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Behold your King riding on an ass
Luke 19:28-40
A. Introduction
The story is told of Leonardo Da Vinci who had just finished the painting of the Last Supper after a very considerable amount of time. As he unveiled his masterpiece his student remarked to the grand master, "What a wonderful painting, the silver cup on the table is the finest I have seen." Leonardo with great concern looked at the painting and
without a word, tore the painting
and started work again. After 4 years, he unveiled the painting again and this time invited the comments of his students. With great curiosity, one of his students asked Leonardo why did he repaint the painting. And this was his famous reply.
"The first painting made many to focus on the cup, all I wanted from the painting was that it
focused rightly on Jesus." I think Leonardo has spoken very deep and insightful words. We should not be
focusing on things other than Christ. Our eyes should always be focused on Jesus, the Christ, the Lord and King.
This morning, it is my intention as we meditate together on this morning's passage that our focus should be on Christ. Let us lay down at His feet all that trouble us, and once again look at Jesus. Let us look at his face, that is His glory; let us look at his hands, that is His work and let us look at his feet, that is His mission and may we come away this morning with a refocusing of our life's objectives.
At this point of Luke's narrative, Jesus had come to the climax of his preaching tour. After this everything will be down hill and will culminate in his death. At this moment, he rides on the crest of popularity. The geography of the narrative illustrates this observation. Bethpage and Bethany over look the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem at the Mount of Olive he pauses and weeps. Here at this place he is physically at the highest point in his ministry. Yet as he contemplates his coming fate, Jesus sets his face like a flint for the corning suffering. Why, we ask, should the King of Glory who left heavens glory should come and suffer? According to Jesus, it was for our sakes, so that we might be born again; so that we might have life.
Here was Jesus at the height of his popularity and willingly avails himself for death, death on the cross. Why? As we focus on Christ this morning may we also recapture the most important part of Christ, that is his mission. Let us re examine once again, the question, of Christ, the holy, glorious one who would come and die on Good Friday so that we might all live on Easter Sunday.
Let me suggest to you this morning that our study of the scriptures would first of all look at the Lordship and glory of Christ and his willingness to sacrifice this life for us. In this section of our meditation and study we shall examine four major references of his Lordship and Kingship. And for each reference, I shall try to draw some relevant applications for our lives.
"Next we shall then look at the main question before us. If Christ is King, why then did He die for you and me?
I will finish with three questions in my conclusion.
We shall begin our morning's meditation with the reading of the word.
B. Scripture Passage
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethpage and Bethany at the 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 colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. " anyone asks you, "Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it' "
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord has need of it " They brought it to Jesus, threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! "
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you, " he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out "
C. Christ's Challenge in His sacrifice.
The Lord is King and here is the reason why He is King.
1. Christ is King because everything belongs to Him.
The narrative of Luke begins with Jesus sending two of his disciples into a village beyond to get an ass for him. He instructs his disciples with these words in verses 30 and 31. "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it, and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, "The Lord needs it "
Luke records that this happened exactly as Jesus foretold it and repeats the words in verse 34... The Lord needs it.
Luke repeats these words because he wants to emphasize the teaching that the Lord is indeed the owner of all that is in the world. The words, the Lord needs it is reason enough for the owner of the colt to give it up to Jesus. What right has Jesus to take somebody's ass? The answer is plain. The Lord has need of it.
Some commentators have speculated that Jesus had made prior arrangement with the colt's owner so that he would send the colt at a moments notice. This may be true. However for Luke (and I believe it is for us too) the point made here in the text is that Jesus is Lord indeed. And that His needs are paramount.
What does Jesus need of us as we refocus our eyes upon him. Does he need us to love Him and worship him for who He is and not for what He can do for us? What does Jesus need of us in our service and mission for Him? If Jesus is Lord, are we demonstrating it like the owner who gave the ass on his own accord?
