Jesus Is Our King

Matthew 21:1-9 During the Lenten season our focus as Christians is especially on the works of Jesus in his suffering and death and resurrection for our salvation. 

We rejoice in the Good News we heard in our epistle lesson, that Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”.  We recognize that this is the central teaching of all of Holy Scripture.  We remember that it is the doctrine upon which the church stands or falls.

            But it is also important for us to remember, recognize and rejoice in the fact that Jesus is not only our Savior who laid down his life for us—he is also our risen, ascended exalted King who has an absolute right to rule our lives:  each and every part of our lives —each and every day of our lives.

            And so today, as we join our voices to the citizens of Jerusalem and welcome the king who comes to die for us, I want to talk first about the reign of Jesus as King over our lives-- and secondly what kind of King we have in him. 

The Bible says that when Jesus and the disciples drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them:

Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Untie them and bring them to me…and the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

            Up until this moment, the disciples’ track record when it came to obedience, was not always everything it should have been.  But this time, at least two of them got it right—Jesus the king commanded and his servants obeyed.  This is to be the pattern for our lives as his people.

            Jesus has a right to command (and expect) obedience from his disciples-both then and now.  It is his word and will that is to have the final say in our lives because he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And yet, truth be told, we forget that he is our king whose lordship extends over every part of our life. 

Much too often, we do what our king has commanded us not to do.  We avoid doing what our king has commanded us to do.  We find that often times in our lives there is no submission to his will and no obedience to his word. Why is that?

            At least part of the answer is ignorance-we don’t know what the Scriptures say because we don’t avail ourselves of every opportunity to read and hear and learn them. 

And yet, just like in the courts of our land, so in the courts of our King—ignorance of the law is no defense.  The King has spoken—his word is readily available in the Bible -- and it is our duty to hear it, learn it, and obey it.

Jesus expects be us to life-long learners when it comes to his Word—that we  would hold his Word sacred and gladly hear and learn it--reading our bibles at home and making Bible class a regular part of our Lord’s Day worship so that we know what God’s Word actually says about how we are to live our lives.

Obedience to our King begins with knowing his will that is written in his Word.

            Second of all, Jesus our King has a right to our possessions.  Everything we have—he has given us—we are simply stewards of what he has placed into our hands, none of which we can lay claim to and say “mine” and have it be so. 

The two disciples that Jesus sent on into Jerusalem were charged with finding a donkey for the Lord’s entry into the holy city—an animal that belonged to someone else.  If the owner said anything about Jesus’ request, they were to:  tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once. 

            We don’t know who owned that donkey the Lord rode into Jerusalem on-- but we do know it was enough for him to know that the Lord had need of it.  He understood that he was merely the caretaker of what actually belonged to the King.

The Bible says that, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and so Jesus our King has a perfect right to all that we have-- for all of it belongs to him.  We are only stewards of what belongs to the Lord.

            No less now than then, the Lord has need of what we mistakenly call “mine”.  The work of the Gospel in this place is supported entirely by the gifts God’s people give in grateful response to God’s love in Jesus Christ. 

Unfortunately, too many of God’s people do not have the generous attitude of the owner of the donkey and simply say “no” to the Lord when he asks us to support his saving mission from our tithes and offerings.

            This should not be.  Jesus our King asks for only a small portion of the first-fruits of what he has already given to us and so we are to give generously as our Lord commands because it belongs to the King.

            Thirdly, our King Jesus has a right to expect that we will participate in some way (whether big or small) in his mission. 

Jesus needed two of his disciples to fetch the donkey that day.  He needed the owner of the donkey to give it into the Lord’s service.  Later that week he would need his disciples to find and prepare a room for the Passover meal.  Our Lord needed Simon to help carry his cross.  He needed the faithful women to tell of his resurrection. 

The King’s mission of mercy and forgiveness (that was about to reach its fulfillment in the cross and empty tomb) needed these workers if it was to take place—and they were blessed to have a part in the King’s saving mission.

            That is still true today—the Lord needs you to be involved in his mission. The Bibles says that:  we are salt and light in this dark and dying world to make the world a better place and reveal the presence and purpose of our King—we are a kingdom of priests called to serve others and pray for the lost—we are ambassadors of the King through whom he makes his appeal to the world to come to him and be saved. 

This is not my opinion about who you are.  This is what the King has made you to be in Holy Baptism-- and what the King says about you in his Word-- and he has a right to expect our service in the work of his kingdom on earth.

            Besides our serious responsibilities as Christians in the context of our vocations as parents and citizens and workers and students, each of us has an important role to play in in the mission of the King in this part of his kingdom. 

And so when I ask for your help, I am not asking for myself-- but I am asking on behalf of the King.  Each of us ought to be doing something with the time and talent that God has given us to build up the kingdom of Jesus in this place. 

Finally, our King Jesus has the right to our worship.  The Bible says that:

A crowd spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”

            On any given Sunday, about half of the people of Trinity Lutheran Church make a conscious decision not to worship the Lord.  On Wednesday evenings it is even smaller percentage who worship the King.

            And while I cannot call everyone to ask them what they regarded as more important than assembling together to worship their King, let there be no doubt-- that the question does not remain unasked.

The Lord asks it of each of us:  “Where were you when the people of God came together to worship me”?  To go week after week without worshiping (as so many do) is nothing less than rebellion against the King’s command.

            When we remember and recognize that:   Jesus has a right to our obedience—he has a right to our possessions—he has a right to expect that we will do our duty in his kingdom—he has a right to our worship—then the cries of the people of Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday become our own:  “Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!” 

            Lord, save us!  Lord, save us from our disobedience to your word!  Save us from our lack of reverent submission to your will!  Save us from our refusal to acknowledge every day, in every way, your rightful rule over our lives as our one true king! 

Lord, save us!  And so he does—for our King is a Savior who comes to us to lay down his life for us and make a place for us in his kingdom.  Our King is a Savior whose crown is not gold but thorns.  Our King is a Savior whose throne is a cross.  The Bible says that the events of Palm Sunday

Took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king come to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

Just as then, so today, we have before us a day of the King’s gentle grace—a day to acknowledge and confess that we have not always been obedient subjects in Jesus’ kingdom—a day to praise him that he does not come to us in terror and judgment as we deserve—but comes to us in gentleness, bearing the gifts of forgiveness and mercy that he won for us at the cross.

            For the sake of his disobedient servants, the King became an obedient servant and died our death.  It is the blood he shed upon Calvary that is the new covenant between God and us—a covenant of peace for all nations through faith in Jesus—a covenant we receive today at this altar in Holy Communion. The Lord told Zechariah:

Because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.  Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope, today I declare that I will restore to you double.

            On Palm Sunday, our King comes to us, not to impose his will upon us by force-- or to compel our obedience--or demand some tribute.  No!  Our King comes to us to save us from the dark pit of death--and give us hope in the midst of our sins-- and restore to us all that Satan has taken from us. 

Because this is the kind of King we have in Jesus—one who is gentle and humble—we will gladly kneel before him in grateful obedience and confess to the world that he is not only our Savior but also our King.  May God grant that it would always be so in our lives!  Amen.