"The King Rides On to Die" or "What's Wrong with this Picture?"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
What’s
wrong with this picture? The Son of
David, the Most High God, makes His entry into Jerusalem on the back of the
colt of a donkey, and a borrowed on at that.
The Son of David doesn’t sit on an expensive saddle, but upon the cloaks
of His disciples. The Son of David rides
into Jerusalem to crowds of people laying palm branches before Him, to a week
later, crowds of people spitting on Him.
The Son of David rides into Jerusalem to crowds of people shouting, “Hosanna!
Hosanna to the Son of David.
Blessed in He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest” to crowds of
people shouting, “Crucify Him.” Shouts of joy and triumph turn to shouts of
condemnation. Shouts of “Hail to our
King” to shouts of “We have no king but Caesar.” What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this picture.
This
is how our Lord would have it. He didn’t
come to this world to be inaugurated as a glorious king who sits on a throne of
glory. But to come as a humble beggar
king, who has no place to lay His head.
He comes to His people not in pomp but in lowly fashion. A golden crown isn’t placed upon His head,
but He’s “honored” with a crown of thorns.
He doesn’t sit upon His cushioned throne in the center of Jerusalem, but
is nailed to His throne outside the city on the cross. This is how our Lord would have it, He came
not to be served, but to serve. There’s
nothing wrong with this picture, it’s exactly what our Lord willingly undergoes
for you.
But
that’s not the kind of King we want. We
would much rather think of our Savior King as spotless, regal, and mighty. We would rather have Him ride into Jerusalem
on a chariot pulled by mighty steeds, not upon a donkey’s colt. We would rather have our Savior King reign in
glory and might, not from the lowliness of the cross. We would rather have our Savior King bask in
the accolades of Palm Sunday, instead of moving on to His passion. But He won’t have it that way. Because that’s the way that would lead to our
death, our complete separation from God.
The way that would divert Jesus away from the cross is the way that
would damn us to hell.
If Jesus doesn’t go to the cross, if He stays
in the humble splendor of Palm Sunday, our sins are pinned to our chest,
wrapped around our necks. Sin demands
blood, it demands punishment, it demands death.
That’s what we deserve, what have coming, what we ought to get. We sin, we offend God, so it’s us that should
take the punishment. Sounds only fair,
right? You do the crime, you should do
the time. But that’s not the way our
Lord would have it. The innocent one
dies, while the guilty ones, that’s you and me, are given eternal life. What’s wrong with this picture? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing; that’s how our Lord would have it.
The
wonderful thing about Jesus’ suffering and death is that He does it for
you. That’s how precious you are to
Him. The Son of David takes your
sinfulness into Himself. He takes it all
and dies for it. The punishment that you
so rightly deserve, is taken out on the Christ.
The death that was ours to die, Jesus dies. The guilt that you bear because of your sin,
He collects it as if it were His very own.
All of this for
you. This beggar King takes your sin and
gives you His righteousness, His forgiveness.
He takes Your punishment and gives you an everlasting reward. Jesus rides on His donkey into Jerusalem to
die for you; to face the scorn and pain of the cross for you.
The
beggar King, the Son of David, comes not that you would be rich, mighty, or
comfortable in an earthly way of speaking, but so that you would be given,
through His death and resurrection, all
the treasures of heaven.
Through baptism,
we’re brought into the death and resurrection of Christ, we’re made a part of
it. Through the water combined the Word,
our Lord comes to us. Our Lord
continually comes to us under humble means.
To the world, words seem meek, but God uses the Words of the Gospel to
bring to you, here and now, the forgiveness that Christ won on the cross so
many years ago. To the eye, water is
nothing special, yet our Lord connects His Word to it and uses it to bring to
you forgiveness and make you a new creation in Him. Bread and wine are ordinary, but God combines
His Word to it and uses these humble means to bring Himself to you, that by
eating and drinking His body and blood, you’re as close to Him as you can get
this side of eternity. The forgiveness
that He won on the cross is now placed into your mouths. Humble means, through which He comes to you
to forgive, renew and strengthen.
That’s
the kind of King we have. One who
suffers and dies in lowly fashion for you.
One who rides into town on a donkey to die for you. To the world, it looks like defeat, the
picture looks all wrong, but to us, it’s God’s work of salvation. It’s how God has redeemed the world to
Himself. How He forgives your sins, so
that you’ve been purchased and won from all sin, death, and the power of the
devil.
The King rides
into Jerusalem mounted on a donkey to take up His crown of thorns and His
throne on the cross. What’s wrong with
this picture? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because He does it all for you. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life
everlasting. Amen.
