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.’…27 But bring
here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ” (Luke 19:12,14,27)
C. Once all that despise His rule are removed, He will bring the nations into partnership and participation with His
plan – He will stun the nations with His great mercy towards them. The nations will ultimately have great and deep
affection for Him – as He desires the nations, He will become the “Desire of All Nations”:
6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the
LORD of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-7)
V. THE MESSENGERS INSTRUCT TRUE WISDOM (PSALM 2:10-12)
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice
with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalm 2:10-12)
A. In His indescribable mercy towards the nations that rage against Him, He will send prophetic messengers in
advance of His destructive judgments to call them to repentance and relationship with the coming King. This “gospel of
the kingdom” will fill the whole earth, bearing witness to His zeal and purposes, before the end comes (Matthew 24:14).
B. These prophetic messengers will give the three-fold call to wisdom to the kings and rulers of the earth, or an
invitation to participate in the three dimensions of the identity of Jesus at the end of the age. The leadership of the earth
will be invited to surrender to and serve the coming King with fear; to rejoice in agreement with the activity of the Judge
with trembling; and to experience tender intimacy with the Bridegroom and not refuse Him. He is the Son of God who is
coming to shake the whole earth to establish His unshakable kingdom that can withstand the consuming fire of His
Father’s glory (Haggai 2:6-7; Hebrews 12:25-29).
C. The kings of the earth must “be wise” – they must be willing to humble themselves and learn before it is too late;
they must say “yes” and not spurn His unbelievably kind invitation to the deepest places of intimacy, pleasure, tenderness,
and bridal partnership. What He offers is astonishing – and blessed are those who believe that His ways are “great and
marvelous”.