The King Has Come

Jesus was not the first king to enter into Jerusalem.

On a donkey.

About a thousand years before him, at the end of the reign of King David, when he was old and frail and on his last days, there was a question in the land, who would be king?

If you read the story in 1 Kings chapter 1, you see that one of David's sons, Adonijah, thought that there was an opportunity for him to take the throne, even though it had been promised to David's son Solomon.

1 Kings 1 · chapter mention

David's faithful advisors alerted him to this usurping.

And David sends Solomon to be brought into Jerusalem on the king's mule, as it says in verse 38.

Verse 38.

And the people rejoiced, and Solomon took the throne, and David's kingdom continued, at least for another generation, undivided.

This is a historical backdrop to the passage that we come to this morning in our series in the book of Luke.

As you know, beginning this January and going all the way to Easter, we're going to be preaching through the end of the book of Luke, from chapter 19 to chapter 24.

We're going to be finishing up.

And remember that, as Pastor Nick outlined last week, part of what we see in Luke is that chapter 9 through 19 is all about Jesus moving from the north in Galilee towards Jerusalem.

In fact, nine times it is said, he's going to Jerusalem, he's going to Jerusalem, he's going to Jerusalem.

And here, in our passage this morning, we see the final time it says he is going to Jerusalem.

His destination is the city where the throne of David and the temple of God sit.

This is the city that God had designated as central to his redemptive purposes in the world.

Imagine for a moment what the expectations might have been in Jesus' day.

Here he comes, the miracle worker who's brought healing and hope to many.

He will come and renew our land.

Here he comes to sit on David's throne as a political ruler to expel the hated Romans.

Here he comes, a prophet like Moses, to renew the spiritual life and restore the glory of Israel.

Expectations abounded as Jesus approached Jerusalem.

And yet, for the writer Luke and for all of his readers, they would know that Jesus was heading not to a throne, not to a battlefield, but to a cross.

In the meantime, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and creates a crisis.

As the text says, the hour of visitation has come for Jerusalem and a decision must be reached.

How will Jesus be received?

This is what our text leads us to this morning.

We're in Luke chapter 19.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

If you're reading along in the Pew Bibles, it's in page 825.

Luke 19, we're going to start in verse 28 and read to the end of the chapter.

So let's read this together.

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem.

When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,

he sent two of his 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 owners said to them,

Why are you untying the colt?

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.

And he answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying,

Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace.

But now they are hidden from your eyes.

For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade round you

and surround you and hem you in on every side

and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you.

And they will not leave one stone upon another in you

because you did not know the time of your visitation.

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,

saying to them, It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,

but you have made it a den of robbers.

And he was teaching daily in the temple.

The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people

were seeking to destroy him.

But they did not find anything they could do,

for all the people were hanging on his words.

This is God's word.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we thank you for this word,

and we thank you for this morning and the opportunity to gather together

to hear your word and to respond to you in worship and song.

Lord, we ask for your Holy Spirit this morning

to be at work in us.

Lord, illuminating and making clear your word,

applying it to our hearts,

changing our minds,

moving our hands to obedience.

Lord, I ask for your help this morning,

that I would speak clearly.

Lord, that you would fill me with your Spirit,

that your word might be proclaimed with truth and power.

Lord, I ask for your help this morning.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

The King is here.

That would be the New York Times Post back page headline.

The King is here.

But what would that mean,

and what would the article say?

Well, as we look at this passage

and we think about what we see

is that this passage shows us

signs of the King coming

and the crisis that the King brings

as we look at our passage this morning.

So, let's look at those things in turn.

So, what are the signs of the King's coming

that we see in this passage

as Jesus and his disciples come into Jerusalem?

First, let's look at what Jesus himself understood

and the way that he gives signs

that he is the King.

And this brings us to the very beginning of the passage.

Where they are geographically,

just so you know,

is that we are off to the east of Jerusalem

on the far side of the Mount of Olives.

And basically, to get from there to Jerusalem,

you have to go up over through these towns

and then come back down around

to come into Jerusalem from the east.

