A Different Kind of King

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We’ve been taking this winter to walk through the Gospel of Mark, and today we come to the final week of Jesus’ life before he goes to the cross. Over the past three years, Jesus has become a very controversial figure—he has some loyal followers, but he’s also made some powerful enemies. So now it’s springtime, and the Jewish people are streaming into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. So as the crowds begin to gather for the festival, everyone is wondering, “Is Jesus going to show up?” And then all of a sudden, off in the distance, coming down the Mount of Olives, riding on the back of a donkey, here comes Jesus. It’s a moment known as “The Triumphal Entry,” and it’s incredibly significant, because Jesus is entering Jerusalem for the last time, and he’s officially presenting himself as the Messiah and King. And every person has to decide: how will I respond to Jesus?

And you and I are faced with the same decision. For the last three months, we have been confronted with the life of Jesus the Servant-King. We’ve seen him heal sickness and calm storms and cast out demons—amazing power and authority, like a king. But we’ve also seen him model humility and gentleness and giving up his rights to serve others, like a servant. Personally, I’ve read the Gospels more times than I can count, but I have to say, over these past three months I’ve been amazed again at the uniqueness of Jesus. There is simply no one like him.

So here we are at the beginning of Holy Week. And just as Jesus rode into Jerusalem to present himself to the people, this morning he presents himself to us. And the question is: how will you respond? Because if Jesus truly is who he says he is, you can’t just keep living the way you’ve been living. If this were a philosophical idea, you could appreciate it from a distance and go on with your life. But Jesus is not a philosophical idea. He’s a living person, and he demands a response. How will you respond to Jesus? Your answer to that question changes everything.

Mark chapter 11, verses 1 through 10. Let’s hear God’s Word…

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” This is the Word of the Lord.

So how do we respond to Jesus? I see three things in this passage.

First, Recognize Your King. In other words, realize that Jesus truly is who he claims to be. Why should you believe that? Well, first of all, because of everything we’ve seen over the past few months—the absolute uniqueness of his life and his teaching. But I want to focus specifically on the Triumphal Entry: what is it in this event that compels us to believe?

First, Fulfillment of Prophecy. There’s a mysterious prophecy all the way back in Genesis. Jacob was about to die, and he was blessing his sons. Here’s what he said to his son, Judah, in Genesis 49, verses 10 and 11:

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 11a He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch.

Anybody know which of the Hebrews tribe Jesus was from? The tribe of Judah. So this is a very early prophecy that a ruler would arise from the tribe of Judah, and he would be riding on a donkey. That’s interesting.

Years later, the prophet Zechariah gave a much more specific prophecy—this is Zechariah 9:9…

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

It’s pretty hard not to see Jesus in that prophecy, isn’t it? Righteous because of his sinless life; lowly because of his humility and servant-like attitude, and riding on a donkey—specifically a colt—which is a young donkey. When you read Matthew’s version of this event, he specifically says, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by Zechariah.”

If you’ve studied prophecy, you know that Jesus fulfilled dozens of Old Testament prophecies. And several of them happened on Palm Sunday.

Second reason: the Response of the People. As Jesus comes into view, there’s this surge of excitement that starts building in the crowd. Someone starts calling out a very familiar verse from the Hebrew scriptures—or maybe they sing the verse: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” You know where that’s from? Psalm 118, which was a Psalm that was specifically about welcoming the Messiah—welcoming God’s promised King. So at least some people in the crowd made the connection: “this is it! This is the One we’ve been waiting for!”

They also shouted out “Hosanna!” which means “Save us!” Because they believed the Messiah would save them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. What they didn’t realize was that Jesus had come to save them from something much deeper than that: he came to break the power of sin and death. But they were absolutely right that he came to save—and they welcomed his rescue. “Save us.” I hope you realize that human nature has not changed: we still need someone to save us from the darkness and sin that rip apart our lives and relationships. And Jesus is the one who can save us.

