Is Christ Your King?

Introduction

There is a definite contrast to the way Mohammad, the founder of Islam entered Mecca and the way Jesus, the founder of Christianity, entered Jerusalem.

Mohammad rode into Mecca on a war horse surrounded by 400 mounted men and 10,000 foot soldiers. Those who greeted him were absorbed into his movement and those who resisted him were killed or enslaved. Mohammad conquered Mecca and became its new religious, political, and military leader.

Jesus, on the other hand, entered Jerusalem on a donkey, accompanied by his 12 rag tag disciples. He was welcomed by people waiving palm branches thinking Jesus had come to save them from the dominion of Rome. Yet, Jesus came to set up a heavenly kingdom - one that He invites people into not forces them into.

The present kingship of Christ is His royal rule over His people, those who have been saved from sin and made sons and daughters of God. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom established in the hearts and lives of believers. When we pray “Your kingdom come” as we do in the Lord’s prayer (Matt. 6:10), we have in mind this present rule of Christ the King.

One day, when Jesus returns, His kingdom will be fully recognized. His rule will be perfect and visible. 1 Corinthians 15:24-26 says, “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

God the Father will exalt Jesus, His Son, to the highest place of authority and honor. At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9–11).

When this crowd proclaimed Jesus King during His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, it was as if the door of heaven opened a bit so that for a brief moment, Jesus displayed His Kingship.

In Chapter 11, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem which was buzzing due to it being the time of Passover. During this time, the population swelled to 3 times its normal size as pilgrims from all over the world came to Jerusalem.

This is the final week of Jesus’ life and 1/3 of Mark’s Gospel is about this final week. This triumphal entry is recorded in all 4 gospels. It is a clear declaration that Jesus is King.

Bethany (vs. 1) was the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus who were all close friends of Jesus. Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead before this event. Mark doesn’t record that miracle, but John does. John tells us that the majority of the crowd singing Hosanna were there due to the miracle of Lazarus.

Let’s notice some things about this King Jesus:

1. A King With a Plan (vs. 1-6)

English Standard Version Chapter 11

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

Everything that has been happening has been setting the stage for this moment. Jesus had a plan and He is fulfilling that plan at this very moment.

Jesus sent two of his disciples into a nearby village to get a donkey colt. This donkey would be tied up and would have never been sat on by a man meaning it was unbroken. They were to tell the owner that the Lord had need of the colt. This shows that Jesus had planned this all out. Either he had arranged for the donkey to be there or in HIs omniscience, He already knew it was there. But it was not a spur of the moment thing.

The unknown disciples obeyed promptly even though this was a strange commission. They found the colt just as Jesus said. When asked why they were loosing the colt, they obediently said, “The Lord needs him.”

As God, Jesus doesn’t need anything. But He became poor by humbling himself and being a man. So he made himself to need. He created the world, but he had no place to lay his head. He had to borrow a boat once to preach the Gospel though He created the materials that made the boat. He cried “I thirst” on the Cross though He created the waters. He had to borrow a tomb to be buried in though he created all the rocks. Here, he is borrowing a donkey.

Jesus not only had a plan for his triumphal entry. He has a plan for our lives. He is in control through all that happens to us. We can rest in God’s plan. It is a better plan than we could come up with on our own. We may not agree with it or like it, but God doesn’t need our approval. He is in charge!

We can only see with human eyes. God sees much more than we do. We can be sure that He is working His plan to bring about godliness in us. We only care about our comfort. God cares about our character. We care about the material. God cares about the eternal. God’s plan was for His Son to come to earth to die for our sins, and Jesus worked that plan out. Because of that, we have a hopeful future.

God’s plan for you and I includes suffering. Why should Jesus suffer and not us? God’s plan is not for us to live in ease.

We see him as a King with a plan, but also as a King of humility.

2. A King of Humility. (vs. 7-8)

7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

This was a fulfillment of prophecy from Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This was deity on a donkey! The colt had never been ridden, but Jesus rode him and he didn’t try to throw him off. An unbroken colt always tries to throw the rider off, but Jesus shows His authority over his creation.

