"A DIFFERENT KIND OF KING"
Palm Sunday (Sunday of the Passion)
April 5, 2020
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
Over His head they put the charge against Him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
Matthew 27:37 (ESV)
The event of Palm Sunday can be looked at in a number of different ways. Obviously it was revelatory and prophetic, since Jesus was revealing Himself to be the Messianic King that Zechariah described so vividly in his book of prophecy. Some interpreters have looked at it as a fitting prelude to the events of passion week: the same Jesus who is given a king's welcome on Palm Sunday is condemned to die a criminal's death just a few days later. Others have looked at this event as a study in crowd psychology--an example of how easy it is to get a large group of people excited and focused. I prefer to look at Jesus' Palm Sunday parade as a parody of sorts. Jesus is claiming to be King alright, but not the kind of king that most people are used to. Normally a king who had been victorious in battle led his troops as they paraded back into their capital city. The king, of course, was at the head of the parade, riding on a tall and large white stallion. Jesus, however, came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday with His handful of ragtag disciples riding on a borrowed jackass--a lowly beast of burden. In that simple act the Lord was saying something profound about the world's idea of kingly majesty.
And the parody doesn't end there. It continues through everything that transpires during the week that we call holy. In seeking out His captors rather than fleeing from them, in healing the ear of the high priest's servant, in boldly speaking the truth before both religious and civil interrogators, and in praying God's forgiveness for those who killed Him, Jesus showed Himself to be altogether different than we are. The text before us this morning seems like an insignificant little footnote in the story of Jesus' suffering and death, but it says something very important about what is revealed in these sacred events. The stated and published charge attached to the cross of the crucified Christ says something in particular about Him and about His people.
The charge against Jesus says, first of all, that He is the King in whom the truth is proclaimed no matter what. It doesn't matter that He was not accorded the respect that is due a king. It doesn't matter that very few people believed Him to be anything more than a misguided traveling preacher. It doesn't matter that He ended up hanging on a Roman cross as an Object of scorn and ridicule. In spite of all this, His tormentors' last insult, the sarcastic statement of what His crime had been, proclaimed the truth of who He really was: the King of the Jews. Jesus was--and is--indeed a King, but He is not what most people envision when they hear the word. "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), He had told Pilate during His trial. That's something that no one has ever seemed to understand. Not the enemies of Christ who have always felt threatened by Him and His kingdom; not the followers of Christ who have repeatedly sought to further their cause by political and at times even military means. He is a King, but One who rules over a spiritual kingdom and seeks to conquer the world with His redeeming love.
Looking at Jesus hanging on that cross under that charge also says something about the Lord's idea of glory. Jesus found His glory in things that the world would never see as glorious: things like associating with the dregs of society--things like helping others at His own expense--things like washing His disciples' feet--things like enduring humiliation, pain, and even unjust execution as a common criminal. He found His glory in these things because these things were all components of His mission in this world. He came into the world to deliver sinners from their sin and all of its consequences, and to do that required that He live without sin and that He suffer those consequences Himself. Because through all of this He accomplished His purpose, He gloried in it. King Jesus wore His crown of thorns as a badge of honor, together with the scars from the whip and the nails, because in them He won His victory and established His kingdom.
And what does all of this say about the people of this King? The charge against Jesus describes Him as "the King of the Jews." We know the Jews as the chosen nation of God--the descendants of Abraham. But as far as the Romans were concerned, the Jews were nothing but a nuisance. They had this silly religion that caused so many problems because they took their religion too seriously. They weren't willing to "roll with the punches." They took offense at the notion that a person could worship many gods. They rioted when their governor, Pontius Pilate, placed the Roman eagle insignia on the temple walls. All in all, the Jews were a difficult people to govern--much more difficult than any of Rome's other subjects. So in calling Jesus "the King of the Jews," the Romans (in their minds, at least) were paying Him no compliment at all.
We share a unique kinship with God's ancient people, the Jews. Like them, we have been called out from the world to be different, and that difference creates many problems for us. We too are supposed to take our religion seriously enough that we refuse to "roll with the punches." We also must object to the many gods that people worship today. Today's false gods are not emperors or statues or mythical characters, but they are things like money, possessions, and power, hobbies and leisure activities, and a preoccupation with self-gratification. --Not that all of these things are wrong in themselves, but all too often people allow these things to become their god. We need to learn from God's ancient people (as well as from Christians of the first three centuries) that being a part of Jesus' kingdom means being loyal to King Jesus, and that in turn means enduring the contempt of the kingdom of this world.
Who is Jesus? He is "the King of the Jews"--and our King as well. But He's a different kind of king. Don't look for Him sitting on a magnificent throne--He is enthroned on a cross. Don't expect Him to be wearing a golden crown--His crown is made of thorns. Don't look for Him to destroy His enemies and conquer the world with force--He is the King of love who turns the enemies of God into the children of God by the forgiveness of their sins. We have a rough road to travel this week as we follow our King. But if we follow closely, His royalty will become all too apparent to our eyes. And so, empowered by His Spirit, we go with Him eagerly to see what real glory is all about.
Amen.
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead you to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in the lives of you, His people. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.