The King is Coming

Textual Idea – King Jesus

Sermon Idea – The King is coming!

Interrogative – What is so important about the King coming and who is this King anyway?

Transition w/ key word – Our text presents 4 insights about the King and His importance in our lives.

Introduction – Tell about Phil Waldrep retreat in Kennebunkport Maine & how an internationally known "special guest" w/ high security detail was coming visit & once he entered, we had to stay in the room. Since it was in the town where the Bush family compound is, we all assumed it was the POTUS. Started playing 'Hail to the Chief' & we all leaped to our feet & they started playing jingle bells - Santa Claus arrived w/ shopping gift cards...did something for me & my wife I couldn't do myself. Someone important did come to town, it just wasn’t who we expected. Transition – Well in our text today, someone important is going to the city of Jerusalem and everyone on that “Palm Sunday” over 2000 years ago believed they knew who it was also, but it turned out, He wasn’t what they expected either. His importance would be revealed just a few days later with His death, burial & resurrection. Our text presents 4 insights about the King and His importance in our lives.

1. The King's Knowledge" - vs. 28-32

Explanation – One of God’s many attributes is that He is all knowing. He knows everything about everything at all times. He knows how everything in the universe works, He knows every human being who has ever lived intimately, He knows every human who is living today intimately and He already knows every human yet to be born! There is no amount of knowledge or wisdom in God’s universe, even down to the smallest and minute detail that God does not know! The theological term for God’s knowledge is the term “Omniscience” – simply put, it means God knows everything there is to know & more! The Psalmist said in Ps. 147:5 – “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” If God is all knowing, He is omniscient, it is reasonable to assume that that Son of God would be omniscient also. In the beginning of our text for the morning, we see Jesus giving a little glimpse into His God nature with His Omniscience here in describing to his disciples where to go find a colt for Him to ride on. Some so-called scholars say this is evidence that the Lord preplanned this and had made prior arrangements at the local “Enterprise Rent a Colt office”. But I disagree wholeheartedly. Prior arrangements can’t explain away how Jesus would know exactly what the people around it would say & Luke faithfully records their comments and the disciples responded just as Jesus had said in vs. 31 & 33. If we read further, we’d see more of Jesus’ Omniscience in his dealings with Judas Iscariot at the Passover meal in identifying him as a betrayer, His prediction that all of His disciples would abandon Him and specifically that Peter would betray him. Jesus Christ, the Son of God in the flesh, fully God and fully man knows everything just like God because He is God!

Illustrate - He knew Zacchaeus by name! Vs. 19:5

Argue - Matt. 10:29-31 A sparrow doesn't fall outside His knowledge & hairs of our head are numbered & we are more valuable than many sparrows. Jesus even went so far as to say the very hairs on our head are numbered!

Apply - Ps. 139 tells us The King of Kings and Lord of Lords knows you intimately b/c He made you! He knows about your medical issues, job issues, family issues. He came to seek & to save that which was lost Lk. 19:10. He knows you better than you know yourself. Most importantly, He knows whether or not at this moment as you sit under the sound of my voice and the preaching of the Gospel the condition of your soul and your relationship with Him. He knows every thought, every deed from this past week, every sinful activity, every outburst of anger, every lustful thought, every hateful thought. He also knows what your tomorrow holds.

2. The King's Need - vs. 33-34 –

Explanation – Most people walked everywhere in Jesus’ day. They did not have cars obviously but many families only owned animals to help them with their farming chores. Having a donkey or a horse to ride was only for the wealthiest of society. Jesus didn’t own a donkey nor did his disciples, but the Lord had a need so in His divine knowledge, He saw a colt of a donkey in the little town of Bethphage and He had need of that colt and donkey. Why? Because it was transportation fit for a king! In the OT, when King David wanted to have his son Solomon anointed to be the next King of Israel, he said to the priests, in 1st Kings 1:33 “Take with the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule…”. It may not sound like much to us in our modern era with fancy cars with all kinds of creature comforts, but that mule was transportation fit for a king and the finest Cadillac limousine – complete with leather exterior! Even had a backup warning system – ever heard the term kicks like a mule? But seriously, He also needed this colt to fulfill the prophesy spoken of the Messiah in Zechariah 9:9 - “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” King Jesus, the divine author of Scripture as the Living Word of God fulfilled Zechariah the prophet’s prophecy as the Messiah so the Jews would see Jesus as their Messiah. King Jesus saw an available colt and summoned that colt and it’s mother into His service.

