The Humiiliation of Christ

Before I read the passage from the Gospel of Luke, and you can turn there right now, please, Luke chapter number 19. I'll be reading verses 28 through 40 this morning. While you're turning there, I just wanted to share with you a a blessing and an answer to prayer. You know, one of the real special treats that God gives to Becky and me as missionaries is we get to see God providing for our needs in ways that are out of the ordinary most times. I don't have a regular nine to five job For the past thirty four years, my wife and I have been missionaries totally dependent upon the Lord to supply our needs and some of you are aware that there's been a bit a bit of a challenge in our financial situation in the past couple of months here God's been meeting those needs.

One of the really neat things is to see how he does it through perhaps old acquaintances. And the other day, received a brief note from a lady. She was actually a playmate of mine. Her parents, her mom, actually used to babysit me and my sister. So this goes back quite a few years to our childhood.

Anyway, I opened up the letter this morning. It was sitting there at my desk when I've been so busy to get a chance to open it up but just this morning, I opened it up and she says, dear Rick and Becky enclosed as a little gift for whatever you need. May Jehovah Jireh be gracious to you. Joy is her name. We've been doing bible studies of the names of God here.

Anybody remember what Jehovah Jireh means? Yes, the Lord will provide. And he certainly has used this dear sister. And they are a great blessing to us. God has his eye on each one of his children.

He doesn't always bring us down the same pathway to maturity and Christ likeness. That's the ultimate goal that he has in mind for all of us obviously but he takes us down different paths to get to that goal because we're all individuals. This evening, we're going to be talking about that a little bit and brother Al, I apologize for correcting your pronunciation of that word. Actually, you said it the American way but the Japanese pronunciation is bone sigh, So just think, oh, my bones are sighing this morning. Bonsai.

That'll be this evening. This morning, we're going to be looking at the topic, the humiliation of Jesus Christ. I'd like for you now to please stand as I read from Luke chapter 19 verse 28. And when he had thus spoken, he went before sending up to Jerusalem and it came to pass when he was come nigh to Bethphage in Bethany at the mount called the Mount Of Olives, he sent two of his disciples saying, go ye into the village over against you in the which at your entering, you shall find a colt tied whereon yet never man sat. Loose him and bring him hither.

And if any man ask you, why do you lose him? Thus shall you say unto him, because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, why loose ye the colt? And they said, the Lord hath need of him.

And they brought him to Jesus. And they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the Mount Of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, blessed be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.

Some of the pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, master, rebuke thy disciples. He answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word this morning. You may be seated. This morning, we're gonna look at two events during the passion week that highlight some vitally important aspects of Jesus' character and instruct us in our spiritual life.

Our Lord's willingness to be humiliated teaches us this important spiritual truth that he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. You know, many Christians think that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But personally, I am most grateful for the season leading up to and including Easter. Yes, I realized Easter was last Sunday but I've always been late my entire life. Besides, pastor was preaching last Sunday, not me.

So, this is my chance. Well, anyway, since Easter was indeed just last Sunday, I thought it might be good to spend a bit more time thinking about a specific aspect of our Lord's final days on earth. So we just recently completed our annual commemoration of what some call the passion week. It was the last week of Jesus Christ on this Earth, culminating in his crucifixion, his burial, and ultimately, glorious resurrection. Oh, yes.

The event celebrated Christmas. That is the birth of the messiah. Man, that's that's wonderful, certainly. Make no mistake about that. However, stop and consider this.

If somehow during the succeeding thirty three years of our savior's life on earth after his birth, Satan had managed to keep Christ from going to the cross, we would not have a savior at all. Surely, to fulfill God's plan of redemption for sinful mankind, God's son Jesus had to be born of a virgin. But to bring that plan to fruition, he had to suffer the humiliation of the cross and the burial in a borrowed tomb. However, even if everything proceeded to that point and he did not rise again from the dead, once more, I say to you, we would not have a savior capable of delivering us from the power of sin, which is death. So this morning, we will consider the events that occurred one week prior to Jesus' resurrection.

