The Peace of God | The Ministry of Jesus II | Week 79 | Tony Fernandez

Let’s dive into the message today. Luke 19:29 is where we’re going to be in our walkthrough of the ministry of Jesus. This morning, we’re going to look at what some call the triumphal entry. It’s the moment when Jesus comes into Jerusalem and is coronated as King, which happens just about a week before his death. Now, I know what some of you might be thinking, it’s Christmas season. Why are we talking about the week before Jesus’s death? Traditionally, this season we celebrate what we call the advent of Jesus. The advent is the word that means to arrive or to appear. What we celebrate during this season is the arrival of Jesus coming into the world. But as you know, the baby born in Bethlehem was not born to be a baby, but was born to be a king. This is why in the account of his birth, he is visited by the Magi who spread gifts at his feet, and it’s why he is greeted by an angelic announcement. It says, I bring you good news that will cause you great joy for all the people. This is what the angel says. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born.

He is the Messiah, the Lord. As the song says, the first Noel, born is the King of Israel. Christmas is a celebration of a king being born, being born in a feeding trough in a small town in Bethlehem. It’s about a child who would become King of the Jews, Lord of all. It’s fitting that today, as we begin our Christmas season, we’re going to begin by going 30 years down the road in Luke 19, where we finally see the baby become king over all. As we study the coming of Jesus as king in Jerusalem, we’re also going to talk about what it means to welcome Jesus as king in your own life. We’re going to talk about what it means not only for him to be king of the world, but king over your life and king over my life and king over our hearts and king over our passions and our desires and king over our money and king over our spouses and our relationships and all of those sorts of things. As we look at it, we’re not just going to look at, man, Jesus is King, but really, Jesus is my King.

Let’s jump right into the passage. We’re going to look at Luke 19:29. Today is one of those days where I am over prepared, so I apologize. I apologize because I’m probably going to take tangents I’m not even expecting to take. Just bear with me as I approach this text. I hope hopefully you’ll learn something and then we’ll pull it back and have some relevant application. Luke 19:29, this is what it says. It says, As he approached Beth, Paige and Bethany at a hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying to them, Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a cult that’s a donkey tied there, which no one has ever written. Untie it and bring it to me. If anyone asks you because you are robbing this person of their donkey, why are you untying it? Say, the Lord needs it. Curios, Lord, it means the master, the sovereign one. If someone stops you when you go grab the donkey, tell them the Master needs it. Tell them the sovereign needs it. Tell them the king needs it, and so they’ll relinquish their possessions and give it over to you.

Then he continues, rather than the instructions are over and he sends the disciples. Those who were sent ahead of him went and found it, just as he told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners asked, Why are you untying the colt? They’re replied, I think this is what Jesus told me to say. The Lord needs it. And they relinquished the colt into the possession of the disciples. Okay, quick review. Jesus coming into Jerusalem, he is just east of the city. He has given two of his disciples some curious instruction. Go to a town nearby, either Bethpage or Bethany. He says, you’re going to find a cult tied up there that has never been written. Untie it and bring it to me. What’s interesting about this is that every single line in this instruction is tied to something prophetic from the Old Testament. Now, this is not surprising because throughout Jesus’ ministry, he has been fulfilling prophecies of the Old Testament. Prophecies that have been found littered throughout the Old Text, he has found and he has fulfilled. In fact, some scholars say that over 1,000 prophecies with respect to the coming Messiah were clearly and definitively fulfilled in the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ.

It’s not unique that he would fulfill some prophecies, but what’s unique about this particular situation, and what’s curious about it, is that he’s fulfilling these prophecies. He’s going out of his way to actively fulfill this particular prophecy. And Jesus is doing, he’s saying, Look, this is what I want you to do. I want you to go over there because as you do it, we’re going to fulfill some prophecy. Jesus is going to use this prophecy in particular to tell the crowd the type of king that he’s going to be. He’s going to use this prophecy in particular to speak to the crowd that has gathered at the gates of Jerusalem to tell them what type of Messiah, what type of sovereign, what type of master he is about to become. The prophecy Jesus is fulfilling by getting on the donkey is found in Zachariah 9. This is what it says, see, your King comes to you righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey. Now, you may ask why a donkey? We’re talking about the inauguration of the greatest king in all of history. Literally, the greatest man who has ever lived is about to be called King, and he comes in riding a donkey.

