Hail to the King of Kings

Measuring success based on how many followers people we have is normal in our world. Look at the influencers on Social Media who are “successful”… they have millions and millions of followers.

Look at churches and pastors and leaders, success is always measured in numbers.

However, when an influencer or a leader says something or does something offensive or off color, or makes a change that isn’t liked, the followers bail and then that person become an immediate failure.

Today is Palm Sunday. Less then a week before Jesus was arrested and crucified the disciples were celebrating Jesus as King but things quickly went south.

If we would measure success by how many followers Jesus had on palm Sunday, He would be a huge success. Jesus would be going viral but in less then a week, those same disciples who laid there coats down, laid palm branches down, giving Jesus honor and praise as their King bailed on Jesus because Jesus wasn’t the King they wanted. Jesus didn’t meet their expectations as King so they bailed on Jesus.

When we measure and define success as a leader by how many people are following you that can be very discouraging.

“If nobody is following you, your not leading.”

According to this definition of success, Jesus would have been a huge failure.

Palm Sunday everyone is following Jesus but on Good Friday everybody bailed and Jesus is completely alone, arrested, whipped, mocked, beaten, and crucified.

But we know the rest of the story and if we believe that the Gospels are true we don’t have to waffle between kings.

We don’t have to doubt or question who is on the throne all we have to do is trust our King by knowing our King, our Lord, and our Savior.

Regardless of our circumstances, Jesus is still in control, He is still on HIS throne, and HE still rules and reigns; we must submit to HIS Lordship no matter.

We must trust our King, even though HE doesn’t always do what we want.

As Jesus was heading down from Galilee down to Jerusalem,

Jesus goes through Jericho and meets us with a tax collector named Zacchaeus.

Then He taught a parable of the 10 Minas. He refers to a king to take over a kingdom where the citizens objected to his authority. So the king ordered some of the servants to take some of his money.

Referring to Jesus’s authority as King, HE gives the audience a clear view that we are living in God’s Kingdom and we must be of the business of the King.

I’m not going to dig into this parable this morning but this parable is placed where it is for an important reason. Jesus is reminding and reinforcing to the people that Jesus is King.

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

At the very first Palm Sunday, “Triumphal Entry” we see Jesus, HIS Disciples, and then we see the Pharisees. Each character and group had an agenda, one was perfect but the others were not so perfect.

One was the real king and the others wanted to be the king and when we want to be king our desires tend to be selfish.

If we follow somebody just because that person is popular and entertaining and influential, if we look to people, we will eventually be disappointed.

People eventually disappoint… friends will, leaders will, pastors will, parents will, our children will…

Even Jesus will eventually fail to meet our expectations because our plans aren’t always God’s plan. The Disciples and the Pharisees had certain expectations of what the Messiah King will do and how HE will do it. But, when it all happened according to God’s plan, they were angry and disappointed.

But Jesus, knowing who HE was, knowing that HE was the King and the Messiah, he wasn’t aiming to meet any person’s expectations. Jesus simply fulfilled scripture and aimed to meet HIS Father’s expectations.

Jesus is the King of Kings and the King is calling us to trust and obey HIM no matter what we desire or expect.

King Jesus is always worthy of our Best Worship

Jesus knew who HE was and what HE needed to do.

Jesus knew that HE was the fulfilment of God’s Word. Jesus knew that HE was set apart as Holy as King riding on a donkey, a colt. Sending two of HIS disciples, Jesus said…

Luke 19:30–31 (ESV)

30 “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.’ ”

Jesus knew everything before it happened and these 2 disciples had to trust Jesus. And sure enough, it happened exactly the way Jesus said it would.

“The Lord needs it” was all the disciples had to say, and the colt’s owners gladly turned their animal over to them. Jesus had walked all the way from Galilee, so this switch to riding a colt the last mile into Jerusalem was a deliberate gesture, filled with meaning for the Jews.

The specification that this be a colt that has never been ridden is significant in light of the ancient rule that only animals that had not been used for ordinary purposes were appropriate for sacred purposes.

In Matthew, a donkey and a colt are mentioned (Matthew 21:2), while the other Gospels mention only the colt. This was the same event, but Matthew focused on the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, which indicates a donkey and a colt, thus affirming Jesus’ royalty.

