A Different Kind of King

Last Sunday’s sermon was a great reminder of the uniqueness and superiority of King Jesus. It reminded me of a series I preached years ago from John 12 called “A Different Kind of King,” so I decided to go back and grab some of my favorite, most impactful quotes from those messages about the Triumphal entry of Jesus one week before His crucifixion. Here’s a little flash-back, reminding all of us how much different and how much better Jesus is when compared with every other human king who has ever lived:

 

“Jesus, the King of kings doesn’t enter Jerusalem riding in a royal chariot, or on the back of a black stallion or a war horse, but on the back of a donkey—and a young, small donkey at that. The Gospel of Matthew makes clear that when the disciples brought him the donkey He requested, they brought two, both a mother and a young colt (21:2ff.). Well, Jesus sat on the younger and smaller of the two. This was a demonstration of stunning humility! It was a shocking display of meekness! Donkeys were just slow, simple, unimpressive creatures. They were beasts of burden, often used to carry baggage or goods for business trips. They were sometimes used to carry people, but not Kings, and certainly not Kings during their Triumphal entries. This is crazy! It would be like President Obama arriving at his presidential inauguration on a mo-ped. So, what is Jesus doing? Here’s what He’s doing, He is vividly and boldly declaring that He is a different kind of King! He is not the typical arrogant, self-celebrating, and self-exalting earthly King. He is a meek and lowly King and He has come not to bring conquest but to bring peace.”

 

“Jesus does not refuse to be hailed as King, but He does insist on being hailed as a different kind of King…a kind of King who spreads His kingdom not by pride and force but by humility and gentleness!”

 

“Jesus is such a contrast to every human authority, whether king, or president, or boss, or parent in the home. Natural leadership is typically about advancing self and the causes of self. But, in a world of prideful leadership, Jesus comes as a humble leader; in a world where leaders put themselves over their people, Jesus puts Himself under His people; in a world where leaders put themselves out in front, Jesus puts Himself in the back; in a world where leaders make themselves first, Jesus makes Himself last.”

 

“There is a scene in ‘The Return of the King,’ the final movie in “The Lord of the Rings” series, that has been burned into my mind from the time I first saw it years ago. Throughout the movie, the tension is building between the good humans of earth and the evil orks of Mordor. The tension builds and builds as it leads to the final culmination where in the end there will be a massive battle between the humans and the orks. Well, at one point in the movie there is a battle scene where the men of the kingdom called Gondor are trying to retake one of their cities which had been seized by orks. As they’re charging the city on horseback, the orks are picking them off one by one from behind the fortified city walls. And as you’re sitting there watching these men giving their lives with absolutely no chance of victory, the scene suddenly shifts to the inner lair of the ruler of Gondor, where their king is hiding. Shockingly, he is sitting at a massive dining room table in his kingly throne room, eating ravenously. As His men and even His own son are being slaughtered on the battle field, the leader of Gondor is sitting there safely behind his castle walls pigging out. He’s alone at the table with this massive spread, a huge cooked turkey in front of him and a whole platter of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a silver chalice filled with red wine. The guy is just going to town, sitting there stuffing himself, chomping on a Turkey leg, drinking the wine. Turkey grease is all over his beard, and red wine is dripping down his chin. It’s pretty gross. And I’ll tell you what is most disturbing about it, not the way he’s eating, but the fact that he’s eating, he’s chowing down while his people are out on the battle field dying for His kingdom! They’re out there sacrificing their lives and this guy is sitting in the peace and quiet of His dining room glutting himself on what may be his last earthly pleasures. What a contrast between sacrifice and selfishness, right? But, what an accurate picture of normal human nature and normal human leaders. It’s the way it usually goes, isn’t it? The leader is the most protected guy, he’s kept safe and sound and in as much comfort as possible, and he’s as far from the front lines as possible. That’s normal for human Kings, isn’t it? Well, Jesus is gloriously abnormal. He is a sacrificial King! Other Kings demand service, Jesus offers service; Other Kings place themselves behind the last lines of defense, Jesus places Himself on the front lines. Other Kings are the last to die, Jesus is the first to die for His kingdom! He is a Different Kind of King. He is a Sacrificial King!”

 

“I’m not much of a Chess player, but I’ve played a few times, and I know basically how the game works. The whole point is to protect your King as much as possible as you go after the King of the other guy!  Where do you keep the King? You keep him in the back, behind your defenses. You use every one of your pieces to protect him, pawns, knights, bishops, rooks. Even the queen is to sacrifice herself for the protection of the King. He is the most important piece; He is the most valuable piece. He stays in the back, where it is safe! Well, Jesus is a different kind of King. He is the most important and the most valuable, but instead of staying in the back, Jesus moved Himself to the front. He sacrificed Himself. What He really did is that He, as King, made Himself a Pawn and sacrificed Himself for the benefit of His other Pawns, so that His other Pawns might go free. He did that for you and for me!”

 

“As we bring this series to a close…Let’s just reflect one more time on that fact that Jesus is radically different from all other earthly kings. He is so lowly in comparison, so unimpressive, He is so much less impressive than other human kings…And yet so exceedingly triumphant and so exceedingly successful. The kings of this world have in one sense been very impressive. All were broadly accepted and yet all eventually failed. Christ was broadly rejected and yet succeeds! Their impacts only diminish over time, Jesus’ impact only increases over time! This world has known many kings and many powerful rulers. But, they have failed and their kingdoms have all crumbled. From Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar to Napolean Bonaparte to Joseph Stalin to Adolph Hitler to the great world leaders of today, their kingdoms either have already or will some day crumble. All human kings and kingdoms eventually fizzle out. Human history is a series of unsuccessful attempts at sovereignty. Human kings fail…but Jesus succeeds! Of all the kings on the earth, there is only one king who has truly succeeded. His name is Jesus! He is a different kind of king. Is He your king?”

 

“Behold your King, crowned not with a golden crown, but with a crown of thorns…adorned not in a beautiful purple robe, but in a blood-saturated purple robe…paraded not before adoring crowds, but before mocking crowds…lifted up not on a throne, but on a cross!”