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Dr Lars Larson
Queen Palm Sunday commemorates the arrival and triumphant entry of Jesus of Nazareth to Jerusalem. Last time I was here two weeks ago, we completed First Thessalonians. Next week, of course, is Easter, Resurrection Sunday.
And Lord willing, two weeks from today, we'll begin our study of Second Thessalonians. Today begins, of course, what Christians commonly refer to as Passion Week, sometimes Holy Week. And, of course, historically, this week in the life of our Lord Jesus culminated in His arrest, His trials, there were several of them, His crucifixion, and His resurrection, which of course occurred on the first day of the following week.
All four Gospels record this event, and yet they have different details. And so I know it's going to take a little bit of time, but I want us to read each of the accounts of Palm Sunday in each of the four Gospels.
And as we read these, perhaps you can try and take note of the differences between these accounts. We kind of have a stereophonic picture set before us where we can see the event from different vantage points each one inspired of the Holy Spirit.
And so the Gospel accounts, first we have Matthew 21, 1 -11, Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphagia at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.
Loose them, and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, set him on them, and a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees, and spread them on the road.
And then the multitudes who went before, and those who followed, cried out, saying, Hosannas to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
So the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Mark's account, Mark 11. Now when they drew near Jerusalem to Bethphagia and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and he said to them, Go into the village opposite you, and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat.
Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? Say, The Lord has need of it, and immediately he will send it here. So they went their way, found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.
But some of those who stood there said to them, What are you doing? Loosen the colt. And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it.
And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before, those who followed, cried out, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And Jesus went into Jerusalem, and into the temple. So when he had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Then we have Luke's account. Luke 19, after a long journey from Galilee, he arrives at Jerusalem. Verse 28, When Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he drew near to Bethany at the mountain called Olivet, that he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go into the village opposite you, where, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.
Loose it, and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, Why are you loosing it? Thus you shall say to him, Because the Lord has need of it. So those who were sent went their way, found it just as he had said to them.
But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, Why are you loosing the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of him. And then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.
And as he went, many spread their clothes on the road. And then, as he was now drawing near the descent to the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples, notice that distinction there, the multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.
Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes, for days will come upon you, and your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side, and level you and your children within you to the ground.
And they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. And we have a brief description in John 12. The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees.
And that is the only reference in the four Gospels to palm trees. Palm Sunday. And went out to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! And Jesus, when he had found a young donkey, said on it, as it is written, Fear not, daughter, as I am.
Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's coal. His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
So there you have the four Gospel accounts, each having details of their own, and yet there is a lot of conformity and agreement, of course, between them. What is the major thrust of these four accounts?
And I would argue, very simply stated, the son of David arrived in Jerusalem as the promised King of Israel. That is what is being displayed before us. And so we just read in the passages before us of the entrance of Jesus of Nazareth into Jerusalem.
He arrived to this city as the promised Messiah of Israel. The son of David, the promised King who would reign over Israel forever. Again, we read in the account of Matthew, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King is coming to you, lowly sitting on a donkey's coal.
This is a quotation of Zechariah 9, verse 9. It is clear that the people of Jerusalem anticipated the arrival of their Messiah. The crowds declared and celebrated Jesus as the promised Messiah. The one they had longed for, the one whom they had longed to come, he had arrived.
The time had arrived that they had been waiting for for centuries. Each of the three synoptic Gospels, that would be Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they are synoptic because they basically tell the same story, mostly in the same order.
They are synoptic with one another. They celebrate the arrival of their promised King. In each of the accounts, we have a conclusion with the declaration of the people in each of these three episodes.
And therefore, the synoptic Gospel accounts may be classified, or some have classified them as pronouncement stories. In other words, there are different ways in which you interpret Scripture. In, say, Paul's epistle, you give a great deal of attention to the grammar and syntax, the words, the phrases, the clauses, how they fit together.
But when you come to a narrative portion of Scripture, you bring different tools. And one hint of what is most important, say, in an episode like we had before us, is right at the end of the episode, you have some declaration put in direct quotations.
