WEBVTT 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:09.279 As we continue our time in worship, I encourage you to turn to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:19.440 We will be looking this week and next at the triumphal entry found in Luke 19, beginning in verse 28. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:22.879 Encourage you to turn there. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:28.879 If you don't have a Bible, there should be one located there right in front of you, and you can find it on page 878. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.159 Page 878 to Luke 19, 28 through 40. 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:42.079 And I want to encourage you, if you don't own a Bible, please take that Bible home that's in the pew as our gift to you. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:52.640 We feel it's so important for everyone to have a copy of God's word for himself or herself, and so please take that with you at the close of this service as our gift to you. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.840 Luke chapter 19, beginning in verse 28. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:01.759 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:17.359 When he drew near to Beth Page and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:19.760 Untie it and bring it here. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:22.879 If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:26.400 you shall say this, The Lord has need of it. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:30.719 So those who were sent away and found it just as he had told them. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:36.000 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:39.040 And they said, The Lord has need of it. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:45.040 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they sat set Jesus on it. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:48.959 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 00:01:49.200 --> 00:02:09.199 As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace on in heaven and glory in the highest. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:15.199 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:21.680 He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.000 This is God's word. 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:28.639 What did you expect? 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:38.879 It's actually a really important question to ask yourself often when you're struggling with disappointment, disillusionment. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:41.120 What did you expect? 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:47.120 So much of our happiness or frustration is really tied to a matter of our expectations. 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:55.199 I'll give you a very simple, silly example and some more serious ones. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:58.479 When I was a little kid, I loved Godzilla. 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:08.000 The movie, the all of the Japanese 50s, 60s, 70s Godzilla movies, I just love those movies. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.400 Every Friday on the local UHF station, you remember UHF? 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.159 How many remember UHF? 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:15.360 Yeah. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:17.759 It's too long to explain. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:24.080 Local UHF station, uh, they would have a Japanese monster movie every Friday night. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:37.680 And so uh every Friday we would go out to McDonald's, grab hamburgers and French fries, come back home, and sit in front of the TV and watch one of these Japanese monster movies badly dubbed into English. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:39.919 And I just love these movies. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:52.560 And so when I was in seminary, I was out with some friends, and uh we were we were at the movies and they had the previews for a Godzilla movie coming out a year later. 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:58.319 For an entire year, I waited for this movie to come out. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.879 I mean, I was like I was like a little kid in a candy shop. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:13.680 I just could not I was in seminary at the time and I was taking Suicide Hebrew, which is like six hours straight of Hebrew a day, and then the rest of your day you're supposed to spend studying what they tried to cram in in six hours. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:19.279 And the day the movie came out, I was so excited, I couldn't even wait to call my friends. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.000 I left seminary and drove straight to the movie theater and waited for the next showing. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:26.959 And the movie was horrible. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:31.759 I was just, I was, I left there feeling sad. 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:35.199 I left there feeling disillusioned. 00:04:35.680 --> 00:04:40.079 I mean, I just I couldn't believe how much I had built up my expectations. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:44.319 And then when reality hit, how much they were dashed. 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:53.600 Now, of course, this is a really insignificant, inconsequential thing, although I am looking forward to the Godzilla movie coming out May 16th. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:05:00.560 Um but I have a book on my shelf in marriage, and the title of it's great. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:03.360 It's like the title of the book is What Did You Expect? 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:05.600 It's a book for married couples. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:11.600 Did you expect breakfast in bed every morning and flowers every evening? 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:12.800 That's how our house is. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.560 But is that what you expected? 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:15.519 What did you expect? 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:26.800 And so uh one of the reasons why we have engaged couples go through premarital counseling is because we realize uh people need to be prepared for the realities of the ups and downs of marriage. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:43.839 It's not like uh the idealized uh view that so often people have going in that they'll never fight, there'll never be disagreements, there'll never be problems, uh everything will just uh go along better and better every day, and it becomes easier when you have children. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:50.879 And so one of the reasons why we do premarital counseling is to help people to have a realistic view. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:06:07.680 Because our expectations uh will govern often uh our view of reality, whether we are disappointed, disillusioned, discouraged, depressed, or rejecting uh something or someone. 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:13.920 Or if we have realistic expectations, then we we accept and understand what is. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:21.279 And so our expectations often govern and guide how we view and interpret things. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:33.360 And I say all that because this is what we find here in the last part of Luke's gospel in the interaction between Jesus and the multitudes. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.680 They had expectations of the Messiah. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:42.160 They had ideas of who the Messiah would be. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:49.120 And those expectations weren't met by Jesus. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:56.720 They had wrong ideas of the Messiah, and they filtered their view of Jesus through these expectations. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:03.680 Uh right now, in this week and next, we're talking about as we enter into Holy Week, we're looking at the triumphal entry. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:11.040 This is the beginning of the final week of the life of Jesus, often called the Passion Week. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.000 Everything is coming to a head. 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:18.000 In Luke's gospel, everything has been building up to this point. 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:26.240 And for the remainder of Luke's gospel, we will be dealing with the events of the Passion Week and the crucifixion and the resurrection. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:34.800 For three years, Jesus had been healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, forgiving sins. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.079 Word had spread of his wisdom that confounded the wise, that closed the mouths of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.959 No one had ever spoken like Jesus. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:48.079 Well, what did they expect? 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:53.040 The coming Messiah would have authority and power. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.040 This was one of their expectations. 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:58.160 The Messiah would have authority and power. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:04.319 There's a difference between authority and power, but they often go hand in hand in our thinking. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.079 Authority refers to the right to do something. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:16.240 For instance, if I were a police officer and I saw someone robbing a bank, I would have the authority to arrest him. 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:23.839 But having the authority to do something doesn't always mean having the power to do something. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:38.639 For instance, let's say I was a police officer and I walked into the bank and there was a man robbing the bank, and uh I didn't have a weapon on me, and it happened to be a 300-plus pound professional wrestler. 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:44.559 Now, I may have the authority to arrest him, but I don't have the power to. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:56.960 And when the Messiah came, the Messiah was going to come with both the authority from God and the power to defeat the enemies. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:01.519 The coming Messiah would have both authority and power. 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:04.080 The coming Messiah would have majesty. 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.679 He would be the king sitting on the throne of David. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.399 He would usher in a kingdom that would have no end. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:23.519 The Messiah was to be a regal, royal, majestic figure that everyone would look to and look up to and rally around, and he would be victorious. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:36.559 And it isn't difficult to understand the expectation of the first century Jews for over 700 years they'd been under foreign oppression and outright control. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:49.360 First they were under the thumb of the Assyrians, and then after the Assyrians came the Babylonians, and after the Babylonians came the Medo-Persian Empire, and after that the Greeks and the Romans. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:10:01.759 And they had for the better part of over 700 years been under the oppression or outright control of foreign entities. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:06.879 And there was an excitement that was building around Jesus. 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:13.600 Multitudes of the Jews now were pilgrimaging towards Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.679 And Jesus is moving towards Jerusalem. 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:20.960 He had resolutely set his face to Jerusalem. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:22.240 Jesus is moving. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:29.039 And there began to be a buzz around the entrance of Jesus. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:30.399 Is this the time? 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:31.840 Is now the time? 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:34.000 Is now when he will claim the throne? 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:36.720 Is now when he will rally the masses? 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.240 Is now when he will overthrow the shackles of the enemy? 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:47.360 Is now when he will set up his kingdom and rule and reign on the throne of David. 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:55.679 Either Jesus would meet their expectations or else he was not the Messiah and should be rejected. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.000 That was their thoughts. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.360 But Jesus wasn't that kind of king. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.759 In his first coming, he wasn't coming to be that kind of king. 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:08.799 In fact, even the apostles didn't fully understand it. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.960 They were expecting the establishment of the kingdom immediately. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:29.440 And we saw a few weeks ago when Jesus gave the parables, he was setting the stage to let them know that there was going to be a delay in the full and final establishment of the kingdom. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.000 They were expecting a military leader. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:43.039 In fact, if we were to look at some of the statements of the apostles before the crucifixion and even after the resurrection, they're saying, Lord, is it now that you're going to establish your kingdom? 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:46.960 But that wasn't the way of the gospel. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:49.519 That wasn't the way of the cross. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.799 Jesus came as the suffering servant. 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:55.440 The way of the cross is strength through weakness. 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:57.519 It's victory through seeming defeat. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:11:59.519 It's glory through humility. 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.440 And we see that Jesus is not that kind of king, and we see that in two ways in this passage. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.039 First, we see it in Jesus' humble preparation. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.840 The king in humble preparation. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.879 We see this in verses 28 through 34. 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:18.320 The king in humble preparation. 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:22.000 Jesus is at the end of a nine-month journey. 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:34.960 He had traveled through Galilee and Samaria and Perea and now Judea and this circuitous route that he had gone ministering to over 35 different locations. 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:42.960 Just prior to this, he had raised Lazarus from the dead that's recorded in John chapter 11. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:52.000 Shortly before this, Jesus was in the house of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and Mary had anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:58.480 This was an extravagant act, but Jesus defended her, saying that it was for his burial. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:02.080 People had begun to hear about these. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:06.799 They were coming out of Jerusalem, two miles away, to see Jesus and Lazarus. 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:11.120 Now Jesus was going on ahead to Jerusalem, it says in verse 28. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:24.000 As they're drawing near to Bethpage, a little hamlet between Jerusalem and Bethany, he sends two of his disciples to get a foal of a donkey. 00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:30.320 Jesus tells them to go into the village in front of them and untie the colt, and then they would find and bring it to him. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.399 Matthew tells us that the colt was tied to its mother. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:39.679 Jesus anticipates the owners of the colt will ask, Why are you untying this? 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:45.200 And then they should say, The Lord has need of it. 00:13:46.159 --> 00:14:14.720 Now, people wonder, and we don't know, the text doesn't tell us exactly what the settings behind this, and some people speculate that perhaps Jesus set this up in advance, that there was this was pre-planned and this was set up by Jesus or his disciples, and that these were a code that was going to be given so that this uh that this foal would be released uh to uh to Jesus. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:21.919 Um perhaps these people had heard about Jesus' ministry and the events of the last few days. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:27.759 Now, I believe that Jesus in his perfect foreknowledge knew that these men would let him have the animals. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:41.759 And so uh there I don't believe that this was anything necessarily planned in advance, but it was just a demonstration of the foreknowledge of God, of the omniscience of Christ through the Holy Spirit at this moment in his ministry. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:48.799 But what's really shocking here is that Jesus had to ask for the animals in the first place. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.600 Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:58.240 As such, everything in the created order is his. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:09.840 In Psalm chapter 50 it says, For every beast of the forest is mine, the kettle on a thousand hills, I know all the birds in the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:18.720 The Bible teaches in Colossians chapter 1, verse 16, that all things were created through him and for him. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:24.799 That everything in the created order Jesus owns. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:28.720 This was his property in one sense. 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:37.360 And yet, Jesus in his earthly ministry hardly owned anything at all. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:40.879 Jesus was homeless. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:49.840 He says to one man who wants to follow him foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:53.919 Jesus didn't own a home. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.679 He didn't have a place that he would go to that was his. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:01.279 He had very little property of his own in his earthly ministry. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:06.320 In fact, he barely owned anything but the sandals and the clothes on his back. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:16.399 In fact, we'll see in Luke chapter 20 when he was giving an illustration about paying taxes to Caesar, he had to borrow a coin from someone else. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:24.559 He didn't even have a coin with him to pull out in order to make this point about paying taxes to Caesar. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:30.240 And so in humility, Jesus borrows these animals. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.279 Why a young donkey? 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:43.600 This was an intentional fulfillment of a prophecy given over 500 years prior. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:48.639 In Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9, it says, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.120 Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:57.200 Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous, and having salvation, is he humble? 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:02.240 And mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.279 Jesus was making an emphatic statement about who he was here. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:17.920 This was an intentional fulfillment of a messianic royal prophecy in the Old Testament. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:27.200 Jesus here now, through this living illustration, is declaring who he is, that he is the Messiah. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:42.240 One commentator notes it's it identified him with the kings in the royal line of David, and especially with David himself, because the donkey was regarded as a royal animal before and during David's reign. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:54.720 This fell out of favor following David, and war horses were preferred, but during this time in King David that this would have been regarded as a royal animal. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.000 Further, Jesus chose this in fulfillment of this prophecy. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:05.839 And notice what it says in Zechariah about this, that this displays the heart of the Messiah. 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:12.319 In that passage in Zechariah 9:9, it says he's humble and mounted on a donkey. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:17.839 It tells us the heart of Jesus as he comes. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:21.839 Jesus wasn't that kind of king in his first coming. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:27.200 He was coming humble, mounted on this beast of burden. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:59.759 Paul writes later in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 7: Have this mind in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, and by being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:07.920 Jesus was and is the king, but when he came in his first coming, he wasn't that kind of king. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:16.960 He wasn't the king that they were expecting to come in in power and authority and glory and majesty and victory. 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:18.880 He took the form of a servant. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:23.200 He laid aside the glory that was due to him. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:29.359 His glory, as it was, was veiled while he was in his earthly ministry. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.640 He humbled himself by being obedient. 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:39.279 Jesus was making a statement, but it wasn't only a political statement. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:40.720 It was much more than that. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:45.200 It was a spiritual statement in the heart of the Savior. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:49.920 So we see Jesus' humility as the Messiah. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.359 He is the king, but he's not that kind of king. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:20:00.960 He wasn't the king that the people were expecting, but he was the king that the people needed. 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:03.359 And he's the king that we need. 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:08.480 We see that Jesus is not that kind of king in a second way. 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:16.240 We see the king now in verses 35 through 40, the king in subdued majesty. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.839 Jesus sends his disciples, they bring this cold back to him. 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:30.400 He is mounted on it, and he begins to travel towards Jerusalem. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:34.799 And as Jesus moves towards Jerusalem, he's the center of attention. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.799 All eyes were fixed on him. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:41.359 People had heard about him. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.519 There was a gathering multitude that was that was crowding around him. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.720 His disciples were laying their cloaks before him. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:21:00.319 Matthew tells us that others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road to make a royal procession for him. 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:06.480 And in all of these subtle ways, there were indicators that here comes the king. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:09.039 They threw their cloaks on the back of the colt. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.519 The king doesn't ride bareback on an animal. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:15.680 They lifted Jesus up and placed him on the colt. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:19.200 They set him upon it like a king. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:30.079 And now as he moved forward in this procession, they began to gather around and over and over again rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:47.279 In verse 37, it says, As he was drawing near, already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. 00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:55.359 They had gone down and they're coming over a ridge now, Luke tells us. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.759 And as they begin their descent, they catch a glimpse we know from the terrain. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.920 They catch a glimpse of the southeastern corner of the city. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:06.880 Jerusalem begins to be in view. 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:17.759 And they were repeating over and over again: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:31.839 There's an interesting backdrop to these verses, these statements that the multitude is making to Jesus. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:38.880 The first half of that, if you look in verse 38, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:47.519 That's taken from Psalm 118, verse 26, that said, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:55.920 That psalm is the last in a series of psalms called their praise songs. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.920 The word in Hebrew is halal, which means praise. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:10.240 In fact, we are familiar with that word when we say hallelujah, Yah is short for Yahweh, and Hallelujah is praise the Lord. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.559 And so when we say hallelujah, we are saying praise the Lord. 00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:25.279 And so these halal psalms from Psalm 113 to 118 were called the Halal Psalms. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:32.319 They're also called the Egyptian Halal songs because they actually hearken back to the Exodus. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:40.319 They go back to the time of Moses and the Exodus and their allusions to that. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:47.759 In addition to that, Psalms 113 to 118 were saying during the Passover. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:24:19.039 They were saying during the Passover, and so these pilgrims, as they're on their way to Jerusalem, would have been rehearsing these songs, thinking about these songs, remembering the Exodus, remembering the deliverance of God's people from oppression and slavery, remembering the Passover, that they were passed over in judgment because the blood of the lamb had been covering the doorpost. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:28.720 And it was the blood of that lamb that had saved them and rescued them from judgment that had fallen on the rest of the people. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:44.720 The Passover that they were about to celebrate, they would have been thinking about the lambs that they were to purchase or the lambs that they brought with them that were going to be sacrificed, that would remind them of their sin and their need of forgiveness. 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:56.400 And this particular Psalm 118 would have been one of the psalms that would have been sung after the Passover meal. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:25:13.599 In fact, this was most likely, most commentators would say that these would have been the psalms that Jesus sang following the celebration of the Passover meal as they were on their way to the garden and they sang. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:19.119 In Psalm 118, it says, Blessed is he who comes with the name of the Lord. 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:22.400 But when the people sing it, they personalize it. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:25.440 They say, Blessed is the King. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:36.640 And they attribute to Jesus as they personalize this psalm that Jesus is the king. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:48.720 And they sing, not realizing, there was so much more to the reality than what they understood. 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:50.799 Jesus is the king. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.640 He was the king that was coming. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:56.559 He was the king that was coming to die on the cross. 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:58.480 He was the Lamb of God. 00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:06.319 John himself, John the Baptizer, said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:13.359 Truly Jesus was the king, but he was coming to give his life as a sacrifice for many. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:21.440 And so they sang this psalm of praise to Jesus. 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:29.200 Blessing, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, but there was so much more than what they understood. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:36.160 This psalm was implicit about the king going into the temple. 00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:40.160 It was a reference to the Messiah, and the Messiah was royalty. 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:41.759 Here comes the king. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:45.200 But he wasn't the kind of king that they were expecting. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:51.839 They didn't realize Jesus was the king who was the Lamb of God, who would take away their sins. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:27:00.079 He was the deliverer who, like Moses, would bring his people out of slavery and into freedom of new life. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.960 Notice what else they sing here. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:06.160 It says, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:11.519 This is reminiscent in some ways of what we find in the beginning of Luke's gospel. 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:24.160 If we remember the angels when they declared in Luke chapter 2, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.880 And notice what they say here. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:31.759 They say, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:40.000 One author notes this: the heavenly chorus sang of peace on earth, while the earthly throng now sang of peace in heaven. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.839 Jesus is the Prince of Peace. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:45.920 He came to bring peace. 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:52.160 He came to bring peace with God through the death on the cross. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:28:04.960 That his sacrificial death and his victorious resurrection would bring perfect peace to those who come to know him, that there would no longer be hostility between us and God. 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:10.480 He secures ultimate peace on earth and heaven. 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:23.839 As we were talking about this among the staff this week and among the pastoral staff, that the reality in this passage is something that we miss, that they're singing about peace in heaven. 00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:29.359 And in one sense, there is peace in heaven, and yet there is not yet perfect peace. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:33.680 After the fall, there was war in heaven, the Bible tells us. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:49.200 And even now, here there is spiritual warfare, and it's not until after the millennium when Satan and his angels are thrown into the lake of fire, and there is a new heaven and a new earth, that there will be perfect peace. 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:55.200 And so they sing, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.279 Jesus is the king worthy of all praise. 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:02.480 The Pharisees, when they hear this, are incensed. 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:08.079 They're offended at what these people are saying, and they tell Jesus, Rebuke your disciples. 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:13.920 They said that because only God deserves praise. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:22.720 Jesus here in his response reveals to us his deity. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:30.640 Because he doesn't agree with the Pharisees and says, You're right, what they're saying is out of line, what they're saying is incorrect. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:36.799 He says to them, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:43.200 That Jesus is King, He is worthy of all praise, and He will be praised. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:49.839 And that He is God in human flesh, that He must receive praise. 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:56.319 Clarence McCartney beautifully observes this. 00:29:56.799 --> 00:30:05.279 He says, How strange a contrast to the triumphal entry of ancient warriors and conquerors into the cities which they had taken. 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:09.119 This time no wall was broke down for entry. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:21.200 This time no garlanded hero standing in his war chariot, driving down the lane of cheering subjects past smoking altars and followed by captive kings and princes in chains. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:29.039 Instead of that, just a meek and lowly man riding upon the foal of a donkey. 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:32.160 He is the king. 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:34.240 Is he your king? 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:40.079 Have you bowed your knee before the throne and recognized his kingship in your life? 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:43.119 Would you join me as I lead us in prayer? 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:58.079 Father, I pray this morning that we will have a clearer view of Jesus and his humility in the incarnation. 00:30:58.880 --> 00:31:23.039 That the King of kings and Lord of Lords left the glories of heaven to come to this earth, to be born in humility, to be born in poverty, to live in seeming obscurity, not in the halls of a palace, but in the dusty roads of Palestine. 00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:33.519 That he was not what they expected riding on a royal war horse, but coming meek and gentle. 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:37.759 But he was and is the king. 00:31:38.079 --> 00:31:42.480 He was the king who came, he is the king who is coming again. 00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:57.599 And I pray that we will have eyes to see that Jesus is the King who came to provide victory and deliverance, that he is the Passover Lamb. 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:07.039 He is the one who was slain so that we might be forgiven for our sins and have a relationship with you that we might have peace. 00:32:10.559 --> 00:32:13.920 May we see Jesus the true King. 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:15.359 We pray in His name. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:16.240 Amen.