The disciples then threw their cloaks over the colt, making a seat for Jesus. With this act of entering Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, Jesus was fulfilling prophecy and affirming his messianic royalty.

Jesus came in royal fashion, not as a warring king on a horse or in a chariot, but as a gentle and peaceable king on a donkey’s colt.

Jesus is our king and HE is worthy of our worship. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, HE was performing miracles, doing signs and wonders, raising the dead, feeding the people, and now Jesus is offering peace as we surrender to HIS Lordship and HIS authority.

The city was filling up with Jews from all over, getting ready to celebrate passover. The people who were coming from all over heard talk about this man named Jesus, some even seen the miracles he was doing and became disciples of Jesus.

The Disciples were looking for earthly freedom

They were excited to see the possibilities that Jesus could bring to the Jewish people. They could be free from Roman authority and Jesus alone has the power to grant them freedom… political, earthly, provisional freedom; freedom from worry. Jesus did all the miracles that could sustain the Jews living free from Cesar.

Luke 19:35–38 ESV

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!”

They praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen.

They were interested in Jesus for the miracles HE was performing… the mighty works is what they were seeking and they wanted to see more miracles. They worshipped Jesus from the perspective that Jesus is a genie in a bottle where all there needs could be met. Jesus is and always will be king… Jesus is more then a means to an end, a detour over our pain, a free meal ticket to freedom.

King Jesus is wanting to give us real peace as we rest under HIS leadership and Lordship.

No body likes fair weather fans.

These same people worshipped Jesus today but less then a week later many of them were shouting for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus did not meet the expectation of His own disciples. They wanted freedom, they wanted peace but they wanted those things on their terms. When Jesus failed to deliver on their terms, they bailed.

Even though Jesus was very clear about what HE would have to face for freedom and peace could be a reality. They did not see that Jesus had to face the brutality and violence of the cross before freedom and peace were ever going to be possible for not just the Jews but for all humanity.

We must worship Jesus, whether we are the majority or we stand alone with Jesus.

Jesus is still our King no matter what so serve Jesus as King no matter what.

The Pharisees held tightly to the illusion of power and control

The Pharisees were all about the power over the people but they had forgotten who gave them that power. They saw Jesus as a threat and they never recognized or acknowledged that Jesus was the messiah. The messiah, the long awaited messiah was standing right in front of them, yet they saw HIM as a threat to their own agenda, their own power and their own control.

The Pharisees thought that the people were blaspheming by saying “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

The Pharisees approached Jesus

Luke 19:39 ESV

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

By saying this, they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that thought the people were speaking blasphemy.

The Pharisees thought that God would not come down to save the Jews in the humble and meek way, the way that Jesus came… the way that Jesus disrespected the established religious authority was unacceptable to the Pharisees.

They were saying, Jesus, You’re not my King and you are not anyone’s King so please tell them to be quiet because we are subject to Rome’s authority and our power and authority is threatened.

These people lived in fear that they would loose control because they forgot who gave them this authority.

But Jesus said to the Pharisees

Luke 19:40 ESV

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus is giving a double meaning here.

God’s creation will always worship King Jesus because creation recognizes Jesus’ complete authority.

Storms submitted to Jesus, food multiplied, water transformed into wine.

Creation recognizes King Jesus’ authority.

But also, Jesus spoke a prophecy over the city of Jerusalem, the center of religious control.

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.”

The rocks cry out in worship but the rocks cry out in judgement when we fail to recognize that Jesus is King and HE is very present with us and HE is the only way to true peace.

When we fail to recognize that Jesus is here and HE loves us and stands at the door and knocks and is wanting us to invite HIM into our life. Don’t miss this moment of Jesus’ visitation, keep your eyes open to Jesus, fix your eyes upon HIM because HE is still King and HE is still then only way to real peace. Peace comes as we surrender to King Jesus.

Don’t allow pride and fear keep you holding tightly to the illusion of power and control.

All Hail the King, Jesus is King, and HE is present and wants to lead you. We must surrender control and power to King Jesus. Stop fighting and let King Jesus fight your battles for you.

Take Away:

Give King Jesus your best worship because HE alone is worthy.

Stop serving King Jesus on your own terms.

Give up the illusion of power and control by surrendering everything to King Jesus.