Lay Down Your Cloak Before the Humble King

Matthew lifts up Zachariah's prophecy. See, your king comes to you humble and on a donkey. Jesus is orchestrating the anti triumph. He arrives with no armor, no army, no weapons. He's riding on an unbroken donkey, an animal apiece. He's entirely exposed. He isn't flexing his muscle or trying to intimidate anyone. He's looking at this abused and cynical and broken people and saying to them, I am not like the other leaders who have hurt you. I am safe. [00:38:43] (57 seconds)  #HumbleKing

It's it's the wall that you put up to keep God safe and manageable and so that you will never be terrified that that he might turn out to be a bully. But Jesus is walking around this sanctuary by his holy spirit inviting you to take off the heavy, exhausting armor. I know you have wounds to prove that people are difficult. Jesus has the wounds to prove that he's safe. The king is riding on a donkey and doesn't ride into Jerusalem to execute his enemies. He rides to Jerusalem to be executed for them. [00:41:16] (54 seconds)  #TakeOffTheArmor

We often read this as people rolling out the red carpet for Jesus coming to town. But in the first century, a cloak was a poor person's ultimate protection. It it saved them from the freezing rain. It was the thing that you would carry with you to sleep with at night. It was your protection from the hard elements around you. To take off your cloak and to throw it in the dirt at the feet of the king wasn't just a sign of respect. It was a shocking act of vulnerability. [00:39:56] (38 seconds)  #RadicalVulnerability

But when you do finally look up and your eye catches his, it won't be a grimace. It will be a grin. It's pure. It's holy. It's overwhelming love, compassion for you. I know it to be true because I have looked up in my shame, in my brokenness, in my own lostness, my own disappointment. He didn't lecture. He loved. [00:43:37] (46 seconds)  #GrinNotGrimace

The hands that hold the universe together will be soon nailed to a piece of wood so that you could be healed by his wounds. He does not bait and switch. He does not manipulate. He is exactly who he appears to be, lowly, humble, fiercely in love with you, worthy of your full surrender. Imagine the moment where you finally surrender, where your pain, your vulnerability, your brokenness is exposed to him. [00:42:10] (51 seconds)  #HealedByHisWounds

They knew about bully leaders. They knew all about corrupt officials. They had been abused, heavily taxed, and pushed to the margins by the Romans and by the religious elites. They were used to being manipulated. They knew what worldly bullying power looked like. I mean, the Romans invented the triumph, a massive parade where a victorious general would ride into the city on a golden chariot pulled by war horses, surrounded by his army. And the message of the Roman triumph was, I am powerful. You are weak. Do what I say, or I will crush you. [00:37:01] (45 seconds)  #NotLikeTheWorld

They really listened to each other. It's hard to explain what happened on that weekend. But as we simply worshiped Jesus, As we lifted up our palms and became vulnerable with him with our brokenness, he gave us the grace to truly love each other. The Palm Sunday cried out, Hosanna, save us. And at that camp, that's exactly what he was doing, saving us, healing us, loving us. [00:47:35] (38 seconds)  #WorshipHeals

It was their way of saying, I'm taking off my armor. I'm choosing to believe that you are who you say you are. I am surrendering my heart to you, Jesus. This morning, Jesus is riding into the chaotic, broken streets of your life, and he's asking for your cloak. Your cloak, it's cynicism, self protection. It's the thing that you wear to keep yourself from not being disappointed by others. [00:40:34] (42 seconds)  #SurrenderTheCloak