160320 Christ the King

 Matthew 21:1-11 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ⁵ “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus was born to be king of the Jews. That fact was recognized by the Wise Men who came from the East at his birth. In fact they believed that he should be in the king’s palace because that’s where they looked for him. Throughout his ministry life he resisted the attempts by people to make him a king. Jesus himself proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven was at hand when he began his ministry. The more formal churches call today “Palm Sunday” and we use the term as well.

As the crowds gathered in Jerusalem that day they laid their cloaks on the ground and added to them branches from the surrounding trees. That is the reason this day has come to be called “Palm Sunday”. Jesus the Lord came into the city that day aware of what soon would be happening. Throughout his ministry…

The crowds wanted to make him king. After Jesus had fed 5000 men with a lad’s lunch John records for us the following information. John 6:13-15 So they gathered them up (that’s the left over bread and fish) and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴ When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” ¹⁵ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The crowds that gathered that day probably were not too interested in Jesus’ spiritual teachings so much as they were in his being able to provide them with food and healing.

That’s not so different from today. It seems that many who claim the name “Christian” are not so much interested in the Biblical truth as they are in what they can get from God.

 These people had just participated in one of the largest miracles that has ever been recorded. Just imagine, a boy’s lunch taken by Jesus and blessed before the crowds and then divided among them. 5000 men not counting women and children were present that day! A “king” that could do that kind of miracle would be able to take care of all their needs forever. He saw that they would surround him and demand that he become their king. The crowds were not alone in their understanding that he was to be a king. In fact…

Jesus had proclaimed the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. We can see in Matthew 4:23. That Jesus was using the term “kingdom” right at the beginning of his ministry. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

As he traveled around Galilee teaching he was also proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. Not only did he provide them with food he was healing every disease and every affliction among the people. This was the kind of “King” any people would want. Not only that but he also would be able to defeat his enemies without the use of a large army. At the very beginning of his ministry Jesus had been led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). In that encounter Jesus came out on top. From that point forward Satan was defeated…

The defeat of the enemy proclaimed the kingdom. Jesus wanted them to understand that he had power over Satan. We read one account of this in Matthew 12:25-29.  Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸ But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

The religious leaders of the Jews would not accept the fact that Jesus was truly the Son of God. They were doing everything possible to discredit Jesus. So instead of accepting what he did as coming from God they, instead, claimed that he was operating in the power of Beelzebul. This is another name for Satan. Remember? Jesus had defeated Satan in the wilderness. Luke tells us that when Jesus had defeated the enemy, the devil departed “until an opportune time”! There is absolutely no question that Satan is nowhere near equal to Jesus in power. Jesus defeated him in the wilderness and I believe you could say that Jesus bound him at that time. The devil returned during the last few days of Jesus’ life on earth. John records for us the words of Jesus as part of his last teaching times when he said, “the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” (John 14:30-31) later, in his first little letter, John would write, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

The evidence Jesus presented to them was that he cast out demons by the Spirit of God. That being true, then the kingdom of God had come upon them. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom and…

Jesus’ disciples proclaimed the kingdom. One account is found in Luke 19:37-38.  As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

When Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem the crowds of his disciples were covering the streets with their robes and palm branches. While they were doing this they were rejoicing saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” His disciples knew that he was the King.

However, the exciting events of that day were very “unkingly”! He was not riding on a white horse (he will be perhaps soon) instead he was riding on a young donkey. He did not enter the city by the main gate where important events would unfold for the kings of the world. They would have come in through the Eastern gate and going directly into the temple courtyard. It is believed that Jesus came in from the south through the valley of the cheesemakers. That was really of the “low-rent” district. The poor lived there and, as its name implies, cheese was made there so the air would be filled with the odor of rotten milk! Seeing all these people gathered around Jesus…

The Pharisees were offended. Let’s read on. Luke 19:39-40 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

The Pharisees were horrified that Jesus would allow the crowd to call him “King”! As I said earlier he came on a donkey not a white horse. He is not only King of kings he is also Prince of peace. He came on a peaceful animal.

