The Courageous King
Notes
Transcript
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, as we enter Holy Week we give you praise. We praise you for who you are and how you courageously faced incredible opposition and hardships, but you always overcame with self-giving love. You are the Son of God, our Messiah, the savior of the world! Amen.”
Good Morning Living Word, today is Palm Sunday. This marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent. Palm Sunday is the day in which we commemorate Jesus’ courageous entrance into Jerusalem which kicked off the week when he was arrested, convicted, crucified, and most importantly, resurrected.
I want to start today with a somewhat controversial statement, and I ant you to hear me because this statement is going to be important for our understanding of Palm Sunday as well as the eventual Crucifixion of our Lord.
From all worldly viewpoints, Jesus is about to have a week of nothing but failures. However, these failures were sufferings that contrasted God’s nature of love with mankind’s nature to control and dominate. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, he washes his disciples' feet, a close friend betrays him, he’s spat upon, abandoned, beaten, whipped, tried, and convicted of being King of the Jews.....from an earthly perspective this was a week of abject failure!!!
Forget for a fact that that which he was convicted of is exactly what he was, and is. And finally, he was crucified, dead, and buried. These events contrast God’s holiness with humanity’s sinfulness.
When something is put under force and trauma, you find out what it’s made of on the inside. What do you get when you squeeze a lemon? Lemon juice. What do you get when you squeeze an orange? Orange juice.
What happens when the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, rides into town on a donkey, stoops to wash his disciples' feet, is betrayed by a trusted friend, is spat upon, abandoned, beaten, whipped, tried, convicted, and crucified, dead, and buried. What do you get when that happens? You get a crystal-clear picture of God’s core nature of self-giving love.
Jesus endured the Cross events in order to save humanity. There was no other alternative. And in doing so he demonstrated that he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Messiah, the Son of God who came into the world to save the world, not condemn it.
Today we’re going to focus on his courageous entrance into Jerusalem. Let’s go to the story.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“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.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The story begins with Jesus approaching Jerusalem. Before he enters, he sends two of his disciples into a village to return with a donkey and her colt. The disciples do what they’re told, return with the donkey, and Jesus rides slowly into town. The text says that this was done to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah, who envisioned the Messiah would come “gentle and riding on a donkey” (21:5).
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.
A few points I would like us to understad:
Jesus Has All Authority
Jesus Has All Authority
There are a couple of things going on here which are important.
Riding a donkey signified peace
Riding a donkey signified peace
First, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey is a highly intentional move by Jesus. In the ancient world, if a king rode into town on a horse he intended war and aggression; but if he rode into town on a donkey, he intended peace. Jesus rode into town on a donkey to demonstrate his kingship will be one of peace! The passage from Zechariah continues:
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
This is a Messianic prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling. He is the anointed one, the Messiah, the king coming into town proclaiming peace instead of conflict. The war is over. There will be no more violence. I don’t think the disciples nor the crowds fully understood what Jesus was doing right before their eyes. The gospel of John says,
He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Jesus proclaims himself King
Jesus proclaims himself King
Secondly, Jesus is proclaiming himself to be king. And this is no small thing! The crowds declared Jesus to be “the prophet from Nazareth” (21:11),
And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
but that’s not what Jesus claimed for himself. He was more than a moral teacher and more than a prophet. He was —and is— the King and Messiah.
During his life and ministry, Jesus consistently demonstrated true authority. Jesus had —and still has— all authority over nature, demons, sickness, and death. He spoke with authority and was not like someone who memorized all the right answers (Mark 1:22). He protected people from storms and waves (Mark 4:39); healed them from blindness (John 9:7), leprosy (Matthew 8:3), and fevers (Mark 1:31); set them free from evil spirits (Matthew 8:32), and demons (Luke 4:41) and more. At Jesus’ word, the devil left him (Matthew 4:10). Demons left, fevers disappeared, and paralysis went away because he had all authority over them.
Nature had to obey him because nature is under his authority. The devil and his demons had to obey him because they also are under his authority. The same with sickness and disease: they are fully under his authority. Just as God spoke the cosmos into existence in Genesis, everything under Jesus’ authority must comply with whatever he speaks because he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The early Christians understood. Their creed was, “Jesus is Lord.” The word Lord meant absolute authority. It was not a fancy way to say, Mister, as in Mr. Jesus. When they confessed, “Jesus is Lord!” they were proclaiming his complete authority over everything in this world: nature, sickness, demons, death, and themselves! This proclamation got them killed, by the way, because only Caesar was lord. The Christians’ proclamation was punishable as treason.
