Luke 19:28-40

A few years ago I was showing a friend around London and we were walking down by Green Park and then across the front of Buckingham Palace and just to the side of the railings, the gates opened and a car drove out with the Queen sitting in the back seat on her own.

And there was a sense in which it was just a very ordinary thing. It was as if her driver was just taking her down to the shop to get some milk. There weren't any outriders or anything else. There was one motorcycle that had sort of gone to clear a bit in front of her but it seemed very ordinary just popping out.

But of course there was also something extraordinary about it because as the car emerged and as people realized who was actually sitting in the back, there was a huge fuss. People grabbing their phones wanting to get a photograph and people sort of standing up straight in the presence of Majesty. I think I even waved. I didn't know what to do.

I've just seen the Queen. She was, I don't know, literally 10 feet away. The car was just so close and people had this, there was something about the grandeur of royalty that drew out this response.

Nobody had told anybody how to react. Nobody had said you stand up straight, you acknowledge her presence as she comes past, you celebrate, you do whatever it is.

Nobody had said you stand up straight, you do whatever it is. Nobody had said that there was just something within all of us. There was probably over 50 people gathered there who reacted instinctively.

There was something of the grandeur of who was there that drew this response.

That's what we see on this first Palm Sunday. In Luke's account, in Luke chapter 19, which is a more mere account than the other Gospels, we see this.

Luke 19 · chapter mention

Jesus is declared to be God's King. Look at verse 38.

As he comes down the hill, instinctively people cry out and cheer.

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

The presence of this one in their midst draws this response from them.

The triumphal entry is something that the church marks on Palm Sunday, so we're going to do that this morning.

I want us to walk through Luke's account here.

As I say, it's a bit briefer than perhaps Matthew's account, but it is telling us about the King, about God's King who has come.

It is drawing out, particularly I want us to see three elements of this story.

The first is his control.

The first thing we see about God's King in this account is his control.

Verse 29.

When he drew near to Bethphage 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?

And they said, the Lord has need of it.

And they brought it to Jesus.

If you think about Jesus' posture in the Gospels, it's actually quite unusual for him to express a need in this way.

I can't think of another time that he says, go and get that because I need it.

But he does it here because he is orchestrating these events.

And in order to do that, he needs the colt.

The colt that Matthew tells us is the foal of a donkey.

Now to start with, as we go through here, we see Jesus' control in the unfolding of the details of the day.

You see that.

He says, go into the village.

That village in front of you.

Just pass the welcome to Bethphage sign, you'll find a colt tied there to a railing.

It's a young colt.

Untie it and bring it to me.

Oh, and if anyone asks you what they're doing, just tell them the Lord has need of it.

Off the disciples go.

And everything that he said will happen, happens.

The colt was there.

The people asked the question.

The disciples had been told that they would.

They answer it as they should.

And the colt is now standing beside Jesus.

Now the colt belongs to Jesus by virtue of the fact that he created it.

Colossians 1 tells us, by him all things were created in heaven and on earth.

That's true of the colt.

It's also true of the disciples.

And it's true of the owners of the colt as well.

So there's a sense in which there's nothing untoward about any of this.

Everything is as it should be.

The Lord of heaven and earth, who owns it all by the fact that he created it, demands that his property comes to him.

And so it does.

But Luke is giving us these details to show us that all that is happening is under the hand of the king of kings.

And therefore all that will unfold in the coming days is also under the control of that same king.

No surprises.

No surprises.

No mistakes.

No accidents.

No accidents.

How much does Jesus' control of everything factor in your life?

Whether it is the colt tied up in Bethphage or the traffic on your route to wherever you're wanting to go in a hurry or the unexpected diagnosis.

Do you see that Jesus is in complete control?

The Lord of glory ordains every detail of the unfolding of your life.

The good, the bad, and even also the ugly.

He orders your steps.

He provides what you have.

He allows your bad decisions to play out.

You are where you are in life because Jesus is in control.

Do you acknowledge this?

Do you acknowledge that your life is not just some unfolding story that has no real direction?

Or that in some way you are in control in the details of everything?

The Lord Jesus is in control of it all.

Now acknowledging that means that we will thank Him for the blessings.

Because they're not ultimately our doing.

It will mean you will trust Him for your struggles.

Because they are serving a purpose that you can't yet see.

And it will mean allowing His Word as your authority to shape your goals and your vision for life.

If Jesus is in control of everything, as He makes clear here,

you should submit your life to serve His glory, not your glory.

And we should repent of the desire to do otherwise.

