And if you will, turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11 verses 1 through 11 of the Gospel of Mark.
Now this is Pomp Sunday, and the ecclesiastical year, it is that time in which we remember Jesus Christ taking that last journey into Jerusalem.
And here he is celebrated as a king.
But let's see after reading this what it meant for Jesus to be recognized as king.
Let's give attention to God's Word.
And as they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples saying to them,
go to the village ahead of you and just as you enter it, you will find a cult tied there which no one else has ever ridden.
Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks you why are you doing this, the Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.
They went and found a cult outside in the streets tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there ask, what are you doing untieing that cult?
They answered as Jesus had told them to and the people let it go.
And when they brought the cult to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. And many people spread their cloaks on the road while others spread branches they had cut in the fields.
And those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David, Hosanna in the highest heaven.
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Let's pray and ask God to bless the reading of his word.
Our Heavenly Father, we now need your Holy Spirit to help us understand what's going on here.
Help us to see that it's not just a historical event, but there's more to it.
Help us to see who Jesus Christ is and to magnify him this Easter season. Amen.
When you think of personal power, the type that leaders have, what attributes come to your mind?
Perhaps you think it is someone who has an idea of how to fix a problem and they have the resources to fix that problem.
Perhaps you think of someone who is an absolute ruthless and he will use any means to accomplish his goals.
Perhaps you think of someone who uses his power to increase his glory. Now that is very common amongst rulers and people who like to lead.
It's really not about the people, it's about the increase of the glory that they get.
Now this morning I don't want you to think that all power is bad. Power can be used in good ways, but it can also be a corrupting influence on people who are rulers.
And there are attributes of those who are lousy rulers who are self-focused. They have no concern for human life.
They have no concern for the public good. They have no concern for God and his kingdom and they have no concern for truth.
This morning as we look at the gospel record here, we look to King Jesus who is our leader, who is our ruler.
And here comes King Jesus into Jerusalem. I wonder what people are thinking about Jesus, what type of ruler he was, what were those people thinking and ultimately what kind of ruler is Jesus.
This passage shows us this morning what type of king we have. And Jesus is our king. He is our Lord as we say, but let's see what this passage says about King Jesus who came into Jerusalem.
One idea that strikes us in this passage is he is a king who brings peace. Peace, not conflict.
Now we have to understand what's going on here. If you read the Bible it tells us that it's Passover.
It was that time in the Jews history when they were freed from the rule of Pharaoh and Egypt.
They celebrated their freedom, their liberty, the deliverance that God had brought to them when they were enslaved by a hostile power who wanted to destroy them.
And if we want to make a modern equivalent to what the Jews were celebrating, it would be like our 4th of July or our Independence Day, freedom, vindication.
But really God acted. They are remembering the deliverance that Jesus had brought. But it was not a deliverance from Rome, it was Egypt.
Well as things progress here, we see the people coming out to celebrate, to worship, you could say, Jesus Christ as a king.
Now they are thinking Jesus is going to liberate them from Rome.
Remember these people were under the heel of the Romans at that time. They didn't want foreigners ruling their land. They wanted the Centurions gone.
They wanted Roman rule gone. They wanted a return of Israel as it was under Solomon and David.
And we see here a picture of Jesus' kingship, his divinity. He seems to know where to get the ox from, not the ox but the donkey, on which he would ride.
He knows what people are going to say and what he foretells comes to pass.
We also see here in verse 7 that they are spreading their cloaks out before him.
They are spreading palm branches. That is a way that you greeted royalty.
We would say today that they are rolling out the red carpet or they are having a ticker-taker parade of some sort.
Now at first glance we may look at this passage and think, well this was a one-time event that happened at that time. But there is more to it than that.
What is happening here actually was foretold in the prophet Zechariah.
After Zechariah foretold the defeat of God's enemies and the restoration of Israel.
And listen to what Zechariah 9.9 in following says.
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.
The passage in Zechariah was written after the Messiah brought peace.
It was a celebration of the peace that the king would bring.
And as Jesus Christ comes into Jerusalem, he does not come in as a warlord.
He does not come in as a conquering Caesar. He comes in as the king of peace.
And what does it say in Luke chapter 2, there will be peace on earth. Jesus comes to bring peace.
And the way that peace is found is not by a peace treaty, it is because eventually he would go to the cross as he enters into Jerusalem.
And he would die on the cross to bring peace between God and man and man and man.
And you read the book of Romans, what does it say?
And therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In another section of the Bible and Ephesians chapter 2, it says in verse 13, the following,
But now in Christ Jesus, you who are once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace,
who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.
Jesus enters Jerusalem bringing peace, peace from God, peace to men.
We live in a world that desperately needs peace, don't we?
Ukraine, Palestine, and there are all sorts of organizations that have been invented to try to help bring about peace in the world,
such as the United Nations and before that the League of Nations.
How has that worked itself out?
It didn't stop wars from happening.
And if there isn't that external wars that go on with bloodshed, there is the internal war in our souls,
where we don't have a lot of peace with ourselves and we turn to counseling and drugs.
How is that working itself out?
Not too well, is it?
Because ultimately what we want is peace.
Peace with God.
That's what stirs things up.
Peace with God.
And deep down in the souls of a lot of people, they think God is against them and is out to destroy them.
When the Bible makes it perfectly clear, if you come to God through Jesus Christ, there can be peace.
