Christ the King

Intro

Our world is quite rare, almost all of us have grown up in a vast era of peace

A former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India have come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick. Since 650 B.C. there have also been 1656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.

The City of Peace (v.28)

Jesus had just finished his parable on Stewardship, and then continued on his journey to Jerusalem

Remember Jesus had been marching up towards Jerusalem for the climax of his death, yet this sets up the climax of Jesus as King

Jerusalem is the city in which was the center of all of Jewish life since David had captured it, and Solomon built the temple there

The very name of Jerusalem means ‘Foundation of Peace’, and it is fitting that Jesus comes in the the peaceful way he does

The Animal of Peace (v.29-36)

Jesus continues towards to Jerusalem near Bethphage and Bethany

Bethany is where he stayed during these times at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus

He sent two of the disciples to one of these villages to get him a colt to ride into the city

Did you know that there are some who view this story as Jesus stealing?

When they went into the city, they found the colt as they were told and brought it

Jesus told them that if anyone asked why they need it they are to respond that the Lord needs it

There is in fact a bit of word play here, the word for ‘owners’ here, is also lower case lord

So they are answering “The LORD needs this colt lords”

Jesus is saying his claim as the Lord of the universe and creation supersedes the rights of ownership, just as the requirements of a king supersedes those of his subjects

What is so amazing about this event, and what importance does it have?

Well, first of all, this was a colt that had never been ridden before, it was unbroken

If you know anything about unbroken equestrian animals, they usually don’t take kindly to people just hopping on them

Yet, this colt does not reject Jesus, it is a showing of his power over creation, the same God who calmed the seas, can certainly calm a young colt

It also spoke to a few key callbacks to important OT passages about the Messiah

First is Gen. 49:11 “11 He ties his donkey to a vine, and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes.”

This is when Jacob gave all his sons their blessings, and this was under the section of Judah, in which the scepter of kingship would not leave Judah

Jesus also calls himself the true Vine in John 15, and the blood of grapes is certainly an allusion to the blood of Christ being spilt on the cross

Imagery which Jesus himself uses at the last supper, when he says this wine is my blood

Second is the colt was never been ridden is a very close call back to Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 CSB

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This is a purely Messianic King, which points to Jesus riding in as a King to the chief city of the Jews

Exalting Jesus in Luke Riding on a Colt (19:29–35)

Zechariah predicted that the true king of Israel would come to Jerusalem on a young, unused colt. When kings came to cities in times of war, they came on mighty warhorses, terrible steeds. But when kings came on a donkey, it meant they were coming in peace.

You see, it was not simply pagan kings that had such rituals

In Jewish tradition, the heirs of David rode to their coronations on colts and the people would spread their garments on the road for that occasion in 2 Kings 9:13

2 Kings 9:13 CSB

13 Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. They blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

Also, note that Luke says that Jesus only told them about the colt and how to answer the owners, but it seems like everything else done after the colt is brought back is of the disciple’s own volition

So what is happening is that the group of disciples are joining in what Peter had already claimed, and joining in praises with Jesus as the Davidic Messiah!

The Words of Peace (v.37-40)

They came down the Mount of Olives, and all of the disciples began to praise God

To be honest, this is something that I had misremembered

Do you know what the Mandela effect is?

It’s when you brain adds in things that were not there, or modifies things like sayings, logos, stories

Fruit of the Loom

So it is not all of Jerusalem welcoming their king, but his disciples

Now, this might bring confusion, if you are thinking that Jesus’ disciples are only 12!

Yet we know that there were many that followed Jesus as his disciples, but they were not part of the inner 12, just as there was the inner 3 of James, Peter and John, and John was the closest to Jesus of all of those

In Acts 1:21-22 “21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us—22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us—from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of his resurrection.””

Notice that it says, ‘with us from his baptism to his resurrection’, so these disciples were probably several hundred in number

This crowd of disciples (not people in Jerusalem) began to shout out, quoting from Ps. 118:26

Psalm 118:26 CSB

26 He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.

Yet they add one important word: King

Blessed is the promised one of Zechariah 9 and Gen. 49, the son of David, the Messiah!

Peace in heaven, and glory in highest!

