The King on a Donkey

everyone in his word, and everyone needs to hear what God has to say. And so it's with that that

we turn. We're in Luke chapter 19 today. If you've been with us, you know that we've been

Luke 19 · chapter mention

in the book of Nehemiah, and we're going to finish the book of Nehemiah. Don't worry, I'm not

ending early just because there's one more list of names.

But because this is Palm Sunday, and we're looking forward to Easter next week, we're going to take

a quick jump out to remember the final week, Jesus before his death and his resurrection.

And as we come to this passage in the gospel of Luke, this is in Luke chapter 19, but it was all

Luke 19 · chapter mention

the way back in Luke chapter 9 that we found out that Jesus, the author of Luke, tells us that he

Luke 9 · chapter mention

set his face towards Jerusalem. In other words, Jesus set his intentions, his desire, his purpose

was to make it to Jerusalem for this very reason that he would die for the sins of his people.

And so as he's going along for the last 10 chapters in the gospel of Luke, as he's teaching,

as he is healing, as he's performing miracles, all of it is in the context of him heading towards

Jerusalem. All of it is towards his purpose of heading towards Jerusalem. While many people might

think or say that they believe that Jesus is a good man or a great teacher, it would be an insult to

Jesus to say that he was just teaching or performing out of context. When the author of Luke tells us

over and over again, not just in chapter 9, but then in chapter 13 and 17 and 18, that Jesus slowly and

steadily, as he teaches, as he interacts with people, has one mission. And that is to make it all the way

to Jerusalem. And the reason he is there is so that he can die for his people. Now even as Jesus is making

this journey, many people still misunderstand, even his followers misunderstand where we're picking up.

We're going to start in verse 28 of chapter 19, and Jesus has just told another parable right before it.

And in that parable at the beginning, in verse 11, tells us that he told them a parable because he was

near to Jerusalem, so he's on his way to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God

was to appear immediately. In other words, as Jesus was going around preaching and teaching, as he was

making his way to Jerusalem, while he knew what he was heading towards, there were many people who believed

that the kingdom that he was teaching about was something that was going to happen immediately.

Once Jesus came and entered Jerusalem, he was going to give them the political victory that they longed for.

He was going to overthrow the Roman Empire.

Every form of oppression that they experienced would be broken.

And so Jesus has just told them a parable to try

to lower their expectations,

that they would know that the kingdom is not going to appear

immediately. Everything that he's come to bring, everything they want and long for,

is not going to happen in that moment, just because Jesus is entering Jerusalem.

As we come to this passage, the triumphal entry,

the time when Jesus actually enters the city that he is

the king of, the city of Jerusalem,

we're going to see two things. First of all, that Jesus is much less

than we want.

Jesus is much less than we want.

We're also going to see that Jesus is more than we could imagine.

He's less than we want on the one hand,

and he's more than we could imagine on the other.

On the one hand, he does not meet our expectations.

On the other hand, he greatly exceeds them.

And so it's with that that we turn to Luke chapter 9,

Luke 9 · chapter mention

starting at verse 28.

You can follow along if you're with your worship guide.

It's near the end.

You can follow along on your phone.

You can follow along in your Bibles.

But we're going to start.

And remember as we come to this passage that this is God's word.

And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold,

even the finest gold,

and that it is sweeter than honey,

even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so it's with that reminder that we begin in verse 28.

And when he had said these things,

he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem.

When he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany

at the mount that is called Olivet,

he sent two of the disciples saying,

Go into the village in front of you,

where on entering you will find a colt tied

on which no one has ever yet sat.

Untie it and bring it here.

If anyone asks you,

Why are you untying it?

You shall say this,

The Lord has need of it.

So those who were sent went away

and found it just as he had told them.

And as they were untying the colt,

its owner said to them,

Why are you untying the colt?

Verse 34.

And they said,

The Lord has need of it.

And they brought it to Jesus,

and throwing their cloaks on the colt,

they set Jesus on it.

And as he rode along,

they spread their cloaks on the road.

As he was drawing near,

already on the way down the Mount of Olives,

the whole multitude of his disciples

began to rejoice and praise God

with a loud voice

for all the mighty works that they had seen,

saying,

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

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him,

Teacher, rebuke your disciples.

He answered,

Lord, I tell you,

if these were silent,

the very stones would cry out.

