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The Humility of the King

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“The Humility of a King”

Matthew 21:1-10 – April 2, 2023 (March 20, 2005)

            Do you all have experiences of someone who is well-known? Someone whose name is on everybody’s lips? Someone who everybody is talking about? Whenever you hear the buzz, chances are it’s about that person. And when that well-known person, that person of greatness makes a big entrance, we know what to expect, don’t we? Well-known people are supposed to enter a city with pomp and ceremony: black limos, bands, waving, cheering crowds lining the streets, live coverage on television.

            That is just what we have here in the Gospel reading for today (minus the limousines and the television coverage). The name of Jesus was on just about everyone’s lips. Some people were glad He had come to Jerusalem, and some people were mad He had come, and some people weren’t sure what to think. But, I suspect almost everyone in Jerusalem that day had some sort of idea or opinion, one way or another.

            I bet a common question on people’s lips on that Sunday centuries ago was, “Who is this guy, anyway?” Let’s consider. The Rabbi Jesus had options. He could have quietly snuck into Jerusalem in the middle of the night, avoiding notice and controversy, and not making a fuss or bother. But that wouldn’t have been very kingly, would it?

            Jesus could have entered Jerusalem boldly and proudly, seated on a big white horse, like other triumphant generals or kings. A conquering king on a horse is the very image of war and forcing submission. But—that wouldn’t have struck quite the right note, not with everything we know about Jesus.

            What were people expecting? In other words, “Who is this guy, anyway?”

            At that time, the country of Israel in general, and the area surrounding Jerusalem in particular, was under enemy occupation. They were under the oppressive thumb of the Roman government, subdued by the Roman army, and had been in that position for many, many years. I know for a fact that around the time of Jesus, several people had proclaimed themselves “Messiahs”—meaning political leaders—for the purpose of overthrowing the Roman government and authority. So, this was not the first time this had been done. We can even see among Jesus’ disciples there was movement in this direction, and several of His disciples tried to persuade Jesus to be that powerful political leader.

            So, on that Palm Sunday, some people fully expected Jesus to make good on His claim to be Messiah—a claim to be a strong political leader, come to free the Israelite people from the tyranny of the Romans. True, Jesus had repeatedly proclaimed Himself the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. He used the title “Son of David” for Himself, which was a plain statement of His kingly claim, His claim to be Messiah. But with the Roman occupation and the messianic expectations of the day, a peaceful Messiah was not what anyone was expecting.

            Some people–I’m thinking of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes and other temple leaders—were  awfully uneasy about Jesus. For them, Jesus was their worst nightmare. This rogue rabbi from Nazareth was saying things that penetrated right to the heart. Usually it was right to the hearts of the religious leaders—in a negative way. And, those things Rabbi Jesus was saying did not make the religious leaders feel good about themselves at all. Which made them want to get rid of Jesus even more.

            But, wait a minute! Jesus had also consistently healed the sick, given sight to the blind made the lame walk, and preached God’s good news to the poor. What about that part of His ministry? He certainly appeared to many to be a mighty prophet of God, and lots and lots of people were following Him as a result. Jesus’ words and teaching had authority. Jesus’ person had great credibility. Jesus’ healing showed God’s mighty power, and people even called the works He did miracles! Many people expected great things out of Jesus as a result of this aspect of His ministry.

            Who is this guy, anyway?

            Jesus entered Jerusalem the way He did as a fulfillment of prophecy. He didn’t just do this because He felt like it. No. I believe He fully understood what was prophesied in Zechariah 9 and Isaiah 62. So, the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem just as the prophets said He would, on a donkey, as a visible sign of His coming in peace. The donkey was the image of peace. And that was what Jesus was bringing. He came to bring peace to people’s hearts, not a popular uprising, and not war to the streets of Jerusalem.

            Yes, Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king, and what I’d like to emphasize, as a humble and peaceful king. Humility is brought out as an attribute of this Messiah, this Anointed One of God, in three places. First, in the prophecy from Zechariah; second, in our gospel text this morning in Matthew 21 (which is a quote from Zechariah); and third, in our epistle passage today from Philippians.

