Who is This King of Glory

The significance of Palm Sunday was lost on me as a child. I suspect it’s lost on most Christian adults, too.

My first memories of Palm Sunday were of sitting patiently in Sunday school next to my friends, holding palm fronds. When signaled, we waved them high while singing “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!” to a slightly off-key piano. I understood enough about Palm Sunday as a child to know it was the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was hailed King of the Jews. But it wasn’t until a few years ago I began to comprehend the significance of what happened on that date and why it’s so profound for followers of Jesus. (Notice I wrote “date,” not “day.”)

https://www.logos.com/grow/palm-sunday-and-why-the-date-is-so-significant/

At the tail end of Israel’s 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God gave the nation some specific instructions:

On “the tenth day of this month” (Nisan 10, the first month of the Israelite calendar),1 each family was to choose a one-year-old lamb “without blemish”, bring it into their home, and care for it for five days. On Nisan 14, they were to slaughter it just before sundown and put its blood on the lintel and doorposts of their home

It was an act of obedience and trust. That same night, the Lord would “pass over” every home he saw with the lamb’s blood: Passover has been Judaism’s transformative event ever since. It’s celebrated every year on Nisan 15—falling in March or April on our Gregorian calendars. Six days before Passover puts Jesus in Bethany on Nisan 9 (Nisan 15 minus 6 days).6 “The next day” would have been Nisan 10—the same “date” the Israelites were to bring “lambs without blemish” into their homes.

Almost 1,500 years after the first Passover in Egypt, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, on Nisan 10.

During Holy week, or what was later called Passion Week by the church in the 1300’s, there probably would have been around 2 Million people in the city of Jerusalem. The regular population of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus people estimate to be around 80 thousand. People would pilgrimage to the site of the Temple where it was rebuilt when the Israelite came back from captivity from the Babylonians and then the Medo-Persian empire. You see The temple mount in Jerusalem was a special place for the people. They wept at first because it was not quite as beautiful as Solomon’s temple but it was a special place none the less. Hundreds of years later (600 AD) The temple would be destroyed again and on its place a Islamic Shrine was built). This was the setting as Jesus and His followers where making their way into Jerusalem that week before He was going to die.

When Jesus passed through Jerusalem’s gates, they were openly proclaiming him as their Savior and King (though in the sense of relieving Israel from Roman oppression). What they didn’t see was God’s selection of Jesus Christ as the final Passover lamb to be slaughtered.

The stage was set for the events of the final week of his life, leading to his suffering, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Just a few days later on Nisan 14, as upwards of 250,000 lambs were being sacrificed in the temple courts according to God’s instruction in Exodus 12, Jesus would be nailed to a cross.

I have always found this really cool How God orchestrated it that Jesus, the king of Kings would enter into Jerusalem as the sacrificial Passover lamb. There are no accidents with God. Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb but he first came in recognized, albeit shortly as the King of Kings. One of the questions that likely would have been asked by the worshiping mob, is who is this King of Glory?

HBI - We have access to the realm of the presence of God if we have clean hearts cleansed by trusting in Jesus as the king of Kings.

Background

We are not sure when the Psalm was written, but from what I understand it was a traditionally read Psalm, usually the first day of the week they would read it. It is a messianic Psalm that looked forward to the coming messiah King.

The Psalm is about making an entrance into the holy city of God. Most scholars think that it was written around the time that David first brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.

As you know the Ark of the covenant was a sacred relic, something that signified the presence of God with His people. When they had it God won battles for them. And when they lost it, the people that had it where blessed. So David went and brought it back to the city of Jerusalem.

But as usual, there is so much more to it then the historical context behind when it was written.

The message we see here is God and humans entering into each others Spheres. King Jesus entering into ours so that we could one day enter into His.

First Stanza - King of all

Psalm 24 is split up into 3 stanzas. The first of which is in Psalm 24:1-2

Psalm 24:1–2 CSB

1 The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord; 2 for he laid its foundation on the seas and established it on the rivers.

We begin by praising the master of the universe. The earth and everything in it belong to the Lord. Two pairs we see here. The earth and everything in it, the world and all who dwell in it. Order out of disorder, Balance out of Chaos.

First of all what does this all have to do with Palm Sunday? Well Palm Sunday is all about Jesus entering into Jerusalem as a humble king, but also as the sacrificial lamb. This passage we read about the prophecy of King Jesus, it will all make sense in a minute.

A lot of people struggle with this idea, that the world and everything in it is the Lord’s because he created it. I have been thinking about this lately. When sharing the gospel with people, one of the biggest things it comes down to is the creator or better yet the creation of the universe. People can not get over the fact that the universe has an intelligent creator. This is where we need to start. Everything belongs to God, because He is the creator of it all.

When sharing the gospel this is where we go back to, God is the creator of all. Becvause of God is not the creator of it all then He is also not our king. Some people believe that God created the world and left it alone for it to run itself. That is honestly a pretty depressing view, and also wrong.

