Morning Message Text: Luke 19: 28-40
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them,
30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Morning Message:
It is interesting to look at all of the gospels to see the differences in the way they write about Jesus’ triumphal ride into Jerusalem. Mark’s gospel gives us all of the words and sayings that we like to express on Palm Sunday. “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” Hosanna in the highest heaven!” It feels good to say them out loud. Come on, repeat after me. Matthew does not include this event at all in his gospel. Our Lenten Devotional for Palm Sunday uses John’s gospel which is also slightly different from today’s text. From your devotional (John 12: 13): “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel!” Our author, Henri Nouwen, quotes from his book, Can You Drink the Cup? “Jesus drank the cup of his life. He experienced praise, adulation, admiration, and immense popularity. He also experienced rejection, ridicule, and mass hatred. At one moment people shouted ‘Hosanna’; a moment later they cried: ‘Crucify him.’ Jesus took it all in, not as a hero adored and then vilified, but as the one who had come to fulfill a mission and who kept his focus on the mission whatever the responses were. This is what a true leader does. Ignores the noise and focuses on the mission at hand. This is King Jesus!”
Our devotional tells us to do something interesting. “Place yourself in the ‘great crowd.’ Are you cutting palm branches? Do you race to be close as Jesus rides slowly by? What sounds do you hear? How rapid is your heartbeat? Are you jostled by the crowd? What expression does Jesus have on his face as he passes you?”
These questions and how we feel about them say a lot about our personalities and our faith. Do you care enough that the King is coming? Do you believe He is the King? If so, you are most likely cutting palm branches. Maybe you are afraid to express your feelings for fear that the Pharisees might see you. Who is proud of your palms for Jesus this morning? Would we race to see Jesus? Would our pulses quicken, and our hearts beat rapidly? Maybe the crowd is too big for you. Maybe it’s not worth the trouble. Don’t you want to see the expression on his face? Maybe He will look right at you.
This is a very different King. He comes in peace on a donkey, but he does come. “Today, they call Jesus King of Israel. In five days, Pilate will say, ‘Behold your King!’ But the crowd will shout, ‘We have no King but Caesar!’”
This always amazes me. How quickly the people’s hearts turned from praise to crucify him. We can be just as fickle and weak in our faith. We wave our palm branches in church, but will we wave them in the streets? We stand up for righteousness here, but what happens when we face the world that doesn’t agree with our beliefs? Sometimes we are guilty of waving the white flag and surrendering what we believe.
Ever heard of the Second Battle of Cremona? It took place in 69 A.D. While it may not be an especially well-known battle, something noteworthy happened here. This was one of the first documented times in history when a white flag ended the fighting. Since then, white flags have signaled that the fight is over. When we don’t stand up for our faith, we give the world the impression that we are waving the white flag, and the battle is over. We so easily forget that Jesus has already won the battle. As someone once said, “I have read the end of the book and we win.”
As we celebrate our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, we need to realize that He is a very different King. Let’s compare King Jesus with another famous king. Same season, spring. Same city, Jerusalem. Very different kings. One king—King David—was considered Israel’s greatest earthly king. And, yet this king stayed in Jerusalem when he should have gone off to battle: “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go our to battle… David remained at Jerusalem” (2Samuel 11: 1). Failing to do the work of a king brought about a mess of sin and death and the exploits of the devil. How many Bible scholars do we have here today? Can you tell me what happened as a direct result of King David staying home from battle. He was bored and restless. He went up on the roof of the palace to see what he could see. Personally, I believe he knew exactly what he wanted to see and exactly where to look. He saw Bathsheba bathing and that had devastating consequences.
King Jesus did the opposite of David. In the spring of the year, Jesus went into Jerusalem to do battle. Instead of a warhorse, King Jesus rode a donkey. Instead of a sword, King Jesus unsheathed the Word of God. Instead of inflicting violence, King Jesus came to give his life as a sacrifice for you. What a King we have in Jesus! His faithfulness triumphed over sin, death and the devil. While shouts of “Hosanna!” ensued, Jesus entered into Holy Week to do the unimaginable. This King gave his life for you!
The ministry of Jesus was a battle against sin, death and the devil. Jesus won those battles for us, but we must be willing to stand up for that victory. As Jesus approached the cross, the fight intensified. As you approach Holy Week, you will witness Jesus enter into harm’s way for your salvation. Though Jesus encountered scorn and suffering, ridicule and the cross, He came through it all with the white garment of victory. When it was all over, Jesus did not wave a white flag of defeat. On the other side of the Holy Week battle, Jesus folded up a burial cloth as a vestment of his victory over sin, death and the devil. Take comfort knowing that King Jesus has fought for you…and won for you! Wave your branches proudly, stand up for your King, a very different King, for He is always ready to stand with you.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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