The King and the Kingdom
"The next day the great multitude
that had come
to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and
cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is He WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF
THE LORD, the King of Israel. Then Jesus, when He had found a young
donkey, sat on it; as it is written, "FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION;
BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING SITTING ON A DONKEY’S COLT."
John 12:12
It was the
time of Israel’s annual observance of the Passover feast. This was
one of the most important feasts celebrated by Israel...the time when God
spared the first born males from death back when the Israelites were
slaves in Egypt. God told the Israelites to take a lamb without
blemish and sacrifice it. He directed them to splash some of the
lamb’s blood on the crosspiece above their front door and on the
posts on each side. Then God promised, "…when I see the blood I
will pass over you…" Exodus 12:13.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote that
hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Jerusalem from many nations to
observe the feast of Passover. It was not unusual for Jerusalem to
swell from around 200,000 to a million people at this time.
I. The Presentation Of The King To Israel Early on Sunday morning four days before Passover
sounds of great commotion were heard coming from the Mount of Olives
located east of Jerusalem. Suddenly a great throng of people burst
over the brow of Mt. Olivet like a storm. They were cutting down
palm branches and casting them along with the coats off their backs,
down the road where a donkey colt would carry Jesus. As they did so
they shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of
the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David;
Hosanna in the highest!" Mark 11:10
Husbands and wives were joined by their children
as they ran together to catch a glimpse of Who was receiving such a
tumultuous escort into the city. And now Jesus appears at the crest
of the mount riding an ass down the road that would bring Him down
to the Kedron valley. There the road turns north until it makes a
horseshoe turn back south on the other side of the valley. At the
Golden Gate Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem and goes straight to
the Temple court.
II. The Prophecies Of The King Of Israel There are actually over 300 prophecies in
Israel’s scriptures that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We can only
touch on some of the most notable ones.
The patriarch Jacob
Before the old
patriarch Jacob gave up the ghost he placed this blessing upon
Judah, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to Him shall be
the obedience of the people Genesis 49:10." The scepter was the symbol of
King’s authority. "Shiloh" is understood to mean, "(until He comes)
whose right it is." When Jesus was born the scepter of Judah was
physically in the hand of King Herod Agrippa, but Jesus was the one
whose right it was. Psalm 45:6,7 gives us this insight, "Your
throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness, and hate
wickedness; Therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil
of gladness more than Your companions."
The Davidic covenant
To most people it is an
unknown document but upon that covenant rests the legal claim of
Jesus Christ to the throne of Israel. In it we read, "And your
house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you.
Your throne
shall be established forever." 2nd Samuel 7:16. The 52 verses of
Psalm 89 are written in regard to the confirmation of this covenant.
In addition, the Davidic covenant is confirmed in Isaiah 55:3 and
Acts 13:34 using the phrase "the sure mercies of David."
Isaiah
It was also through the royal court
prophet Isaiah, that God gave us these words heard around the world
during the Christmas season, "For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us, a Son is given; And the government will be upon His
shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His
government and peace there will be no end; Upon the throne of
David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with
judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9:6,7.
Jeremiah
To the weeping prophet, Jeremiah,
God spoke, "Behold the days are coming,’ says the Lord, that
I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and
prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth..."
Jeremiah 23:5.
Daniel
To the greatly beloved prophet,
Daniel, the Lord God gave much revelation about King Jesus. Please
read especially Daniel 2:44; 7:13-27, and 9:24-27. The following
words are from Daniel 7, "I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and
they brought Him near
before Him. Then to Him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve
Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass
away; And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed."
Micah
It was Micah who gave to us the city
where King Jesus would be born, "Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem
Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet
out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,
whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
Zechariah
To Zechariah, the prophet to the
returned remnant of Israel, was given the revelation of the
presentation of Jesus, "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, a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Zechariah 9:9
III. The Pondering Of The King By Israel
The question almost everyone asked was,
"Who is
this?" And the overwhelming answer was, "This is the prophet,
Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." (Matthew 21:10,11) Was this
all He was? Now the nation must ponder Him as the promised
King of Israel. He has ridden into the city on a donkey instead of a
high spirited stallion. A donkey was symbolic of a king who reigns
in peace. This is the way Solomon was presented to Israel and this
is the way Zechariah prophesied the coming King would be presented.