Illustrate/argue - Need of relationships – In Luke 19:10 Jesus said he came to seek and to save that which was lost. King Jesus seeks a relationship with you just like He did with a filthy cheating scoundrel of a tax collector named Zacheus in Lk. 19:5. He’s also looking for faithful servants as the parable of the Minas demonstrates in Lk.19:13 & 17

Apply - Will you be found faithful? 1st Cor. 4:2 – “Moreover it is required of stewards that one be found faithful.” King Jesus is still looking for availability to use for His purposes.

3. The King's News - vs. 35-38

Explanation – As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, the crowd identified Him as the King sent from God. Now they all thought He was a King who would deliver them from the oppression of the Roman empire and a week later when they saw this wasn’t going to happen, the same crowd singing Hosanna on Palm Sunday was screaming crucify Him on Friday. Here the crowd was quoting Ps.118:26 – “Peace” – in Hebrew the word is shalom – a standard Jewish greeting and goodbye. The GK word is “irene” and it refers to harmony in relationships. King Jesus came to bridge the gap between a Holy and righteous God and sinful mankind, to provide peace with God and then peace in our relationships. An announcer comes before a King - we do this with the POTUS a the State of the Union, & when judges enter a courtroom. The news this King brings is the news He is here to transform lives. Jesus Himself provided this news in Luke 4:16-21 - the Gospel is good news. (Share it!)

Illustrate – The passage Jesus read from Isaiah’s prophecy said he would provide sight to the blind. See what He did for Bartimaus in Luke 18 – “Your faith has made you well” Lk. 18:42

Argue/Apply – The reality is that sinful humans are just a blind as old Bartimaus. Bartimaus cried out to King Jesus for mercy. Responding to this gospel & good news by faith gives us peace with God. Vertical peace w/ God allows peace to happen in our other relationships. Rom.5:1-2 & 8 – Share the ABC’s

4. The King's Notoriety - vs. 39-40

Explanation – King Jesus had lots of notoriety and not all of the attention He was getting was good. The Pharisees were the religious elite. You might say that had their own little religious kingdom going on where they were large and in charge. They didn’t want to give up their position to the true King of Israel. I’m convinced as I’ve studied the Scriptures these many years that the Pharisees knew Jesus was the Son of God, the long awaited and prophesied of Messiah because they knew the OT prophesies about Him very well, but they refused to surrender to the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:3-5 tells us of their hatred and plan to kill Jesus after the Passover feast was finished: “Then the chief priests, the scribes and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, was called Caiaphas and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him, but they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”’Yet King Jesus is in complete control because God had ordained that Jesus would be slain on Passover, the most sacred and holy days for the Jewish people commemorating their release from slavery in Egypt – as God’s Passover lamb. King Jesus’ notoriety inflamed the Pharisees into action according to God’s timing. Here they called for Jesus to rebuke His disciples from singing His praises and glorifying God for His mighty works (vs.37). Yet King Jesus is so worthy of praise and honor, He said if the disciples quit praising God, the stones would cry out!

Ps. 19:1 declares: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.” King Jesus as Creator and Sustainer of the universe is worthy of praise and if we humans refuse, the rocks will praise God!

Apply - Ps. 8:1-9 gives us good pattern in how to appropriately Honor the King. Don’t let some rock out praise and worship your worship of the King of Kings and Lords! How many times on Sunday do God’s people not sing God’s praises – stone faced, arms crossed, “bless me if you can.”

God Encounter – God’s challenge to you on this Palm Sunday, 2022 is to recognize the Lord Jesus Christ for who He is, King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s. That recognition means an immediate change to your life!

Monday Morning Challenge – (3 questions)

Is Jesus, the King of my life or am I?

Do I rule or does Jesus rule me?

Will you surrender to the Lordship, the kingship of Jesus Christ today?

Some for salvation, some rededication.

The King is coming & He did something for us we could do for ourselves.

Closing - A famous pastor once shared in a sermon: “I remember years ago talking to a man in his home about Christ & asking him who he thought Jesus was. He said: ‘Oh He’s a wonderful man. He was the greatest man who ever lived, the most loving & gracious person who ever walked upon this earth.’ “I said, ‘Let me tell you something I believe will startle you. According to the Scriptures, & the historic Christian faith, Jesus of Nazareth, the Carpenter from Galilee was & is the eternal Creator of the universe, the omnipotent, omniscient & Almighty God.’ “Instantly the man’s eyes filled with tears & this man of about 55 or 60 years old said ‘I have been in church all of my life & never heard that before. But I have always thought that is the way it ought to be - that God would be like Jesus.’” (Morgan p.486)

Someone once said Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that man can understand! (Morgan p.477)

The King has come to pay for sins & is coming again to judge the earth. Trust Him by faith today because Jesus is in fact God!