Why a donkey? Especially when you consider that in the ancient world, what did Kings ride? Horses. Horses. Let me show you what a donkey looks like. That’s a donkey. That’s a horse. One of these feels majestic and powerful, and one of those feels like a donkey. You know what I’m saying? Alexander the Great didn’t ride a donkey. He rode a steed. Julius Caesar, Cyrus of Persia, those people did not, or they rode like elephants. They did not ride donkeys. Compare it to a stallion, compare it to a majestic horse, and what you see is that it’s lowly, it’s under, it’s calm, it’s humble. Here’s what the rest of the prophecy says. Remember, Jesus is telling His disciples to go get the donkey. Go get the donkey. What he’s saying, Go get the donkey, and I’m going to tell you the type of king I am. Look at the rest of the passage in Zachariah. It says, I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem. He will proclaim peace to the nations. Ephraim, Jerusalem, those are cities in Israel. He says, I’m going to take away their vehicles of war. Then he goes on to say, I’m going to break their bows, and instead I’m going to come in riding on a donkey and we’ll proclaim peace.

This is the equivalent of our next president of the United States saying, Hey, look, I’m going to break down all the tanks. I’m going to get rid of all of them. I’m going to disarm our nuclear empire. What I’m going to do is I’m going to come in on that inauguration day riding a Prius. I’m going to come in with a sob. You know what I’m saying? I’m sorry if you ride a sob or a Prius. It’s lowly, righteous, and victorious. But I’m going to come in riding something that… I’m not on a tank. I’m not on a drone. I’m not in a bomber. I’m going to come in riding the lowest of lowest vehicles. What I want you to see is that there is something deeply rooted in the Jewish consciousness, and it’s this idea that the future hope of a king to come would come to rule in peace. We get this motive again and again throughout the scriptures. Isaiah 2:3, I’m just going to read it to you. It says many people will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of God, to the God of Jacob, and he will teach us ways and what are his ways.

He will judge between nations and will settle disputes between people. Catch this next line. They will beat their swords into plow shares. Their weapons of war will become a tool to bring about the prosperity of a nation and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up war against another nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Amen. So Jesus’s selection of a donkey is a clear indication that he has come to be what the prophets had said he would be the prince of peace. See, if you’re from Israel and for centuries, I mean, centuries, you have been in a constant state of war and battle and conflict and oppression that required your resistance and terrorism and death and despair. If what has become norm is people over you, the Romans, the Greeks, the Persians, the Babylonians, and on and on and on, at that point, you’re not looking for a king who will keep you in a perpetual state of conflict. What you’re looking for is a prince of peace. You aren’t looking for a king who will send your kids off to war. You don’t want to conquer. What you want is someone that will bring peace to you, to your family, bring peace to your communities.

That’s what you’re after. The people of Israel waited for a king who would enter the city, the holy city, as the Prince of peace. Jesus actively and consciously chooses this symbol, the symbol of the King of peace, to enter Jerusalem. It’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it? Now, if you’re a Bible nerd like me, you might be thinking to yourself, I think Jesus said something that contradicts this idea, and you would be correct. Let me read you Matthew 10:34. You may not know this passage, but this is one of those passages that is striking to people. Here it is. This is what it says. I’m going to read it slowly. Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace. Rutro. Do not suppose that I have come to bring priests to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Now, the context of Matthew 10 is this. He’s talking about because of your devotion to Him, that there’s going to be divisions amongst your family, that the members of your household are going to be your enemies. Because you’ve given your life to Him, people will hate you because of it. There’s a question here.

How do you make sense of these two seemingly incongruent ideas? On one hand, Jesus is selecting the image of a donkey and accepting the label Prince of peace. On the other hand, he says, I did not come to bring peace. How do you make sense of this? Well, the way you make sense of it is by asking a different question, and it’s this question, what peace is Christ offering? What peace is He actually offering? Notice what it says in Matthew 10, I did not come to bring peace on earth. Here’s some clarity given to you by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 5. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with who? With God. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into grace in which we now stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Now, the picture becomes clear. Jesus is the King through whom we are given peace, but not the peace of the earth, not earthly peace, not worldly peace, but peace with God. That’s what you’re offered. Jesus offers you peace with God. Life without Christ, you have enemies on all fronts.

