Jesus, the King
Key Verse Luke 19:38
“Blessed is the king who comes in
the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Tonight we will be learning about who Jesus is, the
different responses we have to Jesus, and Jesus’ love. I hope that we can all
open our hearts and our minds during this conference. Before we begin, let’s
pray.
Part 1: Who Jesus Is (28-36)
First,
Jesus shows us his sovereignty. Let’s look at verses 28-31. As Jesus and his
disciples were on their way to Jerusalem, Jesus sends a couple of his disciples
to town to get him a colt. But this is no ordinary colt. Miriam Pierce, can you
please stand up and read verses 30-31 for us? “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a
colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If
anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Jesus
was so specific that he told them where to find the colt, and he even quoted
its owners from the future. Verse 32 reads that
“Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.”
Everything happened just as Jesus had prophesized. No one knows what they’re
going to do or who they’re going to talk to in the next hour, yet Jesus is able
to quote someone from the future. And the best part is, is that this wasn’t his
first or last time prophesizing what was going to happen. Earlier in Chapter
19, Jesus predicts his betrayal in the parable of the Ten Minas. Verse 27 says,
“But those who did not want me to be
king over them- bring them here and kill them in front of me.” Jesus knew
that there would be people who would reject him and put him on the cross, way
before most of the disciples were even thinking about his death.
Second,
Jesus is the promised Messiah. Let’s look at verses 35-36. Most of us who have
studied this passage before know that Jesus coming in on a donkey signifies his
humility and his status as an unpretentious God. However, Jesus riding on a
donkey is so much more significant. Zachariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See
your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a
donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus wasn’t just riding a
donkey, he was riding a donkey and fulfilling prophesy of the coming Messiah
that was predicted hundreds of years before he was even born. Jesus was the
king that all of the people were waiting for. They were in need of a king who
would fight for them, provide for them, and save them from their sin. Jesus was
the Messiah that everyone needed and still needs today.
Why do
we need a king like Jesus? Well, we are all human, and we are powerless to our
sin. We are all helpless sinners looking for someone or something to save us. We
are people looking for someone to fight for us, provide for us, and save us
from our sin. The only person who can do that for us is Jesus, the powerful,
and loving king.
Part 2: People’s response to Jesus (37-40)
John
Lee, can you please stand up and read verse 37 for us? “When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of
Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud
voices for all the miracles they had seen.” Some of you may be wondering,
“what miracles?” So let’s take a minute to review what miracles Jesus had done.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus healed a man with leprosy (ch 5), forgave and healed a
paralyzed man (ch 5), healed the centurion’s servant (ch 7), raises the widow’s
son from the dead (ch 7), calms the storm (ch 8), heals a demon possessed man
(ch 8), feeds the 5000 (ch 9), and does many many more amazing miracles. Jesus’
life was filled with miracles because he was fulfilling prophesy but more
importantly, he was expressing his love for us, and he was giving the people in
those situations opportunities to strengthen their faith.
Let’s all read verse 38 together, “Blessed is the king who comes in the
name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Jesus’
disciples were so happy to know that he was the king they were waiting for, and
he was there with them. God was using this time to fulfill his promises and to
reveal his love and hope for the people who were waiting for the Messiah.
Each
and every one of us have a driving force in our lives. It’s a passion in our
hearts that decides every one of our actions and thoughts. It’s the driving
force in our lives. Most people may have an idol or a sin that is sitting on
that throne in their hearts. Others might not know what it is yet. Some idols
can be popularity and success or money or it might even be nothing at all. You
might not have any motivation or hope in your life. Personally, I think I am
sitting on the throne in my heart. Every choice I make is in the interest of
making myself happier. I am also very self-reliant and I don’t like to tell
other people about my struggles. I think in my head that I can do everything by
myself. In reality, I am obviously a sinner with a lot of flaws so my choices
aren’t always the right ones and they usually make my life harder. I think my
own pride and self-reliance has made it hard for me to give up the throne in my
heart to Jesus. We are all set on the road of hardship and struggle. And without
Jesus, we can’t get off that road to destruction. When we look back to the
passage, we see that these people clearly had Jesus sitting on the throne of
their hearts, and they welcomed Jesus and praised him. Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth,
“Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.” All we need to do is welcome Jesus in our hearts and
believe that he was raised from the dead for us.
Now
that we’ve seen the disciple’s response, let’s take a look at the response of
the Pharisees. Let’s look at verse 39. Verse 39 says “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke our
disciples!” The Pharisees were on the attack. These guys were experts of
the bible, but they were blind to the fact that the person that they had been
studying about their whole lives was right in front of their faces. They told
Jesus to rebuke his disciples for calling him a holy king. That is kind of
twisted. So Jesus comes to save the people. The people are happy and they
celebrate. The Pharisees tell Jesus to tell the people to stop praising him.
That’s kind of like if after Harry Potter defeated Voldemort and he and his
friends were celebrating and then Malfoy came up to Harry and told him to tell
his friends to stop being happy. Let’s think about that for a second…. For
those of you who like it in more simple terms, Jesus says it perfectly. Joanne
Lee can you stand up and read verse 40 for us? “I tell you,” He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry
out.” Someone or something on earth will
always be praising God. If not the disciples, then even the inanimate stones
will cry out in praises for God’s glory. And in a bigger picture sense, even
if the people don’t praise God, it doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is still
King.
To be
completely honest, I don’t think I can declare Jesus as my king because my
heart is already occupied. Being so focused on myself and my own ability, my
heart is not completely open to Jesus. For me, the first step is to let go of
my own passions so that Jesus can become my new passion.
Part 3: Jesus’ response to all people (41-44)
Jesus
has one response to all people. Let’s read verse 41 altogether. “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the
city, he wept over it.” Jesus loves you to the point where he is ready to
die for you. When Jesus saw Jerusalem, he cried because he knew just as he
knows now, that it is inevitable that people will turn away from him. Jesus knew this and out of compassion he
cried, and later he would eventually die for us. Jesus is the all-powerful God
and he is our sovereign Lord yet he is still merciful.
Jesus was the ultimate example of a good friend. He was
misunderstood by a lot of people, but he was still able to have unconditional
love for everyone he met. I think about how much I disregard people who I don’t
like. If I don’t get along with people, I usually just ignore them and hate
them forever. But Jesus was so loving that he was able to cry for the people
who would kill him and reject him. When I read about his tears, it made me
think about the last time I cried for someone else. I went to a funeral a
couple weeks ago and I cried a lot. But I realize that those were tears for me.
I was sad. I don’t think I have ever sympathized with someone to the point
where I cried for them. So, knowing that I haven’t cried for someone, it’s hard
to imagine me dying for someone else. I think the one person who has the most
perfect and truly unconditional love is Jesus.
Let’s
read verses 42-44. “and said, “If you, even you, had only
known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your
eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment
against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will
dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will
not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of
God’s coming to you.” One day, you and I will face Jesus as our judge
or we will face him as our savior. Which will it be for you?
I hope that you will all think about this question and
really dig down deep to find who or what is in your heart, and how you can open
your hearts to Jesus.
One Word: Jesus the King
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