2. Christ is King because he rode on an ass.
Riding on an ass as opposed to a horse was a symbol of someone coming in peace. A soldier who came to conquer would come riding on a horse. The ass was a beast that represented peace.
Some commentators have drawn our attention to the ass or donkey as a symbol of humility. This is right and our picture of Jesus as one who comes in humility at his triumphal entry is one of peace and humility. However it was also a kingly action. In Judges 5 verses 10 we read of the song of Deborah and Barak after their victory over Sisera, the commander of the King of Canaan.
My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the I people. Praise the Lord. You who ride on white donkeys sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel.
Here the donkey or ass was associated with princes and the rulers of Israel. Only kings rode on donkeys or asses (these terms are used interchangeably in the Bible). Jesus rode on an ass and demonstrated in a pictorial way that he was coming into Jerusalem as a King. He was coming as the Lord whose righteous acts were to be praised.
Indeed Christ is King. He shows by his action of riding on an ass that he comes as King to Jerusalem. And yet this King will very quickly become a criminal fit to die on a cross. The prophet Zechariah has foretold in Chapter 9 verse 9 that the Lord will come riding on an ass in Kingly pomp and glory .Let me read it.
"Rejoice greatly, O Daughters 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.
The Lord comes; righteous and possessing salvation as a gift to all, gentle and riding.
Zechariah has seen from the distant past that the Lord Jesus would come with righteousness and salvation. As He rides on an ass, the colt of a donkey, he comes gentle, righteous and with saving grace.
Would we consider the gentle King who comes humbly with righteousness offering salvation and saving grace? Even as the Lord is King and calls upon us to serve His needs, he comes not as a demanding King but as a giving One. One who is gentle and kind and humble.
3. Christ is King because the crowds and the disciples showed it.
The crowds and disciples showed that Jesus was King when they did three important actions in response to Jesus' triumphant entry
First they spread their cloaks on the colt and on the ground for Jesus to walk on. Spreading cloaks and garments in front of an individual was a sign that that a particular individual was a person of note. So when Jehu one of the commanders of King Ahab was anointed King by the prophet Ahab, the soldiers under Jehu immediately threw their cloaks under Jehu and proclaimed him King. You can read this account in 2 Kings 9:13. The act of throwing your garment on the ground for someone to walk on was a sign of respect and adulation.
In a famous incident when Sir Walter Raleigh threw his cloak on the ground underneath Queen Elizabeth, he was emphasizing the fact that he respected
her as Queen and adored her.
The people and the disciples threw their cloaks on the ground in front of Jesus as he walked towards Jerusalem riding on an ass. To them, Jesus was King and lord of all.
Secondly the crowds and the disciples laid out palm branches for Jesus. In Hebrew, Palm branches was called Tamar and signified grace, elegance and uprightness. So Tamar or palm was often used as a girls name. Palm was also used to show victory and rejoicing. way that the holy things of God were associated with palm trees. And again in Revelation 7:9 John reminds us that palm branches would be used by all the multitudes of heaven to greet the Lamb. Let me read... After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
Salvation belongs to our God
Who sits on the throne and to the lamb.
The picture is clear. The Lord is the Holy One of God and his elegance, uprightness and righteousness is seen in the welcome of the crowds by their waving of palm branches.
Thirdly the crowds and the disciples sang out in unison and with one voice that Jesus was the blessed one, the King who comes in the name of peace. Not only did the people put their garments on the ground and waved palm branches for Jesus, they sang and shouted and blessed Jesus. What did they say?
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
If we were to examine these words we see that some of the phrases are close to the words of the angels who sang in the heavens at this birth.. We also notice that they called him King and Lord. The called him the bearer of peace and glorious. In fact their language bordered on worship as if He was God. It was for this reason that the Pharisees called upon Jesus to rebuke his disciples.
When we put the actions of the crowds and the disciples together, we see that their actions were one of worship and celebration of the King of peace who would come to Jerusalem in triumph. To the crowds, Jesus was King and Lord. He was God and from Him peace and glory would come.
