The British writer J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy Lord of the Rings has regained popular since Peter Jackson put it into movie form. The third film of the trilogy, The Return of the King, won more Oscars than any other film released in 2004. The story chronicles a young hobbit’s journey to from the Shire to Mordor to destroy the evil ring of power and save all of middle earth. Along the way Frodo is joined by three other hobbits, a wizard, an elf, a dwarf, and two warriors.
One of the primary sub-plots of the third movie is Aragorn’s struggle to fulfill his destiny as he leads his outnumbered followers against the growing power of the Dark Lord Sauron and regain the throne of Gondor. By the end of the film Aragorn lead his followers to victory and paved the way for good to triumph over evil. Frodo destroyed the ring and Aragorn was restored to his rightful place as king; thus the title The Return of the King.
Since Tolkien was a Christian many believers has pointed out countless parallels in The Lord of the Rings and the Bible. There is even a professor at the seminary that I attend who teaches a class called J.R.R. Tolkien’s Apocalyptic Imagery. Whether it is my inherent skepticism or my lack of literary sense, I fail to see many of these parallel themes, but I do find the theme of Aragorn’s return to kingship strikingly similar to Jesus’ triumphal entry.
Through the narrative plot we learn exactly what of king Aragorn would become. Today’s text reveals what kind of king Jesus would be. Jesus comes out of private hiding and into the public scene through his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday marks last week of his life, and through it, we learn exactly what kind of king Jesus is. Let’s listen to the story!
Jerusalem was swarming with people! The city’s population swelled to over ten times its normal size as people came from all around to celebrate the Passover, Israel’s most prominent holiday. People bumped into each other on the narrow streets and as they tried to make their way through the busy marketplace as each family frantically made preparations. Local merchants tried to rip off the foreigners. Mothers and daughters hovered around fires preparing food while husbands and sons chose a lamb to sacrifice at the temple. Speaking of lambs, some estimate that there may have been 100,000 more lambs than usual in the city. All of this to celebrate Passover as they remembered how God delivered their ancestors from slavery!
Jerusalem during the week of the Passover festival was like an American mall the week of Christmas; too many people in one place making preparations for the holiday. People were everywhere! Jerusalem was crazy during Passover!
This is the scene Jesus enters as he and his disciples left the village of Bethany and arrived in Jerusalem. Just a day earlier in the village of Bethany Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, and now Jesus enters his beloved city for the last time before he would die.
The word of Jesus’ arrival must have traveled quickly. By the time he entered the outskirts of the city, thousands of people had gathered to welcome him. No doubt, most of the people who had gathered had heard about Jesus and his miracles. Those who had witnessed the raising of Lazarus in Bethany continued to spread the word throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Their witness contributed to the increase in Jesus’ popularity and prompted a huge crowd of people to go out and greet Jesus. They believed that he was the Messiah who had come to liberate Israel from Roman oppression. The people were excited; they thought that the days of suffering were over and that their nation was about to enter a golden age.
To show their belief that Jesus was the Messiah, they pulled palm branches off date trees and waved them as Jesus he entered the city. Palm branches had originally served as a symbol for righteousness, but they had become a popular symbol for Jewish nationalism. The Jews waved palm branches to show their patriotism the same way Americans fly red, white, and blue flags and put yellow ribbons on their cars. They expected Jesus to be a great political leader and military conqueror, and they were looking forward to the day he would lead a great revolt.
As the crowd proudly waved their palms, they shouted “Hosanna, Hosanna!” at the top of their lungs. This was a great Hebrew term that mean “save now.” The crowd was clamoring for Jesus to save them from Roman oppression right now. Then they quoted Psalm 118 by saying “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel.” This was a messianic phrase that insinuated that Jesus was from the line of David. Their king had returned! They expected Jesus to conquer the same way David did.
But little did they know how sorely they would be disappointed. Jesus was indeed the king of Israel; in fact, he was the king of kings, but he was not the kind of king they were expecting. Jesus makes this clear in his choice of animal for his coronation. He did not choose a war horse to excite the patriotism of the crowd, but he ironically chose a donkey. In Jewish culture donkeys were symbols of peace and gentleness. Jesus chose to present himself as a king of peace and humility rather than pride and power.
Jesus’ riding a donkey was a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy given hundreds of years earlier. In Zechariah 9:9 the Messiah is characterized as a leader of peace and gentleness. Even his disciples did not fully understand the significance of his riding a donkey instead of a war horse until after Jesus had been glorified.
When the Pharisees saw what was happening, they expressed their exacerbation with the hyperbolic remark “the whole world has gone after him.” It seemed as if their attempts to squelch Jesus’ ministry were backfiring; for in spite of their efforts, his popularity continued to grow.
Jesus’ triumphal entry was the climax of his public ministry. It was the pinnacle of his earthly popularity. But it was one of the most misunderstood events of his life. The crowd assumed that Jesus and his movement would serve their cause, but Jesus’ failure to satisfy their visions (religious, political, or social) leads to a cry for crucifixion a week later. They sang “Hosanna, Hosanna!” when they thought that Jesus was going to give them what they wanted, but the shouted “Crucify! Crucify!” when he broke their expectations.
