Good evening. If you will, let's
turn to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. there on the back table, printed
out some of the end of year financial statements. And I emailed everybody
just a little bit ago, too. So I'm thankful for you. Thankful
for what the Lord's done in your heart. Magnificent, exceedingly
abundant, more than we could hope. John 12, I just noticed
that Kimberly, I was telling Kimberly I noticed this evening.
Our Lord was at the first Passover in his public ministry in John
chapter 2. And he purged the temple. What y'all was doing was wrong.
And that was a great miracle. 30, 40, 50,000 people were there.
And this one that was low and meek and humble, he made a whip. And he run them off. out of his
father's house, you get out of here. 12 months goes by, and
John 6, there's another Passover, that's a whole year. A whole
year took place. Passover comes around again,
Jews Passover, Jews Feast, he feeds 5,000. He purges the temple,
he feeds his people, he walks on the water, and he goes and
he teaches in that tabernacle. He taught. Oh, what would that
be like to hear from him? And he said, I'm the bread of
life. So from John 2 to John 6, whole year. From John 6 to
John 12, whole year. And now he's coming to this third
Passover in his earthly ministry, and he's the Passover. He purged the temple, he fed
his people, because he's the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. Isn't that something? That's amazing, isn't it? Well,
our prayers show us those things, that we can behold the Lamb.
We're going to look at here in John 12 what's written in many
headings as the triumphal entry. He triumphantly enters Jerusalem. He's always been triumphant.
He was going there to triumph. That's why he was going. But
this is recorded in all four Gospels. All four Gospels. We ought to really pay close
attention to it. I want to pay close attention to it. It says
in verse 12, John 12, 12. On the next day, after he'd raised
Lazarus and those things took place, on the next day much people
that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees and went
forth to meet him and cried, Hosanna, blessed is the King
of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus,
when he had found a young ass, sat thereon, as it was written,
Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, thy king cometh, sitting
on an ass's coat. These things understood not his
disciples at the first. But when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him, and
that they had done these things unto him. Up until now, every
time the Lord healed somebody, every time he'd done a miracle,
every time he'd done something like the Mount of Transfiguration,
what'd he tell them? Don't you tell nobody. Keep this
to yourself. Don't you tell nobody this. Don't
you tell nobody this. He was so discreet in his ministry,
wasn't he? For three and a half years, he's
walked this earth. So discreet. And now, he rides into the capital
city. on a colt's ass, and they're
throwing down palms. Everybody's heard about him runs
out, they're throwing his palm leaves down, and they're throwing
their garments down so he don't have to touch nothing. Like us
throwing rose petals in front of somebody. They throw his things
down, praising him, singing to him. Right into the big city
during the Feast of the Passover, right in their big religious
holiday, the Jews. Passover. Here he comes. Who's this? This is somebody. Even them disciples sat back
and said, what's going on? This is somebody. We had a president
one time, it was in the War of 1812. His men looked at him,
the whole company, and they said, we're going to mutiny. And he
said, you mutiny, I'll kill every one of you. And they said, I
think he's serious. They decided not to mutiny. Why? That was somebody important.
That was somebody with authority and ability in front of them, wasn't it?
Who's this? Who's this? Every time they tried
to kill him, they tried to kill him. They take up stones and
he was gone. He walked right through them. They said, we're going
to make him king. He walked right through them. They couldn't get
their hands on him. He was so discreet and slipped right through.
Well, this hour has come. Here comes the king. The king
is coming. Hosanna. Blessed is the king
of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. He's the king.
That's his name. You know, a savior. What's a
savior do? They save folks that need saving.
What's a redeemer do? They redeem people that can't
redeem themselves. What's a king do? They rule and
reign a kingdom and a people. This is the king. This is the
king. That's his name. That's what
he does there. Years ago. Y'all probably remember
Chevy Nova boy sold a bunch of and they took him down to Mexico
and they didn't hardly sell none. Well, why? It means no go in
Spanish. Would you buy a car that was
a no go? Would you have a king that did whatever you told him
to do? Would you have a savior that was at your beck and call
a redeemer that only used the money you allowed him? This is
the king, the king, not like earthly kings, not like as of
a man, not like our thoughts, not like our ways. This is the
king. Turn over Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one. The Old Testament was full of
these prophecies. about this coming king says for
under us a child is born under us a son is given the government
shall be upon his shoulder why he's the king and his name this
king's name is going to be wonderful counselor the mighty god the
everlasting father the prince of peace and of the increase
of that government and the peace in that government there's not
going to be an end upon the throne of david and upon his kingdom
because it's a king to order it and to establish it with judgment
and justice from henceforth forevermore. How's this? What's this going?
