Christ’s Magnificence
in the “Insignificant”
Readings: (Matthew
21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38; & John 12:12-18).
Let’s turn to Matthew’s account in chapter 21 beginning
with verse seven to eleven." They brought the donkey and the colt and
placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd
spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees
and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and
those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was
stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the
prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The biblical account of Christ’s “Triumphal
Entry,” into Jerusalem is one of the few events all four gospels record for us.
Five days before the Passover, Jesus came from Bethany to Jerusalem. Having
sent two of His disciples to bring Him a colt of a donkey, Jesus sat upon it
and entered the city. The significance of Palm Sunday
is what has been called Christ’s “Triumphal Entry,” into Jerusalem. It was around
30 AD. Prophets had spoken of such a day, the Psalmist sang of it, and the
Messiah was to fulfill it. No greater day could be anticipated. Some celebrated
it as a triumphal entry others mourned it as the tragic end of great promise.
The excitement of the scene is tempered by the fact that very soon, the same
crowds that hailed Jesus as King would be calling for his death.
It
was springtime. The holy city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims who had
come for the annual Passover celebration. Jesus had spent many months traveling
through the towns and villages of Palestine. He preached about the kingdom of
God and healed the sick, raised the dead, feed the hungry, wherever He went.
Now the time had come for Him to declare His title as the Messiah - the Savior
that God had promised to the Jewish people. Jesus knew His mission was almost
finished. As they traveled to Jerusalem, Jesus warned His disciples that He
would soon be put to death, and after three days He would rise again.
The choice of a donkey is not mere
coincidence.
Jesus
rode into Jerusalem on the donkey. Great Excitement was in the air as the news
spread from the small village of Bethany to Bethphage that the one being called
“the Messiah” was about to enter Jerusalem. Crowds of people spread their coats
on the ground in front of Him. Some waved branches of palm trees, a sign of
victory. Enthusiastic followers lay a carpet of garments and palm branches
before him. At this point they recognized his messianic office and anticipated
what they thought would be the inauguration of their promised king.
As
the jubilant crowds welcomed Christ into the city, they also shouted,
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of Jehovah," a chant taken from
Psalms 118:26. In that Psalm the phrase, "he that cometh in the name of
Jehovah" meant the worshipper drawing near the temple. "King of
Israel," "Hosanna" (is from a Hebrew word which means "save
we pray.") The entry of Christ into the
city of Jerusalem was not only a literal fulfillment of prophecy, but it was a
demonstration of the nature of God’s kingdom (John 18:36).
Notice first that this event is completely orchestrated
by Christ. He carefully choreographs his entrance into
Jerusalem. This is near the time of the Passover and consequently
thousands of pilgrims are streaming into Jerusalem preparing to celebrate the
feast in the holy city. The vast majority of them walked into the
city but Jesus chooses to make his entrance in a very specific, highly symbolic
manner. He is coming from the direction of the Mount of Olives and
has evidently pre-arranged for the donkey but it’s not just any donkey, it’s a
donkey no one has ever ridden on. The choice of a donkey is not mere
coincidence, but is made with great intentionality. Jesus
carefully works out the details of this setting to fulfill what the
prophets have said about him as king. Verse four says, "This
took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, 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 Bible never talks about fate or chance. It speaks
instead of what some call "Sacred Time". Scripture speaks of
Christian life as being, not just a random collection of disconnected events,
but life with purpose and meaning. Jesus rode a donkey into town, because there
was a purpose and a meaning to the action. It was an event in sacred time and fulfillment
of the prophecies of His first advent.
Why a donkey?
