The Coming of the King

Today, we’re going to do what we often do. We’re going to look into some history. We’re going to look into the past. And why would we want to do that? We do that so that we can live in the present with an eye on the future. And the history that we are going to do this reflecting on is the history of the people of God. And the particulars for today are quite familiar.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” Matthew 21.1-11

There are different themes that run through this account of what happened that day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. But this is the first thing that I want you to notice: the excitement of the people. Listen again to what they were shouting.

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

The people there were yelling their praise. They were excited. And the words of the prophet explain why.

Behold, your king is coming to you…

Okay. So, a king has arrived. Great. Why should that cause so much excitement? It’s because all of those people were told from the days of their youth that the day would come when the one God had promised would arrive. The anointed one. The Messiah. And he would be like King David. He would conquer their enemies and usher in a glorious era for the people of God. So, here comes someone claiming to be that Messiah, that conqueror, that rescuer. He has shown up and has done things, miracles. And that is all the evidence they needed to prove that He is the one sent from God. He is the promised king. And everyone there knew that things were going to change as a result.

And what better time to celebrate all of this: Passover. That is the celebration of another time of great change and rescue and conquest: the exodus from Egypt, the house of slavery. Their God had acted then. And now, He would act again. It only makes sense for their pent-up desires to explode. It only makes sense for the people to be so very excited. Their hope had come. God had kept His promise.

Now, that’s ancient history. What does it have to do with you?

The Bible is a fascinating book. The more you study it, the more you see its intricacies, its layers, its beauty. It teaches truth, and it does that in some very different and striking ways.

There are times when you read your Bible that you’ll find some straight-ahead command like,

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39

But other times you’ll read something not so direct, something that requires a little time to consider, something like,

Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things; he who purses his lips brings evil to pass. Proverbs 16:30

Then, there are those historical events that are a picture of something else, a prophetic picture of something that would come about in the future. One example of this is Joshua who, long ago, led the people of God into the Promised Land. That is a picture of what Jesus is doing today.

When we come to Jesus’ royal entrance into Jerusalem there are layers upon layers of meaning. Here’s the one that I want you to notice today. The people in our text were caught up in what was happening. They knew that big changes were about to happen: rescue, conquest. Hopes held on to for centuries were about to be satisfied. So, they exploded in exuberant excitement. Their King had come.

What happened then is a prophetic picture of something else. The day would come when another group of people would be caught up in what is happening. These would also know that big changes were about to happen: rescue and conquest. Hopes held on to for centuries would then be satisfied. And those who would be waiting for it would explode in exuberant excitement. The King comes - a second time.

There were those, a remnant back then, who were waiting for, who were hoping for, the coming of the promised King. Here, just consider Simeon and Anna as examples. Other faithful saints like these two were waiting for this promise to be kept, and it affected their whole lives.

There are, likewise today, those who are waiting for, hoping for, a second coming of the promised King. It just may be that these can also be labeled a remnant. And the sign that they are this remnant can be found in how this waiting and hoping affects their lives. I want you to be among them. I want you to be among those who look forward to Jesus’ return with excitement just as those people accompanying Jesus into Jerusalem long ago were excited. I want you to know and to be excited about the big change that is coming: rescue and conquest. The King is coming.

This morning I am going to talk about only one slice of all the change that will happen. I’m going to talk about the destruction of our ancient foe. I’m going to talk about Satan. I’m going to talk about how Jesus will remove him completely from the scene. For you to appreciate better what that will mean, I will first need to lay out for you some, though only some, of what Satan is about. It is my desire that having a better sense of the evil that he is will result in you getting excited about the thought of him being gone. It is my hope that, as a result, you will enthusiastically hope for and look forward to his demise at the return of the King.

Let’s start with this.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. Genesis 3:1

‘More crafty than’. Other translations render this as ‘more subtle than’ or ‘more shrewd than’ or even ‘the most cunning of’. What an apt description of our enemy. And he uses this skill to trick you so that you will think and behave like he does. And he is quite good at this. He knows that it works well to use a little truth. So, would Eve really become like God, knowing good and evil? That’s what Satan promised. Is it true? Oh yes, it is. Satan didn’t lie about that. It’s just that she would come to know the difference between good and evil by experiencing evil and only in that way understand evil’s opposite, the good. God intended the reverse. He wanted her to experience good and, in only that way, understand its opposite, evil. Satan used a little truth to hide the greater lie.

Satan pulls that trick on you every day. And when you fall for his tricks, at least in that moment, you are siding with him and life gets that much more difficult. So much evil affects our lives and the lives of those nearest to us because of his cunning.

Satan is also an accuser.

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zechariah 3:1

And what was Satan accusing him about?

Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. Zechariah 3:3

This isn’t about hygiene. It’s about sin. The filth of those high priestly garments was a symbol for the great sinfulness of Israel. And there is Satan ready to accuse.

Have you never sinned and then heard Satan’s accusing voice? ‘Look at what you did. How wicked! And you call yourself a Christian? You don’t expect to be forgiven for that now, do you? Really, not even God could forgive what you did.’ And what is the intended result of this ploy? Guilt and shame, leading to hopelessness. ‘I guess it’s true. Not even God could forgive me for what I did.’

