Jesus: The Humble King

Luke 19:28-40
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

This is what we call the triumphant entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem, which is a fulfillment of prophecy. The disciples may not have realized it at the time, but Jesus was entering Jerusalem as the promised Messiah that everyone was waiting on.

Zech 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

In this passage, the Messiah is just & He is humble. Jesus is an itinerant preacher, no real possessions, no title, no formal education,
who is riding into Jerusalem on a borrowed young donkey with only coats for a saddle & whatever people can find to celebrate His arrival.

Jesus’ disciples were shouting “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” but the Pharisees did not want this type of king.

Philippians 2:5-8
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus’ example demands that we give up our demands & selfish desires in order to see people be made right with God. That’s what Jesus’ humility means, but it’s not where our understanding of Jesus ends.

Jesus: Righteous Authority

Luke 19:45-20:8
45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’[a]; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Jesus may not have his humility on full-display here, but there is another characteristic of Jesus that is on full-display: His righteous authority. When we talk about “righteousness”, we are talking about Jesus’ concern about the people’s relationship with God the Father.

To be “righteous” means to be in right standing with God. And so, Jesus is observing how the temple is being used and what has
happened to the temple worship, and he knows that their current behavior & practices are not going to put them in that right relationship.

He says, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.” He quotes both Jeremiah & Isaiah to the people that they might repent and change their behavior.

We need to be careful to not take Jesus’ humility as an excuse to overlook sin in the lives of our brothers & sisters in Christ. We ought to move people into a closer walk with God, help them to be more like Jesus, but do so with humility because we love them and are concerned for them!

Galatians 6:1
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

We see the humble King, our Messiah, lowly and riding a donkey into Jerusalem, and we see our righteous Judge confronting sin and calling people into repentance. When we put them together, we realize that we have been called to lovingly, humbly encourage one another to walk with God; confronting sin, but seeking that we might repent & be restored to a right relationship with God.

Jesus is our humble King, and he is our righteous Judge. But more than that he is our loving, and gracious Savior.