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Please be seated. Let’s pray:

Lord, please speak to us this morning through your word so that we may know how to respond to you as King of our lives.

Please open your Bibles to page 878 and Luke 19.28-44 that was read for us just now. Although many of the verses will come up on the screen it’s always a good idea to be able to check what is said in the pulpit to see that it matches what the Word of God says. For the last few Sundays, we have been following Luke’s description of Jesus on his journey towards the first Easter Week in Jerusalem. And today we come to the last leg of the journey. Last week we had Jesus’ teaching in Jericho, a town around a full day’s walk from Jerusalem. Now, in Luke 19.28 Jesus leaves Jericho:

And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

It’s a climb of over 3,325 feet so that’s greater than the elevation of England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike and about 14 miles as the crow flies. By Luke 19.29 Jesus has reached the small town of Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem, there’s a climb up through the small village of Bethphage to the point where the road goes up over the Mount of Olives and then down through the Kidron Valley and up again into Jerusalem. He’s less than one hour’s walk from the city, and he stops and tells two disciples to go and untie someone’s colt. The other gospels tell us it is a young donkey rather than a young horse. They are to bring it to Jesus and if questioned why they are taking it, to simply to say The Lord has need of it. That is what happens and they are then allowed to take the donkey. The disciples put cloaks on it as a saddle and help Jesus get on.

He then rides the donkey towards Jerusalem. What’s with the donkey? Except for boat trips on the sea of Galilee, Jesus walked everywhere. Why does he suddenly want to ride a donkey? Was he tired? Was he recalling a childhood trip to a Galilee beach resort? Was he perhaps trying to make the point that no matter how insignificant you are, even as insignificant as a little donkey, God can still use you? Well, No! That’s not what this donkey is all about! Not at all! No, Jesus is saying something very different by riding the final mile or so to Jerusalem on a donkey. Earlier on his journey, back in Luke 18 Jesus told his disciples (Luke 18:31):

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

Jesus is saying here that what is going to happen to him in Jerusalem is the accomplishment, the fulfilment of God’s plan of salvation as revealed in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is full of pointers and prophecies of what Jesus will achieve. And Jesus says they are all going to be accomplished when he enters Jerusalem. And so, we come to the donkey. Please keep a finger in page 878 and then turn back with me to page 797 and the prophecy of Zechariah 9.9-10:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!Behold, your king is coming to you;righteous and having salvation is he,humble and mounted on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a donkey.I will cut off the chariot from Ephraimand the war horse from Jerusalem;and the battle bow shall be cut off,and he shall speak peace to the nations;his rule shall be from sea to sea,and from the River to the ends of the earth.

When Jesus asks for a donkey, it isn’t because he is tired, nor is it because he wants to encourage us that God can use anyone or anything. It’s because he wants us to be absolutely clear as to his identity. He is the King, but not the king that people were expecting him to be! You see people in Jesus’ time were longing for God to deal with their perceived problem of being under Roman domination. They wanted a political and military king to remove these foreigners and restore the former glory of Israel. That’s the kind of king they wanted. But that’s not the kind of king they needed. And it’s not the kind of king we need either! So often we want to squeeze Jesus into a box that is shaped by our desires, by our limited perception of our needs. We want a Guru to give us self-help guidance, or we want a Genie to grant us our desired wishes but we don’t recognise that what we really need is God’s Son to deal with our dark inner rebellion against him, our sin and shame, and restore us to God’s family.

So, what kind of King is Jesus? What kind of king accomplishes God’s promises? What does Zechariah tell us of the king on the donkey? First, he is a king who comes to us, where we are – right down in the dirt of our rebellion against God. Jesus is not some esoteric theological principle. He steps into time and space. He comes to Jerusalem at Passover. A geographical place at an historical time. Second, he is righteous – that is he is untainted by sin, he is victorious over it. Third, he brings salvation – he fulfils God’s plan to rescue us from our rebellion. And fourthly, he is humble. He is King of kings but he comes as a servant not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10.45). We have been exploring that in our current evening series. Finally, he comes to Jerusalem but not just for Jerusalem. He comes for the whole world, for everyone, for you and me (Zechariah 9.10):

He shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

So, the donkey tells us that Jesus is God’s forever king come to fulfil God’s plan of salvation for all of us. And this is the first of our two main points this morning:

1. Jesus is the forever King who fulfils God’s plan of Salvation for the World.

Let’s turn back to our passage in Luke on page 878, and see what more we can learn about Jesus the king on the donkey. First, in Luke 19.38 he is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! That is, he comes in God’s name and for God’s purposes. Jesus has come as God’s representative to do God’s will. Not only that, he is determined, he is totally committed to this, even at the most agonizing cost. Go back to Luke 19.28. See his resolution. He went on ahead or he set out, going up to Jerusalem. He knows what is going to happen there. He has already told his disciples in that passage we looked at a month ago. They didn’t understand it then but he knew (Luke 18:31-33):

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spat upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.