We wanna see an important truth that should jump out of the pages of scriptures to us from what happened on that first Palm Sunday nearly two thousand years ago. It's interesting that the final eight days of our Lord's life are so important that the Holy Spirit directed all four of the evangelists to write about it. The details vary a little bit, but at least two major spiritual truths about the life of our Lord and our life as believers in Jesus Christ are emphasized in these events. One of those truths has to do with the necessity of humiliation. The other has to do with compassion.

This morning, we're going look at the first of those truths as we now take a time journey in our minds back to that first Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Before we do that, let's pray and ask for the Holy Spirit to bless this message and our hearing of it. Heavenly father, we've come to the most important part of our worship service this morning. The preaching of your word. Who is sufficient to stand up and pronounce thus saith the Lord.

I'm certainly not sufficient for this task. I need you. Holy Spirit, please fill me. Please empower me. Please cleanse me.

May this message speak to the hearts of each dear soul present here today and may it bring great glory and honor to our savior Jesus. We ask it in your name, Lord. Amen. Remember, this was right before the Passover celebration. There were already mobs of people gathered from all over the Roman Empire together there in Jerusalem for that most important event in the religious calendar of the Jews?

Do you hear the noise of the shopkeepers hawking their wares to all the visitors who were mobbing the streets? Can you smell the intriguing and appetizing fragrances of the food being cooked in the stalls lining these narrow city streets? Oh, that reminds me of the suppertime strolls through our neighborhood in Iwaki, Japan. My gastric juices were really flowing by the time I got home. All I wanted to do was sit down and eat.

Oh, that's another time, another place. Back to Jerusalem two thousand years ago. How about some falafel or dates or dried apricots? They're all available right there in the stalls. Oh my, there's a less pleasant odor in the air today.

It's the smell of blood and burning flesh from all the sacrifices being offered at the temple. Definitely not a nice smell but still a very necessary thing. How else will our sins be gotten rid of if there's not a proper sacrifice offered to the God who made us? Boy, I'm telling you, these streets are really jammed with people. I can hardly elbow my way through this mob.

And I can't understand all these different languages that I'm hearing, these strangers talking in. That's especially annoying. I wonder if they're talking about me. Talk about interesting get ups. You see what that dude over there is wearing?

Is that ever outlandish? He must be from the far reaches of the empire. Uh-oh, better watch where you're walking. These camels and donkeys aren't known for their good manners when it comes to toilet training. It's almost like a circus or a zoo right here in Jerusalem.

Woah, here comes some sort of a procession. Who's that riding on the donkey over there? Look, people are cutting down palm branches. They're throwing them down on the ground in front of the donkey. Some folks are even throwing their garments down on the ground in front of the donkey.

Listen to all the people. What are they shouting? Hosanna to the son of David? The king of Israel? What's going on?

I've got to get closer and find out what's happening. First, we see Jesus riding in triumph into Jerusalem. Let's consider two things about his entry. First of all, his entry showed he was not afraid of the power and the malice of his enemies in Jerusalem. He came publicly.

Believe me, he had plenty of enemies. At this point in his ministry, Jesus did have numerous people who were dead set against him, not just the message that he was preaching from the word of God, repent, the kingdom of God is at hand. No, they they just wanted nothing at all to do with this man. In fact, in Luke nineteen forty seven, want to take a look there? We're in Luke 19 just a minute ago.

Verse 47 here, and he taught daily in the temple but the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him. They wanted to get rid of him. In Matthew twenty one fifteen, we read, and when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, did you notice that? Even the chief priests and scribes that. To when they heard the children cry do in the temple and saying, that.

Hosanna to the son of David, We're what was their reaction? They were sore, displeased. That means they were really ticked off. The disciples knew how much the religious and political leaders hated Jesus. That's one reason why they were so startled when he told them he planned to go up to Judea.

Look at John chapter 11. This is the incident where Lazarus was sick and he actually died. But Jesus was reluctant to initially go to where Lazarus was there in Bethany. We see in verses seven and eight of John chapter 11. Then after that, saith he to his disciples, let us go into Judea again.

His disciples said to him, master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee. And we're not talking about just throwing little pebbles to get them to go away. No, they were talking about big bricks, rocks to try to kill him, stone him to death. But you want to go back to the Judea? Yes, that was the plan.

That is also why then the disciples remarked that they would go up with him and die. Look at verse 16. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus unto his fellow disciples, let us also go that we may die with him. They fully expected some serious mistreatment. They anticipated that there was gonna be harm and there was gonna be danger, even to the point they were willing to die with Jesus.

