[0:00] Is the Lord and great the King, is to be placed still, Within the city of our God, upon this holy hill.
[0:30] Now, stay on stand, most beautiful, the joy of the land.
[0:47] The city of the mighty King, on earth no side does stand.
[1:04] The Lord within our palace sits, this God of refuge hold.
[1:21] For all the kings that gather where together lie have gone.
[1:38] But when they dare, behold the sin, they want, they would not sin.
[1:56] Her being, the bloodless time, they blessed is our way.
[2:15] Let us engage in prayer. We are reminded anew that thou art great, that thou art deserving of praise.
[2:31] We are also reminded of the physical stature of Jerusalem. Mount Zion stands most beautiful.
[2:44] And although we have never physically stood there, It pales into comparison with the heavenly Jerusalem.
[2:58] For nothing can compare with the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem. It demonstrates the glory of the one who has laid its foundations, And who is its builder, And who has promised to bring that glorious edifice to completion, As it reflects the handwork of the God of great grace.
[3:36] The God of marvelous redemption. The God of infinite mercy. The God of great love.
[3:46] And so, O Lord, as we are gathered in thy name this day, May our thoughts gravitate far above the earthly Jerusalem, Towards the heavenly Jerusalem, And towards the one who is the builder of the heavenly Jerusalem.
[4:12] Help us as we reflect upon a portion of thy truth. May it speak powerfully and mightily to our hearts today.
[4:25] As we reflect upon it, We thank thee for the privilege that is ours. Help us to see it so. Forbid that we disregard the teaching of thy truth.
[4:41] But that it have the preeminent place in our hearts and lives. Thy servant of old, Who is set before us in thy truth, Was a man of the word of God.
[4:59] At the direction of the word of God, He took his journey to various places. And despite, Despite the great trials that he sustained, Yet he proved the word of God.
[5:19] He demonstrated it in his actions, So that those who were strangers to the word of God, And where Baal worshippers came to acknowledge, That they knew, He did indeed speak the truth, And that he was a man of the word of God.
[5:46] Help, O Lord, As we therefore study thy truth today. Bless each home and family, As we are found in thy presence.
[5:57] Bless any unable to be present, Through thy restraint and providence. Those who may be elderly and housebound, Those who may be under thine hand in illness, We commit to thy care and keeping today.
[6:14] Thou knowest their needs, Better than we do, And thou hast provision for their needs, That is so sufficient.
[6:25] Grant, O Lord, That they may know this, Wherever they are located today, In the solitude of their own homes, Or in residential care, Or in a hospital ward.
[6:40] Bless any who may be grieving the loss of loved ones, We commit them to thyself. Remember us as a nation, At a time of great change, When we have a new monarch on the throne, And a new prime minister, Grant, O Lord, That they take up their duties, And seek to fulfil them.
[7:10] Oh, that they may be persuaded, To look to thyself, And know the counsel that comes from on high, As they seek to fulfil, And discharge the duties that are laid upon them.
[7:27] Help us as we turn to thy truth. Bless the children in Sunday school, And those who give off their time and energies, To instruct the children.
[7:39] O Lord, May they be richly rewarded by thee, Cleanse in the blood, In Jesus' name we ask it, With forgiveness of sin.
[7:53] Amen. Now just a word to the younger listeners, I'm going to ask you about your dietary habits.
[8:05] Do you like potatoes? How do you like them? Do you like them boiled? Or roasted?
[8:16] Or do you prefer them chipped? Now, I could always guess, How you prefer them.
[8:27] Although there may be some, Who don't like potatoes. There are always people who, For one reason or another, May not eat potatoes.
[8:39] And the reason I ask this, Is that, This year we planted potatoes, In a patch of ground, That had never been planted, I don't think in living memory at least.
[8:57] And the type of potato that we planted, Was not one that I was, Too familiar with. Although I think we have used them before.
