Our Sermons

Bible Passage: 1 Kings 1:38-40
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  March 28, 2021

It was all happening, just as God had promised. The curse that David had brought upon himself by despising the word of the LORD, by striking down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, by taking Uriah’s wife Bathsheba as his own; that curse was now coming to fruition. The sword, indeed, was not departing from David’s house. Already one son, Absalom, had tried to usurp the throne and ended up on the wrong end of Joab’s spear. And now, as David lay confined to his bed, unable to keep himself warm, yet another son was trying to make himself king. This was much of David’s own doing. It seems that he was rather lax in his parenting skills. We hear earlier in 1 Kings chapter 1 that David’s son Adonijah was pushing himself forward. He was promoting himself. Without any blessing from David, he declared himself to be king. And then there’s this interesting statement, almost an aside. “His father had never rebuked him by saying, “Why are you acting like this?” Adonijah had grown up a spoiled brat. His position as the son of the king, born after Absalom and apparently just as handsome, had gone to his head. To make matters worse, he had garnered the support of two former allies of David: Joab and Abiathar the priest. It gave Adonijah’s claim to the throne the semblance of validity. It seemed that everything was about to come crashing down for David.

Thankfully, David still had faithful supporters. The prophet Nathan, the very same who had pronounced this curse to David, found out about Adonijah’s conspiracy. He quickly formed a plan to thwart the conspiracy so that God’s will would be carried  out, so that Solomon would follow David on the throne. He worked with Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, to speak with David, to make him aware of this conspiracy. Bathsheba went to David and appealed to him on his promise he made to her about Solomon becoming king. Then Nathan came in and echoed Bathsheba’s story. Their message was clear: David needed to do something or  else Nathan and Bathsheba and Solomon were all in danger if Adonijah was allowed to claim the throne. 

Nathan’s plan worked perfectly. Although David was weak in body, his mind was still strong. He made plans to transfer the kingdom to Solomon that very day. He asked three of his most trusted advisors, Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the captain of David’s personal body guard to carry out the plan. This brings us to our lesson today.

“So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites went out. They had Solomon ride on the mule that belonged to King David and brought him down to Gihon Spring. Then Zadok the priest took the horn of olive oil from the Tent and anointed Solomon. After that they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” All the people followed Solomon. The people were playing flutes and rejoicing so greatly that the ground shook from the sound.” 

It might seem odd to us that a mule or a donkey was the choice of travel for Israel’s king. We would certainly expect a more regal choice of a horse and chariot like Adonijah had used. It seems rather anticlimactic to have a coronation ceremony consisting of the simple pouring of oil. It would make much more sense to have the opulent display of wealth in the sacrifice of many animals like Adonijah tried. Again, it seems odd that the king would lead the procession and have everyone following him. It seems much more logical that the way would be prepared by those running ahead again, like Adonijah. 

However, by now we surely have realized that God doesn’t operate like we think he should. He often works in ways that seem ordinary or common or even lowly. But, how often don’t we despise those ways! We look for the flashy, the dramatic, the entertaining. We mistakenly think that the ways of the Lord in his Word and Sacraments just don’t resonate today. We’re tempted to spice them up, to become convinced that the right medium is necessary to communicate the message. Humanly speaking, we’d say that Adonijah had the right idea. 

And yet what do we see? We see Solomon riding on a mule. And not just any mule, this was the mule that belonged to king David. This mule, as humble as we might view it, signified royalty. It signified God’s chosen king. It signified not just a son of David, but the son of David, the one chosen to carry on the line of the king and even more important, the line of the Savior. We see the anointing with oil. And not just any oil, but oil which came from the Tent, the oil that had been poured over David the shepherd boy. This oil again signified God’s gracious choice. And maybe most surprising to us is how the people reacted. The people weren’t put off by the mule and the oil. In fact, they recognized in those signs and symbols that this was God’s anointed, God’s chosen king. They followed the king and played their flutes and sang their praises so loudly and proudly that the very ground shook. The noise was so great that Adonijah’s whole party heard that sound and the party stopped. Despite what might have made sense and seemed logical, God’s will would be done and Solomon rode victoriously into Jerusalem as king.

I think we can all see the parallels between this ride into Jerusalem and the events of Palm Sunday. That Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, sons of David in their own right had tried to usurp power and authority. They had rejected God as their king and looked to their own works, their own made up laws and rules for their salvation. And even when the true Son of David was in their midst, they rejected him. They were ever plotting against him, trying to find fault with him at every turn. Even though they knew the Scriptures well, they failed to see the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” They may have failed to see it, but like the people of Jerusalem who followed Solomon’s ride, the people of Jerusalem understood the significance. Each Gospel account demonstrates that clearly. Matthew records: “A very large crowd spread their outer clothing on the road. Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them out on the road. The crowds who went in front of him and those who followed kept shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna is a Hebrew word, which means, “Save us now!” Save us now, Son of David! Not just any son of David, for those who were shouting were all children of David, but save us now, The Son of David. Save us now, Messiah! 

Solomon rode into Jerusalem with the praise of the people and it caused Adonijah’s party to stop. Jesus rode into Jerusalem with the praise of the people, and the Pharisees tried to get them to stop. But Luke tells us, “Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” He replied, “I tell you, if these people would be silent, the stones would cry out.” No nefarious plan of Adonijah would stop God’s will being done, would stop God from keeping his promise to David that the line of the Savior would go through his son, Solomon. No nefarious plan of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law would keep Jesus from fulfilling the Scriptures, for riding into Jerusalem on that donkey as the true Son of David. Nothing was going to stop Jesus from saving his people, from bringing salvation.

And that is what we see this Palm Sunday on the Road to Redemption. We see a determined Savior riding victoriously into Jerusalem to save. The plan is like nothing we would ever have developed. To the casual observer, it looks like a ride to humiliation and defeat. But to the eyes of faith, this ride is a ride to the ultimate victory over sin, death, and the devil. This ride is the springboard to the ultimate suffering and death necessary to save us. Just as the end of Solomon’s ride shook the ground with praises, the end of this ride will shake the ground as Jesus finishes his work of suffering and dying for us. 

Friends, it is happening, just as God has promised. May God bless us this Holy Week as we finish our journey on the Road to Redemption. May we appreciate even more how God’s promises are kept, how our salvation is accomplished, how our redemption is secure all because of Jesus. Amen