Blessed is the King

Good morning. Today is the beginning of Holy Week, which does not mean that this week is actually more particularly special or more particularly holy than any other day or week, but rather it's a time in which we're able to come together and focus on the work that Christ did particularly. And so it's a helpful reminder Israel had their holy days. And it's a good way for us to focus and recalibrate and remember what is important and why we are here. Now, if you were in Sunday school this morning, this is sort of part two or maybe a slightly different perspective. But we're going to mainly be talking about worship today. Now, if you were to go through one of the Gospels, you see a trajectory in the life of Jesus. Only two of the Gospels record his birth.

And then we don't really have anything on his life. A little short story about when he was 12 years old in the temple. And then it gets into his ministry. But the largest portion of the Gospels is actually devoted to the last week of Jesus's life and the information and the lessons that we have there. And so what we're doing today, our passage is going to be in Luke, but we're sort of picking up in the middle of a story. If you were to read in Luke 9, there's a verse, Luke 9, I think it's 51. It says that Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. He's determined and he sets his face towards Jerusalem. And at that moment, there's this shift where Jesus begins this inexorable journey, his unstoppable movement towards Jerusalem and the events that happen during what we call Holy Week.

That verse is a clear reference to Isaiah chapter 50 verse 7 which says, For the Lord God helps me, therefore I am not disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed. And so Jesus has set his face like flint. He's headed towards Jerusalem to do a hard work. And so we're sort of picking up in the middle of that right now because what we're going to read today, Timothy read Matthew's account of the triumphal entry, and we're going to read Luke's account of the triumphal entry. And in the triumphal entry, we see Jesus planning his entry. We see his disciples in the crowds and the Pharisees. And what we see is that everyone and everything brings glory to God. Some of the people bring glory to God by worshiping him, and others bring glory to God through their rejection and through their hatred.

Man was created by God to worship him and to bring him glory. And the reality is that everyone will bring God glory. Every man, every woman, every child, every created thing is going to bring God glory in some way. The dividing line is how they bring glory to God, how they worship. Some do it willingly with faith and obedience. Others will bring glory to God. through receiving the justice served them for their sin. They'll bring glory to God through their destruction. The differences between these two groups is the difference between life and death, heaven and hell. That sounds a little bit grim. Isn't Palm Sunday supposed to be a joyful day? It is. It's a very joyful day. It's a wonderful Sunday. But as we turn to the passage and we read through it, is in this joyful entry. How Jesus cries, he weeps over Jerusalem. There are three times that Jesus is mentioned as crying in Scripture, and this is one of them. It's in one of the most joyful parts of Scripture. And so the questions that we want to ask today as we go through this is, which side are you on? How will you respond? Because what we're going to see is Jesus is making a claim in this passage.

He is fulfilling prophecies explicitly. He's doing and acting in such a way to say, I'm the Messiah and I'm the king. And then what we have is the disciples in the crowds and we have the Pharisees. And so Luke's inviting us to ask ourselves, where would we be when Jesus enters? Are we going to be over here with the Pharisees or are we going to be with the disciples in the crowds, worshiping and giving honor and glory? to Christ. How will we deal with the claim that Jesus is making? Please stand and let's read God's word together. This is Luke chapter 19. We read verses 28 through 44. After he, that's Jesus, had said these things, he was going on ahead and going up to Jerusalem. When he approached Bethphage and Bethany near the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples saying, Go into the village ahead of you. There, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one has yet ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Where are you untying it? You shall say, The Lord has need of it. So those who were sent away and found it, just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owner said to them, Why are you untying the colt? They said, The Lord has need of it.

They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt, and they put Jesus on it. As soon as he was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully and with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, and shouting, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. But Jesus answered, I tell you, if these become silent, the very stones will cry out. When he approached Jerusalem, he saw the city, and he wept over it, saying, If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you.

and will surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground, and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Father God, as we study your word, we pray that you would give us eyes to see, that we would not miss the day of your visitation. that you would help us to know peace, that we would give you worship and glory and honor willingly. We would not be like this. Amen. An important context for this passage that we get in John is that as Jesus set his face like flint and he's heading towards Jerusalem, he hears of Lazarus' death. He tarries until Lazarus dies, right? He hears of his sickness and then he tarries until he dies.