[9:09] When I was a boy, The standard potato was Kerrpink. And there would be early varieties, Like Sharps Express, And Duke of Yorks, And so on.
[9:22] But this potato that we planted, Is called a record. It's a very creamy type of potato. And if you look at the skin of the potato, It's got like a small net pattern, On the outside of the skin.
[9:42] And when I went at the end of the summer, To harvest some, At the time when fresh herring were available, They were just delicious.
[9:57] They were creamy, Powdery and dry. And so I liked the potato. But then, We had a spell of warm weather, And there was quite a lot of fog.
[10:10] The shaws withered, Quicker than I would have liked. So we had to harvest them, Much quicker than I would normally do. And the potatoes, Some of them, They were bigger than my fist.
[10:24] They looked beautiful, On the outside. But when you cut them in half, There was a hole in the inside. It was very disappointing.
[10:37] I don't know what caused the hole. It wasn't in every potato, But in some. And that reminded me of, A teaching in the word of God.
[10:49] That we all have a heart, That is deceitful, And desperately wicked. On the outside, We look perfect.
[11:02] Maybe minor blemishes. But we look good on the outside, Don't we? But on the inside, We have a heart, That is deceitful, And desperately wicked.
[11:17] Now I don't know, What the cure for the potato is. But I do know, What the cure for a heart, That is deceitful, And desperately wicked. It is to trust in Jesus Christ alone.
[11:32] He has the cure. He is the cure. So the next time, You're eating potatoes, Whether chipped, Or boiled, Or roasted.
[11:43] Perhaps you might care, To remember, What the Bible says, About the heart. And then you might care, To look, For the remedy, That the Bible sets before us, About our hearts.
[11:58] To trust, In Jesus alone. Who is able to cleanse us, From all unrighteousness. Let us now sing again, To God's praise, From Psalm 24.
[12:15] Psalm 24, Under verse 7. Ye gates, Lift up your heads on high, Ye doors that last for e'er be lifted up, That saw the King of glory enter me.
[12:31] But who of glory is the King? The mighty Lord is this, Even that same Lord, That great in might, And strong in battle is.
[12:44] Ye gates, Lift up your heads, Ye doors, Doors that do last for e'er be lifted up, That saw the King of glory enter me.
[12:56] But who is he that is the King of glory? Who is this? Who is this? The Lord of hosts, And none but he, The King of glory is.
[13:07] Let us sing these verses, Ye gates, Lift up your heads on high. moved him up, Order is sing these verses, And ye gates, Lots of yol鏡, And San water, Remember that 강 que'er be reunited up, And وج holes in julies, And his holy wisdom, Amen!
[13:28] Remember that the King of glory enter me? His holyzieh, And His holy traditions, The King of glory enter me.
[13:42] The truth of glory is the King, the mighty Lord is this.
[13:57] Be glad, say Lord, and great in might, and strong in matters.
[14:08] He is the purest, Señor, your hand will ask for it.
[14:24] Be glad, say Lord, and great in might, and great in might.
[14:38] But who is he that is the King of glory? Who is this?
[14:52] The Lord of hosts and and mighty, the King of glory is.
[15:05] Let us now read from the New Testament.
[15:35] From the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 21. The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 21. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount of Olives, Then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway we shall find an ass tied and a colt with her.
[16:09] Loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them.
[16:24] All this was done, and that it might be fulfilled, and that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, say, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy king, cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.
[16:46] And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass on the colt, put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
[17:01] And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
[17:14] And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
[17:29] Hosanna in the highest. When he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
[17:41] And the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Amen, and may God bless to us that reading from his truth.
[17:58] Let us further sing to his praise from Psalm 72. Psalm 72 O Lord, thy judgments give the king, his son thy righteousness.
[18:15] With light he shall the people judge, thy poor with uprightness. The lofty mountains shall bring forth unto the people peace.
[18:30] Likewise the little hills the same shall do by righteousness. The people's poor ones he shall judge. Unneedies children save.