            Jesus not only entered Jerusalem as a king, but as a humble king. Jesus could have been mighty and powerful. Jesus could have entered Jerusalem at the head of a mighty army of angels, ready for war. But, NO. Jesus entered Jerusalem in humility. He humbled Himself.

            Humility gets a bum rap today. I can’t imagine big, burly sports stars regularly being humble. Or, look at Hollywood actors and actresses—the very opposite of humility! Or, think of our political leaders—can any of them be described as humble? Our Lord Jesus presents us with a very, very different picture of humility.

            Just by coming to this earth, being born as a baby in Bethlehem, putting Himself under the authority of His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, Jesus showed us how much He humbled Himself. Jesus showed how much He cared for us. Jesus’ willingness to become human, to humble Himself, to become obedient, to the point of death–even death on a cross–this is love. This is obedience. This is humility.

            As our Lord Jesus—Messiah—Son of David—Lamb of God—Savior of the world—was seated on that donkey, He knew what was going to happen later that week. He knew about the arrest and the crucifixion. He knew that some of that crowd who cried “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday morning would be screaming “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday morning. He had set His face and steeled His heart to go to Jerusalem, and on Palm Sunday morning, He was there. Jesus was preparing Himself to be obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, one of the most horrible kinds of execution ever thought of by anyone, anywhere.

            So—the question of the morning—who is this guy?—is a question that needs to be answered in each and every person’s heart. The hearts of the people in Jerusalem were in turmoil. Are our hearts any different today?

            Who is Jesus, anyway? Is He a great Teacher? Is He a troublemaker? Is He a prophet of God? Is He the fulfillment of prophecy? Or . . . is He something much more?

            The one who embodied the peace of heaven died just outside a city that was AND is blind to peace. Yet that one who died—Jesus—Son of David—Savior of the world—came to be King of our hearts, not King of a small territory on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. That one who died—Jesus—Messiah—Lamb of God—brings peace to all who trust in Him.

            Through all the pain and suffering of Holy Week, Jesus brings peace. Despite the horror of crucifixion, Jesus brings peace. Through the glorious resurrection of Easter Sunday, Jesus brings peace. I trusted Jesus to bring peace to my heart over thirty years ago, and I praise God for that peace and security, and for His presence always at my side.

            What about you? Have you trusted Jesus to bring peace to your heart? Trust Him today. And praise God that Jesus is King of our hearts, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

            Amen, and amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

One Family of God

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“One Family of God”

unity how good it is

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 – January 24, 2016

At this time of the year, many people get all excited about sports. Hockey, basketball, and especially football. The end of the football season is upon us! There are many different types of positions on a football team. I was wondering: how good would a team be if all of the players were big and bulky, like offensive linemen? Or, how about if all the players wiry and nimble, like wide receivers? How successful would a team like that be?

The Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth about another group, or team. Except, he called it a body—God’s body. God put together all the different believers into a team, or body called the church. God’s team. When we consider our passage for today, we can also see that God made different kinds of gifts, as well. God’s plan is for human beings to live together in one body. That is, with one another, in a great big community.

What on earth is Paul talking about? A body? Why is he mentioning a metaphor like that? Well, he was responding to a letter from the church in the city of Corinth. He had spent a number of months in the city, teaching and preaching. Then, he went on his way to other towns, to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was an itinerant preacher and missionary, after all.

I suspect Paul had a great number of people sending him letters, asking him questions, wanting his advice about continuing problems in the various churches he had founded. A number of things were the matter with the church in Corinth. In his letter, Paul tried to correct several issues, including this important issue about spiritual gifts, and unity in the church.

Reading from chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians again: “12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” That’s Paul’s main point! Yes, we in the church are one body! Yes, we in the church have different strengths, and roles, and gifts! Just like a body has many, many different parts. Those different parts do countless tasks. Certain parts of the body are versatile! And, other parts of the body do just one thing. But, that doesn’t make any smaller part any less a part of the body. Big parts, important parts, little parts, behind-the-scenes parts. All different kinds of parts of the body.

One of my favorite commentators had a radio program for years. J. Vernon McGee broadcast a show called “Thru the Bible,” in which he would do just that; methodically go through the Bible in five years, teaching and giving comments in his homespun, aw shucks kind of way. This Presbyterian pastor Dr. McGee had incredible insights!

