One moment in the presence of the King

Palm Sunday  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Sometimes we don’t realize the significance of a moment at the time.
It could be your wedding day, the birth of a child… a graduation… joining the military…
When we look back, it’s easy to see how those moments changed our lives.
This is a lot like that first Palm Sunday.
This moment was mentioned in all 4 of the gospels.
This moment marks the beginning of holy week.
The moment where Jesus made HIS triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
This moment is when the crowd wanted Jesus to be their king and the religious leaders wanted Jesus out of the picture.
Luke 19:28–40 (ESV)
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.”
PRAY
We tend to see Palm Sunday as a pure, innocent celebration when Jesus entered into Jerusalem as the crowd was waving palms branches shouting “Hosanna, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”.
We see a diverse crowds of people… religious and political leaders, followers of Jesus, pilgrims from other places to celebrate the Passover, many people just came to see Jesus.
The signs and wonders, the miracles that followed Jesus. So many lives were being changed, people were being set free, people were being raised from the dead.
This was the peak of Jesus’ earthly ministry and the crowds were showing up, they were happy, and ready to make Jesus King.
Jesus was meeting their medical needs, physical needs, the need for leadership, and their political needs. Seeing the potential that Jesus supernaturally, powerfully brought to Israel, the crowd was ready to receive Jesus.
Even though Luke mentioned that the crowd were disciples of Jesus, we know that there were different people who came from all over the Roman world, representing different groups with different motives and different agendas.

We see the crowd…

The masses of people, some were followers of Jesus but some were curious about Jesus. And then…

We see the Pharisees…

The religious leaders who were threatened by Jesus. They saw the people that they had power over were looking to Jesus instead. They were jealous and desperately wanted Jesus dead.
Many of their motives were impure and self-serving and because of that, they missed the significance of the moment.
This was not just another worship service, this was the moment where Jesus revealed HIMSELF to the people as their King… the long awaited Messiah.
But so many missed this moment because they could not surrender completely… they could not lay everything down and put their faith in Jesus, the humble and gentle King.
The people were reluctant because they were stuck in their own hang ups and reluctant to surrender everything to King Jesus.
We have 2 different groups who responded to Jesus.

THE CROWD was only curious about Jesus.

After hearing about the miracles Jesus performed they came to see something miraculous.
In John’s account, (In John 12), many came to the village of Bethany to see Lazarus who was raised from the dead by the power of Jesus.
A crowd will show up when somebody raises from the dead.
Anybody can draw a crowd…
Crowds show up to see something specular and Jesus did not disappoint the crowd.
Crowds have very little commitment to Jesus. They were only interested in their immediate need… they followed Jesus for their own personal benefit. That’s why the crowd wanted to make Jesus their King.
John 12:13 (ESV)
13 They took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
The crowd shouting Hosanna and waving palm branches as Jesus passed by.
The were crying out “Hosanna!” which means “Save us now!”
The crowd was declaring Psalm 118:25-26
Psalm 118:25–26 ESV
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The expression “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” may have been recited as part of the Passover tradition—as a blessing given by the people in Jerusalem to the visiting pilgrims.
Then the crowd shouts “Hail to the King of Israel!” The crowds looked to Jesus as a national liberator.
The people who were praising God for giving them a king but they had the wrong idea about Jesus. They expected Jesus to be a national leader who would restore their nation to its former glory.
When it became apparent that Jesus was not going to fulfill their hopes, many would turn against him.
But in the moment, the crowd was consumed by their immediate needs.
If Jesus is our king then we can eat bread and fish and be satisfied… our needs will be taken care of and we don’t have to work for it.
Jesus knows what we need.
Jesus met there physical needs but HE came to do so much more. That’s why Jesus was focused on the cross.
This same crowd waiving palm branches, praising God and honoring Jesus as King became the same crowd that would shout Crucify Him…
Jesus is still our King but we must learn from the crowd.
We cannot make Jesus king as long as our needs are met on our term. Jesus can be king if only life is easy… as long as I don’t experience suffering.
Jesus will always be our King… in lack, in difficulties, in trials, in suffering… so trust Jesus because HE loves you.
Even when the miracle doesn’t come, when others give up on their faith, even those we admired as men or women of great faith are no longer serving King Jesus.
The crowd was blinded by the issues of the day but Jesus sees HIS Kingdom in us.
Jesus became the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
We can come to Jesus out of curiosity but salvation and transformation begins when we completely surrender everything to Jesus as our King.
The crowd wanted the goodies but...

