Under New Management

As the sun rose over the city, people started making their way through their daily routines. Some were headed to the marketplace. Others to the temple. Josiah was making his way to the city gate to secure a business deal. The city was still quiet, but beginning to pick up activity when all of a sudden people started to make their way to the entrance of the city. At first it was a few people who seemed to be in an unusual hurry. Josiah thought it strange, but shrugged and kept going about his business. Then a few more people run by. Then even more people run by. What is going on here? Why is everybody running to the city gate?” As he got closer, the noise grew louder. What started as a faint chant grew into a loud roar! “Hosanna!” they cried. As Josiah pushed through the crowd to get a glimpse of what was happening, he saw a man riding on a donkey. The people made a road of sorts out of their cloaks! The man riding the donkey appeared very regal in stature. Who was this man? He looked familiar. Then it clicked. “The preacher from Galilee!? What could this mean?”

Today is the annual celebration of Palm Sunday, commemorating what we know as the triumphal entry. One of the beautiful things about having four gospels is they tell stories from different angles. When you read them together, you get a piece from one, and a piece from another, then layer them on top of one another, you get a fuller picture of the biblical event that you don’t get if you read just one.

Because time does not afford us the opportunity to read all four accounts of this historic event, I have chosen to focus on the passage in Luke 19:28-40, and from there, we will look at the details as a whole and draw application for today.

Luke 19:28–40 NASB95

After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord has need of it.” They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

This day was a historic day. It marked the beginning of holy week. The cross comes in a few days, and the resurrection of Christ comes in just seven! What we must understand from this passage and the story the Bible is telling us is that the world is under new management.

Have you ever experienced a business that is starting to fail? Everything is going downhill. The service provided and the product sold start to diminish. You look at the sign outside as you drive by and you think, “This once great place isn’t worth my time or money anymore.” Then you drive by one day and notice a big banner draped along the roof line saying, “Under new management.” Are you excited? Are you hopeful? Maybe whoever is running the place can bring it back to its former glory.

The world now has a banner over it saying, “Under new management.” The world today belongs to Christ. As we look back at Palm Sunday, I want us to consider this question: Does our lifestyle truly reflect the reality that the world is under new management?

As we examine this event, I want you to understand three essential truths to understanding that the world, and our lives, are under new management.

Palm Sunday was coronation day.

This scene that we call the triumphal entry was textbook presentation of a king to his people. From the donkey that had never been ridden, to the coats spread on the road, to the palm branches waving, to the shouting of “Hosanna,” which means, “help” or “save, I pray.” It was a common expression of praise. So the sentence, “Hosanna to the Son of David” was a declaration of the true identity of Christ. The crowd is proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of David, the descendant who would fulfill the covenant made to David back in 2 Samuel 7:1-17. God promised David one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever. The crowd is now openly declaring that man has come.

Notice also that Jesus initiated this event. He told his disciples to go into the town and retrieve the donkeys. His disciples are not trying to get Jesus to do this. He is initiating the event.

He also isn’t refusing their worship. As I stated earlier, Hosanna was a declaration of praise. The disciples and the crowds forming are declaring Jesus as the Son of David, the Messiah, the Savior they have been taught to expect for generations. He doesn’t correct them. He doesn’t try to silence them. He’s not confused about what’s going on. This is intentional.

The Pharisees, who are the religious and political leaders of Israel at the time, come out and tell Jesus to silence his disciples, but he says, “I can’t. If they are silenced, the rocks will start!” The worship of Christ in that moment will not be hindered. Why? Because Jesus is formally presenting himself as the new king of Israel, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (according to Matthew and John).

In fact, if you read John’s version of this event, the decision from the religious and political elite to kill Jesus had already been made. In John 12:19, you get a glimpse of their motivation:

John 12:19 NASB95

So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

They were not interested in the truth. They didn’t care that Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. They cared about the fact that the sun was setting on their rule and they weren’t having it. This day was coronation day, but the kingship of Jesus was rejected. This was part of God’s plan, as Jesus’ true purpose was going to the cross.

Christ’s rule began at his resurrection.

The resurrection of Jesus, which will be the central focus for next week, was his victory over sin and death. It was necessary for everything Jesus said about himself to be validated. It is the most important event in Christian history and world history. There is no recovery from death, except now there is! For three and a half years, Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. He claimed that God was giving him all authority. Then he was killed, but rose from the dead three days later. For forty days he gathered with his followers and on the day he ascended to heaven declared this:

Matthew 28:18–20 NASB95

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Verse 18 is spoken in the past tense. It has already happened. On that day, Jesus already had all authority on heaven and earth. Nothing has changed in that regard since that day. Jesus still has all authority. His kingdom is still at hand, and this church exists as an outpost for that kingdom.

Consider what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus. He is expressing his gratitude for them and explaining how he prays for them regularly. His prayer for them is that they see how big and awesome God really is, then says:

Ephesians 1:20–23 NASB95

which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

So now that Jesus is raised from the dead, he currently sits at the right hand of the Father. All things have been placed in subjection under his feet. That means he’s in charge. The earth is under new management, and he chooses to operate through his existing citizens, the church.

Your salvation recognizes Christ’s authority in your life.

When you came to faith, having said yes to the offer of your sins being forgiven, receiving Jesus as Savior, you also said you were transferring your citizenship. You agreed that the earth was under new management and that Christ is its new manager. That meant that you agreed to renounce your old way of living and adopt the lifestyle of the one who know rules the earth.

The Lordship of Jesus on our part is recognizing that every aspect of our lives is subject to his authority over it. The trouble is our old self, the self that wants to do it our way, fights for dominance and we don’t always do as we know we should. The Christian life is a daily decision to acknowledge the authority of Christ and choose to live a lifestyle that reflects that authority and shows the world that our lives and the rest of the globe is under new management.

In his letter to the church in Philippi, Paul writes,

Philippians 3:20–21 NASB95

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

We are awaiting the return of Jesus to finalize his rule. We are not waiting to become citizens; we already are. Your identity as a Christian should be at the very core of your being and every other relationship on the planet should stem from that first relationship with Jesus.

Does Jesus have all authority in your life, or have you closed off parts of your life as “yours?” Is God getting this hour this week, or is God allowed to shape every hour of every week? Are you being honest with yourself when you self-evaluate? For some of you, your schedule needs to change. For others, you need a shift in routine. For others it may be that you have chosen that church will fit into your schedule when it is convenient. Meanwhile you give your life to things that have no eternal significance.

What do you say? Is your world under new management? Are you living a lifestyle that reflects Christ? Are you ready to tell the world that it is under new management? Is the most important thing that your kids and grandkids learn to live their lives with Christ in charge? The church is plan A for getting the gospel to the world. Are you going to be a part of it?