How's it coming about? How's that going? We got a lot
of work ahead of us, don't we? Oh, no. Who's going to do all this?
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it. What we're going
to do? Stand still. See the salvation
of the Lord. Watching, watching, wait on it. We see it fulfilled here in Matthew
chapter one, verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. When his mother Mary was a spouse
to Joseph, this is the engagement period, before they came together,
before they were physically married and consummated, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. Joseph, who was a just man, like
any other man that was wise and had reason, said, uh-huh, sure.
She said, this child I'm bearing, this is of the Holy Ghost. He
said, I bet. What would you think? I bet he
was. He was a just man not willing
to make a public example, right? I could take you out and just
humiliate you, but I ain't in that business. He was minded
to put away privately. Verse 20, but when he thought
on these things, how am I going to put her away? We both can
save a little bit of face. Behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Ghost. What does it say there in Isaiah
9? The Lord's accomplishing this. His zeal is doing this. And what
else? And she shall bring forth the
Son, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now, all this, this immaculate
conception, Joseph, was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold,
A virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel." It's being interpreted,
God with us. Watch this, verse 24, then, then, Joseph being raised from his
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife. The angel of the Lord came to
him and said, you're going to call his name Jesus. The Lord's done this,
calls his name Jesus, he's the king. That's what those men you
just read that came looking for what the king of the Jews born
king of the Jews That's where he's born for what? He's gonna
be king he's gonna save his people his kingdom from their sins from
something Right God with us. That's who it is. And this is
all according to the scriptures Joseph According to the scriptures. I told you and now I won't do
it. I Just as I said I was going
to do it. He's going to prove to Joseph
he's God. I could say I'm going to do something.
I may do it. I may not. If the Lord wills, I will. He
said, just as the scripture said. And then Joseph woke up. He got
after him. This is the king according to
the scriptures. The king, that's who's walking
or going down that road on a colt's ass. That's who they're screaming
Hosanna to. That's who they're throwing those
palm leaves down in their garments, their robes. I love that. What's
all you good stuff? Throw it on the ground. Let him
trample on it. Ain't even worth walking on, is it? We're reading
Psalm 2. Why do the heathen rage? Why
do the people imagine a vain thing? People do that. People
walk around this world all day, every day, imagining In a figment
of their imagination, vain things. Vanity. The kings of the earth,
they set themselves. Well, I'm king. Well, I'm doing
this. And I'm in charge. They do, don't they? The Lord
says he's going to laugh at them. He's going to laugh at them.
I wouldn't want to be laughed at on that, would you? He said,
yet I have set my king. Capital L, capital O, capital
R, capital E, the Lord of Hosts, the self-existent one, said,
I've set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree
the Lord hath set unto me. Thou art my son, this day have
I begotten thee. Ask of me, he tells his son,
and I'll give you the heathen for your inheritance. This great
king, the Lord said, gonna have a bunch of heathens as his kingdom.
Would you pick that? I wouldn't. A lot of things I'd
do differently. He said, in the other most parts
of the earth for thy possession, things you can't see, they're
yours. Speaking of the enemies against this king, every king
has an enemy. If king, they've got kingdoms,
there's constituents, there's subjects in that, they're hated
too. We're hated as a person of a nation, a citizen of a nation,
by people we've never met just because we're born here. Learned
something about federal headship. It says in Revelation 17, These
shall make their war with the Lamb of His enemies, and the
Lamb shall overcome them, because for He is the Lord of lords and
the King of kings, and they that are with Him are called and chosen
and faithful. Ain't that something? That's what He declares. Don't
feel like it, does it? Don't feel like it. This King
came to save. That's what the King... He's
going to do something. There's enemies, there's battles, and
we're in trouble. He came to do something. He came
to save his people by laying down his life. That's what the
good shepherd came to do. We looked last week there in
Isaiah 50. Like that willing bond servant that stood over
by the door post and the master, if he loved his master and loved
his wife and loved his family, bore at his ear. In Isaiah 50
verse 5 it says, The Lord God hath opened mine ear. He bored
it out, but he opened my ear. And I was not rebellious, neither
turned away back. I gave my back to the smiter.