“If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The
Lord needs it.’” (Luke 19:31)
The donkey is a creature of peace. You would expect a
King to arrive on a War Horse, or in a chariot pulled by a pony... not so
Jesus. Jesus enters Jerusalem, the City of God, riding upon a creature
considered insignificant, humble and gentle. The donkey was not simply a method
of transport for people. It was also a beast of burden. A donkey can carry a
great deal on its back. It is sure-footed in rocky terrain. In many parts of
the world it is still considered a working animal. When you think about donkey,
there can be all kinds of connections. But the most important one we need
to make in this Season is between our lives and the Jesus who rode into
Jerusalem to die upon a cross and was raised to bring Resurrection life to bear
on our daily lives. If we can get that connection right, then a whole lot of
other things in our lives start to make sense as well. We may well discover
that sacred time is breaking into our daily lives. Notice the words of Christ
in Luke 19 verse 30: “Go into the village opposite you, in which, at your
entering, ye shall find a donkey tied, on which yet never man sat; loose him,
and bring him here.” Do you resemble the donkey? Donkey
was tied. – We were under the bondage, hooked, victims of habit,
bound by lifestyle. Donkey was Untamed.
We all were sinners, Donkey was outside. – We all were “without
Christ, God, Hope.” Ephes. 2:12 says “that at that time ye were without
Christ, being aliens…and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world.” Donkey was Untied. - Jesus sets
us free. John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free.” Donkey
was brought to Jesus. - "And they brought the colt to Jesus.
(V7) Donkey did not resist. - "He sat upon him" (V7) Donkey
was used for God's glory. - "Hosanna in the
Highest" Donkey was submitted to the will of the
Savior. - He rode him.
Jesus said “Learn from me--for I am gentle and humble in
heart." Matthew 11:29
Have you ever thought of those little
insignificant things that Jesus always preferred for throughout His brief life
on earth? Things that we would not normally prefer to embrace by many, but
things that insignificant, Christ thought were extremely important and
essential to Him. Bible says “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider
it robbery to be equal with God,” He was eternally, truly and totally God. But
He ‘did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped'. Glorious as his
heavenly existence was, he did not cling to it as if nothing else mattered, but
relinquished it in the interests of others. “He emptied himself', He laid aside
the majesty and glory that were eternally his in heaven. He took the form of a
servant'. Just as he was truly God, so he truly became a servant, not only of
his heavenly Father, but also of mankind. As he himself told his Disciples, ‘I
am among you as the one who serves' (Luke 22:27). He was ‘born in the likeness
of men'. God became man; the divine Son became a servant; the Almighty appeared
on earth as a helpless human baby, like any other child… Paul wrote “For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your
sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (2
Corinthians 8:9).
The Bible also declare that, ‘For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him' (Colossians 1:16). Every created thing, from the vastest galaxy to the tiniest particle in the universe, owes its existence to Jesus Christ. But He chose to leave eternity and submit himself to the limitations of time and space. He became ‘obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross'. He knew exactly what would be involved in his earthly mission.
The Bible also declare that, ‘For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him' (Colossians 1:16). Every created thing, from the vastest galaxy to the tiniest particle in the universe, owes its existence to Jesus Christ. But He chose to leave eternity and submit himself to the limitations of time and space. He became ‘obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross'. He knew exactly what would be involved in his earthly mission.
He exchanged the perfect harmony of heaven for the turmoil of life on earth, with its pressures and pains, trials and tensions, conflicts and crises. He exchanged being worshipped by angels for being reviled by his enemies. The one by whom ‘all things were created' (Colossians 1:16) had to borrow a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41), a donkey to ride into Jerusalem ( Luke 19:28-40) and a coin to give an illustration (Luke 20:19-26). The one who owned every square inch of Earth was so poor that he had ‘nowhere to lay his head' (Luke 9:58). The one who created water as a liquid compound with its molecule made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms (H2O) had to ask someone to give him a drink when he became thirsty ( John 4:1-7). Even in death his body was laid in a borrowed tomb (Matthew 27:57-61).