And so, that's where we are.

And the first thing that we see

is that Jesus sends his disciples to get the donkey.

And if you look at the number of verses,

this is a major part of the story.

This donkey fills a good part of the whole thing.

Why is it such a big deal?

Well, because many Jews would know the words

that were read earlier this morning

from the prophet Zechariah.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your King is coming to you,

righteous and having salvation as he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah was drawing from an idea

that was actually even planted in the Old Testament

even earlier in Genesis 49.

When Jacob the patriarch is blessing his sons

at the end of his life,

in 49.11, he mentions to Judah

that the scepter will stay in Judah's house

and that a donkey or a colt

will be one of the signs

of the way that a son of Judah

will take the throne of God's people

in the future.

So Jesus is intentionally drawing

and pulling on these Old Testament imagery,

these Old Testament predictions

to say, I will ride into Jerusalem this day

on a donkey.

And it's not just any donkey, is it?

Did you see what it said?

It is a donkey that is unridden.

No one has ever been on this donkey before.

That might sound risky to you.

It sounds risky to me.

Who knows what this donkey is going to be like

with a passenger.

But, in fact,

there is a meaning for this.

For it is seen and is thought

that an unbroken horse or donkey

would be set apart,

would be something special,

that one who would ride on an unridden horse.

This would be a place of honor

and something special.

To ride on a donkey

that someone else had ridden on,

that's normal, that's common.

But to ride on one

that has never been ridden on before,

this is a donkey set apart.

And this is a rider

who is set apart wholly

for a special use from the Lord.

And as we have seen in Zechariah,

it is also a sign of humility.

He did not ride on a great war horse.

He did not ride in

at the head of a column of an army.

But he came humbly on a donkey

as he came.

So the first sign

is that Jesus intentionally

fulfilled this prophecy

to indicate that he knew

he was coming as a king.

But the second thing is that

as he demanded this donkey,

as he sent his disciples

to get this donkey,

he made a claim of ownership on it.

Now, this might have been

just a cultural understanding

that dignitaries and people,

traveling rabbis,

might have the right

to ask people for the loan

of a donkey

in a certain situation.

But in fact, it seems

that as you look carefully

in the language,

one of the things

that's interesting is it says,

and this is distinct in Luke

because in Matthew,

it just says,

some people asked the disciples,

why are you untying the donkey?

But do you see who asks it here?

It's the owner who asks.

Why are you untying my donkey?

Why are you driving my car

out of my driveway?

Where are you going with it?

And the disciples,

saying the words

that Jesus had given them,

the Lord,

that is the owner,

it's the same word,

it's the same root,

the owner has need of it.

Jesus, as he's coming in,

makes this very subtle

but very clear claim,

I am the owner of everything.

And that is a claim

to kingship

in this cultural pattern.

Jesus is saying,

everything that you own,

actually I am the owner

of all of it.

So, Jesus gives a sign

of fulfillment of prophecy,

he gives a sign

of the assertion

of his authority.

And then finally,

in verses 39 and 40,

we see the first response

that's negative

to this whole thing.

As Jesus is coming down

from the Mount of Olives,

as he's approaching Jerusalem,

the Pharisees,

the religious leaders,

with whom he had had

increasing conflict

throughout his ministry,

tell him to rebuke

his disciples.

For they feel that it's wrong.

Jesus shouldn't be worshipped

and praised in this way.

He's just a man.

To do this is misleading

at best

and destructive at worst.

So, they tell him,

rebuke your disciples.

Don't.

Tell them to stop.

And Jesus' response,

striking, isn't it?

No, I tell you

that even if these were silent,

the stones themselves

would cry out in praise.

I tell you,

if the lips of men and women

were somehow stopped,

creation itself

would rise up

to recognize me

as the king.

Jesus pushes back

on their rebuke

and says,

it is right

that they worship me

like this.

I am worthy

of their praise.

I am the king

who was coming

to sit on the throne

of David.

The signs

that Jesus has come

to claim this kingship,

this messiahship,

this rulership

are actually

multiple

and multifaceted

in this passage.

