Jesus had to come from the tribe of Judah in order to be the King of Israel, for Judah is the “Royal Line.” Let’s see what Scripture says about this wonderful truth.

In Genesis 49:8-10 we read, “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall BOW DOWN BEFORE YOU. Judah is a LION’S whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a LION. Who shall rouse him? The SCEPTER shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (NKJV). Just before Jacob died he gave all of his sons a “blessing” which was also a “prophecy.” Judah was blessed with the role of being the leader/ruler of the rest of the tribes of Israel and this is why we read of him being “bowed down to” and how the “scepter” (a “ruler’s staff”) would not depart from him. He is also likened unto a “lion,” which has often been called “the KING of beasts.”  The first God-anointed KING would be David (see 1st Samuel 16:1-13), but he was told later that one of his sons would be the One who would rule forever (see 2nd Samuel 7:8-16). Jacob referred to Him as “Shiloh” who would come “and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 1:1-17 we have the GENEALOGY of Jesus Christ, proving that He was born in the “Kingly Line” of Judah. In verse 1 we read, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David” and from verses 3-16 we have the complete breakdown of Judah and his sons, ending with the birth of Jesus. It has often been said that Matthew’s gospel presents Jesus Christ as the KING and thus how fitting that His right to the throne is proven at the very outset by giving us the proof that He is from the tribe of Judah. It’s also quite fitting that Jesus is called “the Son of David” at the beginning and there are many instances in this gospel where people called him “the Son of David.” They recognized that He was the one that had been prophesied by Jacob in Genesis 49:8-10; He was indeed “Shiloh” who was to come!

In Revelation 5:1-7 we see Jesus Christ sitting at the right Hand of God Who is the only one qualified to open a seven-sealed book which introduces God’s judgments upon this world. Verses 4-5 confirm this, “So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. 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.” Before Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven, God declared that He alone would be the Judge over mankind. “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son…and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man” (John 5:22 & 27). Jesus is the rightful Ruler and Judge over all men, not just the nation of Israel, yet He is still known as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.”

In Revelation 19:11-16 (which takes place AFTER all of God’s judgments have been poured out upon this Christ-rejecting world), we have Jesus Christ returning in power and glory to set up His Kingdom over the earth. Verse 11 informs us that He is “called Faithful and Ttue, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Then in verse 16 we read, “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Here again is the One that Jacob prophesied of and this will be the fulfillment of Jacob’s words, “to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” Jacob had said that people would “bow down to Him” and in Philippians 2:10-11 we read, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those one earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (360.5)  (DO)