The humble King brings peace!
Luke 19:38- “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
What do you want from the king or ruler of the country? Most want to have stability and peace to enjoy daily living without fear. This is an ideal situation but a rarity. It almost seems as if the more we live in this world, the more chaotic it becomes. This in turn makes us desire stability and peace more and more. It is a cycle that never seems to be satisfied no matter what ruler we have. This makes me wonder if the people in Jerusalem at the time Jesus entered into the city had this same kind of thoughts.
At this time in Israel’s history, they were not ruling themselves, but under the rule of Rome. They had not stability and peace but had to be subjected to Roman rule. But they had hope! God promised a King to bring peace and stability. They would recognize this peace when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Is it a surprise that they would be celebrating Jesus and calling him King as he came into Jerusalem? Finally, their long wait is over and peace from the Romans was at hand, or so they thought.
However, instead of removing the Romans, Jesus did nothing. If anything, he went after the Jewish leaders and other Jews in the temple. Then he told the people to give to Caeser’s what is Caeser’s and to God what is God’s. There was no talk of removing Roman tyranny. Where was the peace God promised? Perhaps this was the reason why so many turned on Jesus five days later and cried out “Crucify him”. They did not understand the peace he was bringing to completion.
There was peace our King was bringing, but Rome was not the true enemy. The King was bringing peace over sin and death. The King was making peace possible with sinners and a Holy God! Our King ushered in an eternal peace we all needed. Jesus’ peace transcends time which reaches to us today.
What did our King get for his work, our sin! Jesus the true King was not in it for himself. He humbled himself and emptied himself of all his glory and majesty to bring us true and lasting peace. Through his humble service, we now are at peace with God forever. We have a place in his kingdom forever, and no amount of troubles in this world can take this peace away from us!
Dear glorious King, we thank and praise you for humbling yourself to make peace between us, sinners, and your perfect Father. Let us remember the true peace we have though you and your sacrifice so that we do not lose hope, but look forward to the day we enter your heavenly glory! In your name we pray. Amen!