[18:43] And those shall he in pieces break, who them oppressed have. These verses from Psalm 72.
[18:53] O Lord, thy judgments give the king. O Lord, thy judgments give the king, his son thy righteousness.
[19:16] With light he shall thy people judge, thy poor with uprightness.
[19:33] The lofty mountains shall bring forth unto the people peace.
[19:48] The people's poor with uprightness. Likewise the little hills the same shall do by righteousness. The people's poor with uprightness.
[20:00] The people's poor with uprightness. The people's poor with uprightness. The people's poor with uprightness.
[20:12] We shall try, then ye be still and safe. And though shall we in peace in speak, with them all peace in love, they shall be feared by the sun and moon, to last through ages all.
[20:54] Like rain on low grass, they shall come, a shadowy storm, never at all.
[21:12] Let us now turn to the passage that we read. The Gospel according to Matthew, in chapter 21, reading at verse 10.
[21:26] And when he was come, that is Jesus, into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
[21:40] Particularly these words, Who is this? Each of the Gospel narratives contains reference to the royal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem.
[21:58] Remember, he is not entering into the city for his coronation as king, but he is entering into the city to die on a cross.
[22:13] Mark, in his Gospel, in chapter 10, tells us that Jesus told his disciples, We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.
[22:35] They will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise. And yet, despite the frequency with which Jesus told his disciples what would take place, somehow, they did not grasp the significance of what he said.
[23:01] So, who is this? It is a question that ought to focus all our minds as we seek to answer the question from the biblical information that is provided.
[23:17] And then, once the answer becomes clear, we need to ask ourselves, How do we relate to this person? As I said, all the Gospel narratives contain reference to this regal event.
[23:35] For example, although Matthew and Mark speak of branches being spread on the road, John tells us that the large crowd were carrying palm branches, which begs the question, why palm branches?
[23:55] They were not used in the Passover feast, but rather in the Feast of Tabernacles. So, you have to look elsewhere for an answer.
[24:09] What you discover is that the palm branch had become, for about 200 years prior to this, it had become the symbol of Jewish nationalism.
[24:22] It became the Jews' emblem. For a conqueror. Significantly, the people associated the promised Messiah with being a conqueror.
[24:39] So, if this indeed were the Messiah, it could only be a matter of time until the trumpets rang out and the call to arms sounded. The Jewish nation would sweep to victory over the Roman Empire and the world.
[24:58] How sadly wrong they were in their understanding of the role of Messiah. Messiah, yes, the Messiah is indeed a great conqueror, but his kingdom is not of this world.
[25:18] As you remember, he reminded Pilate. Pilate. The book of Revelation also speaks of a great multitude with palm branches in their hands.
[25:30] And there, our attention is drawn to the diverse assembly of believers before the Lamb. they come from every grouping of humanity.
[25:46] In effect, they are the consummate fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise. You remember God's promise to Abraham, I will make of you a great nation and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
[26:03] And as someone expressed it, heaven will be diversity without the political correctness and multiculturalism unified in one single purpose.
[26:19] Every heart, every voice giving glory to God and to the Lamb. What a wonderful day that will be. What a glorious eternity awaits every person united to Christ through faith in his name.
[26:39] But it is not just the diversity and the vastness of the church that is set before us in that image in the book of Revelation. What comes across very loudly is that the victory is received through Jesus Christ.
[26:59] So the bearing of the palm trees is the symbol of victory attained through their union by faith with Christ. How unbelievably great will be the joyful adoration of the heavenly host when all the redeemed of the Lord stand before their God, all sharing in the glory of a marvelous victory as they give all the glory to the Lamb.
[27:36] Could I ask the question, do you see yourself as being among them? Do you see yourself as being among them?
[27:50] If you do, does the hope of glory strengthen you for the trials of your life? life. But I digress. Who is this then?
