To view this service, please click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/SUqvXJhy3vQ?si=s_bunqfEA5OPudfv

Luke 19:28-44 Worship to the King

Here, we find a great procession, the beginning of something so much better. The disciples are praising God. They have no idea about what is to happen, but for Jesus the cross is so much bigger now. As He rides into Jerusalem, He knowns His time on earth is about to end. It is a very intense period of a few days. Easter is my favourite holiday because Jesus came to die for me and for you. If you read through the rest of the account of Jesus life on earth and it does not thrill your hearts, it is a wasted week. If it doesn’t thrill your heart that Jesus went to the cross for you, your time is wasted. The worship of the disciples should be an example for us. Jesus should thrill our hearts. It should bring us to worship.

Why worship Jesus? What is the point?

Because:

1. The King has come.
2. The King is worthy of praise.
3. The King cares for you.

What is worship?
“As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21). John Piper’s commentary on these verses is very helpful. When we deal with the Bible, words matter. The writer, Paul, does not want to be ashamed, he wants to have courage. He is in prison because he believes in Jesus. He is writing to the Philippians from prison. He wants courage so Christ will be exalted in his body, whether by life or death. To exalt something is to put something higher than yourself. Paul wants to worship Jesus with every ounce of his existence in every interaction he has. Not just in life but in the moment of death, Christ will be exalted. “

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (v.21). This verse echoes what Paul has already said. He wants to worship Jesus. To live is Christ. Do you strive like Paul? To die is gain – the desire to see Christ Himself and be with Him in heaven. To pass through death is gain. What is gain? Death and all that it holds is better by far than anything found in the world around us.

So, what is worship? John Piper summarises it by saying, “The inner essence of worship is to experience Christ as a more satisfying treasure than anything found in life and anything found in death.” To live for Christ is to experience Christ as a more satisfying treasure. It matters how we worship and what we think worship is.

Why should we worship?

1. The King has come (Luke 19:28-36).

Jesus is going towards Jerusalem. He rides on a colt. This is very important. Jesus is about to show that He is the promised King the people have been waiting for. God has seen the trouble of Man, seen our problem and broken world around us, seen our greatest problem – sin. Throughout the Old Testament God promises a Saviour will come – not just to His people, but to the world,

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
    and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
    and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth.
¹¹ As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
¹² Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
    today I declare that I will restore to you double.
¹³ For I have bent Judah as my bow;
    I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
    against your sons, O Greece,
    and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
          Zechariah 9:9-13.

Jesus is fulfilling this prophecy, this promise. Zachariah goes on to say that the great enemy, death, will be defeated. Peace will rule. True hope has come at last. Jesus riding on a donkey, people praising His name, shows that the King has come. If you are not trusting in Jesus, death is the final enemy. Jesus has come to die in place of the enemies of God. The King has come!

• The King is worthy of praise (verses 37-40).

As Jesus goes down the Mount of Olives the disciples joyfully praise God for all the miracles they had seen. The crowd want to see more (v.38 – from Psalm 118). Then the Pharisees come along and say if Jesus is King, that is blasphemy. Jesus answers by saying, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” You can imagine what they’re response would be. He is saying, ‘You humans are the only ones who can refuse to praise God. But the rest of creation, the trees, the mountains, the clouds, are all there to bring glory to God. Even the pebbles at their feet. Everything was made for the glory of God, everything that is musical, everything that is tasteful, everything that is good in this world is there to portray the goodness of God (Colossians 1:16).

• The King cares for you (Verse 41-44).

As He approached Jerusalem Jesus wept over it. It matters who Jesus is. We’re not told to worship a rogue dictator, we’re told to worship Jesus. Jesus weeps. The King will come one day. We are meant to be a beacon on a hill. The Jews turned away from God and want nothing to do with Jesus. They did not see the hand that was offered to save them. If you miss the hand of Jesus to save you, there is no other hand. He weeps. He doesn’t want to see people die. He wants people to turn from their evil ways. Turn to Jesus and live.

He is worthy of praise. God himself has come to you. The disciples worshipped him. I want Christ to thrill your heart because He is amazing! Everything points to the cross – what He will do for you and for me. The cross is personal. For those who don’t trust Jesus we see what will happen in verses 42 to 44. Why will you die when Jesus has come to give you life? The King Has come. Jesus thrills His disciples. Will you be thrilled?