What happens when we center our hearts and lives around the idea that Jesus is King?
This past year one of the shows our family enjoyed watching together was America’s Got Talent.
If you know anything about this show, it’s basically a talent show where over the course of the season candidates perform and the group is narrowed down by a panel of judges and by the votes of millions of Americans until 1 .
Until there is 1 champion.
Last year, a magician by the name of Shin Lim won season 13 of America’s Got Talent. As the champion of season 13 he won 1 million dollars and, of course, his career as an entertainer and a magician took off!
Then, Shin Lim got a phone call.
America’s Got Talent wanted to have him come back and compete again. But this wouldn’t be just another season of America’s Got Talent. That wouldn’t make any sense. He’s already won the show once.
No. This time they wanted to do a special season called, America’s Got Talent: The Champions.
The idea was to bring back 50 of the best acts from previous seasons as well as winners from America’s Got Talent and the Got Talent shows from other countries.
The goal was to crown the champion of champions.
Crowning a Champion
This is what we do, isn’t it?
We’re always looking for ways to identify and crown a champion.
This was no different nearly 2000 years ago when Jesus walked the planet.
After his public ministry of nearly 3 years in which He healed hundreds if not thousands of sick people, after feeding thousands of hungry people, after casting out demons, raising the dead, teaching the masses, walking on water, calming storms and who know’s what else… Jesus is making His way to Jerusalem.
If you were living in Israel at this time then you’ve heard about Jesus. You may have seen Him in action. Seen the unexplainable things that He had done.
Rumors are spreading, people are wondering, could this be? Is Jesus from Nazareth the one we’ve been looking for?
For hundreds of years now there has been no prophet from God. No word from God. No leader from God. In fact, it’s been 400 years since anyone could point to a time when they had actually heard a word from God.
But now, something is happening. The season is changing. People are starting to believe that their C, their King, their Messiah has arrived.
And now people from all over Israel are gathering in Jerusalem for Passover. This is a national holiday. An annual event. Every year people travel from far away places to Jerusalem to worship, to celebrate, and to remember when God delivered them from Egypt. And they’re praying that God would deliver them again.
With worshipers gathered from all over Israel in Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus makes His entrance. Here’s how Matthew tells the story…
Jesus, a Donkey & the King
As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.’”
The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in heaven!”
The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered.
“Who is this?” they asked.
And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Matthew 21.1-11
Jesus, this prophet from the no-name town of Nazareth is the one they’re calling king. Jesus, riding on a donkey, is seen as a king, the Son of David.
What happens when Jesus of Nazareth is the One you call King?
A few months ago when we were in Jerusalem, we walked part of the path through the city that is known as the Via Dolorosa.
On Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem with the crowds shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord!” But on Friday, the crowds were shouting, “Crucify Him!”
The Via Dolorosa is traditionally known as the path that Jesus walked through the city of Jerusalem while he carried the cross on His back on His way to Golgotha, the place where He would be crucified. This probably wasn’t the actual path. The Via Dolorosa was marked off long after the time of Jesus. But along the path, you’ll see signs around Jerusalem that mark what they call the Stations of the Cross. These are places where different things happened along His journey to His death.
This picture is Station 5. Tradition says that this is where Jesus fell beneath the weight of the cross and Simon the Cyrene was ordered to help Jesus carry the cross.
As we were walking along this path, I noticed one of the older members of our group was moving pretty slow. The streets of Jerusalem are not easy to walk. The stone paths have been worn down by millions of pilgrims. So they’re rather slick. Add to that the fact that it felt like, no matter which way you went, you’re almost always walking uphill in Jerusalem!
So I walked up behind my friend. He’s a retired teacher. He’s had both hips replaced. But he wanted to come on this trip to the Holy Land to see where Jesus walked.
I asked him if he was ok. That’s when he looked me in the eye and said, “I’m just fine. I don’t have to carry a cross up this hill.”
My eyes filled with tears as I realized that whatever pain he was feeling, he knew it didn’t compare to the pain Jesus felt that day. He was going to walk up this hill and He wasn’t going to complain about it for a minute because He had already made a decision that He was going to walk where Jesus walked, He was going to follow His King, He had decided to follow Jesus.
That’s what happens when you decide to follow Jesus. When you decide to SEE JESUS as your King.
The King of Your Heart
You see, the King of your heart determines the course of your life.
Jesus once said it this way, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16.24
Whatever direction your life is heading in right now, whatever it is your pursuing, that’s a direct result of what is sitting on the throne of your heart!
You will serve the king that sits on the throne of your heart. You will serve the king you’ve centered your heart and life on right now.
For some of you, that is a relationship. For some of you, it’s your career. For others, it’s your appearance. For some, its wealth and the accumulation of more possessions.
For some of us, it’s the pursuit of our own name, our own fame.
For some, it’s anxiety. For others, it’s fear. Whatever it is that sits on the throne of your heart, that’s your king.
But what happens when Jesus is King?
The Rest of the Story
By the way, when Shin Lim got the call to be a part of America’s Got Talent: The Champions, he said yes. Along with 50 other contestants he competed to be crowned the champion of champions. The best of the best. And guess what, HE WON.
But the champion we’re talking about today wasn’t a magician. He did things people couldn’t explain. But they weren’t magic tricks. He was acting with the authority and power of God.
The question is, will he get your vote? Will He be your Champion? Will you choose Him to be your King?
He’s a King unlike any other king.
He proved it with His humility and love. He enters our lives like He entered the city on that day, in humility with a deep desire to be seen as the King of your heart.
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