[28:02] Was the question on the lips of many that day in Jerusalem? It's not the first time that the question has been asked in the Bible or even asked concerning the same person.
[28:16] Who is this? It's a common question with reference to our Lord. For example, we sang in the Psalm, Psalm 24, Who is this King of Glory?
[28:30] states the psalmist. And you remember how he went on to answer the question, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, lift up your everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.
[28:46] Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of Glory. So the psalmist was in no doubt as to the identity of the person of whom the question is asked, Who is this?
[29:07] He is in the mind of the psalmist the King of Glory as one inspired by the Holy Spirit. Again in the prophecy of Isaiah the question is asked, Who is this?
[29:21] Who is this who comes from Edom with dyed garments? And again the prophet has no doubt about who this person is.
[29:34] Well Matthew gives his report of how Jesus entered the city of the great King as Jerusalem was known. It took place on the equivalent of our Sunday, just a few days before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[29:57] He and his disciples had spent the Sabbath day, the Jewish Sabbath day, sunset Friday, to sunset Saturday evening in Bethany, just a few miles away.
[30:12] And now it's Sunday, what they would have called the first day of the week. and Jesus and his disciples were headed up to Jerusalem, the whole city.
[30:25] Matthew tells us in his account here, all the city was moved, saying, who is this?
[30:38] Moved in the sense of being stirred up, perhaps even agitated. Remember, Matthew informs us of an earlier occasion, when all Jerusalem was troubled, Herod was alarmed, and the citizens were perturbed by the visit of the wise men, seeking to worship the one born to be king.
[31:03] And so Matthew again reports the reaction of the population, this time to Jesus' regal entrance into Jerusalem. Jerusalem. But enough by way of introduction.
[31:17] Well, three thoughts from our text today based on the passage. First of all, the pre-planned proclamation.
[31:29] Secondly, prophetic fulfillment. And thirdly, the profusion of responses to the proclamation.
[31:42] First, a pre-planned proclamation. What is the pre-planned proclamation? Is it not Jesus' claim to be king?
[31:57] Note how Matthew informs us of what took place. and I think what comes across clearly from careful reading of the passage is that Jesus has planned the events of the day.
[32:14] He instructs two of his disciples to go into Beth Phaj. Go into the village, verse 2, over against you, and straightway you will find an ass tied and a colt with it.
[32:30] Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought or say anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them, and straightway he will send them.
[32:47] And so, you have to ask yourself, did Jesus make this arrangement without the knowledge of his disciples? It is possible.
[32:58] You cannot discounted. In fact, you could argue that there are similarities here to the arrangement that was made to observe the last Passover meal with his disciples prior to his crucifixion.
[33:17] Remember how Luke in his gospel demonstrates that Christ was in total control. How? Luke writes of the minute attention paid to the detail of practical preparation to celebrate the Passover with his disciples.
[33:43] And you may remember from Luke's account that he tells us it was Peter and John who were sent on ahead with coded instructions.
[33:55] Two men that the Lord could rely on. Remember Judas Iscariot was waiting to betray him. Judas Iscariot must not yet know of where they planned to observe the Passover because he is waiting his opportunity to betray Jesus.
[34:17] Jesus told these two disciples a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Now perhaps in our western way of thinking we might not give that a second thought but a man performing that kind of chore was most unusual in these areas.
[34:46] it was something that was usually done by women. So given that this was something out of the ordinary the disciples would have no difficulty in identifying this unknown man he would stand out.
[35:07] And to my mind it seems to me that this was arranged beforehand by the Lord. I do not consider it to be something of which the bearer of the jar of water was unaware either.
[35:24] The implication is that all of these arrangements were made beforehand. The room was booked. It tells how Jesus was attentive to the detail beforehand.
[35:41] well in this passage today seems to me the same thoughtful and provoking detailed attention is given. It lets us know that this is happening exactly in the way that Jesus wants it to happen.