Jesus was also presented with palm leaves. This
was symbolic of a triumphant conqueror. Most of Israel was looking
for the coming King to be a deliverer and break the yoke of gentile
rule from off their necks. There were prophecies that justified this
viewpoint but they were missing the timing by 2000 years. Jesus had
already revealed that He and His disciples must bear the cross
before they wear the crown (Luke 9:22,23). When the time is right
the saints of God will have palm branches in their hands (Revelation
7:9).
Over the next four days the religious leaders of
Israel campaigned to turn the people against Jesus. The real
deceivers convinced the majority that the one fully righteous and
true man was the deceiver. And so, the shouts of "Hosanna!
Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of
Israel!" would be changed to "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"
when as a nation Israel rejected their King.
IV. The Principles of Jesus’ KingdomJesus had much to say about His kingdom. The
four gospels record over 100 references Jesus made about the
kingdom.
The Kingdom Will Be In Mystery Form Through The
Church Age
Most of what Jesus said about His kingdom was
spoken in the form of a parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like…a
sower…grain and tares…leaven…a pearl…a merchant…a net" etc. Only
to His disciples did Jesus explain the mysteries of the kingdom. -
Matthew 13:11
The Kingdom Is Spiritual Before It Becomes
Physical
A lost person must be born by the Holy Spirit
before they can "see" or "enter" the kingdom of God. John 3:3,5.
This refers to a spiritual birth into God’s family that is not
visible to the human eye. In this regard, Jesus could say, "the
kingdom of God does not come with observation" Luke 17:20. Jesus
could also say to Pilate, "my kingdom is not of this world"
i.e.,
like the kingdoms of man. John 18:36 Paul could also write "flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 1st Corinthians 15:50
It is the spirit of man that is made alive
unto God in salvation. It is this spirit nature that possesses
citizenship in God’s kingdom. Philippians 3:20. As lost people are
saved God recruits the citizenry of Christ’s kingdom.
God’s People Are To Continually Pray, "Thy
Kingdom Come…" Matthew 6:10
When we pray this prayer as believers we are
first praying that God’s kingdom will come in our hearts. We are
inviting Jesus to take the throne and be in authority in every area
of our lives…our thoughts, words, deeds, plans, relationships,
activities, etc.
We are also praying that God’s
kingdom will come in other hearts... that the Holy Spirit will energize
and empower God’s people to share the gospel of Jesus to those who
have not heard and that He will bring conviction to the heart of
lost souls so that they will open their hearts to Jesus.
God’s People Are To "Seek First"
The Kingdom of God.
Make This Their
Highest Priority - Matthew 6:33
How sad that with many Christians the kingdom of
God has little or no priority at all. It is only when the believer
gets their priorities in order that they get their lives in order.
Only those believers who humbly serve in ministry to others will be
the greatest in the kingdom of God. Matthew 18:4
V. The Kingdom of Jesus Will Come In Power"…and they will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" -
Matthew 24:30
(See also Revelation 19:11-21)
His kingdom will begin with rewards for the
saints and judgment on Christ rejecters. It will continue in justice
and righteousness. Revelation 20 tells us He will have an earthly
reign of a thousand years and Revelation 21 and 22 tells us it will
continue forever in the New Heavens, New Earth and New Jerusalem.
kingdom
of Jesus will be a kingdom of peace
The Bible tells us it will also be a
kingdom of prosperity, health, long life expectancy and a creation
free from the curse. It will also be a time when the love of God
will flow freely and abundantly upon and among those who made their
choice for Him.
Copyright © 2002 Thomas E Berry
All Scriptures quoted from NKJV unless otherwise noted
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