Now one way this is seen is how we think about what we have.

The things that we possess.

When Jesus asks for something from you,

whether that is your time,

or your money,

or your children,

or even your worship.

As He demands that we gather

Lord's Day by Lord's Day to worship Him,

He makes that call on us.

As He does that,

do you respond like the owners of this cult?

The Lord has need of it.

The Lord requires it.

The Lord has asked for it.

He demands it of you.

However you hear those words here.

Do you see that the owners give up their cult?

There's no record of them saying,

hang on a second.

They gave up their cult immediately.

They didn't grumble.

They didn't say,

but this cult is my favorite one.

This cult is mine.

This cult is...

I've got a special bond with it.

No, they gave it up to their Lord and King.

They lived with open hands.

Everything that you possess,

your time, your money,

your children,

your stuff, whatever,

whatever you would fit into that,

your dot, dot, dot,

whatever it is,

He owns it anyway.

Those things are all just on loan to you from Him,

so hold them loosely.

Well, to start with,

Jesus controls the events of the day,

but the control reaches further,

and it reaches higher.

The very reason that He chooses this cult

as His transport into Jerusalem

is because in doing so,

He is bringing to fulfillment

an Old Testament prophecy.

Back in Zechariah chapter 9,

Zechariah 9 · chapter mention

it says this,

Rejoice greatly,

O daughter of Zion.

Shout aloud,

O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold,

your King is coming to you,

righteous,

and having salvation is He,

humble,

and mounted on a donkey.

A cult,

the foal of a donkey.

The cult

is His chosen means of transport

because it is the sign

that He is

this Messiah King.

That was what the Old Testament

said to look for.

Look for one who comes on a cult.

And what that tells us

is that the unfolding,

it's not just the unfolding

of the events of that day,

it is the unfolding of history,

and particularly salvation history,

that are also in the hands of Jesus.

The one on the cult

is the Lord of all.

The Lord of all.

He is the Lord of the very highest.

He is the Lord of the Queen

who drove out in the car that day.

He is the Lord of the King

who sits on our throne today.

He is the Lord of our government.

He is the Lord of every one of us

and every possible echelon

that there is in society.

Every politician.

Every sportsman.

What have we got today?

The masters.

We've got every golfer at the masters

and every one of his caddies.

We've got the boat race.

We've got every Cambridge

and every Oxford Blue

all under the control

and authority of this King.

He is the Lord of all.

There is great reassurance in that.

When we hear of authority like that,

it can make us fearful,

but there is great reassurance

for us in this.

When you trust yourself to this man,

you are in the hands of the one

who runs the universe

and who is on your side.

But there's also something important

about his using a colt

and that's our second point here

as Luke shows us.

First of all,

he shows us his control.

Secondly,

he shows us his humility.

His humility.

Verse 33,

And as they were untying the colt,

its owner 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.

By choosing to ride into Jerusalem

on a colt,

Jesus isn't just fulfilling

the ancient prophecy of Zechariah 9,

but he's making a statement

about the nature of the kingship

of the one who is the king

of Zechariah 9.

Now ordinarily,

a king would come,

we know,

with pomp and grandeur

and all of the pageantry

that we saw

at the coronation of King Charles.

Roads are closed,

horses and carriages

are prepared

with trained professionals in charge.

There are robes

and crowns

and scepters

and dozens of people

playing their part

in a huge spectacle.

There's none of that

with King Jesus.

The colt was the sign,

the prop,

if you like,

of the humble character

of the rule of God's Messiah.

And he rides in,

seated not on a royal saddle,

but on the coats

of some of his friends.

When you come to Jesus,

this is the character

of the king that you worship.

The Lord of glory,

the one who is in control of all,

the Son of God

from all eternity,

who entered this world

through the womb of a virgin,

enters the royal city

seated on the coats

of his friends

on the back of a donkey.

Jesus is a different kind

of king.

And so,

his rule

is a different kind

of kingship.

One that is marked

by meekness

and humility

rather than military might.

One where,

when he is opposed,

he responds

by doing what?

By laying down

his life.

And Jesus comes

to each of us

with that same humility.

He doesn't bulldoze

his way into our lives.

But he gives us

an invitation.

Matthew chapter 11,

Matthew 11:28

verse 28.

Come to me,

all who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and lowly in heart

and you will find rest

for your souls.

For my yoke is easy

and my burden

is light.

Have you taken him up

on that offer?

Have you received

that invitation

for yourself?

In a day

when people in power

seem to have

little regard

for the regular man

on the street.

