This recording is from Christ Kingdom Church in Avalon Park, Orlando. Visit us online at ChristKingdom.org for our calendar, driving directions, and more audio recordings. Good morning, Christ Kingdom Church. Today, as Scott mentioned, it's a special day. It's on the church calendar, Palm Sunday, a week before Easter. Today is the day that we remember when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, and he inaugurated the last leg of his earthly ministry. We call it the Passion Week. That starts today. It was this day on a Sunday when the last week of Jesus' life on earth began. In five days on a Friday, he would be crucified, left to die hanging on a cross. And in a week, next Sunday, he would rise from the dead to be victorious over sin and death as who Paul called the first born over all creation, the first fruits of the resurrection in Christ. Everything I want you to see in Jesus' ministry has been leading up to this. It's been leading up to this final week in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city of peace. It's the holy city. It's the city of David where David reigned. It is the foremost place of destiny for the Son of God. It's where he's been headed all along. Jesus is on a mission. He's on a rescue mission. He's here to seek and save the lost. His lost people who are drowning in sin and about to die. And he's here on a rescue mission. And this mission finds its climax. It culminates in this final week in Jerusalem. All throughout Luke's Gospel, and we're going to be looking at Luke's depiction of these events. All throughout his Gospel, arrows are pointing to Jerusalem. I mean, that's where Jesus is going. He says various times he says we are headed to Jerusalem. Everything is headed in that direction. This is the last week. This is like the last two minutes of the Super Bowl. This is prime time. This is where it's all really going to go down. And he's been headed to Jerusalem. If Jesus had a GPS, which I guess you could argue, he did, it was programmed in, final destination, Jerusalem. And so that's where we're going to pick up this morning. It's in Luke 19. If you want to turn there in your Bibles or you can follow along in the insert in your bulletin or you can follow along on the screen. It's Luke 19. We're going to look at verses 28 through 42. Here it is, the entry into Jerusalem. After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. And as he approached Bethphagy and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying to them, go into the village ahead of you. And as you enter it, you'll find a cult tied there, which no one has ever written. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks why are you untying, it's say the Lord needs it. Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the cult, its owners asked them, why are you untying the cult? They replied, the Lord needs it. They brought it to Jesus through their cloaks on the cult and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God and loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace and heaven and glory in the highest. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, they're always, they show up, don't they? Said to Jesus, teacher, rebuke your disciples. I tell you, Christ replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 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. This is the word of God, holy, inspired, and fallible word of God for us this morning. You ever read about something or someone or someplace and kind of form in your mind's eye picture or an idea of what that something, some person or someplace would be like. But then when you encounter the real thing, it's different. It kind of blows that out of the water, the real thing. Have you ever traveled anywhere and you, maybe before you go, you go online and you do some research about the place, maybe even buy a book. And you read a little bit about the place so that when you get there you're not totally clueless. And although the book is helpful, actually experiencing the place is very different. The book was true. It wasn't that it was incorrect. It had pictures, it had words that were helpful, but they don't fully prepare you for the real thing. Marriage. You could read everything ever written on it. It wouldn't fully prepare you for that first year of sharing your life with somebody else, or that 25th year. How about having a kid? There's some great books written on that, but the actual experience of that, very different. My best friend, one of my best friends, he met his wife through letter writing. She lived in another state and he's not 80, he's my age. He has email, everything. He had a couple accounts, I think. And he met his wife through letter writing. A mutual friend started them off, sent a letter to both of them, and kind of got this going via snail mail, really with a pen in your hand and stamps in the whole nine yards. And they just started writing back and forth to each other for months before ever sitting down and having any face-to-face time with one another. And you can imagine that although they got to know each other to an extent, actually that face-to-face getting together would be a totally different experience. And the letter writing couldn't have fully prepared them for what it'd be like that first meal together or the first time they laughed together or a little later on the first time they had an argument and conflict. Jesus comes as the king of the universe, God comes to earth. And as the Messiah who Israel has been expecting, and although they've had the Old Testament scriptures which were dead on, they were right on what they pointed to, the actual experience of his coming, what that looked like in Jesus must have just blown people's minds. It looked a little bit different. If you were hearing this for the first time, Luke 19, what we just