It is like everything is setting the stage, and then this pronouncement, this declaration. And so, we would argue that really the focal point of each of these episodes in the synoptic Gospels is that Jesus, the promised Son of David, the King of Israel, has arrived in order to inaugurate and establish His Kingdom.
The synoptic Gospels vary slightly in the declarations of the crowd. The Gospel of Matthew records the crowd crying out, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Mark, however, records these words, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the Kingdom of our Father David. And so, notice in Matthew, Hosanna to the Son of David. But here in Mark, blessed is the Kingdom of our Father David.
And then the Gospel according to Luke, however, records the disciples of Jesus. Not the crowds, but more specifically, the disciples who were pronouncing their joy, their praise to God. Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And so, all these ideas, of course, were being conveyed. Of course, the crowds were not expressing in unison like they were all reading a script, but this is a sentiment that was being expressed, ideas expressed by the people.
And the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew, Mark, and Luke to record them in this way, to convey the truth of the matter to us, in these different perspectives with different emphases. Now, all four Gospel accounts announce and celebrate, therefore, the arrival and inauguration of the King that God had long before promised to Israel.
That is very clear. Matthew, Mark, and John's account cite that the crowds welcomed Jesus with loud cries of Hosanna. What in the world does Hosanna mean? Well, Hosanna is an Aramaic word. Hosanna is also, has the same sound in Hebrew, as well as Aramaic, and Greek, and English.
Hosanna. Aramaic was the common language of the people of the first century in Palestine. They acquired this language of Aramaic, had the same alphabet as Hebrew, but they acquired the Aramaic language when they were in exile.
Israel was in exile in Babylon back in the 6th century B .C., and so Aramaic had become the language of the people. And here they are crying out Hosanna. It was a word commonly associated and used in the annual celebrations of the Jews, particularly the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.
This word Hosanna was frequently used. And during these two festivals, the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, the people would read what is called the Hallel Psalms. And these are Psalms 113 -118.
The word Hosanna was originally associated with Psalm 118 verse 25, which reads, Save now, I pray, O Lord, O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. It's in the King James. The first two words, save now, that is a translation of the Hebrew word Hosanna.
That's what Hosanna means. Save, or save us. And so crying out Hosanna was a formal way in which the people were calling out to the Son of David to save them. Now, though the word Hosanna is quite common to us, it's familiar to our ears, recognize that Hosanna is only transliterated in the accounts of Palm Sunday in the four Gospels.
Hosanna is not found anywhere else in the Bible. Transliterated, that is, into our English translations. Elsewhere it is translated like we had in Psalm 118, where it's translated save, or save us, or save now.
But where it's translated as Hosanna, that is transliterated as Hosanna, that is the Aramaic sound, what you would have heard had you been standing there that day were the word Hosanna. It is transliterated for us in our English translations to convey this word.
This event of Palm Sunday is the formal announcement of Jesus fulfilling His calling as the Son of David to rule over the promised kingdom of God, that being the kingdom of Israel, the restored kingdom of Israel.
The Son of David and the kingdom over which He rules is the realization of the hope of Israel, and the people clearly saw this and declared this. The time in which the people of God would receive the forgiveness of their sins and the Davidic kingdom would be restored with this Son of David coming to rule.
And they understood that they would thereafter live in a condition or a state of joy and peace and righteousness, even as they were governed by this promised king. This is what they were anticipating.
This is what they fully expected. Jesus became Lord over His kingdom through His suffering and death, His crucifixion, and then His resurrection. When He ascended into heaven, He was seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father on the very throne of God, as the scriptures sometimes declare.
And so the Lord Jesus commenced His reign as the promised Son of David when He entered into heaven after the resurrection. When He ascended into heaven, He was enthroned as the Son of David, as the King of Israel.
He was promised everywhere, or many places in the Old Testament. And so when Jesus sat down on His Father's throne in heaven, He sat down on the throne promised to His Father, King David. And so in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, the risen Lord Jesus came before God the Father, and He received from the Father this kingdom promised long before.
It was prophesied, for example, in Daniel 7, 13 and 14. And although this is commonly, wrongly assumed to be a prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ, it's not. It's a prophecy of when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection.
