Pastor Dave Martin ~ Cross Creek Community Church ~ April 1, 2007
“King Jesus”
The Triumphal Entry -- Luke 19:28-44
· The coronation of a monarch or king involves the display of great splendor and pageantry.
· The king would wear expensive robes and jewels; ride in beautiful carriages pulled by powerful stallions.
· Foreign dignitaries, high ranking officials, armed forces all participated in the pageantry of the new king.
· Queen Victoria’s coronation in 1838 saw her wearing a crown of rubies & sapphires surrounding a 309 caret diamond… Her scepter was capped with a larger diamond weighing 516.5 carets…
· Yet every installation of a king is pale compared what transpired 2000 years ago with King Jesus.
A King is associated with…
Kingdom – Heaven (flesh & blood can’t survive there – 1Co 15:50)
John 18:36-37 36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." 37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
Authority – All right & power to rule given to Christ
Matthew 7:28-29 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Laws – The King decides the rules; who and how to get into the Kingdom
Mark 1:15 "The time has come," he (Jesus) said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Subjects – A King needs followers, actual citizens of the Kingdom
Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
King Jesus… (Read Luke 19:28-44 – p743 pew Bible)
ü Proclaimed Good News of His Kingdom.
Luke 4:43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Matthew 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
· The “Kingdom of God” is that the very presence of the King caused the rule of God on earth (O.T. prophecy)
· Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom… 3 aspects-He taught, He preached, He healed
· Remember the Wisemen… seeking the one born King of the Jews… they came to worship the King.
· King Jesus came to his own (the earth, the Jews) yet ultimately they rejected Him as their King (John 1:11)
· John the Baptist declare Jesus as the Son of God, the Christ (Messiah)… look at one of the very first disciples… John 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
· “Kingdom of God” is recorded 68 times and Matthew uses “Kingdom of Heaven” 32 times… Heaven stands for God… these terms are basically used interchangeably… referring to a spiritual kingdom
· There were multitudes in Jerusalem possibly numbering over 2 million Jews for the Passover (260K lambs were sacrificed 10 years after the triumphal entry)
ü Performed Messianic miracles.
· John the Baptist was in prison & sent word to ask Jesus are you the Messiah or should we expect someone else… Jesus testified in Mt 11:5 the miracles He was doing… in accord with Isa 35:4-6.
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
· He just came through Jericho and healed two blind men & saved the soul of Zacchaeus the rich taxman
John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
John 21:25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
· Sadly, in spite of the tremendous miracles Jesus did… many people remained blinded to truth.
· The religious leaders even wanted to kill Lazarus whom Christ raised from the dead (Jn 12:9)
John 12:37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.
· If being in the very presence of Christ… seeing awesome miracles… yet people refused to believe
· Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe (Jn 20:29)… faith…
ü Officially Presented Himself to Israel as King.
John 12:13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"
Luke 19:39-40 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
· The words of the multitude was right but their hearts were wrong… cold, hard, calloused… how’s your?
· Jesus came into this world in the most unlikely way… born of a virgin, in a stable… now on a donkey
· In great humiliation, God became man… now He presents Himself humbly as Israel’s long awaited King
· The people went crazy, placed garments & palm branches for their King to ride over… respect/authority
· Palm branches a symbol of salvation & great joy (Rev 7:9)… Jesus surrounded by a mass of humanity
· Masses crying out “Hosanna” or “save now”… save not their eternal souls but from Roman rule
· The people became “caught up” in the moment… expecting a political king… hailing Jesus as the Messiah, King of the Jews… only later saying He was only a prophet from Nazareth in Galilee (Mt 21:11)
· Jesus came not to conqueror Roman rule but to conqueror sin and death… to set people free!
ü Ultimately Rejected by the Religious Leaders.
Luke 19:41-44 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 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… They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."
· In the midst of the excitement we see Jesus weeping over the city of peace – Jerusalem. Jesus “wept” (word used here, with Peter’s denial, and with John in heaven search to find someone to open the 7 seal book), a very strong unrestrained emotion – to wail aloud, to sob, kept on weeping much…
· WHY? – “you did not recognize God’s coming to you”… blind to truth, corrupt in thought process…
· A few days later the people were crying out to release Barabbas… people had false expectations
· This rejection by the Jewish nation is prophesied in Dan 9… even to the point of the Messiah “cut off”
· In fact we see in Mt 26 the actual charge Jesus was rejected & crucified for…
Matthew 26:63-67 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied… 65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered. 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him…
King Jesus Crucified, Risen & Returning…
Acts 2:22-24a "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead…
· Divinely planned from eternity past… nothing caught Jesus by surprise… God Sovereignly ordained.
· Jesus came to be crucified not crowned! The very Son of God rejected as Israel’s King… spoken about by the Prophets… even in Gen 3:10 where we see God’s pronouncement that Satan will bruise Christ’s heel at Calvary but Christ will Crush Satan’s head at the resurrection!
· We also see various parables Jesus taught concerning the Kingdom will be postponed till the second coming of Christ.
· King Jesus was crucified, buried, rose again, ascended into heaven and will soon be returning to earth!
·
Prophetically Isaiah
gives us a “picture” of the work of Christ at Calvary… The Wondrous Cross upon
which King Jesus suffered and died for the masses of humanity sinful condition.
Ø Suffering Savior and King
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
· King Jesus carried our burdens & sorrows… beaten, beard / cheeks ripped off his face, spit upon…
· Smitten/stricken by God the Father in allowing this to happen to His Son…Suffering savior & King
· By His strips we are healed… Our King took my punishment and suffered for me
Ø Submissive Savior and King
Isaiah 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
· King Jesus the Lord of Glory who could call 12 legions of angels (3,000 to 6,000 per legion; one night an angel killed 185,000 Assyrians in 2Kings 19:35) Our King was pierced & crushed & wounded… Submissive King Jesus is seen praying in the garden, “not my will but your will be done” (Mt 26:39-44).
· Deep emptying, self-humiliation… God became man… to cruelly die an agonizing death at Calvary. (Phil 2:5-11)… King Jesus took upon Himself the limitations of humanity… submitted to the cross
Ø Sacrificial Savior and King
Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
· God laid humanities sin upon His Son… King Jesus became our sin bearer… our substitute.
· He became the sacrificial Lamb of God… the innocent paying the supreme price for the guilty.
· People went from praising to piercing in a few days.
Ø Shepherd Savior and King
John 10:11,14 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--
· The Good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (you and me)… King Jesus is our shepherd…
· He knows those who are His and those who are genuine sheep know Him…
· He leads and cares for us beyond our comprehension… What a King we serve today!
Ø Second-coming Savior and King
Matthew 24:42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
· When King Jesus returns He will set up His everlasting Kingdom & reign forever…
· With world shaking events, the US Congress in disarray, Technology explosion, Islamic religion teaching violence & hatred toward all Christians & Jews… King Jesus is coming soon!
· Jesus came the first time as a baby born in a manger… the next time as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, as King of kings and Lord of lords… with POWER and GREAT GLORY… BE READY!
The King of the Universe…
v Came into this world to sacrificially die at Calvary.
v Proved who He was by rising from the dead.
v Calls everyone to turn from sin and believe in Him.
v Is coming again, you must be ready for His return.
Let’s Pray (Next week – “The Eyes of Calvary”)