read. And be honest, would it sound like what you would expect it to sound like? The story catch you off guard. I mean, he's called a king, and he's called the king who comes in the name of God. God, the king in the name of God, the king who is God, and he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey with a small crowd of groupies, only to get harassed by the religious leaders of the time. Looking at the story and other stories of Jesus, we see that Jesus is one of a kind. He is like no other, and he blows out of the water, preconceived notions that your eye may have of what a king might look like. Let's get to know him today. That's what we're going to spend our time. Who is this Middle Eastern man who rides into Jerusalem on a donkey? Let's get acquainted with him this morning. If you have your outline, the first point, you can write it down. Jesus is a king like no other, a king like no other. He's one of a kind. He's a different kind of king. Nevertheless, king he is. He is the king. The passage makes it clear. The people sing out to him. Blessed is the king. Jesus doesn't tell them to stop either. Well, I am the king. They're right about that. His actions point to the fact that he is claiming to be king in the story. He rides into the city. Clothing is spread out in the road. Praises are sung. This act of riding into the city like this would have been known in that day as clearly already pre-supposing and already achieved victory. The one who rides in is the king. The one who has already earned the right to rule. This is what Jonathan Maccabee did 200 years earlier after leading the Israelites in revolt against the salucid, the Hellenistic people. He rode back in as the leader. This is what Alexander the Great did. This is what Augustus Caesar did. Jesus riding into Jerusalem is as a king. It's clear that that is what he is claiming. But the way it all happens, the way the triumphal entry staged, the way his coronation day, if he will, takes place like no other. Right? Now, if any Roman soldier was there, I don't know if there were, but any Roman soldier watching these events would have thought this is pathetic. This man claims to be king and yet he rides in on a foul smelling, long-eared, shaggy beast, a pack mule with somebody's raggedy clothing as a saddle. And his gullible followers spread out in the road. They're old dirty jackets. Who is this? This isn't king. Caesar would have come in on a white stallion with a diamond-studded saddle. Royal red carpet laid out before him. He would have been decked out in white imperial garb with a crown on his head. Come to take his throne. Who is this? Who is this man? About a little over 30 years ago on December 4, 1977 in Bangi, capital of the Central African Empire, Bangi. That's a cool name for a place, isn't it? The worldwide press that day witnessed the coronation of his imperial majesty, Vokasa I. The price tag for this event, what this event cost, $25 million in 1977. Ready for this? This is great. Ten ten a.m. that morning, the Blair of Trumpets, the role of drums, announced the approach of king Vokasa. The procession begins with eight of Vokasa's 29 official children parading down the royal carpet to their seats. Next comes Vokasa's son, heir to the throne after him dressed in white with braid of pure gold. Catherine, the favorite of Vokasa's nine wives, follows wearing a $73,000 gown made in Paris, strewn with elaborate selection of pearls. Finally, the entrance of the king. He arrived in an imperial coach, bedecked with gold eagles, pulled by six Anglo-Norman horses. His highness arose, stepped out of the coach and strode forth, cloaked in a 32-pound robe, decorated with 785,000 pearls in gold embroidery. He wore a gold crown of laurel Roman consoles of old, signifying favor from the gods. As he finished his sacred march, his triumphal entry, Vokasa seated himself on a $2.5 million eagle throne, took off his gold and laurel crown and placed on his head a $2.5 million crown topped with an 80-carat diamond. Vokasa was king. Now, back to Luke 19, different picture, right? What does Jesus do? Well, he enlists too of his doubt-ridden, confused disciples who were not wearing elaborate imperial garb. No, they were homeless. These were homeless people. They had been following Jesus around Palestine for three years. Jesus sends two homeless men into a local village to ask to borrow a donkey for the king of heaven and earth to ride in on. Now, the donkey, this is significant. Zachariah, he's an Old Testament prophet and he prophesied the coming king of salvation who would come gentle and riding on a donkey. And so this is significant, okay? And the picture here, just this little part of the picture of Jesus riding on a donkey fits that of royalty from the time of David. From the time of King David, David would have rode a donkey, okay? But what you got to get is that in Jesus' day, kings did not ride donkeys. No king of any stature or prominence was riding a donkey. They rode horses. Jesus comes and rides a donkey. In Jesus' day, this act would have been laughable. The picture is of a gentle, humble servant that matches well with the man we know, Jesus, born in Bethlehem, who spent three years serving and healing, serving others. That's the kind of king that Jesus is. This is just blow your mind. I mean, this isn't a man, okay? This isn't just a man with a revolutionary message who attracted some followers who wants to say, hey, I'm king and rides into Jerusalem. This is God come to earth, his earth, to be with his people, you and those people back then who he created. This is God and he comes in riding in on a donkey. When you expect lightning and thunder and fireworks and gold and the mightiest of beasts and the most glamorous of garb of imperial garb, and he comes in on a donkey, what would you do if you were given all power? I'll