In the Bible, we look again in Mark. We come to chapter 3. We're looking at verse 1 and verse 11. Mark 11, verses 1 through 11. Welcome to Haitian Faith Series, God's Word. As they approached Jerusalem and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he said to his disciples and said to them, Go into the village of opposite you, and immediately, as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? You say, The Lord has need of it, and immediately will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street, and they untied it. Soon, the bystanders were standing in them. What are you doing? Untying the colt? They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. coats on it, sat on it. And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of your father David! Hosanna in the highest! Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple, and after looking around at everything, he left from Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. O beloved, A crowded people made its way joyously down that last hill and entered the city of Jerusalem singing to and singing about. The man in the middle of the crowd was an unusual crowd. And the crowd surrounded the man in the little coat and they laid long branches and their coats in the way and sang refrains of sounds 118. And when the crowds arrived in the city, it stirred up the city. There was a wonder, there was an excitement, and there was a question. What is happening? That is still a question to which many do not really understand. The answer, that is, that was the king proclaiming the kingdom. This afternoon we are looking at this text in four heads. Number one, The preparation for the proclaiming of the kingdom. Secondly, the observation of the proclaiming of the kingdom. Thirdly, the ignorance concerning the proclamation of the kingdom. And fourthly, the declaration of the kingdom. Well, here we go. Here's number one. Number one, the preparation for the proclamation of the kingdom. Jesus commanded the disciples to bring a colt. In this text, that is, in verse 1 and 2, Jesus instructed two of the disciples to go into the nearby village and that there he would find a colt. Now this is what this text said in verse 1 and 2. He sent two of his disciples and said to them, As you enter it, you will find a coat tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here." Certainly, beloved, this was a demonstration of Jesus' omniscience. Jesus' command also demonstrated His authority. Jesus, with that kind of talking. to use that cult. The followers of Jesus are his people and all that they have is his. So he can use what they have when and how he pleases. Now this text tells us the reason why the cult was to be used. If anyone asked about the cult that the disciples were untying, and that would be a natural question, wouldn't it? the disciples were instructed to answer the person who asked about the cult in verse 3. If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? You say, the Lord has need of it. Now this is the modern day illustration in those verses. It is easy to do, or rather to say, I would have let the Lord use my cult at any old time. We often interpret biblical teaching or parable teaching literally, not just in terms of teaching. Of course, we feel that way, and of course, we don't have a cult now, do we? And we don't expect even to get a cult. So isn't it safe to say that the Lord can use my cult any old time you want to use it? What would be a modern-day equivalent? Now, that may be a little interesting, but I suggest that a modern-day equivalent may be a brand-new minivan, or maybe a brand-new cable panel truck, or a new pickup truck that you hadn't taken out for the very first time. your new minivan or your new animal truck or your new pickup truck without asking you, of course, and taking your older Chevrolet also, maybe. What is going on out there? Oh, the Lord needs your vehicles. To make matters worse, it is Monday morning, and Dad has to go to work. And mom has to take the kids to school. And then she has to go to the store, and someone has to just wire your vehicles, both of them. Remember that the Jewish Sabbath was Saturday. And so the Sunday was the first day of the week, and it was the first day of the work week. This is really different, isn't it? Jesus wanted to use those animals, but he is no longer here, so we are really safe, aren't we? Is it really different that this is what Jesus said in Matthew 25, verses 40 and 45, starting verse 40, quote, and the king will answer and say to them, truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me." Down into verse 45. Then he will answer to them saying, truly I say to you to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. You see, there is a difference to be sure. But are we really willing to make what we have available for the use of the king? Is your house, beloved, used only for your purposes, or is your house used for the king's purposes? Are your vehicles used only for your purposes, or are your vehicles used for the king's purposes? O beloved, is your money is only for your purposes, Or is your money used for the king's purposes? What about your time? What about your talents? What about your abilities? Oh, but in Jesus's use of means today, the king is asking, he is saying, I have need of them. How do you respond? I mean, how do you really respond? Well, that's the first point. Here's the second point. The observation and the proclamation of the kingdom. Now, the kingdom of God had been proclaimed by the ceremonies and by the types of the Old Testament. However, as we consider the events surrounding the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, we can't devise those events from the temple worship All of the rituals of the temple worship had been designed to point Israel to Jesus, and indeed all those rituals were designed to lead Israel to Christ. Jesus declared this to be true in John 5 verse 24 verse 47, quote, Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believe Moses, you