Although it speaks of Him coming with the clouds of heaven, that's not His Second Coming. He's coming with great power to God the Father, the Ancient of Days, and receives from God the Father a kingdom.
And this is played out for us in Revelation 5 quite clearly, by the way. Daniel saw this centuries beforehand. I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven, a description of the glory and the power and the authority that He had.
He came to the Ancient of Days, that would be God the Father, sitting on the throne. And they brought Him near before Him, and then to Him, that is to this Son of Man, unto Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples and nations and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. And so the Lord Jesus entered into His role and position as the Son of David, ruler over the promised kingdom, the kingdom of Israel.
He sat down on His Father's throne, that is, He had the authority of God the Father Himself to execute judgment and rule on His behalf. Now, of course, when the crowds welcomed Jesus on Palm Sunday and celebrated Him as the promised Son of David, they did not understand the true nature of the kingdom that Jesus was inaugurating, nor did they understand the events that would transpire that week, which resulted in the coronation of Jesus over the kingdom upon His resurrection.
They did not have a clue about that. The Jews failed to understand the spiritual nature of the kingdom. Jesus spent much effort and time teaching His disciples of the spiritual nature of the kingdom throughout His earthly ministry among them.
The Jews were wrong in that they anticipated an earthly, political kingdom which would ascend in power. Israel would ascend in power and prominence over all the other Gentile nations of the world. And so when the people praised Jesus on Palm Sunday, they did not understand the true nature of the kingdom.
And just five days later, Friday, they were, of course, calling for our Lord's crucifixion. The same ones who were crying out, Hosanna, on Sunday, just a few days later calling out, crucify Him. They rejected Jesus as their King.
The Lord Jesus spoke of this rejection in a parable He taught. He said, His citizens hated Him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. They rejected Him as their King. I remember J. Vernon McGee years ago talking about a painting.
I've never seen this. I looked for it. I couldn't find it. But he described a painting which portrays this whole event of this last week of our Lord's life. And in this painting, in the foreground, in the front, you have this donkey, and he's sitting there eating palm leaves.
And then in the background of this painting, you have Calvary with the three crosses up on the hill. And so you have these two events, Palm Sunday, you know, the donkey that Jesus rode into as King. That's how kings entered when they were at peace with the people.
They entered riding on a donkey. That was loyalty. And yet here you have this donkey eating these palm branches and Calvary in the background, all taking place in a single week. Now we know from the scriptures, I trust we know from the scriptures, that the rejection of Jesus by the people resulted not in the failure of Jesus to assume his rule, but rather his rejection by the people actually led to and resulted in kingly authority being conferred upon him.
To me this is Christianity ABC. It is so amply declared and revealed in the scripture. Their rejection of Jesus did not in any way result in the failure of Jesus to ascend his throne. But it was the very avenue, the very path, the very course which the Lord Jesus took that resulted in him being enthroned.
Through the suffering they gave forth to his position and place of glorification. And so the suffering that Jesus endured at the hands of sinners qualified him to be the Savior. His suffering and death were the very means by which he became Lord, securing and assuring the salvation of his people.
For although the world rejected Jesus, God the Father vindicated his son when he raised him from the dead. And by the way, when the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke talk about the resurrection of Jesus, one of the main ideas is that God is vindicating his son.
The world rejected him, the world crucified him, but the Father said, no, you're wrong. I'm raising him from the dead. And so God the Father vindicated his son. In actuality, he was righteous, and I raised him from the dead.
And enthroning him again over the kingdom of God. This is so clearly set forth in Psalm 2. Again, that rejection precedes enthronement. Psalm 2, a royal psalm of the Old Testament, sung on the day of the coronation of a son of David.
Why do the nations rage, the Gentiles rage, nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing, as though they're going to prevent the son of David from being enthroned. The kings of the earth set themselves, the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, against his anointed, saying, let us break their bonds in pieces, cast away their cords from us.
And those verses are quoted in the New Testament, applied to Pilate and Herod, the Gentiles plotting together. It was a vain thing, as though they were going to prevent the son of David from ruling. Verse 4, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall hold them in derision, then he shall speak to them in his wrath, distress them in his deep displeasure.