And then he comes and he raises Lazarus from the dead. And this is on his way towards a triumphal entry. And so everyone goes nuts at the news that Lazarus has been raised from the dead. The Pharisees say we have to kill him. And the crowds are awed because a man who had been dead for days is now raised from the dead. And so you have to feel this. building in this anticipation people are like something's happening right the Passover is coming they're all all these people it's not just Jesus heading to Jerusalem right all over Israel people are coming for the greatest feast of the Israelite nation and they're coming and there's this excitement it's a joyful time during the Passover and so they're coming and then you have Jesus who's been gaining a following people have been wondering who he is and what he's doing and now he does this radical, amazing miracle and people are amped up. What is going to happen? Well, then what we see is what Jesus does is he begins to continue doing amazing things. He tells them to go to a certain place in the city and they're going to find a donkey. And not only are they going to find this donkey, it's going to be a unique one. A young one that's young.

unwritten, untried, and they are to take it and bring it to him. And so he's prophesying, right? Like he's setting this whole thing up. And lo and behold, they go into the city and it's just like he said. There's a donkey. They take it. He said, this is what you're going to do. This is what you should say when someone talks to you. Well, people talk to them. They ask the very question Jesus says they're going to ask. And so they give the answer and they let their donkey go. Now, for us, some of the symbolism and some of the information here might be a little lost. Because when we start thinking about donkeys, we probably think of Eeyore. That's not, in this context, what a donkey should remind us. Donkeys were a symbol of wealth and a symbol of peace. See, canes didn't go to war on donkeys. They go to war on horses. And so there's...

This idea of, oh, Jesus is coming, and he's coming into Jerusalem, but he's coming on a donkey, which is a sign of peace, not a sign of war. So there's a symbol of royalty that's attached to it, a symbol of peace. But there's also the context of Zechariah. Zechariah, the prophet, says, prophesying about this moment, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Notice the rejoicing and the triumphing and the shouting. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even a colt, the foal of a donkey. And Jesus knows this, and the crowds know this. And so now Jesus says, hey, go get me this donkey, and now I am going to be entering Jerusalem on a donkey.

after he's been doing all these miracles that are fulfilling all these prophecies, the blind are seeing, the dead are being raised. And so you see he's claiming something and the people are recognizing it. They're getting excited. Notice even what it says. It says they actually take Jesus and they put him on the donkey. It's interesting, isn't it? Because if you remember throughout the rest of the Gospels, how often Jesus heals and then he says, don't go tell anyone, be quiet. And they say, Oh, he fed us. Let's make him king. And then there's this fascinating verse where Jesus sort of walks through the crowd and disappears. So people have been saying, let's make him king. Let's march on Jerusalem. Let's cast off the Roman government. And Jesus has always said no. And all of a sudden he says, get me the donkey, the sign of royalty, and put me on it. And let's go in this messianic way, right?

He's claiming to be the Messiah, and so the crowd's amped up because he's doing what they've been trying to get him to do for the last three years, and he's openly proclaiming something to everyone. And so it's this really powerful moment where Jesus is fulfilling prophecy, and he's headed into Jerusalem, and everyone's excited and amped up, and they're saying, what is going to happen? There's no doubt what he's doing. He's making a claim. He's making a proclamation. And if people realize it, they get excited. They put their cloaks on the donkey so that the donkey's dirt and sweat don't foul up Jesus as he sits on it. And then they roll out the red carpet, right? Only they're just taking their cloaks and they're throwing them on the ground so that the donkey doesn't have to walk in the dirt and the dust to protect him, to make him clean. And then they begin to proclaim.

A verse from Psalm 118. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. They begin to say, this is the Messiah. They're realizing this. They're excited. What is going to happen? They recognize the situation which the prophets have foretold, and hence they begin to quote the prophets. Jesus is claiming to be the Messiah, and he's headed to Jerusalem to save them. Hosanna means save us. I think it's interesting because we don't necessarily think of that just as a save us, right? Remember, I had a friend who told me, you know what Hosanna means? He said, it means praise God 10,000 times. And do you know how often I've said praise God now because I say Hosanna all the time? And I don't know that you can separate these two meanings from Hosanna because the excitement and the reality of what Christ has come to Jerusalem to do.

