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• When the Israelites anoint David as king, they claim him as brother, a condition for kingship required to prevent foreign rule.
• After the kingship ceased, people longed for the time of David, an age of peace and prosperity.
• Some people hoped for a renewal of the kingdom. Others were looking for a specific person, a messiah of either kingly or priestly rank.

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• The Letter to the Colossians presents a different image of kingship.
• Kingship now involved preeminence over all creation.
• The kingdom has moved into eternity, and Christ is the first within it.

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• At the crucifixion, Jesus died with the sign nailed over his head, "The King of the Jews." Jesus did not fit the common image of the anointed king or messiah.
• In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus promises a place in his kingdom to one of the criminals executed with him.
• The good thief was promised a place in "Paradise" because Jesus' death marked the beginning of a new way to salvation.