A Study of the Book of Luke
Sermon # 54
“A New Kind of King!”
Luke 19:28-38
“On December 4, 1977 in Bangui, capital of the Central African Empire the world press witnessed the coronation of his Imperial Majesty, Bokossa I. The price tag for that single event, designed and choreographed by a French designer… , was $25 million.
At 10:10 A.M. that morning the blare of the
Of trumpets and the roll of drums announced the approach of His Majesty. The procession began with eight of Bokassa’s twenty-nine official children parading down the royal carpet to their seats. They were followed by Jean Bedel Bokassa II, the heir to the throne, dressed in a white admiral’s uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red pillow to the left of the throne. Catherine followed, the favorite of Bokassa’s nine wives. She was wearing a $ 73,000 gown made by Lanvin of Paris, strewn with pearls she had picked out herself.
The emperor arrived in an imperial coach bedecked with gold eagles and drawn by six-matched Anglo-Norman horses. When the Marine band blared, “The Sacred March of His Majesty, Emperor Bokassa I,” His Highness strode forth, cloaked in a thirty-two-pound robe decorated with 785,000 scattered pearls and gold embroidery. White gloves covered his hands, pearl slippers his feet. On his brow he wore a gold crown of laurel wreaths like those worn by Roman consuls of old, a symbol of the favor of the gods. As the “Sacred March” came to a conclusion, Bokassa seated himself on his $2.5 million eagle throne, took his gold laurel wreath off, and as Napoleon 173 years before had done, took his $ 2.5 million crown, which was topped with an 80-carat diamond, and placed it upon his head. At 10:43 A.M., December 4, 1977 the twentieth century saw a new emperor. Mercifully, Bokassa’s reign was not as imposing as his coronation.” Just two years later, he was removed by a coup. Bokassa did his best to establish an enduring kingdom but failed miserably. Kings and rulers down through the centuries have tried. [R. Kent Hughes. Luke: That You Might Know. Vol II. (Wheaton:Illinois, Crossway Books, 1998) pp. 237-238.] This morning I want to speak to you about a new kind of king.
In the previous text (Luke 19:11-27) Jesus has established himself as the king who had to go into a far country before returning in power. He has shown that the nature of his kingdom is to be different from that expected by the religious establishment. He has shown that the members of his kingdom are those who are faithful to him rather than who thought they had it made.
Though Luke does not tell us so, Matthew, Mark and John give information that leads up to Jesus presenting himself as the Messiah in the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus has performed a number of spectacular miracles. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany (John 11). And Mary had anointed Jesus with costly ointment in John 12. These works attested to the fact that he was indeed the Savior and king.
There are four things that I want you to realize with me about this new kind of king.
First, As King He Has the Right to Ask Us To Do Things That May Not Make Sense Humanly Speaking. (vv. 28-31)
“When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. (29) And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, (30) saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. (31) And if anyone asks you, "Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, "Because the Lord has need of it."
I think that far too often we read the Bible like it was a play, as if all the characters knew the script, they knew how things were going to turn out, but they didn’t. They did not know how it was going to turn out but they did know what Jesus had said to do. He had instructed his disciples that they were to go to a village opposite where they were at present and secure a young colt.
Now suppose Jesus told you to “go down to the Mall. Near the main entrance there will be a brand new Lexus with the key inside it. Bring it back to me. If the security or the owners ask you what you are doing, you just tell them that the Lord has need of it.” How many of you would be comfortable with those instructions?
The disciples must have been amazed at what Jesus knew with absolute certainty on two counts. First, that He knew exactly were they would find “a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat” and secondly, they were amazed that the owners would be prepared to make the animal available to him.
As King He Has the Right to Ask Us To Do Things That May Not Make Sense Humanly Speaking And …
Second, As King Has the Right to Demand Something Of You That May Be Dear To You.
(vv. 32-35)
The results are that the disciples find things just as Jesus said they would be. So we read in verse thirty-two, “So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. (33) But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" (34) And they said, "The Lord has need of him."
