2023-04-02 An Upside-Down Coronation

Are you ready for Saturday, May 6? Do any of you know what’s happening on May 6? Pick up and Walk! If you’re interested in helping, Dennis Zilinski is our contact person. Let him know.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. What else is happening on May 6?

Let’s see if these clues will help.

Nobody here has ever witnessed more than one of these.

This is the first one in 70 years.

It will take place at Westminster Abbey

The coronation of King Charles will be a ceremony like few others. There aren’t many details out yet, but apparently it will be quite musical and will be shorter than Queen Elizabeth’s was. Hers was 3 hours long! In the internet age, nobody has patience for anything like that anymore.

There will definitely be a lot of pomp and circumstance. The list of those invited will be lengthy and will include royalty, government leaders and dignitaries from around the world. Likely there will be few commoners at the event. They will have to settle for lining the streets waiting for the King to pass by and watching it on TV.

Unless a coronation happens immediately after an overthrow of a previous monarch, coronations are spectacles in the good sense of the word. Even Solomon’s, which was a hurry-up affair because his brother was having himself crowned as king, was a momentous occasion. (read 1 Kings 1:38-40) (blank)

So what would it be like if the Son of God were to be crowned king? We know from Revelation, that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that he is the Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne. We know his kingdom will never end. But was Jesus ever enthroned on earth? Was there ever a coronation in Jerusalem?

The Processional

Yes, there was, but unlike any other.

The first part of it took place on the day after Sabbath, the day we today call Palm Sunday. Today. It’s recorded in all four gospels which tells you the significance of it.

Let’s read the story as it is in Matthew. (read Mt 21:1-11) (blank) Each of the gospels adds different details to the story. Here’s a collation of all of the details.

As Jesus leaves Bethany, he sends two disciples ahead to the village of Bethpage to get a donkey colt to ride on. They are given detailed instructions, and everything happens as he says it would.

The disciples throw their robes on the donkey and Jesus mounts it. This colt had never been ridden. This is significant. It indicates the sacredness of the event. In Numbers 19:2 a red heifer that would be sacrificed had to be an animal that had never had a yoke on it and when the philistines wanted to send the ark of the Lord back to Israel they had it put on a cart that had never been used before pulled by cattle that had never been yoked before. This colt, which had never been ridden before, calmly carried Jesus through shouting crowds waving palm branches. Definitely miraculous! Matthew also makes it clear that this was a fulfillment of

Matthew also makes it clear that this was a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9.I should

I should add that conquering kings rode on warhorses. Kings who came in peace, rode on donkeys. Jesus came in peace.

Many of the people who accompanied Jesus from Bethany began to spread their outer robes on the ground in front of him. Others cut branches from palm trees to put on the ground and to wave them. In that day and age, and still today at times, it was a great honour to be able to lay your robe down for the king to walk on. It showed your subservience to the king, and it was then an honour to put the robe back on afterwards. This crowd from Bethany included many who had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. They spread this news throughout the journey.The road from Bethany to Jerusalem first descended into the valley and then ascended up to Jerusalem.

The road from Bethany to Jerusalem first descended into the valley and then ascended up to Jerusalem. People in Jerusalem would have been able to see and hear what was happening on the far side of the valley. Passover was to be celebrated 5 days later, so there were massive numbers of people who had come to Jerusalem. Thirty years later a Roman governor took a census of how many Passover lambs were slain, it was close to 250,000. The law was that there had to be a minimum of 10 adults for each lamb which means that, if the number of lambs is accurate, there were around 2 ½ million people in Jerusalem then. It seems like a fantastical figure, but even if it is, we know that huge crowds of pilgrims had come to Jerusalem. Jesus chose exactly that time to enter in this way.One more tidbit of information. Traditionally,

One more tidbit of information. Traditionally, this exact day was the day that Jewish people chose their Passover lamb.

While Jesus was going down to the valley from Bethpage, John says another crowd of people poured out of the eastern gate of Jerusalem to meet him.

The two groups meet. It includes the disciples, pilgrims, witnesses to the raising of Lazarus and even some hostile pharisees. All the way down the slopes of the Mount of Olives and all the way up the slopes of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, the crowds shout

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” – Matthew 21:9, Psalm 118:25, 26

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” – Matthew 21:9, Psalm 118:25, 26

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”Two of these three

Two of these three praises were taken directly from Psalm 118, the passage that was read for scripture reading. It was a psalm that featured prominently in the Passover celebrations of Judaism.

Hosanna means, “Save us” it’s a cry for deliverance. “Save us Son of David!”, “Save us in the highest heaven.”

