The Once and Future King

Once upon a time…

I grew up on stories. I have always been an avid reader, and it probably started when I was young and my mother would read to me. Now I know there are some people who love reading non fiction, but that was never my thing. I always loved fantasy fiction. From the Chronicles of Narnia, to the Lord of the Rings, I have always loved the way fantasy is able to take complex ideas and re tell them in a way that is captivating and understandable.

Just take the Chronicles of Narnia for example. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is an amazing retelling of the Gospel story. I love reading about how Aslan the Lion, the Once and Future King of Narnia gave his life to pay the life debt of a traitor. I probably shouldn’t give away much more…I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t read the book yet…or seen the movies. But I can’t recommend it enough!

These books weren’t where I started though. Some of the earliest books I read were books that took you back to a simpler time. A time when man and myth lived together. These are the stories of King Arthur, and his knights of the round table!

King Arthur

I’m sure that if you have ever read any of the more accurate re-tellings of the stories of Arthur Pendragon, you already know, but much like the Chronicles of Narnia, there are many parallels between the story of Arthur and the Jewish Messiah. Like the Jews awaiting their Messiah, Arthur’s story promised a chosen king to unite and redeem. You see, Arthur was the king of a promised bloodline. He was the son of Uther Pendragon, and it was through the Pendragon blood that the tribes of Britain would be united under one High King. As he conquered , he added many Lords to his council, and ultimately this is where we get the idea of his Knights of the Round Table.

More than just political maneuvering though, Arthur was the bridge between the pagan Britain and the coming of Christianity. Arthur drove out the druids, ending the pagan practices of the British isles, which heavily worshipped the “gods of earth, water, and sky.” In his quest for the holy grail, he was bringing worship of Christ to Britain and solidifying the role that Christ would play in the future of Britain and of Europe in general. He is ultimately known as the “Once and Future King” because the legends say that he will return one day to re-unite the peoples of Britain and restore his Round Table.

I always found it interesting how closely these stories paralleled the Old Testament stories of the messiah. Messiah in Hebrew is :

MESSIAH, mē̇-sīʹa (מָשׁיחַ‎, māshīḥ; LXX Χριστός, Christós; Anointed One

In the stories of King Arthur, he was given divine authority to rule, when he pulled the sword excalibur from the stone, or when the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur, one of the two. But this idea that he was chosen, by God, to rule, and there was some visible sign that showed He was the ruler, is the underpinning of the Messiah. Time and time again we see this pattern of Messiah’s in the Old Testament. You have the priests who were annointed to lead, and then the kings would follow suit. The anointing was the symbol that the spirit of God was upon them and they had the right, given by God to lead. Now Arthur is a pretty specific story to Western Europe, but I’m going to tell you a story this morning, and I want you to put yourself in the shoes of a Jew in the time of Christ. Much as we grew up on the stories of Arthur and Aslan, they would have grown up with this story.

This story was told year after year, and it shaped who they were. But much like the stories of King Arthur became nothing more than myth or legend, there were many Jews that viewed the coming of the messiah the same way. There was truth in it, but it wasn’t really a literal story. This is important because it will shape how we see the Jews react to the coming of the messiah. So let’s pray this morning and then put yourself in the shoes of a 1st century Jew as we prepare for the coming of the messiah.

-PRAYER-

1. The King is Coming

The covenant with Adam and Eve.

Once upon a time Man lived with God. We worked with Him to tend the garden He created. Life was great! But then man decided they wanted to create their own rules. They no longer wanted to do what God created them for, instead they wanted to be their own gods. And so they separated themselves from Him, and were punished to die for their crime. But God, wanting to be reunited with His people made them a promise. One day, a child would be born who would end death, and bring us back together with God. And so with the curse of death, but the promise of future restoration, man set out to subdue the world.

The Covenant with Abraham and Israel

After some time, God found Abraham, a man who trusted Him, and made a promise: “I’ll bless you, make your descendants vast as the sea’s sand, and through you, bring hope to the world” (Gen 12:3). Over centuries, this promise grew through Abraham’s grandson Jacob, renamed Israel. His twelve sons became the twelve tribes, God’s chosen people, sealed in covenant to shine His light (Gen 28:14). Through Joseph’s courage, God saved them from famine, settling them in Egypt’s abundance (Gen 47). But soon, shadows fell, as Egypt’s favor turned to chains.