If you've ever

heard someone say,

well, Jesus didn't

really claim

to be anything

more than a good teacher,

this passage

shows something different.

And the Jesus

who rode into Jerusalem

that day

is the same Jesus

who comes into

our lives today

to claim worship.

He comes

to say,

I am the king

of all.

Will you receive me?

And the Jesus,

as he comes in,

it's complex,

isn't it?

He's not

what we expect.

Jesus comes

as a humble king.

Now,

I like that.

I like someone

who doesn't just

run roughshod over me.

He comes in

in humility

and invites me

to come

and says,

come all ye

who are weary

and heavy laden.

He comes in

riding on a donkey,

not on a horse.

that sounds great.

I can submit

to a king like that.

He also comes

as one

who claims

the worship

of all of creation.

And that's a little

scarier,

but I still like it

because he's the lord

over all the enemies

and the things

that are scary

in this world

that to me

are scary.

Suddenly,

he comes

and he claims lordship

over all of that

and I think,

whew,

that's comforting too.

That's a king

that I want to follow.

That's a king

I want to worship.

But then Jesus comes

and he meddles.

He meddles in my life.

When I was a new believer,

someone gave me

a little booklet

by a guy named

Robert Munger,

My Heart,

Christ's Home.

Maybe you've heard of it.

It's still worth reading.

Talks about the process

of when Jesus comes in.

You invite Jesus

into your house

and how he comes in

and he sort of

takes up residence

and then he starts

wandering around

and he starts

finding those rooms

that you'd rather him

not find

and the closet

that you locked

really tightly

to make sure

that he couldn't get in.

Jesus comes

and he meddles

in our lives

and he claims

a lordship

and a kingship

in places

where maybe

we don't want him

to be.

You know,

in the history

of the church,

we've talked about

three of the great

dynamics

of human life

are money,

sex,

and power

and Jesus comes in

and he says,

your money,

I own it all

and what I've given

to you,

I'm loaning to you

to use.

It's not yours.

I'm giving it to you

so you can use it

to worship

and honor me.

He says the same thing

with our sex lives.

This glorious gift

that he's given us

says this isn't for you

ultimately.

This is for me.

Use it

to honor me

in abstinence

and in exercise

according to how

I have determined it

to be used.

power.

This is one

we don't talk about

nearly as much

in our world today

but let me think

about it this way.

Help you think about it.

How is it that you

use the authority

that you have

over other people

and how is it

that you respond

to other people

who have authority

over you?

Some of you

are still

young

living in your

parents' house.

Children

talking to you.

Jesus says

because I am the king

of your life

I am calling you

to think about

how you respond

well to the authorities

in your life.

Honor me

by honoring your parents

and obeying them.

Parents

teachers

in your workplaces

all of us

have various places

where we exercise

authority over people

even as a customer

in a store

we exercise

a kind of authority.

How do we use that

to honor

Jesus?

We often want

to use people

to serve our ends.

Jesus wants us

to serve people

to further

his ends.

Jesus comes in

as a humble king

that sounds great

as the king

of the universe

that sounds a little

comforting too

but ultimately

he comes

and he meddles

in places

that unseat

the very sense

of self

that we have.

He says

I want to be king

of that.

The Pharisees

felt threatened

because their

spiritual identities

were at

were being called

to being submitted

to Jesus

and they didn't

want to do that.

And friends

if you haven't felt

that wrestling

if you haven't

gone through

that tug of war

with Jesus

about some part

of your life yet

then I don't know

if you've reckoned

with Jesus

coming as your king.

Maybe you haven't

yet really grappled

with those places

where he wants

to come

and meddle.

Meddle for your good

and meddle

for his glory.

So the signs

that Jesus gives

are clear

but then

it's not just him

who affirms

that Jesus

comes in

as a claiming

to be king

but his disciples

also honor him

as a king.

As you look

at this

and this is well

known

you guys know

this

they take

their cloaks

and they put

it on the donkey

because no king

would ride

a horse

that is unsaddled

and uncovered.

