King from Another Realm Part I

Similar structure as Matthew 2

Jesus entering Jerusalem

Old Testament Prophecy

Questions: “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?” vs. “Who is this?”

Dedication! (Magi got it right)

Worship

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

Who is Jesus? How did Jesus reveal himself? How do we give him?

Overview of Son of David

Son of David!

David: Ancient King of Israel

Messiah comes from David...

Blindness: Matthew 9:27-31: Two blind men, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

Confusion: Matthew 12:23-24: 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

Out of Order (Canaanite): Matthew 15:22: “And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”’

Blindness: Matthew 20:30-34: “30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.”

They recognize him as King: “Lord, have mercy!”

Interesting, the connection Matthew makes between Jesus bring the Son of David and, “have mercy.”

Tone is important:

NOT: Name in vain, “Lord, have mercy!”

Plea for help!

Begging for help!

Out of sheer dependence

But it’s telling that Matthew surrounds the title “Son of David” with stories of confusion and blindness, isn’t it?!

Son of David, High King, have mercy!

Heal me, fix me, feed me, provide for me… The sentiment is right, but the Definition is Confused.

Where are we blind and Confused?

Do you ever think you get it wrong?

Examples:

Mark, when he was a kid:

“Thank you so much for dying on the cross for all my sins.”

Tony Campollo tells a story of a man named Joe who converts to Christianity. Joe is an alcoholic and converted to the faith at the lowest part of his life. He surrendered all to serve his god of alcohol. After God takes a grasp of his soul, Joe stops drinking cold turkey and dedicates his life working for the down and out at a local mission. Joe then becomes a source of inspiration for others struggling with their own addictions and problems. During a worship service at this mission, another “repentant drunkard comes forward and shouts, “Make me like Joe! Make me like Joe!” The director of the mission leaned over and said to the man, “Son, I think it would be better if you prayed, ‘Make me like Jesus!’” The man looked up at the director with a quizzical expression on his face and asked, ‘Is he like Joe?’” (ReJesus)

How are you blind and confused with your understanding about Jesus?

Warrior King?

WHO Really is This?

Jesus defines for us:

Jesus Finally Provides Clarity:

The Humble King

Zechariah 9:9:

9  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.

Leon Morris: Notice v. 10: Horse vs. Donkey: Jesus inverses the expectations

10  I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

and he shall speak peace to the nations;

his rule shall be from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Jesus inverses the expectations

Donkey vs. Horse

Not a political Powerhouse sitting on a Thorough Bred.

Simpleton sitting on a Donkey

Donkey draped with their cloaks

(Picture of Donkey with ammo)

Humility

Jesus Provides Clarity in the Next Chapter

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44  “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”

How could a Lord call another LORD!?

Humility Juxtaposed with POWER!

Jesus strips them from their

Flips their understanding on their head:

Spiritually Blind: Jesus opens their eyes

GREATER THAN DAVID!!

Fusion of Total HUMILITY with all POWER

Two Responses to the King

Humility

In the final page of Tim Keller's book Center Church, Tim retells a story he once read in a Christian magazine. The final pages feel like a personal commissioning. He recognizes the work ahead is inspiring but impossible. I want to rewrite this short parable that captures how yes, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible:

A donkey swaggers into the marketplace. His large nostrils point up higher than usual as he dreams of the events of yesterday. He plops down on his hindquarters in the middle of high traffic pedestrians. "I'm heeeeorr!" the donkey shouts in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Confused shoppers stare at this ridiculous site. They walk pass, some plugging their noses at this foreign beast of burden. Thinking he hadn't spoke up loud enough, the donkey shouts louder, "I'm heeeeooor!"

The crowd grows impatient. "What are you doing here, you donkey, walking up in here like this?" A passerby slaps the donkey to get him up and out.

But the donkey will not be broken. “Throw your garments down," the donkey responds, "Don't you know who I am?" The crowd stops and stares dazed and confused, but quickly move on to their list of important things to buy.

Confused himself, the donkey waddles back home. "I don't understand," the donkey explains to his mother, “yesterday they were shouting 'Hosanna!' and 'Maranatha!' and today they treat me like I don't belong here." With a large frog in his throat, the donkey asks, "What am I doing wrong?"

The mother quickly responds with soft words of eternal assurance and firm rebuke, "Foolish donkey, don't you know that without him- you can do nothing!"