That's what we're going to read here in a minute. That's where
he's going. And my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,
I hid not my face from the shame and the spitting. He didn't hide
his face. For the Lord God will help me.
He believed the Father, trusted Him solely the whole time. Therefore
shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint. I was singing John Wayne movies.
Need to strike a, strike anywhere match on him. Set his face like
a flint. And I know that I shall not be
ashamed. And I thought, you know what,
as he's going, they're crying out, Hosanna! Which means save
now. Oh, save. Hosanna means save
now. And he's hearing this. His ear
was open, he heard, and he had his face set like a flint. He's
riding that colt's ass right in Jerusalem to go give his beard,
give his back, and not hide his face from all the punishment
that God was gonna turn his back on him. And he heard these crying. Hosein, there's a whole bunch
of them there that said, man, this is the guy that's finally gonna
get us out of a Roman dictatorship. They tried making him king already,
didn't they? They said, boys, we're going to have good health
care, and taxes are going to be lower, whatever. It's personal
benefit. He could tell the difference.
There were people there crying, save now, because he's the king. He's the lord and king. He's
their lord and their god. And they're bowing to him. Sounds
exactly the same, looks exactly the same. He could discern. He
heard those that were saying that for personal benefit, and
he didn't stop and said, now let me tell you something. Your
tears, I can pick you out. Nobody else can. And he didn't
hear those saying, oh, Lord, save. And he didn't hear that
with his ear and turn to them and say, no, it's going to be
all right. It wasn't time for comfort. That wasn't the season
for that, was it? Would you turn? You hear those
opposing you? Oh, man. I want to take the bait
sometimes. Turn right at them and say, you
know what? Lord will break you. Here's what he said. Or taking
praise. Somebody earnestly. Thank you.
Well, I'm glad. Oh, just the thankful Lord bless
that and take time away from I want to I hope he make me set
my face like a flame. He gave me something to do. Don't
matter how many if this place has 5000 people in it today,
or there's 1.5. He gave me a job to do, I want
to do it. His ear was open. And they were crying, Save now!
Neither way swayed him. The naysayers didn't distract
him, and the praise of the sheep didn't slow him down. That's why he was going, was
to go die. It says up in verse 7, John 12, 7, that Jesus said
after Judas rebuked her, said, We could have sold that for the
poor. He said, Leave her alone! Against the day of my burying
hath she kept this. I was this not that hours, hours
not yet come. That's what he was thinking.
It's getting close. This good shepherd came to lay
down his life for the sheep. And that was his wheel. And he
willingly did it. He willingly did it. That coat
wouldn't pull him. He's right. He was he was pulling
the reins going in. The Lord uses means, doesn't
he? We'll have a good article in the Bulletin this Sunday about
the God of means. My brother Frank Tate, it's going
to be wonderful if you like it. Paul said, this man came, he
preached at Acts 2, and he said he did all his signs and wonders
and miracles. He just raised Lazarus, and you know it. This
is modern day, current time, this current event, isn't it?
And he said, you know it. He looked him dead in the eye
with his face set like a plant and said, you know it. You know
it. And him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, that's who put him on the cross. Our sins did it. That's who ordained it. That's
who determined for all these things to happen. But you've
taken with wicked hands. and have crucified and slain.
That was the means the Lord was pleased to use. And whom God
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be beholden of it. He's risen. He's risen. He willfully did
this. This was his will and the Father's
will. Their will was one. They are
one. By his determinate counsel, he was on that colt's ass going
into Jerusalem. Our text says there in verse
12, On the next day, much people that were come to the feast,
when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took
branches of palm leaves and went forth to meet Him and cried,
Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the
name of the Lord. Who's the King going to save?
His people. His people. He's not going to
go save another people. He'll save His people. He's going
to save his people from their sins. He's going to save his
kingdom. His kingdom. Who's his kingdom? Well, he's
the king of Israel. He's going to save Israel. Who's
that? We ain't hardly there on Sunday
morning, Jim. It won't be long. Jacob. King
of Jacob. Blessed is the king of Jacob.
