That's My King

Jesus is a King with Authority ()

Explanation: All three of the Synoptics give detail to the arrangements of how the disciples obtain the donkey’s colt that Jesus will ride. The attention to detail is meant to gain the reader’s attention. It is noteworthy that this is the only time Jesus is said to have ridden any type of animal at all.

The significance is that Kings rode donkeys into cities in a royal procession in times of peace. By riding the donkey as He enters Jerusalem, Jesus is openly proclaiming His Kingship as the Messiah. Previously, Jesus prevented His followers from proclaiming His role as the Messiah (. 7:36; , ), but now in the timing of the Father, He is coming to His own as their King.

In John’s Gospel, the apostle relates Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as fulfillment of OT Prophecy (). The Apostle makes reference to which declares “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, foal of a donkey.” To the audience present, Jesus was making an unmistakable claim to His Kingship!

Jesus displays His Sovereign Authority in the way in which the donkey is obtained. As the entourage arrives at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sends 2 of the Twelve into a neighboring village to get a colt that it tied up. He tells them to untie the donkey and bring it. Jesus also tells them that if anyone questions two strangers untying a donkey and leaving with it, they are simply to state: “The Lord has need of it.”

Argument: We can miss the significance of this action when we focus solely on the Palm branches. But all three of the synoptics give us detail about this part of the Triumphal entry so it will be good for us to know the reason.

Jesus has divine knowledge: He knows the donkey is there in this village. He knows the donkey is tied up. He knows the donkey has never been ridden. He knows that the owners of the donkey were going to question the disciples. Jesus is a King with Sovereign Knowledge

Jesus has Divine Authority: When the owners ask, “Hey guys, what are you doing? Are you stealing our donkey?” the reply is the Lord has need of it. With that simple statement the disciples take the donkey.

This is our KING! Jesus has Divine Authority! As the Creator of the Universe (; col 1:16) it all belongs to Him. Jesus owns it all; He merely lets us act as stewards over His property.

Application: Have you surrendered your life and your “stuff” to Jesus? Is He King over your life? If you claim the Name, He has Authority over all of your life. Acknowledge His Kingship and serve Him with your whole being and you will be blessed

Jesus is a King who is worthy of our worship ()

Explanation: When the donkey is brought to Jesus, several in the crowd took off their cloaks and put them on the animal. Others put their cloaks on the ground, and many cut branches and laid them in front of Jesus (John informs us that they are palm branches (). These actions are the actions of worship.

As Jesus begins riding towards the city the group of disciples begin to offer vocal worship; “they begin to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice” (v. 37). The people were proclaiming Jesus as Messiah by shouting “Blessed is the King who comes in the Name of the Lord” (v. 38). The other Gospels tell us that the people were shouting “Hosanna in the Highest” and “Hosanna to the Son of David.”

Argument: These shouts were shouts of worship as expressed in the Psalms. The actual quotation used is , but the use of a verse alludes to the whole Psalm. is in the Ascent section of the Psalter, and that section is all about praise and worship to the King of Glory

These disciples of Jesus were acknowledging Jesus as their Messiah. They were offering Him worship and glory. The Jews were monotheists and they were commanded to worship God only. By offering praise and worship to Jesus they were acknowledging that Jesus was God in the flesh and worthy of worship.

Application: These followers of Christ were giving worship to their King. Are you giving Him the worship for which He is worthy. We CAN give Him praise and worship. And, we don’t want to miss this, if we do not praise Him, He will still receive praise and worship by creation itself (vv. 39-40).

Jesus is King - those who reject Him will be destroyed ()

Explanation: As a person travels from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem there are a couple of overlooks in which the city can be viewed. Jesus stops at such a place and looks down upon the city and He weeps over it. The Greek word used for wept has the meaning of “to weep, wail, lament, implying not only the shedding of tears, but also every external expression of grief” [ The Complete Word Study Dictionary NT by Zodhiates, p. 864, entry for klaio (2799)] This is not just a misting of the eyes, but a full blown episode of grief.

Jesus is compassionate for His people. His mission was to “seek and to save the lost” () which He had just mentioned in Jericho, immediately prior to making this journey to Jerusalem. Jesus is distraught by the hardness of heart of most of His own people; He knew they had rejected Him as Messiah, and that they would continue to reject Him. What irony! “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” ()

Jesus makes a prediction that concerns the near horizon for Jerusalem. Jesus declares that because of their rejection their enemies would come and surround the city. Their enemies would end up tearing the city apart while slaughtering the residents, including the women and children.

This prophecy of Christ was fulfilled about 40 years later when the Roman army under Titus came and besieged the city. The Jewish people had begun a revolt in AD 66, and the Romans decided to take care of Jerusalem once and for all. The Romans ended up tearing the city apart brick by brick and killing hundreds of thousands. Only the West wall of the Old City remains today, all else was destroyed.

Argument: Jesus clearly gave the reason for the coming destruction. He told His audience it would take place “because you did not know the time of your visitation” (v. 44b). This statement implies that they should have known.

And the reality is that they really should have known. As far back as the prophecy found in , God let His people know when the Messiah was to arrive. In the prophet says “Know therefore and understand . . .” and then gives a timeline for the Messiah’s arrival. The other OT prophecies had been fulfilled in Jesus through His proclamation of the Gospel and His healing and His other miracles. His public ministry, when taken as a whole, was a walking testimony to His identity as the Messiah. Yet with all of this, most of the Jews rejected Him.

What about us Gentiles? This prophecy by Jesus was fulfilled in AD 70 by Titus and his Roman Legions, and only applied to the Jews of Jerusalem. The direct application does not apply to us as Gentiles, but the principle is valid. The Jews were given reason after reason to accept Jesus as their Messiah, but they became hardened in heart and refused Him.

We have even more reason to place our faith and trust in Jesus than they did. Many times we think, “If only I had been there and see Jesus heal the blind man, If I had only been by the tomb when Lazarus came out, If only . . . then I would believe.”

That type of thinking puts the focus on personal physical experience, but Peter tells informs us that thinking that way is incorrect. He was one of the three disciples who was privileged to be on the Mount of Transfiguration when Jesus revealed His glory (). And yet, Peter, when writing to Christians who had never seen Jesus, tells them that they “have the prophetic word more fully confirmed” ().

We have the entire revealed Word of God. We have all four of the Gospels which show us Jesus in His Divinity, we have the rest of the NT which tells us how to live as believers in Christ. We have all that we need. As Peter further states, “we would do well to pay attention” to the Word.

Close: Jesus is King. He is King now and His reign and dominion is forever. The final form of His Kingdom has not yet been revealed and established, but the Kingdom is at hand now, and it exists within us who follow Him ().

The world does not accept the Kingship of Jesus, but that does not change the spiritual reality. It poses a challenge for us who live in the between times, the period of the already, but not yet. It is a challenge, but it is our calling to acknowledge Him as King and to give Him praise and Honor now. Ask yourself: Is my life presenting Jesus as King to the others around me? Do I fully accept the authority of Jesus as the King of my life. Does the Lord have control over you like He did the donkey? Are you publically praising Him even at the risk of being called down by the “officials” of the world system?

For those who have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus as King: This is the season of grace, this is the day of salvation. Jesus has manifested Himself as the humble King who comes in peace and offers peace. As you are convicted by the Holy Spirit of who Jesus truly is, acknowledge Him as your King.

This was His first entry to Jerusalem as King and he entered on a donkey in peace. He will return a second time, but then He will be riding upon a white war charger. When He comes again it will be for judgment and a final accounting for those outside His kingdom. Do not wait until then, because it will be too late.