tell you, because it's the same thing I would do. You would take advantage of it. You would tell people what to do. You'd be all about the glamour and pomp. If you were king over all, not King Jesus, not King Jesus, Paul nails it in Philippians 2. I think it's verse 6 through 11 where he's talking about this king, Jesus, and he says this king equal with God, but didn't consider this equality with God as something to be grasped for other translations to be exploited or taken advantage of. But he made himself a servant and became obedient, even obedient to death on a cross, such as the king who comes in on a donkey. So why do things this way? If you're all powerful, if he has all the power in the universe and his finger, why do things this way? Why does this coronation look like this? I'm going to give you two reasons. One, because the nature of the kingdom of God is very different. Why is such a different kind of king because the kingdom of God is very different? We see this in Jesus' own teaching. To be first, you've got to be last. To be protected. You don't seek isolation, but you seek forgiveness. To be successful is to serve, to live. You're called to die, turning the other cheek, going the second mile, giving the spare coat, washing others' feet, keeping blessings on those who curse you, laying down your life, forgiving your enemy. We find by losing, we receive by giving, we're exalted by being humble. We become great by becoming small. And just because somebody has all the glamour and the pomp and the appearance of power, those earthly kings are actually weak. But the one who comes in weak and humble on the donkey is the strongest in the kingdom of God. Second reason, why do things this way? Why such a different king? Second, because Jesus wants to connect with the least of us. Because Jesus wants to connect with the least of us. This king washed others' feet. He wind catered. Stranger's wedding. He fed the hungry just because he wanted to. He hung out with prostitutes and lepers and cripples. Jesus made it impossible for you to say. There's part of my life that he doesn't get. There's something in me that he just doesn't get. He couldn't understand because he's up on his high horse with all his power and all his might. He doesn't know what it's like to be made fun of or to be disrespected or to be belittled. No, he does. He came to live amongst the least of us. And his coronation, I mean, Jesus was born in a feeding trough. He spent his life under the mockery of others and his coronation day, his triumphal entry by all human standards, a joke. He doesn't conquer by force like Alexander the Great, but he conquers hearts with his great powerful love that's irresistible when you taste of it. How did he conquer your heart? Was it through force or was it through wooing you? Was it the savior, gentle riding on a donkey? He's a king like no other second. He's a Messiah like no other. Okay, what's a Messiah? Messiah is the Old Testament word Mashiach and you got to have that at the end of it. That means anointed one. The anointed one was one who was set apart for a particular mission. In Greek, they translate it Christos. That's where we get Jesus Christ, not his last name. It's Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Set apart on a specific mission, the one whom Israel had been waiting for to come and save them. Okay, Israel at this time, when Jesus is walking the earth, they were a people under the rule and the oppression of the Romans and their provincial leaders. Israel was not in power. They were not a nation who made their own laws. They were under the rule of another nation. Got it? Now, if you know any of the history of Israel, you know that this isn't anything new. 200 years earlier, they were under the oppression of the salucid, the Hellenistic people. They were forced to acknowledge and worship Greek gods. A few hundred years before that. They were taken out of their land, taken into captivity, into Babylon, where they experienced that oppression, that religious and political oppression. And we all remember back in the day, in Exodus, when the people of Israel were in slavery and Egypt, under the oppression of the Egyptians. So this isn't new to them. Their history is riddled with oppression. So when the Messiah comes on the scene, when Jesus shows up, it's only natural that they're like, this is the guy, he's the one who's going to lead us into battle and to revolt against the Roman oppressors and he's going to establish this nation of Israel again and he's going to be our king here on earth. And that's what they're hoping for and what they're expecting.
I mean, come on, we're God's people, right? We're the people of God. We're being ruled over and taxed by a pagan government. Surely the Messiah cares about this and is going to do something about this. Surely that's what he's up to. But the Messiah, Jesus continues flipping things upside down. Different kind of Messiah. Messiah like no other because he comes and look, the nation of Israel, its growth is not what's the most important anymore. That's not what the focus is, is this one nation of people growing. But now, Jesus is saying, this is even bigger. The gospel is going to come up through me and through my people and go out into all the nations. All the nations. He's saying, I have bigger fish to fry than just dealing with these human oppressors. The bigger problem is not the external oppression, but the internal oppression that Jesus come to deal with. It's like if Jesus was a doctor, the Jews were all asking him to do cosmetic surgery, to do plastic surgery on them when he knows they need a quadruple bypass. He knows what's really needed. The bigger problem is what's going on in the heart. And that's what Jesus comes to do. And in fact, this is where it just gets crazy if you're a Jewish person in Palestine