{"id":7062,"date":"2026-03-30T17:34:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=7062"},"modified":"2026-03-30T17:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:34:54","slug":"behold-your-king-is-coming-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2026\/03\/30\/behold-your-king-is-coming-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBehold, your king is coming to you.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rev. Rolf Preus| <\/strong>Palm Sunday| March 23, 2026| St. Matthew 21:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today is the first day of Holy Week.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem.  He is hailed as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of David, the King.  \u201cAll glory, laud, and honor\u201d are given to him as is fitting for a king.  The great crowd of people make a road for their King with clothes and palm branches.  We call today Palm Sunday because the adoring crowd put palms in the path of their Savior.  \u201cHosanna\u201d means \u201csave now.\u201d  The crowd praised Jesus as the promised Christ, their Savior, and their King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How he would save them was hidden from their eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have noticed over the years that there are always many more people in church on Easter Sunday than there are on either Maundy Thursday or Good Friday.  Why do you think that is?  Maybe it\u2019s because celebrating Christ\u2019s resurrection from the dead is more joyful than pondering his betrayal, crucifixion, suffering, and death.  But when you stop and think about it, jumping from Palm Sunday to Easter makes no sense.  You cannot understand Palm Sunday apart from Maundy Thursday when Jesus humbled himself to wash his disciples\u2019 feet and gave to his church the Sacrament of his body and blood.  You can\u2019t understand Easter apart from Good Friday when Jesus offered up to God his life on the cross as the sacrifice to take away the sin of the world.  This is why we should go to church on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

St. Matthew quotes the prophet Zechariah who wrote,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Zechariah 9:9)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBehold, your king comes to you.\u201d  Today, on Palm Sunday, we see our King\u2019s attitude in his coming.  Attitude is everything.  That a king has power can be comforting or it can be frightening.  Everything depends on his attitude.  Specifically, his attitude toward you.  He is lowly.  He\u2019s riding on a donkey.  He\u2019s not riding on a warhorse to do you harm.  He\u2019s coming in humility.  Listen once more to the first part of today\u2019s Epistle Lesson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus had the form of God because he is God.  But he hid his glory under humility.  He shares divine glory with the Father.  His true deity shines through his humanity, showing that God has indeed joined the human race.  But becoming a man was not enough to redeem mankind.  He, in whom all the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily covered up his glory under deep humility to become a slave.  He submitted to the law.  Not only did he obey it; he bore divine punishment for our disobedience.  The humble King comes to suffer and die for his people.  The lawgiver humbles himself under his own law.  By his humble obedience he gains a kingdom.  It is a kingdom of grace.  Christ is King.  He rules over us by taking from us our sin and bearing it in his own body.  Then, after forgiving us by his death, he sends his Spirit into our hearts so that we trust in him as our Savior and follow him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did the Palm Sunday crowd anticipate that?  Surely, they knew that their king was different than other kings.  His entrance into the capital city was modest to say the least.  But the depth of that humility was not seen until Jesus was nailed to the cross.  There the cynical politician, Pontius Pilate, identified him as King of the Jews.  Yes, Pilate was a religious cynic, famously know for his arrogant dismissal of Jesus\u2019s teaching with the question, \u201cWhat is truth?\u201d  But God draws wisdom out the mouths of cynical unbelievers.  Jesus is indeed who Pilate depicted him to be.  He is the King of the Jews.  Not only is he King of the Jews, he is King over all creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus rules!  He does not govern his kingdom as the kings of this world govern their kingdoms.  Here in the United States of America, what is power?  Who has it, how do they get it, and how do they use it?  The government has power to impose its will by means of force.  Try not paying your taxes.  Anyone remember Gordan Kahl?  He was a man from North Dakota who sincerely believed that he didn\u2019t have to pay his taxes.  After various skirmishes with the civil authorities, he died a violent death at their hands.  It reminds us of the song, \u201cI fought the law, and the law won.\u201d  The tool the civil government uses to govern is physical force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the government get its power?  Here in the United States, they are elected by the people.  So, they must pander to the people who elect them.  That\u2019s how it works.  If you cannot persuade people to vote for you, you cannot obtain the political power you seek.  And when you have it, you use it or lose it.  Assuming the attitude of gentle, humble, and lowly won\u2019t get the job done.  Your political opponents will run over you.  You\u2019ll end up a failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrast this to the power Jesus exercises in his kingdom.  Jesus seeks nobody\u2019s vote.  He doesn\u2019t need the approval of voters.  He was elected by God.  God is running things.  Down to every detail.  Jesus tells his disciples where to go to find a donkey and her colt.  Should anyone question them they need only say that the Lord needs them.  Everything is arranged.  God is in charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of power does Jesus exercise?  While he has power over the wind and the waves, thus demonstrating that the natural world is under his command, he does not govern us by means of that power.  While he has power over all nations, he doesn\u2019t govern us by means of civil power.  He doesn\u2019t coerce.  He doesn\u2019t threaten.  He doesn\u2019t intimidate.  He comes to us to exercise power over us.  What kind of power is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ride on, ride on in majesty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In lowly pomp ride on to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bow thy meek head to mortal pain,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then take, O God, thy pow\u2019r and reign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See God\u2019s power.  