A boy in Sunday school. He had been taught by his teacher for a number of years. She had a way of telling stories and she always ended by saying, "and the moral of the story is . . ."
Eventually this Sunday school teacher stood down and a new teacher began. After a few weeks at the start of a service the minister asked the boy how he liked his new Sunday school teacher. To which he replied, "she is great, she doesnât have any morals."
An example of how familiar words can make a lasting impression. Today, palm Sunday. We read the familiar story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem. This week as I read again of the triumphal entry one phrase stood out to me and encouraged me to look at it in a different way. Rather than looking at our text as an historical account as it is, I want to look at the phrase found in verse 5. Within the quote from the book of Zechariah (9:9)
Matthew 21:5
"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "
The phrase that stood out was, 'See, your king comes to you,â and I want to take that as the text for this morning.
As I read and re-read that phrase a question formed in my mind. "What would the Church be like if Jesus was the king of it?" I know he is Lord of the church but I see that the Church is not perfectly under his control for we still like to keep some of the control ourselves.
One scholar once stated that if the holy Spirit were taken out of 90% of our churches ö nobody would notice any difference.
That old evangelist phrase comes to mind when thinking about the church. Many have no trouble in believing in God but struggle with the Church so the evangelists say, "donât look at the church, look at Jesus." But I would want to say, "if you want to see Jesus, look at the church."
From our text this morning I have found four challenging answers to the question ö what would the church be like IJesus were truly its king?
The first point ö if Jesus were king of the church his disciples would be obedient.
Jesus said to two of his disciples "go to the village ahead of you" and they went. No questions asked. No committees formed to investigate the possibilities. They might of asked "why" but they didnât. They might of queried the choice of an animal but they didnât. They had learned the lesson from spending three years following Jesus that when he says "go" ö you go.
Their obedience is highlighted still further for Jesus foretells that there is likely to be a question asked when they find the donkey & colt by the owner. So Jesus prepares an answer. And in Lukes account of the disciples obeying Jesus you find them responding to the animals owner with Jesusâ exact words. They added nothing, emphasised nothing, justified nothing ö just stated the response they were told to bring.
Someone once stated that understanding can wait but obedience can not. Obedience in the Christian life is evidence of a right relationship with God. Obedience id the first rule of discipleship.
Hereâs a question. Why is the church so often disobedient to Jesus? If only we were led by Christ alone. If only we would sacrifice our agenda, our passions, our dreams and come in line with what Jesus would have us to do. We find ourselves dethroning Jesus from his rightful place as king.
Though we may sing, "Jesus we enthrone you, we proclaim you are king" so often we really just do our own thing.
If Jesus were king of the church his disciples would be marked first and foremost by obedience ö and that is never the easy route. Jesus didnât command many things whilst he was on earth. He taught a lot but didnât command a lot.
John 13:34
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
John 15:12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
John 15:17 This is my command: Love each other.
I think the greatest necessity for the Church of Jesus Church is that it falls in love with itâs founder.
And I think, having read and listened to the way that God has been speaking to you about our future ö if we are to fulfil the challenge being laid down of reaching this community for Christ ö we need to be obedient.
The second point ö If Jesus were king of the church the cross would be central.
I can never read the story of that first palm Sunday, the so called triumphal entry, without knowing in my heart where this was to lead. Jesus was riding on towards the cross. "ride on ride on in majesty, in lowly pomp ride on to die". The cross casts its shadow over the events of that first palm Sunday.
If Jesus were king of the Church the cross would be at the centre of all that is preached and experienced.
Alistar Magrath in his book "the enigma of the cross" he talks about a continuing crisis of confidence in the church as to the relevance of the gospel to the modern world. He says, "its time for Christianity to break free from the social and cultural prison in which it has been for so long a secret prisoner and return to the source of our faith ö the cross of Jesus Christ."
In contemporary spirituality there is a term people use. People talk about Îmoving on.â In one sense it means progressing in your pilgrimage, growing and maturing but in another sense I see it as meaning for some people, "things are becoming more like I want them to be."
I donât think you ever move on from the cross. You canât get beyond the cross. As a Christian you were not called to life like a bed of roses ö you were called to carry a cross.
The third point ö If Jesus were king of the Church there will be cleansing and judgement.
Notice that the cleansing of the temple follows the triumphal entry. Jesus who arrived in humility and meekness now is portrayed as full of righteous anger. With a heart to see the temple as a place of worship rather than a business park he turns over tables and drives out those who degrade this holy sight.
A violent and symbolic act. When Jesus is king of the Church there will be cleansing. As the priorities of Jesus become the priorities of the Church some will be challenged and found wanting.