But just stop and think about this for a moment. Just who are we talking about? Jesus is none other than the great I am. In fact, this is exactly how he identified himself on numerous occasions to the Jewish religious leaders and indeed to the high priest when he was being interrogated at the trial prior to his crucifixion. He said, I am.

When they they came to take him in the Garden Of Gethsemane, they asked or he asked, who are you looking for? They said, we're seeking Jesus of Nazareth. What did Jesus say? I am. I am.

They should have known who he was. They just didn't want to accept it. None other than the great I am, the creator God who rules the universe. He should be welcomed and adored. He should be honored and revered by every human being.

And yet the vast majority of the people living then and living now cared nothing about him or even worse, hated him so much they wanted to kill him. But Jesus accepted it. It was his father's will. He knew that. The king humbled himself.

Utter humiliation. Secondly, his triumphal entry to Jerusalem showed he would not avoid his coming passion. Few years ago, there was the movie known as the passion. And do you know what that theme of that movie was all about? It focused our attention very clearly on one aspect of the life of Jesus Christ, and that was his suffering right at the very end.

That's what the passion is a reference to, his suffering on the cross. He wasn't going to avoid it. When he was in the Garden Of Gethsemane, he prayed, Lord, if it's your will, father, if it's your will, let this cup pass away from me. Humanly speaking, he wasn't eager to face this kind of agony, this torture, this humiliation. Humanly speaking, his flesh shrank away from it.

But he said, nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. So here we see him at the time of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and he's coming resolutely with determination. He's going to fulfill the will of his father and he's coming triumphantly. He embraced the crowd's acclamations. He never once told the people to stop saying what they were saying.

They were very clearly acclaiming him as the king of Israel. You know what? Just as I was reading the passage this morning, it suddenly dawned on me. Let's just look at it again. Go back there to Luke chapter 19, please.

See if I can find it again. Verse 37, it says, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. And it was the multitude of the disciples. Those who were following Jesus, who believed he was more than just a man. They were acknowledging him to be their Messiah.

These were the ones who were crying out saying, blessed be the king that comes in the name of the Lord. It was the disciples, okay? But Jesus did not rebuke his disciples. They were saying, he's the king of Israel. Now, this actually seems a little bit like the height of presumption, right, rather than the humiliation that we're talking about here.

Perhaps if Jesus were a mortal man, it would have been presumptuous to accept these acclamations. But it is certainly alright to acknowledge the truth, right? Truthfully, Jesus was the son of David, the king of Israel. There's nothing wrong with accepting that truth. But even as Jesus embraced the acclamations of his own disciples, he knew what was in man's hearts, even his disciples' hearts.

And he therefore did not entrust himself to them. In other words, he knew that the throngs of people who wildly proclaimed him as the son of David and the king of Israel would soon turn completely on him and call crucify him. Crucify him. We don't want this man give us Barabbas. Put Jesus on the cross.

And all of his disciples would turn and forsake him. Even Peter denying three times that he even knew Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus had already frequently told his disciples just exactly what his fate would be. Look at Matthew chapter 20 here as an example. Turn back in your bible there to Matthew chapter 20 verses seventeen, eighteen, and 19.

Matthew chapter 20, I'll give you a chance to turn there. Chapter 20 verse 17 of Matthew. And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples apart in the way and said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man shall be betrayed under the chief priests and under the scribes and they shall condemn him to death and shall deliver him to the gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify him and the third day he shall rise again. Now the reference there to the son of man is a very clear self identification. Jesus himself referring to himself and identifying himself as part of mankind, part of humanity.

So he is going to go to the cross. He's going to suffer this humiliation. He's going to be tortured and put to death as a representative of mankind. But the point is, he's going to suffer. He's going to be humiliated.

He's going to be tortured, and he knew that was his fate. He knew within less than a week, this was all gonna take place. Now, he knew that so far in advance that on numerous occasions, he forewarned his disciples. He tried to prepare them. Most times, other passages, it says, they didn't understand what he was talking about.

They couldn't get it. Their eyes were not yet open spiritually. But Jesus knew. He knew what was gonna happen. So truly, he was resolute in his determination to fulfill his father's will.