The fact that God is the creator of all is essential to the understanding of the rest of the passage. The absolute truth, there is no swaying. God is in charge of it all.

The second Stanza - How do we get to God.

We zoom in from a cosmic frame of reference to a local one. It asks and answers a complex yet at the same time simple question. Who may enter into the local world to the dwelling place of God.

Psalm 24:3 CSB

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?

There is an old Greek myth. about two giants who attempted to storm the home of the gods by piling three mountains--Olympos, Ossa and Pelion--one on top of the other. the mythological god Ares tried to stop them but was defeated and imprisoned for thirteen months in a bronze urn. Artemis later raced between them in the guise of a deer. They both cast their spears but missed and instead struck each other dead.

Kind of like the tower of babel, I wonder where the ancient Greeks copied this from. But it has always been on the minds of us mere mortals. The idea that we can ascend to the throne of God.

This is still a problem, even now. People are turning now rather to the mindset that they are there own god, that they are equal god. They are putting themselves on the same level as God.

It used to be that in order to come into the presence of the king, one must be summoned. To enter into the presence of the king unbidden could well result in your own death for daring to be in His presence. You see the thing is that no one on there own can ascend into the presence of the king of Kings. The standard we have to ascend into His presence is seen in the next verse.

Psalm 24:4 CSB

4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.

Dos the Lord require any change in the part of us humans in order to enter His presence?

The answer is yes! But the beautiful thing is that it is by nothing we can do. Our own good deeds and right acts will not help. What is needed is a admission of the dependence on the sovereign grace of God.

It is not outward acts is what this is saying but what is needed is something that is moral, becoming clean and pure of heart. Clean hands does not refer to personal hygiene, but rather to keeping the commands of God. All of this is dependent on accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is the only way this is possible.

Psalm 24:5–6 CSB

5 He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who inquire of him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

At first all of this seems to teach justification by works. I mean follow the laws of God, do not bow down to idols. It seems to saw that God makes righteous those who do right things. This is where the end of verse 5 comes in.

Permission to enter into the presence of the Lord God comes from God our savior not earned by our desire to do what the bible says. We are required to comport ourselves in a manner worthy of God, but righteousness comes from God alone.

The old Scottish theologian David Dickson said, "The holy life of the true believer is not the cause of his justification before God, … but he shall receive justification and eternal life, as a free gift from God, by virtue of the covenant of grace: therefore it is said here that he shall receive righteousness from the God of his salvation." Sinners can only be justified by a God who saves.

Ours is the pursuit of a relationship with the Lord God. To subordinate ourselves daily to the will of the king of Kings.

But first it requires Jesus

At first all this requires something. This would not be possible without the coming of the king of kings.

Psalm 24:7–8 CSB

7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.

We see the heralding of the king of kings. This blasts us into the future to when Jesus came as the king and the Passover sacrificial lamb. To lift up your head is a sign of hope for one. Anticipate with joy the coming of the king of kings. Prepare yourself with joy for the coming of the Lord of Hosts.

This is a metaphorical statement to announce with Joy the coming of the king. But it is also a humble aknowledgment that Jesus is Lord.

Psalm 24:9–10 CSB

9 Lift up your heads, you gates! Rise up, ancient doors! Then the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord of Armies, he is the King of glory. Selah

The Lord God is mighty in battle. We see the image of the divine warrior king. He first came as the sacrificial lamb but will one day come as the conquering king.

Conclusion

We have two who’s in this passage. Who is the king of Glory and who may enter His presence.

Jesus is the one who is Holy and the King of Kings and we are the ones who are not, who have impure thoughts and dont follow thw word of God, or at least struggle in trying to. We can not meet the requirements of the King of Kings.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

It is possible that you are saying, 'I shall never enter into the heaven of God, for I have neither clean hands nor a pure heart.' Look then to Christ, who has already climbed the holy hill. He has entered as the forerunner of those who trust him. Follow in his footsteps, and repose upon his merit. He rides triumphantly into heaven, and you shall ride there too if you trust him. 'But how can I get the character described?' say you. The Spirit of God will give you that. He will create in you a new heart and a right spirit. Faith in Jesus is the work of the Holy Spirit, and has all virtues wrapped up in it.

There is one final place for Jesus to make His entrance. He will come back again as the mighty king, but by then it will be to late. Right now He has extended the invitation to all to make Him the king of your heart. He is being patient, but His patience will not last forever.

This is the message that I want to leave you with today. On Palm Sunday we look with expectant hope to Jesus, the king of gory coming back for His children so that we may be with Him.

But the other side of that is He is also calling you to look up with Hope and realize that the world and everything in it belongs to God. We are to look up and give our lives to Him. To ask Him to be lord of our lives. For the world and everything in it belong to Him, and one day He will come back for His own.