The Unexpected King

Mar 29 | The Unexpected King | Luke 19:28-38 

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Open your bible, if you have one, to Luke 19. Our focus for this morning will be verse 28-38. 

There’s nothing more disappointing than watching a movie trailer and thinking, this is about to be a great movie…then you sit through two hours (or maybe longer with the way they make movies now. I remember when movies used to be an house and a half), but anyways, you sit through two hours and realize the best part of the movie was the trailer. 

Or you’re watching a movie, locked in, expecting it to end with a bang…and it ends with a whimper. 

And now you’re sitting there thinking, I just wasted two hours of my life. 

Nothing makes me more annoyed than that. Just ask my wife. I am not a happy camper when that happens. It's like I could have wrote a better ending.  

But here’s the truth—the movie wasn’t bad because of what it was. It felt bad because it didn’t match what I expected. 

And if we’re honest (that's what we like to do here at Restoration Church. We like honesty), if we're honest, that frustration doesn’t just stay with movies. We feel it when reality doesn’t match our expectations. 

*Pause* 

  And not just in small things but even in our relationship with Jesus. Because whether we realize it or not, we all carry with us expectations of Him: 

what He should do, how He should do it, when he should do it 

And when He doesn’t meet those expectations, we don’t just get annoyed… we get disappointed. 

But let me say this clearly this morning: The problem is not that Jesus fails to meet expectations but that we often come to Him with the wrong expectations.- NEW 

And that’s not new. 

Because on Palm Sunday, two thousand years ago, a crowd gathered around Jesus with very loud expectations of who He was supposed to be. 

And in Luke 19:28–38, they make those expectations clear. 

For years, the people of Israel had been waiting for a savior like figure, a king who would free them from the oppression of their oppressors.  

Several movements came on the scene with leaders claiming to be the anticipated savior. But once the leaders are eliminated, the movement dies.  

But then Jesus steps into the scene doing all types of crazy stuff none of them had ever seen done before.  

It says at the end of verse 37 "the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen" 

They had seen Jesus raise a man from the dead, they had seen Jesus make a blind man see, they had seen Jesus make a lame man walk, they had seen Jesus make people mentally well, and when you think about it Jesus is the ultimate cheat code to take to war.  

If Jesus was to lead them in a war against the big bad Roman military they will never lose. If someone gets shot and killed, Jesus can just raise them back to life. If some gets stabbed in the leg and can’t walk, Jesus can just heal them, if someone gets hit in the eyes and can't see, Jesus can just fix it. There will be no war casualty. I don't know about you but to me that sounds amazing.  

With all they had seen him do, they figured, he has to be the expected King. He's gotta be the one to free them from the political slavery they 're under.  

The tension of the expectation had been building for some time and on the very first Palm Sunday, Jesus publicly embraces their expectation of him as King.  

He embraces this expectation by directing his disciples to go and get him a donkey in verse 29, "As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 

There's something about using something that hasn't been used by anybody else. It feels like it was made just for you. I remember then my wife and got our first apartment together as a married couple. It was a newly build complex and we were the first resident in out apartment. It felt so good to use a bathroom no one has used, a kitchen no one has used and we said when we buy a house, we getting a brand new house.  

Jesus sent for a donkey that no one has ever ridden on because that is what is fit for a king.  

I know sometimes it's been said that Jesus riding on a donkey was an act of humility or an act of poverty. It's been said that if Jesus rode on a donkey, pastors shouldn't ride fancy cars. I'm all for accountability for pastors who stand in the pulpit and preach God's word, but make no mistake about what is happening here with Jesus. He is fully embracing the expectation of the people as king. Kings ride donkeys to project that their reign will be about peace and not war. King Solomon rode on a donkey during his inauguration ceremony. 

Jesus embraces this expectation because that's who he is. He is King and church he wants to be king in your life. You see where the expectation goes sideways, and we'll talk more about it in a sec, is the how of his kingship. They had an expectation of Jesus to be King and an expectation of how he would be king.  

The disciples go, they find this donkey, and they bring it back to Jesus. When they got back verse 35 says, "They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road." 

Cloaks is fancy talk for the clothes they had on. If they had on a jacket, they took it off, if they had on extra layers they took it off and placed it on the donkey and on the road.  

They were giving Jesus a kingly treatment. They were shouting "38 Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord"  

*Pause* 

Many years before Jesus, something similar happened in Israel. A man, who was commander in Israel's military, named Jehu in 2 Kings 9 was told by a Prophet that he would be the new king of Israel. When he gave this news to his fellow officers, here's what they did "13 They quickly took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”" - NEW 

The people knew exactly what they were doing with Jesus. But here's where things go sideways for them and where it goes sideways for us. A few days later the same voices shouting "blessed is the king" were shouting "crucify him." 