That's what they're saying. King of the Jews. King of Israel.
King of Jacob. Look over in Romans 2. Romans
chapter 2. Romans 2 verse 28. For he is not a Jew which is
one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward
in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly. May God get a hold of you and
teach this to you. You ready? Who's the Jews? That's
Israel. For he is not an Israel An Israelite,
which is one outwardly, neither that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh, but he is an Israelite, which is one inwardly. You want
to see something precious? He's not a Jacob, which is one
outwardly. What's those outward Jacobs look
like? Well, I can see them a mile away. They're doing the drugs,
and they're saying the dirty words, and they're watching the
dirty movies, and they're drinking things out of cans they ought
not be drinking. All the bad stuff, isn't it? That ain't who
he's king of. But he's a Jacob, which is one
inwardly. Who's those Jacobs that God's
the God of Jacob of? My outside of this cup might
be clean, it might be... There's plenty of dirt on it, I'll tell
you that right now, on the outside. Oh, y'all see the inside. Are
you a Jacob inwardly, when nobody's looking at you? That's who he's
the king of. King of Israel King of the Jews
King of Jacob's in it. That's our King. Throw Matthew
27. Here's what he did Matthew 27 Verse 11 Matthew 27 11 And Jesus stood before the governor,
and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou
sayest. You said it, didn't you? Put down verse 29. Here's what
they did to him. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right
hand, and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying,
Hail, king of the Jews! They're going to. They're going
to. Hail, King of Israel. Hail, King
of Jacob's. They spit on him. And they took
the reed, and they smote him on the head. Why'd they do all
this? He showed up to them. They couldn't
catch him. Nobody laid a hand on him. Why'd he go there to
Jerusalem to do all this? They had no wrongdoing to charge
the Lord with. They had one accusation, one
accusation to get him on. Look down verse 37. And set up over his head his
accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. And John
19, we read that was translated in three languages, most three
popular languages at the time, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Whoever
it was, they could see it. This is Jesus, king of the Jews. Then they said something else
about him, verse 42. He saved others. Himself he cannot save. If he be king of Israel, let
him come down from that cross and we'll believe him. No, you
wouldn't. He's told you before, hasn't
he? That's right, Herod. It irks me when people say, we're
going to go worship today, and you can just hear the octaves
change. That's what Herod told them wise men. You go find him.
I ain't going to go. That's a waste of time. Too much
work, isn't it? It ain't going to cost me nothing. You go find him, and then whenever
you find him, I'll go worshiping hogwash. We'll kill him. That's what he wanted to do,
wasn't it? That's what the Lord revealed to him. They said, you come down
from that cross, we'll believe you. No, they wouldn't. But boy,
what they said. Isn't that prophetic? What truth
that come out of their mouths in contention. He saved others.
They knew that. Himself, he could not save. Mm. Remember K. F. Is that high priest?
He said, Don't you see how this is expedient for us? This is
good for us that one man should die for the people that the whole
nation parish not him saying that being high priest
that you I hope I never Lord keep me from being somebody used
to preach the gospel. I got a horrible message emailed
me the other day, and I've known the man for 25 years. And I went
to email John Reeves up in rescue today, and that fella's email
popped up, and I just sunk even deeper. Oh, keep me. Keep me. Back in our text here in John
12. John 12, verse 12. On the next
day, much people that were come to the feast, when they had heard
that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches, palm trees
and went forth to meet him and cried, Hosanna, save now. Blessed is the King of Israel
that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus, when he had
found a young ass set there on, as it is written, fear not, daughter
of Zion. Behold, thy king cometh, sitting
on an ass's coat. These people, this is the king
that's there. He's coming to do something. He's coming to
die and redeem. His people from their sins. Who's that people? He has a people. He's a king. He's gonna redeem
them. They need redeeming. He's gonna
save them. They need saved, don't they?