He is going to die to fulfil God’s plan. And it is going to be an agonising death, not only physically but spiritually as he takes the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion on himself. Yes, he will rise again, but that certainty in no way diminishes the agony he will bear on our behalf. So, this king willingly sets his face to fulfilling God’s saving purpose for us by taking our place and sacrificing himself for us. But his actions and words in this passage reveal even more of his identity. He sees the future! He knows what will happen. He sends the two disciples to fetch the colt knowing it would be there and knowing what would happen in Luke 19.30-31. But even greater evidence of this is his comment on what will happen to Jerusalem because the city will turn its back on him. Luke 19.43-44:

For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade round you and surround you and hem you in on every side. And tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation

This is exactly what happened to Jerusalem some 30 to 40 years later in AD70 when, after an uprising against them, the Romans surrounded the city and raised it to the ground. Jesus sees everything! He knows what is coming. He knows what is in your heart. The technical term for this is omniscience and it is a characteristic of God alone. Then there is the other cry of the crowd (Luke 19.38):

…Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!

Does that sound a little familiar? Remember the refrain of the angels announcing Jesus’ birth (Luke 2.14):

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace amongst those with whom he is pleased

Peace (reconciliation with God and wholeness in him) alongside glory to God announced Jesus’ birth and now there is a similar announcement just before his saving death that will put us right with God. He brings Peace in heaven and peace on earth by reconciling the two. And then there is the comment that Jesus makes when the pharisees, the religious establishment tell him to stop his disciples from praising him as God. Jesus says if they stopped the very stones would cry out. Jesus is saying the Creation itself would sing his praise because he is the one who made it. He created all things. Then finally, in Luke 19.44. Jesus says his Journey to Jerusalem is a visitation, a term that in the Old Testament usually refers to a manifestation of God’s presence. This passage hints that Jesus is not just a king but the king of kings, God the Son who has become man in order through his death and resurrection to rescue all who respond to him with faith. And that brings us to our second and final point today, a question;

2. How will you respond to God’s king, Jesus?

It’s imperative that you get your answer to this question right as it determines your destiny. Some of us this morning, are just beginning to think about who Jesus is and what that means for you. Like the crowds who came out of Jerusalem to greet Jesus, you are still trying to work out what kind of king he is. May I encourage you to continue to seek answers as we go in to Easter week. There are many people and resources that can help you. Speak to a Christian friend or one of the staff team after the service. They will be delighted to help you. But, then there are some who, like the pharisees, reject and oppose Jesus, or at least try to fit him into a comfortable religious box. Maybe you are happy to call him Teacher and take his comments as mere suggestions for consideration while you go on living life your own way. You have no real desire to let him be king of your life. Please think again this Easter.

You see, there are whole swathes of folk in our society who, like so many in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, miss out on peace with God because they do not recognise God’s saving visitation in Jesus. They carry on their lives without reference to him. But ultimately there is a terrible price to pay for that. Jesus wept because so many would ignore or reject his salvation in Jerusalem and suffer the consequences. The Bible tells us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It breaks God’s heart that we turn our back on him. (2 Peter 3.9):

He “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

But just as one day the inhabitants of Jerusalem awoke to find that it was too late, that the Roman armies were already surrounding them, so also the Bible says there will come a day of judgement for all of us. (2 Peter 3.10):

The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will pass away with a roar

For those who ignore or rebel against Jesus, who refuse to follow him, there will be the terrible prospect of judgement. For those who respond to Jesus in faith there is amazing hope (2 Peter 3.13):

…according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells

Some of us have already, however imperfectly, done that and chosen to follow Jesus. The challenge then for us is to put that into practice day after day: Will you be like the two disciples and obey Jesus even if it puts you on the spot? I’m not sure I would be comfortable with the possibility of an awkward confrontation with the donkey’s owners. Sometimes following Jesus will take you out of your comfort zone. Will you be like the owners of the colt? What will you do with your possessions, abilities, time and energy if you hear that “the Lord has need of it”? Will you be like the whole multitude of his disciples? Their understanding may still at this stage be imperfect, the full wonder of what is about to happen will only begin to break through a week or so after the events of this passage. But they have seen some of Jesus mighty works and have become worshippers. Will you live to give glory and praise to Christ? And how will you look on those who as yet have not responded to Jesus as the king who will save them? Will you join Jesus in weeping over their fate? Will you dedicate your life to enabling them to know Jesus as Saviour and King?

As we close, let me ask once again? What will you do with God’s King Jesus? The way you answer that question determines your eternal destiny and sets the course for the rest of your life on earth. Are you going to go on living in rebellion against him or simply ignoring him? Or are you going to let Jesus be your saviour, your rescuer, and your king? Let’s pray. In the quiet take the opportunity to respond to Jesus the king. Perhaps you’ve lots of questions and will want to ask him to help you get to know him. Perhaps today is the day when you need to make a decision and say “Lord Jesus please be my saviour and King” or perhaps you’ve done that and simply need to ask your king how you can serve him better this week.