According to Luke, some pharisees in the crowd appealed to Jesus to stop his disciples from crying out these words, implying that they know these words of praise are meant only for the Messiah and for God. Jesus responds by saying, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” By doing this Jesus is clearly accepting that what the disciples and crowds are saying is the truth. He is the Son of David, he is the Messiah, he is the one who is capable of saving them

By doing this Jesus is clearly accepting that what the disciples and crowds are saying is the truth. He is the Son of David, he is the Messiah, he is the one who is capable of saving them, he is from the highest heaven. It’s an unmistakeable claim.

As they ascend the hill to Jerusalem and Jesus sees the city, he begins to weep, saying, (read Luke 19:42-44) (blank) Jesus realizes that most of the crowd that is praising him and calling on him to save them, don’t fully realize who he is. Many will later on call for his crucifixion. They’re looking for a political, military rescue, not the soul rescue that he offers. Jesus sees into the future and sees the city besieged and destroyed because the people don’t recognize God’s coming.

As Jesus enters the city the whole city is stirred with people asking, “Who is this?” The answer being, “Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

The Coronation of King Jesus

What does this all mean? Why did Jesus deliberately enter Jerusalem as a king on a donkey?

When you study the FT prophets you discover that often they used words and preaching to deliver the message of God. However, when words were no longer heard, God would direct them to do a dramatic act that those observing could not fail to understand. When God wanted to make it clear that Babylon was about to conquer Jerusalem and enslave everyone he told Jeremiah to walk around Jerusalem with a yoke around his neck. Everyone who saw him, who knew the messages he had earlier delivered, knew what the yoke meant.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus made this dramatic entrance to make it clear who he understood himself to be. He made it absolutely clear who he was, the King of peace, the son of David, the Messiah.

The leaders of the Jewish people, the Sanhedrin, had been looking for him for a while. They had made plans to kill him. They likely expected him to be skulking around, trying to not be noticed. Jesus called their bluff and entered in a public way, declaring who he was. After this he went into the temple and cleansed it. Throughout the week he publicly taught in the temple courts. It was a power confrontation like no other. On one side those who were trying to keep their power and wealth and authority. On the other side, the one who was all-powerful, who owned everything, and had all authority, but who had given all that up to bring the message of peace with God.

Who won? On the surface, it was the Jewish religious authorities. They had the levers of power in Jerusalem. They were able to buy Judas with 30 pieces of silver. They had the temple guards who skulked around at night when the adoring crowds were absent. They set up the sham trial in the middle of the night, with paid, false witnesses. They said the unthinkable when they told Pilate they had no king but Caesar. They pulled every lever possible with him and persuaded him to have Jesus crucified. It looked like they won. But unwittingly, they enabled Jesus to be crowned king.

What?

You see, the entire passion week, from the entry into Jerusalem, to the time he breathed his last breath on Good Friday, was in many ways a coronation. But it was an upside-down coronation, just like the kingdom of God.

Instead of being anointed by the priests as Solomon was, the priests opposed him. Not only that, John records that the day before he rode into Jerusalem, Mary, Lazarus’ sister, took a pint of pure nard and anointed his feet and wiped it with her hair. Jesus said it was for his burial.

He entered Jerusalem as a king riding on a donkey. A borrowed donkey. No richly ornamented robes or courtiers or armed cavalry, but ordinary peasant robes, freely given and ordinary peasants proclaiming him King.

Instead of a banquet in a palace hall filled with dignitaries, rich food and servants serving the king, Jesus had a simple Passover meal in a borrowed room with his closest friends. He served them by washing their feet. It wasn’t triumphant and joyful, but melancholy. He knew what awaited him the next day and his disciples had a sense of dread.

Instead of a crown of gold, a crown of thorns.

Instead of a robe being given to him and truly being praised and honoured, the soldiers and Herod himself put a robe on him, mocked him, hit and spit on him and then tore it off him.

Instead of a Jewish herald proclaiming him king, a Roman ruler confirmed his kingship with the sign on his cross while executing him.

Many rulers attain their kingship by assassinating the previous king or winning a battle. Other people die so that they can become king. Jesus did the opposite, he died so we could reign with him.

Conclusion

We already officially have Charles III as our King, it’s automatic. On May 6 it will become doubly official. He is king in the ways of this world. He is rich, people honour him as king and serve him. In fact, all public officials in Commonwealth countries swear allegiance to him. Since we’re Canadians, none of us have a choice in our allegiance to him. It’s an obligation.

With Jesus its not like that. We do have a choice. None of us are automatically his subjects. His status as King of Kings is unquestionable. He is king whether we wish it or not. However, we do have to choose to make him our king. It’s a matter of the heart.

Will you have the upside-down King Jesus as your king? Will you make him your Lord? Will you call out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Save us Son of David!”? Will you praise him with “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”?

Will you have this humble, broken man as your Lord and God?

Pray

Benediction: Rev. 19:6b, 7a, 16b

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