You are an enemy of God in which he will come and destroy you. You are an enemy, you have no peace in the world in which you have trauma and disasters and irritation and frustrations. You have war everywhere. But when you choose to follow Jesus, Jesus offers you peace with God, peace for your soul. Even though all around you, there is still a whole bunch of war. When Jesus says he’s come to bring peace, I want you to be really cautious that you don’t equate peace with you are removed from all conflicts on earth. Don’t take this to mean that because Jesus didn’t even get that. In fact, in a couple of days, Jesus is going to be hung on a tree. There was no peace for Jesus. If there is no peace for Jesus on earth, there will be no peace for you. Don’t take the promise of peace. No matter what any random person will tell you peace on earth and goodwill to men or whatever that means, what we’re not talking about is that you have perfect peace from all irritation. You know this. Some of you have been Christians for years and you’re still irritated.

The whole sorts of things. You got agitation. As I speak, you are agitated. Isn’t it surprising? You got frustrations. There’s earthly pains and problems that are never going to be resolved here on earth. Don’t let anybody promise you something that Jesus never promised. Jesus is not promising you that life is going to be perfect here. What he’s promising you is that you will no longer have the conflict between you and your God, which brings you peace in your soul. God is not going to take away the free will of those who choose to do evil, who choose to go to war to oppressed others to kill to murder. That’s not Christ’s promise. Jesus himself endured much of that. The peace of Christianity is the promise of eternal peace. Forever peace is peace for your soul. It’s peace that you can have regardless of what you go through. Because who cares if you destroy my body because God has saved my soul? It’s a peace that you have that supersedes the peace of today’s peace. That’s what’s offered. The best understanding I’ve ever seen of this principle is found in a small book called Elizabeth. There’s a subheading to the book.

The subheading is a colored minister of the gospel born into Slavery. Elizabeth is born in a plantation in 1750, and she recounts the horrors of American slavery and the journey of coming to faith. In this little book, taken from Elizabeth’s own lips when she was nearly 96 years old, she has some amazing quotations, but there’s one that I believe sums up the heart of real disciples. It’s this quotation. I’m just going to read it to you. She says this, Oh, my sufferings are so great that it covers my mind with broken clouds. Then I fear of giving way, but the pain lulls and all is clear. I see the fire is burning on the altar and the works going on. And catch this line, And though my flesh is full of pain, my spirit is full of peace. All the goodness of the Lord’s presence, how it carries over all. There is no speech that can describe even one glimpse of His glory. This is what we’re talking about. Though my flesh is full of pain, my spirit is full of peace. This is the understanding of one of our enslaved sisters. She gets it.

That the peace of God is so powerful that could even bring you peace in the worst human beings have to offer in this physical world. The story continues in verse 35. It says this. They brought it to Jesus. They brought the donkey to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the cult and put Jesus on it. His disciples take off their outer garments and they put their outer garments on the back of the donkey as a saddle. Their saddle, Jesus’s saddle becomes their shirts. Then it says this, And as they went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Now Jesus begins his procession. Everyone, there has been the crowds and mobs of people that are gathered around the outer gates of Jerusalem, and they’re waiting for him to come. What they do is they take off their jackets and they lay them on the floor so that Jesus’s donkey can walk on a red carpet, if you would. Then on Palm Sunday, there’s this beautiful donkey with outer garments on top of it. Jesus is sitting on it and he’s walking over people’s clothes. Now, this too is a part of prophecy. You might remember there was a king in the Old Testament named Ahab.

Ahab is the worst king. Trivia question, who’s the worst king? Ahab. Ahab was the worst, absolute worst, undoubtedly. He’s being overthrown by God himself. The story goes that Jehu, who is going to be Ahab’s successor, he’s anointed king. When the community of Israel gets word that he’s anointed king, they declare Jehu is king, and then they take off their outer jackets and they lay it before him to step upon. What’s the point? What they’re saying is this terrible king is symbolic, or this jacket I have is symbolic of this terrible king. I wear him. I’m going to take him off and let you walk upon him. He will be triumph under your feet. As Jesus is coming in, the same thing is happening. The people are saying, Look, that old king I have, Rome, they’re thinking Rome, is a terrible king. Let me just take off my jacket and allow you on your donkey to step upon this image of the terrible kingship that I have been under. I wish I could talk more about that, but I’m going to move on. When they came near the place where the road goes down, the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began to joyfully praise God in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen.