While Jesus was brutal against severe weather, demons, and sickness, he was loving, welcoming, and direct with people. This is the Jesus who ate with tax collectors, sat with sinners, and let sinful women wet his feet with their tears. He touched the untouchable. He loved those who were oppressed AND loved their oppressors! Why? Because,
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Jesus used his authority to save, heal, and make people whole. He never used it for selfish purposes or gratuitous displays of power. He used his authority humbly as a way to demonstrate God’s self-giving love in ways consistent with his mission.
Here’s the question though: Jesus has all authority over nature, sickness, demons, and death, but does he have all authority over you?
Meaning, are you truly his disciple? I don’t mean have you accepted some creed “about him,” but do you trust “in him” as the Lord of your life?
Jesus is Courageous
Jesus is Courageous
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem had been planned and it wasn’t on a whim. Before Jesus rode into town, he needed a donkey, so he sent the disciples to fetch the ones he had in mind. He gave them instructions that if anyone questioned why they wanted the donkeys, they were simply to say “The Lord needs them” (21:3).
If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
Mark tells us that the village was Bethany, where Jesus recently raised Lazarus from the dead as we discussed last week.
The timing was perfect. Jesus knew Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims for Passover. The law required all adult Jewish males who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem to come to the Passover. And not only they came, but Jews from all over the known world traveled to Jerusalem for this festival. Jerusalem would be jam-packed with tens of thousands of expectant visitors focused on the Passover. This was the time for Jesus to make a statement for all to see.
The Jewish leaders were already plotting to kill Jesus. The most dangerous way Jesus could enter the city was in broad daylight with a lot of attention and noise from the thousands of spectators. And that’s exactly what he did.
Jesus courageously made himself the sacrificial lamb entering the city. He knew those who hated him and wanted him dead would be triggered, but his actions and decisions were based on doing God’s will rather than on how the men in power would react. Jesus was courageous and he calls us to be courageous also.
Do you think there is a lack of courage in your life? On a scale of 1 to 10 (can’t say 7, everyone always says 7, so that’s not an option!) how courageous are you?
Let’s be specific. If you are courageous:
You will do the right thing regardless of the consequences.
You will feel fear but do it anyway.
You will not stop at failure.
You will risk being criticized.
You will pursue purpose over comfort.
I think Jesus was being courageous in each of those ways. To be courageous is to be Christlike! Too many of us are stopped by fear, avoid failure and criticism, and are stuck in comfortable lives with little meaning or purpose.
Potential for Vision Casting here
Who do you say that Jesus is?
Who do you say that Jesus is?
The very large crowd “spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (21:8) as Jesus entered.
Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
This was a reception reserved only for a king. Jesus, however, had no intention of taking political power like most kings. Jesus was only interested in becoming king in the hearts of each and every person, for his kingdom was not of this world.
They shouted, “Hosanna!” which means “Save now!” and comes from Psalm 118:25.
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
That’s exactly what Jesus came to do! Remember, he did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17)!
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
There were tens of thousands of visitors in the city for the Passover and they had yet to be exposed to Jesus, so this is why so many were asking who he was.
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The crowds called Jesus a prophet because they did not fully understand him. But those closest to Jesus, those who spent time with him, listened to him, engaged with him, and learned to obey him, knew exactly who he was. He was not a prophet or just a great moral teacher, he was more than that. He was not an earthly king, he was beyond an earthly king. Those who knew him called him the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into the world to save it, not condemn it!
“You are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is come into the world.” -Jesus’ friend, Martha, in John 11:27.
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” - Jesus’ disciple, Peter, in Matthew 16:16.
“We know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” -the entire town of Sychar, after spending two days with Jesus, in John 4:42.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The question is, who do you say Jesus is? Is he a prophet? Is he a moral teacher? Or is he your Lord, your absolute authority? C.S. Lewis said,
Let us not say, "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Who is Jesus?
What does it matter to your life today?
Let’s pray together.