The religious leaders wanted the control.

They were all about control. They wanted power and authority over the people and they saw Jesus as a threat.
The Pharisees told Jesus how to control the crowd. In vs 39 HE says, Rebuke them, tell them they are out of line…
Luke 19:39 ESV
39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
The religious leaders used the law to enslave the people and used their authority to control them.
The religious control over the people until Jesus showed up.
King Jesus was not about controlling, manipulating, or guilting anyone. Jesus showed the people the Love of the Father and offered them freedom.
As we are in the presence of King Jesus our natural response is worship. That’s why Jesus rejected the Pharisees request.
Luke 19:40 ESV
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
It’s not about controlling the people, it’s about King Jesus setting us free from the desire to control.
The Pharisees were becoming more and more paranoid as the people were flocking to Jesus.
As the crowd was worshipping Jesus, the leaders were threatened. The leaders forgot the purpose for their authority.
They no longer ministered to the people. It became all about themselves.
What’s ironic is that King Jesus had complete power and authority and yet surrendered it all.
For God so loved the world that HE gave HIS one and only Son…
Learn from the Pharisees. Their desire for control caused them to become irrelevant.
We can become so caught up with our religious traditions, spiritual habits, or our personal preferences that we expect others to feel the same way. If they don’t feel the same way, we think less of them or get angry with them.
Our job isn’t to control people, Our job is love live and declare Jesus King and genuinely surrender All to HIM.
Jesus being present with the people is what brought real transformation. When people encounter the real presence of King Jesus, their lives will be forever changed.
Jesus never worried about how people responded… He just spoke the truth in love. We freely make our own decisions in life, Jesus never manipulated anyone.
Jesus went to the cross for us so we can freely bow down, worship King Jesus.

King Jesus came to bring us Real Peace

After the high point in HIS ministry, the triumphal entry into Jerusalem… Jesus began to weep over the city.
Luke 19:41–44 ESV
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.”
Jesus wept for Jerusalem because HE knew the tragic future. Rejecting King Jesus has real consequences.
Jesus said “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
As we look back at the significance of this moment, Jesus wants us to respond to the Prince of Peace.
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.
King Jesus came to give us real peace.
The crowd was looking for a quick fix.
The Jewish teachers already rejected Jesus as their Messiah.
No Jesus, No Peace… Know Jesus, know Peace.
No matter what we face… no matter what our future holds… we can now walk in confidence, fully relying on HIS peace… abiding in the presence of King Jesus, surrendering ALL to HIM.
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Jesus is not like any earthly king… HE humbled himself and offered us salvation.
King Jesus isn’t some distant deity, looking down at us.
Jesus is King so let us rejoice, let us delight in HIM, and let us never stop worshipping King Jesus.
We can only encounter Jesus’ peace when we surrender ALL to HIM.

TAKE AWAY:

Don’t just sit back like the crowd and be curious about Jesus.
Don’t be like the religious leaders who were unwilling to give up control.
Surrender everything to King Jesus and receive HIS real peace.
The people were reluctant to surrender everything to King Jesus but the good news is, Jesus is still present with us
Respond to King Jesus, without reluctancy but jump right in, and trust HIM with everything.
Don’t sit back and expect to be served…
Don’t serve Jesus only on your terms…
What can I do to serve my King?
Don’t be like the religious leaders who were unwilling to give up control.
Our hopes and dream… our expectations and preferences… our luxuries… our time… our passions… our talents… our finances it all belongs to King Jesus. Surrender everything today.
King Jesus came to set us free from the desire to control.
Surrender everything to King Jesus and receive HIS real peace.
NO Jesus, NO Peace… Know Jesus, Know Peace.
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