What Kind of King is This?
In the Apostle Paul’s day, when a victorious king or general returned from war, he would publicly display the spoils of battle for his own personal gain and glory. The Romans, especially the Caesars, were renowned for their extravagant displays of personal glory. When a victorious general returned to Rome, they would treat him as a living god and shower him with glory. The general would ride through the streets on a chariot with the might of his legions on display, all to show his power and majesty. Many kings throughout history have wanted to see themselves as living gods. Pharaohs, emperors, Caesars, and kings deluded themselves with their own pride and glory and tried to seize God’s glory.
But Jesus is a different kind of king. As true God, Jesus could have ruled this world with an iron fist. All dominion, power, and might were his by divine right. He could have ruled as a literal god on earth. But that is not what our Savior did. He was a different kind of king. Instead of using his power for his own advancement, he humbled himself. Paul writes, “Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”
On the screen this morning are two pictures. The first shows how the world expects a king to act—with pride, glory, power, and splendor. The second shows how the world sees the message of the cross—as foolishness to those who are perishing. The second picture is a piece of graffiti that was scrawled on a wall in Rome around the year 200 AD. The caption reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.” On the cross, we see a man with the head of a donkey being crucified. This is how the world sees Jesus. The world simply cannot grasp how the Son of God would willingly set aside his divine power and allow himself to be humiliated, tortured, and nailed to a cross. This is not how a king acts, and this is certainly not how a god acts.
Palm Sunday allows us to see exactly what kind of king our Savior is. He is a king who is both glorious and humble. He is a king who sacrificed everything for those he loves and a king who continues to rule over everything for the good of his people. He is a king who rode into Jerusalem in humility on a donkey, knowing that he was riding to his death, and he is a king who will return on the Last Day with all the might of heaven at his side to welcome us into his kingdom.
In Philippians 2, Paul gives us a beautiful hymn of praise that teaches us exactly what Christ has done for us. Our Savior is a profound mystery. He is true God from eternity, united with God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the mystery and majesty of the Trinity. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman so that he could be born under God’s law for us. Christ gave up the joy and wonder of heaven to be born as a helpless human baby. Instead of being born in a marvelous palace as would be fitting for the King of kings, he was born in a stable. Instead of living in luxury, he lived a life of poverty. Instead of coming to be served, Christ came to be the servant of all.
Our Lord Jesus Christ endured all the humiliation of the human condition. Jesus knew what it was like to feel sorrow and pain. He knew what it was like to know hunger and thirst. He willingly endured every hurt and sorrow of the human condition so that he could be tempted in every way that we are and yet be without sin. He suffered in every way that we do, so he could sympathize with our human condition and intercede on our behalf before the throne of God.
As true God, Jesus lived a perfect life free from every sin of thought, word, and action. He was perfectly obedient to the will of his Father. While he lived in this world, Jesus had all the power of God at his command, and yet he chose not to use that power so he could be our substitute. Unlike an earthly king who would use his power for his own glory, Jesus used his immense power to serve others. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and fed the hungry. Paul tells us that Jesus willingly chose to empty himself and not use his power.
He did this so he could offer himself as our Passover lamb. If Jesus had always appeared as he did at Transfiguration or used his power as he did in Gethsemane when he made the soldiers fall back, he never would have been crucified. This is what is so incredible about the passion of our Savior. This week, we will hear all the suffering that he endured on our behalf. Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. He knew the suffering, torment, and agony that awaited him in Jerusalem, and yet he willingly went to suffer and die in our
place. Our Savior could have used his power to thwart the plans of the chief priests and teachers of the law. He could have stopped the soldiers of Pilate with a word of command.
Our Savior shamed himself by suffering the most shameful and hideous death imaginable when he was nailed to the cross like a wretched criminal. He could have listened to the words of those who taunted him at the foot of the cross and saved himself. But because of his great love for us, our Savior endured the agony and shame of the cross for us. On the cross, our mighty and perfect King offered his life as a payment for our sins. On the cross, Jesus endured God’s almighty wrath and suffered all the torments of hell that our sins deserve. He did all this willingly so that he could pay for our sins with his holy, precious blood. Our God died and was buried so that we might live.
The humiliating work of our Savior was complete. On the third day, our Savior once again made full use of his mighty power. On Easter morning, Jesus rose victorious from the grave. He shattered the power of sin and death. He descended into hell and paraded his glory and power before the devil to show that his power had forever been broken. By his resurrection, Christ removed the sting of death and gave the promise of the resurrection and eternal life to all who believe and trust in his name.
Our king is now glorious and exalted. In his hymn of praise, Paul tells us what kind of king we know has been ruling over us. Therefore, God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Our Savior is ruling over all things for the good of his church. Our mighty king is with us every day of our lives. He had kept all his promises. He has defeated the power of death and hell for us. He has assured us that he will come again on that Last Great Day to take us to his eternal kingdom where there will be no more weeping, or crying, or pain. This glorious kingdom is ours because of the amazing love of our king, who willingly suffered and died to save us. As we consider the events of our Savior’s passion this week, we marvel at his amazing grace.
Was there ever love like this? Was ever grace so amazing? Many people devote their entire lives to avoiding any kind of pain, be it mental, emotional, spiritual, or physical. But Jesus entered into the state of humiliation at the moment of his conception. In the human nature, which possessed all divine power and might by the gift of the divine nature, Jesus did not make full or complete use of his divine attributes. In the process, he left us the most powerful example of humility that seeks only to serve. In the process, he demonstrated the greatness of his grace and love for us, the he willingly suffered as no man has ever suffered or could ever suffer. For his was the suffering of the punishment that all the rest of us deserve on account of sin. His suffering was so great that it paid for all sins. Amen.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.