What Will the King Find?

Well, good morning, everyone. Let me add my welcome to Graham's.

As you've already heard, my name's Alistair. I have the privilege of being on staff here.

And it would be helpful if you have your Bibles open in front of you at Luke chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

But before we dive into this passage and look at it together, let's have a word of prayer, shall we?

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have of gathering this morning to hear from your word.

Father, we pray that you would touch us by your word, that we would be blessed, and that we would also be challenged.

And we ask all of this, that we may glorify you in our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.

So, just a show of hands, very quickly. How many of you have ever booked a holiday online before?

There you go. So that's quite a lot of you.

Now, I'm going to let you into a little bit of a secret. I'm not a great fan of technology.

So I find it really, really scary booking a holiday online.

Because you can look on the website. You find this amazing deal.

You see these absolutely breathtaking photos.

You read reviews of how people love that hotel, that resort, that country, that beach, whatever it is.

And you're so excited.

Because you've been saving up for it all year round.

But the question that lingers in the back of my mind is, what will I find when I get there?

What will I find when I get there? Will it be as nice as it's supposed to be?

And so, when Sabine and I went on our honeymoon in 2013 in May, we went to a hotel in Graz in Austria.

We were there for two days.

And my brother-in-law had said that it was an amazing hotel with a fantastic view.

So we were really excited.

So you can imagine how devastated we were when we pulled up to a construction site.

The hotel that we were staying for, staying at for two days, had a 360 degree building site around it.

So it was not very nice.

And there are huge reviews, there are many reviews online of people finding dirty rooms, bugs in the shower.

Of just not finding things the way they were supposed to be.

Well, the big question that I want us to think about this morning is, what is the king going to find?

What will the king find?

So when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, is he going to find a people who are devoted to him?

A people who love him and who worship him in spirit and truth?

Or will he find a construction site?

Will he find a people who make a whole load of noise, but on the inside, they are spiritually bare and empty?

What will the king find?

Now, why do I say that this is the question we're going to think about this morning?

Who is this king that we're talking about and where is he going to find something?

Well, let's just have a quick recap of where we've been in Luke's gospel.

Maybe you remember at the beginning of Luke's gospel, Luke says that he has written an orderly account to Theophilus, a man, a friend of his,

that he may have certainty about the things that he's been taught concerning Jesus Christ.

And throughout Luke's gospel, Luke has left us little signposts to help us navigate through this orderly account of the life of Jesus.

So in Luke chapter 9, verse 51, it says,

Luke 9:51

And he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

And then in chapter 13, 22 and 17, 11, there is a phrase which says along the lines of,

And Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.

So the whole of Luke's gospel has been building up to the moment that we see on the page right in front of us.

In Luke chapter 19, verse 28, the king arrives in Jerusalem.

Luke 19:28

Now this is the beginning of a new section in Luke's gospel and the orderly account of the life of Jesus.

And it is from Luke chapter 19, verse 28 to 21, verse 30.

And the big question that we're going to be thinking about over the next few weeks is,

Will God's people accept God's king?

Will God's people accept God's king?

Jesus is God's king who was sent by God to rule over God's people.

And we're going to spend a few weeks in this section.

I want you to have that question in the back of your mind.

But at the beginning of this new section, we see Jesus, God's king, the chosen one.

So the question that we're going to ask is, what will the king find?

There are three things that we'll see this morning.

We'll see the king arrives.

We'll see the king weeps and the king rebukes.

Will Jesus find a people who are expecting him?

A people who are excited about his arrival and the arrival of God's kingdom?

Or will he find a people who've turned their backs on him?

Well, let's look at the passage and see what God has to teach us this morning.

So the first thing that we see is that the king arrives.

Verses 28 to 40, the king arrives.

So at this moment, Jesus is standing just outside Jerusalem.

He's just taught the crowds and disciples about the kingdom of God.

And he turns to two of his disciples and says, go to the next village and you'll find a donkey.

