Jesus the Lowly King
By David Yan

Some day it's given a special name one week before Easter
Any of the children know or what about the teenagers
Yes
Good boy Palm Sunday. That's right. Today is Palm Sunday when the church
Just thinks about perhaps the the coming of Jesus into Jerusalem. Why is it called Palm?
Yes
So I can't quite hear
Palm branches, that's right. Good. Yes
this was the occasion when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowd was ecstatic and
It prepared a track as it were for Jesus to ride through and they threw
Branches from a palm tree and so it's called Palm Sunday
Now it's quite a wonderful moment because Christ was now approaching the climax of
His life here on earth
Namely he was to die for the sins of his people and thereafter to be raised from the dead
this is why he came and
Here we are a week before Easter and I thought it would be good that we just considered today on this Lord's Day
this whole
chapter
Concerning the entry or the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
And I pray that God would meet with us and that truly we shall be blessed as we consider this
Well, let's begin by noticing that Jesus
entered
Riding on a donkey now, that's fascinating. Isn't it that the king should come into his city
riding on a donkey and
We're told in another gospel that this donkey had never been ridden on before
Now you all know what a Rodeo is and
That's where somebody
Sits on and ridden on before and the idea is that he tries to hang on for as long as possible
Well here was a donkey
never ridden on before and
humanly expect
Humanly speaking you would expect Jesus to be tossed off within a matter of seconds, but this young creature
was harmless
Jesus tamed a wild donkey
now a donkey is known as a very stubborn a creature and
If he is one that's never been ridden on before to try and mount him
It's quite a task. You see Jesus tamed the wild donkey as he rode into Jerusalem
Now there may be some of us who are a bit like donkey. We're a bit wild. Well, let me tell you Jesus contain you
You may be a bit rebellious and we all have a bit of donkey in us
well, Jesus contain the donkey in you and
it's up to you to own up to your stubbornness and your rebellion and
See Jesus transform you into a new person
Well, here was our Lord
Riding into Jerusalem and we're going to concentrate on his coming into Jerusalem and to observe various points
Let's begin by noticing that he came as the word declares as the king
Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the king
Now the people rejected him initially, but that did not
Destroy or remove the fact that Jesus is king king of Kings Lord of Lords
He rules this world
This world
He rules your life whether you know it or not
He controls everything that can ever happen on the face of this earth
He is truly the king and here he is coming in in this very lowly manner
Riding on a donkey, isn't it? Wonderful that the king of kings has come
You know, there's a beautiful Christmas carol
And it says Jesus was Lord at his birth
Isn't that a wonderful?
statement of theology
That Jesus Christ was Lord at his birth
He was and is the eternal master the king and here he is coming into Jerusalem
The king of Kings Lord of Lords and about to face his humiliating death
Let's never forget that Jesus is king
Is he the Lord of your life this morning? I wonder we shall never be happy
Until we own Jesus as our master. We think we can master our own destinies
We think we can control every situation perhaps in our lives and work everything out, but ultimately
Through circumstances and through the power of the word. We are humbled aren't we?
we know we don't hold the reins and
The sooner we come to that point the better
Because there we have the springboard to own him as our king
Our Savior and our king and he will give you purpose to life
He will transform you and show you how to really live your lives
He's master and I pray that we shall all own him as our king
But secondly
Jesus came into Jerusalem in
submission to the Father's will
Now he knew that as he rode into Jerusalem. He was going to suffer the crowd didn't perceive that they were jubilant
They expected Christ to remove the yoke of Roman bondage there and then
But Jesus knew in his own mind that he was coming to die in the city of Jerusalem and he came
Riding on a donkey and in that picture of the king riding on a donkey into Jerusalem
You have a picture of perfect submission to the divine will
Christ could have been riding the other way couldn't he?
He could have said no
Enough is enough
But he didn't do that. He rode into Jerusalem
thereby indicating his complete obedience to his father
thereby showing his total
abandonment to the will of God
Now that is a very profound lesson, isn't it?
Jesus came to die and
He came in total submission
to the Father's will
Now we must immediately apply this because if we are not submissive
To our elders and to each other as 1 Peter 5 5 says we should then we are not Christ like
the Christ like person is the person who is in total submission to the divine will and
In that submission to God is also in submission one to another
We tend to be strong-willed, aren't we?
