A Different Kind of King

Last Sunday we talked about Palm Sunday, the day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

John 12:12-16:

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;

    see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

The people welcomed Jesus as their king. But both pastors I listened to online pointed out how Jesus didn’t meet their expectations.

They wanted a king who would overthrow their ruling enemy and set up a glorious earthly kingdom for Israel, but Jesus had something else in mind.

Our pastor Matt said that Jesus came as a king who offered peace, riding on a donkey, not a war horse. The people who joyfully met him that day did not realize this. Even his disciples didn’t understand the truth until later.

Just a few days after this triumphant entry, the crowds would turn against Jesus. But he was victorious, in a way no one expected.

Mark 16:5-7:

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Jesus had a completely different kingdom in mind. And he has given us the privilege of being part of it.

2 Corinthians 5: 18-20:

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Lord Jesus, we praise you for your victory on Easter Sunday, and we thank you for the hope your victory has brought to us.

John 11:25-26:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”