Sermon

April 8, 2001
Palm Sunday
Luke 19:28-40

CHRISTIAN, HERE IS YOUR KING!

1. Identified by His Actions
2. Acclaimed by the Crowds
3. Misunderstood by Many

Ah, yes, Palm Sunday. The day on which we commemorate Jesus' triumphant ride into Jerusalem amidst the songs and shouts of the Jewish children, with throngs of people throwing their coats and palm branches in his path. Chances are, we're all familiar with the events that transpired on that first Palm Sunday. We've maybe been hearing about them since we were little shavers in Sunday School. And yet, I wonder how often we've thought about what those events mean for our lives today? I mean, is there some connection between what happened way back then and what still happens in our world today? Is there a message for us to take home with us from Jesus' fateful ride into Jerusalem so many years ago? Of course there is.

Remember, the same Messiah whom the people publicly acclaimed as their King back then is still the king whom we Christians worship today. This morning, we want to focus on that aspect of Jesus' true identity, namely his divine kingship. This morning, we look to Luke's inspired account as we consider this theme:

CHRISTIAN, HERE IS YOUR KING!

1. Identified by His Actions
2. Acclaimed by the Crowds
3. Misunderstood by Many

First, Jesus was a King Identified by His Actions. Now, I should probably say that throughout Jesus earthly ministry, there were a lot of things that Jesus did which would have identified him as the Messiah, promised by God. The miracles he performed, the prophecies he fulfilled, the message he proclaimed-all these things should have led people to recognize that Jesus was their Messiah King. And yet, as if that wasn't enough, Jesus, by means of his ride into Jerusalem, offers the people of his day one last unmistakable clue about his true identity. You might say that he laid out a perfect fingerprint for all to see. And what was this unmistakable mark of his Messiahship? Jesus rode into town on the back of a donkey. Now, as 21st century Christians, you and I may hear that and say, "What? I don't get it. What's so revealing about riding into town of a donkey? How does that identify Jesus as the promised Messiah?"

My friends, if you and I were 1st century Jews, the connection between riding a donkey and being the Messiah would be obvious, for we would know by memory the words of the Prophet Zechariah who wrote, "Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." You see, according to the Prophet Zechariah, riding on a baby donkey was going to be a trademark of the Messiah. It would be his identification card, if you will. Jesus knew it, the Jews were looking for it. And so when Jesus decides to identify himself with this very unique behavior, it's no wonder the crowds of Jews go nuts. For they recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah. But before we look at their acclamation of Jesus, let's consider two other, often overlooked, actions by which Jesus also revealed his true identity.

First, Jesus displays his divine omniscience, his ability to know all things. Even before he rode into Jerusalem, he had told his disciples to go into the village and there they will find a baby donkey which has never been ridden, tied up with its mother. The disciples were to bring the animal back to Jesus. And if the animal's owner objects to their actions, they were to simply say, "The Lord needs it" and the man would give it to them. Well, you know that that's exactly what happened when those disciples went to get the donkey. And if you're one of those two disciples, you've got to be thinking to yourself, "This is too weird! How could Jesus know all this would happen?" The answer, of course, is: Jesus is the all-knowing Son of God, and is identifying himself as such by his ability to describe the future in detail.

The other action which gives us a hint of Jesus true identity is his ability to mount a young donkey, one which has not yet been broken, and then ride it straight through a crowd of people yelling and throwing down palm branches, without the colt bucking him or balking under his weight. Could it be that by his remarkable control over this animal, Jesus was further identifying himself as the true "King of Creation?" It's entirely possible, isn't it?

Now, you put all these different divine actions together and you and I have plenty of evidence to identify Jesus as the Promised Messiah King. But Jesus was not only a King Identified by His Actions. He was also II. A King Acclaimed by the Crowds.

And what a royal celebration it was! Throwing down coats and palm branches was the customary tribute offered to royalty. By their behavior, the people were publicly proclaiming Jesus to be a king-but not just any old king. They were identifying him as the king promised by God in the pages of the Old Testament. The people were quoting other Old Testament passages which referred to the coming Messiah-King. They sang: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!" Those are all "loaded" terms. They are all phrases which Scripture applies to the Savior who had been promised since the time of the Patriarchs.