in this time. In fact, not only is his main objective not to come and conquer all of the external oppressors of Israel, the Romans and the Gentiles in the pagan, but in fact, he's not going to bring judgment upon them. He's going to take judgment upon himself. And then he's going to invite them into the family. Now, can you imagine how some of these, the nation of Israel would have been livid about this idea? Remember the prodigal son? Remember that story? Remember the older brother? Similar response. Remember the younger brother, he's gone off and squandered away all of his wealth on wild living. And the older brother is furious, and he's like, no, we don't want to have somebody like that in this family, not somebody like that. And so Jesus comes and his point of that story is he's flipping and he's saying, no, that's who the family's for. In fact, who it's not for is the self-righteous. He's like, that they have something to offer, those who think they have their own merit to get them in. No, it's only by my merit. He flips it upside down. And that's what he's, he's a different kind of Messiah. He's not come to overthrow all of the Roman rule. He's come to invite those pagans into his family. And that's the gospel. God could have come and he could have wiped it all out. And he would have been totally just in doing that. He's come with his judgment and with his fire and just wiped everything out. I mean, where is people? We've turned, we've turned our backs on him as if he were a leper. But he doesn't. He comes in Jesus and he brings this mercy and he puts off his judgment. He puts the judgment on Jesus, puts off the final judgment till a second coming and he waits patiently. He's waiting still this morning for you if you haven't responded. He comes bringing his mercy, a different kind of Messiah. Here's the temptation, okay? The temptation for you and I will be, if you've been in the family of God for any considerable length of time, the temptation will begin, will begin to start seeing things like the older brother. Things like the Jews on the day of Jesus triumphant entry and start to think the family of God, it looks like people who are kind of put together. I mean, they're not perfect, but they've got some things put together, but it's not for for them. Jesus says, yes, it is. And the only way that we will care about the Messiah's message for the outsider and for the outcast is if we realize that we are the outsider and the outcast. You and I are that we're no better in our proud hearts. We just may be the ones who seem to have it together on the outside, but Jesus is here to conquer the inside, a different kind of Messiah. King like no other, a Messiah like no other, who calls for a response, who calls for a response, verse 41 says he approached Jerusalem and he saw the city and he wept over it. Jesus wept over the city, truly moved with sadness and sorrow because of the variety of responses that the city evoked, so many that did not see him as who he truly was as the Messiah, so many who didn't get it. Look at the variety of responses in this passage. We see loyalty to some degree by the disciples who go out and borrow the donkey, who hoist Jesus up onto the donkey. Some level of loyalty, even though if you go back to chapter 18, I mean one chapter earlier, a few days earlier, Jesus tells them what he's come to do and it says and they didn't understand any of it. So even the disciples, there's some level in which they didn't totally get who he was and what he was here to do. But some loyalty from them, then you have the crowd, the people who praised him, but again many were praising scholars say when they sung out, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest, they were really singing out to a Messiah who they wanted to come and take care of their oppressors. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, the king who will overthrow Rome and establish the nation of Israel again, then they'll be peace in heaven and glory in the highest, essentially what they were saying. So you've got a crowd of people who are praising him, but praising him more for what they thought he was going to come and do and not just for who he was. Then you have many of the Jerusalem citizens who didn't even show up. They weren't even there for the coronation day, the triumphant entry of the king, Jesus, they didn't even show up. And then you have the Pharisees who, well, they did show up, but they came bringing it and they said, this, this is not okay what you're doing, Jesus, because the reality was, even if Jesus was who the Jews had expected them to be, there was a risk for the Pharisees. I mean, they were in positions of authority. And what if Jesus couldn't quite overthrow the Roman rule, then they were in big trouble, right? So they're totally, they're adamant against it. Plus, they're the older brothers in the prodigal son's story. They don't want the gospel spreading out to those kind of people. So they're against Jesus from the start. But the Messiah, the king who comes, we get to see the full story. You and I, we're at an advantage, aren't we? We know the next chapter. We know what happens. In the rest of this week, we know what happened. And if you don't, if any of you don't know what happens, please come to the service Friday night and next Sunday. And here, the story of what happens, the most powerful story that's ever been written and true. Okay, so we have some of the gaps filled in. We know who this king is. We know who this Messiah is. We know that his message was for the outsiders, not just the insiders. We know that he came not to just identify with the powerful, but to identify with the weak. We're in a position to understand much more fully what kind of king and Messiah Jesus is. And we know, and I'll tell you if you don't know, that after he rose from the dead, he