Please pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Dear Father in heaven,

we thank you that Jesus is a king,

and he's not just a king,

but he is the king.

We ask that you would come this morning,

and you would help us to see him,

even as he doesn't meet our expectations,

as a king that is greater,

and more glorious,

and more beautiful than any other king.

And that we would be willing to follow him,

and have faith in him,

and trust him,

and obey him for the rest of our lives.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

At the beginning of this passage,

Jesus is finishing his journey to Jerusalem.

He is approaching from the east,

heading west.

That's what's happening as he draws near here to Bethpage and Bethany.

This is a suburb on the east side of Jerusalem.

So he's completing his journey.

He's traveling in.

And he sends his disciples ahead of him,

because what he's about to do is

enter the king of Jerusalem,

like a king.

The Romans were very familiar with

a conquering king coming in

to the city of Jerusalem,

or any city really,

after that they had finished

a time of war,

after they'd vanquished someone,

they would come in with their triumph.

And so that's why this is called the triumphal entry,

because Jesus is acting here

like a Roman king

coming with his victory behind him.

And so he does what a king would do.

He sends his disciples to find

something for him to ride on.

And since he is the king

and everything belongs to him,

he has no problem with him

taking the donkey,

this colt here,

from whoever they need it from.

In fact,

he anticipates that

someone's going to ask them

why it is that they are

taking this away.

And this answer

seems to be sufficient,

just to say,

the Lord has need of it.

And of course,

that's exactly what they say

in verse 33.

The owners ask them,

why are you taking our colt?

He says,

well,

the Lord has need of it.

And no further explanation

is needed,

because this is a king

who is taking his property.

Everything belongs to him,

because this is his kingdom.

And then they continue

to treat Jesus as a king,

throwing their cloaks down

on the donkey,

throwing their cloaks down

on the road.

They're giving him

a sign of submission.

This is how they show a king

that he is the one

who rules over them.

Now,

it doesn't specifically use

the word donkey here.

In this passage,

it just says a colt,

but we know from the other

gospel accounts

that this is the colt

of a donkey.

And this is what Jesus

is going to ride in

as he comes in his triumphal entry

into the city that is his,

the city over which

he is supposed to be a king.

And we don't see it explicitly

in this passage,

but we also know

from the other gospels

that he is the king

people come,

as our children did

earlier this morning,

with palm branches

to lay before him.

And so while the cloaks

were a sign of their submission

to him as a king,

the palm branches

were a sign of Jewish pride

and nationalism.

In other words,

as they threw these palm branches

down

and they threw these cloaks down,

believing that the kingdom

was near,

that it was going to come

immediately,

as I mentioned

in verse 11 before,

the hope

and the desire

and the expectation

is that Jesus,

as he comes in,

is going to make

Israel great again.

They're putting down

the sign of Jewish nationalism.

They've been under

Roman rule

for too long.

They've never been able

to restore

their political boundaries

after the exile.

And so the hope

and the celebration

is that Jesus would come

and finally make,

politically,

everything right.

And just as their

expectations are off,

Jesus' entry

is off as well.

Just as their

expectations are wrong,

Jesus' entry

into Jerusalem

is also wrong.

Because while he's

following the pattern

of a Roman general,

he's made one mistake.

If you're a Roman general,

you don't come in

riding the cult

of a donkey.

Instead,

you come in

riding a mighty war horse.

And so while Jesus

is playing into

this known

pattern on the one hand,

he is disrupting it

and disappointing it

on the other.

He's signaling

what his disciples

will not fully understand

until after his resurrection,

which is that he is

a very different

kind of king.

He is not entering

into Jerusalem

to conquer it

on a war horse.

Instead,

he's entering

on a donkey

because instead of

conquering it,

he is going to die.

And so while the crowds

right now

are cheering him on,

there will come a time

in just a few days

where instead

the crowds

will cry out

for him to be crucified.

And while they

don't realize it

now,

this is a king

and a donkey

and an entry

that will be

very,

very disappointing.

They are looking

for the fall of Rome

and that is not

going to happen.

At least not right now.

And so we have

a bunch of crowds here,

people cheering on

that either are

right now

or will very soon

be disappointed

in Jesus.

Have you ever been

disappointed

in Jesus?

Maybe you started

following Jesus

and you thought

that if you were

just a Christian,

if you were obedient,

it would guarantee

that your children

would not make

horrific mistakes.

