Palm Sunday
Messages from the Kitchen Table/Holy Week • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsThe Sovereignty and Humility of our King
Notes
Transcript
Well, the presidential election contest is in full swing
I’ve only been to one presidential rally. I went to see President Bush the first in Dover DE one time when he was running for re-election against Bill Clinton
I remember how at the rally you could see Secret Service personell on the rooftops and body guards around him
And after the rally my friend and I stood along the street and watched as the presidential motorcade came flying by. Motorcycles, SUV’s, and at least 3 (if I remember right), identical Limousines, one of which held the president.
And speaking of the presidential limo, it’s incredible what taxpayers spend on it and how it is constructed. A lot of the details are not made public by the secret service but:
It costs somewhere around $1.5 million
it weighs somewhere close to 20,000 pounds, as compared to a normal family car at around 3000 pounds
its doors are around 8 inches thick and the windows are around 5 inches thick.
It’s armor-plated all the way around with kevlar matting underneath
Advanced communications systems and life support systems
And firepower
The level of security and the show of power surrounding our president is absolutely astounding!
This is for ONE leader in ONE country on ONE planet in ONE solar system in a universe which is too vast for description.
Today is Palm Sunday
This is a day in which we think about our King who is the King of all kings, the LORD of all lords, Creator and Ruler of all the universe.
And we see how HE chose to enter the city of Jerusalem as His earthly mission was drawing to a close
This is one event which all 4 of the Gospel writers talk about but I’ve chosen to read from
As you are turning there, I think it’s helpful to set a little context.
Jesus had come down from the region of Galilee to Judea for the Feast of Tabernacles about 6 months before this.
Now the Feast of the Passover had arrived and Jesus knows that His time on earth was nearly done.
At the beginning of chapter 19, he had made a trip over to Jericho which was to the east of Jerusalem
And now He was on his ways back and had very nearly arrived back in Jerusalem. And we pick up the story in verse 28
(ESV)
The Triumphal Entry
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 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. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 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, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 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. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 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.”
There are some things that strike me about this story
The remarkably accurate fulfillment of prophecy
(ESV) 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.
I love seeing God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus
We know that what is happening here is part of God’s plan put in place from eternity past.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
The Nature of God’s Kingdom; God’s Kingdom is one that contradicts human understanding. It is one that turns our thoughts about power and privilege upside down
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
God’s Kingdom is one that contradicts human understanding.
Behold, your king is coming to you;
It is one that turns our thoughts about power and privilege upside down
We see a King who is humble.
righteous and having salvation is he,
while other kings of the earth rode on the best horses, surrounded by symbols of power, soldiers, flags, attendants, Jesus rode on the back of a common beast of burden. A donkey
humble and mounted on a donkey,
While other kings displayed their power to lord it over their subjects, Jesus joined those whom he had come to serve.
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
This was a clear illustration that confirms what we read in , that the Word put on flesh and dwelt among us.
We see a King filled with compassion
Jesus’ route from Bethphage to Jerusalem took him over the Mount of Olives
As He comes over the Mount of Olives, the city of Jerusalem comes into view, spread out before Him.
And when He sees the city, Jesus does something extraordinary for a king.
Now an earthly king would probably have come over the Mount, have seen the city.
It’s magnificent! There’s the high walls, the temple mount, the palace.
and his heart would have exalted at the wonder of his kingdom.
He would have been filled with pride and his heart would have beat faster at the prospect of taking control of such a city and such a nation
But Jesus is different. Jesus stops and, seeing the city, He weeps over it.
And this isn’t the only time. In (ESV) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
It doesn’t say that he weeps here, but He definitely is mourning their continued unbelief and stubborn hearts.
And He says right after this that these particular people would not see Him again until they say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
And this turned out to be true.
He weeps because He sees a city that does not realize that in roughly 30 years, it will see destruction as the Roman general, Titus, marches in, lays seige, and finally conquers and destroys the temple and the whole city.
He weeps for the people of Jerusalem and, I believe, all of Israel who for generations had been groaning under the weight of sin and bondage, waiting for their Messiah to come and deliver them
But when their Messiah did come to live among them and show them how to be reconciled to their God, the vast majority of them missed Him.
They did more than miss Him. They rejected Him.
And because of their continued unbelief, they were going to face judgement and destruction and a scattering that would last for centuries upon centuries.
Today as our King looks down on us, I believe that He weeps still. He weeps for a world who has openly rejected Him
He weeps for those who claim to be His disciples, yet when the trying fires come, as they were about to for Jesus, His disciples often forsake Him and flee.
We have a compassionate King
Our King WILL receive the praise that He deserves
As His disciples are crying out their praises, there are the ever-present Pharisees standing by, watching everything with a critical eye
They are blind to what is going on. The disciples at least have some idea who Jesus is.
The Pharisees have NO idea and the whole thing seems preposterous to them
These words which should be reserved for a king of the highest honor, indeed for the Messiah Himself, are being shouted to an itinerant preacher on the back of a donkey.
To them it’s blaspheme! “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet! Rebuke them!”
Don’t let them blaspheme like this!
(ESV) He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
(ESV) He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
English Standard Version Chapter 19
He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Wait, the stones? Really
Yes, really! God will receive glory from even those things without a voice
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
This sounds like what God says in : “Be still and know that I am God. I WILL be exalted among the nations. I WILL be exalted in the earth!”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
This is a King who is humble, yes. Compassionate, yes. But He will receive that praise that he deserves.
It’s our privilege to declare his glory and His praises with our whole being
In song and in speech, we declare His glory with our words
In all areas of life, may we strive to lift up the glory of our King
May your Palm Sunday this year be full of joy as you think about the significance of what Jesus has done here and what He is about to go through for you and me.