Dr. McGee told several stories about this particular chapter from 1 Corinthians. On one occasion, Dr. McGee went to a school in Georgia to deliver a commencement address. Afterwards, he went to a doctor’s home for dinner. Quoting from his commentary, “[The doctor] asked me whether I knew which was the most important part of my body while I had been speaking. I guessed it was my tongue. ‘No,’ he said, ‘the most important part of your body today was a member that no one was conscious of. It was your big toe. If you didn’t have a couple of big toes, you wouldn’t have been able to stand up there at all.’” [1]

We all are probably familiar with a popular children’s toy. Put out by Hasbro, small children have played with it for decades. Made even more famous by an appearance in all three Toy Story movies from Pixar. Mr. Potato Head, accompanied by his partner, Mrs. Potato Head, of course. You remember how Mr. Potato Head works. A large potato. And, the separate parts of the body: eyes, ears, nose, mouth. Hands, feet. Reminds me quite a bit of the Apostle Paul’s metaphor of the Church, the body of Christ, doesn’t it? But what if our Potato Head had all eyes, and no hands? Or, all ears and no feet? What then? Would it be all lopsided? Wouldn’t work properly?

Just imagine if our local church, St. Luke’s Church, was all lopsided like this? Wouldn’t work properly? Not only is the Church meant to have unity, or work well together, it is also made up of diverse or different parts, on purpose!

Looking back at Genesis, we can see that diversity is definitely in God’s plan for humanity from the very beginning. The sheer creativity of God in creation is so big and so varied. A countless variety of individuals made in every size, shape, color, ethnicity. Having endless variations of gifts that God gave to each of us.

The only way I can figure this, is God is pleased when we use our God-given creativity in any one of a myriad of ways—inventing, designing, doing, helping, making, thinking, crafting, composing, giving. And when we use our God-given gifts, it plain feels good inside.

When we look at this chapter in 1 Corinthians, Paul stresses that the church—the group of believers in Christ he was writing to—in all of its diversity, is a community. A great, big extended family, if that helps you think about it in that way. I know that can remind us of the whole topic of the families each of us were born into–and some people don’t want to go there—with in-laws, out-laws, black sheep, and all the rest. But biblically speaking, this is God’s family. Unity? Yes! Diversity? Again, yes!

There is a wrinkle in this happy, unified picture the Apostle Paul paints for us. I suspect you are already thinking about it.

The missiologist, Donald McGavran of Fuller Seminary, talks about it. “If you expect people to convert and churches to grow, said McGavran, you must appeal to a common denominator around which they can gather — ethnicity, language, level of education, and so on. And homogeneity is what we mainly see when we look at churches — black Pentecostals enjoy their lively worship, Episcopalians prefer their quiet formality, some people like the organ, others like praise bands, and never the twain shall meet.” [2]

I know the Apostle Paul didn’t study different approaches to mission or worship, like people in seminary do today. He was more immediate, and I suspect more of a nuts and bolts kind of guy, for all his education and fancy titles. He talked in our passage today about the unity of the Body of Christ. He knew about diversity, since many of the groups of believers he preached to were just that—diverse, with people from all different strata, coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t matter whether we have obvious differences, or an infinite number of variations. God calls us to unity; the unity of Jesus Christ, and to a diversity without division. To the church in Colossae Paul writes, “There is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, Scythian, slave or free, male or female, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

Yes, there is diversity! Yes, we are all different from each other. And, yes, we are all one in Christ Jesus. We can celebrate that blessed reality today!

Just imagine. Just imagine what a marvelous job each Church could do, if each member used what God had given to each one, to the best of their ability! What an opportunity for ministry! What an opportunity for outreach!

What possibilities lie before us as a church, as the Body of Christ in this place? May each of us prayerfully ask what God would have us to do with the gifts God has given each of us, today. Amen, alleluia!

 

[1] McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. V, 1 Corinthians—Revelation (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers: 1983), 60.

[2] Epiphany 3C, The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus Foundation, 2013. http://www.journeywithjesus.net/Essays/20130121JJ.shtml

@chaplaineliza

Suggestion: visit me at my sometimes-blog: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind .  Thanks!