Seeing King Jesus

This Sunday we celebrate the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem in the final week of His life. We often call this the “Triumphal Entry.” Finally, Jesus is recognized as the king He really is. Or so it seems.

In Luke’s account, Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” in Luke 9:51; ever since, He has been headed this direction. Finally in chapter 19, He arrives.

Now, He does not become king at this point – He has been king from the beginning. Indeed, in Luke 1:33 the angel Gabriel tells Mary, “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Yet it is not obvious at the beginning of His public ministry that He is king. While often speaking of the kingdom, Jesus does not proclaim, “I am the king.” Indeed, John tells us that He withdrew when a crowd wanted to make Him king (John 6).

As Jesus approaches Jerusalem in the final months of His life, however, He declares that He is king more and more clearly Consider how Luke brings this out:

  • Luke 11:20: “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
  • Luke 11:31: “Something greater than Solomon is here.”
  • Luke 17:21: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Nevertheless, Jesus still has made no overt claim to kingship.

But now the day has come. His death is imminent. He must show that He is king, and that the king will suffer and die for His people. So now He acts out His kingly role.

Following Jesus’ commands, the disciples place Him on a young donkey, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9-10 about the coming of the King. They then spread out their cloaks in the donkey’s path – the equivalent of rolling out the red carpet for Him.

As He travels toward Jerusalem, a huge crowd gathers, rejoicing and praising God. They have seen His many mighty works; now they are ready to name this man King. So they quote Psalm 118, crying out, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). There is no ambiguity now. The crowds proclaim, “He’s the One! He’s the Messiah.”

They continue, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” This echoes the announcement of the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem (Luke 2:14).

Jesus is the king. He is the one who brings peace. He is the one who brings glory to God. These people are right to praise God for his mighty works.

The Pharisees have been concerned about Jesus’ claims to authority. This has come out particularly when he has declared sins forgiven, and claimed lordship over the Sabbath. So they now appeal to Jesus himself! “Teacher,” they call out – note that they don’t refer to Him as “Lord” or ‘King” – “rebuke your disciples!” (Luke 19:39).

But Jesus responds, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). That is, “This proclamation must happen! I must be acknowledged as King! All creation exists to proclaim that I am worthy, that I am God!”

So at this point, the crowds seem to see Jesus rightly. And even inanimate objects – stones! – see Him this way. Jesus’ enemies see less clearly than the stones.

Then Jesus, in His moment of apparent triumph, weeps over Jerusalem – that is, over the very people who are rejoicing that He is King! He says, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42).

So while the crowd is calling out, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest,” Jesus seems to be saying that many of these proclaiming Him King, do not truly see Him.

Jesus explains by prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem (which the Romans will carry out forty years later). He says that this will happen “because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:44).

Understand this: Jerusalem will be destroyed

  • because it does not recognize Immanuel, God with us;
  • because it does not acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, as God in the flesh;
  • because the Word became flesh and dwelt among them, and came to His own people, and they did not receive Him.

And who among those in Jerusalem fails to recognize Immanuel? Who will consequently suffer? Surely the Pharisees, those who overtly oppose Him. But not only them. Also many of these same people shouting, “Hosanna!” So Jesus, in the midst of this jubilation, when He is finally being rightly honored as king, cries out, “Many of you still don’t see Me rightly. And therefore judgment will come upon you.”

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, for most of its citizens – even of those hailing Him as king – are full of pride, of self-righteousness, of rebellion against God. Jesus came to pay the penalty for that rebellion, to take on Himself the punishment that they deserve. But with few exceptions they fail to recognize that. He is in their midst. Many rejoice in Him briefly. But in the end they reject Him. Seeing, they do not see (Luke 8:10).

This is a sobering word for us today. We sing, proclaiming Jesus is Lord. We smile and exult on Palm Sunday. We confess that we are subjects of King Jesus.

But do we recognize Jesus in all His power, all His glory, all His sovereignty?

Do we see Him not as a power that we can control, not even as a being we can understand, but as the ruling Lord, who has all authority and power?

Some in the crowd who shouted, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” turned on Him when He failed to live up to their expectations. What about you? He is not subject to your expectations. Will you turn on Him? Will you see Him as He truly is?

  • See Him – as the One who deserves all honor and praise and majesty.
  • See Him – as the righteous Judge who will rightly slaughter His enemies.
  • See Him – as the One against whom you have rebelled.
  • See that you have no hope if He sheds no tears.
  • See Him as the merciful Immanuel for all who humble themselves before Him, for all who call on His Name.

Confess that there is nothing in you that deserves his favor or compassion.

Fall on your face! Weep over your hardheartedness! Weep over his sovereign grace! Delight in His mercy!

Come to Him. For He is gentle and humble of heart. And you will find rest and peace for your souls.

(Parts of this devotion are taken from a sermon preached 12/3/06 on Luke 19:28-20:8, “The King’s Authority and the King’s Tears.” You can listen to that sermon at this link.)

 

Jesus the Perfect King

This Sunday Christians around the world celebrate Jesus entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Remember the scene: The crowds are excited, seeing this event as the fulfillment of prophecy (Mark 11:7-11). Finally, at long last, the promised descendant of David has come to reign!