I think we've added that meaning to Hosanna, the element of praising God because he has. So there's this excitement. Jesus is openly proclaiming, openly saying, I'm coming as the Messiah, coming to Jerusalem. He's taking this mantle upon him. And what is the response? It's worship. It's worship. What they do is they say, there's a claim and we want it. So they worship God because. Jesus, because he's coming to save them. And what's striking is they forget about themselves. They become undignified. They're so excited, they have to show their enthusiasm. So they start ripping off their clothes and throwing them in the street. They start tearing branches off of trees and waving them in the air. And everyone's in on it, right? In the passage we read in Matthew, the children are screaming, Hosanna!

It's the son of David. He's come. They chase him all through Jerusalem towards the temple. They're shouting. And it makes the Pharisees mad because the children understand something. And they're loud and they're excited. You know, children are pretty funny because they're so unaware of themselves. They say things, rude things and funny things all the time because they have no self-awareness of what, you know, just the other day. Ambrose was sitting on someone's lap and he goes, oh, you have a big belly, right? He said, no, he's being rude. He's just a kid saying something. He talks, right? And what you have here with these children and with everyone is they're worshiping God and they're unconcerned about what others might. Jesus is the Messiah. He's the Savior. He's come to set them free, to usher in days of peace. And so they give themselves up to worship.

Because this is the thing that they've been waiting for. They're ecstatic. They're shouting. They can't contain themselves. They're waving their arms and they're tearing branches from trees. Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They're loud. They're shouting. They're yelling. Imagine the noise. The chaos. The commotion. All directed at one thing. One person. The Messiah, the one who's come to save, who they see a donkey and they say, that's peace, that's salvation, Hosanna, save us now, you're coming to save us. They know that the Messiah was the one who was supposed to come and bring peace and set them free, and so they are excited. Now, what kind of peace is he coming to bring? There's probably confusion in this crowd as to the peace. They are under the assumption that...

God, that Jesus is finally coming to throw off the yoke of Rome. Israel's been an oppressed people for hundreds of years. And finally, this Messiah is coming. He's the one who's to set them free, who's to bring salvation to their nation. And so there's this great excitement. But even in the verse that they quote, it says the peace is in heaven. And so while they think that maybe there's this political peace, the peace that Jesus is coming to bring, the salvation that he's coming to bring is far greater than any form of political peace that could be brought. In fact, this peace has nothing to do with Rome. The government actually has not anything to do with this peace. This peace can be wrought under any government, under any form, because the peace that he is bringing is peace with God. And that peace is far greater than any...

mere earthly peace. Our lives are short and they're full of pain and suffering, but that is minuscule compared to the problems that we have with them. And what Jesus is proclaiming as the Messiah is not that he's going to come and throw off the tyranny of Rome. He's not coming to reinstitute worship in the temple. He's coming to bring peace between God's people and God. And that's very clear because in the next few days, the days that we're coming up, what does the very next thing that happens, right? Holy Monday, what we think, what we talk about on Holy Monday is Jesus going into the temple and whipping people and passing them out. That's not in an earthly set. And by the end of this week, he's put to death on the cross. That's not very peaceful. And in a few short years, Jerusalem is razed to the ground. And if you read the accounts of the destruction of Jerusalem, it's miserable. No, Jesus is bringing a far greater peace than mere political peace. He is bringing a peace between God and him. And if you're a Christian, how much more should you throw yourself into the worship of God? Because you have an understanding that what Jesus is doing in this week, you can clearly see.

It's more clear than it was to the people. The people said, here's a Messiah, but they were thinking earthly Messiah. And what we know now is it wasn't an earthly Messiah. It was a heavenly Messiah. And so when you come to church on Sunday morning, you ought to throw yourself into the worship of God. Because if you're a Christian, you should know that what God has wrought is not a peace so that you can live in peace under whatever political system you're under, but that you have peace with God. That no matter what earthly torment you may face, you don't have to face eternal torment because God has paid the penalty. The wrath was poured out on Christ. And that work was accomplished in this week. So do you give your heart to worshiping God? Will you raise your hands in worship and move like you mean it? How many times have you become hoarse in the worship of God? Because you were singing so loud. Your heart was in the worship of God so much.