This was used in pre-exile Israel as a hymn as the kings had their enthronement

These words would of been readily on the hearts and lips of the people as they were part of the 5 Psalms that were regularly sung during the passover season

The King of Peace enters the city of peace, on a beast of peace, to proclaim the coming of his peace spreading kingdom

The very interesting is that this is not the first time similar words of peace were given to Jesus, all the way back in Luke 2:14 by angels at his birth

Luke 2:14 CSB

14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

There are some key differences, but similarities

Peace on earth, verses peace in heaven

Peace on earth points to the divine intervention of Jesus coming and manifesting the salvation plan of God

Yet we know that it will fully be found in the second coming of Jesus

Peace in heaven is the divine reality of God’s reconciling presence, and the desires of God being interrupted by opposition to Jesus

Who are those that oppose Jesus?

The Pharisees, who by and large have set themselves against the plan that Jesus is bringing about!

The Gospel of Luke 5.7.1. Going up to Jerusalem (19:28-40)

They are those who, in v 14, “do not want this man to rule over us”; who “do not recognize the time of God’s visitation” (v 44). This is not the universal response of the Pharisees, but those who do resist the acclamation of Jesus as king are emblematic of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem who will seek and engineer Jesus’ execution

They were so unwilling to see who Jesus was, that it would result in the terrible judgement of Jerusalem some 40 years later in 70 AD

They ask Jesus to not ask his disciples to stop, but to rebuke the disciples

This word is not simply rebuke, but it has the sense of ‘admonishing forcibly, with strong disapproval’

So for Jesus to rebuke what his disciples were doing would be to rebuke the entirety of his messianic mission, and would say that the Pharisees were right about Jesus being a false messiah!

So how does Jesus respond?

He responds, as he often does, with Scripture from Habakkuk 2:11 “11 For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will answer them from the woodwork.”

There would be no silencing of the welcoming of the King!

There is a twofold meaning in these words

The stones would worship and praise the creator just as the disciples had

Yet, also in light of the context of Habakkuk, the stones would cry out in judgment against Israel

Luke Jesus Rides into Jerusalem on a Donkey / 19:28–44 / 183

Habakkuk had prophesied the judgment of God upon Judah just before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. He had said, “The stones of the wall will cry out” (NIV) concerning all the sins the people rebelling against God had done. So Jesus’ words may have a double meaning. Praise for the true Messiah could not be repressed, and the stones of the wall would bear witness to the city’s rejection of him.

The Elusiveness of Peace (v.41-44)

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, and basked in the praise he is worthy to receive

Yet, Jerusalem and it’s leaders reject the king, humble and mild coming to them in Zechariah’s prophecy

Yet, as Jesus is gaining praise and recognition from his followers, and as he is being chastised by the Pharisees it moves him to weep

The only places we see Jesus weep are here and John 11:35, both on behalf of another

In fact, the way this should be translated is emphatic, “If You Jerusalem, even you”

The city that is known as rebellious against God!

Much like Jesus said in Luke 13, the city that killed the prophets and those sent to it, how God wanted to bring the city to him, but they would reject him

What makes him weep?

It is that Jesus knows what will happen to Jerusalem in a few years

Jesus explains what would happen

Peace is hidden from your eyes

Enemies will barricade around you, and hem you in from every side

They will crush you, your children, and destroy Jerusalem

All because they rejected Jesus when he visited them on this Psalm Sunday

Luke Jesus Rides into Jerusalem on a Donkey / 19:28–44 / 183

In contrast to the great joy of the crowd, the man on the donkey wept at the sight of the city. The name of the city has “peace” as part of its meaning (Hebrews 7:2), but the people of the city did not know what would bring them peace. The “city of peace” was blind to the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). If the people had known on this day what was truly happening and had recognized it for what it was, they could have found peace. But the Jewish leaders had rejected their Messiah (19:39, 47); they had refused God’s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ when they were visited by God himself. Now the truth would be hidden, and soon their nation would suffer.

He wept that his people could have it but they could not grasp it nor accept it

Why was peace elusive for the Jews?