Bring it to me.

And so they go and bring it to Jesus because the Lord needs it, as Jesus says.

Do you remember what you were doing on the 29th of April, 2011?

Probably not.

Maybe it's just a date I've picked out, but it's actually a pretty important date to the royal family.

So maybe you were sitting at home glued to your television as you watched the wedding procession of Prince William and his wife-to-be, Kate.

You probably remember scenes similar to this one.

Tons of people flocked to the streets to see the wedding, to see the procession as the prince and his bride made their way to the church,

surrounded by big, beautiful horses, by people dressed in lovely and frankly a little bit strange outfits as well.

But they were being pulled in this really lovely decorated carriage.

It was even declared a public holiday so that people could be there in London.

Or if you couldn't be there in person, that you could at least watch it on television.

That's the kind of entrance we'd expect from royalty, isn't it?

Even in Jesus' day, when the king returned to a city, there was a huge festival that took place which took absolutely days to prepare.

The animals were fattened weeks in advance to prepare a huge feast.

The streets were lined and jam-packed with people who were shouting encouragements and expressing their love for their king who's just returned.

But Jesus doesn't make an entrance like that.

Instead of coming in with all the attention on him, instead of being pulled by a huge horse and a lovely carriage,

Jesus is going to enter Jerusalem on the back of a humble donkey.

Now this isn't an insignificant detail that Luke has just thrown in there to pique our interest.

But this detail helps us see who Jesus is.

So let me read a verse from the Old Testament which is pointing forward to the promised king of God, the Messiah,

the one who would save God's people.

This verse is from the book of Zechariah,

which was written pointing forward to the day that God would reconcile the world to himself.

It points to the day where God's kingdom would come and the arrival of his king.

So let's read this verse together.

Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion.

Shout, daughter Jerusalem.

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, a fowl of a donkey.

Do you see the significance of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey?

Jesus hasn't just randomly thought,

oh yeah, that would be a good way to get into the city.

Take the load off my feet.

But Jesus has done this to point out his identity as God's king.

And the whole of the Old Testament points to Jesus being God's king,

the Messiah of God's people.

Look at the description of the king in this verse.

God's chosen king will be righteous and victorious,

but he will also be humble.

Now based on what we've already seen in Luke's gospel

and based on what we'll see in these final chapters,

this is a completely fitting description of Jesus, isn't it?

Jesus is the son of God.

He never sinned.

He was perfect.

Never rebelled against God.

And yet he died a criminal's death.

Was it because he deserved it?

No.

Was it because his enemies defeated him?

Definitely not.

In fact, the absolute opposite is true.

At the cross of Jesus, we see his righteousness

and his victory most clearly.

Why?

Because at the cross of Jesus,

he defeated mankind's worst enemy, sin.

The sin which cuts us off from God.

The wrongdoings of our lives,

which make us deserving of God's wrath.

All of that was poured on Jesus,

but he was not defeated.

He rose victorious from the grave three days later.

He defeated sin and death

and made reconciliation with God possible

for all those who call on his name.

This is God's king.

This is the king who God had chosen

to rule over his people.

So think back to the question.

What is this king going to find?

As Jesus makes his way to Jerusalem,

we see two responses.

We see faith and we see rejection.

Look at what the disciples are doing

in verses 37 and 38.

The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully

to praise God in a loud voice

for all the miracles they had seen.

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

Jesus' disciples are declaring who Jesus is

and they are glorifying and praising God

for the wonderful things that they have seen.

They might not have fully understood

exactly what Jesus' kingdom would look like

or exactly how Jesus is going to be God's king,

but they believed that he was the Messiah

and they joyfully worshipped God because of it.

The disciples had faith

and that faith led them to joyfully worshipping God.

So that's the faith of the disciples.

But the other response is the Pharisees.

They reject God.

See, they heard what the disciples were shouting

and they turned to Jesus and said,

Jesus, stop them.

Rebuke them.

