A New Kingdom

Luke 19:28-44

Intro

When we were in London last summer, we had the opportunity to visit the tower of London

one of the greatest things to see here is the collection of jewels used to crown the kings and queens of England known as the Crown Jewels

they are regularly on display in a small section of the Tower of London completely separate from the rest of the castle

They are quite extravagant

experts estimate that the whole collection is worth somewhere between 4 and 6 Billion Dollars

This is what the royal family would be crowned with signifying their leadership over their kingdom

This is the image that our world has when they think of Kings

Tonight we are going to to look at a different kind of King

a better King

We have been in a series titled Unfinished Business

looking at the unfinished business of Christ and how we join in that work

tonight we are jumping ahead in the narrative so I think it may be valuable to to get caught up

Jesus has been in the process of journeying to Jerusalem

on the way there, he has made a few stops

He has taken time to teach through parables

he has taken time to heal the blind

he even raised a good friend of his, Lazarus, from the dead

all along the way, people started to follow Jesus as they journeyed to Jerusalem for Holy Week

A Humble King v24-35

When we think of a king, we don’t think of humility

we typically think of power

might

pride

We may think of wealth and control

but how does Jesus present himself?

Humble

This sets him apart from the kings of this time

He doesn’t come with the most magnificent mode of transportation

he doesn’t have the most luxurious outfit on

He doesn’t have the most impressive entourage

He used humble means to fulfill an extraordinary purpose

but his humility did not change his Kingship

He was still all knowing v32

The King is Here

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

By His fulfillment of this prophecy, He identified himself as King

by his fulfillment of this prophecy, He identified himself as the Messiah

The one who came to save them

A King of Peace not War v36-38

Naturally, those who followed Jesus begin to proclaim Him as King

many of these people likely thought that He came to conquer the Romans

that He was entering into a war

But at the same time, they also knew that some level of peace was at stake

The reality is that Jesus did not come to bring war, but to bring peace

ultimate peace

We have seen the peace of Christ throughout His whole story

the angels cried “Peace on earth” at His birth

He brought Peace to the storm while they crossed the sea

He gave peace to the possessed man as He cast the demons out of him

and now, the people cry out, “peace in heaven,” as He walks the road leading to the Cross

Jesus is a King of Peace

His ways are different

His presence is different

What does it feel like to be in the presence of the King of Peace?

you feel whole

your soul can find rest

it feels like everything is in place

that no matter what life throws at you, you can be still and have confidence that He has it all under control

When Christ comes, He comes with a Peace that surpasses all understanding

That is the kind of King that Jesus is

and those who truly know Him, can’t help but sing His praise

A Worthy King v39-40

The Pharisees try to put a stop to this praise

they are afraid of what the result of such praises would be

Fear of an uprising from the people

they didn’t believe Jesus was the messiah, but if these people do, then they may turn to violence

they are also afraid that the Romans may respond violently to this procession

If Jesus is claiming to be King, then the Romans may take that as a threat

so they attempt to have Jesus silence the crowd

but what Jesus tells them says it all

they didn’t think Jesus was worthy

but Jesus’s response says that He is more worthy than any King, military leader, or political leader

He is so worthy of this praise that if He commanded for the people to stop, the rocks would then cry out in worship

He is worthy

He is the one who calms the sea

He is the one who heals the sick

He is the one rose people from the dead

and He is the one, who goes to the Cross, who dies, and who is raised from the dead

so that through our faith in Him, we can be restored

Never stop giving Him your praise, because He is Worthy of it

Our King’s Lament becomes Our Mission v41-44

The King is saddened by the coming resistance of the city

He weeps not for His coming death, but for the spiritual blindness of His people

Those same people, who praise Him as he entered the city, will soon become the mockers that send Him to the cross

Jesus is prophesying of the coming destruction of Jerusalem that occured not many years later

but his focus is on it’s people

He weeps for them

because they do not recognize who He is

and their hearts are hardened to the message of Peace that He came to bring

So where does this fit in the unfinished business of Christ?

if Christ is still the Humble King of Peace (Which He is by the way) then we need to Proclaim His message of Peace to the spiritually blind

our job in the unfinished business of Christ is share His story with the world

motivated by the saddened heart of Christ as He weeps for the City

When I was in middle school, we took a class trip to Dahlonega, GA

this is were the Gold Rush took place in Georgia

in this town there is a pretty big gold mine that you can go and tour

Our class decided to go on this tour and before they take you down, they give you all this equipment

gloves, helmets, flashlights, anything you may need while being in an old mine

our tour guide is walking us through the mine and eventually we reach a turn in the path that takes us to an empty room

he tells all of us to line up along the walls of this room he tells us to all at once turn off our flashlights

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a cave with no light, but it is the darkest that it possibly could be

you can wave your hand in front of your face and not be able to see it

our tour guide tells us to stay like this for what feels like hours, but in reality it was only a few seconds

in that darkness, a little bit of anxiety begins to creep in, because you can’t see anything

finally, our tour guide tells us to turn our flashlights back on, and a massive sigh of relief overwhelms the room

We could finally see again!

You see, at one point, we were all spiritually blind

for some of us, we may still be spiritually blind

turn to the King, and allow Him to show you the goodness of His message

that He came

He died for your sins

and He rose from the dead in order to save you from a life separated from Him

for some of us, we are no longer spiritually blind

We have trusted in Christ

our Job now:

to worship Him with everything we have

to proclaim His message from the neighborhoods to the nations

Have you ever felt the Peace of Christ?

Have you ever made Christ King of your life?

If you haven’t, what’s holding you back?