Remember the word of Jesus in Luke Gospel “So
Jesus said to them, “What is important to humans is disgusting to God.” (God’
word translation) KJV says “for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God.”(Luke 16:15b)
The above Scripture is followed by the literal account of
the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The Bible contrasts the
extravagant and pleasurable life of a rich man verses the sorrowful existence
of a poor beggar named Lazarus. In the end, the Bible tells us that the
rich man went straight to Hell to be tormented in flames; but Lazarus was
escorted by angels into (heaven) Paradise. There is not a clearer passage
of Scripture in the Word of God, testifying to the vanity of earthly fame and
fortune. The rich man had it all―wealth, health, power, security,
friends, and fame; BUT, he didn’t have God. In sharp contrast,
Lazarus had nothing except God. He was sick and the Bible says that dogs
came and licked his wounds. Lazarus ate from the rich man's garbage,
whatever he could scrape together. The Bible tells us that the rich man
was consumed in his mind concerning building bigger storage barns for his
grain, and laying up massive wealth for his old age; BUT, his retirement never
came because God ended his life. The selfish rich man never gave thought
to helping Lazarus in any way, nor did he think about neither God nor the
eternal destiny of his soul.
In all of his life Jesus presents
himself as our model in all
aspects of our earthly life. Jesus was chose to be born in a humble stable,
into a poor family. Shepherds
were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made
manifest. Jesus flight into
Egypt and the massacre of the
innocents make manifest the
opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own home, and his own
people received him not.”. Christ's whole earthly life - his words and deeds, his
silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking -
is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: "Whoever has seen me
has seen the Father", and the Father can say: "This is my Son, my Chosen;
listen to him!" Because our Lord became man in order to do his
Father's will, even the least characteristics of his choices manifest
"God's love.” The whole of Christ's life was a continual gesture of his
grace, compassion, love and special affection towards his creation,
particularly for the little and the poor, his acceptance of the total sacrifice
on the Cross for the redemption of the world, and his Resurrection are the
actualization of his word, full demonstration of his love and the fulfillment
of Revelation.
Let
us consider few of those little insignificant things that Jesus always chosen
for throughout His life? Things that we
would not generally we think insignificant, but things that, Christ thought
were extremely important and essential to teach us the majestic truths,
thus exhibiting to the world the most beautiful picture of humility. Christ’s
Magnificence in the “Insignificant” He asked a drink of water, some fish, a
coin, a little child and a towel and a donkey. Not much of a list for the
Creator of the universe and Redeemer of mankind. Let us look at few of those
little things Jesus asked.
In his encounter with the woman at the well Jesus asked “Please give me a drink.”John-4
Bible says “So he left Judea and went back to
Galilee. On the way to Galilee, he had to go through the country of Samaria.
In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired
from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about
noon. A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, and
Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” (John 4:4-7ERV)
The Samaritans were a mixed race people,
who had intermarried with the Assyrians centuries before. They were hated by
the Jews because of this cultural mixing, and because they had their own
version of the scripture and their own temple on Mount Gerizim. In his
encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus broke three Jewish rational man
created customs: first, he spoke to a woman; second, she was a Samaritan woman, a group the Jews
traditionally despised; and third, he asked her to get him a drink of water,
which would have made him ceremonially unclean from using her cup or jar. This
shocked the woman at the well. By reaching out to the Samaritans, Jesus showed
that his mission was to the entire people of the world, not just the Jews. Our human tendency is to judge others
because of stereotypes, customs or prejudices. Jesus treats people as
individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.
5 Loaves and 2 Fishes to feed a hungry
multitude (Mark 6:34-44)
Every time Jesus healed someone who was sick, the people
were amazed. They wanted to see more miracles, so they would follow Jesus
wherever He would go. Sometimes, Jesus would look back and see hundreds, even
thousands of people following right behind. “When Jesus landed and saw a large
crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a
shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. By this time it was
late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they
said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can
go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to
eat.” But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”They said to
him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages are we to go and spend that
much on bread and give it to them to eat?” “How many loaves do you
have?” he asked. “Go and see.”When they found out, they said,
“Five—and two fish.” “Bring them here to me,” he said. Jesus gave
thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to
distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them
all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked
up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number
of the men who had eaten was five thousand. Jesus' disciples focused on the problem rather than on God.
