The King of Peace

The best form of government is a Monarchy.

The history of the West, long before America's War for Independence, has gone through all sorts of political strife and structures. We're born into one political system and think that's the way it's always been. But a Constitutional Republic - the sort that we're blessed with in America - is a very recent endeavor in our overall historical narrative.

The West has tried on all sorts of political clothes. Our current system of modern liberty is pretty new, and can trace its roots to the Protestant Reformation.

John Calvin summarized the basic options we have when it comes to government institutions: a Monarchy, an Aristocracy, or a Democracy. Samuel Rutherford wrote Lex Rex, arguing for a Constitutional limited government. John Locke expounded on the people's consent. And James Madison put a lot of that together when he drafted much of the United States Constitution.

Today we enjoy the blessings of these ideas in consequence. A Constitutional Republic with limited government is the best form of government we've had on this side of Adam's rebellion.

We have had to try on all these political clothes, dressing and changing, because men are sinners.

In Federalist 51, James Madison writes,

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. (Federalist 51)

And yet, men are not angels. Men are depraved. Limited authority is the best bet we have when having to deal with the sinful ambitions of men.

And so, we argue and debate, filibuster and freeze budgets, vote and elect. It limits sin, yes. But it also limits righteousness. It limits the good a righteous ruler may intend to do. It's necessary, yes. And it's all extremely inefficient and exhausting. And, even with all of the checks and balances, how much evil still gets through?

That's why I believe the best form of government is a Monarchy... as long as you have an inherently wise and fully righteous monarch. If there was no sin, the most efficient and productive form of government would be a monarch ruling with expediency, building for the good of his constituents.

And that's what we will have in King Jesus. He will rule as a Monarch, an Emperor. There will be no need for our votes controlling folly; no need for our political theory controlling sinful ambition. We will not be poor subjects waiting for permission from a power-hungry tyrant. No, we will rule as kings. We will build, make decisions, and bear productive fruit. But we will be kings within his Empire, laying down our crowns at his feet.

There will be no sin and no strife. We will live in the Kingdom of Peace, with the King of Peace at its helm. What a day that will be. And that King of Peace reveals himself by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey colt some 2000 years ago.

For this Palm Sunday, we're going to review that scene from Luke chapter 19, verses 28-44. I'm going to pull 3 main points out of this section. It's 3 points about the King.

The King Reveals Himself (28-35)

We typically associate the Triumphal Entry with Jesus coming into town like he normally would, and a spontaneous crowd bursts out into praise. But that's not what we see happen here. Jesus is not a passive actor in this scene, simply receiving praise. Not at all. Jesus is the one who sets the entire scene up. He's the protagonist.

Jesus sent 2 disciples to bring the colt that he knew was ready for him. And to make sure the owners knew it, they were told, "The Lord has need of it."

Jesus then sits on this colt and rides it into the city. This is the only recorded moment in the 4 gospels when Jesus rides an animal. So, no, this was not just another normal stroll into town that was interrupted by the crowd. Like an effective politician, he set this up.

Jesus was not responding to what they were doing. They were responding to what he was doing. He planned this. He organized it. He made it happen. Jesus intended for exactly this to occur.

Jesus was revealing himself to be the King the prophets spoke of, in line with the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. Him organizing for a colt to be ready for him to enter Jerusalem is on purpose. This is a symbolic act to show the people that he is their king.

Where earlier he would tell people not to make him known, here he is very explicit in his communication. He's proclaiming himself to be the Messiah. He is revealing himself to be the long-awaited, rightful King of Israel.

The prophecy in Zechariah tells us what the colt was supposed to demonstrate - humility.

Yes, there will be a time when King Jesus will enter on a great white horse. But this entry is introducing the humble king. So humble, in fact, that not only is he riding a donkey, but he's riding the colt of a donkey - an animal that has not even been prepared to be ridden. The colt demonstrates the humility of the king.

But don't let his humility deceive you. He very much is the King. He has revealed himself to be. And he receives worthy praise.

The King Receives Praise (36-40)

This multitude is acknowledging Jesus as "the King who comes in the name of the Lord." They publicly proclaimed him to be. "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" The crowds exclaim.

This was indeed pretty risky for Jesus. This is not a private confession, as was Peter's. This is a public rally heralding Jesus as the Son of David - the rightful King of the Jews. The religious leaders are based in Jerusalem. King Herod is in Jerusalem. If Jesus didn't want to draw this sort of attention, he would've told the disciples to cut it out.

But the exact opposite happens. Not only was it Jesus' initiative to make a scene here, when the Pharisees tell him to make his disciples stop, he rejects their demand. Jesus approves of the behavior of the crowd, and says it must happen. "It's either them or the stones." I don't think the stones crying out would have helped the Pharisees' case.

Again, the King is the protagonist. He's not passive. The emphasis is to be put on Jesus revealing himself and receiving their praise. He set it up to happen. And he approves of it happening.

The King Pronounces Judgement (41-44)

Luke is the only one who records this part of the Triumphal Entry about Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus approaches Jerusalem as the rightful King of Israel. He receives the welcome and praise, but he knows what's about to happen. He knows that the leaders of the city, along with many in it, will reject him. They will do so because they don't know the things that make for peace.

The things that make for peace were hidden from their eyes, and so they did not know the time of their visitation.

This is where many commentators, I believe, mistake what's happening. They claim that the Jews misunderstood the nature of the Messiah's rule. If they would have seen that the rule of the Messiah was to be spiritual, with a spiritual kingdom, they would have received their King.

Except that the context of Zechariah is about a physical kingdom, not a spiritual, non-political one. You can't eisegete the text and call it exegesis. And the most common title for the awaited for king of Israel - the Messiah - is the "Son of David." Where was David's throne? On earth. So, where will the Son of David's throne be? On earth. The "Son of David" is not a heavenly title.

So, no, Jesus' rule should not be reduced to a spiritual reality. Jesus' claim was and is political. The Jews did not misunderstand the nature of his rule.

What they misunderstood was its means.

The rule of the Messiah was, indeed, going to be physical. But the way he was going to bring about his physical reign was through spiritual means. He was going to build it inside-out. The cup would be washed on the inside, so that the outside would be clean. The Kingdom of the Son of David will be brought about through changed hearts turning to him for forgiveness and cleansing - a people made new. The Kingdom of the Son of David is more than physical, but it isn't less.

And because the Jews reject their King, they are judged by the King. Because they did not know the things that make for peace, they will not have peace.

What Makes for Peace

Notice how Luke introduces the Triumphal Entry. Right before Jesus entering Jerusalem, Luke tells us about Jesus' Parable of the Ten Minas. We usually remember the nobleman who gave minas to his servants. But that parable also included citizens who lived on the nobleman's lands who "hated him" and said, "We do not want this man to reign over us." And the very last verse of that parable is the nobleman dealing with these citizens, whom he now calls his enemies.

Luke bookends the Triumphal Entry with the parable of the nobleman slaughtering his enemies who didn't want him to reign over them, and with Jesus weeping over Jerusalem because it rejected the things that make for peace. Luke's depiction of the Triumphal Entry and Israel's rejection of its King is him playing out that section of the Parable of the Ten Minas in real time.

What makes for peace? What does peace have to do with government?

Peace is the end of government. That's the entire point of good politics. Peace for its constituents is the ultimate objective of the government institution, whether it be a monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy.

The reason we want our God-given rights secured, the reason we want justice upheld, is so that we can have peace. Without rights secured, there is only tyranny. Without justice, there is only strife. Without the preservation of life, li...