Yet, see, in spite of your rejection, yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. And that's a reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his enthronement in heaven as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, in spite of the rejection.
And then, prophetically, Jesus speaks now. I will declare the decree, the Lord, it is God the Father, said unto me, you are my son, today I have begotten you. And that's quoted three times in the New Testament, all applied to the resurrection of Jesus.
We won't go into detail as to what all that means. But again, it's the idea that God the Father exonerated his son and declared him to be his son and enthroned him in heaven. You are my son, today I begot you.
That's a reference to his resurrection, not his birth to Mary, but his resurrection, entering into his enthronement as the son of David. And then the Father said to Jesus, ask of me and I will give you the nations, those are the Gentiles, for an inheritance, the ends of the earth for your possession.
And that's what you read what happened in the book of Acts. Jesus did ask the Father, give me the nations for my possession. And the Father granted him. That's why the gospel went out into all the world.
And that's why Gentiles embraced him as Lord. He had all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore, go out and make disciples of all nations, is what Jesus said. So that's what Psalm 2 declared a thousand years before it occurred.
And we also read of the same reality in the New Testament. Psalm 2, again, quoted being applied to the resurrection and enthronement of Jesus in three places, in Paul's speech in Acts 13, and then Hebrews 2, in two places.
And then we can also read of the old man, Simeon. Remember when the Lord Jesus was brought as an infant to the temple to be dedicated. We read in Luke 2 .25, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was just, he was righteous, devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. The translators put it as capital C. That's Jesus, the promised comfort or comforter, the redeemer of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
In other words, this man saw things rightly, truthfully. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, he would not see death before he'd seen the Lord Christ, that is Messiah. And so he came by the Spirit, led by the Spirit into the temple.
And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him, according to the law, he took him up in his arms, blessed God, and said, Lord, now you're letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles. And glory, the glory of your people, Israel. Glory speaks of kingly authority, promised Israel.
But again, that authority reaches even to the Gentiles. It's a proclamation, a prophecy of what has unfolded in this church age. Simeon was not referring to two different kingdoms here, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and then glory to your people, Israel.
But rather, he was speaking of the one kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Lord's Christ, who entered upon his reign, upon his resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven. The apostle Paul declared forthrightly the exaltation of Jesus to his rule as king was the result of his suffering and death.
And so, Philippians 2, 5 -11, this is a familiar passage. Paul said, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, coming in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
There's the suffering. But notice verse 9, that first word is so important. Therefore, in other words, as a result of his obedience and even his suffering, even unto death, this cross, therefore, as a result of this, God has also highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, those in heaven, those on earth, those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
But again, the people of Jerusalem did not understand how God would enthrone his son of David, this son of David, through this matter of the suffering and death. And even his own disciples did not understand it, did they?
Even though the Lord Jesus taught them on several occasions, they had to go to Jerusalem, because there he would suffer, and he would be rejected and die, and yet be raised the third day. And so this ignorance and error on the part of his disciples was not due to the fact he didn't instruct them.
He foretold very clearly this would occur. But even after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples had to be instructed in these matters once again. You remember Jesus walking with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and he rebuked them.
He declared to them, ought not the Christ, that's the Messiah, the Jewish Messiah, ought not the Christ to have these things, and to enter into his glory? And his glory there would be his rule as king over Israel.
Doesn't the Scriptures teach Jesus? And he opened the Scriptures and revealed the Scriptures to these men. Their hearts burned within them when they thought about it, when they thought about Christ presented in the Scriptures.
And he showed them from the Old Testament how it was foretold, that he would have to suffer and die, and then through this, event, enter into his glorious reign. And so he taught his disciples that suffering must precede the glory of his reign as king.
Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is the promised Son of David. He is the King of Israel, reconstituted. Not the nation of Israel as constituted at Sinai, an ethnic people, but Israel reconstituted under a new covenant, comprised not of those who have been physically circumcised, but those who have been spiritually circumcised in their hearts.
And this redeemed Israel, this promised remnant of Jews that were redeemed by the Savior, have been redeemed by the Savior, of course, were greatly enlarged by the Gentiles also embracing this Lord, this Son of David, this King of Israel.
