The Throne Of God

Revelation 22:1
"Then the Angel showed me Water-of-Life River, crystal bright. It flowed from the Throne of God and the Lamb, right down the middle of the street."

This Sunday we commemorate Palm Sunday, the day Jesus returned to Jerusalem. It's often referred to as His "triumphal entry," or His "victorious entry." The parade route was lined by all the people of the town that day. I imagine there were salesmen, hawking their wares. Items of food being sold. Maybe they were even selling the very palm branches which were used to usher in the King?

I can imagine parents trying to corral their riled up children. I can imagine people setting out straw mats instead of aluminum folding lawn chairs on which to sit, to save their places right along the street. Oh and watch out! Don't you dare move their mats one inch! Their seats along the parade route are saved! It's a rule. Parents are corralling children, giving them little bites of parade-route goodies to feed their excitable souls and keep them occupied until the start of the parade. The pickpockets are out. Hey, wherever there's a good crowd of people, there's money to be made.

I wonder what the powers-that-be were thinking that day? "Who is this King?" they would ask with disdain. "Yes, we shall see...we shall see. And when we do, this upstart had better watch out. We will see who holds the real power." Little did they know.

As this is all going on, there is a scene just outside of town. Jesus has sent a couple of His buddies to go and fetch a foal of a donkey. Not even a grown donkey, mind you...a foal! There is no marching band...no visiting celebrities and dignitaries riding in convertibles. There is no parade-route manager with a clipboard, walking up and down the lineup, making sure all of the floats are in place. Just a humble Jesus, and His ragtag group of friends.

The anticipation was building. People were not only excited because a parade was breaking up the routine of their lives. But they were also excited because they believed that finally, God had sent them a King to rule over them. A King of the Jews. A Messiah. A Savior.

People filled the streets to see the coming of this King. In their minds, they saw a majestic man, in flowing robes, coming down the street in a chariot of gold to return to a magnificent jewel-encrusted throne.

That's not what they got.

Imagine their surprise when they saw Jesus on the foal of a donkey. Imagine their surprise when they saw this lithe, lean Man, muscular from many hours of carpentry work, coming down the street with no armed escort, but instead, His disciples.

There is a word we shout each Palm Sunday. It's the word "Hosanna!" Yes, the exclamation point is needed here to help convey the passion of the word. It was shouted that day along that unlikely parade-route. But I have to wonder if it was shouted at first. As the tension in the air built to a feverish hum, the silence straining forth from expectant onlookers, the one exhibit, if we can call it that, rounded the corner and started to come down the street.

Nervous whispers.

"What? You've got to be kidding." a person asks the guy next to him.

"Is this it?" asks another.

"How can this Man, riding on a foal of a donkey be our King?" asks a woman, despair hanging on the edges of her words.

But then it happens. Jesus happens. As He begins down the parade route, some begin to notice His serenity. They begin to sense the terrible power which lies within this peaceful Man. They feel His authority emanating from Him as He passes.

And so one bold person, rather hesitantly and haltingly, somewhat quietly, and yet hopefully shouts: "Ho--sanna..." People nervously look around at each other, seeking the approval of their neighbors, finding the same questioning looks on their faces. Someone else shouts the word again: "Hosanna." This time, it's more forceful...more expectant. And then, like two drops of rain, birthing a flash-flood, the parade comes into its own. Palm branches are waved. Tears flow from hopeful eyes as all the people gathered there that day shout from their hearts: "Hosanna!"

For you see, my friends, Hosanna means: "God save us!"

That day, Jesus, the King of all Kings, entered Jerusalem. But it took Him a almost a week to get to His throne. What throne? You ask. On Good Friday, we celebrate the enthronement of the King of Glory. Jesus went to the cross, His throne, willingly as good kings do. He went there knowing the weight of the crown He would bear. He went there knowing the consequence of the responsibilities He would carry. He wore the mantle of His own blood, the crown made of thorns. He carried the scepter of the spike pounded through His flesh. And He was enthroned upon a piece of carpentry which He never would have made in His profession as a carpenter.

And yet He did make that cross. Jesus is One with the Father. Jesus made the foundations of the earth, the earth itself, and everything upon it. He is the reigning King of Glory. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, in Him and through Him all things were made…even the cross.

This King, this glorious crucified King crafted His own throne with His gentle, calloused hands. There is majesty in this, although not in the way we think of the majesty of most kings. There is glory in the throne of the cross. But it is much different than the royal glory of which we think.

The majesty and glory of King Jesus and His throne come from the heart of a Servant-God.

Today, wherever you are, kneel at the foot of the throne of Jesus Christ. Place your life before your King as an offering to Him. As you kneel, remember that the throne upon which Jesus sits exists because of your sins and my sins, and the sins of this world. From this throne, the Scripture says, the Water-of-Life River flows. Eternal life flows from the throne of Jesus, from His cross where He bears the responsibilities of His Kingship: the sins of the world. Kneel before the throne, today, the cross of Jesus, and commit your entire life to Him, to praising and worshiping this glorious King who shatters all of our notions about what true glory is.

Hosanna! Hosanna to the King of Kings!

Be WILD For Christ!

Shane Burton