‘Remember Me’: Worshipers Pray for the Kingdom of the Son

“Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)

On the night of December 31, 1862, enslaved people across the South gathered in churches, cabins, and hidden clearings. They sang. They prayed. They waited. President Lincoln had promised that on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation would take effect. At midnight, they would legally be free.

In Washington, D.C., a crowd of freedmen and women packed into Israel Bethel Church. They sang through the night. As dawn approached, a messenger ran from the telegraph office with news: Lincoln had signed. The proclamation was official. The congregation erupted. One witness described people shouting, weeping, embracing, falling to their knees in prayer. An elderly woman stood and began singing, “Go Down Moses.” Others joined until the whole church shook with the sound.

These worshipers had waited for this kingdom moment with nothing but prayer and faith. They owned no property. They had no political power. They could not free themselves. But they prayed, and they sang, and they believed God would deliver them. And when deliverance came, their first response was worship.

The scriptures we are examining this week trace this pattern. From ancient Israel’s prayers for God’s protection to a criminal’s dying request on Calvary, we follow worshipers who direct their hopes toward a King and a kingdom they cannot establish themselves. They pray for the kingdom of the Son.

Psalm 46: The Refuge King

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” The psalm begins with confidence, not wishful thinking. The worshiping community has experienced God’s protection in the past and now speaks this truth out loud, even as mountains shake and waters roar. This is corporate prayer in the face of national chaos.

The refrain matters: “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” Hosts means armies. Jacob means the covenant people. God fights for his people and keeps his promises to them. The psalm ends with God’s own voice: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” God will be exalted among all nations. The worshipers are praying toward that day.

Jeremiah 23:1-6: The Promised Shepherd King

Jeremiah speaks into catastrophe. The leaders of Judah have scattered the flock. Exile is coming. But God makes a promise: “I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” This is specific prophecy. A descendant of David will rule with righteousness.

Notice the name given to this coming king: “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” This is staggering. The king will somehow bear God’s own name and embody God’s own righteousness. The worshipers who heard this prophecy could not fully understand it. They knew God would send a king from David’s line. They did not yet know this king would be God himself in the flesh. But they prayed toward this promise, looking for the days when Judah would be saved and Israel would dwell safely.

Luke 1:68-79: The Dawn Arrives

Zechariah, struck mute for his unbelief, finds his voice again and immediately breaks into worship. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people.” The verb tense shifts. God has not merely promised. He has acted. The horn of salvation has been raised up in the house of David. The oath to Abraham is being fulfilled.

This hymn connects every thread: the prophets, the covenant, the oath, the enemies, the promise to David. And it identifies John the Baptist’s role: he will go before the Lord to prepare his ways. The dayspring from on high has visited. The light is breaking into darkness. The worshipers who sang Psalm 46 and clung to Jeremiah’s promise are now singing about its arrival. The kingdom is coming in the person of Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God.

Luke 23:33-43: The Threshold of Paradise

At Calvary, the kingdom arrives in a way no one expected. The King hangs between two criminals, mocked by soldiers, derided by rulers. The sign above his head reads, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” They mean it as mockery. It is actually truth.

One criminal rails against Jesus. The other sees something the religious leaders missed. He recognizes that Jesus truly is a king and that he has a kingdom. So he prays the simplest, most desperate prayer: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” He asks for a place in the coming kingdom. And Jesus answers immediately: “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

The kingdom breaks in through death and resurrection. The king enters his reign by way of the cross. The thief enters the kingdom by way of faith in the crucified king. This is what all the prayers were pointing toward.

Colossians 1:11-20: Living in the Kingdom

Paul writes to believers who have already been “translated into the kingdom of his dear Son.” The transfer has happened. They have been delivered from the power of darkness. They have redemption through Christ’s blood. They have forgiveness of sins.

But notice what kind of king Jesus is. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the creator of all things, visible and invisible, including all authorities and powers. He holds all things together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the firstborn from the dead. He has preeminence in everything. All the fullness of God dwells in him. And through his blood shed on the cross, he has reconciled all things to himself.

This is the King the worshipers prayed for. This is the kingdom the prophets promised. This is the salvation Zechariah sang about. This is the paradise the criminal entered. And this is where believers now live, in the kingdom of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Living as Kingdom Citizens

So what does it mean to pray for the kingdom of the Son when we already live in it?

First, we recognize that Jesus is King right now. We do not wait for him to become Lord. He already is Lord. Our task is to align our lives with this reality. This changes how we make decisions, spend money, treat other people, and respond to earthly authorities.

Second, we follow a King who rules through self-giving love. Jesus could have come down from the cross. He chose to stay there. He reconciled all things through the blood of his cross. If we belong to his kingdom, we will look like him. We will serve rather than dominate. We will forgive rather than retaliate. We will give ourselves away rather than hoard.

Third, we pray for others to enter the kingdom the same way we did. The criminal on the cross did not bring righteousness or good works. He brought empty hands and a simple request: “Remember me.” We invite others to the same King with the same simple message: Jesus is Lord, he died for sinners, and he offers forgiveness freely to all who ask.

Fourth, we live with confidence even when circumstances look chaotic. The mountains may shake. The waters may roar. Rulers may mock. But “the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” We have been delivered into the kingdom of God’s Son. Nothing can snatch us out of his hand.

Points to Ponder

1. When you face trouble or uncertainty, do you instinctively turn to God as your refuge, or do you exhaust other options first?
2. How does knowing that Jesus is King right now change the way you approach today’s decisions?
3. The criminal on the cross entered the kingdom with nothing but a request. Are you trying to bring God something to earn his favor, or are you coming with empty hands?
4. What would it look like in your life this week to follow a King who rules through self-giving love?
5. Who in your life needs to hear the simple invitation: “Jesus is King, and his kingdom is open to all who ask”?
   

Prayer

Father, you are our refuge and strength. You sent your Son to be the King we needed, the shepherd who gathers the scattered flock, the light that breaks into darkness. Thank you that Jesus did not come down from the cross but stayed there to reconcile us to you through his blood. Thank you that we do not have to earn entrance into the kingdom but can come like the criminal, with empty hands and a simple prayer: “Lord, remember me.”

Help us to live today as people who belong to the kingdom of your dear Son. When we face trouble, remind us that you are our present help. When we are tempted to rule our own lives through power and control, show us the way of the cross. When we forget your promises, bring to mind your faithfulness from Psalm to Gospel to now. And give us courage to invite others into this kingdom where the King wears a crown of thorns and calls sinners to paradise.

In the name of Jesus, the righteous Branch, the Lord our Righteousness, the King of Kings, Amen.

“The Father hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13)