Maybe you thought

that if you followed

Jesus and you were

faithful and obedient,

it would mean

that you could

actually be

on the winning

side of every

argument.

You could always

be right.

Maybe you thought

that if you followed

Jesus,

you could be a part

of taking back

America for God.

Maybe you thought

that following Jesus

meant that Jesus

would provide you

a marriage in which

there was no baggage.

Maybe you thought

that following

after Jesus

meant that your life

would not be confusing

anymore.

You would always

know the next thing

to do.

You would always

know the right path

to take and the right

decision to make.

Maybe you thought

that following

after Jesus,

that Jesus being

the king meant

that you would

not face

devastating

heartbreak

and loss

in this life.

Jesus can,

at times,

be very,

very disappointing.

When we long

for him to come

in on a war horse,

often he comes in

instead on a donkey.

Jesus is not

interested

in giving you

your best life

now.

Jesus is not

interested in

taking back

America for God.

That is,

one country,

one area,

one nation.

That's actually

too small of a

vision for God.

He wasn't

interested in

taking back

Jerusalem for God

from the Romans.

Jesus is not

interested in

the political

power that

so many

Christians

long for.

In fact,

this is part

of what's

happening in

this chapter

is that they

believe that

Jesus is going

to bring in

a political

kingdom for

them.

He's going

to do away

with the

Romans.

And the

problem isn't

that their

expectations are

too high,

it's that they're

too low.

Jesus is

interested in

so much more

than the

Roman Empire.

And so what

we want to

happen in

the short

term,

Jesus has

decided is

going to

happen in

the long

term.

Jesus is

not going

to fix

everything

right now.

And so

Jesus often

comes in

on a donkey

when what

we want

is a king

on a war

horse.

If you

are not

a Christian,

if you're

someone who

has doubts

and questions

and objections

about Christianity,

this might be

part of the

reason,

that Jesus

is

disappointing.

If you

think that

following after

a savior,

a man,

who rather

than being

politically

victorious,

died,

and then

some people

claim raised

from the dead,

if you think

that is foolish,

you know what

the apostle

Paul says?

He says,

you're right.

Some people

think this is

really foolish

because it

goes against

everything that

this world

wants and

expects.

Oftentimes,

the gospel

also looks

like a donkey

when we want

a war horse.

And so

as Paul

tells us

in 1 Corinthians

1,

Jesus and

the gospel

are on the

one hand

a joke

to some

people,

they're foolish

and offensive

to others,

and at

the heart

of it,

what Jesus

does here

does not

make sense

to us.

If you

find that

it is

disappointing

and foolish

to think

that a

place where

people come

together

and sing

songs

and read

an ancient

book together

is actually

the most

powerful place

in the world,

then I

understand.

If you

believe that

a place

where people

come together

and sing

songs

and read

an ancient

book is

the most

powerful place

in the world,

then I

understand

because it

looks a lot

like a donkey.

We long

for a

war horse.

And so

Jesus is

often

disappointing.

He's going

to disappoint

many people

in the next

week of his

life.

He's going

to be

confusing

for the

disciples

when he

dies.

He

is

risen

from the

dead.

And so

Jesus is

often much

less than

we want

or expect.

The problem

is that

Jesus is

also a

king.

And while

on the one

hand he's

disappointing,

on the other

hand he is

more than we

could ever

imagine.

he disappoints

us with

our

expectations.

He also

surprises us

when he

exceeds our

expectations.

That he is a

greater king

than they

could expect.

That while

they want the

Roman Empire

to be thrown

over and

turned down,

Jesus has

so much

more in

mind.

He has not

been journeying

for ten

chapters

towards Jerusalem

for the

small and

piddly goal

of overthrowing

the Roman

Empire.

And so

while we

have these

crowds praising

him,

some of them

disappointed,

others know

what Jesus

is capable

of.

He's not

going to

overthrow the

Roman Empire

but he can

raise people

from the

dead.

He did that

with Lazarus

in John

John 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

He can

heal the

blind and

the mute.

And so

that's what

we see in

verse 37

and 38.

the whole

multitude of

his disciples

began to

rejoice and

praise God

with a loud

voice for

all the

mighty works

that they

had seen.

In other

words,

while these

people were

at times

confused about

Jesus'

mission and

his purposes,

they were

there when

he raised

Lazarus from

the dead.

They were

there when

he gave

the blind

man sight.