[36:00] None of the events that take place during his final week are out of God's control. He's planning it all. In fact if you remember how Jesus spoke to his disciples as recorded in chapter 26 of this gospel he says ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.
[36:26] And do you remember what is written after that? Then assembled together the plotters the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people unto the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and they consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him but they said not on the feast day or not during the feast of Passover lest there be an uproar among the people note what is said in two days Jesus states I'm going to be arrested I'm going to be tried I'm going to be beaten I'm going to suffer I'm going to die and the plotters who are planning to do it are saying oh we're not going to do it this week and Jesus is saying yes you are because
[37:26] God has planned it this way my my my my hour has come and until his hour had come they couldn't effect their plan Jesus isn't the victim of the Romans he's not the victim of the high priests he's not the victim of the son he's not the victim of the Pharisees because Jesus is in complete control and you remember how Peter underlines this in his great sermon on the day of Pentecost this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God Jesus then instructs his disciples go get the ass and the colt that are tied together in the village if anyone asks you what you are doing with it just tell them the
[38:30] Lord has need of them and you know in some ways it sounds almost like a password that Jesus and the owners of these animals have agreed on and Jesus is telling them they'll let you take those animals away and that suggests to me that it was all pre-planned and I said it was a pre-planned proclamation remember Jesus has walked all the way from Galilee down to Bethany he's also walked all the way from Bethany to within two miles of Jerusalem and now he is all of a sudden going to ride on an ass ride on an animal why is it because he's tired no you can't rule that out would he not have been tired walking all the way from Galilee to Bethany why then does he sit on an animal to go into
[39:32] Jerusalem remember up until now Jesus has deliberately kept a fairly low profile when he healed people he frequently ordered those who were healed not to publish it not to make it known yet here he is choosing a high profile approach he's doing it for a very specific purpose he is deliberately choosing to ride publicly into Jerusalem Matthew tells us he rides on the fall of an ass and perhaps the image of Jesus on a donkey or an ass conjures up the wrong image in our minds maybe makes us think of his humility and there's a certain truth to that it's even emphasized in the quotation that you read in verse 5 of our reading today tell ye the daughter of Zion behold thy king cometh unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt the foal of an ass you know generally we may not think that a donkey or the foal of a donkey or an ass is a suitable form of transport for one who claims to be a king but the bible teaches in the old testament that kings rulers judges all at one time rode on donkeys horses so the mode of transport would not have detracted from the symbolism in the eyes of the spectators and that's important later much later yes when leaders wish to make military and political statements they rode on powerful horses or much much later in our own time in powerful four by fours but at that time the donkey was considered a perfectly appropriate animal for a king to ride on and
[41:49] Jesus by sitting on this animal and riding into Jerusalem is making a claim to be king he wishes to be noticed you could argue that the us stands out as a deliberate rejection of the high powered symbolism of arrogant trust in human might that it expresses subservience to the sovereignty of God and so by his actions Jesus is forcing those in authority those who are conspiring to kill him to revise their planning and take action too and it's obvious that the crowd that surround him grasps something of the purpose in mind they cry out Hosanna to the son of David literally Hosanna means save us blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
[42:54] Hosanna the highest Christ Jesus is claiming to be king not the king they expect but when he does this what he is doing is saying I am not the kind of king you expected I am not a militaristic messiah who is going to come and overthrow you political oppressors from the Roman Empire and reestablish the Mosaic ceremonial law I am not that kind of messiah I am not the messiah you are expecting but I am the messiah that you need I am not the king you are expecting I am the king you need far more than you need deliverance from the Roman power you need deliverance from yourselves you need deliverance from your sins and the powers of darkness and the only kind of king that can give you such deliverance is the kind of king that I am a military king can't give that to you but a king who is humble enough to die for your sin can give you the kind of deliverance that you need so it's a pre-planned proclamation was no spur of the moment decision on the part of