They rejected their Messiah

The indictment against them: They failed to recognize God’s purposeful, salvation brining activity he was working through his Messiah

They had all the Scriptures pointing to Jesus throughout his ministry, yet they did not accept Jesus

The Misunderstanding of Peace

This comes back to the misunderstanding of peace for the Jews

For them they thought they could never have peace as long as Rome occupied, yet God had a different understanding

The Gospel of Luke 5.7.2. Weeping over Jerusalem (19:41-44)

Peace” in Luke has no connection to harmony with the Roman Empire or with the temple leadership, nor does it refer to subjective or individualistic tranquility. Peace, rather, is a soteriological term—shalom, peace and justice, the gift of God that embraces salvation for all in all of its social, material, and spiritual realities

That term soteriological is a theological term meaning concerning salvation

So Peace in Luke is not about this world, or our government or the government of the Jews

It is not about how good or bad our Christian leaders are, or how the Jewish temple leaders are

It is not about how you or I feel each day, whether God feels far away or close to you

It is in fact a gift that God gives to us that encompasses all of life, bringing us salvation

Which means that our peace stems not from something as frivolous as feelings, or as varying as the leadership, or as fickle as your pastors ability to live Christianly

But from the already accomplished sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, that standing is what makes be sure of our peace

So since the Jews misunderstood peace, it would culminate in Rome sacking and destroying the city and so in 70 AD it was sacked, with over 600,000 Jews dying in that onslaught from Titus

The Maintenance Plan for Peace (v.45-48)

In this final section of chapter 19, we see Jesus clearing out the temple

For Luke, Jerusalem and the temple cannot be separated, which is why immediately Jesus goes to the temple and sets it right

He goes to the temple and drives out the money changes, those who were selling in the temple and reminds the people that it is about prayer

So what exactly is going on here, and why is Jesus so mad?

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 19:45–46

Money changing was done because only certain coinage was then accepted in the temple from those who bought animals for sacrifices. The religious leaders made money off the system of buying and selling animals for sacrifice (thus making the temple a den of robbers). Also they led the people into mere formalism. A pilgrim traveling to Jerusalem could go to the temple, buy an animal, and offer it as a sacrifice without ever having anything to do with the animal. This led to an impersonalization of the sacrificial system. The commercial system was apparently set up in the area of the temple which had been designated for devout Gentiles to pray and so was disrupting Israel’s witness to the surrounding world.

Jesus appealed to two Scriptures

Is. 56:7 “7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.””

Jer. 7:11 “11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

The law was very clear, in Deut 12 God told people to bring animals from their own flocks

However, the leaders made flocks on the Mt of Olives to buy the animals

Some did not bring their own animals and bought at the market, (at exhorbant marked up prices!)

Those that did bring their animals would have them inspected and many times those in charge of inspecting the animals would find some sort of ‘defect’

This left those that brought their own animals forced to take place in this buying of the animal

So instead of the people coming to worship God, particularly the Gentiles, they are trying to pray while all these sales are going on with the mass of bleating goats, people trying to get in line and now, how can the Gentiles worship God?

Instead of praying for the people, the priest were preying on the people!

In fact, in Luke, this was the first time Jesus had been to the temple since he was 12, and immediately he comes and drives out the marketplace to make it into a place a prayer, just as a King has the right to do

So Jesus restored the temple to the God intended place of prayer, and then he began to teach in the Temple

The leaders of the Jews wanted to find a way to kill him, but the people were spellbound by the words of Jesus!

So how does this last section relate to peace?

Well it falls under our relationship with God

God restores the prayer ministry of the temple, which should show us how important prayer is

He also teaches the people about God, which should show you how important the Word of God is

These two things are perhaps the most important aspect of spiritual health, and having peace with God and others

Application

This section of the Triumphal Entry on that first Palm Sunday revolves around peace

The King of Peace, peacefully coming on a Donkey

Yet, there will be a second coming on this king, not on a donkey, but a warhorse

So the first question I have for you

Do you know this King of Peace?

Jesus is our peace (Eph. 2:14 “14 For he is our peace)

We cannot have peace with God, men, or ourselves unless Jesus is that basis

This peace is something that puts the soul at rest

No matter what happens in the rest of the world there is a stillness a certain idea that you will be alright

The Second Question is this:

What is stopping you from praising Jesus fully?

Jesus says here, that if the followers of Jesus, the disciples, are silent the rocks will cry out

Elsewhere in Scripture

The trees will clap

The mountains will skip and sing

The sky proclaim his handiwork

God will get the worship due him!

Don’t let anyone stop you from praising God

Whether that be religious folks

Peer pressure from your friends or work colleagues, or society

A key tertiary theme in this passage is that Jesus is rejected, and that continues today! People reject Jesus, but you don’t!

If Christ brings you peace, then we should bring him praise!

I’d like to close with the video from SM Lockridge, a prolific African-American preacher

This video covers all the things that our King Jesus is, and shows us what we should be showering him with our praises with!