Are we still in doubt that Jesus is King, and Lord. Are we still in doubt that when he comes, we shall have peace? May we be fixed in our hearts that he is indeed King.
One other fact we must deal with before we move on. While the crowds sang with one voice of his Kingship and glory, these would be the same people who would want to crucify him. The ugly fact of life here is that of double mindedness about Jesus. While Jesus knew that His Kingship would extend beyond the grave and that as Saviour, the King of the world he would have to sacrifice his life, the crowds only saw that the Kingship of Jesus was political. They sang with filthy lucre in their minds and when Jesus did not deliver, they turned their backs on him.
May we love Jesus the King for what he is and not for what we can get out of him.
4. Jesus is King because nature would worship him if we do not.
When the Pharisees heard the adulations of the crowd in words that bordered on sacrilege, the Pharisees asked the Lord to stop his disciples. The reply of Jesus is very instructive. I tell you he says, "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Verse 40).
If the disciples stopped glorifying Jesus, the stones, or nature would cry out. More than once the Lord speaks of stones worshipping God. In Luke 3:8, Jesus tells us that God ca raise up children of Abraham from stones. Then again, he speaks of himself as the cornerstone (Luke 20:17). Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:5 that we are living stones built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We must never get into the habit of thinking that the Lord needs us to glorify him and that when we come to worship we are doing him a favour. Far from it, the Lord does not really need our worship and prayers. If there is a need for worship, he has a million angels to worship him. What need does he have of fallen man to give him praise?
D. If Christ is King and Lord, of what then is the significance of His death and sacrifice for me?
Let me then draw our discussion to a close by bringing all these strands of
thoughts together. From what we have discussed we see that there are four references in which Jesus is the Christ, the King and Lord of our lives.
-Firstly He is King because everything belongs to Him.
-Secondly Christ is King because by riding on an ass he symbolized his kingliness.
-Thirdly Christ is King because the crowds acknowledged that He is King by their actions of -spreading their cloaks on the ground before Him, -by waving palm branches at him in respect and honour, and -in declaration with their mouths that he is indeed King.
-Fourthly by the fact that if men did not praise Him, God will raise up the stones to praise Him, that nature will praise Him.
If we are convinced that Jesus is indeed King and Lord, then the question of why He should sacrifice His life for us becomes a relevant one? This is indeed the whole point of the good news the gospel. Let us be reminded that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was a real sacrifice not only of his body but of dignity and of the crown. His whole honour was given to us in order that we should share in his glory. And if we knew this of what use would we put it?
The story is told of the Queen of England who often visited Bob Morrow's castle. On one occasion when she was walking by herself, it started to rain. She rushed to the shelter of the nearest cottage. A lady came to the door and was very angry because someone would bother her at that time in the morning. She opened the door a few inches and barked, "What do you want?" The Queen did not introduce herself and merely said, " Could I borrow your umbrella please."
Just a minute," grumbled the woman. She slammed the door, was gone for a moment and returned bringing the rattiest umbrella she could find, one with holes and with broken ribs. She pushed it through the door and said, "Here". The queen thanked her and went on her way.
The next morning, the queen's full escort, dressed in full uniform pulled up in front of the cottage. One of the escorts knocked on the door and returned the umbrella to the women saying, "Madam, the Queen of England thanks you." As he walked away he heard her mutter, "If only I had known, I would have given her my best."
Someday we would stand in front of the King and Lord of Lords and some would be heard to mutter, "If I had only known. I would have given my best. The fact is we do know and yet many of us still give Christ the scraps, the leftovers and whatever costs us the least. Because God loved us He gave us the best no less than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to die in our place. Can we give Him anything less than our best?
E. Conclusion
Let me bring our meditation to a close and ask ourselves three important questions.
First-Is He King of our Lives and Lord of our very selves?
Second-Do we share in His love for all who do not know Him?
Third-What are we going to do about our love and knowledge of Him?
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