What do the people expect Jesus to do? Why are they so excited?

Undoubtedly most are thinking about Jesus overthrowing their Roman oppressors. Some also may want him to do away with the present religious establishment (see Mark 12:35-37). Few if any see Satan and indwelling sin as the great enemy whom Jesus has come to destroy. But this is the battle Jesus fights: by dying Himself to redeem His people from sin and death; to open the eyes of the spiritually blind; to shed light on those who are walking in darkness; to proclaim salvation to Gentile and Jew alike – to complete and make possible the good news of the gospel of God that He has been preaching (Mark 1:14).

But the crowds do not understand Jesus’ purpose. They are focused so completely on the relatively minor problem of political oppression that they cannot see the spiritual forces of darkness that control almost the entire world. So although the crowd praises Jesus, although they even praise him by using words of Scripture, they, like crowds throughout His ministry, have not comprehended the nature of the gospel He preaches. And because they are blind to the truth, they are fickle; only a few days later, the crowds of Jerusalem will be clamoring for Jesus’ crucifixion, with nary a word of protest.

Recall that much earlier, after the first feeding of a multitude, a crowd wanted to make Jesus king (John 6). They wanted relief from the Romans. They wanted free, delicious bread every day. The crowds did not repent of their sins and seek spiritual healing; they focused on meeting present material needs. So Jesus refuses their offer of kingship, even though He really is their king.

Yes, He really is their king. The crowds are right to say, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David (Mark 11:10);” Jesus is indeed the heir to David’s throne (Luke 1:33).

“But surely,” you say, “Roman oppression was wrong. Surely it wasn’t wrong for the crowds to desire freedom from political slavery.”

The desire for an end to political oppression is not wrong. We are to pray for God’s kingdom to come; and in God’s kingdom, there is no oppression. God promises that He will right all wrongs, including the wrong of political oppression.

But when will that kingdom come? In one sense, God’s kingdom has already come; Jesus reigns today. But His enemies have not yet been made into a “footstool for his feet,” the promise in Psalm 110. In the future, God will destroy all evil, throwing Satan and his allies into the lake of fire. That total destruction of evil is yet to come, as is all too obvious to every one of us every day. In the interim, however, Jesus exercises sovereignty over evil prior to destroying it.

But what does His sovereignty mean when evil still exists? In what sense is Jesus the perfect king?

Jesus is the perfect king in the sense that He fulfills four key purposes of government – four purposes, indeed, that are outlined in the preamble to the US constitution. Let’s consider each of these in turn:

1) “To form a more perfect union:”

Jesus makes a perfect union, a perfect unity out of those who are divided.

In Jesus’ kingdom, there are no racial distinctions, no ethnic distinctions, no class distinctions, no sexual distinctions in how we approach God (Colossians 3:28). Every Christian comes before God by grace through faith. All these areas that divide us in the world are insignificant compared to the unity we have in Jesus.

Through His rule, we are free to love across all the barriers that separate us.

2) “To establish justice and insure domestic tranquility:”

Jesus establishes justice, righting all wrongs; no evil will go unpunished

Those who have never received Jesus will suffer eternal punishment for their sins. Justice will be done.

For those who do receive Jesus, His sufferings cover our sins. He pays the penalty. Jesus bore all the suffering and pain that we deserve for every sin we commit. Justice once again is done.

This frees us to refrain from taking vengeance ourselves (Romans 12:19). We can trust King Jesus with implementing justice. In the present time, He may use the state to implement temporal justice; He will always exercise perfect justice Himself in eternity.

3) “To promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity:”

The US constitution envisages a government that provides public goods – that is, goods which benefit everyone but no one pays to use. Jesus our King goes further; he guarantees that all things that happen work together for God’s glory and our good (Romans 8:28). No matter what happens, God is in control. He will turn around the evil intentions of men and use them for our good. We are thus free from worry, free from concern. We are free to be bold, to take chances, to follow God wherever he leads. For He supports us. He will never let us go. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

4) “To provide for the common defense:”

Jesus, our perfect king, is in control of all opposing forces. For all authority in heaven and on earth belong to Him (Matthew 28:18). Even God’s enemies end up accomplishing His purposes (Revelation 17:17, Acts 4:27-28).

In His good and wise purposes, God allows evil to appear to flourish for a time. But the time is limited, and God will work together all things – even evil, even suffering, even disease, even pain, even oppression – so that in the end He is most glorified and we become like Him, reigning with Him in glory for all eternity.

So praise God that He has promised us a new heavens and a new earth, when the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ (Revelation 11:15).

And praise Him for his present reign, delivering us from the domain of darkness, transferring us to Jesus’ kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

May we then live in the freedom that comes from King Jesus’ perfect rule: Free to step out in faith; free to love with His love; free to give of ourselves and our resources; free from worry about the future; free from vengeance and hate; free to trust Him with all our hearts, today and tomorrow and forever.

[This devotion is an edited excerpt from a sermon preached April 30, 2000. You can read the entire sermon at this link.]