We tend to want to do our own thing and to think of submitting to someone in
Humility is beyond the natural mind
but here you have the eternal Son of God and
He is showing us how to live
Firstly to be in submission to God
And then to humbly submit to each other
You know, this is a very important and a very practical lesson. No wonder Peter
Stresses this in that fifth chapter of the first epistle
So Jesus came as King he came
Showing his total submission to the Father's will
But thirdly we should notice this
He came to do battle in God's way
You see the issue here was salvation
he had come to save his people from their sins and
The people of Israel I suppose would have expected him to come in on a horse perhaps as a warrior
To deliver his people from the yoke of Roman bondage, but he came on a donkey
And in that picture there of Christ riding into into Jerusalem on a donkey
You have a picture of Jesus about to do battle
but in God's way
And you notice there's a quotation from the prophet Zechariah. I want you to turn to Zechariah, please
chapter 9
Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9
That is the verse quoted by the gospel writers
Zechariah 9 9 rejoice greatly Oh daughter of Zion
Shout Oh daughter of Jerusalem
Behold your king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation
lowly and riding on a donkey a cult the fall of a donkey
Now we're familiar with that verse
But take note of the tenth verse I
will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem the
Battle bow shall be cut off
He shall speak peace to the nations
His dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth
Now in the context of Zechariah 9 what the prophet is saying to us is this that God will establish
His kingdom, but he will not establish it through the chariots and the horses and the swords of Israel
these things shall be cut off he says and
He will establish his kingdom on his terms
That is the context of Zechariah 9 so when Jesus rides into Jerusalem
Seated on a donkey. He is showing that he is going to establish his kingdom
Not by strength not by might but by the power of the Spirit
that he came
To establish God's kingdom in the hearts of people and that these people would in no way
enter God's kingdom by their own works
That is the context isn't it? So when Jesus rides into Jerusalem
He is saying look I'm going to save you
But I'm going to save you on God's terms
Which is by grace and not by your works not by sores not by chariots not by might not by sprint
But by my spirit says the Lord
Isn't that wonderful to know that Christ has come to us
We have our preconceived ideas are but he's going to do it in his way
Which is the perfect way and so our salvation our deliverance is by grace and grace alone
Hallelujah, isn't that wonderful?
Not by works. Oh, no, if you enter into the street of work, you're going to be in bondage for the rest of your life
But all enter into the street of grace
See Jesus coming in all humiliation
To establish the God not by force and might
but by the Holy Spirit and
So we see here in this picture
Jesus
coming to do battle
but on his terms
The fourth thing we notice is this that Christ came into Jerusalem
Posing no threat to the people now what possible threat could a figure
Seated on a donkey be to people
It's a picture of humiliation, isn't it?
It's a picture of brokenness and so the people saw no threat in the Lord Jesus Christ coming
You know, if you think about it the fact that Christ chose a donkey is highly significant, isn't it? I
Mean, why didn't you choose a horse and come in to Jerusalem?
full of
strength
Come in as a warrior
But he came in on a donkey
Now we all know the differences between a horse and a donkey, don't we? I mean a horse is a very brave creature
but a donkey is quite stubborn and
If you were a soldier in the days of old when people used to fight riding on horses
And your general said look soldier. There's the enemy
You're going to fight the enemy. Here's your choice a horse or a donkey
What would you choose?
You would choose the horse because you know, the horse is swift and if it's a matter of retreat
You know, you can turn that horse around. It'll be obedient and it will run from the enemy
but if you were on a donkey and
You were facing your enemy and you realized, you know, it's getting pretty close
I better turn around and run and you try and steer that donkey away from the
Turn and take you back into the enemy's territory
So you see Christ came not as a soldier not as a person to punish
But he came on a donkey and the people saw that there was no threat in this
You see Jesus is the friend of sinners
The friend of sinners and that picture if you can visualize it of our dear Savior on a donkey is a
picture of peace towards sinners
I
Think it's a wonderful thing
It's not by force
Christ has come to save people
He's the friend of sinners. Now. I think it's also highly significant that
Jesus was riding into a hostile situation
Sure, there were those who welcomed him but behind the scenes they were the Pharisees of the priests who ultimately would be
instrumental in the death of Jesus
Jesus rode into a hostile situation in deep humility
You think about that isn't there a verse in the Bible that says a soft answer turns away Roth and
How does it go? I've just forgotten Proverbs 15 1
But it says that an angry word stirs up Roth
Well Christ rode in to a hostile situation
And he went into it in a very humble like way
You know, we are so different aren't we from our Lord?
when we are in a hostile situation we tend to charge in and
We we aggravate the situation and what are you like in a time of crisis?