Yet, the Pharisees were offended. All throughout Jesus ministry they had looked for a time and place where they could arrest him and put him on trial. This King business was their best opportunity. Later, before Pilate’s throne they would say, “We have no King but Caesar!” (John 19:15) As the Son of David…

Jesus was given “all power”! In reciting the “Great Commission” verse 18 is often ignored but it is the most important. Let’s read Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:18-20. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Christ the King has come to the end of his physical life on earth. Because of his death on the cross, setting us free from the bondage to sin, in obedience to the Father Jesus himself said that he was given “All authority in heaven and on earth”. Since that is true we should respond in a number of ways. We should not just give lip service to him we should honor and obey him in all things. We should go every day willing, and ready, to make disciples. When we share the good news with someone and they choose to become a disciple of Jesus they need to be baptized and been taught. We can do this because the one who has “all authority” has come to live in us and has promised to always be with us even to the end of the age.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church about the power of God. Paul said that the resurrection power raised Jesus above all rule and authority. Let’s read about it in Ephesians 1:20-23. God’s power that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

We should rejoice in the truth that Jesus is Christ the King! And we should encourage everyone we meet to come to Jesus and accept him as Lord and Savior! We should let people know that they have two choices about submitting to Jesus. Either we will bend the knee to him now confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised him from the dead, or, when he comes again we will face the judgment…

Every knee will bow before the King. Listen to what is written in Philippians 2:9-11. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

All those who have rejected him on earth will see him in his glory and will find themselves bending their knee to him and confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. All this will be done to glorify the Father. We will either face him at our death or at his second coming — when…

He will come again to rule. Let’s read Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— ⁶ since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ¹⁰ when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. He will come again to rule over all the creation that remains. Those in hell will recognize that they were wrong and he is truly the Lord. Those in heaven will marvel at his glory that will be shown to us. Everyone will recognize that God is just and the justifier of those who believe in him. The truth that Paul saw was also revealed to John on the Isle of Patmos. Let’s look at his description of what he saw.

Revelation 19:11-16Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³ He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵ From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

When Jesus comes again he will not come riding on a donkey as the Prince of peace. He will come as the faithful and true one who alone is righteous in judgment and the ability to make war. If we have died and gone to heaven before this event we will be on one of those white horses following him as he strikes down the nations that oppose him.

The king of the Jews has become the King of kings and Lord of lords. My prayer for you is that you have already bowed your knee to him. Because we need to remember that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Please place your faith and trust in him as Lord and Savior.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

160306 Invitation to a Banquet

Luke 14:15-24  When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” ¹⁶ But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. ¹⁷ And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ ²³ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”

The very best fellowship occurs around the table with plenty to eat. At least that seems to be the way it is. There are several levels of understanding in this passage of Scripture and the verses just before. I tend to believe this is based on a real event. One of the confusions about Jesus’ parables is the teaching that the parables are sort of like fables. The truth wrapped in a story. Or, as some would put it, “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”. For me, at least, when Jesus said, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.” He told the truth. Before he told the story he laid down a principle that needs to be followed in our lives.

Jesus had been invited to a banquet. He used the opportunity to challenge the Pharisees to consider what spiritual life is really all about. First, he healed a man on the Sabbath day. Then, Jesus talked about how we should respond when invited and what to do when we give an invitation to others. He gave guidelines to gain a blessing from God rather than men. Jesus said we were to…

Invite the poor. One of my favorite verses is found in Proverbs 19:17. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

When we give to the poor we lend to the God. During my lifetime I have often been asked to lend someone money. If I operated on the principle that I can only loan to those who will repay me I would be several thousand dollars richer today. You see, I just wouldn’t have lent the money! Because it was obvious that those who asked would not likely be able to repay or did not have a good reputation for repaying. I realized early on that handing money to a person needs to be considered a gift with no expectation of return. By the way, that’s part of the definition of “grace”. I realize that this is not a very businesslike position but I believe it fits with what I have learned about God. When we give to the poor they may not be able to repay however…

God always reimburses. In the words of Jesus found in Luke 6:38. “… give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Notice that Jesus did not say that when we give we will be returned what we gave instead he says, “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over,” God is generous to those who are generous. I believe the implication here is: God is not generous to those who are stingy. When we give with a cheerful heart God will take care of us. If we wait until we can afford to give we will not give.

When we follow the principle of giving set forth here by Jesus, God will reimburse us. In fact, a generous heart will, in God’s time and way, be rewarded abundantly above what we expect or think. In the words of the prophet Joel, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” (Joel 2:25) What the Lord takes away he will restore when our hearts are his. Return to the Lord and he will return to you.

In our text today Jesus is responding to one of the other guest’s statement that those who eat bread in the kingdom of God will be blessed. So Jesus told the story about the fact that…

Many are invited to the kingdom. Jesus spoke the invitation in John 7:37-38. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

As Jesus was coming to the end of his life he wanted to be sure that the invitation had gotten out to everyone. Rather than taking the position of the man in his story who depended on his servants Jesus proclaimed the invitation himself. When we have a spiritual thirst God is ready to put within us a fountain that flows out into the lives of others. This fountain is not only to provide for our thirst it is to include the thirst of all those around us. We live in a spiritually thirsty world as evidenced by all the stuff around us designed to make us feel better about ourselves.

