Christ, the Humble 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, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,

sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” (John 12: 12-19).

The celebration dinner was followed by a journey to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. All attention was drawn away from the religious feast of Passover and focused on Jesus’ arrival. What a precious confirmation of the truth that He was the Messiah. Perhaps this was a moment of déjà vu for John the Evangelist. He may have remembered the moment not long ago when the Holy Spirit so firmly prompted him to direct attention away from his ministry and toward the Lamb of God… “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The proclamation from the crowd was different now. They did not acknowledge Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Son of God, or as the Christ. Today they proclaimed Him to be the One sent in God’s name to save them (Hosanna: Greek: Oh save us) and to be their King… “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” Jesus confirmed that He was no ordinary king, but that He was God’s choice to be King of His children as He fulfilled prophecy by entering the city, riding on a donkey’s colt. His disciples did not fully understand the implications of His rule. In fact, the murmurings of the Pharisees were really closer to the truth about the sovereignty of this humble King… “Look, the world has gone after him”. In His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, on His way to the cross, we see the inseparable relationship between the meekness and sovereignty of Christ, the humble King.

Those who are merely following Christ often miss the blessing of His sovereignty in their lives. John recorded that many in the crowd followed Jesus because of the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus. But those who were willing to look beyond the miracle were able to discern the relationship between Christ’s sovereignty and His humility. Where is it that you need a miracle? Are you willing to surrender your demand for a miracle in that circumstance to the sovereignty of God? That’s one of the differences between mere followers and true disciples of Christ. His best answer to our prayers is not always the kind of miracle that we seek. Our Teacher, the Holy Spirit makes this point very clearly in today’s text.

Here are some truths about Christ’s sovereignty as He journeyed toward the cross for disciples to embrace today. Christ is King “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37). Even as King, Christ submitted to God’s will… “Though he was in the form of God… he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:6-9). To enjoy the blessings and grace of His sovereignty, disciples must follow Christ’s example of humility by surrendering every circumstance to His sovereignty… “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:6).

As we grow up into Christ we experience His grace in every trial as we learn to surrender our will to…

Christ, the Humble King.