Jesus is coming and all of a sudden, people just can’t keep it to themselves. You know that song? I couldn’t keep it to myself. I started walking. I started talking what the Lord has done for me. This is actually where we get that song from. They’re walking. They see Jesus coming on the donkey and they cannot contain themselves. They bust out into joy. It’s like the Macy’s Day parade. They’re shouting and they’re screaming and they’re waving their hands. Other accounts say they break off palm frons and they’re waving palm frons in the air. The reason they’re doing this is for all the miracles they had seen. I think sometimes our praise towards God, this is my opinion, can be weak. I know I feel that way, too. I don’t even know what I necessarily mean by that. But I wonder if they had seen what we have seen, how amazing their praise would be. They didn’t even have the foreknowledge to understand God’s sovereignty. They didn’t have the foreknowledge. They don’t understand. They don’t have the foresight, I should say, to understand fully how all this stuff connects and how Jesus was going to save their souls.

They didn’t know all of that stuff. I think sometimes me, being my modern American self, I have really, I don’t know, toned down, dull worship of God. I wonder if our view of God brings us to the worship of God that is required, or am I too cool? You know what I’m saying? Or am I too smart? That waving of our hands and palm-frounds and screaming out, that’s for those dull people over there. Am I too American? I watch people from other countries worship God and I go, wow, they really worship. In me, I’m like, I wonder if my praise, if it was really tied to the person of Jesus Christ, what it would actually look like. Would I get on my knees? Would I scream out the praises of God? Would I lie prostrate? Would I lift my hands in worship? I don’t know. But I thought about their worship and I thought about what I know. I just started… I decided that yesterday that I was going to write down all the awesome things that God has done. It’s a good exercise for you. Just start writing it down. What’s the great things that God has done?

Not only in your life, but in the Bible as a whole. I started writing and writing and writing and I was just brought to like a spirit of praise. God, you’re so good. Jesus, you’re so good. I remember what you have done for me. As I was doing it, I was writing a bunch of things down and I was drawn to this guy, Dr. Sm. Lockridge, whose famous sermon, That’s my King. Do you know him? Do you know this sermon? I thought about the fact that he did it better than me. I want to read you some of the things that he writes about Jesus. Here are some of the things… This is a paraphrase. This is not all the things he says, but this is a paraphrase. Are you ready? These are some of the things that the Bible says about Jesus and why he is worthy of our praise. He is enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s graceful. He’s powerful, and he’s amazingly merciful. The Bible says that he is the son of God, but it becomes a little bit more personal. Here are some things. He’s the sinners’ savior.

All of you sitting here, if you’re saved, it’s because of Christ Jesus. Does he deserve your praise? I think so. He’s unparalleled, unprecedented, supreme, and preeminent. The Bible says he supplies energy for the weak. He’s available to the tempted and to the tried. He sympathizes with those who struggle. He saves. He heals the sick. He cleanses the leper. He forgives the sinner. He forgives the debtor. He delivers the captive, defends the feeble, blesses the young, and regards the aged. He rewards the diligence, and he beautifies the meek. Then he is also, the Bible tells us, the source for everything you’ve ever wanted. He’s the spring of wisdom. He’s the doorway for any deliverance you have. He’s the only pathway to ever getting peace and the only roadway to ever receiving righteousness. He is the highway to holiness and the gateway to glory. He’s the master of those who think they are mighty, and he’s the leader of all those who think they are the actual legislators. He is the governor of all the governors. He is the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords. The Bible tells us that His promises are always yes and Amen.

That His light is unmatched. In fact, it will replace the sun in glory. That His goodness is literally limitless. That His mercy is everlasting. That His love never changes. That His word is enough, that His grace is sufficient, that His reign is righteous. That His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Is He worthy of praise? Is He worthy of more than you’re like American praise? Colossians 1, Paul doubles down, and this is what he says, He is before all things. Before all things. Nothing has come before him, and in him all things hold together. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy. I’m going to say that again. In everything, he has the supremacy. For God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things with the things on earth, the things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. I just want to remind you that he’s worthy of your praise, that he’s worthy of your joyful praise, that he’s worthy of you getting on your knees to pray.

