Jesus Revealed: Our King

Jesus Revealed: Our King

This morning, we’re going to continue our message series ‘Jesus: Revealed’ on this Palm Sunday.  Last week we found how God desires to be our refuge and this morning, we’ll be taking a look at how Jesus is our King.
As a precursor to the message, we should know that God always has been, now is, and always will be the King of Kings.  As we’ll find today, however, we can choose to accept Him as our king or reject Him as our king.  Unfortunately for many, and even God’s own chosen people, we frequently reject Him as king…
Going back to the beginning of Israel’s history where God made a covenant to Abraham where He said that He would be the father of many nations, it was always the intent that God would be the leader and king of His people.  They were to be a theocracy where God Himself was their God and leader.  Those who followed God’s leadership over these people were:
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob (then brought into Egypt from the drought by Joseph)
Moses (lead them out of Egyptian bondage)
Joshua (succeeded Moses and took Israel into the promised land)
Judges (the generation after Joshua’s did not obey the Lord, He gave them over to their enemies, they all did what was right in their own eyes)
Eli
Samuel
We’re going to stop here this morning to see where Israel rejected God as their king.
1 Samuel 8
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
(Same as Eli’s sons had not followed his ways)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
(Right?  Because it’s always a better choice to be just like everyone else… 🙂 )6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

God then selects and reveals His selection of Israel’s king to Samuel whom was Saul
1 Samuel 10:17-24
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the LORD said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Ha ha!  How foolish it seems to us reading back on this!  Israel rejects God as their king because of their desire to be just like the other nations.  We have to honestly ask ourselves, however, how often do we reject God so that we can be just like others?  He’s called Israel as well as ourselves to be a holy people; set apart for Him – NOT like everyone else!
Then to top it off, the man that is chosen to lead God’s people is found on the day where he is to be presented as king hiding amongst the supplies, then they proclaim ‘Long live the king!’?  I can only imagine how this must have grieved the heart of God – to be rejected by his own people and to be replaced by Saul – a mere man and obviously not even the bravest of the bunch.
Of course, this is not the only time in the history of man in which we have rejected God as our king!
Zechariah prophesied this about the king whose kingdom would have no end whom would come in the lineage of David:
Zechariah 9:9-16
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow
and fill it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,
and make you like a warrior’s sword.
The LORD Will Appear14 Then the LORD will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the LORD Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The LORD their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.

Keep this prophecy in mind as we turn ahead to the gospels in the New Testament where we see this prophecy being fulfilled.
Matthew 21:1-11/Mark 11:1-11/John 12:12-16 (palm branches)
Mark 11:1-10
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
“Hosanna!” (praise of adoration meaning save us!)
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
These crowds of individuals were shouting out praises and declaring Jesus as their king that we find prophesied in the Old Testament in:
Psalm 118:25-26
25 LORD, save us!
LORD, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
Interestingly enough (and not by chance), just a few verses before this we see another familiar prophecy being stated:
Psalm 118:22-23
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
Not long after this kingly procession where the crowds adoringly  declared Jesus as their king, we see something amazing occur.  This same declaration coming from that crowd that Jesus is king quickly shifts from being a shout of praise and adoration to a shout of accusation and an actual death sentence!  It’s the same truth being declared, but with an entirely different motive and intent.  Even the sign declaring Christ’s death sentence on His cross declared: “King of the Jews”.
Mark 15:1-20
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”

5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.

6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.

9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.

12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.

13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.

14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Many from those same crowds whom shouted ‘Hosanna!’ were also part of the crowds shouting ‘Crucify!’.  They rejected Jesus as their king just as Israel had done so long ago…  What occurred that caused such doubt and a drastic change of mind?  They misunderstood the prophetic word given to us by Zachariah!
Prophetic word – telescopic – when viewed (like a mountain range) from a great distance away through a telescopic lens, it all looks as a single occurrence or event, however, in reality, they are far apart.  Like a mountain range, once you get to one of the mountain peaks, the other that seemed right next to it is actually several miles away.
Was Zechariah wrong in his prophetic word?  No!  Will the same Jesus fulfill the entire word?  Yes!
Rejoice greatly,
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners
The LORD their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock
Jesus will soon ride again!  The first time, Jesus rode in lowly on a colt.  This time, He’ll ride in on a white horse full of glory and power.  The first time to humbly save His people, the next time, to righteously judge all people!
Revelation 19:11-16
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is 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. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Is Jesus our King?  For those who accept Jesus as their king now, Christ’s return will be one of glory, joy, and wonder.  For those who reject Jesus as their king, it will be one filled with distress, agony, and horror.  Ready or not, here He comes!
* Video – That’s my king! *
If you’re uncertain of what the day will bring when you meet Jesus face to face and know that you have not made Jesus king of your life, I would like to invite you to do so today.  Don’t let another day go by rejecting Him as king, but rather allow the King of Kings to become the King of Peace in your life.