Could this be what Peter was concerned about when he wrote,

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Is this how Satan devours, by accusing?

Satan is also a controller. He does that in different ways. Let me give you some examples.

Consider the time when Jesus healed a woman who was bent over and could not stand straight. Do you remember what Jesus said when some complained because He did that on a Sabbath?

And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? Luke 13:16

It was Satan who tortured that poor woman. That was how he worked to control her. Not all health problems are simply a matter of a body not working right. There are those times when it is Satan who is behind the illness. Remember Job.

Or consider the man with the legion of demons, those servants of Satan. What a horror of a life. Try to imagine what it must have been like to be that man. The torment. The loneliness. The hopelessness. So, what do you think? Does Satan do anything like that today?

Or consider this encouragement from Jesus to one of His churches.

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

Now, if you were there, would you have seen the devil come to arrest those faithful saints? No. Satan can use others, control others, to inflict his evil on the saints and he often does.

There is more that could be said about our ancient antagonist, but I think that this gives you enough to appreciate this description of reality,

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

So, again, Satan is real. He is busy. And he hates you. He is at you every day whether you realize that it’s him or not. And the fact of the matter is that he wins an awful lot of battles against you as he does his best to make your life as awful as he can. And again, it is his great desire to see you cast into the same lake of fire that he will have to endure forever.

Now, I said all of that so that I could say this. When our King arrives, it all comes to an end. Satan and all his cunning, all his accusations, all his devouring, all his controlling and all the rest of his wickedness - when Jesus comes again all of that is over. Big change: rescue and conquest. And those who have fought the hardest against this wickedness will rejoice the most. They will explode with exuberant excitement. The King has come! Satan with all his vileness is gone.

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Before I tell you what to do with all of this, I want you to know my goal for this sermon. It’s simply this. I want you to see reality more clearly. In this sermon, that means two things. I want you to see more clearly that you have an enemy who hates you with a hatred that you’ve never experienced anywhere else. It is not wise to try to move through life without being aware of Satan and his rage. How can you follow Jesus faithfully while ignorant of the one who is doing all that he can to stop you from pursuing that kind of life?

Here’s the other aspect of reality that I want you to see more clearly. There is an end to this evil. The King is coming. Jesus will return. And that is something to be very excited about.

But I don’t hear or read much about that these days. And a decline in interest in Jesus’ return can all too easily be the fruit of getting too comfortable in this world.

James has some strong words for any who fall for this cunning move by Satan.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4

James was laying a charge against the saints that he was writing to. I am not doing that with you. But I am using James’ words to warn you of a danger that is not taken as seriously as it needs to be among American Christians today.

And that leads to the last part of the sermon.

Here are three things for you to do with all of this.

First, pray. That’s always at the top of any list of things to do. What can we accomplish that is of any real good without the blessing, power and grace of the Father? Prayer is always first.

And I will be specific about what to pray. As I’ve told you before, it is my habit to pray the Lord’s Prayer as part of my morning prayers. In that prayer you will find this petition: ‘Deliver us from evil’. When I pray that, I am reminded of the evil that infests this world. I am reminded of Satan and his wickedness. I am reminded of the suffering that is the result of that wickedness. So, that petition becomes a cry of my soul to the Father. It becomes a prayer for my King to return, so that we would be delivered from Satan’s evil. I would encourage you to pray for the same. Use the Lord’s Prayer or do it some other way. But pray for us all to be delivered from Satan’s evil.

Second, hope. Listen to a favorite of mine from Isaiah.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall,

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:30,31 [NKJV]

A life of fighting against the evil of this age, the evil of Satan, is wearying. But the promise here is that there will be strength to continue the battle if you wait on the Lord. And this waiting is not some passive sitting and doing nothing. This is about looking forward, expecting something to happen. Or to say it differently, this is about hoping. We wait for the Lord to keep His promise. He has promised that the King will come, and that, when He comes, it will be the perfect and complete end of every bit of Satan’s evil. That foul serpent will be crushed, done away with, destroyed. And all will be well. So, believe the Lord’s promise and hope.

And that leads to my third suggestion of what to do. This comes from Peter’s second letter as he discusses what will happen at Jesus’ return.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God… 2 Peter 3:11–12

First, Peter encourages holy conduct and godliness. And what is that but the exact opposite of the kind of person that Satan is trying to get you to be. Obedience here will be a battle, but you will be surprised at what the Spirit can do in your life as, depending on His grace, you work at those two qualities. But then, Peter writes, ‘looking for and hastening’ Jesus return. The ‘looking for’ is tied to Isaiah’s ‘waiting’. But then, there is this ‘hastening’. I have always found that so striking. What you do in your battles with Satan - your efforts at holy conduct and godliness, your waiting in hope for God to keep His promise, your working at being a faithful disciple - these are the sorts of things that the Spirit will use to actually hasten the coming of that day, things He will use to make the return of our King happen sooner. So, I would urge you to take Peter’s words to heart.

We’ve looked at what happened on that day long ago when King Jesus entered His royal city. And that event was filled with meaning for the people there on that day. What I want you to see is that what happened then is also intended to be an encouragement for you. The King is coming - again. Prepare to be excited when that happens.