Who is true Israel? Who is that? Who's these daughters
of Zion? Who are His people? What are they like? We saw that
Jacob's on the inside, isn't it? What's that like? This one
word is beautiful. What kind of coat was that? A
young ass. It was young. That means a whole
lot. That means a whole lot. These disciples didn't understand
all this until later. Could you imagine if that was
given to you? You got to tell them. There's apostles sitting
there, and they're scratching their heads, and they're like,
what's the significance of all this? We don't get it. Why? This
is contrary to everything we thought was going on. And half
them thought it was going to be an earthly kingdom, at least
temporary, didn't they? Could you imagine? We know these things.
You want me to tell you why I was a young ass? He was sitting on
this. Amazing, boys. That'd be good to tell them,
wouldn't it? What a privilege, what an undeserved privilege
to handle these things that are so immense and so holy. And that's what's been put in
our charge. Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Tell them
why. Go tell them who this is, what they look like. There in
verse 14 it says, young. That means a lot. The Jacobs,
the Israels, the daughters of Zion, they are just like young
asses. He said, you got to be like a
child. You have to become a child in
my kingdom, don't you? What's the significance of that? This
young donkey? Turn over to Luke 19. Luke 19. If I had to make myself a Jacob,
If I had to make myself feel bad enough for my sins, or see
my sins, or if there's something I have to do to be saved, I can't
do it. I have to be made that way. I
have to be brought down low. My instincts to be made up high. Ride the tallest horse I can
get a hold of. The Lord saves His people. Look
here in Luke 19, verse 29. And it came to pass, when He
was come nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called
the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying,
Go ye into the village over against you. In the which at your entering,
you shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never a man sat." This is
a young one. Nobody's wrote him yet. Is that
simple? That's not hard, is it? You have
to have a theological degree and an abacus and a calculator
and all this other stuff to figure it out. It's a young colt. Nobody's
wrote him. What's he say? Loose him. You
heard that before? Loose him. Bring him hither.
Unwind him. Bring him to me. And if any man
ask you, why you loose him? Why you doing these things? This
is foolish. You ain't allowed to do that.
Why you doing this? Thus shall ye say unto him, because the
Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went
their way, and found even as he had said unto them, and as
they were loosing the colt, The owners thereof said unto them,
why lose she, the colt? Could you imagine that? It don't
matter if anybody's ever rode it. That's livestock. I mean,
in our day, right now, that's expensive. But we have vehicles. Back then, that's real expensive,
isn't it? Horse thieves, we know that's
bad in our generation, don't we? Punishable by death. Somebody's
stealing your dog. You come home, you got a bunch
of dogs. Somebody's untying one of your dogs. What are you doing? What do you think?" And they
said, the Lord hath need of him. The Lord needs it. Well, take it. Take it. This young ass, this young colt
had never been broken, never been broken, never been bound,
never been ridden off all that man in the tombs we looked at
last time. No one could tame him. No ruler had ever been over
him. He was wild, wild, just like
a young ass. No king had ever ruled over him.
Till this came. Nobody could bind him. But this
man, this is one strong written. If our president, our king was
going to ride on a horse at an event, and you had to pick the
horse, what kind of horse would you pick? I want the most trained,
a strong, calm, steady horse for him to ride. Wouldn't you?
That was your job. Somebody gave you that job. We
want the tamest, best trained horse we could find, wouldn't
we? Not this king. We'd want the biggest, widest
stallion that was beautiful and just looked magnificent, brought
all the attention to him. Not this one. Go find me an untamed,
coke. Stonewall Jackson's got a monument
down there bull run. And he looks like he's been taking
the same steroids that horse has they both have muscles on
top of muscles. I'm it's outrageous, outlandish,
but the mix look good. Not this king. Not this king.
Here's the king of kings, the king of kings, unappealing, uncomely,
and a young old unbroken donkey underneath him. His people are
lame, they're hot, they're blind, they're deaf, they're dumb, they're
sinners, they're crooks, they're prostitutes, cheats, mafiosos,
commercial fishermen, sailors. That's who his people are. Isn't
that good? That's good news if you're any
of those things. This ass had never been ridden. The disciples
come to bring it to the Lord and the owner stops them and
says, what are you doing? I said, the Lord needs it. Any
way this played out, it doesn't give us much information. The
Lord performed it, but I thought of three ways that this could
have happened. The owner said, I don't want this donkey anyway.
It's stubborn. We can't put a saddle on it.
