Michael Youssef - The Kingship Of Jesus Christ
Palm Sunday stands unique in history, particularly during the lifetime of Jesus, his earthly ministry time, because for the first time in his three-and-one-third of a year that he was in public ministry, it's the first time he had ever allowed them to crown him King, the first time, and he accepted the title King of Israel. This is why on that same day, Jesus went out and wept, sobbed, because he knew that 5 days from now they're gonna reject him. We have seen throughout history earthly kings came, and earthly kings gone. Few, if any, left a lasting, positive impact. Some kings pretended to be benevolent, only to discover that they were wicked. But not... Jesus. Some kings appeared to be dynamic, turned out to be destructive, but not... Jesus. King Jesus was, is, and always will be different from earthly king.
Now King Jesus stands in contrast with all earthly kings. King Jesus is not only the eternal King, but he is incomparable with other kings, for he is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. In fact, that King Jesus, like all other kings, earthly kings, has weapons of war, but not guns and bullets. But, rather, his weapon is love. King Jesus, like other kings, he has power, but he uses his power to serve his children. King Jesus, like other kings, he sits on a throne, but only for the good of all who love him. And so, on this Palm Sunday, I came to tell you, as we celebrate King Jesus, and came to ask you if he is your King? He's no ordinary King. He's the King of the universe. He is the King who was born King.
You see, all the royals, they were born princes, but he was born King. He is the King whose coming was foretold hundreds, even thousands, of years before he came. He's the only King who fulfilled all of the dreams and all of the aspiration of his people. He's the only King, and the Prophet Zechariah, hundreds of years before Christ coming and entering into Jerusalem, Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey". All of the contrasts between King Jesus and all other earthly kings is found in this one verse. On this day, Palm Sunday, which we're celebrating today, when King Jesus into Jerusalem, on that day, as I said, stands in contrast to all the three-and-one-third of a year of his earthly ministry, because throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus went about quietly.
Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus avoided and shunned publicity. He avoided false understanding of what his kingship is all about. He often found alone with his Father. Many times he was found alone with his disciples. But 5 days before his crucifixion, he enters Jerusalem as the King of all kings. On that Palm Sunday, everything changed. On that day, Jesus entered Jerusalem as God's Messiah. On that day, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the divine son of God. On that day, Jesus entered Jerusalem as the ruling monarch. On that day, Jesus entered Jerusalem as God's divine son, and Zechariah said, "See, your king comes to you". Has he come to you? Have you received him? The word "king" in the Hebrew language, melek, means "the one who is able".
And ever since that first Palm Sunday, King Jesus is able to come and reign and rule over the lives of those who invite him to come in as their King. King Jesus is able to come and defeat sin and temptation in the lives of those who love him. From that day on, King Jesus is able to come and deliver us from oppression and death. King Jesus, from that day on, has been able to come to the despondent and to the discouraged and give them joy. From that day on, King Jesus has been able to come to the fearful and give them faith. From that day on, King Jesus is able to come to the lonely and become their royal companion. From that day on, King Jesus has been able to come to the worried and the anxious, to assure them that he is ruler over all circumstances. And the prophet Zechariah said, "See, your king comes to you".
I want you to focus with me on four things about King Jesus. King Jesus was predicted, King Jesus was presented, King Jesus was proclaimed, and King Jesus is preeminent. King Jesus was predicted. The Jewish Bible is from Genesis to Malachi. And from Genesis to Malachi, the Bible has predicted with accuracy the coming of King Jesus. As a matter of fact, in Genesis 49, you'll find that he is the only King whose scepter will never depart from his hand. And in the book of Numbers chapter 24, he is the only King whose eternity is unquestioned.
In 2 Samuel chapter 7, he's the only King whose kingdom is forever. And in Psalm 2, he's the only King who's anointed King by God the Father himself. And in Psalm 144, he's the only King to whom all kings bow. Make no mistake about it. They will bow. The day is coming when every knee shall bow. Kings and rulers will bow. In Isaiah chapter 2, he's the only King whose reign is in righteousness. He's the only King whose kingdom has no boundaries. And in Jeremiah 23, he's the only King who's all wise. And in Ezekiel 28, he is the only King who rules over all kings. And in Daniel chapter 2, he's the only King at whose feet empires will crumble. And in Micah chapter 2, he's the only King with supernatural strength and majesty.