What humble submission. Let's look now in more detail at the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I don't know if you're still there in Matthew, but look at Matthew 21 right now, please. Matthew chapter 21. We're gonna read verses one through 11.

This is a parallel passage to what we read earlier in Luke 19 dealing with the same basic event of the triumphal entry. We're gonna get a slightly different perspective, a different slant. When you have eyewitnesses to an event, each eyewitness will see certain details and perhaps miss others. And so that when you get eyewitness testimony to the very same event, there may be slight discrepancies, differences in what you're hearing. It doesn't mean that they're lying or that they're not truly eyewitnesses.

It just, that's the nature of eyewitness testimony. That verifies the truthfulness of what's being said here. Because no one individual sees everything perfectly except God. We don't do that as humans. So Matthew chapter 21, and when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage under the Mount Of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples saying unto them, go into the village over against you and straightway ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her.

Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, the Lord hath need of them and straightway he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets saying, tell you the daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh under thee meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them and brought the ass and the colt and put on them their clothes and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way.

Others cut down branches from the trees and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before and they followed cried saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. When he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this?

And the the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Now, just as I'm reading this, I noticed it doesn't specifically identify this great multitude as Jesus' disciples. We had to read that in a different parallel passage to get that detail. Doesn't mean that they weren't disciples here, and they were disciples there. It means that one of the evangelists saw that detail and it was impressed upon his mind and that's what he, under the Holy Spirit's guidance, wrote in his gospel.

Outwardly, Jesus' triumphal entry was mean. Doesn't mean what you think it means. It's not mean and nasty, but rather in appearance, it was poor in quality and rather inferior. Just talk and think about this for a minute. There were not only moms of people from all over the Roman Empire in the city at that time, but because of that and because of the potential for an uprising amongst these subjugated peoples, the presence of Roman soldiers from the local garrison was very obvious.

Soldiers were all over the place because they were there ready in an instant to put down any kind of subversive activities or uprisings or rebellions. And certainly, some of these Roman soldiers had perhaps participated in an imperial triumphal entrance into Rome. Perhaps after the vanquishing of Caesar's enemies, they would have seen what a real triumphal entrance was all about. They would know. This guy Jesus?

What is this? They would have laughed to scorn such a pathetic triumph as Jesus had here going on. Well, first of all, he rode upon a donkey's colt. Conquering kings came riding war horses. They weren't riding on jackasses.

Yes, someday Jesus will do that very thing. He will come riding on a war horse. But at this moment in time, Jesus was coming to bring peace, reconciliation, binding up of those that have been separated, alienated from their creator. He wasn't coming to bring war and condemnation and judgment. Not at that time.

Although Jesus came in humiliation, it is interesting to note that he still demonstrated his power over creation. As a human being, he was being humiliated. He lowered himself. He put himself down. And yet, as God come in the flesh, he ruled over his creation.

He demonstrated his power over creation by riding an unbroken colt, the foal of an ass. This donkey didn't buck and fight and resist having this man, Jesus, riding astride his back. Remember, that's not typical. Usually, unbroken foals are going to buck and kick and resist and fight and try to get that thing off their back. This colt didn't do that.

He just meekly submitted the touch of his creator, docilely submitted to the control of the master. How totally unlike the human beings Jesus came to save. Don't we often stubbornly resist the controlling and guiding hand of our creator? You can be honest. It's true.

We all do that. Notice also that the colt was borrowed. Jesus did not even own or have the money to purchase the animal upon which he rode in his own triumph. Once again, we see his utter humiliation. Humanly speaking, he was totally dependent on others even in the matter of his triumphal procession.

Such humility. He didn't complain about it. He didn't demand to have all the best. He humbly yielded himself to whatever the father's will and plan was. There were no rich trappings for him.

No. He sat not upon a richly crafted gilded saddle from Morocco or Spain. Did you notice that he did not disdain to sit upon the clothes of his disciples? And how about the people who crowded along the pathway to salute him? They were nobodies, mostly from Galilee.

These were poor people. All the show they could make was to spread their garments in front of Jesus for the donkey to walk on. No Persian carpets. No casting down of crowns. Putting gold and silver and gems and strewing them on the road in front of a conquering war horse ridden by a king, pompously donning all kinds of ermine furs and things like that that you expect to see a king wearing.