We can't ride it. It smells. Just take it. Just take it. Get rid of it.
The Lord will use it, won't he? Everything is just cast to the
side, cast out in the field, naked in its own blood. He says,
that's mine, give it to me. Undesired. Well, what if that
owner said, it's for the Lord? Well, it's his anyway. Take it. Why didn't you say so? And I thought, what if somebody
came to my house, somebody I never met, and is stealing our car? What are you doing? The Lord
needs it. Would I say okay? Would you? If he turned the heart,
he said the king's heart's in his hand, isn't it? We think
that's rulers of a nation. You're the king. You think you're
the boss. And he shows you, I'm the king.
And like that old game on the playground, they don't get a
hold of us and we yell uncle, we yell king. King, that's who
we bow to, isn't it? I remember Egypt, whenever they
sent out Israel, I always thought of the Emancipation Proclamation
in our nation back in 1865. All the slaves were freed, they
went to their masters, and they said, give me your wife's jewelry.
And we're going to need all that. We're going to make a tabernacle
for the God out there. And all the slave owners said,
sure. Yeah, you know what? That's a
long walk. Let me make you a sandwich. That's going to be a lot of stuff
to carry. I've got a bottle of water for you. Let me get a backpack.
That'll make it a lot easier on you. What is it? That's the
Lord making somebody willing and endowing his power. And if
they knew him, them owners, they said, the Lord wants it. Give
it to him. It's his. Take it. What's the other way?
They could have said, we don't want it. It's his, take it anyway,
or that owner wanted to do something more. He said, you know what,
I've got a lovely horse in the other paddock. This is for the
Lord. This is for the Lord. We're not going to some dime
store and finding a donkey. The Lord wants something to ride,
I got something for him to ride. It's in the back paddock, it's
brilliant. It's like Stonewall's horse. Strong, huge, well-trained,
well-trained. It'll stand still, it'll prance,
do anything you want it to. Take that one. Those disciples
said, you know what, I appreciate it. I'm thankful for the generous
heart the Lord's put in you. I'm thankful for that. But the
Lord gave us His word. He said He wants this one. That's
what we're going to do. And that owner would have submitted,
that owner would have patiently waited, and he'd have been taught
later why that was the case, wouldn't he? Give it time. Give
it six weeks, six months, or six years. He'll teach you on
it. Isn't that what he says? The Lord wanted the wildest one,
the worst one, the least of the herd. He said, I'm going to break
it, I'm going to conquer him, and I'm going to ride him right
into Jerusalem. This king came to save sinners, the worst, the
most vile, the chief of sinners. And he's going to make every
one of them willing and profitable serpents. He's going to break
them. And they'll be broke. Colin,
try a hard one. Here's the key to all this, back
in our text, John 12. Why? Why? Why would he do all that?
Isn't this complicated? This is a lot of doing, a lot
of planning, isn't it? Why would he do these things?
Verse 14 said, And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat
there on as it was written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold,
thy king cometh, sitting on an ass's coat. These things understood
not his disciples at first. But when Jesus was glorified,
then remembered they that these things were written of him. and
that they had done these things unto him when he's glorified. Why does all this take place?
Why would he do such a thing? Why would he pick a kingdom and
take the heathen for his inheritance and be the king of that and the
king of Jacob's and the least of all the least for his glory? For his glory, that's why he
came. For his glory, that's why he
redeemed his people in his death and his blood. For his glory,
that's why he came to his people and broke them. Just like a wild
animal. Calmed him down. Gave him a new
spirit. A whole different spirit, didn't
it? A whole different personality.
It's not in vain. That's right. Why? For His glory.
And when we see His glory, and it's the Lord's person, and His
work and what He does, we truly understand why everything's happening.
Name a trial you've ever lived through, well after when those
scars have healed up, those wounds have healed, and you look back,
what'd you see in all that? Christ's glory. You saw the Lord
high and lifted up. That's why. That's why the king
came. That's why he laid down his life willingly and died.
That's why he comes to his people and breaks his people and rides
him right into the capital city. For his glory. For his glory.
Paul would ask him, he said, Art thou a king then in John
18? And he said, Thou sayest I am a king? He said, To this
end was I born a born king. He always has been king. People
say, Make him king of your life. I don't want to laugh at people,
but that's laughable. They don't know nothing. Nobody's ever told
them anything. This king always has been king.
