A King for Me

Good morning and welcome once again to this gathering of Hope Bible Fellowship. We have been walking through the book of Nehemiah for the last several weeks. For the next two Sundays we are going step away from that to celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter week and then we will dive back into Nehemiah after Easter. This morning I invite you to open your Bibles to Matthew 21:1-17. That is where we will be reading this morning.

I don't really care about royal weddings, coronations, or births that happen. For me, it's little more than a news footnote. I mostly quit caring what happened with the monarchy on July 4, 1776. But seriously, I do really like England and many things about the country but the idea of a coronation isn't that exciting for me. However, many people in the world and particularly the UK get VERY invested in what happens with royalty. When Prince William got married I had female friends who had watch parties. So many people's attention are peaked at royal happenings.

Today, the church remembers this particular Sunday as Palm Sunday, when around 2,000 years ago there was a royal declaration unlike any decree or announcement. This particular declaration would go on to change the course of humanity because this was declaration was about the King coming for you. Jesus had come to be your king.

Today we remember and look at Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem as He begins his final week of ministry on earth. The people celebrated His arrival by placing robes and branches in the road as a symbol of His kingship. It's referred to as the "Triumphant Entry," because Jesus is coming in as a king, however, the way He will triumph is very different from than what the people expected it to be. His victory would come through death and resurrection and not by military or political might.

Matthew 21:1–17 ESV

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” 12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

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This is the Word of the Lord. Let’s pray and ask God to help us understand and apply it.

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I. JESUS IS A KING UNLIKE ANY OTHER

- The first twenty chapters in Matthew show us Jesus' 3-year earthly ministry. In the last eight chapters of Matthew, we see the final eight days of Jesus' earthly ministry. Clearly, Matthew wants to draw our focus in on this final week. This makes sense because we are approaching the pinnacle of all human history.

- Jesus sends out two disciples. Don't miss the importance of this. Jesus sets the events of the week in motion. He was in complete control of these sequence of events. Nothing caught Him by surprise, and nothing overtook Him. Why? He's a King unlike any other. It’s hard for us to see that sometimes because things happen to us and we react to them rather than setting them in motion intentionally which is what was happening here.

- Jesus is intentionally fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

9 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, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Most kings would choose to ride a warhorse as a victor and conqueror, but that's not Jesus' mission -- this time. He came to save us by dying on a cross. He really is a king like no other.

- Our King -- the King of all creation -- came humbly, meek, lowly.

That's a King unlike any other King!

II. Jesus is declaring His Kingship is for everyone--for all nations.

- What happens next appears to be a contrast from the previous eleven verses. Jesus disrupts the buying and selling happening in the temple complex.

- As Jesus demonstrates His disapproval of what's happening, He quotes Isaiah 56. Three things are happening here:

1. Jesus is identifying with the prophesied King

2. Jesus is declaring He is doing away with the entire religious sacrificial system.

3. Jesus is declaring His Kingship is for everyone - for all nations.

III. JESUS IS A KING WHO REIGNS OVER ALL

- Matthew records the only instance of Jesus healing in Jerusalem in verse 14. Healing was the appropriate use of God's house as compared to commercial use.

- It illustrates another way Jesus established His Kingship and another way Jesus is a King for you.

- In His healings, Jesus was showing His authority. In the Gospels, he is the authority over nature, over demons, over sickness, and over death.

- Jesus' actions stressed out the religious leaders of His day, but He had authority over them, too.

ILLUSTRATION: Rewrite

After her daughter was born, Nancy [Guthrie] knew something was wrong. Though she named the baby Hope, there wasn't much to be hopeful about. Born with clubfeet, extreme lethargy, and an inability to suck, among other problems, Hope was officially diagnosed with Zeilweger Syndrome. This rare metabolic disorder is characterized by an absence of peroxisomes (cell structures that rid the body of toxic substances). There is no treatment or cure. Most babies with the disease live less than six months.

"At first, I thought it was my fault," says Nancy "that I didn't pray enough for a healthy baby and was now paying for it." Nancy was familiar with prayer. She grew up going to church, attended a Christian college, and had a great job in Christian publishing. Her life was filled with the pursuit of Christian things but as she later realized, not necessarily with the pursuit of Christ. "There was a sense of hypocrisy, you know? I was so busy for God and interested in theological things, working with Christian authors and books, and working hard at my church, but I wasn't talking to him or listening to him by reading his word …

"I think for those of us who have grown up in the church, it takes a miracle rescue touch from God to break out of going through the motions. It takes great humility to say 'What I've been doing hasn't been working, and it hasn't been real.'" Nancy began by telling God, "It's been so long since we've talked, and I don't even know how to do this or why you'd want to talk to me, but can we start talking?"

For Nancy, talking meant committing to regular Bible study. Slowly, she felt the hypocrisy being replaced by a hunger to know God more …

She considered a recent Bible study she had done on the Book of Job. At the time, she wondered if she could do what Job did. She recalled the passage where God said, "My servant Job will be faithful to me no matter what."