Do you enter into a crisis in a spirit of humiliation dependent on God?
Well Christ went into Jerusalem and he was a friend of sinners seated on
a donkey
Notice next Christ rode into Jerusalem
Receiving the people's
Abulation. Oh, they were ecstatic. You know, it says they they cried out after they had
Thrown their garments and the branches on this on the road they cried out saying Hosanna to the Son of David
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord?
Hosanna in the highest
Here they are ascribing to this figure on a donkey the fact that he is the son of David
They were ascribing to Jesus full deity
Isn't that something?
That they realized that their salvation was coming and it was coming through the son of David the promised Messiah
Isn't that something and what did Jesus do
Well, he did nothing
He received these comments. In fact in another gospel the Pharisees said to him
Why don't you stop your disciples from talking like this? This is scandalous. This is blasphemy
How can you be the Son of God stop these people?
That Jesus said something to the effect that if these ones didn't cry out as they did the stones would cry out
in other words Jesus accepted these
Adoring statements from the populace. He didn't do anything about it now either. He was absolutely insane
Well, he was God
There was a man called Herod
He received the adulations of the people. He said here is a God
And you know what happened to Herod? He was struck down and eaten by worms
Here is Jesus
Receiving the adulations of the people and God the Father never struck him down
He wasn't insane. Here is God manifest in the flesh
Here is Jesus come to save his people and
Here are his people stirred by the Holy Spirit
Beginning to recognize this is the one we have been waiting for we praise him. We receive him and
Jesus blends in with that you see
He is the our eternal God our Savior
The one that sinners are waiting for. Oh
That we might receive him even here this morning
And next I want you to notice this
his coming
Generated enthusiasm
That's something reformed churches perhaps should take note of there was a bit of excitement here a bit of emotion. Oh
That's a scary word isn't it in some quarters emotion in a reformed church?
My friends here were people who for years had been suppressed
Not only politically but by sins
they were a suppressed people and
You know my friends when a suppressed people find liberation they burst out
They burst out. They've been suppressed for so long and here is the release you can't stifle that
You can't put a stop to that Jesus never did
He allowed these people to express themselves
You see here was excitement and and emotion with the coming of Jesus
Now we have to be very careful on this we can become so as we're academic that we tend to forget that we are also
Emotional people and when the Spirit of God deals with us the emotions come forth the
Praises come forth and in times of revival if you read the history of revivals these things happen
People just fall down and they confess their sins
I've known that I've heard of meetings where people were so moved by the Spirit
They just go on all night in prayer. They've stood on the chairs singing hymns
You see
Now you can't manufacture these things
I'm not saying next Sunday you stand on your chairs and sing your hymns not at all
But all I'm saying is this that when Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem that coming
generated holy
Enthusiasm and there is such a thing as holy enthusiasm
It comes when the Holy Spirit touches our hearts
It comes maybe when we read the scriptures and for the first time we realize some aspect of truth and we are excited
We're excited when the Holy Spirit plants the truth into your heart. There ought to be excitement
You're dealing with the eternal things you see things that cannot be removed from you
Why is it that today for instance?
There are people say in the land of China who will spend 20 years in prison
And at the end of 20 years they come out singing hymns and preaching the gospel
Why is it it's because the Holy Spirit has planted into their souls eternal values
Eternal values and eternal truths that are not subjected to the whims and the and the capriciousness of this world
but even the most
Hostile government can never strip away from them
And there's this great excitement isn't there and I do pray that in our churches we shall live to
Experience these kinds of things not just individually but as congregations. This is what it's all about. Surely
Christ coming to his temple Christ
Visiting his church Christ coming into your life in a new way in a dynamic way
That will elevate you above your circumstances when you perceive the eternal glory of God
in saving you
forever
my friends, these are very sacred things and we begin to understand more don't we as we
read of Jesus coming in and generating this type of response in the hearts of the people as
I say you cannot manufacture this and God forbid that we should ever try
But let's be open to what God may do a fresh work in our lives a fresh work
in his churches
Notice next that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of prophecy
Here is something quite wonderful
Relating to the Christian faith. I shared earlier with brother Don. I was converted
reading about
Bible prophecy, I've never seen it before
That the Bible contains prophecies and that they were fulfilled
Well here you see on this particular Sunday
Jesus riding into Jerusalem
He was fulfilling prophecy
specifically
Zechariah 9 9
Isn't that something quite wonderful
There is something that the Bible has that no other religious book contains the word of prophecy and
When Jesus was riding into Jerusalem, he knew that he was fulfilling prophecy, but the people didn't
They didn't understand
But subsequently they did you see and I'm sure their excitement continued
while Jesus came in
In fulfillment of Bible prophecy and this prophecy teaches us that Jesus came to save
He came to save hosanna to the son of David blessed is he who comes in the name of?