would believe me. For he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? O God, the laws, the sacrifices, the washings, circumcision, and the other ceremonies of the law all pointed to Jesus Christ. Israel was proud of those things. She relied on them, for they were part of God's covenant. You see, the kingdom had been prepared by the many fulfilled prophecies. Not only did Moses write of Christ, but the central theme Christ. Time and time again we read in the Gospel accounts, quote, this was done that the prophecy might be fulfilled. Within that short three ministry of Jesus, the words of the prophets were again and again fulfilled so as to be observed by all. Now, the kingdom had been prepared by the many works of God. In a way, this is part of the fulfillment of prophecy, but it is of such importance as it is to be considered. The eyes of the blind were opened, the lame were caused to walk, the leopards were cleansed, the demon-possessed were freed from that bondage and even the dead were brought back to life. Bartimaeus and Lazarus were key topics of conversation and possibly they might have even been present maybe in that crowd. Finally, the kingdoms being proclaimed as Jesus entered Jerusalem as the king. The prophet Zechariah proclaimed the coming of Messiah, that is, that the prophet proclaimed that the Christ is the King in Zechariah 9 verse 28, quote, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in the triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even an occult, the foal of a donkey. This prophecy was then being fulfilled before the eyes of that crowd. O beloved Jesus, who in the past had wanted it kept quiet, proclaimed that fact to all Israel. But in that proclamation, it was clearly shown that his kingdom was not of this world. O beloved, in that age, the worldly kings rode on spirited white horses, and Jesus came on a lowly colt. Worldly armies carried swords and they carried sabers, they carried spears and so on, but Jesus' escort carried palm branches. Worldly kings were surrounded by princes and surrounded by those of high state. Those, beloved, who were surrounding Jesus, they were the lowly, the humble, the contrite sinners who had found forgiveness and new life through faith in their King, Jesus. O beloved, every true believer now is a lowly, humble, and contrite sinner who finds forgiveness and new life through faith in King Jesus. by singing words that were particularly messianic, that is, related or prophesied about the coming of Messiah. They told all Israel, and this was their king, their Messiah, their king. Once again, beloved, that proclamation that the crowd sang is found in Psalm one eighteen verse twenty-five through verse twenty-six. This way, O Lord, do save. We bless you, O Lord. We beseech you. Do send prosperity. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. we have blessed you from the house of the Lord. Oh, here it was, the same thing. This is what was said in Mark 11, verse 9, 10, starting those two. Quote, those who went in front and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest. book about the multitude. The multitude saying that Israel did in fact observe the proclamation of Jesus as the true spiritual king. Well that was the second point. Here's the third. And the third point is the ignorance concerning the proclamation of the kingdom. Jerusalem was ignorant of the meaning of those very things. She went through the ceremonies every day, believing that the rituals would save her. Jerusalem read the prophecies, but it meant nothing to her. Jesus correctly spoke of her ignorance in the following. This is what Jesus said about Jerusalem's ignorance in Matthew 13, verses 14 and 15, quote. And in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, you will keep in hearing, but will not understand, and you will keep in seeing, will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them. The crowd in Jerusalem enjoyed the miracles as almost like a circus, but it really missed the spiritual healing that Christ offered to all. Jerusalem was ignorant of the things that would result in peace. If you look back, here is the, remember Jerusalem. That name really meant the place of peace. And it was also a typical greeting was shalom, peace. They thought that their peace was secure because of Jerusalem with its temple and the covenant of God. This is what Jesus said about peace in John 14 verse 27, quote, peace. I leave with you my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Peace with God. That was the whole reason for the coming of Jesus as the King, to bring peace on earth. But here was the Lord of the covenants, the Lamb of God and He was the Lamb of the Covenant. He is still, Jesus still is the Covenant, still is the Lamb of God and the Lamb of the Covenant. What's more, for Jerusalem, that was the day of salvation. For Jerusalem to be peace, Jesus would have to suffer and die. We'll have to stop for a minute to remember that Jesus was seeing about the proclamation of the kingdom and that his being that one true spiritual king. And we need to talk about that because Jesus died on the cross and he paid the penalty for our sin. Even it means that God even hates sin. You see, They removed the wretch, a stranger from God and man. Now, we don't need to talk about the whole meaning of what we've been talking about, the kingdom of God, and about the king, that spiritual kind of Jesus Christ. We could have put a lot of time in here, really. But I want to read a little bit more passage from three areas. adding a little bit what I learned in Jewish. I want to know about that reconciliation and what meaning of the king and the things put it all together. First of all, I'm going to reading from Romans chapter three, reading verse 22 to 24, 22 to 25. Quote, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. Reading a little bit more, another place, from Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 17-18, quote, Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. One