When we are confronted with an unsolvable situation, we need to remember
"For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37) This miraculous
feeding of the multitude was another sign that Jesus was the Messiah. The 12 baskets of leftovers may
symbolize that God is not only a generous provider, but that he has unlimited
resources.
Bring me a denarius- Mk 12:13-17
Jesus’ response to the question put to him about paying
the imperial tax to Caesar.( Mk 12:13-17) The Pharisees and Herodians two
antagonistic rivals came together in a common purpose to “trap” Jesus Christ
asked . “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or
shouldn't we?" If Jesus can be shown to incite disobedience to Caesar
then a political charge of sedition could be manufactured. If he can be shown
to side with Rome, he could be discredited religiously before the people as be
a compromised quisling of the Empire. Jesus recognized the Pharisees
hypocrisy; "Why are you trying to trap me?" The trap that
the Pharisees and Herodians had planned backfired on them; the Pharisees and
Herodians got caught in their own trap! "Bring me a denarius and A denarius
is brought – it was the small silver coin used for paying tax to Rome on one
side of which would have been inscribed “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son the
divine Augustus”, and on the other “Pontifex Maximus”. The coin propagated the
Imperial Cult and proclaimed the divine identity of the Emperor. Jesus’ reply
not only sidesteps the designed pitfall but implicitly makes a startling claim
of his own authority. On the one hand Jesus accepts the legitimate authority of
the pagan state to exact tax from it provinces, such as Palestine. In doing
this he seems to undermine nationalistic Jewish claims to political and ethnic
purity for Israel. His kingdom is not a purely political one. On the other hand
he sharply limits the power and legitimate authority of the state and seems to
resist and reject the idolatrous claims to divinity of the Roman Emperor. Only
God is due complete allegiance and unreserved worship, not a man. His kingdom
is not of this world.
Greatest in the kingdom of heaven -Matthew
18:1-9
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among
them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this
child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child
in my name welcomes me.
There are many incidents in the gospels where Jesus has
pointed out to his apostles just what constitutes greatness in the kingdom. He
has taught repeatedly that to truly be considered great, one must be servant of
all. This teaches us the value of humility. As a Christian virtue,
humility has been considered the most highly regarded traditionally, because
without it, cultivation of other Christian virtues might be impossible. My
study bible notes that humility "is the acknowledgment of divine grace and
mercy, and the constant denial of man's achievement." Worldly power, then,
and our notions of power that stem from a materialistic standpoint, are at odds
with what defines "greatness" in this kingdom
Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and
become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Children are
sincere, pure, loving, simple and trusting. When we believe in Jesus Christ as
our savior with simple, childlike faith, we receive eternal life. When we
continue believing God by walking in fellowship with him, we receive blessings
now and store up treasures in heaven for later. For those tempted toward false
humility, God's blessing and treasures glorify him. God wants to bless his
people. Think about this: The greatest in God's kingdom are those who serve God
with a humble heart. God created us to glorify him, not ourselves. In
other words, the way up in the kingdom looks like the way down in this world.
Jesus illustrated this at his last meal before his crucifixion when he washed
the feet of his disciples. Peter was so shocked at the notion of Jesus washing
his feet that he refused to allow it initially.
To become a child in relation to God is the condition for
entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become
little. Even more: to become "children of God" we mu–t be "born
from above" or "born of God". Only when Christ is formed in
us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the
mystery of this "marvelous exchange":
O marvelous exchange! Man's Creator has become man, born
of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who humbled
himself to share our humanity
The Basin & the Towel- Jesus Washes His
Disciples’ Feet-
John 13:14
In a famous passage in
John 13, Jesus took a towel and a basin and washed the feet of His disciples.
He told them “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
After Jesus washed the
disciples’ feet, He put His garment back on, sat down and asked them, “Do you
know what I have just done to you?” In other words, “Do you understand the
spiritual significance of foot washing?”
