The Return of the King (Hebrews 9:24-28)
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· 8 viewsPalm Sunday linking that day to the return of Christ as King.
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24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. 25 And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal. 26 If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. 27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
We have the reminder of Christ’s Return!
As we saw last week, Christ entered the HEAVENLY sanctuary - the true sanctuary and offered HIMSELF as the GREAT SACRIFICE that does away with all other sacrifices!
He does not have to be sacrificed year after year - His sacrifice was complete, and is complete for all eternity!
But, there is a reminder of eternal destiny as well. Humans, we live and die and face judgement. We do not face death and judgment with fear because of what Christ has done FOR us.
And then, there is the reminder that CHRIST WILL RETURN!
But, the second time Christ returns, it is not to bear sin, but to finally bring SALVATION, justice, righteousness, and his full kingly reign, to those who are waiting for him.
This IS the story of Palm Sunday. I cannot think of Palm Sunday without thinking about the RETURN of OUR KING!
37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Christ entered the city and was praised as a king
Now, in riding a donkey, he is the HUMBLE KING who would give up his life for the people (as foretold by the Old Testament Prophets). But, this wasn’t necessarily recognized by the people THAT day...
This is what people would do in Jesus’ Time when a king would come to town...
The people are not making ONLY a worshipping statement - they are making a political statement.
To them, Jesus IS the king in the line of David. Jesus IS the rightful King of the Jews. There shouting HOSANNA means, “Lord SAVE us.” They WANT Jesus to save them from their enemies (which they believed were the dirty Romans…)
This is why the people were told to be quiet. A rebellion was in the works and it needed to be stopped.
Jesus DID provide salvation - but it wasn’t the salvation they were looking for...
Jesus entered the Holy City and eventually went into the temple - for days he pronounced God’s judgement upon the temple
Later that week, the crowds gathered on Friday to shout for this one to be crucified. Hebrews reminds us that as Jesus was crucified, he was the promised sacrifice for our sins. Jesus offered this sacrifice as the Great High Priest, but the sacrifice wasn’t bulls and goats - it was himself.
But, in the passage we read from Hebrews this morning, this Great High Priest will return as king...
One who is a priest and a king- that has ONLY happened 1 time in Scripture - Melchizedek.
Hebrews tells us that Jesus, the king/priest, is the ORDER or TYPE like Melchizedek...
The point is… The King that we have gathered to worship on this day called PALM SUNDAY will return - to the joy of some, and to the shame of some. For those who are in Christ, for us, it is a day of great JOY and CELEBRATION.
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
But, what do we DO now, in the time between. Jesus has come, and he was victorious over sin and death, and he will come again a be proclaimed FULLY as king. So, what do we do now...
35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 37 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” 39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
The Promise of the Return of the King should give us great confidence, boldness, hope, and the ability to persevere. Our King is coming, what can anyone do to me...
Therefore, we CAN remain faithful to God because GOD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISES!
Hebrews 11 and the HALL OF FAITH comes into play at this point because these were those who were faithful to follow God and CLUNG to God’s promises in their life KNOWING God would fulfill them all SOMEDAY
1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
So, back to our question for the day. What do we do?
We remain FAITHFUL to follow God knowing that God will keep His promises. Christ will return. Our faith, our struggles, our perseverance WILL be vindicated.
We do this reminding ourselves that God invites us to worship him, daily, with our faithful lives, in the in between time we are in.
We remember the words of Jesus on Palm Sunday
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
We worship, we cry out that our King is coming, we persevere in the midst of suffering and struggle
39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
Our task is to remain faithful. Our task is to live lives of faithful worship to our Creator and King. All Creation is participating in that task, and as the redeemed community of the Lamb and King, we are invited to participate in this worship FAITHFULLY by the strength that is granted to us be the Spirit of our Reigning King.
Christ has come, Christ is Risen, Christ will Come again. That’s God’s promise - that’s God’s. Our job is to remain faithful and worship Christ with our lives!
Be Ready when the King returns!
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
We only live once
We only die once
In order to be ready, we must allow the sacrifice Jesus made of himself to be enough. It will cleanse us, change us, purify us, and forgive us!