The owners stopped the disciples, perhaps by shouting something to the effect of “Hey, what do you think you are doing.” It is amazing at least to me, that when the owners heard the words, “The Lord had need of him” they were willing if not eager to let it go. According to Matthew’s gospel account (21:7) not only did the owners send the colt they sent along the donkey’s mother as well. I don’t think that we need to miss out on understanding the value of these animals to their owners. Luke uses a plural when he describes the “owners,” probably because these people are so poor that these animals represent more than a single family’s investment. Put into day’s culture the colt and mother, would have been something like a new Ferrari convertible. Can you imagine allowing two strangers to drive off, with only the words, "The Lord has need of him."
The question comes down to this, “Do you really believe that all things belong to Jesus Christ, that He has the right to lay claim to them, to dictate how they are to be used, at any time?” Jesus Christ has every right to possess what is ultimately already His! But It is one thing to acknowledge Jesus as Our Lord and Savior and as the possessor of all things; it is quite another to live this way.
As I consider the Lord’s request I couldn’t help wondering if I could give up something precious in my life simply because Jesus asked me to!
Only you and God know what obedience he would require of you today, or this week.
Is He calling you to repentance and faith in Him?
Is He telling you to help someone?
Is He telling you give something up?
Is He telling you take something on?
Is He telling you to say yes to something?
Is He telling you to say no to something?
What act of obedience is he calling you to?
In obedience to the command of Jesus we find in verse thirty-five, “Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.”
I don’t want you to miss the significance of the Lord riding an untamed or unbroken donkey. His power tamed the donkey, even in the midst of the shouting, the waving of palm branches, the dust, the cloaks being thrown down in front of it. It is a miracle and it does not need to go unnoticed. Taming a little donkey was no big deal to Him, but it should be to us.
But why not a horse? In New Testament times a conquering king rode on a horse, a symbol of war. When the conquering king entered a city after a time of warfare, He would ride on a horse or something even more impressive. History tells us that Julius Caesar returned to Rome in 45 B.C. in a golden chariot harnessed to 40 elephants! But whenever a king entered a city on a donkey it was a sign he was coming in peace, because a donkey was a symbol of peace. Jesus deliberately fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would ride a donkey. In Zechariah 9:9 the prophet say, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold Your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
But you need to remember that Jesus is coming again, the prophet Zechariah predicts in chapter 14 verse four and verse nine; ”And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. … (9) And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be-- "The LORD is one," And His name one.”
Jesus is going to enter the city of Jerusalem once again but this time as king over the whole earth. Ezekiel 44 predicts the Messiah of the future will enter through the Eastern Gate of the Temple. Today, all the other gates surrounding Jerusalem are open. As Ezekiel predicted, the Eastern Gate shut to this day. Christians or Jews didn’t shut the gate, Muslims did. The Ottoman Turks closed off the Eastern Gate because it was close to their Dome of the Rock, the third most holy site of Islam. They knew the Jewish Messiah would enter that gate, so they sealed it and turned it into a Muslim graveyard. They did that because an Orthodox Jew would never walk on a grave so they think that will prevent the Jewish Messiah from entering. But the old graveyard won’t stop Jesus. On that day it will not be a graveyard anymore.
As I already stated in New Testament times a conquering king rode on a horse, a symbol of war. When the conquering king entered a city after a time of warfare, He would ride on a horse. Significantly the Apostle John tells us in about the Lord’s second coming in Revelation 19:11-13 that he will be riding a white horse, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. (12) His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. (13) He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God”
As King Has the Right to Demand Something Of You That May Be Dear To You And …
Third, As King He Has A Right To Expect Our Praise (vv.36-40)
In verse thirty-six we are told how the crowd received Him, “And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. (37) Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, (38) saying: ""Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
The significance of Jesus’ arrival on the donkey was not lost on the crowd. They spontaneously threw their outer garments on the road, using a traditional way of welcoming a king.
John 12:12-13 add that the crowds that had come to meet the parade as it approached the city, carried palm branches, which represented their great longing for Jesus to deliver them from Roman rule.