It is the power of love.  What was Jesus doing on that first Palm Sunday?  He was riding to his death.  And why was he doing it?  Because he loves you.  Yes, you.  No matter who you are, no matter what you\u2019ve done, no matter how you feel about yourself, your past, or your future, he loves you.  And he comes to you.  He comes as he came so long ago.  In humility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.\u201d (Hebrews 13:8)  Christ\u2019s attitude on Palm Sunday, the attitude that led him to the cross to suffer and die, is the attitude he has toward you right now.  That attitude tells you how he rules over you.  On Palm Sunday he came in humility.  Today, though his humiliation is over and he is exalted above every power in the universe, and fills all in all, he still comes as he came.  In humility.  He exercises power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been watching the exercise of power on the news.  Men boast of America\u2019s military power.  It\u2019s quite impressive.  Power to destroy the military power of the enemy.  Power to intimidate the bad guys.  Power to kill the bad guys.  Lots of bad guys have been killed.  That\u2019s power!  You can see it on T.V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is one thing no government of this world can do, no matter how great and mighty a military they have.  They cannot turn a bad guy into a good guy.  They can kill.  Yes.  But they cannot make alive.  Christ\u2019s power is the power to make bad people into good people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is twofold.  First, it is what Jesus did in the days following his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem.  He went from the praise of Palm Sunday to the mockery of Good Friday.  With his eyes wide open, fully aware of where he was going and what he would suffer, he chose to embrace shame, stripes, mockery, and death, and the wrath of almighty God against all sinners.  This sacrifice washes away sin.  It reconciles us to God.  It faces death and overcomes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, it is what Jesus is doing now.  He rules over you by the power he displayed on Calvary.  He wins your heart by suffering and dying for you, taking away all your sin, making you acceptable to the Father, giving you eternal life.  He wins your heart by sending to you the Holy Spirit who takes the treasures Jesus won by his suffering and death and gives them to you.  Jesus rules right here at Trinity\/St. John\u2019s Lutheran Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By winning your heart Jesus changes your life.  When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts by and with the gospel of Christ\u2019s crucifixion for us, we learn to love as we have been loved.  We love the one we once hated.  If our Savior loves him, so do we.  The desires of the flesh that would lead into sin that would break our fellowship with God and those we love are quenched.  Lies to which we cling in fear that the truth will destroy us are repudiated as we set aside our own defensive excuses and find our true strength in God\u2019s absolution.  Surely, we cannot deny the power of the absolution when Christ who pronounces it through his minister is the one who won forgiveness for us on the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus rules.  He rules by capturing our loyalty.  We cry out, \u201cHosanna!  Save us!\u201d  And he does.  Every time.  Salvation isn\u2019t just something that happened when we were baptized and born again.  It is ongoing.  Jesus remains our Savior every day.  He saves us by ruling over us as he exercises the power of grace.  We learn to rely on that grace, and the Spirit of Christ establishes confidence in us that we can always rest secure in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every once in a while you hear people complaining about cheap grace.  Cheap grace is when God\u2019s grace is used as an excuse or even permission to sin.  That makes grace cheap, they say.  They\u2019re wrong.  There is no such thing as cheap grace.  The grace by which our King rules over us was purchased at great cost.  It was not cheap.  It cost God the blood and suffering of his only begotten Son.  Grace is the most expensive thing there is in this world.  Don\u2019t talk about cheap grace!  There\u2019s nothing cheap about it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People reject grace.  That doesn\u2019t cheapen grace.  It cheapens the one who rejects it.  Those who live in sin without repentance reject God\u2019s grace.  God\u2019s grace isn\u2019t license to sin.  It\u2019s salvation from sin.  Those who reject God\u2019s grace in Christ choose to be ruled by force, by intimidation, by threat, by the power of the sword.  That\u2019s power to destroy you and it will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they who have always resisted his grace<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on their own virtue depended<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shall then be condemned and cast out from his face<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eternally lost and unfriended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have mercy upon us Oh Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, may we all hear when our shepherd doth call<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In accents persuasive and tender<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That while there is time, we make haste one and all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find him our mighty Defender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have mercy upon us, Oh Jesus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus rules!  Jesus is King!  His kingdom is here and everywhere else that his gospel is proclaimed, believed, and confessed.  His kingdom will endure into eternity.  We pray, \u201cThy kingdom come.\u201d  What does this mean?  \u201cWe pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.\u201d  Even so, come Lord Jesus, come quickly.  Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rev. Rolf Preus| Palm Sunday| March 23, 2026| St. Matthew 21:5 Today is the first day of Holy Week.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem.  He is hailed as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of David, the King.  \u201cAll glory, laud, and honor\u201d are given to him as is fitting for a king.  The great…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,41,17,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-sermons","category-palm-sunday","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermons-by-rolf-preus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7063,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7062\/revisions\/7063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}