Friends, it would be wrong for us to downplay their joyful acclamation. It would be wrong for us to say, "Oh, those people don't know what they are talking about. They are just caught up in the euphoria of the occasion. They aren't really worshipping Jesus as the promised Savior. I mean only 5 days later, they're shouting, 'Crucify him!' What a bunch of hypocrites!" No, I'm afraid that would be an unfair assessment of the crowd. Chances are, a good portion of the people gathered around Jesus really were sincere in their worship of the Savior. They had put their faith in God's promise to send a Savior. They saw in Jesus the fulfillment of God's promise, and were responding in a way that is appropriate for joyful, thankful believers.

And yet, it's apparent that not all the Jews were of that opinion. For by the end of the week, there was a crowd of Jews marching Jesus out of the city to have him crucified. It seems that even though Jesus was a King Acclaimed by the Crowds, he was also: A King III. Misunderstood by Many.

For us to get a grip on why so many Jews rejected the very Messiah for whom they had been waiting so long, we need to understand what the Jews had come to expect from their "Messiah." In a word, the Jews were looking for "JUSTICE". They expected their King to come and make things right again. Where did they get that idea? They got it from passages in the Old Testament. Let me read a couple to you. Isaiah 35:4 says, "Your God will come, he will come with a vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Or Isaiah 61:2 where the Messiah says, "I will proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners."

Unfortunately, many of the Jews in Jesus' day were guilty of misinterpreting those passages. Rather than understanding those passages to mean that the Messiah was coming to bring freedom from sin and Satan's bondage (as those passages were intended to be understood), the Jews interpreted them to mean that the Messiah would come to bring freedom from economic oppression and military bondage. Already in Jesus' day, many of the Jews had the mindset, "Yes sir, when the Messiah comes, he'll make things right. All those nations which have been oppressing us will get what they deserve. God is just. He will punish them. And in the meantime, God will make us the great nation we once were. That's what our king will do for us."

Friends, if you listen carefully, some of those same sentiments expressed by the Jews in Jesus' day, are still being echoed by the nation of Israel today. "We're not backing down. We believe that God is on our side. We may have been oppressed in the past; we may have been persecuted. But God is going to use us to bring justice on those who oppose us. God will see to it that we get what we deserve."

You know, I think it's rather sad to think that a nation, really, a religion, could be so intent on seeing God bring justice that they have failed to see God bringing grace. How sad that a nation could be so intent on getting temporary freedom from political oppression that they passed up the chance to receive eternal freedom from spiritual oppression. Because Jesus wasn't the powerful, military Messiah the Jews wanted him to be, the Jewish nation as a whole has largely rejected Jesus as the gentle, forgiving, saving Messiah, that he truly is. That's a tragedy.

And yet, before we focus too much on the Jewish nation, maybe we'd better take a look at our own hearts. Are the Jews the only ones who have expected God to be the distributor of divine justice? Aren't there times when you or I have thought to ourselves, "C'mon God! How about a little justice here! Why is it that I get a 23 cent pay raise and the next guy gets $200,000 in stock options? And why is it that when my kid acts like a Christian and turns the other cheek, he gets beat up by the class bully? That's not fair. And how come I'm the only one who doesn't cheat on the test, and I end up flunking because of it? That's not fair. And how come so much of my hard earned money goes to the government to pay for things that I don't believe in? That's not fair, either! God, when are you going to come down here and make things fair? When are you going to come down and right all these economic, political and social injustices?

Friends, if we are looking for God to come down and correct all the political, economic and social injustices which we perceive in our lives, we will just as disappointed as the Jews were when Jesus failed to use his power to rectify the political injustices of his day. Jesus did not come to fix the temporary, superficial injustices so common to life in a sinful world. Jesus did not come to make sure we get what is fair, get what we have coming. No, just the opposite. Jesus came to make sure we don't get what we have coming. The only thing we sinners have coming from a just and holy God is eternal condemnation. But thanks be to God that Jesus Christ spared us from that. Jesus came into this world not to judge wrongdoers like us, but to save wrongdoers like us. He came to die our place. He endured the penalty demanded by God's justice, so that we would not have to suffer that penalty. In other words, Jesus did not come to make things right in our lives. He came to make us right with our God. And once we know that, once we know that we're all right with God, then we are in a much better position to accept and handle the other injustices we're sometimes asked to endure in life.

The bottom line is this: There are plenty of people in the world who are looking for what they think is justice in life. They want a God who comes with punishment and retribution on the oppressor. But that's not the kind of King we're looking for. You and I are looking for a king, not with might and power, but rather, with gentleness and salvation, pardon and peace. And you know where we'll find that king, don't you? We'll find him right here riding a donkey. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." To him be our hosannas and praise, for the rest of our lives, and beyond. Amen.