The covenant with Moses

Unfortunately, things don’t go perfectly for the Israelites, and as they fulfill God’s promise and multiply, the new Pharoah, the leader of Egypt becomes nervous about how many there are in his land, so he decides to make them all slaves. They are tasked with backbreaking work, many are killed, and the people cry out to God. He hears his people and wants to use them to show all the nations that He is the Lord, the King of Kings (That may be important later), and he uses Moses to defeat the Egyptian Gods. Things get so bad for the Egyptians that they eventually tell the Israelites to leave, and they do, taking with them the silver and gold of their neighbors, essentially much of the wealth of Egypt. Again, God affirms His Covenant with Israel, and He becomes their King. (By the way, if you want to hear a lot more about this part of the story, we are having Passover this Wednesday, and you can sign up at the connect center. Passover is when we celebrate God bringing His people out of bondage, then and now.) He creates the perfect laws for them to live by, and He actually lives among them, as a pillar of Cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The problem is…People still want to be in control on their own…

The Kings of Israel

Eventually the people of Israel want to be just like the others in the nations around them. They demand to have a human king. They are warned that a king is going to be hard on them, and will take the best of their possessions and children, but the people are stubborn. They are firm, and so they reject the leadership of God for the leadership of a person. For the next few hundred years they swing back and forth between the kings who follow the commands of the Lord and those who reject Him. This leads the people in and out of captivity with many nations, and ultimately divides the land that the Lord promised. People stray further and further from the Lord, and it seems that mankind is determined to do everything they can to undermine the covenant that God offered His people. But one bright ray of hope is the prophecy that began when Adam and Eve were first sent from the garden. One would come who would crush the head of the serpent. This promise had been passed down from generation to generation, and more prophecy was given. A king would be born of the line of David.

The end of the line of kings

Time and again, the people of Israel pinned their hopes on their kings, wondering, “Could this be the one?” The one promised since the garden, who’d crush the serpent’s head and bring God’s rule back to His people. But king after king fell short—some chased idols, others led the nation into ruin. Then, like a storm, the kingdom of Babylon swept in around 587 BC. Jerusalem crumbled, the temple of the Lord was reduced to rubble, and the line of David’s kings seemed to vanish. The people were torn from their land—some hauled off to exile, others left in a broken homeland, scattered and lost. It looked like the end of the story.

Yet, even in the darkness, God’s promise didn’t fade. The prophets spoke of a new hope—a King, a mighty deliverer from David’s line, who’d rise to restore Israel and bring the nations under God’s reign. Exiled and hurting, the people clung to this spark: “We’re down, but we’re not out!” They waited, generation after generation, for the One who’d make good on God’s ancient covenant. The throne was empty, the temple gone, but the dream of a Savior King burned bright, ready to shine when the time was right.

The restoration of the Temple

Cyrus of Persia defeats the king of Babylon and allows some Israelites to return to their homeland. Over the course of 20 years, the people begin to rediscover their history. Despite numerous setbacks the people find the scrolls that contain the words of the prophets, the words of God. They rebuild the temple, and although it is just a pale shadow of the majesty that was the first temple, God’s people again worship him in Jerusalem. Time passes, and though empires rise and fall, the people of God worship relatively with out interference. They are still waiting for the one who will lead them to freedom. The one that will make good on the promise that God made to Abraham and Jacob so long ago. Peace comes at a cost though... The desire for a warrior king, the all in one, king, high priest, and prophet began to fade as conflict lessened. Stories started to become myth... until a new ruler conquered their land.

The Seleucid dynasty and the Maccabean Revolt

Just a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the Seleucids, a dynasty that was founded by one of Alexander the great’s generals took control. They spread Greek philosophy and lifestyle throughout the region of Israel and Syria. They outlawed Jewish practices and actually desecrated the temple of God in Jerusalem. There they set up a pagan alter to Zeus and began worshipping him there. This reignited the fire of the people of God and again they cried out. This time, their prayers were answered and a warrior rose up. Judah Maccabee retook Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord. He spent years fighting until finally he controlled the land the Lord had given his people. The people had been crying out for a king who was also High Priest and that is what they got. The Maccabees started the Hasmonean dynasty and consolidated the priesthood under the rule of the king. But just as the second temple was a pale imitation of the first, these kings were pale imitations of the kingship that God originally installed in Israel. These weren’t the chosen messiah, of the line of David. Nor were they High Priests of the line of Levi. They were just men who desired power. The infighting, political intrigue, and plots would make for a great HBO show. Through this time we see some groups rise to prominence. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. Between them and the leaders, there was division and chaos. These splits were not just political, but were also religious, and civil war was inevitable… This ended the rule of the Hasmoneans as the new empire of Rome came in.