This is so clearly set forth in the Scriptures, it's hard to imagine that any would fail to understand this or disagree with this. But please recognize what we have set forth thus far, this morning, is really understood or advocated by relatively few.
Reformed people do, but others do not. In fact, it's a sad commentary, in my opinion, that many evangelicals today believe what we just declared regarding the present reign of Jesus Christ as the Son of David over God's promised kingdom to Israel has not yet occurred.
Because these Christians have been taught wrongly that although Jesus, as the Son of David, offered the promised kingdom to Israel, announced the kingdom of heaven is at hand, they argue that because Israel rejected Jesus as their king, that God withdrew the offer of that kingdom from Israel and postponing his realization until the second coming of Christ.
They believe only then at the second coming that Jesus will be enthroned as the Son of David over Israel. He will then rule on David's throne, they argue, which will be an earthly throne in an earthly Jerusalem for a literal thousand years.
They teach that only then, at the second coming, King Jesus will be enthroned over the restored national, that is, political state of Israel, which will be the ruling nation over the gentile nations of the world.
They fail to see the present glory of the Lord Jesus as the reigning Son of David over Israel, that is, reconstituted Israel, in which believing gentiles of the world have come to rest. Now, you know, in order to substantiate what I'm saying, I've cited some accounts.
I'm reading a book with a friend that advocates this position, and so I've included a couple of quotations from his book. He declared, if Jesus was set aside, that is, declared, set apart, is what he meant by that.
That's a little confusing, like set aside, you know, putting on the shelf. No, no, he said he was set apart as king at his baptism, and that's true. And then he validated his messianic claims by his authoritative teaching, signs, and miracles.
That's true. The nation refused to respond in faith and obedience to Jesus' claims and ministry. That's true. And lost the blessings that could have been theirs. Of course, unbelieving Jews did forfeit the blessings that could have been theirs.
And then he adds this little parenthesis from what he had argued earlier in the book. Remember that blessings can be lost by disobedience without invalidating the promises of the unconditional covenant.
But then he makes this statement, and this is what he means by it. The Davidic kingdom was not inaugurated, and Jesus did not begin to rule. And that is what's commonly believed. Some of the old classical dispensationalists argued, Jesus is prophet now, he's priest now, but he will not be king.
He will not rule until the second coming. The same writer describes this understanding of a future earthly Davidic kingdom of Israel. This aspect of the kingdom of God is yet future, and as the name implies, will last for a thousand years.
He's talking about the millennial kingdom. This facet of the kingdom will fulfill the great, eternal, unconditional covenants of the Old Testament, particularly the Davidic covenant. You see, Jesus is not ruling as the son of David now.
That's future. As was discussed in previous chapters, this kingdom will be on earth where Jesus Christ will physically, literally rule after his second coming. This aspect of the kingdom of God is sometimes called the Messianic kingdom, since the ruler will be the Messiah.
This is the kingdom that John the Baptist declared was at hand. In other words, John the Baptist wasn't declaring the kingdom of God that you and I are a part of now. He was declaring the thousand-year millennium for Israel in the future.
And this is the kingdom that was offered to the nation of Israel by both John the Baptist and Jesus. In other words, Jesus was offering this earthly millennium, too, to the Jews. It was this aspect of the kingdom that was rejected by the nation when they spurned the Lord Jesus.
But in the future time of the Tribulation, Israel will once again be offered this kingdom, and at that time they will accept it, and Jesus will rule on the throne of David. See, he's not now. And yet, you know, we would argue that it's taught in the Palm Sunday, it's taught through the early preaching of the Church, the Apostles, and it's proclaimed in the Old Testament that Jesus, the son of David, is ruling now over the promised kingdom that God declared to the prophets.
And so I regard these comments as reflecting terrible error. The kingdom of God, that the kingdom of God promised the son of David, was not to be inaugurated unless and until unbelieving Jews chose to accept it, as though God is not going to inaugurate his kingdom because the Jews didn't accept it, as though the kingdom was contingent on whether or not the Jews would accept it or not.
