“Long live the King! Long live the King!”
Those words have an antiquated ring in the ears of 21st century Americans. The truth is, however, having a king was the only form of government people knew up until the 1700s. Abraham Lincoln even called democracy the “great experiment”.
After more than 200 years of democracy few Americans would want to go back to a monarchy, but that doesn’t mean kings have gone by the wayside. A king is someone who rules. And everybody has someone or something rule their life. Who is the king of your life? What is it that takes priority over everything else? Is it the way you feel? Is it a certain goal you have not yet reached? Is it another person?
On Palm Sunday Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He did that for a very specific reason. 500 years earlier the prophet Zechariah had written that the coming Savior or Messiah promised throughout the pages of the Old Testament would signal his arrival by entering the capital city in just the way Jesus did.
The reaction of the people was predictable – they went crazy. Unfortunately, their enthusiasm was for all the wrong reasons. They thought Jesus was going to restore political power to Israel. When they found out that wasn’t the plan, five days later some of those same people shouted for his death. The misunderstanding of the people who made up the Palm Sunday crowd, however, doesn’t negate the truth that Jesus is King. It’s just his rule is different than they thought.
Jesus comes to each and every person with a revolutionary offer. He says, “Let me be your king and I will move heaven and earth to give you the truth about life, protect you from the devil, enable you to walk through death and finally open the door of heaven for you.” Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? So what’s the catch? Look at this same Jesus dying on the cross to make good on all those things he offers you and try to find the catch.
Maybe having a king isn’t so bad after all…if the king is Jesus!
Saturday night service: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning service: 10:00 am
Hawaii Lutheran Church (WELS)
- Community Lutheran Church
- Honolulu, HI
- Community Lutheran Church holds protestant chapel services in Honolulu, Hawaii near Pearl Harbor, HI. We are next to the USS Arizona Memorial, Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hickam Air Force Base, and Fort Shafter Hawaii. Look for us directly behind the Salt Lake, Hawaii, Target.