Sermon Tidbits 3/28

A Royal Entry - Luke 19:28-40
8 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?' tell him, '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." 

We all love a good celebration. Whether it be a parade or a reception at a wedding, we love to celebrate. And a celebration is exactly what we find here in our passage today. This is not any ordinary celebration as we know it. It is a royal celebration. Finally in this passage we have Jesus acknowledged as who he really is, the King. How can we say that for sure though? Well, this passage is littered with markers that tell us just that. Lets take a look:

• "The Lord needs it" (v.34) - 1 Samuel 8:10-18 - The people are crying out for a king and God decides to give them one but shows them how the king's needs are greater than that of the people.
• Colt (v. 30-35) - Zechariah 9:9 - "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
• Riding into the city - 1 Kings 1:32-34 - A donkey is saddled for Solomon to ride to the temple to be anointed King. A tradition for kings to do this.
• Tossing of the garments - 2 Kings 9:12-13 - Jehu is anointed King and they throw their garments on the bare steps for him to walk on as a sign of him being the anointed of God
• "Blessed is the king" - Pslam 118:26 (echoes of Zech. 9:9 & 2 Kings 9:13) - Psalm 118 was traditionally a psalm of royal entry; "Who comes in the name of Lord" are Jesus' very words about himself from Luke 13:35

These are some of the things that give us clear insight into what is happening and being proclaimed here. Other things show up in the other gospels such as the palm branches and the shouting of "Hosanna" that also have roots in Jewish tradition and the Old Testament scriptures. 

We have to ask the question now though having established who we see Jesus as here. What does it mean for Jesus to be king for us? We don't fully understand that until Easter, but this much we do know. Jesus is the Messiah sent from God to save us. He is the perfect and preparing earth for Him to rule over. Jesus does not rule like the kings of the world though. Jesus is not an ordinary king but a heavenly king. He is the king that Isaiah 61 describes (I won't put the text here, but go read it). This is who our king is. A king who gives of himself for his people and who is people love and worship as their savior because of it. Jesus is a king who goes to the cross for us to free us from sin and death. Jesus is a king that rises from the dead for us to free us from death through him. This is our Jesus. This is the one we proclaim as king today and the one who is calling us to Him each and every day to find eternal forgiveness, eternal meaning, and eternal life. 

We celebrate our king's royal entry today. Can we humble ourselves before Jesus and call Jesus, king? Can we ask for that forgiveness that is freely offered by Jesus to us and enter into that eternal life that flows from Jesus to all who believe in Him? Jesus is the king and Jesus has the authority to give that out. Will we accept it from Jesus today?

John