No. Just the ragged clothes they took off their own backs and threw on the ground in front of the donkey for him to walk on. There's one more important thing to notice. Look at Matthew 21 verse 10. When he was coming to Jerusalem all the city was moved saying, who is this?

Jesus' disciples certainly knew he was someone very special and they revered and adored and honored and worshiped him. In fact, because we had the eyewitness account of John, we realized that it was the disciples who were crying out these magnificent things declaring that Jesus was the son of David, that he was coming in the the name of God and he was the king of Israel but all the city said, who is this? The movers and shakers, the important people, the bankers, the real estate agents, the religious leaders, the government leaders, the tax collectors, all the important people. Not even one of them had any inkling who this man was. Frankly, they didn't care except for the fact that he was making things hot for them.

They should all have been present along the processional road, prostrating themselves in worship before the king of the universe. Instead, they were all preoccupied with their own affairs. How like mankind today. Nothing's really changed, has it? We're just as preoccupied with what's going on in our lives now as they were in their time.

But they missed the moment never to be retrieved for them again. They could have been there and with their own eyes, seeing the king of glory entering into Jerusalem. They could have bowed down before him and worshiped him. They missed their opportunity. Oh yes, Jesus truly is the king of the Jews, but he humbled himself and became no more than a despised, taken for granted servant.

You don't even acknowledge them. You don't even call them by their name. They're not important. They're just fixtures there in the room. He was lower than the lowest.

How do we know that's true? Turn to Philippians chapter two, and you'll see. Philippians chapter two verses five through eight. The apostle Paul is writing and exhorting us to let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, think and respond the way he thought and responded.

Be the kind of person that Jesus is. Well, verse six, it says about Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Did you see that? No reputation, servant, humbled himself, obedient, died.

Yes, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, the creator of all things, humbled himself. His entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey's colt actually was a fulfillment of an ancient scripture that Matthew and John both recalled that detail and they wrote about it in their accounts. Zechariah chapter nine verse nine, we won't turn there but I'm gonna read to you this verse. Zechariah, written hundreds of years before the time of Jesus, wrote, rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee.

He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Did you hear that word lowly? Yes. Jesus made himself the lowest, most humble servant. Well, we have seen that Jesus submitted himself to humiliation.

He willingly did that so those who knew not the depths of their own depravity and the vastness of their spiritual need could indeed have a savior. For you see, if he had not willingly done this, if at any point along the pathway he had said, nope, that's enough. I'm not putting up with this anymore. After all, I am God. They should be bowing down and worshiping me.

Isn't that how we would think? That's how I would think. But Jesus could have said, no. I'm not gonna put up with this. If he had said no, we could just close the book and go home.

There's no hope for any of us. If he had not gone to the cross, if he had not humbled himself but he did. Can we do any less as we seek to follow and serve our savior? Let us willingly humble ourselves in the service of our Lord and savior. Then we will be truly following in his steps.

But even as I give us this challenge to humble ourselves, I certainly realize that no one of us can naturally do this. No. We are all naturally proud. In our own eyes, we are special. We naturally look down with condescension on others.

They should serve us. Isn't that right? Have I nailed it? Isn't that what we all truly think in our heart of hearts? It's true, and you know it's true.

That just emphasizes how desperately we all do need Jesus as our savior. And he would not have been the savior if he had not humbled himself. Let us beg for his mercy, crying out like the publican, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. Because he will graciously hear and answer such a prayer. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we just have to stand back in utter awe at our savior, the one who came to this earth, who lived a perfect life. Never once did he succumb to the temptations that were there. He always did what was right. He willingly humbled himself. He became a servant, the lowest of the low.

He didn't do that because it was necessary, but because he wanted to. He knew if he had not done what he did, there could be no salvation for any one of the countless human beings that you have created in the history of this Earth. Adam and Eve would not have been able to go to heaven. David, the man after God's own heart, would not have been a good enough person to go to heaven. Peter would not have been able to have his sins forgiven and I would still be wandering in the darkness.

Lord Jesus, we praise your name. We worship you. Bring glory to your name here this morning. In Jesus name, we ask this. Amen.