The background to thus passage is Jesus’ consistent
lifestyle of love expressed in three years with the disciples. Having loved
them, He now shows them the full extent of His love. This becomes even more
remarkable when we consider what Jesus knew, and John spells out three vital
facts of which He is aware but the disciples are blissfully unaware: 1. His
“hour” had come (v1) The word “hour” (unfortunately translated by the NIV as
“time” in this verse) appears 10 times in John in relation to the ministry of
Jesus. It adds momentum to the book as Jesus moves relentlessly forward to the
“hour”. Of course the “hour” refers to His death, and it is an hour of humiliation
but also an hour of glory. The fact that Jesus knew His hour had come adds
urgency to what He does. This will be the last parable of Jesus, and it is a
parable in action! 2. Satan had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus (v2)
Judas is mentioned eight times in John’s gospel more than any of the other
gospels. The fact that Jesus knew about the betrayal by Judas adds poignancy to
the scene as Jesus demonstrates love even to the disciple who will betray Him.
He will stoop and wash the traitor’s feet. It is important to note that we are
told that Satan had prompted Judas – Judas was still responsible for his own
action in betraying the Lord as Satan prompted him but didn’t possess him. 3.
The Father had put all things under His power and that He had come from the
Father and was returning to Him (v3)From Luke we learn another significant fact
about the context of this scene – the disciples were arguing about who was
greatest (Luke 22:24). As they bicker, Jesus, fully aware of the glory and
majesty that was His by right, and would be His eternally after His return to
the Father. This fact adds contrast to the scene as we consider Jesus’ rightful
position and authority. Given this knowledge, we know that Jesus was not
posturing. This act is not a futile gesture or a false attempt to appear humble
but an intentional, calculated action that grew out of a real situation and
need. Christ’s timing, as always, was impeccable.
Jesus was not
instituting an ordinance to be carried on throughout the church ages, such as
communion or water baptism. If so, He would have instituted it at the beginning
of the disciples’ training. He would have submitted to a foot washing Himself,
as He had done with water baptism. I believe Jesus was giving us an example of
the kind of physical manifestation He desires most, that of “taking up the
towel.”
I believe that if
we understand what Jesus did in washing His disciples’ feet, we will understand
the concepts of service and submission. You see, serving one another in love
and submitting to one another in godly fear mean much more than taking orders
or being accountable to a higher authority. Rather, these glorious truths are
unlocked only in the context of “taking up the towel.”
Although Jesus had always refused popular attempts to
make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details for his messianic
entry into the city of Jerusalem "his father David". Acclaimed
as son of David, as the one who brings salvation the "King of glory"
enters his City "riding on a donkey ". Jesus conquers the
Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but
by the humility that bears witness to the truth. And so the subjects of
his kingdom on that day are children and God's poor, who acclaim him as had the
angels when they announced him to the shepherds. Their acclamation,
"Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord", Jesus’ entry
into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom that the King-Messiah
was going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and Resurrection.
The
purpose behind the Palm Sunday
The purpose behind the
triumphal entry was to communicate that Christ was indeed the promised Messiah,
the King of the Jews and by extension, the King of the Universe. The
purpose of the message is to spread the truth that God’s soverign kingdom had
indeed come and that every person must be challenged to renounce their
allegiance to the kingdom of self-rule, which is ultimately the dominion of
Satan reigns over. When a person rules their life independent from
God, they are behaving just like Satan who also rebelled against God’s
rule. We can renounce that self rule through repentance and when a
person does that the words of Colossians 1:13 are true of them. “For Christ has
rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the
Son he loves.” In
Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9, prophet says “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter
of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king
comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on
a colt, the foal of a donkey.” That’s what Jesus wanted to
communicate—that the peace-loving, gentle King had now come. He
comes to Jerusalem as a pilgrim and because he is well known to many who have
witnessed his ministry-especially the raising of Lazarus, which has just
occurred, he is greeted with words from a traditional pilgrim’s Psalm---Psalm
118:25-26. Mark 11:9-10 renders it, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who
comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the
Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David” Hosanna
in the highest heaven!”
