1. Jesus prophesied as King (19:28-36)
a. OT prophesy
b. Promised to save you
2. Jesus praised as King (19:37)
a. Praised for mighty works
b. Praised for what He can do for you (felt needs, false gospel)
3. Jesus misunderstood as King (19:38)
a. Thought to be a political king
b. Thought today to be a fix-all cure to all felt needs
4. Jesus maligned as King (19:39-40)
a. Some did not recognize Him at all.
b. His testimony will go out, regardless
5. Jesus mournful as King (19:41-42)
a. Wept over Jerusalem for not recognizing Him as Messiah God
b. Weeps over you for not recognizing Him as Lord and Savior
LUKE 19:37-38
Did you know that the United States once had a king? Actually, he wasn’t a king—he was an emperor. During the gold-rush days of the 1800s in San Francisco, a man named Joshua A. Norton lost everything he had in market speculation. When that happened, something happened to his mind. He declared himself Norton I, Emperor of These United States. That sounds kind of funny, but he wasn’t kidding. As a matter of fact, in 1859, he published a proclamation that he was emperor according to an act of the California legislature. He dressed the part too. He carried a sword, wore a cape and dressed in a full emperor’s costume. It’s sad that his mental illness carried him to that extreme. But the really sad part is that people began to recognize him as emperor. They treated him like a star. They praised him wherever he went. The local police saluted him when he walked past. They even allowed him to collect a small tax and issue his own currency. When he died in 1880, more than 10,000 people attended his funeral. It was one of the largest California has ever had. Joshua A. Norton lived and died confused and wrong because people recognized him as emperor when he wasn’t. Over 2000 years ago, people recognized Jesus as King when He entered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey colt. But unlike Joshua A. Norton, Jesus really was King. He was just a different kind of king than the people were expecting. He wasn’t confused and wrong like Joshua A. Norton—the people were. They were confused and wrong because they saw Jesus as an earthly king. They didn’t receive Him and recognize Him as their Lord and God. We still suffer from that problem today. We want to recognize Jesus for what He can do for us—not for who He is. The fact is that Jesus promises to save us. But only when we receive Him as the kind of King He really is. When we receive Him, not on our terms, but on His. He won’t be our Savior without being our Lord. This morning, I want each of us to recognize Jesus for the kind of King He is. The kind of King who rules and reigns over every aspect of our lives. In order to do that, we’re going to look at five facts about Jesus as King. The first fact is that Jesus is prophesied as King. Look with me in verses 28-36:
LUKE 19:28-36
Jesus is prophesied as King. For hundreds of years, Israel had looked for a king. They looked through their Scriptures and remembered Israel’s glory days under King David and King Solomon. They remembered the turmoil that came with the divided kingdom. And the national ups and downs that came with all the kings that followed. They had times of prosperity under kings like Uzaiah and Hezekiah. Times where they were victorious over their enemies. Of course, you know how it is when you look back on the “good old days.” All the good times seem to be great. And all the hard times seem to have not been so hard. That’s the way it was with Israel. They really remembered the good kings. Those were the good old days. The bad kings—they didn’t remember them so much. It was that way because they had been without a king for so long. It had been nearly six centuries since there was a king in Jerusalem. Think about it—that’s like us looking back into the end of the middle ages. That’s how long it had been since they had had a king. For almost 600 years, Jerusalem had been occupied by foreign powers. The Assyrians. The Babylonians. The Medo-Persians. The Greeks. And now the Romans. And all the Jews had to hold on to for all those years of foreign domination was prophesy. For all those years, they read and studied the Old Testament prophesies. The only problem was, they didn’t read them for what they said. They read them for what they wanted them to say. They read prophesies of a coming King in Isaiah. In Jeremiah. In Daniel. Even in the Psalms. They knew that God had promised a King. When they saw Jesus riding the donkey colt into Jerusalem that day, they knew their King had arrived. They knew the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9-10 that said, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” They saw Jesus on that donkey and knew he was their King. But they wanted Him to be a political King. They wanted Him to bring back the good old days. The days where they wouldn’t be ruled by other nations. Where they could control their own destiny. But that was the point. They still didn’t get it. They weren’t able to handle controlling their own destiny. God called them a stiff-necked people. They were fallen, stubborn, and lost. That’s why they needed a King to save them from their spiritual problems. Not their political problems. The prophesies promised that Jesus would save them from their sins. Not their difficulties. Scripture promised that Jesus would restore their relationship with God. Not their wealth and power. Old Testament prophesy promised that Jesus would defeat sin. Not Rome. But they didn’t get it. Jesus is prophesied as King, they read the prophesies wrong. They read them wrong because they read into them what they wanted to see. Not what they really said. The first fact is that Jesus is prophesied as King. He is prophesied as king and He is praised as King. Look with me in verse 37:
LUKE 19:37
Jesus is praised as King. You know, we say we praise Jesus all the time. Every Sunday, we sing songs that talk about praising Jesus. Sometimes we even mix in praise reports with our prayer requests. But, have you ever though about why we’re praising Him? Is it for Him or for us? Is it because of who He is? Or is it for what He’s done—what we can get out of it? Or, even worse, is it to try and get Him to do something else for us? Picture the scene there on that mountainside. Jesus mounted the colt close to the top of the Mount of Olives. From where He was, He could look down across the Kidron Valley and over into Jerusalem. As He looked, He could see straight down over the Temple. As Jesus descended the mountain towards the Temple, throngs of people lined the roads. Talk about church growth! A whole multitude of people came to praise Jesus as their King. They ushered Him in just like Scripture said that the people had ushered in the great kings of their past. Solomon was crowned on a donkey—that’s how they would crown this new King. Israel’s King Jehu was led to his throne over a carpet of garments—they would lead this new King to His throne over their own garments. That whole throng of people shouted their praises at this one who would be their King. They praised Jesus. But why? Why did they throw their clothes out there for Him to ride over? Why did they rejoice and praise God? It says right here in the verse: “for all the mighty works that they had seen.” Jesus performed many miracles during His time on earth. And He still performs miracles today. Scripture tells of Him healing the blind. Healing the leper. Healing the lame. He calmed the storm. He turned water into wine. He fed 5000 with 5 loves and 2 fish. Just shortly before this incident, Jesus performed one of His greatest miracles. He took His dear friend Lazarus, who had been dead for 4 days. He took his moldering body and raised him from the dead. Jesus’ miracles were amazing. And our verse says that’s why they were praising Him. They didn’t recognize Him as God in the flesh. They didn’t see Him as the only way to having a right relationship with their creator. They were praising Him for what He could do for them. Jesus still works miracles today. But the greatest miracle of all is when He transforms a life that is committed to Him. See, that’s what all of His other miracles are for. They are to show us how helpless we really are. How much we are in need of a Savior. His miracles aren’t like rubbing Aladdin’s lamp. Their purpose isn’t to make us healthy, wealthy and comfortable. Their purpose is to get us to see Jesus for who He really is—God’s only begotten Son who died for us that we might live forever in perfect relationship with Him. But on that first Palm Sunday, they didn’t get it. They saw Jesus for what He could do for them. They looked at Him to make their lives easier. To “bless” them. Not to save them. To be an earthly king—not their Lord and King. Jesus is prophesied as King, He is praised as King, and He is misunderstood as King. Look in verse 38:
LUKE 19:38
Jesus is misunderstood as King. The multitude said the right words, didn’t they? They knew the right words. They knew their Bible, too. They quoted Scripture directly from Psalm 118:26: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD. We have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.” They had all the mechanics right. But they had it all wrong. They looked at Jesus from a selfish perspective. As we’ve already said, they wanted Him to fix all their political problems. They wanted Jesus for how He was going to benefit them. I’m afraid that many times we’ve come to market the gospel in the same way. You don’t have to do a thing and Jesus will fix all your problems. Your money problems, your health problems, your personal problems. That kind of gospel is very effective in drawing a crowd. It always has been—look at the multitude that was gathered there. But isn’t that drawing people under false pretenses? Those people were gathered for the mighty works Jesus was doing. They were gathered to be on the side of the One who could do stuff for them. They used a good Old Testament praise formula they had learned. “Say this, do this, and you can get this Jesus to do stuff for you.” “You don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to change. You don’t have to make a commitment. After all, He’s here to fill your wants and needs.” “Just say these words and He will do anything you want.” You see, it’s not the words. The multitude said good words. As a matter of fact, they were biblical words. They were the right words. But their hearts weren’t right. They were looking for Jesus as an earthly king who could benefit their lives. Jesus was looking to be Lord of their lives. He was looking to save them rather than to supplement them. There are many people in churches everywhere who have said the right words but have had the wrong heart. They prayed a prayer or said some words looking for something to benefit them, rather than submitting to Jesus as Lord. They have tried to add Jesus on to their lives rather than submitting their lives to Him. Jesus won’t be your Savior without being your Lord. He won’t be an attachment to give blessings to a selfish, sinful life. The people misunderstood Him on that first Palm Sunday and they still misunderstand Him today. But Jesus is not only misunderstood as King, He is maligned as King. Look in verses 39-40:
LUKE 19:39-40
Jesus is maligned as King. Everywhere you find talk about Jesus, whether it’s misunderstood or not, you’ll find He is maligned. It seems that Christianity is the only religion that is OK to slander. It’s OK in our world to make fun of or openly blaspheme Jesus. But you’d better not even think about saying anything about Mohammed or Islam. That’s considered a hate crime and will get you time in jail. Everywhere you look, Jesus is maligned. It seems worse today, but that has always been the case. Even on the day when the multitudes were praising Him as King. Picture Jesus there on the colt. And the throngs of people shouting praises at him. And there in the midst of all those people, here were a group of Pharisees telling Jesus to shut them up. The massive crowd misunderstood Jesus. They were praising Him out of their selfishness. But they were still praising Him. And Scripture prophesied that that would be the very day Jesus would be praised as King. See, the fact is that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He doesn’t need us to recognize Him as such for it to be true. He is God whether we believe it or not. Our belief has no bearing on His deity. And Scripture tells us that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Either willingly or not. Jesus told the Pharisees that it was His day to be praised as King. Scripture foretold it and it would happen—no matter what. To the point that even if they could be shut up, the very rocks themselves would cry out. Scripture would be fulfilled and Jesus would be praised as King. I get irritated at those who say that if we don’t get busy, the church will disappear within the next generation. The church will continue until Jesus returns because He said it will. It will continue whether we’re faithful or not. Just like every knee will bow before Him one day. Your knee will one day bow before Him whether you’re saved or not. It will either bow in worship or bow in utter defeat, shame and humiliation. Jesus will be maligned as King until He returns. But He will return and all who malign Him will bow before Him and cry out with the rocks. So far, we’ve seen four facts about Jesus as King. He is prophesied and praised as King. And He is misunderstood and maligned as King. But in each one of those, the crowd got it wrong. They tried to make Jesus into somebody He wasn’t. The multitude tried to make Jesus into an earthly King who would satisfy their desires. The Pharisees tried to make Jesus into a mere man with an overzealous following. But Jesus could see through them all. He could see to the heart of the matter. And it broke His heart. The final fact is that Jesus is mournful as King. Look with me in verses 41-42:
LUKE 19:41-42
Jesus is mournful as King. Jesus had ridden that colt all the way from near the top of the Mount of Olives. Every step of the way was covered in palm branches and peoples’ outer clothes. The voices of thousands of people rang in His ears. Voices praising. Voices rejoicing. Voices that were selfish. Voices that were looking for their own benefit. Voices that were wrong. He heard the call of the Pharisees for Him to silence them. Their call of self-righteousness. Their call of denial. Their call of unbelief. As those voices rang in His ears, He looked out over Jerusalem. He saw the city God had chosen as the centerpiece of His work on earth. He saw the capital of the homeland of God’s chosen people. And He saw that they knew Him not. John 1:1 says, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.” Jesus saw all this. He heard all this. And it made Him weep. They didn’t recognize Him for who He is. They wanted a genie, they didn’t want a Savior. They wanted a servant, they didn’t want a Master. They wanted a reward, they didn’t want a relationship. And it made Him weep. It made Him weep because it doesn’t work that way. Jesus wouldn’t be their King without being their God. Since they didn’t recognize Him as their God, He wouldn’t be their King. The thing about it is, Jesus never changes. He is Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Since He never changes, do you make Jesus weep today? That day, after He wept over the city, Jesus entered Jerusalem. He entered it to die. He died for your sins and mine. But He didn’t die to make your life a bed of roses. He didn’t die to be your genie in a bottle. He didn’t die to fill all your selfish needs. He died to make you a new person. He died to give you a new heart. He died so you could have your sins wiped away. Not so you can feel better about yourself. But so you can have a relationship with Him. So you can recognize Him as Lord of your life and submit yourself to Him. Just like Jesus would not be Israel’s King without being their God, He will not be your Savior without being your Lord. On that first Palm Sunday, they didn’t get it. But today, on this Palm Sunday, you can get it. You can get it by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ today. If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior this morning, you can. Romans 10:9 tells you how. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” That’s it. That’s all it takes. No works. Jesus did all the work that was required. As a matter of fact, if you bring works to the table, you’re not trusting Him as Lord. Jesus will be your Savior. All you have to do is make Him your Lord. Make Him your Lord today.
