REJOICE, YOUR KING COMES TO YOU! (Outline)
ZECHARIAH 9:9-10 - March 20, 2005 - PALM SUNDAY
INTRO: There is a certain degree of excitement as one prepares for guests. Depending on the impor-tance or number of expected guests the preparations can consume much energy and time. When that guest or guests arrive there is often a celebration. On this Palm Sunday you and I are reminded of the celebration and rejoicing every believer enjoys at the arrival of Jesus, the King and expected guest. To-day we rejoice with the crowds who recognized Jesus as the Son of David…who comes in the name of the Lord! "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready"(REVELATION 19:6b,7). As members of God’s church, his bride, we have made ourselves ready to come to hear God’s word and sing his praises in worship.
REJOICE, YOUR KING COMES TO YOU!
I. With humility as a righteous King, and
II. With salvation as a powerful King.
I. WITH HUMILITY AS A RIGHTEOUS KING
A. Zechariah came as God’s prophet when the children of Israel had been returned to Jerusalem.
1. Previously, God’s people were slaves and captives under the dominance of Babylon’s king.
2. They spent many desolate years away from their Promised Land longing to return.
B. In today’s text the people are back – but much has changed. Jerusalem and the temple lie in ruins.
1. The people began the task of rebuilding. It was a long, slow and very difficult process.
2. Zechariah came to encourage. Verse 9a. Rejoice – they were now free people once again!
C. They would see the fulfillment of God’s love for them as they would look beyond their daily despair.
1. Verse 9b describes the righteous King from God. Jesus was unlike any other earthly king.
2. Unlike any other earthly king, Jesus came in great humility riding on a donkey. Verse 9c.
D. Kings (monarchs, dictators) today do not cause reason for rejoicing. The opposite is often true in the fact that kings often take advantage of their subjects for as long as they can. BUT not our King. Christ as our King causes countless reasons to rejoice. "’The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ’when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land’"(JEREMIAH 23:5). Christ, our King is just and right and rules wisely. Rejoice, your King comes!
E. We have heard that Christ our King is unlike any other king. As king of a divine kingdom Jesus had no use for any of the glory and trappings of an earthly kingdom. It is no wonder that Jesus arrives as a humble King. His birth in Bethlehem reminds us of this King’s very humble beginnings. When the dis-ciples were worried who was greater in God’s kingdom, Jesus reminded them of his mission. It is to be the same with us. All too often we might walk all over all kinds of people in our struggle to be successful or feel important. Or our feelings are hurt because we feel someone has done us some wrong, mistreated us or did not do what we wanted them to do. What does our King show us by example? "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"(MARK 10:45).
F. Rejoice your king comes to you! Our King of kings and Lord of lords is truly unlike any other leader on this earth. Christ came for the specific purpose that mankind would be saved. Jesus came to make sure that all would be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus did this in a spirit of humility. It is this humility that provides mankind with the righteousness of Christ for eternal life. Our King has done it all! Our Savior-King does not demand more taxes. As King, Jesus does not place any undue burden upon his people. "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"(MATTHEW 11:29,30).
TRANS: REJOICE, YOUR KING COMES TO YOU with humility as a righteous King and
II. WITH SALVATION AS A POWERFUL KING.
A. Remember the situation of the children of Israel. They were free but living in a ruined Jerusalem.
1. The rebuilding sometimes came to a halt. There were not as many people for work as before.
2. The walls of protection that once stood around Jerusalem were no longer there.
3. The work force was split between rebuilding and defending the workers from enemies.
B. There still was great hope. In the first 8 verses of Zechariah 9, the prophet tells of God’s power.
1. Israel would see their enemies destroyed by their king. Those great nations would be no threat.
2. Verse 10a. Those that stood opposed to God’s people would be gone.
C. Verse 10b says that peace will be proclaimed to the nations. God would be King for all people.
1. This was an amazing prophecy that God’s people would include more than Israel.
2. Verse 10c. God’s kingdom of grace would extend to the ends of the earth by his power.
D. Rejoice, your King comes to you. We know much about our King, Christ. Our greatest comfort in knowing our Christ as our King and Jesus as our Savior is that he provides for all mankind and especially every believer with his great power. What Christ does as King he does never for himself but for his be-loved followers. The enemies of Jesus are our enemies. Thankfully and joyfully these fearsome enemies have all faced defeat by the work of Christ. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil"(HEBREWS 2:14). By his sinless life Christ has defeated the devil on our behalf, for us.
E. Rejoice, your King comes with salvation as a powerful King. Not everyone sees a powerful King in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Even Pilate, who had this King before him in a mock trial could not understand Christ as King. Thankfully by God’s undeserved grace our eyes of faith have been opened to see and believe in Christ as our Savior-King. This is a great comfort and encouragement for each and every one of us. Many live in fear of the future and in the fear of death. This is not so, with believers who put their trust and confidence in the King. "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death"(1 CORINTHIANS 15:25,26). By his death and by his resurrection Christ had defeated death on our behalf, for us. Rejoice, your King comes to you!
F. When the disciples needed encouragement Jesus would often visit with them privately in the upper room. In this private way Jesus revealed much to those who sought his guidance. We gather today in the upper room of God’s house of worship to find comfort at the foot of the Savior. Once again, our Savior-King provides us with blessings like no other king. The world around us tries to offer us what we need. It cannot and does not provide us with what believers truly need. Listen to our King. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"(JOHN 14:27). The peace our King provides comes from the forgiveness of our sins.
CONCL: Rejoice, your King comes to you! The shouts of the crowd on Palm Sunday recognized this man riding on the donkey as the Son of David, as the Messiah, the Christ. But by Thursday of the same week one of his own betrayed him. On Friday many of this same crowd asked for Jesus’ crucifixion. How quickly the opinions of man changes. In the midst of this earthly life and our earthly living our gra-cious and loving Lord reminds us that he is our only King. Christ is truly our reason to rejoice and cele-brate—even in the midst of sin and death. "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness…"(ISAIAH 61:10a). REJOICE YOUR KING COMES TO YOU … with humility as our righteous King and with salvation as our powerful King. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PALM SUNDAY readings (ILCW – A): ZECH. 9:9-10; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11; MATTHEW 21:1-11