When the master of the banquet found that the banquet hall was not filled he put out a general call. In exactly the same way, God, through us, extends a general call to repentance. That call we are to put out involves certain basic truths. First, everyone has sinned. (Romans 3:23) Second, the penalty for sin is death, spiritual death that includes eternal separation from God in hell! (Romans 6:23) Yet, the love of God is shown in the fact that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. (Romans 5:8)

Jesus had said, “Come to me… And I will give you rest!” (Matthew 11:28) This is not just an invitation given long ago. This invitation is given every day as long as mankind is on earth.

There must be a personal response by every person on earth. Everyone needs to consider that this genuine personal invitation calls for a genuine personal response from everyone who hears it. However…

Many give excuses for not coming. Looking back at our text in Luke 14:18-20. But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

Those originally invited to the banquet gave some pretty lame excuses. “I have bought a field,” or, “I have bought… oxen” or, “I am newly married”. None of these excuses are really reasons for not responding positively to the invitation.

In the same way the excuses we hear to the invitation we give are usually pretty frivolous. “There are hypocrites in the church”. “The church is always asking for money”. “I just don’t have time to mess with these spiritual things”.

We need to remember that God is the one who makes the invitation effective. You know the old saying, “You can lead the horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” In response to that my dad always said, “Put salt in his oats and he’ll drink.” We can’t put salt in the unbelievers “oats” but God can. We need to pray for people that God will put in their path obstacles that cause them to look up to him. We need to continue to pray for those we have invited and then we need to consider who hasn’t been invited. Faced with the situation of the world we live in we need to…

Invite the uninvited. There is a a story found in Mark 2:13-17. About the people that Jesus spent time with. He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ¹⁴ And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus is not saying that those who are righteous in their own eyes are really seen by God as righteous. They see themselves as righteous and therefore do not respond positively to the gospel. This is still true today. Many people consider themselves to be righteous because, by human standards, they are “good” people.

The crowd that followed Jesus included all kinds of people. Tax collectors and sinners was the general description of them. They certainly represented the “uninvited”. I believe we are also guilty of selectively choosing people and “uninviting” them. I really struggle with the problem of who we should include in our invitation and how we should include them.

Everyone should be invited. And everyone who is invited should be confronted with the gospel and a call to repent and follow Jesus. If that makes them uncomfortable here so be it! We should be sure to let everyone know that we care for them and desire that their lives be conformed to God’s purpose and plan. The world around us needs to know that we want what is really best for them according to the Bible.

When the guests who were first invited refused to come the master of the house asked his servants to…

Take the invitation to the highways and hedges.  In the same way Jesus told his disciples (and us) in Acts 1:8 to go. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

For the master of the banquet the encouragement to go out into the highways and hedges involved reaching out beyond the local community. He had sent them to the streets and lanes of the city and had them bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Having done that there were still empty seats at the banquet. Then they were instructed to go out even further to the highways and hedges. These people certainly were not the kind of people originally invited. They would be poor and would have unacceptable manners. They would also be very hesitant to go to the “big house” for a banquet. To overcome their hesitation his servants were told to…

Compel them to come in. During his ministry on earth Jesus often had to persuade people. One of the earlier examples is found in John 1:43-46. The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Here we see Philip reaching out to his friend Nathaniel. Jesus would quickly convince him that he really was the Messiah. But the invitation given by Philip was pretty simple, “Come and see”. In order to convince, or persuade, him Jesus called Nathaniel, “an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Then Nathaniel asked, “How do you know me?” Jesus’ answer persuaded him. Jesus said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree I saw you.” After that, Nathaniel was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.

I believe that is the kind of “compelling” that Jesus was talking about when he had the master of the banquet tell his servants to compel people to come in. We need to be equally persuasive in talking to our friends and loved ones, and even to those we consider to be unfriendly towards us.

The master of the house wanted his banquet hall to be filled. In Jesus’ parable the master of the house is God. In the future, after God wraps up history…

The banquet hall will be filled. This is the real banquet hall and is spoken of in Revelation 7:9-10. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

At the marriage supper of the Lamb those of us who have put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will join with a multitude from all races and all ages. We will share with Jesus in a time of great rejoicing before the Father.

From beginning to end the Bible tells us that God’s intention has been to bring his people into fellowship with himself. One of the great joys we will experience in the fellowship will be the fact that we can eat and drink in the presence of the Lord.

I hope you have prepared yourself for the time when you will join with others in heaven.

When Jesus told this story he was explaining the seriousness of our response to the invitation. It is very important that everyone be invited. We cannot know for sure who will respond or how an individual will respond. We just have the responsibility to go everywhere and call everyone to repentance. It is up to God to bring people in. It is up to us to invite them. I urge you today to give out invitations to the banquet. We can’t make them come but we can urge them to come and pray for them that God will open their hearts.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.