Do you remember last week

how Graham took us through a parable

and we saw some servants who didn't want a king?

Well, this week we see it,

but not in a parable.

We see it in real life.

The Pharisees are rejecting God's king.

And the devastating news

is that the Pharisees should have been the ones

who were expecting Jesus.

They should have been joining in the disciples

as they shouted praise to God,

not telling Jesus to stop them.

See, the Pharisees should have been welcoming Jesus in.

They should have been joining in with the shouting.

These people were the teachers of the law.

They were the people who taught Israel about God.

They taught the Old Testament.

They could quote you.

They could quote to you tons of the Old Testament.

They could speak to you for hours

about God's promised king who would come.

But as the king stands right in front of them,

instead of cheering with joy,

they snap at and they reject Jesus.

The people who should have been standing

at the gates of Jerusalem to welcome Jesus in.

The people who should have been hanging

on his every single word.

Instead of welcoming him, they reject him.

But Jesus says,

if my disciples stop singing praises to God,

then the stones will cry out.

No amount of opposition will stop

the declaration going forth

that God's king has arrived.

Now as we sit here this morning,

over 2,000 years away from this event,

the same declaration rings true.

God's king has arrived.

The question that I want you to think about

is how will we react to God's king?

Will we believe in him and praise God joyfully?

Or will we reject him?

Now a question that you may be thinking about is,

well, why is Jesus deserving of joyful praise?

Well, because he is God in the flesh.

He is the son of God.

He is the solution to our biggest problem.

In Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

at the beginning of the Bible,

we see Adam and Eve rebel against God.

They reject God's rule.

They say, we don't want your care.

But a promise is made amidst all the chaos

that one day God would send a man

to save the people of this world.

And this person will defeat sin and Satan

and will reconcile the world to himself.

The whole of the Old Testament

fleshes out what that promise looks like

and it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

The one who is humbly walking towards the cross

even though he is righteous and blameless.

Jesus is going to the cross

so that our sins can be dealt with.

So that we can be called the children of God.

Jesus will take all of our sinfulness

so that he can give us his righteousness.

That is why Jesus is deserving

of joyful praise this morning.

Will you accept this king?

Will you think about him

or will you reject him?

Now this is not a decision to make lightly

because it has eternal significance

and because it matters so much to Jesus.

And we see that in verses 41 to 44

because the king arrives

but the king weeps.

Verses 41 to 44.

So let me ask you a little bit

of a personal question this morning.

What makes you cry?

Think about that for a second.

What makes you cry?

Now for those of you who know me well

and there's quite a few of you here this morning

you will know that I'm not

the most emotional person in the world.

And so tears are not something

that happen in my life every single day.

But like everyone else in the world

I do cry.

But I think there are two kinds of tears, aren't there?

There are the good kind

where we cry because of joy

because we're happy

and then there are the bad kind.

We cry because we're hurt.

So the last time I recall crying tears of joy

was at my wedding in 2013.

As I watched my wife Sabina come down the aisle

I had a wee choke

and you did that thing

and you're like,

no I'm not crying, I'm not crying.

That's exactly what happened.

But I was crying tears of joy.

There's nothing to be ashamed of.

But maybe you're not like me.

Maybe you cry at a good movie scene.

Maybe you cry at the end of a nice book

that you've been reading.

But sadly the truth is

that most of the tears that happen in our world

are tears of pain.

We cry when we lose loved ones

or when we get hurt ourselves.

But have you ever wondered

what makes God cry?

Or have you ever wondered

if God cries at all?

Well in verses 41 to 43

we see that God does cry

and we will find out

what makes Him cry.

As Jesus looks over the city

of Jerusalem

He weeps.

Jesus is weeping

because of their disobedience.

So what does the king find

as he arrives in Jerusalem?

Well he finds

a disobedient people

who have turned their hearts

away from God.

Jesus is weeping

over the constant

constant

disobedience

that the nation of Israel

have demonstrated

against God.