Our current government

just keeps reaching

further and further

into the lives

of its citizens,

taking and taking

and taking some more,

whether it's our savings

or our freedoms

or our benefits.

They don't care.

They just want to take.

But Jesus,

the one who controls

the universe,

comes to you

and he says,

I'll be gentle with you.

I'll not take,

but I'll give.

Here's rest

for your soul.

Here's rest

for those longings

deep in your heart

that you can't satisfy

any other way.

Here it is.

And here's a law

for life

that won't burden you

but will be light

and freeing

if you live by it.

Have you come

to this king?

You do that

by repenting

of your sin,

saying sorry

for living life

on your terms,

turning your life around

and giving yourself

over to him

and in doing that

you're entrusting yourself

to his humble,

loving care.

Of course,

we don't just take him up

on this offer

but those of us

who have done that,

we must also

follow his example.

If Jesus is the humble king

that everyone

who takes his name,

that is everyone

who calls themselves

Christian,

well then we should serve

in the same kind

of humble way.

Given who he is,

Jesus could have ridden

into the city

on a war horse

but he chose

the posture

of a humble servant.

The question

we have to ask

is in what ways

is that posture

visible in our lives?

If you have taken

the name of Christ,

is that humble posture

visible in the way

that you live?

That will look different

for each of us,

of course it will,

but let's remind ourselves

that Palm Sunday

is about the humility

of our king

and those who take

his name

must follow his lead.

Well we see first

his control,

secondly his humility

and then the third detail

Luke wants us to grasp.

Perhaps the center

of the story here

is how Jesus

then receives thirdly

his worship,

his worship,

his control,

his humility

and then thirdly

his worship.

It starts in verse 35

and they brought it

to Jesus,

the colt,

and throwing their cloaks

on the colt

they set Jesus on it

and as he rode along

they spread their cloaks

on the road.

This is the first

open acknowledgement

that Jesus

is their king

and the worship

actually starts

as the disciples

put their cloaks

on the colt

and then lift Jesus

onto it.

It's like when a sports team

lifts their coach

or their star player

onto their shoulders

when they win

the championship.

It's a statement

of honor

and of glory

and in fact

it's a little glimpse

of Jesus' exaltation.

They are lifting him up

and then they lay

their cloaks

on the ground.

The other gospels

of course include

the palm branches

which was an ancient

way to welcome a king.

This is a symbolic

red carpet

that is being rolled out

in front of him.

It's a way of saying

if your colt

walks on my clothes

it's not an insult

to me

it's an honor.

It's a privilege.

And then as he heads

heads down

it starts there

with him being lifted up

but then he heads

down the Mount of Olives

then the vocal praise

starts up.

Verse 37

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.

The disciples

proclaim him

for who he is.

He's the king

and their words

the words that they're using

are an echo

of 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.

It was one of the Psalms

that the pilgrims sang

as they went up

to Jerusalem

for the feast.

They knew

that that Psalm

was the promise

of the royal king

and so here

they see Jesus

on the colt

and they say

there he is

and they change

blessed is he

to blessed is the king.

Here he is.

Here is our king.

The king that we have

waited centuries for

he's in our midst.

Jesus is God's king.

The one who is in control

the one who comes

in great humility

is God's king

and so it is fitting

that his people

would worship him.

He has brought

God's kingdom purposes

to pass.

He has brought

peace in heaven

between God

and man.

He's going to the cross

in order to accomplish that

and so the disciples

see him

and they can't

but worship him.

It is the only

fitting response

that their hearts

would be lifted

and that they would

celebrate the one

we've been waiting for.

The king of the world

is here.

Now of course

that's not true

for everyone

that was gathered

at the parade that day.

Look at verse 39.

There they are

hanging around

like a bad smell

as they always do.

The Pharisees

they're having none of it.

All of this celebration

and they're pulling

their faces down

in the worst possible look

they can get.

Tell the disciples

to shut up.

Teacher

rebuke your disciples

for all this celebration.

Of course

Jesus can't do that

can he?

He can't do it

because that option

isn't open to him

because to do that

would be actually

to engage

in a cosmic lie.

It would be

to tell an untruth

about reality.

To rebuke anyone

for giving him glory

would be to deny

his true identity

and he can't do that.

It would also be

to engage in idolatry

because he would be saying

that someone

or something else

is worthy of worship

which is also not true.

He can't do that either.

And

actually

he can't do it

because it would be

to deny the disciples

the greatest privilege

any man

any woman

boy or girl

can enjoy

and that is to give glory

to the one who stands

at the center of reality.

