He's My King

He’s My King

Mark 11:1-11

There are lots of “kings” and “rulers in the world today. The king of rock and role! The king of Botswana! The king of beverages! Lots of claims to royalty. People are very willing to it seems to crown just about anything or anyone king and follow them, or it. I wonder why that is. Why do people have a need to follow something? TO fit in, to be accepted? I think I know the answer to that question, but first let us look to our text.

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This is Marks account of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Believe it or not right here we witness the description of the entrance of a king and the fulfillment of prophecy at the same time. Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)

9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See, your kinga comes to you,

righteous and having salvation,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

You see in bible days there were two kinds of entrances into a city for a king. If you rode in on a horse, you were there to conquer and make war, if you rode in on a donkey, you were there to make peace. You had a peaceful mission. Many of the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding towns recognized the Kingship of Christ, but missed this detail of the purpose of his mission. They took the most expensive garment they owned and threw them down on the road for the colt to trample underneath. They cut palm branches and made a path in the high way for this new king. They shouted Hosanna to the top of their lungs. Hosanna! Hosanna! This meant “Save Us! Save Us!” Many thought He came to defeat Rome and save the Jews from oppression, and reestablish the kingdom of David of centuries ago.

You see, there were at least three types of people there witness Christ’s ride into Jerusalem that day.

The first of which were the Kingdom Hopefuls. They were tired of Rome’s oppression. (explain, taxation, roman mile, cloak rule, ect.) They wanted a warrior king. A king to defeat the cause of so much of their pain. Many of them were just caught up in the commotion of what was going on around them. They needed someone to follow! They were ordinary people, many of whom maybe were seeing Jesus for the first time in their life. What are you following? Who or what are you looking for to relieve the pain that this life is dealing you?

The second were Church Goers. These people were the scribes and Pharisees. These were the people that said to Jesus, Luke 19:39 (NIV)

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

They saw Jesus as a threat. A person, regardless of His intentions, who would upset the balance of power they had over the people and the government. He was a person to be silenced. A person who made uncomfortable waves. But certainly not a King. They were righteous people! (in the their own eyes) They made daily sacrifices. They wore the scriptures on their arms and on their foreheads. They wore all the best in religious clothing. But they, had no Idea who the King of the Nations was as he rode into town on a donkey. Many so called Christians are going to be just like these Pharisees when Christ raptures His church. They will be looking in the wrong direction. They will be looking at themselves and trying to make themselves good enough and will find themselves left behind.

The third were Christ Followers. These people were those who had walked with Jesus for at least some of the three years of His ministry. They had heard the teachings of Jesus. They recognized that He was a King, but some were confused by this entrance. Some understood that to go to Jerusalem was certain death. Others were just like the Kingdom Hopefuls, they thought that Christ would conquer Rome and set up an empire. One thing they had in common however, is they knew that this Jesus was the Son of God and had the ability to SAVE. Hosanna! They were people like Peter who loudly proclaimed, Oh King, I will follow you even if it means death.

But then later as things did not unfold the way they expected, they fell away. Even Peter, the great Peter, denied Jesus, the man he swore to protect with his life, he denied him three times in one night.

We are often guilty of claiming Christ as our King but turning on him when he does not change our lives in the ways that we expect. When he immediately doesn’t heal that broken relationship, heal the cancer, takeaway the high blood pressure; change the heart of that spouse or wayward child, we go from shouting Hosanna to Crucify him. From Shouting He is the messiah, the King of king of kings, lord of Lords, to I never seen him before.