He’s worthy of more than your 10-second prayer before you go to bed. He’s worthy of more than when you wake up in the morning going, Oh, should I check my phone? Or should I look on Twitter or should I go on Facebook? Or look at my Instagram feed. He’s worthy of more than at night looking at Netflix all night long. He’s actually worthy of you getting on your knees, lying face floor on the ground and praising his holy name. But I wonder sometimes if we have become too rational in our thinking that we totally miss, we totally miss the praise of God. As he’s coming down, they begin to shout, they begin to scream. Bless is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. There’s other accounts that say they start screaming, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, which literally translates, Lord, save me. You ever pray like that? On your knees, face down, Lord, save me. God, please save me. My trouble is too much for me. Lord, save me. It’s a tremendous scene. I thought about a modern equivalent of this, and I thought about this idea that you and I in our lives are under some extraordinary oppression, aren’t we?

From Satan, from the lies of the world that we have chosen to believe. We have been abused, we have been manipulated, we have been coerced, we have been taken advantage of at every single turn by the things we watch, by the things we listen to, by our own selfishness, our own sinful nature. We have been victimized again and again and again by the ideas and the patterns that have totally tried to destroy our lives. Here we are dying, and then one day over the crest of the hill, we see Him. Someone who’s willing to offer us peace, not just peace for today, but peace forevermore. We see Him and He looks at us in our eyes and He says, Come, follow me, and I will give you life to the full. He invites you to take on his yoke because it’s easy and his light and to come and learn from him because he is a humble in heart and we will find rest for our souls. He tells us that if we build our lives on his teachings, we can live in such a way where the storms of life will not break the foundations of our hearts.

As we see Him approaching and we have heard His promises, we remove our cloak that symbolizes us taking off our old selves. We remove our outer garment saying the old master should be triumphed under foot by my new King, King Jesus. We watch him dominate our old flesh, and we watch the spirit become more important to us than the desires in our youth, and we just cannot do something… Rather, the only thing we can do is praise His holy name and say, You are King. You have saved our soul and we worship and we praise and we honor Him. Isn’t that the life of a disciple? Isn’t that what it feels like to finally and fully receive Jesus Christ as King? It’s amazing. It’s an amazing experience. But here’s what you find in the text is that that’s not the only response. Verse 39, some of the Pharisees, gosh, man, they have ruined every scene. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, teacher, rebuke your disciples. Tell them to shut up. Tell them to be quiet. They’re afraid that this public applaud given to the savior will cause the government of Rome and Pilate to respond and to shut it all down.

They tell Jesus, Hey, tell your disciples to be quiet. Tell them to be quiet. Aren’t there always people like this? People who don’t care anything about what I just said, people who literally, I’m talking about praising God and being postrate, and they’re going, Well, that’s a weird faith that you guys are a part of. There’s always people like that, people who want to shut up those who believe that Jesus is worthy of praise, people who believe it’s a nuisance to worship him. Just keep it to yourself. Don’t talk about Jesus. Just like, go to church. Be quiet. It’s ridiculous. They call him teacher. That’s a respectful term. It’s not Lord, though. It’s not king. It’s like you’re one of us. Look, teacher, take it easy, teacher. Tell your people to be quiet. Tell them to stop. I love Jesus’ response to verse 40. Man, it’s so good. I tell you, he replied, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out. He’s like, I’m king of the cosmos. Human beings can say no, but even those dumb rocks with no mouth and no vocal cords and no tongues, they will praise my holy name. Even the stones will cry out.

I’m the king of everything. Love it, man. Next line. As he approaches Jerusalem, he saw the city. And saw the city, he wept over it. Why? Why does he weep over the city? Well, read the next line. And he said, if you, even you, he’s not talking just about the Pharisees, he’s talking about everyone there, had only known of this day that would bring… Sorry, would know of this day what would bring you peace. But now it is hidden from your eyes. What is he saying? I wish you knew what you should actually care about. I wish you knew who you should actually come with. I wish you knew that the things that promise you peace don’t really provide peace. I wonder what he would say to us, I wish you knew that being on your phone all day isn’t going to bring you peace. I wish you knew that getting out of that marriage isn’t going to bring you peace. I wish you knew that your kids being perfectly behaved isn’t going to bring you peace. I wish you knew that your kids getting a good education isn’t the thing that brings you peace.