that you weren't concerned about the people in front of you or the people behind you or the people next to you, but you actually lost yourself in the worship of God because of the great salvation which he has wrought for you. You actually believe that he came to bring peace and to save you? We're so proud. We refuse to worship God with humility. When we worship, we should be forgetting about ourselves and we should be giving ourselves completely to the worship of God. Sunday morning should be the sweetest time of the week. It should be the highlight because on Sunday morning, you don't have to worry about anything else. You have entered the presence of God. So give yourself to the worship of him. Forget about the worries and the cares of the week. You're here to worship God. And so it should be the sweetest time, the greatest moment of humility that all those other things don't really matter because you are here with the God who created you.

and you are at peace because of the salvation which Jesus wrought. Now, not everyone is happy with this. The disciples who led the crowd in worshiping God were not the only ones there. The children who were caught up in the worship, that's you kids, right? You have palm branches today. You should sing aloud and show up the adults who are stodgy and who won't. fully open their hearts to the worship of God. But they're not the only ones there because, of course, there are the Pharisees who would not be caught up in the ecstasy of worship, would not be caught glorifying God. The Pharisees were too conservative for that. They were very upset about what's going on. They had spent their lives in opposition to Jesus. So they tell Jesus, you have to rebuke your disciples. You think about, like, have you ever been, I don't care about, words that much they just don't matter that much to me so um have you ever been in a party with people who care a lot about something and they get really excited and they're like and they're raving their arms and you're just kind of like they're weird like you just don't get it because you don't enter into that because it doesn't mean anything well the people are here worshiping jesus is making an acclaim and the pharisees they're judging everyone

They have their arm. Is that you in worship? Like, when we're singing, are your lips moving? Are your hands in your pockets? The Pharisees are left out because they won't enter into worship. They're angry because they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. They refuse to recognize Jesus as Lord. You know why they didn't recognize Jesus as Lord? Let me give you a few reasons. Jesus didn't follow the laws that they had set up. They had the right way. You know, if you're really a Christian, you dress in a particular way. Oh, and by the way, you only will talk with certain people. You can't be associated with other people. And Jesus blew all their norms out of the water. So they're offended because he won't play their games. He subverted their games. He was not coming to bring about a political victory, and they understood.

And they didn't want any, you know, back when I was in youth group, there was a man a couple years older than me that was leading the singing there that was in charge of the band. And we sang this song, Amazing Grace, but the version that has a chorus that's appended. So obviously it's subpar. And I let him know my opinion on that song. And then. He purposely chose to sing that song one Wednesday. And he purposely watched me. And he watched me glower as I didn't join in the chorus. Because, you know, I was too spiritual, yeah. And then he called me out afterwards. And he said, you are here to worship God. Now, the Pharisees had all their preferences. And they wouldn't enter into the worship of God unless it was done in them. Which was not according to how God has defined worship.

but according to how they had defined worship and how they set it up. And so if they don't like the song on Sunday morning or they don't feel how it is, they're very happy to let the whole band know and discourage them because they won't move their lips in worship of God. Because worship apparently is about you. So what keeps you from worshiping God? Do you refuse to come and enter into worship because the week didn't go how you wanted it to? God doesn't act according to the rules. that you set up for God, you must act in this way. And so now because the week didn't go how you felt, you're disgruntled and you come into worship and you refuse to humble yourself in the worship of God because you think you know better how to rule you. You refuse to worship Christ because he just doesn't do what you want him to do. That's what the Pharisees were like. We won't acknowledge you as Lord and King because you don't play by our rules. The day of visitation had come.

And the Pharisees refused to acknowledge. They didn't know peace. Peace was before them, and they refused it. Well, Jesus has words for those who refuse to humble themselves in worship. You know what he says? He says, you're dumber than rocks. You're stupider than the rocks. You see, they say, tell your people to be quiet. This isn't decently in order. They've given themselves over to be enthusiastic. And he says, you know what? These rocks have a better understanding of the glory of God than you do. Because if I were to tell these people to be quiet, the glory and the power of this moment, these rocks would come alive and start singing my praises because this is what I deserve. And so he's saying nature has a better understanding. The most inanimate thing, a rock, has a better knowledge of God.

than those who would stand in worship and refuse to worship. Then those who would stand in worship over some heady inconvenience in their life would refuse peace with God because they're upset in the moment. And he says, this rock that's willing, that would at my command, sing out my praises as a more not thorough knowledge of God than the teachers of Israel. Those who refuse to worship God are dumber than a box of rocks. The situation here is tragic. Jesus weeps over it. So the question is, where do you stand in all of this? Are you with the disciples in the crowds, giving yourselves over wholly to the worship of God? Are you standing aloof? Body posture is so important in worship because sometimes we really just don't feel like doing it. But if you're willing to just put your hands up, maybe you'll bring your spirit in line with what your body's doing.