By riding the donkey, Jesus is humbly and graciously proclaiming that He is the Messiah. He is the humble and servant King.

The first readers of this Gospel of Mark would have been Roman believers. They had seen generals enter Rome in triumph riding big war horses full of glory and splendor. This scene was much different! But the glory of Rome disappeared into oblivion while the glory of Christ remains until today and will grow much greater when He comes back to earth.

Jesus came to set up His kingdom that would outlast all the kingdoms of this world. Yet, in humility, he began his reign dying on the Cross.

May we learn from Jesus’ example to live in humility. God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble. We must resist the urge to seek praise of men and to promote ourselves or think highly of ourselves. We are to be like Jesus, who humbled himself and came to this earth to serve us by dying for our sins.

It would also do us good to see ourselves in this donkey. The donkey was bound and so are we. All of us are bound in sin and like the donkey, we need to be loosed. Jesus died to set us free from sin’s bondage if we will repent and believe the gospel. We can be loosed as this donkey was loosed.

Also, this donkey was unbroken - it had never been ridden. It’s natural inclination would be to resist a rider and maybe throw him off. We too must submit to Christ and let Him take the reigns of our lives. It does not come natural, but we must allow Christ to break us of our will and submit to Him.

3. A King who Saves. (vs. 9-11)

English Standard Version Chapter 11

9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

The people cried out “Hosannah! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.” Hosannah means “Save now.” It comes from Psalm 118:25, 26 which says, “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.” This was one of the songs of Ascent that pilgrims would sing as they were on their way to Jerusalem to observe the Passover.

This was a prayer of deliverance, but they didn’t realize the kind of deliverance Jesus had in mind. Jesus wanted to deliver them from sin but they wanted to be delivered from Rome.

150 years before this, when Judas Maccabaeus led the Maccabean revolt agains the Selucids, it was celebrated by the people waving palm branches. So the people were hoping for a similar revolt here.

Jesus is King, but His kingdom is not an earthly kingdom conquering its foes by force. It is a spiritual kingdom that conquers people’s hearts. He is not purging Israel of foreign domination. He is purging them from their sin.

As they cried Hosanna, they were crying out to Jesus to save them? Have you cried out to Jesus to save you? Not from your poverty or from your sickness, but from your sin? Have you admitted that you are a sinner in need of a Savior? Have you trusted in His death on the Cross to pay for your sin?

King Jesus wants to save you from your sin! He wants to save you from sin’s penalty - death and Hell. He wants to save you from sin’s power over your daily life. He wants to save you ultimately from sin’s presence in Heaven.

If you don’t accept Jesus as your Savior, you will one day face Him as your Judge. You will be judged for your sin and punished forever because you did not receive His free gift of salvation.

Conclusion - Is Jesus Your King?

The King is Coming again. One day, Jesus is coming back to this earth to rule and reign.

The first time, He came to die. But the next time, He will come to reign.

The first time, He came as a humble servant but the next time, He will come as exalted King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The first time, He came to save but the next time, he will come to judge.

The first time, He came in love, but the next time He will come in wrath.

The first time, He was given a crown of thorns to wear but the next time, we will cast our crowns at his feet in worship!

The first time, few bowed before Him but the next time, every knee will bow and every tongue proclaim that He is Lord.

There is a song that says

“Jesus shall reign where e’er the sun

Doth his successive journeys run;

His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,

Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

Blessings abound where e’er he reigns.

The prisoner leaps to lose his chains.

The weary find eternal rest

And all the sons of want are blest.

To our King be Highest Praise

Rising through eternal days.

Just and faithful, He shall reign. Jesus shall reign.”

Is He reigning in your life today? Is He your King? If He has saved you from your sin, He deserves to be your King! He deserves to rule in your life. He deserves your worship!

If Jesus is your King, rejoice and worship Him as those did on the first Palm Sunday. Rejoice that He has brought to us righteousness and salvation. Rejoice that our King is coming again!