Holy week. “Behold the King comes!” But he rides into Jerusalem not in a chariot or on a charger but on the foal of a donkey. He is lowly and gentle. He is rightly hailed as King, but first he must win the throne. He will win it not by obvious victory but by what seems like defeat. He will enter and plunder the house of Hades from the inside. Giving himself willingly into the jaws of Death, he will subdue the Grim Reaper and make man’s mortal enemy the King’s vanquished slave.
Christ conquers his foes not as the heroes and tyrants of this world do. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God. It is a spiritual conflict, one that cannot be won by swords, bows, and cannon. Faith, humility, prayer, obedience, perseverance, worship: these are the tools of Christ’s conquest. They are the weapons by which Christ prevailed then and his disciples continue to slay their enemies now.
Every Lord’s Day the Church announces yet again that the King has come and is coming again. We proclaim his death in the memorial of the Eucharist. We celebrate his resurrection in our sung prayers and in the assurance of our justification. We receive his word with joy knowing it comes from the Master who rules over all of his and our enemies, who will subdue all of creation someday, the Lord who has become our Savior and who now calls us his friends.
The Jews were not wrong to expect the Messiah to be a King, but they were wrong in how they expected his kingdom to begin and what they expected it to look like. Evangelicals are not wrong to expect that Jesus’ kingdom is otherworldly, but they are wrong in what they often interpret that otherworldliness to mean. There is a political dimension to the kingdom of God, but it is not politics as usual. Christ’s kingdom began with a crown of thorns, not of gold; on a cross, not a throne; and with a procession from the open tomb, not in a splendid palace erected by men. But do not miss the fact that this is a kingdom, the kingdom that will outlast and supersede all the kingdoms of men in this present world. It is ruled by a King who is righteous, powerful, and merciful, a King full of wisdom, truth, and grace. We have never seen another king like Jesus, but one day every true king will bow the knee to their High King, Christ the Lord.
This Lord’s Day is historically celebrated by the Church as Palm Sunday. The crowds that met Jesus as he came into Jerusalem carried palm leaves and laid them, as well as their outer cloaks, on the road, a path made not of red carpet but redemptive-historical symbols and the kind of honor only honest, humble, common men can give. Like the crowd that day, we will shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!” Save us, Lord, for the King has come, the long-awaited Messiah has arrived, and he brings a kingdom of grace and the glory of salvation in his train for the blessing and joy of his people.