There are over one thousand prophecies of Christ in the
Old Testament and five hundred of them have already been fulfilled in relation
to His first coming. Listen to the prophetic words of Zechariah regarding what
was to happen on that first Palm Sunday: “Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you, He
is righteous and victorious, yet He is humble, riding on a donkey - even on a
donkey's colt" (Zechariah 9:9, NLT). First of all, this is the fulfillment
of the prophecies of His first advent. Those people welcome Jesus in a manner consistent
with the Messiah. But there is little evidence that they understood
the true importance of what they were saying and less still that they
understood that this was the actual fulfillment of Zechariah’s
prophecy that the Messiah would indeed enter the city of Jerusalem on the back
of a donkey. In their traditional pilgrims welcome they
were speaking much more than they knew! It’s fascinating to note in
the bible that when prophecy is being fulfilled, especially in the earthly
ministry of Christ it is fulfilled by people who have no idea of the
significance of what they are doing. We know this event was cloaked in secrecy
because in John’s account of this in chapter 12:16 he writes, “At first his
disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was
glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and
that they had done these things to him.”
In this event of Palm Sunday, the veil that lay
over Jesus’ royal status, though not totally removed, was partially pulled back
and for those with eyes to see, this was a glorious and historic
event. The shroud over his kingship and of his deity wouldn’t be
totally pulled back until a week later when the stone was rolled away from his
tomb and he rose from the grave in royal majesty having defeated the power of
sin and death. But for now, his royalty was only partially
accessible. The main message of the events of Palm Sunday, which we
can much more fully appreciate than did those pilgrims lining the road into
Jerusalem, is, “Jesus is King—Hosanna!”
We must see just how supremely important this event and
even more the resurrection is in the flow of salvation history so let’s put
this in its larger biblical context. The events played out on Palm
Sunday reveal, albeit parabolic ally a message the entire bible has been
gradually revealing from the third chapter of Genesis. That is, Jesus
is the King. In the progressive revelation of the bible God has been
putting together pieces of a puzzle—a puzzle that gradually, as each piece is
added shows us various expressions of the kingdom of God, all of which reach
their fulfillment in Christ Jesus.
Death through Adam, Life through Christ
“For if, by the trespass of the one man,
death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive
God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in
life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17)
First Adam fails miserably and forfeits the kingdom
but there is another Adam, a second Adam—“the seed of the woman” who will
fulfill the kingship Adam forfeited. Where the first Adam fell to the serpent,
Christ prevailed over him. After the garden, God expresses his
kingdom among the children of Abraham, the Jews, but they too fail to bring
God’s kingdom reign on the earth. In contrast to the Hebrew nation,
Christ, as a Son of Abraham is the true Israel if you will—God’s chosen Son,
the seed of Abraham through whom the entire world will be
blessed. Just as Christ fulfilled the purpose of Adam so too does he
fulfills the purpose of God’s chosen people. Finally, Jesus
is the Son of David. David was Israel’s model king and God
promised Him in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “When your days are over and you rest with
your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from
your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who
will build a house for my Name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever.” Solomon built the temple but David’s kingly line was
crushed in 586 BC at the Fall of Jerusalem. How is one of David’s
offspring going to rule forever? Christ, who is born in the family
line of David fulfills the prophecy by establishing a kingdom that will never
fail and by building a house for the Name of God called the church, the temple
of God.