I wish you knew. I wish you knew what would actually bring you peace. I wish you knew, but you’ve missed it. What Jesus knew that they didn’t know was that these guys who were singing all those plotets were hoping for an earthly peace. They didn’t really want Jesus to be king of their lives. They didn’t want that. He knew that they were giving him lip service, that they were singing praises, but eventually they would be shouting for his blood. In a couple of days, those in that crowd, all of those in that crowd would either have abandoned him or have been shouting instead of Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, they’d be shouting, Crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. He knew how fickle we are as human beings. He knew that their praise was only lip service to the King. He goes on to describe what I believe to be what is a prophecy of what would come in a couple of years. It says, The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They would dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.

They will not leave one stone on another because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. In 70 A. D, Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans, and this is a prophecy of that day. As I thought of this text, I was actually drawn to a different picture in scripture where we see Jesus riding on a different animal, coming in a different way. In Revelation 19:11-16, this is what it says, I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithfulful and true. With justice, he judges and wages war. His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dripped in blood, and his name is the word of God. Whose name is the word of God? The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean, coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword, with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron sceptor. He treads the winepress of the fury, of the wrath of God Almighty.

On his robe and on his thigh, he has his name written and what is his name? King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Why is this picture important to include in this Christmas lesson? Well, it’s because today we’re all living in the time of Jesus riding the donkey. The days of Jesus riding the donkey happened from that day until the day he comes again riding a white horse. This is the time of salvation. This is the season of God’s mercy. This is the season of God’s humility. Today, we are living in a time where Jesus is willing to offer any sinner full acceptance into God’s gracious, heavenly throne. But one day, it will be too late. This is why 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, Today is the day of salvation. What’s important to understand and what we must hear and what we must see is that, yes, he is a king meek and lowly and welcoming and seeking and forgiving and patient. Like in a matter of days, Jesus is going to go shed His blood on a cross for all of these lost sinners. But one day, on his third advent, in his second coming, when he ushers in a new kingdom, he will fully and finally bring his justice.

There’s an illustration I have used many times, but I think it informs this idea. Today, we’re living in the day where Jesus’s hand is fully extended to you. He looks to you and his hand is extended. Please come. His hand is so extended that you think that he is actually not full of wrath. His hand is so extended that you think you could not take him seriously. His hand is so extended that people trample on his name all the time. He’s humble and meek riding on a donkey. Come to me and I will give you rest. Come. But what we fail to see sometimes is that with the other hand, he holds back his fury. He’s holding it back. He’s holding it back. You may not like Jesus riding on a horse, but it’s in the text. You can’t just make up your new religion that goes, Look, I’m all about Jesus that forgives. I don’t care about the wrathful Jesus. It’s in the text. He’s holding it back and He’s extending it fully. But one day, I promise you, one day, and it’s my job to remind you, one day, both hands will drop.

You will no longer be given the gift of extended mercy, and Jesus will no longer hold back His fury. He won’t do it. And those who have chosen not to follow, they will be crushed and they will be destroyed. That’s just what the scriptures say. Here’s a thought. We should bow down before we’re forced to bow down. We should honor him before we’re forced to honor him. Look, it’s easy to say Christ is king. It’s easy to shout it, but not to really want him to actually be king of your life. I thought a lot about this, and this is where I’ll close. Jesus is… You don’t know what a king is. I don’t know what a king is. All of the people who are our government officials work for us. You don’t know what a king is. You can vote them in or vote them out. You can say, I don’t like that, and popular opinion can sway, and then they have to do what popular opinion says. None of us have lived under a king. We don’t know what a king is like. What a king is, it means that everything they say, you do.

It means that they have total control over your life. 100%. No doubt about it. Control over your life. If they say to do something, you do it. I think many people want Jesus to be their president. Where they can vote them out, where it could be a democracy. Like, look, Jesus, you’re really good at helping me in my marriage, but I don’t want you involved in my finances. I vote you out. I’ll have a different person over here and I’ll have me over here. People want Jesus to be the Prime Minister, like the biggest. Look, hey, be very clear, Jesus. You can control this area. You can control when I come on Sunday morning, but I don’t really want you over my whole life. But I just want to explain this is not… I’m all about American democracy. I think it’s great. But in terms of Christianity, there is no democracy. Jesus’s say is final. You can’t vote him in. You can’t vote him out. He is either king or he is not king of your life. That means he’s king over your family life. That means that husbands, your king has told you to love your wife and to present her perfect before Jesus Christ.