[44:20] Jesus but a deliberate claim to be the one of whom the prophets had so clearly written and that brings me to my second point prophetic fulfillment he was fulfilling the passage of scripture from the prophecy of Zechariah it would be wrong I think to think of the prophecy has only been fulfilled in that moment the prophecy is a characterization of the whole of Jesus' earthly life in many ways it sets before us the character of the Lord Jesus Christ as I already stated he had gone out of his way to avoid regal acclamation by the Jewish people for example remember after the feeding of 5,000 John tells us in his gospel perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king
[45:25] Jesus withdrew again to the mountains by himself his hour had not come the passage quoted here from Zechariah so clearly runs counter to Jewish ideas and asserts Jesus' own conception of what being the Messiah involved he fulfilled it to assert his claim to be Israel's true king interesting Matthew alone tells us that there were two animals the mother animal and the foal and I think just as an aside in taking the mother animal along with the foal Jesus was demonstrating his acute knowledge of animals the foal would be the young animal much more likely to behave and be placid when accompanied by the mother animal and so
[46:32] Matthew quotes from the Old Testament from the prophecy of Zechariah original writing is rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion shout O daughter of Jerusalem behold your king is coming to you he is just and having salvation lowly and riding on a donkey or an ass a colt the foal of a donkey I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem the battle bow shall be cut off he shall speak peace to the nations his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth against the backdrop of this prophecy Jesus manner of entry into Jerusalem is a rebuke to the mood of the city the kind of savior they wanted was directly contrary to the savior God promised to send a lesson for us too that our spiritual agenda be the one
[47:36] God has actually sanctioned in his word here is Jesus conducting his life and his ministry strictly in accordance with the word of God his claims are rooted in the Bible and it's important for us to understand that because there are all sorts of persuasive influential voices that claim to be Christian that say listen to my way of thinking in direct contradiction to the word of God may suggest for example let us get away from the traditional foundational teaching of truth we need a fresh approach and here is Jesus and he does this over and over living his life in accordance with God's word if the spirit is the author of the word of God and use he'll never speak against the word if
[48:38] Jesus is the author of the word he'll never speak against the word he's very deliberate here he's making the claim to be king but that claim is grounded in the word of God I am king says Jesus and I'm fulfilling what the Bible says the king would do whenever people point you to Jesus and away from the Bible you can be sure that the person behind that is a person whose name starts or who begins with an S but P is not the second letter the spirit doesn't point you to Jesus and away from the Bible the spirit points you to Jesus with the Bible Satan points you away from the Bible Jesus claim is grounded in the word of
[49:39] God so the entrance of the messianic king sets before us one who is righteous who brings salvation but who comes not in worldly power but in the weakness of the cross prophetic fulfillment preplanned proclamation and finally profusion of responses it's really remarkable notice how Matthew talks about or writes about there being crowds of people he states in a very great multitude spread their garments in the way that was the response of part of the crowd so some spread their garments or their clothing others did something different they cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road so
[50:40] Matthew is drawing our attention to the various reactions within the crowd who were around him some people did this others did that and there is the sense of huge excitement as often happens in large crowds people are caught up in the excitement of the moment and then look at verse 9 on the multitudes that went before and that followed cried saying Hosanna to the son of David blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest Matthew even distinguishes between the people that were in front of Jesus already in the city and the people that were behind him who were following the procession why is that important did everybody in
[51:40] Jerusalem say blessed is Jesus blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord because just a few days later they're all shouting crucify you the gospel authors do not tell us that the entire city blessed Jesus in fact if you look in the passage look at verse 10 here is how Matthew characterizes Jerusalem he recounts as carefully as possible what actually happened look at what he says when he entered or when he was coming to Jerusalem the whole city or all the city was moved stirred up it's not interesting I referred earlier to the reaction when the wise man visited Jerusalem now Matthew says all the city was moved there's an air of apprehension a tenseness people are agitated he doesn't say that everybody is pro
