Rejoice, Oh Church, Our King Reigns
Truth Taught- Jesus is the King who enters Jerusalem in humility to conquer His enemies
Today, I want to do things just a little different. Our text is Mark is 11:1-11 however, I want to look with you at the prophecy that these verses fulfill. The prophecy is found in Zechariah 9:9-10. That will be our main text for today while referring to Mark 11 to see the fulfillment.
Jesus officially enters His city and shows everyone He is the rightful King. He is the King in the Davidic line who will rule forever.
Before we begin, I’d like to prove first of all that the Mark 11 passage is, in fact, the fulfillment of the Zechariah 9 prophecy. To do that, all we need to really do is read it. The similarity is quite obvious. We will do that in a moment.
Secondly, I want to take you to Matthew’s account of the same event where he puts all questions to rest as he tells us that the New Testament event of Jesus entering into Jerusalem is the fulfillment of the Zechariah text.
Matthew 21:1–6 (ESV)
21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
Matthew makes it clear to us just in case we were to miss it, which would be hard to do, that Jesus entering the City of Jerusalem is fulfillment of the Zechariah passage. This proving that He is the King who brings salvation with Him.
Please Stand:
Gracious and Glorious Father, this is Your word, You command us to rejoice greatly because our King has come. Show us the substance of our rejoicing. Grant us illumination by Your Holy Spirit to see King Jesus entering His City, Jerusalem thrill our hearts with this great news. May we rejoice even still as we await His return. Father, our King is coming may Your Church rejoice, for Your glory…Amen
Zechariah 9:9–10 (ESV)
9 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.
I want us to see our King in a personal way today. Who is this King that causes the Church to rejoice at His entrance into Jerusalem. Beloved, this is King Jesus the Messiah and we have great cause for rejoicing today. In these two verses, the prophet gives us specific reasons to rejoice…
1. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Jesus is Our King (9:9)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
Behold, your king is coming to you;
Jesus is our King. He is not a king. Let’s not miss this, He, the Lord Jesus is our King. He is the King of Kings, the true King and He is our King!! Church, rejoice greatly because Jesus is our King.
Our King is unlike any other king. When He enters Jerusalem, He enters as the rightful heir to the City of the King.
What makes our King different?
He is to sit on the throne of David forever.
Isaiah 9:7 (ESV)
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Jesus is the Messiah King who will reign forever.
Luke 1:32–33 (ESV)
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
So, since Jesus is the rightful heir to the Davidic Throne and since His reign is forever, then that means He is reigning right now. He is currently on the throne with kingly dignity ruling and reigning over His Kingdom.
Our Lord, Himself said that His Kingdom is not of this world. His scepter was given to Him in heaven. However, His reign is not just in heaven, He reigns over all creation.
Ephesians 1:19–23 (ESV)
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
King Jesus is our King, His Kingdom is not of this world, He reigns over all things. Church, rejoice greatly, our King reigns.
2. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Our King is Righteous (9:9)
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous
Beloved, we can rejoice because our King is righteous. He is righteous and just. This is good news for the poor in spirit, for those persecuted for righteousness sake, for all who have been to the valley and to all who the world overlooks and belittles, to the down trodden. Our King is righteous.
The first meaning here is that our King is just.
Isaiah 11:3–5 (ESV)
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
Not only does a righteous King make right judgements and rules His kingdom justly. In the case of Jesus our King, it also qualifies Him to be our Savior. He doesn’t just do right things, He Himself is Righteousness. It is one of His attributes. It’s who He is.
We know our King will always act in righteousness because it is who He is. He is acting out of His very character.
3. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Our King is Also Our Savior (9:9)
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he,
Our King Jesus is Righteous and brings salvation to His people. Our Lord Jesus brings saving grace and power with Him. As King, He will save His people. He will take us from the kingdom of darkness and place us into His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. He will save all who belong to Him. He will save all He has prayed for.
Matthew 1:21 (ESV)
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
John 17:1–10 (ESV)
17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
John 18:9 (ESV)
9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”
Salvation will be fulfilled for all that belong to Jesus.
Salvation is guaranteed for us because our King is righteous. He qualifies as Savior because He is God, the Son and because He is sinless. Our great King’s righteousness brings salvation to us.
Beloved that is cause for the Church to rejoice!
4. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Our King is Humble (9:9)
humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
How amazing and wonderful it is that our King is also meek and humble. This is another attribute of His character.
Jesus’ humility is what drew so many people to Him. He was a great Healer and a great Teacher and He was accessible in His humility.
Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV)
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Beloved Jesus is always approachable and stands ready to forgive.
He did not ride into Jerusalem on a powerful war horse. Instead, it was foretold that He would enter riding on a donkey in great humility. We must understand that at His second coming, however, He will be riding the great war horse and He will make war with all who do not trust in Him.
The humble and righteous King will overthrow nations and this King is riding on a small donkey.
5. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Our King Brings Peace (9:10)
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;
Only in King Jesus will the world know peace.
There is a false peace that is being promoted by the Catholic Church especially since 1965.
Promulgated on 28 October 1965, Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”) marked a historic turning point in interreligious relations. The document affirms that the Catholic Church “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other religions, calling all peoples to recognize their shared spiritual heritage and to work together for peace and understanding.
Pope Leo XIV is continuing this extreme heresy that all religions worship the same God and that all can be at peace as the religions search for common ground.
The Reformers were right, the Pope is the Anti-Christ. The Catholic view is that he speaks for Christ and yet he does not speak in line with Jesus but often the opposite.
The Pope is the Anti-Christ. In the Catholic religion, he speaks for Jesus. In reality, he speaks in opposition to what Jesus said.
The Catholic Church is trying so very hard to unite all world religions and especially, Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the name of peace. This is taking place in our day, right before our eyes.
Here is where we must be careful. When the Pope, dressed in white and using words that are easy to listen to speaks peace, he is not really speaking peace but damnation.
They speak peace, peace when there is no peace.
He is seeking to promote peace between various religions by seeking some common ground. Jesus can give us peace between us and our Creator, an eternal peace. There is peace but it is between man and God through Jesus alone.
In our sinful state, we are enemies with God (Romans 5:10). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are restored to a relationship of peace with God (Romans 5:1). This is the deep, abiding peace between our hearts and our Creator that cannot be taken away (John 10:27–28) and the ultimate fulfillment of Christ’s work as “Prince of Peace.”
There will only ever be true peace when people come to King Jesus and trust in Him alone for salvation.
John 14:6–7 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
6. Church, Rejoice Greatly Because Our King Reigns Over All the Earth (9:10)
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
This speaks of the extent of Jesus’ reign…to the ends of the earth.
Psalm 72 is a wonderful prayer of Solomon as he intreats God for himself and also for the King to come, King Jesus.
Psalm 72:8–11 (ESV)
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust!
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
Let’s now look to the fulfillment…
Mark 11:1–11 (ESV)
11 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Jesus is the King who entered the City of Jerusalem, righteous and bringing salvation humbly seated on a donkey defeating His enemies and giving salvation to those who believe. His reign will be everlasting, from sea to sea. Church this is our King may we greatly rejoice in Him!
Resources
Lectures on the Prophecies of Zechariah by Ralph Wardlaw
Words of grace
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