You don’t have any other options. Wives, your job is to respect and honor your husband. You don’t have any other options. You can’t just be like, Well, I read this article that says that we should be… Those are not options. The options are the options Jesus gives in that alone. Jesus is King means that he is over your sexuality, which means you can’t just say, Look, I want to do whatever I want to do with my body and also have Jesus as King. It means that Jesus is King of the way you raise your children. Don’t exasperate your children. That’s the direct commandment, raise them up in the way of the Lord. You don’t get to slide in and out because you don’t want to do that. That means Jesus is king over your money, which means you have to live in such a way that is incongruence with what Jesus expects of a person who is like you. He’s over your talent and over your professional life. He’s over the way you interact in the church. I’m just saying he’s either king or he’s not. Don’t give lip service to it. Don’t pretend. Don’t make it a joke.

Either live as a Christian or decide that you don’t really want him to be king. It’ll be much better. It’d be much better to do it that way. I’m not saying you do it perfectly. I’m not saying you do it perfectly, but at least strive towards that. It’d be better for you to actually honor his kingship than for you to pretend the whole time. Lord, Lord. Lord, Lord. Did we not cast out demons in Your name? And do we not do many miracles in Your name? And Jesus will say, I never knew you apart from me. I’m just saying, He’s worthy of Your praise because He is King overall. We’re going to take communion in a few weeks time, well, in about a week, Jesus is going to be crowned. But he won’t be crowned with a golden crown. He’ll be crowned with thorns. With a rod, they’ll beat those thorns into his head. He’ll have his cloak put on as a joke, and people will punch him and mock him. After all that said and done, he will be hung on a tree or he will die for the sins of humanity. But three days later, he will arise from the dead.

Rule it proving that he’s not only king of the earth, but he’s king of the cosmos, man. He’s king of heaven. He’s king over Israel and he’s king over the universe. I want to ask you, as we take communion, to think about his kingship in your life and to decide to allow entry for him into your life to welcome him with gladness and sincerity and allow him to be dominant. Let’s pray. Father, we just want to say we love you very much, Lord. I think sometimes I get up here to preach and I think about the words I’m going to say and I forget that the one I’m talking about is the King of the universe. Even with that, I want to approach you, Lord, with a lot more trepidation, with a lot more fear and trembling. You say that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. I think that that’s something I should be thinking about, Lord, as we come before you. Father, I want in my life not to have this thing be a game, not just to pay lip service to how great my King is, but to actually live like you are dominant.

I pray that you can allow me to repent of the areas where I have allowed my own flesh to be dominant. God, I pray that you’ll help me with my own selfishness, that you’ll help me with the places where I’m critical of God, and that you’ll allow me to repent of my own sin so that I can just come before you in a way that you honor. God, and I pray for all the people in this room today, I pray that that we are all afraid. I think that that’s good. I pray that we’re all a little bit afraid that the way we live is not the way you want us to live. I pray that we have some fear and trembling, so that that fear and trembling will bring about a repentance that leads to our salvation. God, I pray for those of us who have been disciples for a long time, who have gotten rid of all of the exterior stuff, and we no longer curse and we no longer do stupid things sexually or whatever. I pray that even those people in this room will be convicted of your kingship. God, I pray that you will penetrate their heart through Your Word, that you will tell them and remind them that they are either your servants or they’re not.

They’re either your children or they’re not. God, I pray for all of the people in this room who are struggling with anger. I pray that you allow them to be… That they will allow you to be the king over their emotions. I pray for all those in this room who are struggling with lust that they will allow you to be king over their sexuality. I pray for all the people in this room who are struggling with greed that you will allow them, that they’ll allow you to be king over the way they view money. I pray for all the people in this room who are struggling whether or not to allow you to come in, and I pray that you will compel them by how good of a God you are, by how wonderful you are to allow you to be dominant in their lives. Father, please I ask for mercy in this community, God. Grant us the mercy of forgiveness. God, grant us your grace that comes by way of your son, Jesus Christ. I pray, Lord, as we take the bread and juice that represents your body broken and your blood poured out that we would just be reminded of what it means to have a king that was willing to suffer for us, to endure the cross, scorning at shame so that he could be put at the right-hand of God.

Father, I just pray that we will allow King Jesus to reign in our lives. It’s in His name we pray. Amen. Amen.