The Weeping King

THE WEEPING KING

Luke 19.41-44

S: Palm Sunday

C: Royalty, kingship, sovereignty

Pr: Jesus weeps when we do not recognize Him as Messiah-King.

CV: We will relentlessly reach out to people with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ..

I. CONFUSION

II. DESTRUCTION

III. REJECTION

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Honor Him as your Lord and King.

• Grieve the ignorance of those that are lost.

• Direct people to Jesus as Messiah-King.

Version: ESV

RMBC 5 April 09 AM

ILL Personal

Many years ago, when JJ was about ten and we were living in PA, JJ and I had gone to a high school soccer game to watch one of our high schoolers play. He sat with me for a while with a family from the church, but after a while, he decided to go to the top of the bleachers for a better view. I kept looking up there from time to time to make sure he was all right.

It was a particularly cold day, and JJ had taken his arms out of the sleeves and put them inside his jacket to stay warmer. At halftime, I turned around to signal for him to come down and sit with me, and as I turned, he had slipped through the bleachers. He had lost his balance and since he has tucked his harms inside the jacket, he could not grab anything and he fell twenty feet to the ground.

You can imagine the immediate panic I felt. I knew that was a long fall and I knew there was plenty of concrete he could have landed on. It was a sick feeling that I had as I ran down the bleachers, literally knocking people down yelling for someone to call 911.

When I reached JJ, I found him unconscious, laying on a small patch of very soft ground covered with grass. It was a narrow patch surrounded by concrete. Very quickly, the rescue squad was there, JJ started coming to, and soon, he and I were in an ambulance heading to the hospital.

As you can tell, he survived, and we know that God was watching over him. But there is one more thing I want to share about this story…

Later that evening, we returned home from the hospital after several tests to make sure there was no internal damage. I remember going to bed that night, and something unexpected happened. I started to sob – uncontrollably. All the emotions of the day had begun to catch up to me, because I realized I had almost lost my son. My heart ached because of the potential loss.

Have you ever unexpectedly started to cry?

It was as if you could not control it.

The emotions just took over.

It occurred to me as I was studying this week that the way I felt may have been similar to the way Jesus felt in the passage we are studying today.

You see…

Jesus has ridden toward Jerusalem as the Messiah-King.

He has come on the foal of a donkey.

It is the fulfillment of the prophecy found in Zechariah 9.

And the people have recognized it.

They are yelling, “Hosanna!”

“Save us!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

They are waving palms.

The people are going crazy with enthusiasm.

They are laying their cloaks down on his path.

They are, in kind, “rolling out the red carpet” for Him.

Their King as arrived.

Their longtime hopes are being satisfied.

The Messiah has come, as God has promised.

But for a moment, Jesus stops the procession.

The city is before Him.

And…

He stands before the city as Lord and King, and weeps.

He sobs.

This is His city.

These are His subjects.

He is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.

But…

There will be no reign in Jerusalem.

No peace.

No justice.

No coronation day.

He has one week to live, and it will not be lived like a king

Here He stands before Jerusalem, and He weeps.

He weeps for people, not for Himself.

He cries, because this city will not recognize Him for who He is.

He comes as Savior, Lord, and King.

But they will not see it, and already, it was too late!

For He knows what is before Him on what we call…

Passion Week

Sunday – Messianic Entry into Jerusalem

We often call this the Triumphant Entry, but I have chosen to call it the Messianic Entry because He comes into Jerusalem as the Messiah-King.

Monday – Cleansing the temple

On Monday, He will once again cleanse the temple.

Tuesday – Controversies with the Jewish leaders

On Tuesday, the controversies with the Jewish leaders will have them all the more determined to kill Jesus.