IT'S TIME TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE KING
Jesus’ ministry on this earth was unique in many different ways. He didn’t go to the usual places that a leader would go. He didn’t speak to the usual people, he didn’t preach the usual sermons, he didn’t do the usual things. Jesus was unlike anyone that the people had ever seen before. But one of the most interesting peculiarities about Jesus’ public ministry was that he went to great lengths not to call attention to himself. Yes, he wanted the people to come to him and listen to him - but only for the right reasons. He really tried to stay out of the public spotlight as much as possible and rarely did he allow his followers to tell other people about the miracles they had witnessed.
On numerous occasions when he healed people of diseases or cast out demons, he specifically told them not to tell anyone about it. Because when they did tell others about the things he did, Jesus was swarmed by such a great number of people that he couldn’t go into public places anymore but had to stay out in the more remote territories of the country. And at his transfiguration up on the mountain with Peter, James, and John, he ordered these three disciples not to tell anyone about the glorious things they had seen until he rose from dead. And when Jesus was up in the area of Galilee, Scripture records that “Jesus' brothers said to him, ‘You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’ For even his own brothers did not believe in him. Therefore Jesus told them, ‘The right time for me has not yet come’” (John 7:3-6). Jesus was not interested in calling attention to himself with his miracles. He did not want people to gather around him simply to have their earthly needs fulfilled. In fact, when the Pharisees and the teachers of the law demanded that he show them a miracle to prove that he really was the Son of God, Jesus refused to give them any sign at all, but pointed them back to the Word of God. Jesus was completely unconcerned about the glory and the fame that this world had to offer. He had no desire to show off. And he didn’t want his followers to brag about him too much either.
For the three years that Jesus openly preached the gospel to the people of this world, that was the normal way he operated. With one exception. There was one day during the three years he spent traveling around Israel in which Jesus allowed his disciples to publically announce his arrival and to vocally praise him in front of the people for all of the miracles that he had done. And that day was, of course, the day we are celebrating this morning: Palm Sunday. This day is unique for that very reason - it is the only day the Lord allowed something like this to happen while he lived on this earth. And this event is very important because it is recorded for us in all four gospel accounts. After Jesus sent a couple of his disciples to get a young donkey that had been set aside by the Lord for this very occasion, Luke writes that, “They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 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: ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’"
This had never really happened before in Jesus’ ministry. And so why did Jesus allow his followers to call attention to their King on that particular afternoon? Why did Jesus change his regular way of doing things just for one day at the very end of his ministry and almost encourage this behavior by those who believed in him? If he didn’t mind his praises being sung on Palm Sunday, why not before? Why didn’t he have Christians do this for three straight years so that as many people as possible could flock to Jesus and see who he was with their own eyes? The reason Jesus permitted his disciples to call attention to him only five days before his death was because of what he would do in the week to come. There had never been a week like the one that would follow - either in Jesus’ ministry or the thousands of years before he was born - and there would never be a week after this in which so much was done for the salvation of the world than the week following this first Palm Sunday. Nothing would be comparable to the Lord’s Supper, the betrayal, and the arrest of Maundy Thursday evening. Nothing would come close to the crucifixion, the death, and the burial of Good Friday afternoon. Nothing would be more miserable than that sad Sabbath Saturday. And nothing would be as joyous as the resurrection of Easter Sunday. Never again would there be a week like this. And Jesus wanted everyone to see it. Jesus wanted as many people as possible to witness what he was about to do. It was time to call attention to the King and he sent out his disciples before him to sing his praises and draw people to him in an uncharacteristic fashion.
Have you ever realized that the followers of Jesus really put their lives on the line by calling attention to their King on what we now call Palm Sunday? Jesus was a wanted man! The Pharisees hated him, the Sadducees hated him, the Herodians hated him, the teachers of the law hated him, many of the regular Jewish people hated him, and these people had been plotting his death for years! And now as Jesus and his following were entering the capital city of Judea where most of these enemies of Christ were, Jesus’ disciples began throwing their robes on the ground, waving palm branches in the air, and singing “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” In short, they were demonstrating their faith in the one whom powerful people wanted dead. By publically showing their allegiance to Christ that day, these followers were putting their lives in danger - especially if Jesus would ever end up being captured and murdered. But these believers couldn’t help but sing about their Lord. They were compelled by their faith in Christ to “joyfully… praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen.”