You know that

that is our highest privilege

that we get

to worship

the king of glory.

That is what we were made for

to glorify God

and enjoy him

forever

and to be denied

the ability

to do that

by the God of glory

would be frankly absurd.

Which is why

even if the disciples

didn't speak up

it wouldn't matter

because

verse 40

the very stones

would cry out.

Creation itself

would open its mouth

in praise

of the one

who is at the center

of all reality.

The question for us

this morning

is where

would you be standing?

if you were at the parade

that day

would you be worshipping

or would you be whinging

with the Pharisees?

And it comes down

where you stand

comes down

to what you make

of the claim

that Jesus

is God's king.

C.S. Lewis famously said

that we only have

three choices.

Either

Jesus is deluded

about himself

or he is engaged

in a grand deceit

that is

he knows

he isn't God's king

but he's playing along

so either

he thinks he is

but he's not.

He knows he isn't

but he's playing along

with this great deceit.

Either he is a lunatic

or a liar

or actually

he is who the Bible

presents him to be

and that is Lord

Lord of all.

Those are the only options

open to us.

Here's Lewis

you must make

your choice.

Either this man

was and is

the son of God

or else a madman

or something worse.

You can shut him up

for a fool

you can spit at him

and kill him

as a demon

or you can fall

at his feet

and call him

Lord and God

but let us not come

with any patronizing

nonsense about him

being a great human teacher.

He's not left

that option open to us.

He did not intend to.

So will you humble yourself

before this king?

Will you join

the parade of those

who give him glory

and praise?

He doesn't need you.

The whole of creation

even the inanimate creation

will give him

the glory he deserves

but he does invite you

into this relationship

with him.

Will you stand

at a distance

with the Pharisees

or will you follow him

in praise

with the disciples?

And here's the thing

as amazing

as that first

Palm Sunday was

Jesus has

even more glory

now

because this ride

to Jerusalem

was not to a coronation

but to a cross

where he was lifted up

to his crucifixion

and that death

was a further glory

as it purchased us

from our sins.

And then three days later

he was further glorified

as he was raised

from the dead

triumphing over death.

Death couldn't hold him.

He put death

to death.

And then again

after that

he is exalted

even further

to his father's right hand

where he now sits.

We're here this morning

he is at his father's

right hand

in glory

seated on his royal throne.

There was glory

on that first Palm Sunday

but there is even more glory

now.

The question is

what will you do

with this king?

And for those of us

who do follow him

do you see the challenge?

There is a very obvious

challenge to us

I think in the public nature

of his homage here.

There is no such thing

as private Christianity.

When you name the name

of Christ

you are submitting

your life to the king

who has total authority

as I said at the beginning.

He has total claim

over you

over every mouse click

every phone conversation

every WhatsApp message

every Instagram post

every choice

about a job

every girlfriend

boyfriend

or spouse

and every decision

about how to raise

your children

and every other

decision as well.

The Christian does

all of that

under the lordship

of King Jesus.

But that lordship

is also

radically subversive

because when we

when we claim

that he is our lord

no other authority

than Christ

is ultimate.

No government

no economic forum

no HR department

no influencer.

So where these voices

come our way

and insist that we

deny the lordship

of Christ

either by word

or by action

we have to say no.

And that's a challenge.

It is a challenge

in our day

because the pressure

to do this

is rising

in all kinds

of ways.

In our culture

in our education

in medical ethics

corporate demands

whatever it might be

when you name

the name of Christ

as Lord

no one else

is Lord.

and we must

follow God

rather than man.

But as we close

this morning

in the face

of all of this

in the face

of that challenge

I want us

to allow the fact

of Jesus kingship

to encourage us.

You see

when you want

to follow Christ

in the midst

of this growing hostility

when you get

called in by HR

because you refuse

to acknowledge

the false gods

that they want you

to acknowledge

or you get

passed over

for promotion

because you don't

play the games

that you can't play

because you're

a Christian

or even just

when you try

to share the gospel

with your friends

and neighbors

and they have

no interest

and you feel

the rejection

of that

and you just think

this gospel

is never going

to prevail.

The darkness

is too thick.

The opposition

is too hard.

Remember that

Jesus is God's

king.

He's lord of all.

There is no

greater authority

and he has come

in the flesh.

He has revealed

his kingship

here in full view

and he will build

his church

and keep

his promises.

So take heart.

Allow

Palm Sunday

to encourage you.

Be faithful.

Be courageous

and keep on.

Let's pray together.