Palm Sunday: Jesus the Humble King and Savior

But Palm Sunday is also a Sunday that brings us to a point of decision. Jesus enters Jerusalem publicly and boldly and unmistakably, and he forces the question, will you crown him? Will you call him your king? We can't welcome Jesus as helper but reject him as king. We can't accept his comfort, but refuse his authority. It's all part and parcel of the same lord. He comes as savior and lord together. [00:42:38] (37 seconds)  #CrownHimKing

He didn't come to bring judgment. He came to bear judgment, and that's why he goes to the cross. And so the palm branch that you hold today is not just a branch waving for a king, but it's a cruciform branch reminding us of the humility of a king. A king who does not oppress you. A king who doesn't come and lay burdens on you. A king that doesn't come showing chaos and anxiety and stress in your life, but a king who announces that he has come to bring you peace. [00:32:36] (40 seconds)  #HumbleKingPeace

Every other king, every other king that we crown in our life will demand everything and give nothing. Jesus gives everything, and he calls it grace. Look. If you live for a career and you fail, you don't get the promotion, you don't get the next award, it punishes you. You wonder if you failed. You wonder if you've given yourself to the right thing. If you live for approval and you lose it, it's crushing. If you live for success and fall short, it condemns you. [00:33:16] (41 seconds)  #KingOfGrace

The creator king has created a relationship for you and for me within which we are designed to thrive and to flourish and to live. He says, don't don't call it freedom to escape from that relationship. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. We're designed by our creator to be held within his embrace. It's the paradox of Palm Sunday, isn't it? The king comes in weakness so that we can trust him fully. The king comes upsetting all of our preconceived notions so that we can remain free as his servants. [00:36:29] (51 seconds)  #FreedomInHisEmbrace

And now they've arrived, and they think this is the moment where we seize power, and he grabs a donkey. This is not the power that anybody expected because Jesus didn't come to bring the kind of power that the world celebrates. If he came on a war horse with all of the power of heaven, he could have defeated Rome, but he came to defeat sin. If he had come with armies, he could have probably crafted a temporary peace, but he came to bring eternal peace. [00:31:55] (41 seconds)  #PeaceNotPower

What is it that fills your daydreams? That's a pretty good indication of what it is that rules our heart. To make Jesus king means that more and more our thoughts and our heart and our daydreams drift to Jesus. That more and more and more we're captured by the beauty and the majesty and the love of Jesus. And so our minds and our hearts naturally turn to things of him. We adore him. We long for him, and we love him. [00:38:44] (42 seconds)  #HeartCapturedByJesus

If you look at ancient legends and modern fantasy and even blockbuster films, again and again, we imagine this heroic ruler who defeats evil and restores justice in the world. Think for example of Odysseus. Think about King Arthur, the once and future king. Think about Thor who comes again to take his father's throne. Why do we keep telling the story? Why is this a story that resonates so deeply in the human spirit? I think that in some ways, it points to the fact that deep down, we know that we need a king. [00:25:08] (42 seconds)  #KingStoriesResonate

Somewhere deep down, we resonate with the idea that we're designed to serve a sovereign. That's why Joshua says to the people, choose this day whom you will serve. He gives them a choice. Choose a king. Choose somebody that you will follow, but choose somebody. It's why Jesus would say, nobody can serve two masters. You have to pick one or the other. It's why Paul would say over and over again, you can either be a servant to sin and death or you can be a servant to Christ. [00:25:50] (37 seconds)  #ChooseYourSovereign