The Roman Conquest

Rome was a mixed bag. They allowed for religious freedom, but the conquered people paid a high price, and had to deal with taxes and occupation. Again, they were crying out for a deliverer, but not from the ultimate enemy, some awaited a warrior to crush Rome, others a priest to restore purity, or a prophet to renew faith—yet all longed for God’s kingdom.

The King is Coming:

For generations, the people of Israel, held fast to God’s promises through exile and chains, their hearts set on a King from David’s line who’d shatter evil’s grip, restore the land, and draw the people near to God again. In the shadow of Rome’s iron rule, with taxes crushing them and soldiers in the streets, they yearned for this deliverer—some saw a warrior to cast out Caesar, others a priest to cleanse the temple, still others a prophet to proclaim God’s truth. Then came word of Jesus, a Galilean teacher healing the broken and preaching God’s kingdom, and hope stirred: could he be the one? On that day outside Jerusalem, they poured into the streets, waving palm branches as the prophets foretold, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!” and spreading their cloaks before him, crying out that he was the King coming in the Lord’s name, just as the Scriptures promised. With every shout and step, their voices wove together the ancient words of hope, longing to see them fulfilled. I want you to put yourself into the peoples shoes, as we read the scripture now.

2. The King has Come

Matthew 21:1–11 NET

Now when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “Tell the people of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Misunderstanding

What an amazing moment. To see the King that you have been waiting for. This is a big day! The King has come. I can’t imagine how excited the people must have been, and we know this was truly a spectacular entrance. For a city the size of Jerusalem to be thrown into an uproar would have been incredible. The Romans didn’t like any large gatherings, and they would have had some understanding of Jewish customs, so for them to see the clamor would have been concerning, to say the least. The problem is the Jews, having heard so many stories had an expectation that was no longer based on the prophecy, but on their needs.

Interpreting Jesus’ kingship through circumstances

You have to remember who the Jews were expecting. If you look at the prophecies given, the King wasn’t coming as a conqueror, but as a servant. We truly see this in the life of Jesus, but the stories that were told by the people emphasized his victory. The reign of the “son of David” and how all the world would bow before him. You can see this drive even in the disciples. Peter actually corrects Jesus, earlier in His ministry, when Jesus is speaking of the same thing, and says: “So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” Jesus’s response is to tell Peter to “Get behind me satan.” He tells peter that he is focused on the things of the world and not of the things of God.

Peter was expecting Jesus to be that conquering king that he had heard so many stories of. Peter had lived his life under the rule of the Roman government and had to pay the high taxes that were demanded of him. To a man dying of thirst, he would long for a thimble of water more than an ocean of gold. The culture he and all of his people grew up in, the stories they told shaped their expectations. He wanted to be set free from oppression. Time and time again from the histories and the stories he was told, he would hear about the Israelites crying out to God. God would hear their cry and would raise up a deliverer that would become this conquering king. Unfortunately, that was never a long term solution. Jesus came for a different purpose, but they were blind to it. But more than this, the culture they were surrounded by fed this misinterpretation.

Triumph

In Rome, when a general would return home they would have something called a “Triumph.” This wasn’t a practice unique to Rome, but none since the Egyptians placed such great importance on the ceremony. The Romans would line the streets with the citizens, burn incense and send forth offerings in a great parade. The incense would call the people to the Triumph, and it was notice to all that something great had been done. The greater the victory, the greater the celebration. Oxen would lead the parade, followed by the captives that had been captured by the general. If it was a great victory, the line of captives could be miles long, and the people would know how great their general was by the incense, the length of captives, and the beauty of his offerings.

Roman victory celebration

The Jews were acting like Jesus was one of these returning generals. The key here is that when a triumph was given, it was for a general that had already won the fight. No general was honored if they lost, or if they had not yet gone to battle. The Jews however were expecting that their king had come, and they were honoring him like a victor.

DO YOU SEE THE PROBLEM YET?

The King they needed, not the king they wanted.

Jesus had come to fulfill the original commitment he made with Adam and Eve so long ago. He wasn’t there to cast out Rome, to become the king that would be the heir to the maccabees, He was the new Adam. He was there to defeat the original evil, to take back the earth from the enemy and to establish His reign over the whole earth. And the thing is, although his fellow hebrews didn’t know it, Satan did…

Satan Recognized the King Jesus was

Just before Jesus began his public ministry here on the earth He went into the desert to be tested by Satan. For 40 days and 40 nights He wandered, and when He was at his weakest, the great enemy came to tempt Him. What is interesting is the temptation that Satan offered. First He offered him bread, which makes sense, as I don’t know about you, but I would be starving after 40 days… But it is the second temptation that is interesting.

