Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord

Luke 19:28-40

Key Verse 19:38

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

So far Jesus hid his identity as king. When his identity as the promised Messiah and King he asked his disciples not to reveal it. But now in today’s passage he clearly revealed he is the king according to God’s promise. He entered Jerusalem as the King. Why did he do so? It was because Jesus wanted to fulfill God’s work. If Jesus had claimed that he is the king early, Roman authorities and Jewish leaders would persecute him. Then he could not preach the word of God and heal people. He would not be able to preach the kingdom of God. Now Jesus’ life here on earth was left about one week. It was about one week before he was arrested and crucified. So now he fully revealed his true identity as the promised King according to Zechariah.

So today we want to know how Jesus revealed himself as the true king promised to come, and what kind of blessing we will receive if we accept Jesus as our king. My message has two parts. Part I. The Lord needs it. (v. 28-34). Part II. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest (v.35-40)

Part I. The Lord needs it (v.28-34)

Look at verses 28-34.

²⁸ After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. ²⁹ As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ³⁰ “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” ³² Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. ³³ As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

³⁴ They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

Jesus asked two of his disciples to untie a colt and bring it to him as his preparation to enter Jerusalem. Jesus needed the colt in order to reveal that he is the king promised to come according to God’s word in Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

When Jesus asked his disciples to bring colt, the interesting point is that Jesus did not ask the owners’ permission first. He asked his disciples to untie the colt first without asking the owner’s permission. Jesus’ advice for the owner’s question was “The Lord needs it.” What if the owner did not see what was going on? They would be surprised. But then later they would see their colt back.

Why didn’t Jesus ask the owner’s permission first? It is because Jesus is the true owner. The colt’s owner was a legal owner, but Jesus is the true owner. It was to reveal Jesus is the Lord. There may be many meanings of the word, “Lord”. But here the meaning of the Lord is ‘owner’. Jesus demonstrated the truth that he is the Lord over the colt. So he asked his disciples to untie the colt and bring it to him without asking the owner’s permission. Mysteriously, its owners also did not say anything but accepted what the disciples said, “The Lord needs it.”

Here, there are several things that reveal Jesus is the Lord. His supernatural knowledge of existence of a donkey, legal owner’s humble surrender to the word, “The Lord needs it”, and colt’s humble obedience to carry Jesus although the colt never carried anyone in the past.

Jesus is the Lord. He is the owner. He is the owner of everything in the universe including ourselves. We may be legal owner of many things. But the true owner of everything we have including our lives is the Lord.

So if he Lord needs our time to reveal that he is the Lord in our lives and in the lives of others we should bring it. If our Lord needs our diligence we need to offer it. If the Lord needs our decision to give up our sinful habits, we need to bring it to him.

The Lord needs it. But whatever the Lord needs will be used by the Lord to reveal he is the Lord in our lives and in the lives of others. Christ is the Lord. We are not the Lord. We may be legal owner but the true owner is the Lord. Our very lives, our time, our talent, our ability, our health, everything belong to the Lord. We should be ready to offer it if the Lord needs it.

Part II. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest (v.35-40)

Verses 35-40 reads,

“³⁵ They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. ³⁶ As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: ³⁸ “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” ³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” ⁴⁰ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Now two of his disciples brought the colt to Jesus. They threw their cloak on the colt and put Jesus on it. As Jesus went along people spread their cloaks on the road. To throw their cloak on the Lord is the expression of their respect. It is like making a red carpet in our terms. According to other gospel, people threw branches of trees too. So the road was covered with cloaks and branches.

When Jesus came to the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives to Kidron Valley, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully shouting in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. ““Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Here “disciples” does not mean 12 apostles. It means all follower of Jesus. They praised God in loud voices for all the miracle they had seen. They shouted, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

When Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish those who had eaten wanted to make him king by force.

John 6:14-15 reads,

^“14 After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”

They thought ‘Wow!” “If we make Jesus as our king we don’t need to work. He will make bread all free of charge, and we can enjoy our lives. We can take life easy and be happy.” So they wanted to make Jesus king by force.

Now the whole crowd of disciples shouted, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” because of all the miracles they had seen.

Although they shouted, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest” what they were seeking was, “peace on earth” and “glory on earth.” They were looking for a king who could free Jewish nation from Roman rule and establish Jewish nation as the glorious nation like the time of King David.

But later, when they realized that Jesus would not provide what they wanted, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Is Jesus king although he would not bring what we want? Yes! When Jesus was tried by Pilate Jesus revealed he is the king.

John 18:36-37 reads,

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” ³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Jesus is the King. But he is not political king with military forces and soldiers. His kingdom is not of this world. Where is his kingdom? Our hearts. So our hearts is the battle field between our King Jesus and ourselves . Who is our King in our hearts? Christ, or ourselves? That is important question.

But what kind of blessings will we receive if we accept Jesus as our King? It is “peace in heaven” and “glory in the highest”. It is to have heavenly peace, and we will glorify God in our lives.

Jesus gave his peace, peace in heaven for us.

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus said, “I do not give to you as the world gives.” The peace the world gives is conditional. The Romans would say, “If you obey us you will have peace. If you rebel you will be destroyed.” But Jesus gives his peace unconditionally. He bought peace for us through his death and resurrection.

We have many troubles in our lives and therefore they can make us very afraid. We may have financial troubles, troubles in our relationship with our neighbors. We may have trouble because of our health. We may have trouble because of our children, and we may have trouble because of our bible students. Most of all, we can be troubled when we do not perform properly. So it is easy for our hearts to be troubled, and it is easy for us to be afraid. But Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The peace Jesus gives has nothing to do with our performance and our other troubles in life. It is peace in heaven, heavenly peace.

If our hearts are troubled and if we are afraid, we need to invite Jesus as our King, and he will give us ‘peace in heaven’, ‘heavenly peace, ‘ ‘his own peace’ which he has promised to his disciples.

When we accept Jesus as our King in our hearts, we can also live a life to glorify God. “Glory in the highest.”

I can see this from the life of Jeff Zeilinger. In the past he lived like a wild donkey, running here and there without any purpose. In the course of doing so he ended up following his sinful desires and committed a lot of sins. His life did not have purpose, and his life was messy. When he was his own king he did not know even what is true love and what is lust.

But suddenly the Lord worked in his heart. As he accepted Jesus as his king and bring whatever he has, he can live a life to glorifying God. He became a new rising star spiritually.

As the Lord needs it he is bringing his own cold, such as his time. He is very busy but he offers his sincere prayer for others. When I prayed together with him I could hear his sincere prayer for all others.

It is true that when we accept Jesus as our king we can experience ‘peace in heaven’ and ‘glory in the highest.” Jesus came to bring “peace in heaven” and “glory in the highest”. As we accept Jesus as our king, his peace and glory will be revealed through our lives.

Indeed to bring our colt when the Lord needs it is the practical way to accept Jesus as our King. Then his peace and his glory will be revealed through our lives. Not only we can enjoy peace and glory but also people around us will experience peace and glory of Jesus Christ from us. We will be peace makers and God’s glory will be revealed through our lives.

One word: Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.