But take care ö we are not the ones to do the cleansing ö itâs Jesus. Remember the parable of the wheat and the tares ö they grow side by side until Jesus comes again and separates.
I was reading some comments by CH Spurgeon on the cleansing of the temple and he put it like this. "We shall not purify any church by acts of parliament, nor by reformation associations, nor by agitation, nor by any mere human agency ö no hand can grasp the scourge that will drive out the buyers and the sellers but that hand that was once nailed to a cross."
There is a serious point here. Iâm not talking about churches that put on Bingo nights (though thank God we donât).Iâm not talking about churches that put on jumble sales ö Iâm proclaiming "wo betide the church which allows its business to usurp the place of prayer.
"My house will be a house of prayer" said Jesus. Pity the church that relies on human management systems rather than spiritually discerned truth. And I have to say that there is a grave warning here to any who seek to achieve their personal dreams through the church.
When private dreams take over from God given direction then the Church is ripe for cleansing and judgement.
Robert Warren in his book Îbeing human ö being churchâ gives a warning about two things in the life of the church. Firstly he talks about the danger of the church constantly working in what he calls "inherited mode". ÎWe always do things that way therefore it must be the right wayâ. But equally he is scathing about those who believe they are moving into new things ö God given directions, whereas all they are actually doing is going into over-activist mode where they are constantly busy and in fact have not changed anything at all.
As one Spring Harvest Session a few years ago memorably put it a few years ago ö "Its like rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic." No matter what you do the boat is still sinking.
"My house will be called a house of prayer" and that is where we must start ö for that is where we hear the voice of Jesus our king.
When Jesus is king of the church His disciples will be obedient, the cross will be central, there will be cleansing and judgement and fourthly,
The final point ö if Jesus were king of the church scripture will be fulfilled.
There is a real sense in historical terms that Jesus riding into Jerusalem was a fulfilment of the prophesy of Zechariah but as you read through the scriptures you will find many promises of great blessing, promises of God pouring out his Spirit for the sake of mission. There are promises of what will happen when the people of God work together as a community and live out Godâs love for those outside the Church.
When Jesus is king of the Church ö then the blessings of God will flow. You notice after the purifying of the temple there is that lovely verse in verse 14 ö Jesus has gotten rid of all the business people and the blind and lame came to him ö and he healed them.
The house of God will never be a stock exchange but it must be a hospital.
I can remember the senior minister at Haywards Heath telling of the fact that he hated hospitals and as a minister he needed God to change his feelings because of the amount of time that we ministers spend in them.
He stated to a wise minister friend that he found hospitals depressing because everyone who is in there is ill. To which the wise friend stated, "hospitals are where sick people go."
You look around this community you will see many sick people and the church should be a place where sick people,spiritually, emotionally scared people can come into the community and find love & warmth & welcome & acceptance & the healing / wholeness and salvation that only comes from the Lord.
That will happen when Jesus is King of the church.
Let me close by applying this to you at an individual level.
There is a sense with which change begins with each one of us.
I was reading a biography of George Whitfield a saint who ushered in the revival in the 18th century. Reading around the state of society in those days you find this anointed man of God changing the face of the world, which had reached the greatest depths of depravity. Promiscuity, drunkeness, dishonesty were the standards of the day ö yet this one man who was later joined by the Wesleyâs who started the Methodist movement, was so stirred up for the cause of Christ that he was able to turn things around.
God has his people & he put his finger upon them & he raised them up to do a mighty work for the kingdom.
Think what would happen here in Sidley if God put his finger on you and me. If God touched us and sent us out into the streets around here filled with the spirit and the truth of the gospel. What a change this community would see. But it begins with you.
Ask yourself ö is Jesus King & Lord of your life?
Are you being obedient? Or are you paying lip service?
Do you know what it means to carry your cross ö to sacrifice yourself day by day for the sake of Christ?
Is Jesus truly your king?
If that is a challenge to individuals then it will also be a challenge to the Church.
If only we were a Church that was obedient. Who asked questions later but obeyed first.
If only we were a people characterised by the cross in all that we do.
If only we would set aside our personal desires and wants and let Jesus in to cleanse us. The word repentance comes to mind for if we do not seek forgiveness for the hurt we have caused others as well as the church then we are holding the church hostage. And we here in Sidley have the sad privilege of knowing what being held hostage is like.
Oh what a difference, not just here but throughout this land if Jesus was king of his Church.
What a blessing we would see as Godâs promises became a reality in our experience.
"See, your king comes to you" ö will you have him?