Pride waits for our next step to pounce like fall copperheads! If there is an ounce of pride in your life that says, “I’m pretty good cuz I picked Jesus, you got it all wrong!”

Like the blind men and Canaanite women, we need the right sentiment along with the right definition!

“Lord, have mercy!”

Tone, “Lord, have mercy!”

Have you been so broken that you had to cry out, “Lord, Have mercy!”

Have you been at that breaking point?

I was probably 8 years old...

8 years old, travelling pastor. Mime, not a meme, a mime: Watch the Lamb:

Story of a dad walking into Jerusalem the same day Jesus did.

The boy’s responsibility was to watch the lamb, make sure the lamb didn’t run away.

They reach the edge of Jerusalem into chaos...

Three men were carrying crosses and the crowd pushed the dad and his boys and they were calling “Crucify him!”

In the chaos, a Roman Soldier grabs the dad’s should and yells at him, “You, carry the cross!”

At first I tried to resist him, Then his hand reached for his sword, So I knelt and took the cross from the Lord, I placed it on my shoulder, And started down the street, The blood that he'd been shedding was running down my cheek.

They led us to Golgotha, They drove nails deep in His feet and hands, Yet upon the cross I heard Him pray "Father, forgive them".

Oh, never have I seen such love in any other eyes, "Into thy hands I commit my spirit" He prayed and then He died,

I stood for what seemed like years, I'd lost all sense of time until I felt two tiny hands holding tight to mine, My children stood there weeping, I heard the oldest say, "Father please forgive us, the lamb ran away".

"Daddy, daddy, What have we seen here?, There's so much that we don't understand", So I took them in my arms, And we turned and faced the cross, Then I said "dear children watch the lamb"

That was one of the most profound moments of my life, where I realized my need for Christ’s mercy! I didn’t want to be one of those little boys looking for the wrong lamb! That image of boys scurrying after the lamb while Jesus is there offering forgiveness and life forever!

Have you been at that moment?

Moment of humility, where you realize you can’t get through another day without the Lord. Where you realize your pride and ability can only get you so much in life and infinitely short of God’s favor?

Experience of humility: where we cry out, “LORD, HAVE MERCY! A SINNER!” “I AM NOW YOURS!”

You can say, “Lord have mercy,” with sarcasm or scorn, or you can say it with with sincerity and security, “LORD, You are the KING, Have Mercy on me, a sinner!

Daily Humility:

Take this with you every day

Don’t BE HUMBLE—You’re not and only the Spirit can make you ‘be’ humble.

Rather, do what Jesus did and perform acts of humility that show you belong to the King...

Jesus walk into Jerusalem and say, “I am the humble king.” He showed it. He put it into practice.

Sitting on a donkey

Not saying a word

Flipping the expected on its head!

Humility:

Dr. Marie Fang: “How to be More Humble!” vs. Practicing Humility

“Really, it’s not built into anymore, to be humbling, it is a practice.”

“Practice, meaning its a discipline that doesn’t happen naturally without us doing anything beyond what would naturally happen, we have to engage in the discipline actively and chose it.”

Not about putting yourself down: FALSE HUMILITY

C.S. Lewis: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”

What is it like to walk in that person’s shoes?

Where did they grow up and what was their parents like?

What is their story?

Are they hurting? Lonely? Seeking attention?

Humility is the response to salvation but also the journey of salvation. How we work it out everyday, putting practices of humility at the forefront of our minds...

Joy

And when we respond to the King in this way, we then experience the same kind of Joy the crowd experienced. Whereas they were overjoyed with a false sense of security, with a false sense of power, a false sense of hope, and political optimism, our JOY is a sense of eternal security, a true sense of God’s power, and pure hope, and an optimism in Christ’s political reign no realm on earth can influence or wield.

The crowds were pumped that Jesus was coming in Jersualem, but for all the wrong reason!

In fact, their joy in that moment should pale in comparison to the joy we should feel knowing better who this Son of David really was! The joy we can experience is so much more alive because we’re not celebrating a man who will trot on to the Capital Hills of the World, you know? Our celebration is grounded in eternal hope! That no matter what comes our way...

I think it’s important to see the joy of those celebrating.

The placing of the palm branches.

The military chants.

Witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy

Just as Christ’s humility is juxtaposed with his Infinite Power

Our humility is juxtaposed with joy!

False humility=Pride

True humility=Joy