All you have to do

is skim

through the Old Testament

and you see time

and time again

how God's chosen people

reject God's law

and reject the people

that God sends to them

to call them back to Him.

Jesus weeps

because these are the people

who are set apart by God.

And instead of obeying Him

and living in peace

like He wanted them to

they reject God

and they are also going to

reject God's chosen king.

Jesus weeps

because He loves

these people.

Imagine the tears

of a father

if he

if his child

spits in his face

turns his back

and as he walks away

he shouts

Dad I want nothing

to do with you anymore.

I don't want your rules

I don't want your good plan

for my life

I don't want your protection

or your care

I want to live my life

my way.

Wouldn't that bring

any parent to tears?

Well that's what we see

happening in these verses

before us.

Jesus is overlooking

the city

which should have

welcomed Him in

but instead

it's turned its back

it's back to Him

and He weeps

because He loves

these people

and He doesn't want

the judgment

to befall them.

They want nothing

to do with Him.

In verse 42

Jesus makes a reference

to peace.

Jesus says

that if only they knew

where they could find

true peace

but it is hidden

from their eyes.

Jesus is speaking

about the peace

that people have

when they are

in a right relationship

with God.

See if God's chosen

people had lived

according to His law

if they had accepted

God's King

then they would have

enjoyed peace with God

but instead

they rebelled

and rejected

Jesus.

And so now

Jesus speaks

judgment

speaks of the judgment

that will come

on them

in verses

43 to 44.

Their enemies

will destroy

the city

not one stone

will be left

in its place.

This is the seriousness

of their disobedience

that's been going on

for generations.

And it's all because

verse 44

they did not recognize

the time

of God's

coming to them.

As Jesus

is saying this

He's overlooking

the city

that should have

been celebrating

as the disciples did.

And as God

is knocking

on the gate

of Jerusalem

He knows

that He will

be rejected.

When the king

comes to town

you'd expect him

to be met with

rejoicing and celebration

wouldn't you?

But instead

this chosen king

in a short time

will not be met

with a feast

He will not be met

with royal robes

but He will be met

with a cross.

He will not be met

with crowds

singing praises

and love

but He'll be met

with a crowd

who are shouting

crucify Him.

Jesus isn't crying

because He needs

attention.

God isn't weeping

because He needs

Jerusalem to praise Him

but God weeps

because of the judgment

that will befall them

because of their

disobedience

and because God

loves them.

They've rejected

the one person

who could bring

them peace.

The one person

who truly cares

for them

and it brings tears

to God's eyes.

Jesus weeps

because of disobedience.

Do we weep

when the world

rejects God?

In a church

I used to attend

years ago

we sang a song

and one of the lines

said this

Break my heart

for what breaks yours.

is that our prayer?

Does our heart

break

and do we

weep for the same

things that grieve

God?

Do we cry

over the lost

souls in this world

who are dying

without a knowledge

of their need

for Jesus?

There are so many

people out there

who have no idea

about the good news

of Jesus.

They don't understand

that Jesus'

mission

was to come

and seek

and save

the lost.

And how will they

find out the truth

about Jesus

if no one tells them?

We should

take the world's

rejection

of God's

King

seriously.

We should

tell people

of their need

to hear about Jesus

because he is

the only one

who can bring

the peace

that the whole

world

is groaning

for.

Peace with God.

Do we love

people enough

to tell them

about Jesus?

Do we care

enough for those

around us

to throw

our fears

and our concerns

and our worries

of feeling

uncomfortable

and do we just

tell them

their need

of Jesus

our Savior?

Let's ask

God to give

us a burden

for the lost

people of this

world

who do not

know Jesus.

How will you

react this morning

to God's

King?

Do you

have faith

and joyful

praise of the

disciples or

are you

rejecting Jesus

and living in

disobedience to

God?

Your answer

to that question

really is not

insignificant.

It affects the

way you live

now and it

will affect

eternity.

