The King Comes

Matt. 21:1-9

Albertville

March 14, 2008

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Many Sundays ago, on this day which we now refer to as Palm Sunday, Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead to get a Donkey and her colt. Jesus in fulfillment of the ancient prophecy first spoken by the prophet Zechariah, would ride this colt into Jerusalem.

When they reached the city, they were greeted by a very large crowd. Some spread their coats on the road, others cut palm branches from the trees. And this is not something they’d do every day; not something they would do every year; not even something they would do every lifetime!

What these people did for Jesus on that first Palm Sunday was extraordinary. We can see that in the things they said as he passed their way. They called him the “Son of David” Of course we know what that means: David was the king of Israel. He was said to be a “man after God’s own heart”. Long before Jesus was born, God had promised David that his throne would be established forever. So when these people called him the Son of David, they were saying that he would be the one who would take that eternal throne.

The people also said “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. That’s from Psalm 118 it refers to one who would be sent by the authority of God. A special person who would get things done and make things right.

And finally they used the word Hosanna. Which means: “Save now!” Remember this was passover time, so their minds were flooded with thoughts of God saving his people under the leadership of Moses in the exodus from Egypt. And now, the were thinking, he rescue them again under the leadership of Jesus. And so they shouted "Hosanna!" "Save Now!"

These were the kinds of things they were saying to and about Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem Everything they said was true.  He was the son of David. He was the king whose throne would have no end. He was the the one who came from God to Make things right. He could SAVE NOW! Everything they said was spot on! However, I don’t think anyone there expected him to do all these things in the way that he did them. Within a week’s time, this king, this one so worthy of praise would be nailed to a cross and he would die. How strange! Not even his closest disciples would understand it at first.

No matter how they looked at it, his death on the cross would be the shocking conclusion to a week that seemed to start out so well. He who was supposed to take the eternal throne of David, would breath his last. He who came to get things done and make things right would have things done to him--terrible and unspeakable things. And the one they thought could save them now, Apparently was not even able to save himself. “Exactly what kind of king was this Jesus anyway?” They must have wondered. And the world has continued to wonder the very same thing even today.

For you see, every other king or president or chancellor or prime minister that we have ever seen has addressed the problems of the world by exerting some kind of force: the force of the law; the force of reason; the force of personality; the armed forces; police forces and so on. This is the way of earthly kings and it does work, but only to a point. For no matter what form the government takes, there will always be crime and injustice. There will always be bad people doing bad things. And no earthly leader, at any time in history, has been able to do anything about it. For they are limited to controlling only our outward behavior. They can control and correct what people do. They can even control and correct what people say. But no matter how much they may want to, they cannot control raging passions of the human heart.

And that’s what makes king Jesus so very different: Instead of forcing people to be good by applying new laws Jesus came to deal with the problem of why people aren’t good in the first place. And why aren’t people good?  That's not an external, behavioral question, that's an internal heart and mind question. For Jesus said “Out of heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander”. The human heart is blackened by sin. We are born with hearts that are rebelling against God. That's why there are so many problems in the world. That's why there is hatred and racism, murder, adultery, thievery and like. People are sinful. And the only answer for the sinful condition of the human heart is forgiveness

Jesus came to change the world by changing the hearts of the people in the world. And he does it by reuniting our hearts with God by the forgiveness of sins. His kingdom was not founded by some great war or by some declaration or bill of rights but by his suffering and death. For there he atoned for the sin that afflicts every human heart---and thus his kingdom was founded.

I know, it may not appear that way. As we live out our lives under earthly government, we do not so easily detect his kingdom or gracious rule. But I’m sure that when the people of Jerusalem saw Jesus go to the cross they didn’t see a king there either. The sign that hung above his head, I’m sure, seemed more like a joke to most of them. They did not detect how his kingdom was being established at that very moment. All they saw was a man dying a miserable death on a splintery piece of timber. In a similar way, we may not see the gracious rule of our king in the world we live.

But rest assured, wherever a person hears the gospel and believes it, the kingdom comes. Wherever a baby is baptized into his name, the kingdom comes. And wherever the Lord’s supper is offered and received, the kingdom comes. At communion we sing the words that the people shouted on that first Palm Sunday. “Hosanna Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” With those words we praise our king who comes to save us in his body and blood.

Unlike the people in Jerusalem, we know what kind of King Jesus is, and rather than turning away at the moment that he goes to the cross, we should go with him there and offer up our sins: the sins we have committed against God and against our fellow man. And as we dwell at the foot of the cross, our hearts will be renewed and our minds transformed.

Jesus is king now. Jesus reigns now. Jesus saves now. Not by the outward exertion of force but by the forgiveness of sin, working in one heart at a time. AMEN