the Lord
Now here is something quite wonderful. You know we can never exhaust
the riches of scripture that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of prophecy that even before
the foundation of this world
God had a plan to save the sons and daughters of Adam and
Nothing in this world nothing in the unseen world would ever prevent our God from accomplishing
What he set out to do the plan of salvation is?
Invincibly
Victorious because God has purposed it and he is Lord
No one can stop God
From achieving his purposes all we know governments have in the course of history
They've persecuted the church they've thrown the leaders of the church into prison
They've tried to destroy the morale of Christians
But they haven't succeeded and why haven't they succeeded it wasn't because of the willpower of the church
it was entirely because God wills his church to triumph and
Here we see one aspect of that
path to victory the coming of Jesus into his temple and
You will notice my friends
That God fulfills his prophecies yet in no way does he violate human freedom
because Jesus was coming in fulfilling prophecy and
These people were allowed to express themselves, this is what they wanted to do it was a spontaneous
Expression of praise and even though Jesus was to die in a few days time
Yet these people were allowed in their freedom to express what was in their heart and in their minds
they got the timing wrong, but the substance was right and
God will never violate your freedom as he
Invincibly works out his purposes and even in salvation my friends
You have as it were a free choice
But that doesn't mean you have a free will it doesn't mean you have the ability
But you are perfectly free to do as you will
You could sit here and deal with me for another five or ten minutes, so you could walk out. That's your Liberty you see
God will never violate your Liberty and when you come to faith in Jesus Christ
You come most gladly you come most willingly because God respects your person
He never violates your freedom
And nobody comes to Christ
Kicking and fighting and saying I don't want to come but you're forcing me
That is not the picture of salvation
when God begins to work in the human soul that soul is stirred and
Gradually in time that soul will come and when that person is ready to come he or she comes most gladly
And he comes most quickly as well
That is how God works you see and here we see it in some form with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
Riding into Jerusalem in his mind. He was clear. He was going to die
He was going to fulfill prophecy, but in that great
Sovereign act of salvation he allowed these people the Liberty to express. What was on their hearts I?
Think that's quite wonderful isn't it that God who created us or created Adam and Eve as free human beings
Respects the freedom that he gives
And so my friends I hope
That as we've considered something about the coming of Jesus
Into Jerusalem that our hearts will be perhaps softened this morning
Maybe there's someone here who has had a hard time in your perhaps a bit bitter toward the Lord
Bitter to other people my friends just look at what these people felt when they saw Jesus coming
They were just released from all their cares, and they worshiped this one
This is what Palm Sunday is about the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ
Let me just come to the conclusion there in a couple of lessons that I think we should apply
Jesus came to save people
Now in order to be saved let us notice in closing a couple of points
If people are to be saved it must be done in God's way
I've already made this point, but I think we should make it again
that salvation is of the Lord and
Salvation was to be via the cross
That is what it was all about Jesus was riding to a cross
He was going to die this was God's way of
Salvation this was God's way of calling in his people via the cross
Take away that cross and this incident is meaningless
Take away that cross. There's no gospel
take away that cross and we all end up in hell and
So Jesus Christ in is the way of salvation
And it always grieves my heart and hurts me
When I see people say that there are many ways to God
Many ways, you know, that's the great insult to Jesus if God the Father has ordained
That sinners must come through his son
How can he possibly open up other doors of salvation and do justice to his beloved son?