Is there a reason that we don’t usually show that kind of joy for the King in our lives? Yes, I realize that we don’t have Jesus visibly here and physically riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. We don’t have the opportunity to actually throw our coats on the road in front of Christ himself on the week of his crucifixion. But we have the exact same things to praise him for as those early Christians did and we have the exact same reason to call attention to our King: He is our Savior! He is our sacrifice! We know about the miracles he has done! We trust in the promises he will fulfill! And we firmly believe that we are fully forgiven because of the unselfish actions of our Lord! Doesn’t that make you happy? Doesn’t that give you a reason to shout, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”? It makes me happy. It gives me a reason to shout. Of course, just like many other Christians in this life, what is in my heart doesn’t always come out in my life.
How long does it take for someone to find out you’re a Christian? When someone meets you for the very first time, when does it become clear to them that you have thrown your robe in front of the King? Situations may vary and personalities may differ, but I’m guessing that it takes a little longer for you to express your faith than it probably should. But even in the conversations you have with the people that you already know, how often do you call attention to your King? You may chat with your neighbors or your friends about every topic under the sun, you may discuss politics or policies with your coworkers every day, you may run down the lists of complaints and joys with your family members and relatives on a regular basis, but how many times do you turn their attention to the King?
Even as a pastor, even as someone who is actually paid to call attention to the King, I don’t always do that very well. I wouldn’t say that I’m embarrassed of the King, but I realize that it’s a touchy subject sometimes and people don’t necessarily like talking about those kinds of things with a pastor. But I can use any number of excuses why I don’t share my joy about Christ more often than I do! And my reasons are actually pretty weak. My explanations would really be a little bit pitiful. There’s no excuse for me sitting on a plane next to someone I don’t know for three hours and completing the entire flight without them finding out who I am and what I believe. There’s no excuse for me to have a neighbor whom I don’t invite to hear God’s Word. There’s no excuse for me to talk to a friend who is having problems without sharing my overwhelming happiness that comes from the gospel. There’s no excuse for me not to rip a branch off that palm tree or to throw my coat in the road or to proudly proclaim, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” Because he came for me! He came for my forgiveness. He came because I don’t do what I’m supposed to do and I always do what I shouldn’t. He came to me because I could not go to him. He came for you on Palm Sunday to save you by Easter Sunday.
Today is technically Palm Sunday. But shouldn’t every day really be our Palm Sunday? Every day should be spent praising our Lord and pointing others to Christ’s ransom cross and deserted crypt. Because this day and the week it beings is what makes the rest of the year worth living! This week is the pinnacle of our salvation! This week should fill every minute of our lives every day. And I know it does. I know that what Christ has done fills our hearts and brings us joy. That’s why we’re here this morning. And I pray that this joy bubbles over in our lives a little more often so that others can see what we already know and believe. It’s time to call attention to the King! There’s very little time left. And the Lord wants everyone to know what he has done and what he is about to do.
The disciples of Christ back on that road coming down from the Mount of Olives didn’t quite know what was going to happen within the next seven days. They didn’t know that the Pharisees who wanted them to stop shouting Jesus’ praises on Sunday would ask them to join in shouting for Jesus’ crucifixion on the coming Friday. They didn’t know that this King who was riding on a donkey into Jerusalem would soon be carrying a cross outside of Jerusalem as a criminal. They didn’t know that the one in front of him they threw their cloaks would be stripped of his own clothing in humiliation. They didn’t know what the Savior was about to do. But they called attention to the King anyway. Because they knew who he was. And they know what he could do.
As Christians living in this era, we know exactly what Christ our King accomplished that week. We know about the bread and the wine, the Garden of Gethsemane, the trials, the beatings, the thorns, the nails, and the empty burial clothes a few days later. We know exactly what Jesus did to secure for us the salvation that those believers on the first Palm Sunday knew about only in prophetic bits and pieces. We have the full story about what happened between the Sundays of Palm and Easter. We know about the victory of the King. It’s time to call attention to what our King did this week. It’s time to let people in on what they’ve been missing. It’s time to invite. It’s time to encourage. It’s time to sing the King’s praises. The King himself wants this to happen. The King wants everyone to know about the death and resurrection that they can’t live without. It’s time to call attention to the King. Souls are at stake.
Amen.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Tim. 1:17
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