Who Is This King?

Observing Crowd

Jesus entered Jerusalem during the passover. It is estimated by most theologians that well over a million people came to Jerusalem during the passover. Some say it was around 2.5-2.7 million based on the number of lambs that were sacrificed during this festival. There were a lot of people and most new about Jesus for several reasons. The Pharisees had made His name known for the purpose of arresting Him. Others had heard his teachings. Some had experienced His miracles. Still others were his followers. Jesus was well known at this time by many.

We see that the crowd of people came to see Jesus, because they believed He was going to be the king that delivered them from Roman rule and restore the throne of David. They believed Jesus to be someone that he was not. Jesus did not to come to rescue the nation of Israel from Roman rule. His purpose was much more significant. He came to deliver humanity from sin.

His entry on a donkey communicated a message to the crowd. The message was that he was the king of peace. They would have known this from the prophet Zechariah. Zec. 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 NASB95

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

They were wanting a king that would enter on a strong stallion. This was the type of king that would enter after a conquering battle. This was the type of king they were looking for. Perhaps this is why just a few days later they would be calling for his death. He did not meet their expectations of the king they wanted, so they rejected Him.

Today’s Observers

There are people today who have heard about Jesus. They have heard about what He has done on other peoples lives. Perhaps they have even read some of the things that He did in the Bible. They are curious but not committed. They have hope in a Jesus that may be able to give them what they want. For example, they If I start going to church then Jesus will fix all the problems that I have in my life so life will be a easier. Some may believe that following Jesus will exempt and protect them from difficulties in life. Still others may believe that following Jesus brings health, wealth and prosperity. This is not the true Jesus.

Jesus is God’s son who is establishing a holy kingdom that He is going to rule forever. His desire is for us to make him Lord of our life and advance His kingdom by making disciples. Matt. 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 NASB95

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Our relationship with Jesus is not so much about what Jesus does for us as much as it is how much are we willing to follow Him. Luke 9:23

Luke 9:23 NASB95

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

It is true that Jesus saves us from our sin and gives us eternal life, but the Christian life is much more than that. It is growing in your relationship with Christ through experiencing Him in the obedience to the scriptures.

Misunderstanding Disciples

The disciples of Jesus were probably taken back by the response of the crowd. This was the first time that so many people responded in this fashion. They too probably thought that Jesus was about to take His kingship and that they were going to rule with Him.

This was unusual because Jesus had already told them that He was going to Jerusalem to be crucified. Matt. 20:18

Matthew 20:18 NASB95

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death,

The disciples go so swept away by what was happening at Jesus entry that they forgot what Jesus he had said. They may have even believed what the crowd was thinking because they had given indication if this earlier. Matt.20:21

Matthew 20:21 NASB95

And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

They had allowed the current circumstances to sway their belief from what Jesus said to what was actually happening in the moment.

Misunderstanding disciples today.

We can be the same way as the disciples today. When we find ourselves in what appears to be a hopeless situation we can be overwhelmed by the situation and lose sight of what God promises in His Word regarding your situation.

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By John Weeks

The hope of Christ was made evident to me several years ago when the place I was working began having financial troubles due to a change in ownership. I went three months without a paycheck before the place finally folded and then I went another several months before getting a job.

In that time, we received checks and food and other donated items that we needed so that my wife’s part time job would be enough to get us through. These things and the money that we received physically came from our friends at church and the Emmaus community – but in reality, they came from God.

As one letter put it: “Please do not repay me but when things are better for you, please do likewise for someone else in need. I am doing this as Christ has done for me. Please follow Christ’s example.” We put our hope and faith in Christ fully during that time and we truly felt His presence in our lives.

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Conversely, when we trivialize sin in our life and say it isn’t so bad, then we have to face the consequences of our sin according to the scriptures.

Let's Tell The Truth: Sin Can Be Fun! Well At ...

By D. Greg Ebie

Let’s tell the truth: SIN CAN BE FUN! Well at least it is fun for a while. The reality is that sin always has consequences. And the consequences of sin are unpleasant.

The National Geographic reported in October 2005 that a 13-foot Burmese python had been found dead in the Florida’s Everglades National Park after eating its enemy, a 6 foot alligator. This pythons last supper proved to be lethal as it burst in two exposing the remains of the partially digested alligator. Exactly How it happened remains a mystery, but there have been several theories. What makes sense to me is that as the giant python began to wrap itself around its prey, the alligator put up a fight biting the python in its mid section. While the python won the battle and soon swallowed the dead alligator whole, the wound it received did not heal. Eventually it burst from the inside out due to the pressure caused by the digesting alligator within its stomach. At least that’s what I think might have happened.

(see: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/10/1006_051006_pythoneatsgator.html)

The reality is that this dead python is a picture of the consequences of sin within our lives. Sin is our enemy. Yet we naively think that we can master it—we can beat sin because we are stronger than it is. We enjoy the pleasures of sin. It looks as though we have won and beaten the consequences of sin. Unfortunately, sin soon destroys us from the inside out.

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God’s word is true. It has been tested and tried for many years and never found to be false. It has been misunderstood but never proven to be wrong.

Experienced Followers

There were people who had followed Jesus and heard His teachings and saw His miracles. Specifically they saw Him raise a dead man to life. They were telling others about who Jesus is and what He can do.

Their testimony caused people to begin to seek after Jesus and as a result believe in Him themselves.

Today’s experienced followers

If you have a personal relationship with Jesus then you are an experienced follower. You can tell others about what Jesus has done in your life.

Recognize where you see Jesus in your life and tell others about it. They want to know your story. They want to have hope in Jesus! Your story can be a catalyst to lead them to Him.

We all have a unique story about how Christ has manifested himself to us. One of mine was my call to vocational ministry. I have shared it several times with many people. I often use it when asked to speak publically.

Christ Haters

The Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted to destroy Him. They saw how the people responded to Jesus and even acknowledged how the people had gone after Jesus. This fueled there fire to get rid of Him. They resorted to drastic measures that we will discuss in later sermons. The fact of the matter is they just wanted Jesus gone, so they could live the life they wanted to live.

Christ haters today.

There are people today that may not be as radical as the Pharisees, but would rather not have Jesus as part of their lives because they want to live their life the way they want without any accountability for sin. John 3:18-21

John 3:19–21 NASB95

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

If you are an observer, misunderstand Christ, or even hate Him, I want to invite you this morning to become an experienced follower!