03-24-2024 Palm Sunday: Your King Is Coming!

Text: Matthew 21:1-17, Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 53:3-7

                              Today is Palm Sunday, the day on the calendar when Christians mark the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  Matthew 21:1-17 records the event and shows how Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem and fulfilled the ancient prophesy from Zechariah 9:9 that says:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:  behold your King comes unto you.  He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass."  More than two million people were likely crowed into the city preparing to celebrate Passover.  When Jesus entered,

garments were spread on the road and branches torn from trees fanned the same air that carried shouts of “Hosanna.”

                             All this was no accident; Jesus knew what He was doing. Our text tells us that in advance, He had arranged for a donkey and two disciples brought it to Him. Matthew reveals that Jesus set the stage for what we now call Holy Week.  Whether it was the first century or the 21st century, the picture remains the same:  Our King is coming.  Let's take a look at this King.

                             As Americans we aren’t too familiar with monarchy.  Some may watch a coronation on TV, or even occasionally follow at a distance the gossip surrounding Prince Charles, Queen Camilla and Princes William and Harry.  We are sort of numb when it comes to all kinds of leadership -- seeing the weaknesses of kings, prime ministers, and presidents -- but most of us are  moved when we hear the majestic strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.”  Still, there is something awe-inspiring about royal power.  However, there is one exception to royalty as the world  knows it and that is an encounter with King Jesus because Jesus is a different kind of king. 

                             Most royalty comes to power determined to rule.  Jesus comes determined to serve.  Most monarchs spend time building their egos with the power and majesty of the office.  Jesus comes with a totally disarming humility.  Most kings ride white stallions or fly in Boeing 747s.  King Jesus rides a donkey.  He knew exactly what He was doing.  Our King chose His vehicle of transportation.  The horse stands for war; the people of Israel longed for a leader who would set them free from the rule of Rome.   Jesus rode a donkey, a symbol of meekness, or peace. How different are the swishing of palm branches from the click of crossed swords or the deafening blast of a twenty-one gun salute.
                             Most kings set themselves up for a hero’s death.  They picture heads of nations standing in silent tribute, and the world paying honor to their contributions.  Our King Jesus was different.  He prepared for the cross. His was a humiliating death marked by the insulting inscription: “King of the Jews.” His fellow monarchs did not fly in from around the world to pay Him honor. No, for our King is a different kind of King.

                             Most kings aren’t that certain about themselves.  In most cases, they have inherited their positions. With that inheritance comes either an ambivalence bred by failure to earn the position or perhaps, at the other extreme, a kind of bravado and strutting that comes from years of grooming by palace functionaries.  Jesus knew exactly who He was: the Messiah spoken of in the Old Testament Scriptures. Critics may deny this, but the Bible is clear.

                             Jesus dressed for the occasion, preparing Himself for the kind of entrance into Jerusalem described by Zechariah. The prophet declared that the Messiah would come, and He would be different from the average king. This One would be humble, making His entry on a donkey.  Jesus willingly forced the issue.  He deliberately provoked the kind of response He got in Jerusalem that day, which was entirely opposite to His past performance.  His whole style of life and ministry was one of shying away from publicity.  He avoided large crowds when He could.  He refused to take the dominant power-oriented stance of other contemporary leaders. But on this day, He put on the symbols of the Old Testament prophecy.

                             He declared plainly, by His posture and bearing that  He is the King.  He even picked the day.  The exposure was great. There was only one problem: He picked His day not so much to gain the adulation of the crowd, which He knew was going to change in a short time, but to force the issue of His whole reason for being here on earth.  His triumphant entry into Jerusalem was designed to seal His doom.  It was what would stir the anger and jealousy of the religious establishment into a frenzy, setting the stage for the greatest event in all human history.  Not only did our King know precisely who He was when He entered Jerusalem; He knows who He is as He enters the Jerusalem of our lives.  Embodied in His presence that day and today, is a transparent honesty that defies so much of worldly leadership.

                             Only hours after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He cried. Have you ever seen a king cry?  Have you ever watched a president shed deep tears?  Years ago, a presidential candidate disqualified himself from a primary election after he cried in public.  We don’t want to see our rulers cry; instead, we demand that they be strong and push them into arrogance out of fear that they may reflect too much of what we are ourselves and, by crying, be discredited.  Jesus was different; He stopped and cried for Jerusalem.  He said in Matthew 23:37:   “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone them which are sent to you, how often I would have gathered  your children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not. ”  King Jesus healed broken bodies as the blind and lame freely approached Him the days after His triumphal entry, which so quickly turned into the day of His crucifixion.  He didn’t keep them waiting.  He didn’t flaunt His rank in their faces. The simple people, the people with broken bodies and shattered dreams, the people with bruised spirits, the people who hurt in the soul where one can really feel hurt are those who He took to Himself.  He did it then and He does it now.

                             That’s the kind of King He is!  He wants to transform us through the regenerating power of His Holy Spirit. He wants to touch our lives and make us whole where our body, soul, and spirit fit together in an eternal complement.  Isaiah 53:3-7 describes Him as despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.  Surely, He accepted our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.  But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was inflicted on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.

                             Our Jesus is a King who has compassion, but this compassion is not an endeavor to buy our favor.  He is not going to give away everything, denying His own righteousness.  He tells us what we need instead of what we want.  He tells us that the payment for sin is death.  He tells us that someday we will stand before God our Maker, accountable for all that we have done in this life.  He warns of judgment. He warns us of eternal hell, total alienation and separation from Himself.

                             The King who entered Jerusalem on a donkey, walked by foot to the hillside of Olivet.  From that perspective, overlooking the city He loves and for which He cried, He refused to give a campaign speech as any earthly leader would do.  Instead, He tells it like it is, predicting domestic breakdown, economic catastrophe, wars, rumors of war, earthquake, famine, and all of the horrible desolation which we bring upon each other.

                             That’s the kind of King He is. He tells us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear.  He talks about more than positive thinking and more than picking ourselves up by our own bootstraps.  He tells us that we cannot ultimately succeed in our own strength.  He warns us to face up to it now and to come to Him while we still can.  Our King is coming! His approach demands our response.  Either we are with Him, or we are not. There is no neutral ground.

                             Today we sing our hosannas, which means “Save now!”  Do you mean this? Are you serious?  Have you come here today because it’s a nice thing to do? Or are you here because we are serious?  Don't be like those who run away at the mention of Jesus.  Instead, take a good long look into the eyes of the true King and let Him erase all your doubts so you can open your heart and mind to Him and receive what only He can give to you.

                             Our King is coming! He is riding toward us now and He is ready to look straight into our eyes.  We must all let Him know He truly is our King and our Lord today and until the day He calls us to Him.  If you haven't yet told Him, do it now before it is too late.

                             Until we meet again, may God bless and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.