Hosanna to the True King!

This sermon was preached by Pastor Ted Carnahan for Palm/Passion Sunday, March 29, 2026.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with all of you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

There's so much to cover in the reading of the Passion (or the suffering) of our Lord Jesus Christ that I could preach a good long time on all of the different aspects and all the things that come to mind. But I want to focus today on the different ways that Jesus indicates that he truly is a king.

Even early in our readings, he says:

"I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

So he speaks of a kingdom which is of his Father, of his Father God, the Father who has a heavenly kingdom and speaks of this coming into his kingdom, King Jesus, looking ahead to his return.

He is asked the question:

"Are you the king of the Jews?"

— a question which is seeking not so much facts, but self-incrimination. Are you going to claim to be a king? Because if you do claim to be a king, then I will punish you for your blasphemy.

Or the mocking of the soldiers striking him and dressing him in a robe and putting a crown of thorns upon his head, beating him and shouting:

"Hail, king of the Jews!"

— an ironic epithet, because that is exactly who Jesus is.

And we cannot forget the inscription placed over the head of Jesus while he hung upon the cross, which often in our art is abbreviated with four letters. If you've ever seen INRI on the top of a crucifix, that is a Latin abbreviation for what was originally written in three different languages (Latin, Greek, and Aramaic) that said, "Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews."

It was not a sign to tell people the truth, though. In their sense, they intended to humiliate the Jewish people and in the crucifixion of Jesus, proclaim Roman domination.

But I specifically want to look at the last place where the kingship of Jesus is mentioned in our Gospel reading this morning. The mocking of the priests and the scribes as they stand before the bleeding and dying Jesus Christ:

"He saved others? He cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel? Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God? Let God deliver him now if he wants to. For he said, I am God's son."

— the mockery and the doubting directed at Jesus as he bleeds and dies for the sins of the world. That's what I want to speak to you about today.

Understanding Kingship in America

It is appropriate that we speak of this because it's very foreign to us as Americans to talk about what it would mean to have a king. Jesus Christ is, though, our king.

For many decades, we have celebrated a feast in the latter part of the church year, the feast of Christ the King. We intend to exalt Jesus Christ as our king and our lord.

When we say the word "lord," the same word that we use for lord is derived from the word that would be Caesar, kurios. To say "Lord, save!" is to say "King, save!"

This country that despises monarchy, rejects the idea of absolute power, and has no place for the idea that someone would have the authority to speak over my life. It's one thing to say that I have King Jesus, but it's another to give in entirely to his rule. Our nation is founded on the idea, for example, of checks and balances. We don't recognize someone having unchecked power because that is, of course, tyrannical power.

But too often when we speak of King Jesus, we don't take seriously what we mean by that. To say that Jesus Christ is King means that he has no check or balance over his power, that his authority over us is absolute! But when we are told by our Lord how we are to live or what we are to do, our response is too often to reject him. With that wonderful American phrase, "You can't tell me what to do."

You can't tell me what to do. I get to make my own decisions.

But then as we cry out for deliverance, we say, "Lord (king), save!"

The Triumphal Entry

The procession into Jerusalem where people are hailing Jesus as the son of David saying, "Lord, save! Hosanna! Hosanna to the King of Kings!"

No wonder the Romans were nervous about Jesus and who he was proving to be. The people were proclaiming that this man might be the Messiah, the true Son of God, the Son of Man come to reclaim the throne of David were certainly all the more anxious about that and threatened when he comes in riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey, and looking to all the world that he is fulfilling the promises of the Old Testament scriptures that say that there will be a king descended from David who will come and establish his rule forever and ever.

The Jewish leaders look at this man riding in on a colt and say to themselves, "Uh-oh, this guy is acting like a king." No wonder they felt threatened — and rightfully so!

Frankly, Jesus is a king. Not an earthly king — his kingdom is not from here. If his kingdom were from here, he says that his followers would be fighting to liberate him. Of course, he could call on legions of angels to rescue him if he so chose.

But no, this kingdom, this earthly king he rules is not from here. He is — in an important sense — a true king. A good king. A king who lays down his life for his people.

The Humility of Christ

Among our readings today was a very famous passage from the book of Philippians. One of my most favorite passages in the New Testament. One that I memorized long ago, but I'm going to read it for you instead because I don't trust my memory this morning.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited (or grasped). but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God so also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of King Jesus, every knee should be bent in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord — King — to the glory of God the Father.

See, here is your king riding humbly into Jerusalem on the back of a colt. Here is your king standing silent as he is faced with his accusers: mocked, scorned, beaten, scourged, and ultimately crucified and killed.

St. Paul tells us, let the same mind be in you. The mind of Christ that was in Christ Jesus. What is that mind? It is the mind of one who does have absolute power. Who absolutely is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And yet, who comes and descends to be among us. Living among us. Wearing our flesh. Who has absolute power but chooses not to use it for himself. Who is in fact a king, but he makes himself a slave. Who can order things for his own good, but instead chooses to order things for our good instead.

Following King Jesus

This is the king to whom you cry out, "Hosanna!" This is the Lord whom we worship in this church.

This king is the one who calls you today to follow him:

• Follow him to the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, where you will hear him speak of his last and greatest commandment. "Love one another as I have loved you."
• Follow him to his cross on Good Friday. Where he lays down his life for you willingly for your salvation in his Crucifixion.
• Join us on the vigil of Easter, and await his return while recounting the mighty acts and deeds of the Lord's salvation in hope.
• And then on Easter Sunday, come here and celebrate the victory of King Jesus over sin and death and hell. Over all those things which oppose God and which stand between us and reconciliation with our Lord.

This is the king who calls you.

So: do you have a king? I do. My king is Jesus. I will look upon his cross. And trust him and live. In his name. Amen.