[52:45] Jesus clearly everyone is not responding in the same way now some of these people are probably people from Jerusalem who may have heard about Jesus and may have especially heard about raising Lazarus from the dead and Bethany the world would have got drowned is this the one who raised a man from the dead a couple of miles from here some of those people following him are probably those coming down from Galilee on the same route that Jesus took they were coming to observe the Passover so when the city population were asking the pointed question who is this the ones from Galilee are probably those who answer this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of
[53:45] Galilee and you have to wonder if there was an element of boasting in the response as if they were saying this is our guy this is our fellow this is him coming into town on an ass or the fall of an ass representing Galilee and they may have been proud so there are others who are not so pro Jesus there is a lot of confusion in Jerusalem over who this is and the response oh he's a prophet smacks of superficiality true he was a prophet but that's not enough you've got to say more than that and yes he's Jesus of Nazareth he grew up mostly in Nazareth but by the way he's from
[54:46] Bethlehem he did most of his life and ministry in Galilee that's true but it's even truer that your king is coming to you this is your king this is the son of David this is the Messiah that's what they need to grasp because that is the question upon which all of history and your life and mine hinge you remember just a few nights later John tells us in his gospel how Jesus addresses words of comfort to his traumatized disciples in the upper home he told them about going to prepare a permanent residence and glory for them and you remember one speaks out perhaps one you might least expect to speak out Thomas
[55:46] Lord we do not know where you are going how can we know the way and do you remember the reply Jesus says I am the way and the truth and the life no one comes to the father but by me now do you realize why the who is this question is so important Jesus is saying nobody gets to glory except by me nobody gets to heaven except by believing on me you embrace me Jesus and you get glory you reject me Jesus and you get perdition so this question as I said at the outset is for every one of us now that the
[56:56] Bible had answered for us this is God's anointed one this is the king of kings how do you and I relate to him today for Jesus is saying this if you don't know who I am if you don't believe my claims if you don't trust in me there is no hope for you he was not the kind of king they were expecting he's not even the kind of king that they wanted they wanted someone who'd come in and deliver from the rule of the Roman Empire and isn't it interesting Jesus comes to people who don't know who he is or why he's coming or what it means to give them exactly what they need and you know what sometimes it's like that in the Christian life you have no idea what
[57:57] Jesus is doing you have no idea what it means in your life but he comes because he's the very savior that you and I need he's the king that we need to reign over our lives and so all of us have to answer the question who is this king of glory the lord jesus christ the messiah is he your and my messiah today do you look upon him as your deliverer as your hope of salvation do you acknowledge him as king over your life because his name is the only name under heaven by which we may be saved a pre-planned proclamation
[59:01] I am king prophetic fulfillment he fulfills what has been uttered by the prophets the profusion of responses is but a reflection of the profusion of responses to the current doubt but what my friend is your response today to the identity of the one who is king of kings and if we are spared in the evening we shall come back to this passage and look at him as priest and prophet as Matthew speaks of him in this very same passage let us pray oh eternal God we thank thee that there is a supreme ruler and that he reigns supremely in glory that he reigns over the lives of men and that his rule is supreme oh most gracious
[60:17] God may we be found as subjects of the king of kings bowing down before him obeying him and looking unto him as our Lord and our God and the glory shall be thine in Jesus name we ask it amen let us conclude by singing to his praise from the second version of Psalm 145 the second version of Psalm 145 where the psalmist makes the acknowledgement oh Lord thou art my God and king thee will I magnify and praise I will thee bless and gladly sing unto thy holy name always each day I rise
[61:17] I will thee bless praise thy name time without end much to be praised and great God is his greatness none can comprehend race shall thy works praise unto race the mighty acts show done by thee I will speak of the glorious grace and honor of thy majesty let us sing these three verses in conclusion O Lord thou art my God and King O Lord thou art my Lord and King pur f hear n
[62:23] I God I Do I