Everything that

happens from

now to the

end of time.

Those who are

at peace with

God have been

promised to

live in peace

with God

for eternity

to have

constant

communion with

God in

the place

that we

call heaven

but those

who reject

God

Jesus says

that God

will reject

them too

and they

will be

under his

just judgment

forever.

So if you've

never thought

about this

this morning

if you've

never heard

about this

this morning

please

take time

to think

about it.

ask the

person who

may be

brought you

to church

this morning

or come

and speak

to anyone

you've

seen up

front.

We would

not want

you to

leave this

building

thinking

that your

response to

God's

king is

irrelevant

because it

is not.

It is of

the utmost

importance.

So we've

seen the

king arrive.

We've seen

King Jesus

weep and

now in

verses 45

to 48

we see the

king rebukes.

Jesus

arrives in

Jerusalem

and he

goes to

the temple.

Now what

would you

expect to

find in

a temple?

You'd

expect to

see people

who are

devoted to

praying and

to worshipping

God,

wouldn't you?

A place

where people

are devoted

but instead

Jesus finds

that the

temple has

been turned

into a

market store.

If people

were to

obey the

Old Testament

laws then

they needed

to travel to

the temple

and offer

sacrifices.

to God.

But as you

can imagine

travelling with

livestock and

other animals

wasn't the

easiest thing

not even

today.

And so

in Jesus'

day people

set up shop

and they

would sell

animals that

people could

buy so

they could

bring their

sacrifices which

is actually

a pretty good

thing, pretty

helpful thing

to do.

However,

the problem

that Jesus

is addressing

here is that

there seem to

be people who

in cooperation

with the

priests are

selling animals

in the

courts of

the temple.

More

specifically in

the place

where non-Jews

are supposed

to worship,

the place where

they're supposed

to pray.

And not only

that but they're

selling animals

at an inflated

price so that

they can make

money.

They were

corrupt and

they were

stopping people

from worshipping

God.

These sales

people were

prohibiting people

from their

worship.

They were

making money

off of

people's

worship and

they weren't

even thinking

twice about

it.

They were

trying to

make money

but in the

process they

were stopping

people from

coming to

God.

They put

their financial

gain above

the spiritual

need of

people.

And so

Jesus drives

them out.

And in

verse 46

Jesus quotes

from the

book of

Isaiah.

Now you

don't have to

turn there but

if we were

to look

back at

that passage

we would

see that

God is

speaking to

the people

of Israel

the leaders

of Israel

and he is

saying that

the temple

is supposed to

be a beacon

of light.

It is supposed

to be the

place where

people can

hear about

God and

the salvation

that he

offers.

Let me read

Isaiah 56

Isaiah 56:7

verse 7

the verse

that Jesus

quotes.

For my

house will

be called

a house of

prayer for

all nations.

Do you see

the problem?

The temple

was supposed

to be a

house of

prayer where

all peoples

from all

over the

world could

come and

hear about

God and

praise him.

But now

if anyone

was to come

to the

temple instead

of being able

to pray in

peace and

quiet,

instead of

being able to

pray and

pour out their

hearts before

God,

they would

find market

stalls.

Instead of

being able to

listen to the

priests and

teachers of

the law to

understand the

Old Testament

to hear the

marvelous works

of the

almighty

creator God,

they would

find money

lenders arguing

for more and

more interest.

Instead of the

temple being a

welcoming place to

foreigners,

it has become a

den of robbers.

And so Jesus

drives them out.

But in verses

45 and 48,

if you look down,

you'll see the

authority of

God's king.

In verse 45,

Jesus drives out

people and

nobody stops

him.

He cleanses

the temple and

it's almost as

if the people

raise their

hands, bow

their heads and

walk out because

they know that

what they're doing

is wrong.

They have been

rebuked.

And in verse

48, we see

Jesus staying and

teaching people in

the temple and it

says that they

hung on his

words.