Satan offers Jesus all the nations of the world

It says that Satan took Jesus to a high place, somewhere they could look out and see all the kingdoms of the world. As they looked out, Satan offered Jesus the very thing that Jesus had come to take, the earth. Satan said all Jesus would have to do is bow before him and the earth and all its kingdoms would belong to Jesus. Unlike the Jews, Satan understood why Jesus was there. Jesus was going to be the king of the earth, reclaiming all its people for His Father, but what Satan missed was how. Both the Jews and Satan were expecting a conqueror. Someone who would rise up, fight back, it was the language of power, and that was something that Satan understood. But that isn’t who Jesus was.

The early prophecies

Isaiah prophesied about the coming king, but this wasn’t the warrior, but a humble king. One who was a suffering servant. This man was:

he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. 

53:4 But he lifted up our illnesses, 

he carried our pain; 

even though we thought he was being punished, 

attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. 

53:5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, 

crushed because of our sins; 

he endured punishment that made us well; 

because of his wounds we have been healed.

I could keep preaching from Isaiah, but I think you get the idea. You see the king had come, but it wasn’t the king the Jews were expecting, but it was the king they needed.

3. The King Reigns

Jesus ultimately does what a king should do for His subjects.

This is one of those moments where modern stories find their roots in older ones. Those King Arthur stories that I read when I was younger, they focused on a king. Yes he was a mighty warrior, but he was a healer, he was a true king. This king would put the needs of his subjects before his own. Human kings have never been able to live up to this superhuman standard, but Jesus was no mere human. Jesus was the perfect ruler, the KING OF KINGS, and as the perfect example, we are about to see him do what a good king must. Jesus prepares to give His life to save all his subjects.

The fight is about to be won

Even though it wasn’t the fight they were expecting, Jesus came, ready to fight and through His death, to win! This was the blow the enemy couldn’t see coming. Satan, a being whose very existence defined selfishness, would never have thought to defend against Jesus’s death. I can only imagine the frustration and fear that was going through the mind of Satan when the triumph of Jesus began, but then to work against Him and to end with a crowd yelling: “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” The discord, hatred and confusion that the enemy sowed amongst the people of God was great, but he didn’t realize that the one thing he was doing was sealing His own fate.

Colossians 2:12–15 NET

Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Jesus wins the fight. Not only that, but think about that last sentence: “Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” In a triumph, the captured leaders, the people who were lead back in chains were paraded through the city streets. This public disgrace showed that they were no match for the conquering victor, and that each one was another mark of greatness for the general that had defeated them. The triumphal entry had been a little early, but Jesus deserves a triumph, AND CHURCH, THAT IS WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE TODAY!

We are the triumph of Christ

Paul tells us in:

2 Corinthians 2:14–16 NET

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing—to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

If you remember, the call to a triumph is the incense. The streets would be filled with it. For those who were awaiting the generals return, the smell signaled that their ruler, their king had been victorious and it would fill them with Joy! They would flock to the streets to see how great their leader was. But to those who were conquered, the smell was shame. It was a smell they would never forget, and it signaled the moment they began their public humiliation and life as servants. What Paul tells us is that we are supposed to be the incense, the fragrance of a conquering king. In the triumph of Christ, we are the perfume, calling the people and telling them their savior is coming back.

We are the witness to those in the world.

You have to understand, the Jews were so excited. The arrival of Jesus was such a spectacle that everyone wondered who this man from Galilee was. They had heard these stories, time and time again, and they knew that it was only a matter of time. Now they may have gotten their timing a bit off, but think about the level of excitement they had. I bet there wasn’t a person in the city that wasn’t asking the question, “who was that man?” They had waited for so long that they had to make sure that everyone knew who was coming into the city. CHURCH, ARE WE AS EXCITED FOR THE COMING OF THE LORD? OUR KING IS REIGNING ON THE THRONE. HE HAS ALREADY WON THE WAR! Do we live with the excitement, knowing that our king has won the war, and He is coming back?

4. The King Returns

Jesus will return as the victorious warrior king, to claim his world.

The triumphal entry isn’t just a time to look back that the entrance into Jerusalem, but is a time to look forward when He will come again! The Bible is clear, Jesus won the battle and when He returns, it isn’t to fight a battle.

Revelation 19:11–21 (NET) Then I saw heaven opened and here came a white horse! The one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and goes to war. His eyes are like a fiery flame and there are many diadem crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood, and he is called the Word of God. The armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, were following him on white horses. From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Then I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: “Come, gather around for the great banquet of God, to eat your fill of the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of powerful people, the flesh of horses and those who ride them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, and small and great!” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. Now the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf—signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. The others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.