He's the eternal king. He said, To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the world. Are you king? That's
why I'm here. I was born this way. This is
why I came, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone
that is of the truth heareth my voice." He's it. It's for
his glory. All this fulfilled the scriptures.
Paul said he preached the gospel. He said, I deliver unto you first
of all which I received, how that Christ died for our sins,
according to the scriptures. And that he was buried, and he
rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. Zechariah 9. You can turn over
there. If you get to Matthew, go two books
to the left. You got Malachi to the left.
The next one's Zechariah. Zechariah 9. As you're looking at it, there's
four scriptures this fulfills prophetically in the scriptures,
but one of them is Psalm 118. Things we quote out of context,
isn't it? The stone which the builders
refused has become the head of the cornerstone. This is the
Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. Is
this marvelous to you? This is the day which the Lord
hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. That's today, isn't it? We say
that, don't we? How loose, oh. This is the day
which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Save now. What's that? Hosanna. Save now. I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord,
I beseech thee. Send now prosperity. Blessed
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed
you out of the house of the Lord. Zechariah 9, verse 9. Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion. Who's that? Jacob's? Heathens? Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto
thee. Do we have to find him? Herod said, I ain't gonna go
looking. He came to us, didn't he? Boy, I'm thankful. He is
just. and having salvation lowly, and
riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. And
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow shall be cut off, all enemies gonna be stopped.
And he shall speak peace unto the heathen. Peace unto the heathen. And his dominion shall be from
sea even to sea, and from river even to the ends of the earth.
As for thee also, By the blood of thy covenant, I have sent
forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water."
Where does he find all these people? In a pit, a miry pit.
You got water of life down there? Uh-uh. His do all of it. Turn you to the stronghold. Turn to Christ. You prisoners
of hope. I love that. I underlined it
three times. What did Paul say? I'm a cross prisoner. I'm from
the Lord's penthouse down here at the prison house. I'm a prisoner
of hope. Quit having hope right now. I
can't. I know we're bound to it, ain't
we? Made one with it. Even today do I declare that I will render
double unto thee. Double. Double. And that is promised. We understand that, don't we?
We see His glory. What a precious thing that is.
He says in Ephesians 1, 9, I'll close. Having made known unto
us the mystery of His will. Why'd He do all this? We get
it. He showed us. According to His
good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself. Anything
the Lord does is on purpose. Anything. What about our brother
that's flooded up there? It's on purpose. What if there's
a drought? It's on purpose. What if you
leave the lights on? It's on purpose. Everything's
on purpose. It's His purpose. that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together
in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are on earth, even in him." He's going to bring all his people
to himself. He's going to break all them wild asses, every one
of them, bring them to himself, give them a new spirit. What
do the Lord's people say to all this? He's the king, I mean king,
all capital letters. Ain't none like him. He's the
king. He came, he died, and redeemed
his people. And then he comes to his people,
and he breaks them. Makes them profitable servants.
Makes us good animals, don't he? Gives us a new spirit. He
gets all the glory for this. What do we say? Hosanna! Save now. People talk about dispensationalism. Ugh. What what dispensation Lord
say he give how much how's it go add to his church daily as
such should be right? Well, we say today save now. Well, you're gonna save tomorrow
morning Save now anyway We say save now blessed is the King
of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. He comes in
his own name He's just that's our banner Jehovah, Nasi. It's
pretty Father, thank you for this. Thank you for this word. Thank you for our king. You've
given us heathens. Lord, that unimaginable substitution,
that death we earned, that abandonment and punishment of the sin that
we are on the inside. Oh, death, where is our sting? How grateful we are, Lord. Thank
you. Thank you. Save now. Lord, you
have saved us. Save us and save us until we're
with him, with our king, our great Lord. Forgive us of what
we are, forgive us our unbelief and our doubt, Lord, and our
worrying and our fearfulness. Turn us to Him. Turn us to Christ. Be with our brethren that aren't
with us, Lord. Those that are suffering the trials you've given
them, glorify Christ in them. Allow them to see Him high and
lifted up. How thankful they'll be, and we will be too. Thank
you for this day. It's in Christ's name that we
ask it. Amen.