last little part talking about remember of that kingdom of God and what it means when God and man come together, Jesus becomes the king. I'm reading now in Romans 5 verses 8 through 11. But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. much more than, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Dear friend, the prophet Isaiah tells us that every unbeliever should believe the Lord. As Isaiah 53 verse six says, quote, seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Once again, dear friend, the psalmist warns every believer that the opportunity of salvation will end one day in Psalm 103 verse 9, quote, he will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. Oh, beloved, that was what the triumphal entry in Jerusalem was all about. That because of that triumphal entry, There was Calvary, and there's the resurrection. This is the acceptable time. This is the day of salvation. This is the day of peace. This is the day of grace, the day of peace. So anybody who does not truly believe, you are urged to believe in Jesus. A little bit more. the Pharisees understood the meaning of the triumphal entry. During the triumphal entry, the Pharisees understood that Jesus was proclaiming that he was the Messiah. That is, Jesus was proclaiming that he was the King of Israel. During the triumphal entry, the Pharisees would try to silence that proclamation. Now, in this parallel passage, this is what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Luke 19, verse 39, verse 41. And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered and said, I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out. The Pharisees knew the meaning of the words. that the multitude were singing in Psalm 118. And by the silence of Jesus, he was accepting their proclamation that he was the Messiah and that he was the King. As we still now must know that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is that one true King. Once again, beloved, Jesus was not offering himself to Israel to be their king. He was declaring himself to be their king in the words of Luke 19.14 once again. And he answered and I said, I tell you if these become silent, the stones will cry out. Jesus said that it was time that the truth should be proclaimed as so it was. Or better yet, how much more ought we to proclaim with the world to hear that Jesus is the Messiah, that there is salvation in Him and only in Him, even when they don't want to hear that message? Well, that's the third point. Music short, fourth point. is the declaration of the kingdom. This text tells us that Jesus entered the temple. Now this is what the text says in verse 11, quote, Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple, and after looking around at everything, he left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. Now the idea of the original of a direct march. Now that verse says, beloved, that Jesus had entered Jerusalem. Not! It is clear that it was the main purpose of the processional was not to enter the city in order to enter the palace. Rather, the main purpose of that processional was to enter the temple. Now that temple was very special as a titan of the Church of Christ. Furthermore, Jehovah God regularly dwells in a special way in every true church. More, in that true church, the true believers must all worship Jehovah God. In the true church, Jehovah God's salvation is proclaimed every Sabbath day. Finally, this text tells us that Jesus was, quote, looking around at everything. Now, the commentator J. Alexander explained verse 11 this way, quote, at having looked around, surveyed the temple, not for the idol's curiosity, nor as a means of gaining information, but as a tacit assertion of his own authority, an act by which he took possession, as it were, as his father's house, and claimed dominion over it. an attitude maintained by Him throughout this final visit to the Holy City. That means that Jesus owned the Temple as His very own, just as Jesus owns the true Church. Jesus is the King. He was sovereign over the Temple. He is sovereign over every true Church. You must know that he is not a president, not a chief elected officer, and he is not a candidate for any office. He has, he was, he is the proclaimed king of his church. We cannot vote for him. We can only submit to his authority, nor can we rebel against him. Let us, with our words and with our works, with our hearts and with our voices, declare Him to be the King of our lives, the King of our possessions, the King of our emotions, the King of our lips, the King of our families, the King of our church. And submitting to that authority, let us not only declare His but let us demonstrate it as king as well. Here then was a warning, however, finally to Jerusalem, and here is a warning to us, finally. Beloved, in our day of grace and salvation, a day of judgment is coming. Well, that was the fourth point, short conclusion. That Sunday morning, Jesus proclaimed himself King of Israel, King of the Church, King of the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 21, verse 11, we read, quote, and the multitudes who were saying, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee, and the multitude completely missed the point. Many today teach that Jesus offers himself to Israel to be their king. And they too completely miss the point. O beloved, the prophet Zechariah declared the prophecy that Jesus was and he is the king in Zechariah 9 verse 9. We read it a moment ago. Let's read it one more time. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shouting triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and endowed and salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a coat and fold of a donkey. O beloved, Jesus is Jehovah God's King. Jesus is our King and Jesus is my King. Dear friend, is Jesus really your King? Let's pray. Father, help us to understand more and more the meaning of the Declaration of the Kingdom of God. Help us more and more understand the meaning truly spiritual king in Jesus name. Amen.