Here’s the third reason to recognize him as king: Perfect Timing. In Exodus chapter 12, God gave instructions to his people about how to observe the Passover. He tells each family to select a lamb on the 10th day of the month of Nisan, which is the first month in the Hebrew calendar. So you have to hear this: this event—the triumphal entry of Jesus—happened on the 10th day of Nisan. In other words, Jesus presented himself in Jerusalem on lamb selection day.

The lambs had to be without any blemish or defect, so each family had to closely inspect their lambs. And for the next five days, Jesus would be closely examined—especially by the religious leaders—to see if they could find any fault or heresy in him. Ironically, it was Pontius Pilate—the Roman governor—who said, “I find no fault with him.” Even a secular ruler realized there was something different about this man. And then Exodus says that after those five days, the lamb should be slaughtered. Five days after he entered the city on Palm Sunday, Jesus was executed on Good Friday. In fact, in the Mishnah, which is a Rabbinic commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures, the rabbis specify that Passover lambs are to be slaughtered at the ninth hour—meaning 3:00 PM—and that was the exact time Jesus breathed his last breath and said, “It is finished.”

I’ve told you guys many times that I am a naturally skeptical person. But I cannot avoid the conclusion that when Jesus showed up, he was fulfilling the promise that God had made centuries earlier. He’s the missing piece that completes the puzzle, and he’s the missing piece that completes our lives. That’s become so clear to me, but you have to decide for yourself. Will you recognize Jesus as your king?

If you do, this second thing follows logically: Worship Your King. When the people shouted out, “Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” they weren’t just welcoming Jesus as a human king; they were worshiping him as the divine Messiah! And for a Jewish person, that had huge implications—because you wouldn’t dare worship anyone except God alone.

If fact, in Luke’s version of this event, the Pharisees hear the people praising Jesus, and they’re horrified. And they say to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” They thought even Jesus would agree that it’s blasphemous to worship a person! Remember what Jesus says? “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the rocks will cry out.” It’s a very poetic way of saying, you cannot stop the worship of the Lord. Jesus will be worshiped. And if humans won’t do it—if we get quiet—creation itself will praise him. Even rocks will join in the praise.

We have a cherry tree in our backyard. And every spring it blooms, and it only stays in bloom for about two weeks. And last week, it popped—a little early this year, it bloomed. And it was awesome. My daughter was away, so I took a picture of it to send to her. Here’s our tree. And here’s a close-up of the flowers. And when I look at that tree, it stirs something in me. Do you know that feeling? Maybe you get it when you’re standing on the beach, watching the sun rise over the Atlantic …or walking through the woods in springtime, smelling the earth and the growth…or getting away from the lights of the city and seeing the night sky explode with stars and planets. If we allow our soul to pay attention, there’s something that stirs in us, and we feel like we have to do something. And I’m telling you, that something is worship. But here’s the thing: we don’t just worship because creation points us to the Creator. I mean, that’s true! But listen: we worship because creation itself is already worshiping the Creator, and we are invited to join in. Isn’t that awesome?

Psalm 19 says the heavens declare the glory of God. See, creation is already worshiping God! The only question is, have you joined in?

So on that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem…(and by the way, did you notice what it said about the donkey? It had never been ridden before—which is usually not a good idea. So that was a minor

miracle in itself! And I would say the donkey, in its own way, was worshiping Jesus by giving him a smooth ride). But when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowds starting worshiping him, he received their worship. He refused to stop people from worshiping him. And he reminded us that even if we don’t worship him, the world that he created will cry out in praise.

Don’t forget there were all kinds of different people in Jerusalem that day, and not all of them were worshiping Jesus. The religious leadership was threatened by him; the Roman authorities were probably amused by the guy on the donkey. But the truly wise people worshiped.

There is something deep in our souls that longs to worship something or someone that’s worthy. And Jesus is that someone. So there’s a completion to our lives—there’s a rightness to our lives—when we worship him.

Recognize your king, and worship your king.