Jesus already won the battle, he comes to Rule

I find it interesting that the beast and the kings of the earth gather together to do battle, but the Bible doesn’t speak about some giant end all, be all, knock down, drag out fight. Instead it says that the beast and the prophet are seized, and the rest are slain by the sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus. The word of the Lord will literally strike down the armies of Satan. No explosions, epic battle scenes, no war to end all wars. Jesus isn’t coming back to fight, He is coming back to judge and to rule. He returns, and his enemies are paraded publicly to their death. They don’t even realize they are part of the triumph of Christ.

Are we making the same mistake as the Israelites?

When the Israelites announced the coming of the messiah, they were expecting a conquering king, but Jesus came as the suffering servant. The circumstances of the day helped dictate the expectation of the people. The question I have for you today is, are we doing the same thing?

Are we expecting our God based on our circumstances?

I remember watching this TikTok, and it was a woman sitting on her couch in her living room, and the blinds are closed. She sits and listens and watches TV. First there is a noise like a crowd marching in the street. But she doesn’t get up to investigate. The TV continues to show the news. Then you hear the sound of sirens. Still the woman watches on. Then you hear the sound of gunfire. Explosions in the street. But still nothing seems to phase her. Then she hears the sound of the trumpet. She gets up, crosses the room, opens the blinds and stares into the sky, where the angel has just blown the trumpet.

It is so easy to be carried away be the things of the world that we forget, WE ARE HERE FOR A PURPOSE!!! Our circumstances don’t dictate our purpose, Jesus does. His actions on the cross took away our sin, and we are supposed to be spreading HIS GOOD NEWS TO THE WORLD!!! The Jews shouted for their king, but we know he’s already won—yet the world still waits to hear it.

Are we the incense?

Paul was clear in his letter to the Corinthian church that we are supposed to be the incense, the call to the triumph of the Lord. If we don’t let our circumstances dictate how prepared we are, would we live any differently? Would we share the gospel differently? Paul tells us to be the incense, but He continues on in the following verse:

2 Corinthians 2:15–17 NLT

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? You see, we are not like the many hucksters* who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.

Announce the Arrival

Imagine your life as a fragrance—every kind word, every bold witness, drawing others to Christ’s victory parade. As the incense, we should have sincerity and authority. We should be calling the lost. The incense was a message to those in the city, and we are supposed to be the message. There is nothing in our circumstances that tell us how we should preach the word of God, because the only circumstance that matters is the one that Christ settled on the cross! Remember that time is short. When the Jews thought their messiah had come, they had such urgency that they threw the entire city of Jerusalem into an uproar. This was very dangerous, but their fervor to be set free, their desire to see their king return was so great they were willing to risk whatever punishment was offered. More than that though, they told any who asked why they were gathered:

Matthew 21:10–11 NET

As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Imagine if we lived as if He really was our returning king?

I think about all the people who I interact with on a daily basis. If I meet them outside the four walls of this church, am I announcing to them that Jesus is coming back? Am I the triumph of the Lord? Does the life I live serve as an incense to the coming King, announcing his arrival? Do they know that there has come a king to set them free?

These last few weeks, we have been talking about grace, about the grace it takes to reach the lost. Jesus gave us the ultimate grace, that while we were still sinners, he died for us. He won the battle that the enemy didn’t even know he was fighting, and when He comes back, it is to rule and reign forever! Next week we will be sharing Easter Sunday, probably the most joyous day of the year. It is the time we get to celebrate the victory! This week, as you are praying for your prodigal, for your Zacchaeus, maybe it is time to share this excitement with them.

Last week we talked about inviting someone to join us. The ushers are going to hand out a card to everyone, if you just want to take one and pass it on down, think about your life. If there is one person who you can invite to eternity, one person that could share in the joy of the triumph of Christ, who would you invite? Next week we gather to celebrate, and this is a great opportunity to bring someone to hear the gospel. The good news. Write the name of your Zacchaeus on this card, pray for them daily, and invite them to Easter—let’s fill these seats with those hungry for the King! But this is only the start. The world needs people who preach the word of God with their lives, with sincerity and with the authority of Christ. So my challenge for you is not just to invite them, but to live a life that is so dedicated to the return of the king that everyone will look at you and ask, “who is this?” And you will be able to reply “This is the Once and Future King, the returning King of Kings, Jesus the Christ, Son of God, come to take the sins of the world.” Let’s Pray.