And so they cover

the donkey

so that

and interestingly

did you notice

Jesus didn't

hop on the donkey

he didn't climb up

onto the donkey

but they took him

and they set him

on the donkey.

It says

his disciples

put him there

in the place

of honor

and then they

laid their coats

down on the road

before this donkey

in a cultural pattern

of showing

this man

is so high

and so honored

he doesn't

it would be wrong

for him

to simply walk

on the dusty path

that we common

people do.

He needs to be

exalted

and so we cover

it's rolling out

the red carpet

so that your ball gown

will be clean

as you enter

the opera.

Rolling out

the red carpet

so that when

the king comes

he won't have to

walk through

the everyday

dirt and grime

but he will be

honored and exalted

in these things.

Not only do they

use their coats

and set Jesus

up on this donkey

like a football coach

right at the end

of the game

lifting him up

in praise

but then they use

their words

as well.

Look with me

in verse 38

blessed is the king

who comes

in the name

of the Lord

peace in heaven

and glory

in the highest.

And any Jew

in the first century

would recognize

that this is a quote

from Psalm 118

Psalms 118:26

verse 26

blessed is he

who comes

in the name

of the Lord

we bless you

from the house

of the Lord

this would have been

a common phrase

that would have been

used particularly

as pilgrims

would come

to the temple

courtyard

during the high

seasons

during the feast

of tabernacles

or during the Passover

they would come

in and at times

perhaps they would

be led by the king

and this phrase

would come

from the priests

to the king

and the pilgrims

coming to the temple

to worship God

blessed is he

who comes

in the name

of the Lord

blessed is he

who comes

to worship

and to honor

God

in his temple

and Luke

records them

as adjusting

the phrase

by saying

explicitly

not blessed

is he

but blessed

is the king

who comes

in the name

of the Lord

the disciples

themselves

were willing

to say

this is him

this is the one

we've been waiting

for

this is the one

who's going

to sit

on the throne

of David

and restore

the glory

of Israel

and then they

go on

and say

peace in heaven

and glory

in the highest

and if you

were a careful

reader of this book

those phrases

would jump

off the pages

in you

because way

back at the beginning

when the coming

of Jesus

to earth

as a baby

was announced

the angel

speaking to Mary

said this

he will be great

and will be called

the son of the most high

and the Lord God

will give him

the throne

of his father

David

and he will reign

over the house

of Jacob forever

and of his kingdom

there will be

no end

and then

when the angels

announced

to the shepherds

in the field

they said

glory to God

in the highest

and on earth

peace

among those

with whom

he is well pleased

and these phrases

though not quoted

would resonate

with what had happened

30 some years ago

that when Jesus

came

there was this

grand

and spectacular

announcement

that something

unique

and special

had happened

that the

the long

awaited

deliverer

had come

and now

30 years later

his disciples

pick up these words

to say

this is the one

they had seen

his mighty works

the healing

of the blind

and the lame

the deliverance

of some

from the

control

of demonic

forces

they'd seen

him teach

with authority

unlike the scribes

and Pharisees

they had seen

him providing

feeding

multitudes

and showing

compassion

on them

they had seen

him honoring

the outcasts

the women

the unclean

the gentiles

expanding

the kingdom

of God

and they

worshipped him

for his mighty

deeds

and they did it

with this

grand

parade

this grand

symbolic

parade

with praising

and donkeys

and coats

on the ground

and all

of the resonance

of Solomon

coming in

long ago

I've never been

to Jerusalem

but reading

about this

approach

it sounds like

this road

would have been

a beautiful road

to travel

it would have

gone up

to Bethphage

near the top

of the Mount

of Olives

and then come

back down

towards Bethany

and then come

around the corner

and then Jerusalem

would have lay

in the valley

below them

and as they're

praising God

and as he approaches

goes down

into the Kidron Valley

before he would

go up to the gates

of Jerusalem

the hills

would resound

with this praise

and this celebration

and this glory

like the ticker tape

parade in New York City

after a championship

win

like the duck

