The Triumphal Entry: Choosing the Humble King

Introduction

This Palm Sunday sermon from Luke 19:28-40 explores the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where Jesus arrives not as a conquering warrior but as a humble king riding on a donkey. Revd. Mark Fletcher unpacks the rich symbolism of choosing the king — from the direction of his approach to the cloaks laid on the road — and asks what it means to pledge allegiance to the Prince of Peace in our everyday lives. A powerful palm sunday sermon from Luke’s Gospel.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, democracy is the worst form of government, except for all of the others.

Democracy’s strength is also its weakness, because it gives us the dignity and the responsibility of real choice. And the choices that we make have consequences. And it reflects something of how God treats us. God does not force his rule on us, but simply loves us. And from the beginning, has allowed us to make a choice, for better or worse. And those choices have consequences. So this is a story about making a choice, often difficult in the face of competing opinions, but making the right choice.

So we’re now on the outskirts of the holy city of Jerusalem. And this is the crux and the climax of this whole journey through Luke’s Gospel. This is Holy Week, and all of these events now lie before us in the next few days. And Luke begins by saying, Jesus went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. I don’t know if you’ve been to the Holy Land, but you’ll know that that is literally true. Jerusalem is set in the mountains at the very heart of Israel. And it is a journey upwards. It’s an ancient road travelled by pilgrims for millennia. And as those pilgrims travelled, they would sing songs. And we know many of those songs because they’re recorded for us in the book of Psalms. And if you’re reading the Psalms, you’ll sometimes see Psalms with a title, a Song of Ascent. And that’s what it was. It was a song for singing on your way to Jerusalem up the mountain. But what’s really striking in this story is that one of those ancient songs turns out to be a prophecy, which is coming true.

One of the verses here speaks of the king who comes in the name of the Lord, which is from Psalm 118. And this is the day when the king finally does arrive. And it’s a remarkable event. And what’s really interesting about it is it looks like Jesus has been planning this for quite a long time. Did you hear that whole discussion about like, there’s going to be a donkey and you’ve got to ask the person to do something? I think Jesus has lined this up. He’s almost kind of choreographed this event. And that’s fascinating because so often during his ministry, Jesus had avoided the public eye. He’d avoided spectacle. But here he chooses an event which makes a statement about who he is. And I think this is hugely significant for Jesus because it is a sort of demonstration. It’s a demonstration of the kind of king that he actually is. And it’s full of symbolism, as you would expect. Some obvious, some less so. Let me point out one at the beginning. It’s noticeable, mentioned twice, that he comes across the Mount of Olives from the east. The king rises in the east over the Mount of Olives. And just as the sun rises in the east, so the Son of God is rising in the east. And the Mount of Olives, for a thousand years, had been a place where the faithful people of God had chosen to be buried in hope, in anticipation of the fulfilment of God’s promises. And so do you see that? The king rises in the east. He comes from amongst the dead to bring good news of the resurrection to the world.

So there’s the direction from which he comes. Secondly, did you spot the whole thing about his means of transport? I think we get the symbolism of how you choose to arrive. If you want to make a certain impression, you’ll choose a certain direction. You’ll choose a certain type of vehicle. Well, Jesus very clearly does that here. And this king arrives not on a great war horse, but on a humble donkey. You know, the holy city of Jerusalem has seen more bloodshed over it than any other place in the world. And so how important it is that the way of Jesus is the way of peace and humility. And he does come to fight a battle, but he comes to fight a battle by means of service and love and sacrifice. And his triumph will be a triumph over death itself. I think that’s so critically important for us to hold on to. You know, Martin Luther King once said, peace is not merely the goal that we seek, but it needs to be the means by which we achieve that goal. And Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He comes to love and to sacrifice. I feel like this road of peace has been so rarely ridden. But the one who pursues peace is the one worthy to rule. As the prophet Zechariah says, behold, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey.

And then thirdly, I think the piece of symbolism which Luke makes the biggest deal of is this whole thing about people carpeting the dusty road with their cloaks. So in other Gospels, it makes a big deal of the palm leaves. That’s why we call it Palm Sunday. But actually, Luke doesn’t particularly mention that at all. What he talks about is in verse 36: As Jesus went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Why do you think that’s significant? What’s the symbolism of spreading cloaks on the road? Why does Luke make such a big deal of that? I mean, I think that a cloak is a sort of a symbol of status. And so the more wealthy and more important you are, the more impressive a cloak you would have. But no matter who a person is in this story, they take that cloak off and they choose to lay it on the dusty road in front of Jesus. I’m struck even that the act of doing that is an act of sort of bowing the knee, isn’t it? That’s the movement that you would have to do in order to lay down your cloak. And so to lay your cloak on the road is an act of loyalty, of bowing the knee, of submission, of choosing the king that you are going to serve. I think that’s why this is about a choice. This is about people saying, this is the kingdom that I choose. This is the king that I serve. And Jesus is our humble king. He comes not to be served, but to serve. But he asks us to do the same, to shed our pride, to make ourselves a part of the kingdom. And so to lay our cloak on the road is vulnerable, to bend the knee, to choose a better kingdom. And they cry out, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. And I feel like the question that Luke is asking us is, what about us? What’s the choice that we make, not just in this circumstance, but in our everyday life? Who are we serving? What kingdom are we choosing?

And the second thing that I want to say is that there’s quite a stark contrast in the story, because I don’t know if you spotted in verse 39, some of the Pharisees, some of the religious authorities of the day, said to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. They are aware of how precarious their power is in this moment. They are worried that if people keep turning to Jesus, then they will lose their status and their influence. And so they say, teacher, tell your disciples to stop doing this. But I’m really struck that what they’re doing is issuing orders, that the kingdoms of this world work by that kind of authority. It makes demands. And that has never been the way of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t ask people to do this thing. He invites them to make a choice. And the scriptures in the same way invite us to make a choice this day, to say, thy will, not mine, be done. Instead of the kingdoms of this world, which demand so much and deliver so little, scripture invites us to serve the king who will truly set you free. Jesus’ response is lovely. He said, I tell you, if they were silent, the stones themselves would cry out. Because this is what the city of Jerusalem has been waiting for all these years. This is what the prophets had promised. This is the fulfilment of hopes and prayers across millennia. This is the promised king. And so someone needs to celebrate this remarkable arrival, this humble and gentle king. And if the people won’t do it, well, the stones themselves would cry out.

Now, of course, this is only the beginning of the story of Holy Week. And this royal procession, this arrival at Jerusalem is just the beginning. The coronation will take place in five days’ time, but it is a coronation unlike any other, because it will take place on a lonely hillside outside the city walls of Jerusalem. And his throne will be a Roman cross, where he will sit, suffer and die for the sins of the world. His glory is in sacrifice and suffering. But don’t miss the point that this really is the dawn of a new kingdom. And it’s a kingdom which spread like wildfire around the world. This tiny band of disciples became fearless witnesses to this new king. Within a generation, they were seen as a threat to the kingdom of Jerusalem. And they were seen as a threat to the Roman Empire. Within three centuries, the emperor himself had bowed the knee to this gentle king. And two thousand years later, this remains the case. It’s hard to put a number on it, but it’s estimated that around the world, two billion people bow the knee to this humble king. So we make this choice this day. We ask the question of ourselves, who am I serving? Will you bow the knee to this gentle king? Will you pledge your allegiance to the one, even though he faces rejection and opposition from many? Will you choose a better king and a better kingdom? As the prophets said, rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem. See your king comes to you, humble and victorious, riding on a donkey. And we reply in our hearts, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Amen.