And then, thirdly, Imitate Your King. History tells us that every year, during Passover, the Roman government knew that all these Jewish people would come to Jerusalem for this festival. And at Passover, they would be commemorating what? How the nation of Israel, years ago, got free from Egypt. They had been slaves in Egypt, and they got out. And that’s what Passover celebrated. And so…if you’re a Roman leader, you’re thinking: what better time to remind the Jews who’s in control. Makes sense, right? If they’ve got rebellion on their minds already, and they’re all gathered together, that’s a perfect time for a little show of force, so they won’t get any ideas.

And so, every year at Passover, there was a military procession that came through town, led by Pontius Pilate on a war horse, accompanied by Roman soldiers. Because they wanted to showcase the military might, and the power, and the glory of Rome.

So just think about this contrast: here comes Rome—armed soldiers with razor-sharp spears and swords gleaming in the sunlight. And here comes Jesus…on a pokey little donkey—the kind you would hire at your kid’s birthday party to give pony rides. There could not be a greater contrast between the two kingdoms.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is described by quoting from the prophet Isaiah—listen:

19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Even a reed that’s bruised—it’s already damaged—Jesus won’t break it. And even a wick that only has a little glowing orange remaining on it, he won’t snuff it out. In other words, Jesus is surprisingly gentle in his approach. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the power—he has immense power authority! But he carries it with incredible gentleness.

When you look back through history, some of the church’s darkest moments were the times when we forgot which kingdom we were part of. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The Salem witch trials. Using force and domination, instead of love and humility. Let’s make it much more personal: if you are a parent, maybe some of your darkest parenting moments were times when you tried to force your kids to do certain things or make certain spiritual decisions. It doesn’t usually work, does it? In the long run, humility and love change hearts much more effectively than force and domination.

There’s a quote that’s attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, where he contrasts his approach to leadership to the way of Jesus. Listen to this:

I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creation of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.

See, the kingdom of this world is about force and intimidation and domination; the kingdom of Jesus is about humility and gentleness and love. Let me ask you something: when people look at your life, is it clear which kingdom you belong to?

Earlier this year, I got call from a man with some serious health challenges, and he realizes he may not have very long to live. He told me he’s been joining our services online, because he’s not healthy enough to come in person. So as we spoke on the phone, I said, “How did you get connected to the Chapel?” And he told me the story: a while back, his teenage daughter rear-ended a guy on the road, and did some nice damage to his car. So they exchanged information. And they called the guy up, and they said, “Would you be willing to handle this just between the two of us, and not get insurance involved?” And the guy agreed to that. So the father and daughter went and met this guy over in the parking lot by Chuck E. Cheese in Wayne—you know the place. And the daughter was nervous—they didn’t know what to expect. And the guy that I was speaking to on the phone said, “We got out of our car, and the minute we met this guy, we knew he was different. The way he treated my daughter, even though she’s the one who had slammed into her car—completely her fault!—was so gentle, and didn’t lecture her or shame her—he was just kind. And when they talked about money, the guy was very fair—he didn’t try to take advantage of the situation.

And this father was so taken aback, he finally said, “I have to ask, why are you being so nice to us?” And the guy laughed, and he said, “Well, I’m a Christian, and I try to treat people like Jesus would.” And the dad said, “Where do you go to church?” He said, “This place called The Chapel, in Lincoln Park.” And on our phone call, the guy said, “That’s when I knew, I had to go to this church.” I have to say: as a pastor, that makes me incredibly proud of our church. And I hear stories like that all the time.

When people look at your life, can they tell which kingdom you belong to? Jesus is a different kind of king, so if we follow him we’ll be a different kind of people.

Five days before his crucifixion, Jesus rode into Jerusalem and presented himself to the people of Israel, and today he presents himself to you. How will you respond?

I urge you to…

Recognize your King—he is the missing piece of the puzzle.

Worship your King—join the rest of creation in praising Christ the King.

And then go out and imitate your King—and you will bring incredible blessing to this world.