You perhaps remember earlier about the woman's soccer player who got injured, tore up her knee,
and her words were, see, this proves there is no God.
No, it does not prove there is no God.
What it proves is you're hostile towards God, but you can have peace with God.
If you give up your sinful lifestyle and turn to Christ, deep down in a lot of folks' hearts,
they are shaking their fist at God.
They need peace with God.
And they're never going to find them.
And deep down inside of some of you here this morning, you may also have that vague feeling that God is not for me.
He is against me.
He doesn't really like me.
But the Word of God says peace.
You can have peace.
And if you have peace, that means God is not against you.
He's actually for you.
And I think that this Easter season, what we need to focus in on is Jesus.
Christ, our King who brings us peace.
Now, often in the Christian world, we want to feel good.
We are concerned about our own personal spiritual problems, and there's nothing wrong with that.
There's nothing wrong with counseling.
There's nothing wrong using means that God has given us.
But we've got to magnify Christ because he is the key to peace in our souls.
And that is what we fail to do.
But that is what this passage is about.
Christ, the King, coming in to bring peace to his people.
That is what Easter season is all about.
There can be peace between God and man, and eventually between man and man.
Peace.
He comes in as the King of peace.
But I also want you to think about something else here.
He also is a King who comes to be humiliated.
Humiliation, you say?
I don't see it right here.
I mean, look, he's coming in, and the crowds are adoring him at the moment.
I like what Matthew Henry and some of the other commentators who are older said about this passage.
Notice that for Jesus, he's got to borrow a donkey.
He's got to borrow the upper room to eat him, and when he dies, he's got to be buried in a borrowed tomb.
That's not his own.
Now, there are other commentators who say as a King, he was entitled to these things.
I'm not really sure where to come down on this, but it does seem like he's got to borrow an awful lot in this world.
But a human perspective doesn't seem to be his own.
We've got to keep in mind, I think, that the life of Christ was one of humiliation.
He gave up the glories of heaven for this, and the glories of heaven, and the praise of heaven is by far superior than anything that could be given in Jerusalem at that time.
And I think Paul Harvey is right when he says there is the rest of the story, and what's the rest of the story, what's going to happen a few chapters later?
The crowds, and Mark 11, they're saying, Hosanna the highest, blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David.
But what's going to happen in chapter 15 verse 13?
What are the crowds going to say then?
You're great, Jesus.
Crucify Him.
Crucify Him!
At one time, the masses are saying, Praise God, here comes our Savior.
Hope He knocks off the Romans.
Jesus doesn't do that.
He goes for the cross.
Then what are they saying?
Crucify Him!
Get rid of Him!
Our Savior, our King, lays down His life for God's people.
He is a King who is humiliated.
He comes as the suffering servant King.
He is not a King at this point who has ultimately glorified the way He will.
Now, the worship turns into mockery.
Now, let me tell you why this is important.
When you think of the leaders of today, what do they try to do?
Do they want to be humiliated for you?
You've got the leader of Russia who likes to run around on horseback with no shirt on,
proving how macho he is.
You've got some American politicians who've got to give you their gym shots of how powerful and virile and strong they are.
And now recently, even the leader of France has started releasing pictures of himself in the gym
and looking all strong, very powerful.
And believe me, this has been going on for quite a while when I used to teach European history.
There's a picture of Louis XIV when he's like 80-some years old and you look at his hair and it's dark and black.
He's got a wig on.
And you know what's really noticeable?
This was back in the time when men wore tights.
He's got these nice-looking legs.
Touch-up from the old days.
Why was Louis doing that?
Because he's the king of France.
He is the son king.
He's got proof.
He's the man.
And all of the life of France revolved around him and his glory.
Louis wasn't going to do anything for you.
And do you think today any leader is going to humiliate himself for you?
Oh, I may get my letters from various candidates asking for money.
How much they're for me?
Do you think they're going to die for me?
No, I've only been invited to dinner at the White House or at the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee yet.
And I don't think I am.
Only Jesus is the true king.
And this true king does something so great.
He's willing to humiliate himself, to be mocked, to be tortured, to be put on a cross so you can become sons and daughters of God.
The king of glory goes to the cross of Galgotha.
No other human leader does that for you.
No one else.
Oh, think of what our king did this Easter season as he marches into Jerusalem, ultimately to his own death.
Glory to humiliation.
He took the crown of suffering and warrent.
He drank from the cup of the wrath of God for your sake.
Here comes God's people again.
Not to a straight Jerusalem, but to the Lord's table.
Where we come to this table, remembering that it's not just any person who died, but it is King Jesus, who laid down his life for you.
Our king, our sovereign, our monarch, truly cared for his people enough that he suffered for them and was humiliated.
How does the hymn go?
Oh, worship the king?
The hymn we need to think about as we come to the table.
Frail children of dust and feeble is frail, and thee do we trust, nor find thee to fail.
By mercies, how tender, how firm to the end, our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend.
Can we say that about any other leader or king in this world?
No, but we can about King Jesus.
Let's pray.
Our heavenly Father, we come now before you as our king.
And we come before Jesus as the king who was humiliated.
Our Savior, we ask that you will fill us with a vision of the crucified king on the cross who died so that we can live and become his brothers and sisters.
Oh, Lord Jesus, how we thank you. You are king.
And we have no other. Amen.