Not everyone was caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment, however, for verse thirty-nine reveals, “… some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."
We do not know what motivated the hearts of the Pharisees, it could be that they thought the praise misplaced even heretical. There is also valid fear that the Roman’s may see the parade as a prelude to a rebellion. With the city of Jerusalem swelled with tens of thousands of pilgrims for Passover the Roman’s are already nervous.
Jesus responds in verse forty that what they ask is impossible saying, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." If human voices were silent then nature itself would be compelled to shout its praise to the creator. If you acknowledge that Jesus to be the Son of God to be your Savior, then you must also recognize that you owe him your praise. How is it then that a rainy day can keep us from joining others in praise in the Lord’s house? How is it that a really nice day can to do the same, by giving us a “day at the lake” rather than with the saints, praising him?
Third, As King Has A Right To Expect Our Praise And…
Fourth, Unbelief Breaks the Heart of the King! (vv. 41-44)
As the parade moved toward Jerusalem, Jesus came to a ridge that gave a grand view of the city, which normally brought a surge of admiration and pride to the heart of the traveler.
Verse forty-one tells us that on this occasion, Jesus “saw the city and wept over it.” This is only the second occasion on which we read that Jesus wept openly, the first being at the tomb of Lazarus, but here he did not weep quietly as he had at the grave of Lazarus, but aloud. The word used for weep her is (klaio) which means a “loud weeping or wailing.” Charles Swindoll describes as “not the quiet tears of a disappointed dream but the chest-heaving sobs of a parent over a destructively rebellious child.” [Charles Swindoll. The Consummation of Something. Bible Study Guide. A Study of Luke 16:19-24:53. (Anaheim, California: Insight for Living, 1995) p. 63]
Why did Jesus weep? First, He wept because of their superficial belief. He realized that the cheering crowd was filled with people were just caught up in the emotional excitement of the moment, but they were not really recognizing Him as the Messiah. Some of the ones shouting, “crown him” would be shouting “crucify him.” Jesus saw their superficial belief and it broke His heart.
Secondly, he wept because of their spiritual blindness. He said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (v. 42) One reason that Jesus wept was because these people in their quest for a temporary peace; were missing out on the eternal peace offered by God.
“Looking across the Kidron Valley, Jesus sees the great stone walls of the city, the impregnable towers, and the sheer marble sides of the temple rising like white cliffs from Mount Zion. This is what the people have become toward God – a walled off fortress” [Swindoll. p. 63]
Then Jesus made an amazing prophecy beginning in verse forty-three, “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, (44) and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
Third, Jesus wept over the city, tears prompted by grief over the nation’s coming judgment. Jesus mourned the destruction of the city because the people within it were unrepentant and would reject him. Roman soldiers fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy in A.D. 70 when the city was destroyed. In that year the Romans, would come and after a siege of 143 days, kill 600,000 Jews, take thousands more captive and then destroy the temple and the city.
In Matthew’s account we find the conclusion
of the Palm Sunday story not given in Luke In 21:10-11 we read, “And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” (11) So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth.” Literally Matthew says that the whole city was “stirred. ”
What would it take for the whole town of Vilonia to be stirred? I believe that is exactly what will happen if you and I suddenly take our responsibilities to the king seriously.
Do you know that surveys indicate that the majority of people who do not attend church, who have not experienced new life in Christ, give the same reason when they are asked why. They say, “No one ever asked me.”
Your mission for this coming week, to prepare for Easter in away that will bring a smile to the face of God and true and lasting joy into the life of others, is to find someone and invite them to be your guest here next Sunday, Easter Sunday morning. Pick up some “You are Invited” cards in the foyer this morning and personally invite your friends and neighbors to the services next week.
Next Saturday, you have the opportunity to be a part of “Invite our Neighbors Community Wide Visitation” beginning here at the church at 10 A.M. Everyone in the community will receive an invitation to our services in the mail. We also want everyone in the community to receive a personal invitation as well.