In Daniel chapter 7:13-14, the prophet reveals the
character of the Kingdom of this Son of David who is to come. He writes, “In my
vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming
with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into
his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all
peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
never be destroyed.” Notice three truths about this kingdom of
Christ. The nature of this kingdom will
be universal. “He was given authority, glory and sovereign
power; all peoples, nations and men of every language”. This kingdom
will be eternal “His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will
not pass away.” And this kingdom will be invincible. “…his
kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Whereas the first kingdom under Adam was anything
but invincible—the serpent quickly dispensed with him, the Second Adam
crushed the serpent’s head. Whereas the kingdom of the Jews was anything
but universal, seldom stretching beyond their geographic borders, the
Kingdom of Christ will be made up of every tribe tongue, nation and
language. And whereas the kingdom of David was anything
but eternal—dismally evaporating in 586 BC, Christ’s Kingdom will know no
end. All these other previous expressions of the kingdom of God are
simply echoes of Christ’s resounding universal, eternal and invincible
kingdom. These other kingdoms are just small plumes of smoke that
anticipate the nuclear explosion of this glorious kingdom of King
Jesus. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the
government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of
his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and
righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the
LORD Almighty will accomplish this. [Isaiah 9:6-7]
The biblical revelation reaches its grand and
glorious climax in the person of King Jesus and his kingdom will be fully
consummated when he returns to earth. In Revelation 19:11 the
apostle John describes our King this way, “I saw heaven standing open and
there before me was a white horse (no donkey this time, this is a
stallion-- the mount of a victorious warrior King)...verse 15, “Out of his
mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule
them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of
the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this
name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” On Palm Sunday,
the image of the King is veiled in parable, but there is nothing veiled about
this conquering King in Revelation 19! Palm Sunday pictures the
peace-loving King who is going into Jerusalem to die to restore relationships
torn by sin by establishing a new covenant in his blood. Revelation
19 pictures a warrior King who will bring his wrath against all his enemies and
destroy them for all time. In a sense Revelation 19 is the final
biblical portrait of the King to which every previous kingdom portrait in
Scripture points.
Now, what does this have to do with the
mission of the church and the Great Commission? …EVERYTHING!! The
fact that Jesus is King and the main message of the Bible is the spreading of
his kingdom through his saving plan ultimately executed on the cross should
have huge implications for how we view Christ, how we view the message of the
gospel and how we view ourselves. The first implication for us as we
spread the Great Commission is Christ the King is our message. One
of the grand ironies of the way the modern church often does evangelism is we
do not present Christ at the center and the Christ we DO present has often been
functionally dethroned. Far too many evangelistic appeals are targeted
at people’s “felt needs” rather than their real need, which is to
have their sins forgiven and undergo a radical change to bring them into
submission to the loving, joy-inducing rule of King Jesus.
In memory of this remarkable event, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday. It is referred to as Palm Sunday because of the palm branches that were laid on the road as Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday was also the fulfillment of the Prophet Daniel's "seventy sevens" prophecy: “According to this prophecy, the Messiah would show up, present Himself as Messiah to the nation and then be “cut off” Jesus Christ presented Himself to the nation of Israel on Palm Sunday, and was crucified four days later on “Preparation Day” (the annual day on which the Passover Lamb was slain), and rose from the dead on Sunday.
Jesus Christ came and lived
a perfect life, died a sin-atoning death and rose from the grave, displaying
his defeat of sin and death and manifesting his royal, reigning power. That’s
the gospel and the reason the gospel of Christ’s kingdom is absolutely
necessary is because humanity is in mass rebellion against God—living lives of
emptiness and futility because sin rules their hearts instead of the God. .
The heart of the gospel is
that God has a plan to save lost sinners and that plan is absolutely centered on
King Jesus who is the savor and Lord. Jesus
said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest” we can receive God’s mercy and forgiveness by
turning to repentance from our self-rule. Jesus the incarnate Son of God
prepared to offer himself as the Prince of Peace to set up his kingdom of
righteousness in our hearts. He came to offer the gift of salvation. His coming
to Jerusalem was an act of mercy and grace, not an act of Judgment. But His
Next appearance He will ride in great power and Glory as a Judge (Rev.19) The
Prince of Peace is still inviting us to place our trust in him and be
reconciled to God in order to enjoy the everlasting life and the peace of God! Christ is the only true answer to happiness
and meaning in our lives. And if we do proclaim Christ as our king, let us try
and make time for Him in our daily life, let us be reminded that He is the one
with whom we will be spending eternity. Let us be reminded that our careers,
our education, our finances, our homes, all of the basic material needs in our
lives are only temporary. Let us priorities and place Christ the king as the
primary concern in our lives. It is only when we have done this that we will
find true peace and happiness in such a confused and complex world. God Bless
you.