This is not a very good posture. Nor is this. This is closing yourself off, right? Like, you talk to anyone who reads body posture. This is very defensive, right? No martial art stance begins like this. Because this is open. This is surrender. There could not be a greater difference between the responses of the disciples and the Pharisees. The disciples regard Jesus as the promised king, the Messiah, through whom God is working with great power. And this has been proved by the countless miracles Jesus did, and most recently in the fact that he raised a man who was dead. In Jesus there is peace and glory, the presence of the authority of heaven brought down to earth, made visible.

The Pharisees, however, refused to acknowledge what was plainly before them, and they went so far as to say that the worship of Jesus, he was receiving something that wasn't his to receive. Luke demonstrates to you that you must choose a side. Jesus' appeal to creation shows how fundamental his claim is. Even the rock skeletons. Creation knows it's true. Creation knows that as Jesus, came to this city to die, to redeem not only the people, but to redeem the world. He's going to do all creation's groaning and creation understands that it's going to be remade. So the creation gets it. The inanimate stones get it. You should, you don't have any. So I call on you. You must humble yourselves and worship Christ. You must give yourselves to the worship of God.

Don't close yourself off to worship. There's a warning that's in this passage. You will glorify God whether you are willing or not. The wicked's hatred of righteousness is a testimony to that very right. Jesus' righteousness shines all the brighter. His holiness is all the clearer for the hatred that is poured upon him by wicked and the way that he responds. But the other thing that you have to realize. is that Jesus comes on a donkey to bring peace between God and men. But he's coming again. And when he comes the next time, it won't be on a donkey. It will be on a horse outfitted for war with a sword coming out of his mouth and a name that only he knows that we can't pronounce, followed by legions of angels. And these legions of angels were there at this time.

He could have come into Jerusalem at this time on a war horse. He could have called down legions of angels, but he didn't because if he had, he wouldn't have brought about the peace between God and man. But this second time, he's not coming for peace. He's coming for war. He's coming to bring judgment upon those who refuse to humble themselves in the worship of God willingly. But what we're told is in that day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. So you can choose today to either join with the crowds, shouting Hosanna, singing the praises of Christ willingly, or you can wait in your pride and in your haughtiness, refusing to acknowledge what even the stones are willing to acknowledge. And in that day when Christ comes, when his glory...

is so great before your eyes that it is like a punch to the gut. You will kneel and you will confess. But you'll, the wicked, the ones who refuse to do it now willingly, will hate the very words of praise that are coming out of their mouths. And they'll hate the fact that God's glory is so great it's forcing them onto their knees. And they'll despise the very glorious one who they're worshiping. It is forced because they can't deny it. What they are trying to deny, what is so obvious today, they'll deny until they're unable to. But for the rest of eternity, they will live in sheer and utter misery. So that's the warning for us. Either you can willingly come before God in humbleness, in humility, not worrying about the people around you, but realizing, grateful and thankful for the salvation that Christ has wrought, for the peace that he has wrought between you and God, or you can stay in your pride, refuse to bend your knee, refuse to be as humble in the worship of God, and one day you will be forced to worship. Your knees will bow.

And your tongue will confess, but it will be such a pain and such an unwilling confession. And you will live the rest of eternity. And so the choice is before you. You know, are you willing to recognize the claim that Jesus, the claim that he's the king, that he's the Messiah, the ruler, the one who's come to bring salvation? And if you say you recognize that. Are you willing to worship one? Does your body proclaim that truth when you're before God? And if you don't, I've warned you. The day of visitation is here. I don't know when the day of visitation will pass, but Jesus says the day of visitation was then. The peace offered was then, and they refused, and they were destroyed. And not just them, but their fall was great, and their children were included.