It doesn't figure
God said this is the way walk ye in it and God is true to his word
The only way of salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ
That is the only way and I pray that God would impress us upon us
We live in a day and age, you know where people talk about different lifestyles
You have your lifestyle and you have yours and let's just live together
But there's a great fallacy there if the lifestyle is dishonouring to God you end up in a life in hell
You end up in hell. You have a lifestyle there as well. But my friends God has said this is the way
this is the way and despite all the pressures that we may be under and
Despite the ridicule that may come our way
It is better to be true to the Word of God than to be friendly with the world and its false ideas
So if the person is to be saved
Must be through this person
the Son of David
It must be through the cross. That is why Jesus came
to give his life to spill his blood for sinners such as
Ourselves and you notice my friends on this point
in this question of salvation
It is the case of God coming to the sinner
Isn't that something it is Christ coming to Jerusalem not the sinners going to him
Christ
deliberately
riding into Jerusalem to die
Salvation is always like that it is God coming to you
Jesus coming into Jerusalem
God coming to me and then I am saved
Brother Don took me to Newcastle yesterday, and he told me as we passed the beach
I think there was a big surfing carnival on you know when somebody is
drowning in the ocean
The only way he's going to be saved if somebody goes to him that's true isn't it
He can't pick himself up and swim back. Otherwise he wouldn't be drowning
He can't do anything if that drowning person is to be rescued from that dilemma
Someone must go to him and he must realize that someone must come to me if I'm going to be saved
My friends Jesus coming into Jerusalem
Is the picture of God coming to us
praise God for that all that we might do away with any notions of
works I
Was speaking to a
Young man from an Asian country about a month ago. He was entrenched in Buddhism. We were just sharing notes and
I was asking him. Well, you know, how will you?
Have your sins forgiven
he was telling me that in this life he would do his best and
If he failed and in the next life he would do better
If he failed there then in his next life
He would do better still and his hope was that gradually he would work his way through
perfection to the different stages of his belief in
Reincarnation and
I said to him well my friend I'll listen to you and I said if I were to follow your
Thinking I would be a slave for the rest of my life
And I told him I don't want to be a slave. I want to be free
And that's the difference you see now said be I didn't convert him on the spot
But I hope that statement might make him think you know Christians. We are free
We are absolutely free and I've traveled in Asia and I've seen people in bondage
I have seen people
Mutilate their flesh with skewers through their cheeks and through their noses and you find out why do they do these things?
It is to appease their gods
I've seen this in the flesh
And I think to myself well praise God
That I don't have to subject myself to those doctrines of demons that in Jesus Christ
I am free and why am I free because I come through God's way and
God is the great liberator of the human spirit and our
Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and let us never
forsake this gospel despite the pressure that may be upon the church and
Despite the fact that sometimes we may be small and discouraged our God is a great God
He has come through the Lord Jesus Christ and he has come to save sinners and blessed be his name
indeed and
Finally, let me say this
If somebody is to be saved
He must pray
He must pray
Nobody will ever become a Christian without praying. Do you accept that?
If you ever become a Christian you must pray
Do you know what Hosanna means?
Hosanna
It means save
We beseech you. Hosanna is a prayer
It is a prayer my friends
And so no one will ever be saved without a prayer
You can be saved without money. You can be saved without family. You can be saved without a reputation
you can be saved while you're unemployed, but you'll never be saved without a prayer and
So my friends I urge you if you have never prayed to Jesus to come into your life
that you will do it and
I talked to you young children
Have you ever prayed to Jesus that he would come into your life?
You cannot be a Christian unless you pray and so may God impress upon our hearts
this wonderful truth that
the Lord
Came into Jerusalem. He came as the lowly King
Not hostile to sinners
The friend of sinners he came to save he came to save in God's ways and
that way will certainly be effective to rescue us from our dilemma and
Transport us into the glorious kingdom of God may God move our hearts even this morning
That we like these people might cry out in
Adoration Hosanna to the Son of David
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord?
Hosanna in the highest
Amen
Let us now pray
Our gracious father in heaven
We thank you for this historic occasion when Jesus rode into Jerusalem
We thank you that he did that particular act that he did not forsake the eternal purpose of redemption
That he faced the tensions in the Garden of Gethsemane and went all the way to die for his people
And we pray this morning that through the ministry of your Holy Spirit
We might come to see a fresh the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ
that we might come perhaps for the first time ever and
Pray a prayer that Jesus would come into our lives. Oh
Father we pray you will hear the prayers of each one of us hear the prayers of the parents here for their children
Hear the prayers of all the members here for those who are unsaved and Oh God
We ask that we might learn to walk in all humility
that even as Jesus
Displayed this wonderful humility. So we should be like him and God we pray you will grant us
Even that wonderful joy that holy
Enthusiasm that is generated when your people see Jesus in a fresh and new way
Oh Lord, we pray that you would transport us as it were
elevate us
above the
circumstances that we live in and grant that we might see the world hereafter and
Grant that we might experience
That there is grace
Abounding to us from that world and that you send the Holy Spirit
Help us understand to comfort us to guide us Lord receive our thanksgiving
We pray for Jesus sake
Amen