They were

there when

he made

a lame

man walk.

They knew

how powerful

Jesus was.

They just

didn't

understand how

he was

going to

use his

power.

And so

they cry

out in

verse 38,

blessed is

the king

who comes

in the

name of

the Lord,

peace in

heaven and

glory in

the highest.

And they're

right.

They're

right that

Jesus is

more,

much more

than they

could ever

imagine or

expect or

think.

He's not

going to

bring them

the liberation

that they

want,

but he

is going

to bring

them the

liberation

that they

need.

He's not

going to

overthrow the

Roman Empire,

but he is

going to

overthrow the

power and

penalty of

sin in

their lives.

He's not

going to

reign and

rule over

one country

or one

nation,

but he is

coming so

that one

day he

will rule

over every

country and

every nation.

And so

their hopes

are simply

not high

enough.

because Jesus

is less

than the

king they

expect because

he comes

in on a

donkey.

He's also

more than

the king

they expect,

not just

because of

his works,

but because

of what we

find out at

the very

end.

This last

verse here

of our

section is

what I

think is

maybe one

of the

most astounding

claims in

all of the

Gospels.

The Pharisees,

Jesus'

opponents,

upset by

the fact

that he's

being praised,

come and

tell him

to tell his

disciples to

sit down

and be

quiet.

Verse 39,

and some

of the

Pharisees

in the

crowd said

to him,

teacher,

rebuke

your

disciples.

And

Jesus

answered,

I tell

you,

if these

were silent,

the very

stones

would cry

out.

he's

not like

other

kings

because

he

comes

in

on

a

donkey.

He is

also

not like

other

kings

because

he

demands

praise

and

honor

and

glory.

Unlike

any

Roman

king

who

ever

came

in

on

a

war

horse,

Jesus

must

be

praised.

There

are

many

kings

who

came

in

on

many

war

horses

that

you

and

I

do

not

know

the

names

of.

And

there

is

no

one

around

the

world

right

now

singing

their

praises.

But

Jesus

tells

the

Pharisees

that

if

he

told

his

disciples

to

be

quiet

it

would

be

futile

because

his

need

the

demand

for

God

to

be

praised

is

so

serious.

It

is

so

ingrained

in

the

fabric

of

the

universe

that

if

people

who

God

has

put

on

earth

as

his

representatives

if

people

cease

to

praise

God

then

the

creation

will

have

to

step

up

and

fill

our

place.

Now you

could argue

that

Jesus

is

using

hyperbole

here

that

he's

exaggerating

I

don't

think

he

is.

If

everyone

around

the

world

stopped

praising

God

I

believe

what

Jesus

is

telling

us

is

that

the

earth

would

have

to

come

and

step

in

and

fill

the

gap.

That

is

how

glorious

and

powerful

and

majestic

this

king

is.

Other

kings

would be

praised

for a

time

or

for a

day.

Other

kings

who

came

in

with

real

time

political

victories.

But

this

king

is not

going to

be

praised

for a

day.

He

is

going

to

be

praised

forever.

And

so he

is

disappointing.

He's

also

surprising.

I

mentioned

earlier

that

if you

think

that

it's

foolish

to

believe

that

people

who

gather

in

a

place

and

sing

songs

and

read

an

ancient

book

are

actually

doing

the

most

powerful

thing

in

the

world.

We

don't

just

gather

here

together

and

sing

songs

on a

Sunday

morning

because

that's

what

church

people

do.

We

gather

together

and

sing

songs

because

God

demands

our

praise.

And

if we

stop,

the very

rocks will

have to

take

over.

And

he demands

our praise

because he

is greater

than any

earthly

king.

He's

greater

than any

Roman

general

or

emperor

who could

come in

to Jerusalem

or Rome

or any

other city.

And so

he's more

than we

could imagine.

if we

are

disappointed

in

Jesus

it's

because

he's

not

interested

in

providing

us

with

comfort.

He's

interested

in

giving

us

joy.

If

we

are

disappointed

in

Jesus

it's

because

he

is

not

interested

in

taking

back

America

for

God

but

he

is

interested

in

one

day

taking

back

the

entire

world.

If

we're

disappointed

in

Jesus

it's

not

because

he's

uninterested

in

solving

a few

injustices

or

healing

a few

wrongs.

It's

not that

he doesn't

care about

that but

he is

coming back

to heal

every

injustice

and

every

wrong.