And in Zechariah 49, he's the only King over all the earth. Is he your King? Is he your King? Amen. King Jesus is predicted. But, secondly, King Jesus has been presented, is presented to us in the New Testament. In fact, the Old Testament foretell of his coming. The New Testament is enthralled with his presence. The Old Testament gives us a partial portrait of him, but in the New Testament we get a historic portrait of King Jesus, and that is why Matthew refers to him as King 14 times. Mark refers to him as King six times. Luke, five times. John, 14 times. The New Testament tells us that his kingship is spiritual in nature, that his kingship is universal in scope, that his kingship emanates from himself, that his kingship is victorious over all opposition. And so, on this Palm Sunday, King Jesus rode into Jerusalem, not to conquer the city.
See, that's what other kings do. They enter cities to conquer it, but he entered the city in order to conquer your heart and my heart, amen? Earthly kings and emperors, dictators and despots, they lorded over their subject. But King Jesus compels us by his love. You see, because that's how Jesus was presented. Not as a man of sword, but a man of sorrow. Not as a man of hatred, but the God of love, and that is why they beat on him. The way Jesus is presented, they take him for granted, but here's the problem. Judgement Day is coming, and the Bible said on that day, whether they like it or not, every knee shall bow: every black knee, every white knee, every yellow knee, every brown knee. Every knee shall bow. Every tongue, whether they like it or not, every tongue is gonna confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
But, you see, because Jesus, the way he's presented. And how is he presented in the New Testament? This is how he's presented. He's presented in his earthly life the God of splendor, the God who clicked this finger and said, "Let there be light," and the sun and the moon brought into place. But the Bible said he had nowhere to lay his head at night. The Bible said that he healed the sick without a fee, that he fed the hungry without a charge, that he bound the broken hearts with the power of his mercy, that he stilled the storm with the word of his mouth, that he raised the dead by the authority of his divine office, and he is merely inviting people to come to him.
Have you invited him to be your King? Have you invited him to be your King? Jesus, predicted. Jesus, presented. Jesus, proclaimed. King Jesus' first speech is the shortest speech there is and is found in the Gospel of Mark, and here it is. "The kingdom of God is near". Only the King can declare the kingdom of God, all right? Only a king can say that the kingdom is here. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news". Isn't that amazing? That's all there is. That's all the speech is. He is saying that the rule of God on the hearts of men and women is here. Therefore, turn to him while you can. He is saying the divine, royal King is here. Come to him while you can.
That the spiritual King is here and is here to preside not over some territories, but over the lives of his subjects. The royal King is here, not on chariots and not on horses, but on a donkey. Why? Because he rides the clouds to the help of his people. The divine King is here to proclaim his kingdom, his rule, not over a nation, not over an ethnic group. No, but over the lives of his subjects. The divine King's weapon is not mass destruction, but mass reconstruction of lives. Oh, that first Palm Sunday, the masses cried out, "Hosanna," which means "save now," save now. And this is what they were saying, "We are proclaiming what Zechariah prophesied. We are proclaiming that which was predicted by our prophets.
The King whose love will woo us is here. The King who sacrificed, will redeem us, is here. The King whose power will conquer our wills is here. The King whose strength will carry us through life's hardships and tough times and difficult circumstances is here. The King whose might will help defeat Satan and sin is here. The King whose graciousness is gonna cause us to reign and rule with him forever is here". Is he your King? Is he your King? We see King Jesus was predicted, King Jesus was presented, King Jesus was proclaimed, but I can't wait to get to the fourth point. King Jesus is preeminent, and the book of Revelation tells us all about his preeminence. These crowns means his constitutional monarchy. And the diadems, they represent his absolute power. His crowns speak of his conquering of sin and Satan on the cross, but his diadem speak of the fact that he has no rival.