boats in Boston

but even better

the King of David

sitting on a donkey

coming into Jerusalem

I wonder

I wonder what you

would feel like

about being a part

of a parade today

to honor Jesus

I wonder how you

feel about others

who are

kind of embarrassing

in the way

that they talk

about Jesus

all the time

sometimes fear

that we have

an overly

privatized

sense

of religion

and worship

in our world

today

now look

we need to be wise

and there's nuance

to claim the name

of Christian

today

doesn't mean

what it used

to mean

it's become

a very broad

word

that describes

many people

who don't believe

in the Bible

or the deity

of Christ

and even

in the last

20 years

the word

evangelical

has become

more fraught

it's become

more of a

political term

for many people

and more of a

political identity

and ideology

for some

so there's nuance

in thinking

about how do we

identify

and celebrate

Jesus

publicly

but friends

are we so afraid

of being misunderstood

that we hold back

where his disciples

exalted

and gloried

and praised

Jesus was so often

misunderstood

in fact

even in this

Jesus was misunderstood

even by those

who were praising him

let alone those

who opposed him

for many of his

disciples would run

later this week

let alone the crowds

who would join

into this procession

but then later

be swayed

in other directions

Jesus was often

misunderstood

the cost of identifying

with Jesus

will always

be great

at some point

my kids like

watching the

story keepers

have you ever seen

the story keepers

they're on YouTube

if you haven't seen them

it's this really cool

cartoon that was

done in the 90s

about life

in early church

and how people

honored

and

it talks about

how they were

both hiding

and yet

very open

about their faith

it's actually

a beautiful

portrayal

I think

it's fictional

but it's

it's worth

seeing

if you have

kids

probably under

the age of 11

so

after that

it's valuable

but probably not

compelling for you

so

but

but it's a picture

of how they

love Jesus

and were willing

to be wise

and yet

very clear

about their

allegiance

and the

costliness

of identifying

with Christ

having the

privilege of

having lived

in China

for two years

and knowing

some national

believers there

seeing them

count the cost

societally

in their own

homes

and in their

own families

knowing that

to identify

publicly

as a believer

could cost

them

job

prospects

marriage

prospects

even

their own

homes

being

misunderstood

in all

of these

cases

and yet

being willing

to identify

with Christ

here

closer to

home

we live

in a

world

particularly

I will say

the world

of academia

where

for some

identification

with Christ

will bear

a great

cost

and it's

easy to

hide

it's easy

to live

in fear

and the

day may come

when our

society

will shed

more of

its

Christian

trappings

and where

it will be

costly

for all

of us

to publicly

identify

with Christ

and to

worship

him

but the

disciples

gladly

did so

God

because

they saw

their

king

and they

saw that

he was

worthy

of their

praise

he was

worthy

of their

adoration

he was

worthy

of them

laying down

their coats

and laying

down their

lives

and they

didn't even

understand all

that that

would mean

they didn't

really understand

that Jesus

was heading

to the cross

they didn't

understand all

of those

things

and yet

as we

will see

by the

end of

Luke

the

disciples

will

understand

and many

will still

do the

same

they will

follow him

and worship

him

so what

about you

how unabashed

is your

worship

of Jesus

to ask

that question

creates a

crisis

does it

not

at the

very end

of our

passage

we see

that Jesus

coming

creates

a crisis

for all

of us

as we

see in

verses 41

and following

as he

comes

around the

corner

and sees

Jerusalem

he stops

and he

weeps

and he

mourns

because he

sees them

and he

knows

that there

will be

some

who will

reject him

he knows

in fact

that this

city

as a

whole

will not

receive him

as the

king

and put him

on the

throne

of David

but that

he

will be

rejected

he

predicts

that

because

of their

rejection

there will

ultimately

be a

judgment

he

predicts

and says

the time

is coming

when the

Romans

will come

and raise

this city

and in fact

that's exactly

what happened

in AD

70

Titus

came in

and he

literally

tore down

every wall

every building

according to

the records

he left