They wanted Jesus to be King but only on their own terms. They wanted a warrior king who will ditch the donkey and mount on a war horse to free his people from political slavery. 

They were willing to shout his name as long as he gave them what they wanted. - NEW  

Maybe you’ve been feeling like that lately.  

Let me tell you this morning that Jesus does care about restoring all that sin has affected, he does care about justice and setting the captives free, he does care about the poor and the needy, he does care about your ailing body, he does care about your immigration process, he does care about your unemployment, he does care about your broken relationship, he does care about your desires and hopes, but when he rode on that donkey, his destination was not to a throne in a fancy palace where he could make all wish come true, it was not to a battlefield in a war zone, but it was to the cross where he would give up his life so he can sit on the throne of yours.  

Jesus is king and he died so that he can be king of your life. What does that mean? It means your life is submitted to his reign. It means you speak, you make decisions, you move, you act in ways that pleases the king.  

I know you've got expectations of Jesus answering that prayer, of Jesus providing that job, of Jesus mending that relationship, of Jesus taking care of that immigration process, of Jesus healing your body, of Jesus making a way where it seems there is none, but let me tell you this morning that in-spite of what life throws at you there's no more appropriate expectation than the expectation of Jesus as king over your life and just king over your situation. 

The people wanted Jesus to be a king who controlled their circumstance but not their life.  

And their disappointment from that unmet expectation led them to crucify him. Where does your disappointment in Jesus lead you? Does it lead you to depression? Does it lead you to set Jesus aside for a minute? Does it lead to consider maybe he's just not all that? 

**Music Team**  

The hardest moment in my life with Jesus was when my wife and I struggled to conceive for 8 years. We had friends having kids left and right, family members having kids left and right, people who didn't want kids having kids left and right. And I couldn't understand why God wouldn't let us have a child.  

I didn't think we were asking for too much. He did say he loved children and theirs is the kingdom of God. So what's the hold up? 

In that season of life we had to remind ourselves that Jesus is King over our life. Inspite of the unmet expectations of our circumstances, he is still king in our life which means our life is still to be lived in submission to him.  

He died to be king in my life not merely to fix my circumstances. He can and he might but I cannot allow my circumstances to push me away from him.  

Maybe that's where you are this morning. You were once filled with joy and excitement about Jesus but unmet expectation after expectation has taken away that joy. Can I encourage you this morning? Jesus still sits on the throne in heaven and as long as you let him sit on the throne of your life, that is the ultimate win in life.  

What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, to have all he needs, but loose his soul? The old hymn says I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold.  

Following Jesus is more than having your needs met. I know what it feels like to have needs. I get it. I’m a bivocational pastor. And all that means is I don’t get paint from the church. I have a 9-5 to to feed my family just like you do. But for almost a month now I e been without a job. Some of you are you might be in that same boat. We all have needs for Jesus to meet, but following him also includes being committed to the reign of Jesus in your life.  

What are your expectations of Jesus this morning? Maybe you’ve cared more about Jesus fixing your circumstance than you have about Jesus ruling your life.  

The crowd wanted freedom but not at the cost of obedience to Jesus. 

At some point in my life, at a service just like this one, I had to make the decision that Jesus would be king over my life regardless of what I had going on.  

If you're here today and you know Jesus is not king over your life, if you know Jesus doesn’t rule your life like he should, or maybe at one point he did but he hasn't lately, I don’t want you to leave today without making a change. The only way to live with Jesus is to surrender to him. If you’re ready to do that today, I would love to pray for you. Surrendering to Jesus is easy as 123. You simply confess that you have not made him king over your life but today you are ready to change that. But today you are ready to place your faith in him. It’s that simple.   

If you're ready to make that confession, the confession that Jesus is king over your life and not just your circumstance, close your eyes right where you are and open the palm of your hands as though you're physically receiving the prayer.  

Salvation Prayer 

Come on give God a hand clap. If you received that prayer and you’re ready for a fresh start, we want to know about it so we can help you on this journey. On the back of YOU Card, simply check the box that says "My life was changed by Jesus for the first time today" and take it to the blue banner right outside the door that says that says New Believer. Someone will be there talk with you and pray for you. We also have a gift for you to help with your decision today.   

Closing Prayer 

If you’ve been walking with Jesus and you know it hasn’t always been perfect, I want to encourage you to keep going. Don’t get discouraged. Jesus is still smiling at you.  

Let me pray for you all.