What does it mean for Jesus to be King over all? When a misguided soul tells you that all the ways lead to God, you tell them what? That you worship the King of kings. When a nitwit tells you that all the founders of all the other religions are the same, you tell them, "My God crowned my Jesus to be the King of kings". When some pseudo intellectuals try to intimidate you and tell you that Jesus was merely a good man, you tell them what? "King Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of all lords". When a clueless person, who just happened to stick the word "reverend" in front of their name, tells you that Jesus is merely a good role model for sentimentality and the acceptance of sin, you tell them what? King Jesus is the only righteous King who gives his righteousness to his subjects.
And if they want to argue with you and ask you, "Why should he be King over my life? Why should I submit to him as Lord and receive him as Savior?" you tell them because he is superior in his character. He is infinite in his wisdom. He is divine in his nature. He is perfect in his knowledge. He is complete in his power. He is pure in his lineage. He is righteous in his personality. That he is merciful in his deliberation. That he's just in all of his rulings. He is matchless in his superiority. That he is bountiful in his blessings. That he's glorious in his splendor. That he is incomparable in his reasoning. That he is immaculate in his birth. That he is unmatched in his resurrection, and that he is from everlasting to everlasting. You see, that's why we celebrate Palm Sunday. People skip it and go straight to Easter, but, you see, his coming to Jerusalem did not happen in a vacuum. He came with a deliberate plan. He was born with that plan.
A British preacher from yesteryears by the name of John Henry Jowett, he writes about his experience of attending the coronation of King George V. He said that in the beginning there was a lot of bowing and scraping and all that kind of noise. And, first of all, you get all the VIPs coming in, the dukes and the duchesses, and the princes and the princesses, and earls. And then all of them coming in, and they were making noise, and everybody bowing and scraping. And then the king showed up. And as soon as the king showed up at the Westminster Abbey, there was a hush in the room. Absolute silence. Every eye was on the king. All of the dignitaries, they all faded into the background. They melted into the walls. All eyes were on the king.
Now, beloved, when I read this, I said in a far, far, far, far, far, far greater way, our King Jesus is preeminent in his superiority. No one next to him. No one besides him. No one before him. No one after him. He is preeminent in his superiority. Let me ask you this: is he your King? Our biggest problem is not the atheists, not the agnostics, not the unbelievers, not even the anti-Christian media. In fact, these are opportunities God gives us so we share Christ with them. They're not America's problem. America's greatest problem is that those who claim to be subject of King Jesus have lost their sense of awe of their King. They have lost sight of the majesty of King Jesus. And until we regain the sense of awe, we're playing church. We're playing church.
Zechariah said, "See, your king comes to you". Has he come to you? Have you accepted him? Have you welcomed him, or have your shunned him? There are many theologians, or people, saying, you know, "Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, not a horse and chariots, in order to demonstrate his humility". His humility is unquestioned. To leave the splendor and the glory of heaven and show up on the earth, that humility cannot be even compared to any humility. It's incomparable.
But he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in order to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah, and that is why these miserable Pharisees and the sad-you-see, they got mad. They were hopping mad. They were angry, then they asked Jesus, "Stop them. Stop them from saying what they're saying. Stop them from praising you," because the crowd recognized his kingship, because they believed that he is the fulfillment of the Christ prophecy. So they wanted to shut them up, and Jesus said to these complainers, he said, "If they were silent, the rocks will cry out," you know? Most of those in power, they're surrounded and they're propped up by external forces, external PR and spin doctors, and Secret Service, and all the rest of it.
Oh, but King Jesus does not need any of that junk. King Jesus does not need humanity's exaltation, for he is exalted high above the earth. He does not need humanity's beautification, for he is fairer than 10,000. King Jesus does not need humanity to enrich him, for in him dwells all the treasures of wisdom. King Jesus does not need humanity to grace him, for he is full of grace and truth. He cannot be confounded, for heavens of heaven cannot contain him. He could not be elevated, for he is already enthroned above the summit of the universe. He cannot be brightened, for he is already brighter than jasper and sapphire. He does not need us. We need him. So on this Palm Sunday, I wanna ask you again: have you enthroned him as King over your life? Is he King over your time and how you use your time? Is he King over all the talents that he's given you? Is he King over the treasures that he placed in your hand? Is he King?