Have You Seen The King? Palm Sunday

Sermon preached at the State College, Free Methodist Church On Friday, March 27, 1999 By Pastor Chester W. Marshall Palm Sunday HAVE YOU SEEN THE KING? Most people love a parade. Some people will literally wait for hours, just to see some famous person: the president or a royal visitor or even an astronaut. Most processions are soon forgotten. A far more humble procession, however, has been remem­bered for nearly twenty centuries. It is remembered on the day we call Palm Sunday. Have you ever wondered why this brief and seemingly inci­dental happening should be recalled each year at Easter? Is it because it opened the events of Passion Week? Or could it be because this event marked a high point in the recognition given Jesus? Let’s see what the Bible has to say on this subject. As we study the Bible, we find that all four gospel writers de­scribe the triumphal entry. (John speaks of it briefly in chapter 12, verses 12 to 19. Matthew gives a more full account in chapter 21.) In Mark it is found in chapter 11) in Luke, chapter 19. You remember what took place. Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem for His final visit. On nearing the city, He sent two disciples with instructions to go to a specific place, where they would find an ass tied with her colt. They were to bring the ani­mal on which no one yet had ridden. When they brought the colt, they placed their coats upon its back. Then, the record says, “They set Jesus thereon” (Luke 19: 35), and spreading their clothes as a red carpet for Jesus, they moved off toward the city of Jerusalem. Luke 19:37 and 38 describe what happened next. “And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.” But the acclaim given to Jesus didn’t last long. The crowd soon faded, never to rally around Jesus like that again. Before that happened, however, Luke tells us that there were Pharisees who thought the whole procession was highly improper. “Rebuke your disciples,” they urged Him. But Jesus an­swered, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40). What was Jesus saying? A careful look at Scripture makes it clear. God’s plan for the world is bound up in His promise of a King, a King who can solve the problems of our sick and con­fused world. That brief recognition two thousand years ago de­clared that God had kept His promise. God’s King had come. He would not rule right then, for He had a greater purpose. But His eternal Kingdom has been established. The events of Palm Sunday, then, point to three amazing facts that affect every person born. They are very important and very relevant to you this Palm Sunday. Let me summarize them briefly: (1) God’s King has come to earth; (2) God’s King will come to earth again; and (3) God’s King has already begun to reign. Each of these facts is true. One does not contradict the other. They are three links in God’s eternal purpose. Let me explain. l. God’s KING HAS COME TO EARTH God’s plan for the ages revolves around His King. He was promised to the Jews while the twelve tribes were on the way from Egypt. One of the clearest statements of this promise is in Numbers 24:17 and 19, “There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel. ... Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion.” This prophecy speaks clearly of a scepter and of power. During the centuries, the promise was repeated and enlarged. The great King to come would have an everlasting Kingdom. He would rule not only over the Jews but also over the Gentiles. He would bring peace and blessing for which the world has longed since its beginning. Who was the coming King? The answer is, The One who rode into Jersualem that spring day in what we now describe as the triumphal entry. That procession itself became another proof that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited King. Five centuries before His birth, the prophet Zechariah had described the entry in minute detail. You’ll find the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Zechariah’s statement, of course, was but one of many remind­ers that Jesus is God’s great King, as well as His great Prophet and Priest. A. HE WAS BORN A KING True, His birthplace was a stable. But you remember that the wise men who came to find Him asked, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matt 2:2). B. HE LIVED WITH THE AFFAIRS OF A KINGDOM ON HIS MIND Oh, yes, His way of life was humble, but He had much to say about His Kingdom. Along with John the Baptist, He preached that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. He warned Nicode­mus that, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). He spoke often to His disciples and others, as well, about that Kingdom. C. HE DIED AS A KING True, He was crucified, but as a King. The Roman governor, Pilate, asked Him at His trial, “Are you King of the Jews?” And Jesus’ answer was yes (Luke 23:3). Pilate understood! Do you? At the governor’s orders, His cross bore this inscription, in their languages, for all to read: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matt 27:37). Can you take in what this means? This divided, warring, grop­ing world has had a visit from its King. His time of glory and honor are in the future, but He came. A week before His death, the little Palm Sunday crowd had seemed to sense it briefly. But he turned aside from reigning then in order to become the Saviour. Have you turned aside from the interests which fill your life to receive His great salvation? 2. GOD’S KING IS COMING AGAIN If it seems incredible, in a day when we hear much of credibility gaps, that God’s King is coming again, probably it is only because nothing like it has ever happened before. But may I remind you that nothing like His first coming had ever happened either. Nor did anyone before Jesus overcome death and the grave. Jesus did die. He was buried, and He rose the third day, leaving an empty tomb! These facts are among the best attested in all history. Because these things had really taken place and were known to that very generation, the apostle Paul, a few years later, could speak of them boldly on Mars’ Hill in Athens. And speak of them he did. Standing in the intellectual forum of that day, he promised the King’s return to judge the earth, as we read in Acts 17. “God... commandeth all men every where to repent,” he said, “because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” Then note the final statement: “Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). The resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul says, is God’s affirmation of a climactic purpose. That purpose is to place His Son on earth to judge and rule. Again and again the Bible speaks of the King’s return. It is the subject of Psalm 2. The King’s return is promised by the angels in Acts, chapter 1. Christ Himself spoke of His return in John 14 and in other passages of Scripture. The New Testa­ment contains more than three hundred references to this sec­ond coming. Have you thought of what this means? One of these days you are going to meet eternity’s King! You are going to stand before Him. Will He be your Saviour and your King, or will He be your Judge? The Bible warns us plainly that every knee shall bow and “every tongue . . . confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11). 3.GOD’S KING HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO REIGN The Lord Jesus, and others after Him, spoke of the Kingdom more than 125 times in the New Testament. Many of the refer­ences are to the glory Kingdom which is to come. But by no means all. Several refer to an unseen Kingdom already in ex­istence. In Luke 17:20 and 21, the Lord told the Pharisees, “The king­dom of God cometh not with observation.., for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you,” or, “in the midst of you.” What did Jesus mean by that? He was saying that His King­dom had already begun. Unseen, but very, very real. It is oper­ative in those who discern His lordship and respond to His will. In the centuries since Christ’s ascension, His Kingdom has grown until it circles the globe. Everyone receiving Him as Lord is a citizen of this Kingdom. Thus Colossians 1:13 reminds us that every believer has been delivered from “the power of dark­ness, and. . . translated. . . into the kingdom of his dear Son.” What does it mean to be in Christ’s invisible, yet mighty, Kingdom today? It means all the things that Christians have known and rejoiced in since the day of Pentecost. It means forgiveness of sins and new found peace with God. It means assurance of a home in heaven. It means being born again and receiving a new heart and mind and will. It means strength so we can say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil 4:13). It means a special calling to be an ambassador for Christ and for His Gospel. It means comfort and peace of mind. If you are in Christ’s Kingdom, you can know that nothing or no one can separate you from the love of God. CONCLUSION Yes, the King is coming. But He has already come, and He is reigning now in the hearts of those who are His own. Have you let Christ place you in His eternal, certain Kingdom? There is no other Kingdom like it. The Word of God says that “of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” It will be a kingdom “with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this” (Isa 9:7). There were many that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem who did not see the King. Have you seen Him now in our day? AMEN.