They chose not to accept it, and therefore it was postponed. This is not what the Scriptures teach. No, the Apostles declared forthrightly it was in spite of the rejection of Jesus, and even because of the rejection of Jesus, that God the Father enthroned him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And when Jesus Christ returns, certainly there will be a full manifestation of the kingdom the Scriptures teach that. There is a present reality, and there's a future realization, full realization. But that future realization is the same kingdom over which he rules now.
Here are a few more comments that reflect this errant view, which is popular. I mean, this is what makes for popular prophecy books, and this is a lot of television preachers proclaim this stuff. Jesus is not sitting on his throne now, but he will sit on the throne of David at his second coming, not in the raft of the saints when we go up in the air to meet him, but after our honeymoon in heaven when Jesus comes visibly bodily, literally, with all his holy angels to reign on this earth, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.
Certainly that kingdom is in the future, not the present. Do not be discouraged, dear Christian, for all God has promised he will do, and the Savior shall have the kingdom that rightly belongs to him, and shall reign on the throne of David on the earth.
Jesus is reigning on the throne of David now. Here's another claim that the kingdom that Jesus will rule over was offered to Israel, but was postponed because of Israel's unbelief. Now, let us review.
This is a summary in this chapter. Jesus came to Israel as our Messiah, but he taught such lofty spiritual principles that he was rejected by the Jewish leaders. This meant that the kingdom of Old Testament prophecy could not be established at that time.
As this unbelief moved toward its climax, Jesus began to prepare his disciples for his crucifixion, his resurrection, and the church age, as though it's a parenthesis, afterthought, plan B. And then he died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose again to break death's power.
Someday he will return to bring in the postponed kingdom, and to reign over the earth in glory. And there are many of our evangelical friends that believe this, that it's in the future that he will be ruling.
And I believe that that is a denying and a degrading of the glory that our Lord Jesus presently possesses. He is king of kings, and he lord of lords. He is the son of David who is ruling even now. We have a few minutes just to look at a couple Old Testament prophecies that speak to this.
Isaiah 9, 1 -9, is a passage that is familiar to us probably. Here Isaiah gave forth a prophecy of the coming kingdom that would be ruled over by the son of David. Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, speaking of the people that were under the judgment of God, the wrath of God.
As when at first he lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, two tribes of Israel, they would be up in the northern Galilean region. And afterward more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the Gentiles.
I put that in bold and italic font because it's quoted in the New Testament, of course. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.
And then it's directed to God. You've multiplied the nation, increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Like they won the victory in the battle, now they're sitting down there dividing up the spoil of the battle.
People rejoice in those times. For you have broken the yoke of his burden, the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor is in the day of Midian. For every warrior's sandal from the noisy battle, garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning fuel of fire.
Why? For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That's the Lord Jesus ruling now, reigning now, not in some future thousand-year kingdom.
Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom. There's only one promised kingdom, not two. To order it, establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. And we read in Matthew's Gospel, the opening of our Lord Jesus's earthly ministry in Galilee. We read the inspired writer of the Gospel, Matthew, declared that this prophecy of Isaiah 9 was being fulfilled in the coming of Jesus to Galilee.
Now, when Jesus heard John had been put in prison, he departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. For what purpose?
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light upon those who sat in the region, the shadow of death, light as dawn.
And so from that time on, we read in Matthew's Gospel, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The promised kingdom, it's here, he's declaring. And if you wanted a part in that, you better repent and submit to him, basically, is what he was declaring.
And so the scriptures declared that the prophecy of the Davidic king, reigning, commenced with the birth of Jesus and his proclamation that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. That other view argues, no, he was just offering the kingdom, and if they would have accepted it, he would have then become king over that earthly Jewish kingdom.
No, he established his kingdom. Isaiah 11, 1 through 10, I have a dear friend who took the other position, and when I advocated my understanding here in Isaiah 11, she protested very nicely, kindly, she's a German.
And so I sat down and wrote about a three or four-page paper and showed that, no, this prophecy of Isaiah 11 is not a prophecy of a future thousand-year millennium, it's a prophecy of this current church age.