He's

not

interested

in

overthrowing

the

Roman

Empire

because

he's

not

interested

in

a

political

victory

in

one

time

or

one

place

but

he's

interested

in

complete

and

total

victory

everywhere

in

every

place.

If

Jesus

is

disappointing

it's

in

the

manner

of

his

victory.

If

he's

surprising

it's

in

the

results.

And

the catch

is this

it's

only

by

disappointing

us

that

Jesus

can

surprise

us.

It's

only

by

dashing

our

expectations

that

he

can

exceed

them

because

imagine

for a

second

that

Jesus

had

come

in

on

a

war

horse

coming

to

have

victory

and

conquer

all

of

his

enemies.

If

Jesus

had

come

in

on

a

war

horse

and

skipped

his

death

and

his

resurrection

then

his

victory

would

not

be

good

news

for

anyone.

If

Jesus

had

come

in

first

on

a

war

horse

he

would

have

brought

full

and

final

and

complete

justice.

And

the

bad

news

is

that

that

would

have

included

every

single

one

hope

for

what

we

want

what

these

people

want

for

Jesus

to

do

is

the

last

thing

that

is

good

for

them.

Because

if

Jesus

comes

as a

conqueror

without

first

dying

for

the

sins

of

his

people

there

is

going

to

be

no

hope

for

Israel.

Because

for

both

people

who

are

Israelites

and

people

who

are

Gentiles

for

people

who

are

outside

the

church

and

people

who

are

inside

the

church

the

only

hope

that

we

have

is

that

when

Jesus

brings

his

full

and

final

justice

we

will

be

able

to

say

that

he

has

taken

the

penalty

for

us.

And

so

it's

the

disappointing

king

it's

the

king

that

comes

on

a

donkey

that

we

need

and

it's

only

the

king

that

comes

in

on

a

donkey

who

can

provide

us

with

the

true

victory

that

we

want.

The

good news

is

he

came

to

die

so

that

he

could

pay

the

penalty

for

our

sins

and

so

that

whoever

has

faith

and

hope

and

trust

in

Jesus

and

follows

after

him

would

receive

life

rather

than

death.

But

the

good news

is also

this

Jesus

is

coming

again

and

when

he

comes

again

he

is

not

going

to

come

on

a

donkey.

Revelation

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

chapter

19

gives us

a

picture

of

Jesus

coming

again

to

judge

the

earth

and

what

is

he

riding?

He's

on a

white

horse.

The

king

coming

in

on a

donkey

is

not

the

end

of

the

story.

It's

the

coming

in

on a

donkey

that

makes

his

entry

on a

horse

good

news.

Because

in

Revelation

19

he's

not

coming

to

die.

The

ones

who

are

dying

are

his

enemies.

He's

not

coming

to

overthrow

the

Roman

empire.

He's

coming

to

overthrow

anyone

and

everything

that

stands

against

him

and

his

rule.

And so

what they

long

for

it's

going

to

come.

It's

just

not

going

to

come

in

this

moment

because

first

it

has

to

come

through

Jesus

death

and

his

resurrection.

And so

that is

why

Jesus

has

set

his

face

towards

Jerusalem.

That

he

could

be

the

greatest

king.

That

the

rocks

would

cry

out

and

they

would

cry

out

because

he

is

greater

and

more

powerful

than

any

other

king.

He

is

more

worthy

of

praise

than

any

other

king.

He

has

more

grace

and

more

love

than

any

other

king.

Not

only

because

he

is

capable

of

dying

and

rising

from

the

dead

but

because

he

chooses

to.

Because

he

does

it

for

the

sake

of

his

people.

And so

if we're

disappointed

in

Jesus

we

thought

he

was

going

to

provide

us

more

here

and

now

this

passage

reminds

us

that

he

is

coming

with

more

more

than

we

could

ever

expect

or

imagine.

He

is

coming

to

make

everything

right

but

he

has

to

do

it

for

our

sake

through

his

death

and

his

resurrection.

And so

that's

why we

worship

him

as

the

king.

That's

why

the

rocks

will

cry

out

if

we

do

not.

And

that's

why

he

can

bring

us

life

and

joy

and

peace.

He

can

bring

us

what

these

disciples

praise

him

for.

Peace

in

heaven

and

glory

in

the

highest.

And so

that's

exactly

what we

are

going

to

do

as

we

end.