When the people of God, the children of Israel, first asked the prophet Samuel to give them a king, so that they might be like all the other nations, he rebuked them for their lack of faithfulness to God, Who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, provided for them miraculously in the desert, made a covenant with them, and brought them to a land that was not theirs and established them in it. What need did they have for a king, when God was in their midst? Yet, because of the hardness of their hearts, after warning them about what a king would require of them – including taxes, and the service of their sons and daughters – Samuel eventually anointed and crowned the man Saul to be the king of Israel.
Saul, unfortunately, proved to be all too human, and did exactly what Samuel had warned that kings do. As long as Saul listened to the commands of God, he ruled wisely, and the people of Israel flourished; but when he departed from the ways of God, the blessing of God was taken from him and given to another: to David, the son of Jesse, who would be king after Saul.
David, the shepherd who became the king, united the people of God, and made Israel a great nation. His son Solomon ruled after him; but Solomon also departed from the ways of God, and when his son became king, many rebelled against him, and the land was divided into two kingdoms, and Israel declined as a nation among the others in the region. They were conquered by invader after invader; and, by the time that God fulfilled His promise to send a Deliverer, our Lord Jesus Christ, the nation of Israel was a captive people, ruled by the Roman Empire. As such, the people awaited the coming of the Messiah, and looked to Him to establish the kingdom, restoring them to the prominence they had held when David was king.
We can certainly understand, then, the people who praised our Lord Jesus Christ as their king as He entered into Jerusalem. After all, He had just raised Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb! No mortal man has the power to do such a thing; surely God meant to establish His kingdom! But they were thinking in earthly terms only; and so did not comprehend what was taking place. By week’s end, most of those who had celebrated Hus arrival were crying out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” as the high priests were declaring, “We have no king but Caesar.”
In this land, we do not have a king today. We have not acknowledged any man as king for some 230 years now. As such, even when we use phrases such as, “our Lord Jesus Christ,” we don’t usually associate the term “lord” with that of “king.” If we think about why our Lord Jesus came to us, we usually say that He came to save our souls, to set us free from sin by trampling down death by death. All of this is true, of course – but it does not give us the whole picture.
The whole problem began in the Garden, when Adam and Eve followed their own desires, rather than obeying the will of God. In doing so, they separated themselves from God, the Giver of Life. When you are not connected to life, of course, you are dead. By His grace and mercy, Adam and Eve did not lose their existence; but something crucial in them died; and, as well, they became subject to physical death – a new, and unpleasant, condition for them. Our Lord Jesus says of Himself and His mission, “I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.”
When we come to Him in faith, asking forgiveness, He forgives our sins. When we come to Him in prayer, asking for help in our weakness, or sickness, or our struggle with our passions, He gives strengthening, and healing, and victory.
But we must also ask ourselves, how does He come to us? The answer is that He comes to us to be our King. Not a king in the sense of a tyrant, or an oppressor – but a king nevertheless, Who is meant to rule over us, to govern us, and Whom we are meant to obey. Think about it: why should we not do as He asks? After all, every direction, every instruction – every command – is not to exalt His position, or to gain riches or fame or any other earthly benefit for Himself. Everything we are told to do by Him is meant for our transformation, and so for our salvation – meant to make us citizens in good standing, entitled to dwell in and partake of the benefits of His kingdom. He comes in peace, to make peace, and allow us to dwell with Him in peace. He comes with love for each and every one of us, that we might love Him, and love and care for each other, and to show His love to all the world – and who among us, what person is there, who does not need and desire to be loved?
Brothers and sisters, today the Church places before us the remembrance of our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem, and His proclamation by the people to be their King. Let us also welcome Him into our hearts, and let us live in obedience to His commands. Let us surrender ourselves to Him by embracing the way of life of the Church – prayer, and fasting, giving, and struggling against our passions; loving and worshipping God, and loving God in each other, and in all who are made in His image. O Lord Jesus Christ, we pray Thee: Be the Lord of our hearts and the King and Master of our lives; to the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.
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