And she wasn't fully convinced, but she did say at the end when she wrote me a letter back, I'm not going to argue with you about these matters anymore, because she knew I had her, because the scriptures declare it, not because there was anything sharp about me or anything, but the scriptures say it.
Isaiah 11, 1 through 10, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David. A rod from the stem of Jesse means a Davidic descendant, a descendant of Jesse. And a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. The context is, under the judgment of God, Israel was wiped out.
And the royal line of David had been wiped out too. In fact, there's the metaphor given of the Assyrian king coming in like a logger who clear-cut Israel. And he cut down the family of Jesse too. And they looked out over the scene, there was nothing, no life, it was all dead.
Then all of a sudden a little shoot comes up out of this stump. And it's a branch. And there's life in this stump of the family of David. And it's a prophecy of the coming Lord Jesus. Verse 3,. His delight is in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, nor decide by the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness he shall judge the poor. Decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth.
With the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his loins. Faithfulness the belt of his waist. Now look, here's verses 6 -9. This might be troublesome to some to see this as a reference of this church age.
But I would argue it is. The wolf also will dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion the family together. And a little child shall lead them. He's a pastor.
That's not the conditions nowadays. This is a metaphor describing a sense of peace within the kingdom among the people of God before their God. It's like the curse of sin is removed and there is harmony and peace and righteousness within the kingdom.
It's a metaphorical way to depict this state of peace. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole.
The weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy all my holy mountain. My holy mountain is a reference to the kingdom. Back then kingdoms were mostly city states.
You had a city which ruled over a large region and it was set on a mountain because it was defensible. The higher the mountain the more defensible. The higher the mountain the greater the kingdom. And here in all this kingdom, promised kingdom, no hurt, no destruction.
And then for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Pastor, are you saying the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord? Yes, the Gentile nations, the whole world is covered.
And you say, well you're spiritualizing that, you know, and we take it literally. But it's verse 10, it's the kicker, you see, which rightly understood the entire passage for us. In that day, he's not talking about a different day, he's talking about the day he just described.
In that time, that period, there shall be a root of Jesse. Same image that you had back at the beginning, this descendant of David, who shall stand as a banner to the people. See, he's standing up and he's like a signal, like a man standing waving a flag on the mountain and causing all the armies to rally to him.
Jesus, he'll stand as a banner to the people, for the Gentiles shall seek him, and his resting place will be glorious. Now those who advocate a postponed Davidic kingdom until the second coming often cite this passage to argue their position.
Clearly the Davidic kingdom is in view, they would agree with that. But they say that it's an earthly kingdom, a literal, physical kingdom. Is it? We won't go through the details, but verse 9, we see a worldwide scope there, of course.
They shall not hurt or destroy all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. But is this a prophecy of a future thousand year early kingdom of David? No, it's a prophecy of the present kingdom of God, with Jesus as Lord.
Verses 2 -5 set forth the character and manner in which he governs his kingdom. Verses 6 -9 describe the state of peace that exists with the people and their God within this kingdom. It depicts a kingdom in which the curse of the fall is removed.
But again, it's verse 10 that makes clear it's a prophecy of this kingdom age, this church age. For the apostle Paul quotes this verse in Romans 15, writing to the church at Rome. He used this verse, In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, who will stand as a banner to the people, for the Gentiles will seek him.
His resting place shall be glorious. And Paul uses this verse to show these Christians in the church at Rome heard, saw, and responded to this banner, Jesus. That they were some of these Gentiles that had come to him in faith.
That they are the realization of this prophecy from Isaiah 11. And so Paul showed in the context of Romans 15, 7 -13, the scriptures had prophesied Gentile conversions in this church age. And he quoted Isaiah 11, verse 10, declaring its interpretation.
So I would argue this entire prophecy is not a double prophecy. Paul declared to the church at Rome that the Gentiles coming to salvation in Jesus Christ was a realization that the kingdom had been established.
And that Jesus was calling Gentiles from all over the world to embrace him as Lord. We have to close, but just quickly look at the third one, Amos 9. This is a very clear one. And our friends that reject the idea that Jesus is the ruling son of David now really do some fancy hermeneutical work to make us say otherwise.