Now we don't

know what Jesus

was teaching the

people as he

spoke to them,

but he must have

been speaking

directly into their

lives and their

situations, telling

them exactly what

they needed because

of how they

listened.

Jesus spoke with

an authority that

was not the

norm.

He spoke with

authority because

of who he is.

This is the king

of God through

whom and for

whom the whole

world was

created.

He has no

beginning.

He has no

end.

And he's

teaching people if

only they knew

who he truly

was.

But the chief

priests, the

teachers of the

law and the

leaders of the

people didn't

like what Jesus

was teaching and

they wanted to

kill him.

Now based on

what we've seen

already in Luke's

gospel, we've

seen Jesus

teaching about the

kingdom of God.

He's been

teaching people

about their need

to repent and

turn to God and

their need to

follow him

urgently.

The kingdom of

God is at

hand.

But some

people didn't

like this

teaching.

The religious

leaders in

Jesus' day had

become so

focused on being

good enough for

God, so

focused on

looking the part

and saying the

right things,

looking good in

the eyes of the

people, that

they had

actually replaced

God by their

religious living.

God's

God's

God.

The king has

now arrived and

he's disrupting

their way of

living and

calling people

back to a

true sense of

God and a

true sense of

worship.

And they see

all of this and

they decide that

they're going to

kill Jesus.

So as we draw to

a close this

morning, think

back to that

question.

What will the

king find?

Well, the king has

found a people who

praise him and

declare him as

king and lord, but

he has also found

a people who

have turned their

backs on him.

As he looked

over the city,

over a people

that he loved,

instead of finding

a spiritually

vibrant community

whose desire was

to praise and

worship God with

everything in

their lives, he

finds a rotten

people who in

their disobedience

have rejected God

and will come

under judgment.

King Jesus

walks into the

temple which

was supposed

to be a place

of prayer, but

it is a den

of robbers.

The people's

hearts have been

turned away from

God.

And you see the

love of a father

who weeps over

his children who

have walked away

and the discipline

of a loving father

who corrects them

because of their

disobedient actions.

God's love of a

God.

So I don't think

the king found

what he should

have found.

It shouldn't have

been this way.

But let me ask us

a more urgent

question this

morning.

If this king,

if Jesus were to

look into our

hearts this morning,

what would he

find?

Would he find a

person who

praises and

worships God in

spirit and truth?

would he find a

pure heart whose

desire is to see

the good news of

Jesus go out from

this place and to

touch the whole

world, to reach

the lost souls of

this world?

Or would Jesus

find a heart which

has gone cold?

A person who

goes through all

the motions of a

religious lifestyle,

but a heart which

shows no real love

for God?

Whatever your

answer to that

question is this

morning, I would

encourage you to

keep your eyes on

Jesus.

Maybe you're

looking to him for

the first time, or

maybe you're

returning to him.

In a moment we're

going to end our

service by singing

these words about

Jesus.

This is our God,

the servant king.

He calls us now to

follow him, to bring

our lives as a daily

offering of worship

to the servant king.

As we sing these

words, I want you to

think about them.

Jesus is the servant

king who left his

place of glory in

heaven to come down

and live in a fallen,

corrupt, sinful world,

to save a fallen and

corrupt and sinful

people by dying on a

cross in our place.

Consider this king who

calls us to follow him.

What will the king find

in our hearts this

morning?

Let's pray together.

Just before we sing

our song, let's just

have a moment of

silence.

Consider this king and

consider our hearts

before him.

loving God in heavenly

father, we thank you

that you are a God

who cares, that you

are a God who forgives

and that you are a God

who loves.

Father, forgive us for

the times that we have

rejected you.

Forgive us for the

times when we rebel

against you.

help us be a people

who welcome you in

every part of our

lives with joyful

praise because you

are the only one who

is worthy of our

praise.

Our prayer this

morning is that as

you look into our

hearts, that you

would find a people

who are welcoming

you in and not a

people who are

rejecting you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.