"I remember being so challenged by that," she says. "I couldn't imagine God ever having that confidence in me." As Nancy looked at Hope, she thought, Here's my chance to respond to the worst thing I can imagine in a way that is pleasing to God.

It wasn't easy. Nancy had to make that decision over and over again during the next few months. Her grieving didn't get easier. Hope wasn't healed. The pain didn't lessen. But each day, Nancy tried to respond faithfully despite her loneliness and grief. When people offered to drop off meals, she and David invited them to stay. When people expressed pity at their circumstances, she asked them to celebrate their daughter's life. "Whereas before we talked to our neighbors about our lawns, we never had meaningless conversations anymore. We were talking about life and death and Jesus in a way we never had before." In preparing for her own loss, Nancy began to help others.

On her 199th day of life, Hope took her last breath.

Both parents must be carriers of the recessive gene for Zeilweger Syndrome to occur. The Guthries decided David would have a vasectomy to prevent another pregnancy. Only one in 2,000 vasectomies fail, so the couple felt secure. But one year after Hope died, Nancy was pregnant again. Prenatal testing revealed their third child would also have Zeilweger Syndrome.

Time magazine interviewed Nancy and David for an article in which the writer compared their plight to that of Job's in the Old Testament. The article quotes an entry from Nancy's journal: "[Like Job], we often cannot see the hidden purposes of God," she wrote. "But we can determine to be faithful and keep walking toward Him in the darkness."

Named after the angel, Gabriel was born on July 16, 2001, the same day the Guthries' story appeared in Time. They knew what to expect. Their son's first day would be his best.

Gabriel died 183 days later.

Nancy says that answering how or why begins with another question: what? What do we believe about God? "Do I trust the character of God enough to believe he's in control and whatever he allows in my life will be for my ultimate good—not [that] whatever he allows in my life is good?" says Nancy. "Can I trust knowing him will be good enough to make whatever it cost me to know him worth it? A lot of people say, 'Oh, I could never do that.' And David and I say, 'You couldn't. But if God allows this in your life, he will also give to you the grace you need to respond to it faithfully.'"

"I've experienced one of the worst things that can happen," says Nancy, "and I haven't found I'm strong and I can handle it. But I have found out God's promise is true, his grace is sufficient. Now when I read 'My grace is sufficient' (2 Corinthians 12:9), I believe it not only because Jesus said it in the Bible—I believe it because I've experienced it."

Talk about the seeming chaos in our world today. How to find calm in that and trust Jesus is in control. Don’t make it simplistic but simple.

IV. JESUS IS A KING WHO'S WORTHY OF PRAISE

- If the priests and scribes weren't upset enough, Jesus makes one more declaration.

- The children are declaring that the King has arrived! The priests were already upset (think triumphant entry, think challenging the sacrificial system, think healing), and now the children are calling Him King.

- Jesus quotes Psalm 8:1-2, a psalm of praise for Yahweh.

Psalm 8:1–2 ESV

1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

Jesus receives this praise, declaring He is God and King.

- Jesus is my King. He's the king for you, too.

Conclusion:

The greatest coronation of the King is yet to come when Jesus comes again. Until

then, we serve Him as King in preparation for that day.

Authority issues in our modern culture...

Application:

How do you declare Jesus as King?

First, believe the gospel.

Second, surrender to His rule as Savior and King of your life.

Third, worship and obey Him.

Three Life Questions For Today

1. Will you follow Jesus?

There have been those in the recent history who have suggested that a person can be a Christian having Jesus as Savior without receiving Him as Lord. This idea has been perpetuated by many in churches over the years. This idea has taught that one can believe in Jesus and not see any life change and never turn from sin even a little and still be assured of heaven. The problem with this is that it flies in the face of the teaching of Jesus.

Jesus tells them that anyone who serves him must follow him. J.C. Ryle said, “As the soldier follows his general, as the servant follows his master, as the scholar follows his teacher, as the sheep follows its shepherd, just so ought the professing Christian to follow Christ. Faith and obedience are the leading marks of real followers, and will always be seen in true believing Christians.”13 We follow Jesus in a life of cross-bearing self-denial. We follow him in a life of service to God and man. We follow Jesus by holding fast the doctrines of his Word and pursuing a holy life through the power of his Holy Spirit.”

Jesus gives a promise. “And where I am, there will my servant be also.” This is our encouragement and promise in Christ. The Good Shepherd watches over His sheep. Those who serve Christ can be assured of His presence in their lives.

2. Will you live for the glory of God?

- When you look at the breadth of your life, who are you really living your life for? I don’t mean who you think you are living for. I mean, look at how you make decisions and the actual actions that you take. Who does it seem like you are trying to please? Are you truly worshipping God or are you worshipping yourself with your life?

3. Will you seek to live out the principles of the kingdom of God?

... instead of your own little kingdom created and curated to make you happy and comfortable?

4. Do you truly believe that God loves you?

He gave His Son. What more could He give to make you believe and accept that He loves you?

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