Triumph in Death

As we will study today in our sermon, we learn that Jesus has triumphed over His enemies. He did so but not in the way that was expected. At His entry into Jerusalem, the crowds were eager to anoint Him King. They needed a Savior and Jesus was the One. The problem, though, was that a week later, their Savior died and so did their hopes.

         We know that they were mistaken. Jesus really was and is the King of Kings but His manner of Lordship is different than we expect. We have all been made in God’s image, which includes taking dominion over the Earth. We are born to rule. But that rule, in Jesus’s kingdom, looks different than all the earthly kings, ancient and modern. We do not rule through a political power play but rather through the servant leadership of a shepherd. We lay down our lives for the sheep. We serve one another even unto death. We give ourselves away in order to gain the entire Kingdom of God.

         And to the extent that we have expressed our God-given authority to rule by lording it over others rather than serving others, then we must humble ourselves, repent of our sin and learn the way of Christ’s Kingdom, rule through service, suffering, death and resurrection.