David’s enemies delighted in the prospect of his demise.  They coveted power and were driven by a merciless bloodlust to take the kingdom into their own hands. Their opposition to him as God’s Spirit-anointed king represented a refusal to accept God’s appointed rule over their life. Psalm 35 emerges from that context.

What was true of David is all the truer of Jesus. Throughout his time on earth, Jesus continually faced hostility from those clutching for power. His divine power—always directed to the service of others—was patently clear to all who encountered him, friend or foe. Yet, the worldly authorities persisted in their treachery against him.  

This pattern has continued throughout history. As the name of Jesus is proclaimed, Christ’s Church, and so Christ himself, is persecuted. Under Satan’s influence, worldly forces are continually at work to suppress the truth of his rule. The weight of hostility overwhelmingly favours the enemy.

But, amid such opposition, our God instils us with an assurance beyond compare: resurrection from the dead. No enemy is more sinister than death, and no death inflicted by an enemy can overcome the life-giving power of our God.

He guarantees this perfectly in Jesus, and as his body we can be assured that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love he’s shown to us in Christ. Resurrection cannot be shaken. In Christ, God rescues the poor and needy from the overwhelming power of death. What is true of Jesus is true of his body because of the kindness of God. There is truly no one like him. He is singularly unique and infinitely worthy of our entire allegiance. And what the world may rob from us, he alone can provide to us in abundance.