It is so sad, but people treat Jesus the same way today! It is easy to get excited about Jesus when we think he is going to give us what we want, but it is just as easy to turn our backs on him when he disappoints us. We love to pray to Jesus when we or a loved one is sick, but if Jesus doesn’t heal, we don’t want to pray anymore. We are quick to serve Jesus when we think he supports our pet agendas, but we want nothing to do with him when we find out that his plans are different from our plans.
Contrary to popular belief, Jesus doesn’t meet all of our expectations! But Jesus isn’t the problem; it’s us! Has Jesus ever broken any of your expectations? Has he ever disappointed you? How did you respond?
Jesus’ actions at the triumphal entry show what kind of king he is and isn’t! The triumphal entry shows us Jesus’ kingship is not a political or military, but it is spiritual. Jesus is no one’s political advocate or military conqueror; he is a humble savior who gives us salvation for our souls. Let’s look at these metaphors for Jesus’ kingship more closely.
1.) Jesus is not a political king!
Just as Jesus did not serve the crowd’s political interests at the triumphal entry, he does not serve our political interests today. The crowd was convinced that Jesus would be a Messiah who would grant them political freedom from Rome, but Jesus was not interested political advocacy.
Many people today are just like this crowd of old. They try to make Jesus their political advocate and serve their political interests. I saw this clearly in this past election. I heard one politician proclaim from a podium, “If Jesus Christ was here today, he would be a democrat.” Republicans and Democrats alike try to use Jesus to promote their particular political point of view. Activists always want Jesus on their side of the agenda, but Jesus will not go.
When it comes to Jesus and politics we need to be careful. It is fine for us to have strong political views, but we should not identify Jesus with any political party. We don’t want to end up like the country pastor I heard about.
Years ago in a relatively small Green Mountain community, a few Democrats decided to make the highly irregular move of holding a Democratic meeting, and issued an invitation to the public. The town minister was a staunch Republican, but he had a Democrat in his congregation and decided to attend as an observer to find out what was going on. There being no other clergymen present he was asked if he would open the meeting with prayer.
He said that he was sorry, but he would have to decline. “To be frank,” he explained, “I’d rather the good Lord didn’t know I was here.”
Next time you flaunt Jesus as a Republican or a Democrat – think again – don’t cheapen the King of Kings that way. He didn’t come to choose sides, he came to die for the sins of Republicans, Democrats, Socialist, and Communists alike. He knows how to make the kingdoms of this world come into line with his Kingdom. Our privilege is simply to love him, and from that will flow our obedience for his desires, which will finally result in his Kingdom coming into our hearts and into the world. Jesus is not a political king, he is a spiritual king who died for us on the cross!
2.) Jesus is not our military king!
Jesus is not our political king, and neither is he our military king. I can still hear the crowd shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna, Save now, Save now!” They wanted Jesus to rally the troops, sharpen his sword, mount a war horse, and charge into Rome, but Jesus was not interested in the crowd’s push for military action. The imagery in Zechariah’s prophecy is framed as a conscious alternative to militaristic rule. True, the Jesus’ kingdom has military and political implications, for it must reflect the righteous and just character of the God who is king over all, but Jesus presents himself as a king of peace and gentleness.
3.) Jesus is our spiritual king!
Jesus is not our political advocate nor our military conqueror, but he is our spiritual savior. The triumphal entry marks the last week of Jesus’ life before he would be betrayed, brutalized, and led to the cross to die.
Jesus is not our military conqueror, but he is a king who did go to battle. It was not a battle of swords, spears, or chariots. It was not a war of tanks, ships, or missiles, but it was a spiritual war. The enemy was not Rome, Germany, or Iraq, but it was sin. It was not a war that could be won by power or might, but it was a war that could only be won through humility. Jesus didn’t carry a warriors sword, but he carried a criminals cross. He did not wear a crown of gold and jewels but a crown of thorns. His strategy was not to “divide and conquer”; it was to “suffer and die!”
Why did he do this? What kind of king would do this? Only the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would do this because he loves us so much. He came to earth to free sinners from God’s impending judgment and wrath. This is the only way our salvation could be won. He was the perfect sacrifice that has atoned for all of our sins past, present, and future.
This is why through faith in Jesus Christ we can have victory over sin and death. He is the only way to escape hell and live a satisfying life here on earth. This is why Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on a war horse, but instead chose a lowly donkey. His kingdom is a kingdom of perfect peace where there is no more war or death or crying. His kingdom is eternal. It will live on for eternity. What a kingdom it will be? What a king we will serve?
The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to wait until the end times to live in Christ’s kingdom. It has already begun and we can be a part of it right now. If you have not yet declared your allegiance to the king of kings, I plead with you to do it today. Don’t fall into the trap that so many others have fallen into. Don’t reduce Jesus to a political puppet or a military mirage. Know that he is our spiritual savior. He is our only hope at everlasting life and true peace. If you don’t know him, put your faith in him and accept him as your spiritual king today!