Triumphant King

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!’ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Do not be afraid, people of Zion; look, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt!’” –John 12:12-15, NET

Jesus is intentional. He sends two disciples ahead of him to retrieve, not just a “young donkey,” but a colt “that has never been ridden” (Luke 19:29-30). Donkeys are naturally stubborn, and an unbroken donkey would be very prone to react negatively to someone attempting to ride it. Yet, this beast recognized its Creator, and submitted to this noble service (Luke 19:35).

And why a donkey, a beast of burden? To demonstrate how the true King was coming—“lowly” or “unassuming” (Mat 21:5), for He is “gentle and humble in heart” (Mat 11:29). “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” (Mat 20:28). 

He had not come to condemn his enemies, but to save them (John 3:17)—from the wrath to come (1Th 1:10). Yet while the crowd that greeted him rightly cried out “Hosanna” (save us) (Mark 11:9) and “Blessed is the king” (Luke 19:38), they had a different salvation and savior in mind. For the king they desired was “like all the other nations” (1Sa 8:5), one that would judge with partiality and fight the battles of their choosing (1Sa 8:20)—namely to overthrow their Roman oppressors. It was a request that rejected God as their king, “just as they had done from the day [the LORD] brought them up from Egypt” (1Sa 8:7-8).

THIS is what causes Jesus to weep over Jerusalem right after this great display of devotion—the waving of palm branches. Jesus then says, “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes… [Soon you will be destroyed], because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation,” (Luke 19:41-44, NLT).

Some of the people of Jerusalem rightly recognized Him as king, but they could not see who He was, and so some sought to make Him a ruler under their own conditions (“forcefully,” see John 6:15). But this was all still a rejection of God as king (Luke 10:16), for many of these same individuals would later cry “crucify” (Luke 23:21) after He displayed Himself more fully in Jerusalem (i.e. His zeal for true worship). For they chose to fear man rather than God (Joh 12:42).

Do you see Him; the kind of King and Savior He is? Do you fully embrace this “way to peace”? Do you recognize that accepting Him as Savior, makes GOD your king?

I pray today that our idols of Jesus be exposed, and that our false images of Him be torn down. I pray that this week Jesus would be more fully presented to us in His glory, and that we would be as children in faith (Mat 18:2-3), and cry out with true praise (Mat 21:16). May our eyes be truly open to see the King of kings and Lord of lords. May we raise up palm branches, not as the discontent deceived, but as among the sealed multitude that “stands before the Lamb in long white robes” (Rev 7:9), shouting “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb,” (Rev 7:10).