was, he ascended up into heaven. And now he sits at the right hand of God, the father, where he is ruling and reigning and his spirit is in the church. Do you know that he is here right now? Of course, if he's not, go home. This is all pointless. His presence is here with us now. And you've got to respond. And I've got to respond. You can't not respond. There is no non-response to the king of kings, to the Messiah of his people. We're put in a position just like those there that day in Jerusalem, where we have to respond as well. I love, I love CS Lewis. I love about everything. He said my son's middle name is after Clive Staples, CS Lewis first name. He wrote some fiction. He wrote a space trilogy. And the third book in the space trilogy is called that hideous strength. And towards the end of the book, the main character, ransom is really sharing the gospel, evangelizing with a woman who's not a Christian. And he says this is brilliant. He says I'm afraid there's no niche in the world for people that won't be either pagan or Christian. Just imagine a man who was too dainty to eat with his fingers, but yet wouldn't use forks. He's saying there's no in between. You either worship the true God or you don't. You either respond to him as the true king or you don't. Jesus said if we keep silent, the stones, the inanimate objects that he created will cry out. His creation will praise him. He is praiseworthy. And he is here this morning. How will we respond? How will you respond? Will you praise him like much of the crowd, but not for who he really is, but for maybe what he can get you? Will you be like the Jerusalem citizens who didn't even come out to see him? Will you shut the door to your heart even right now, lock the door and stay inside and not acknowledge him? Will you show up like the Pharisees but say no, no, no, no, no. I want nothing to do with this king who loves the outsiders, who loves the wretched, who loves the scum of the earth and wants to reach them. I want nothing to do with this king who is not going to overthrow the Roman rule, who wants to overthrow my heart and take control. I want nothing to do with that. Or will you take off your coats, lay them in the road before him, bow down before your king and your Messiah, who is not going to fix everything right now in your life. It's not that your life is all of a sudden all of the problems will vanish, but he does the work in the heart that is even greater and he promises to be here with you. This day, two thousand years ago that we remember today, was a day of celebration and at the same time a day of sadness. And today the reality is like that. Even today in here celebration, we sang to the king all morning, praising his name, the king of kings celebrating his triumph over death. But sadness because just like two thousand years ago the Jerusalem citizens did not come out to welcome him. So today, many in this community and in communities nearby are still in their homes are not here to welcome or anywhere else for that matter to welcome the Lord Jesus. Let's bring some sadness. So wonder what it would be like for us to weep like Jesus wept in that setting. Let me throw up a little equation for you. This is the end here. And this is overly simplistic, probably only half of this is true, but if you get that half, then that'll be good. What happens when you take a person who realizes they're broken, realizes they're in need. I mean, they really get it. And then they have an encounter a true encounter with the king of kings, the Messiah of Messiah's who comes into their heart, who brings his love and his mercy and accepts them and invites them into the family. And then add to that person sorrow for those who don't know that acceptance and that love and that mercy. And I want to just throw out there that that might equal somebody who wants to go out there and see it next week's Easter to big deal. I mean, people who aren't Christians don't know if you know this, they know about it. And they go to church on Easter, it's weird. But we can take advantage of that. But not just hear me, I'm not I'm not laying a guilt trip on you and saying you're not a Christian. If you're not a bold fiery campus crusader who you know is experienced in the four spiritual laws and doing the whole. I'm just saying if we stop for a moment and we realize who this king is and the Messiah is and what's about to happen a week from now. And how much that means to us. Maybe we'll at least we'll have a burden and prayer prayer in our hearts for those who don't know him. The relationships that you do have perfect opportunity. I'll give you a few words. I'm going to my Easter service. You know, just blurt it out, you know. Let's do that. Let's let's be sad for those who don't know the king. Let's be joyous and celebrate that we do. And let's bring this message to the outsiders because we were those outsiders. Shall we? Let's pray. Lord Jesus, you are the king of kings and God, you bust open the box of what we think what we would think a king would look like. You're the only one who could strut his stuff, if you will, not these other earthly kings and yet you choose to take the humble route out of a servant. To identify with those of us who are so weak God in ourselves and also God to invite the broken, the outcasts, the outsiders. Lord, I pray that this message that it would stir up our hearts this morning. But we would want to live for you not to try and earn somehow your favor. We can't do that. But because you've given us your favor, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5, that you were made sin for us. You were punished for our sins and we're given the righteousness that's from you that we don't have in and of ourselves. God made that motivate us to want to serve you and live for you this week. And only that we pray in Christ's name. Amen.