Frankly, I don't want to sound irreverent, but it's laughable the way they interpret Amos 9, 11 -15. Again he's talking about the Davidic kingdom. Verse 11, on that day I'll raise up the tabernacle of David.
This would be the house of David. Again, the house of David had been eliminated just about. Where was the son of David? He wasn't ruling. It appears like it was gone. But God says, I will raise up the tabernacle of David.
He's talking about this descendant of David is going to be raised up, which has fallen down, repaired damages. I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old. That's the Davidic kingdom.
And that they may possess the remnant of Edom. And all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who does this thing. There's the Gentiles brought into view. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper.
Again, describing by metaphor this blessing state within the kingdom that the people will enjoy. The treader of grapes, him who sowed seed, the mountains shall drip with sweet wine. All the hills shall flow with it.
And I'll bring my captives of my people Israel. And they shall build the way cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them. They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
I will plant them in their land no longer so they'd be pulled up from the land I've given them, says the Lord, your God. Again, this is a prophecy to this ancient people of Israel in terms that they would understand they were restored to God's favor and the curse was removed from them.
And they're now in a relationship with God and have set forth in terms that they would have understood as experiencing God's blessing. But again, those who advocate a postponed Davidic kingdom, that it won't be established until the second coming, argue for their position from this passage.
The problem is, is when you get into the book of Acts, that this passage is quoted to apply to this church age. And so you have in Acts 15 at the council of Jerusalem, the church at Antioch that had all those Gentiles come into Christ.
They didn't know what kind of standards to impose upon the Gentile Christians. Do we make them Jews? Do they have to keep the law of Moses and be circumcised? They sent Paul and Barnabas and others up to Jerusalem to speak to the apostles and elders in the church of Jerusalem about this matter.
And so we had that Jerusalem council. They concluded we're not going to make these Gentile Christians become Jewish proselytes, but rather we understand that God is doing this work and calling them into the kingdom.
And so we read in Acts 15, these words, verse 12, and all the multitude, this is in Jerusalem, kept silent, listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles, wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
And after they become silent, James answered. Now this is not James the apostle, this is James, half-brother of the Lord, who was converted after the resurrection. But he became the leading elder of the church of Jerusalem.
He declared, men and brethren, listen to me. Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree. And now he quotes Amos 9.
After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David that's fallen down. He's applying it to Jesus. I will rebuild its ruins and will set it up. James is saying he did set it up. Why? For what end?
Verse 17, so that the rest of mankind, those are Gentiles, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord. Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things known to God are all as worse from the beginning.
James regarded this passage of Amos, speaking of the Davidic kingdom, as unfolding and taking place in the days of the early churches. When Gentiles, when God had restored that lineage of David and raised up the son of David to rule, and now Gentiles were coming into this kingdom through his gospel, through his grace.
And so the kingdom of God was established. The kingdom of God in the New Testament and the promised kingdom of David are one and the same. There's only one promised kingdom, not two. And it's a kingdom that encompasses a remnant of Jews, all those who believe on Jesus, and then Gentiles too in mass all over the world.
And so there's this one kingdom in which we enjoy. And one day this kingdom will be fully manifested when Jesus returns, when eternity is ushered in, and we are resurrected and we have glorified bodies.
And what we enjoy now spiritually will be enjoyed physically and spiritually in the eternal state. And we look forward to that day. Amen. Palm Sunday is significant. The son of David has come as promised.
And by the end of the Passion Week, you have the son of David enthroned. And it was all according to God's purpose. There was no failure on the part of Jesus and John the Baptist. And it was not an offer that was postponed and rescinded.
But God accomplished his purposes through the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus and his ascension into heaven. Let's pray. Thank you, our Father, for your word and for the joy that we may experience, Lord, as being the recipients of your blessing, even as Gentiles who have been brought in to enjoy this promised kingdom that was declared to Israel so long ago.
And we pray, Lord, that you would not in any way allow us to diminish the glory that is Jesus Christ's. But may we see him, Father, as the risen and enthroned son of David, Lord of lords and King of kings.
For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