three towers

of the

entire city

standing

solely so

that people

would know

that there

had been

a city

there

because if

he had

taken those

down

literally

it would

have looked

like there

had never

been a

city

the destruction

was complete

and Jesus

looked at

this city

and he

knew that

his coming

would provoke

a crisis

of belief

and he

knew that

many

did not

know

and would

not respond

to the

day of

his visitation

with faith

and from

there then

Luke records

he goes

into

Jerusalem

and he

goes to

the temple

and he

creates

another

crisis

by walking

in

and blowing

up an

economic

system

that had

served

the worship

at the

expense

of the

worship

of God

Luke

is very

brief

on this

Matthew

John

other people

have much

more to say

about this

but he

goes in

and he

creates

this

crisis

my

father's

house

should be

a house

of prayer

but you

have made

it

a place

of commerce

and then

Luke

ends

this

section

verse

47

and 48

he was

teaching

daily

in the

temple

and you

see the

division

the chief

priests

and the

scribes

and the

principal

men

of the

people

were seeking

to destroy

him

those who

had lots

lots of

power

lots of

prestige

lots of

religious

authority

they had

lots

to lose

and in

that

they

resisted

Jesus

coming

and they

sought

instead

to destroy

him

verse 48

but they

did not

find anything

they could

do

for all

the people

were hanging

on his

words

the people

saw him

and they

responded

to him

and they

were hanging

and yet

we know

these are

the same

people

who will

be fickle

and Jesus

knows these

are the

same

people

who will

be fickle

but he

comes in

and he

creates a

crisis

such that

everyone who

encounters

this Jesus

in Jerusalem

when he

first entered

and every

one of us

today as we

encounter this

Jesus in

this text

have to

respond

who will

be king

this was

the question

that was

asked in

Solomon's

day

will it

be Solomon

or will

it be

Adonijah

for us

who will

be king

will you

deny

Jesus

his claim

on your

life

or will

you receive

him

knowing

knowing

that he

is a

king

who will

ultimately

earn his

throne

by going

to the

cross

and dying

for sinful

rebellious

stubborn

independent

hearts

like mine

and like

yours

he who

came

to establish

his kingship

not by imposing

it upon us

but by offering

himself up

for us

and ultimately

he would gain

great victory

because he would

rise from the

dead

and he would

ascend to the

father

and he would

sit at his

right hand

and we know

from the rest

of scripture

that one day

he will come

again

and he will

establish his

kingdom

and he will

sit on the

throne

and all

will bow

their knee

before this

king

Jesus

today

is the day

of visitation

for all

who hear

this text

in Jerusalem

in the first

century

this was the

first time

in a

one time

thing

in redemption

history

but today

this is the

day for us

to consider

the day

of our

visitation

for Jesus

has come

for us

he has

come for

you

what will

you do

with this

king

let's pray

Lord we

are humbled

and

challenged

by this

text

we thank

you

for

your

word

penetrates

our

hearts

Lord I

ask this

morning

that we

would not

resist your

Holy Spirit

as you

may be

working

in us

Lord if

there are

those of

us here

this

morning

who

have

areas

of our

lives

that we

have

not yet

allowed

you

to be

king

Lord

that we

would respond

to you

in faith

and surrender

those to

you

and allow

you to

begin to

reorder

these parts

of our

lives

according to

your plan

and for

your glory

Lord I

pray this

morning

for those

here who

may have

realized that

they have

never truly

bowed their

knee before

you as

king

they have

liked you

as a

teacher

they have

been

comforted

by you

as a

counselor

but Lord

they have

never now

bowed their

knee before

you

I pray

Lord

you would

help them

now

to kneel

before you

Lord

that their

repentance

would go

to the

depth of

their

being

Lord

that they

would repent

of themselves

sitting on

the throne

of their

lives

and receive

you

instead

as their

savior

who has

dealt with

sin on

their behalf

and as

their king

who has

come to

rule

Lord we

pray that

you would

do these

things

for the

glory of

your name

that your

salvation

would be

seen

and known

and proclaimed

and that

songs of

praise would

ring out

to the

ends of

the earth

we pray

this in

Jesus name

amen