God's Throwdown

I sat in on the youth Sunday School this past week, and had a great time hearing a fresh perspective on the Bible. They were studying the book of Judges, which was new territory for several. They quickly discovered that it's the same story over and over again: the Israelites do evil in the sight of God; they are overtaken by another king; they cry out to God; God delivers them through the leadership of a judge; all is well; the judge dies; they do evil in the sight of God...
It gets incredibly annoying, as one astute student pointed out.

The question posed in class was how they thought it would all turn out. Would God just keep forgiving and delivering over and over endlessly? Or would He grow tired of it all? My favorite answer, from a very sharp young woman, was," I think God's going to run out of patience, and there's going to be a big throwdown."

She was right, of course. God eventually stops giving them judges and kings, and allows them to be captured and carried off into exile. Although they eventually return to their homeland, the nation of Israel is never the same again.

But God's forgiveness never runs out. The prophets, along with words of frustration, carry God's passionate words of love for God's people. Israel would never again enjoy a human king, but were challenged to return to their one true king, the one who promised to always love them and never die.

So what was Jesus thinking when he accepted the title of, "King of the Jews?"

And what kind of a deliverer dies before the delivering?

Could Jesus have been God's final, final throwdown, in a completely unexpected way?