Forming Faith Blog

The King in Holy Week (Luke 19, 22, 23)

Posted on April 2 2025 by Gregory Rawn

This Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Good Friday, reflect on Jesus as king. Jesus is the king who uses his power and authority to serve others by teaching, healing, dying, and rising again.

A golden crown, crown of thorns, and nails that show the type of king Jesus is.
Credit: Liliboas
The Journey to the Cross 

The season of Lent is almost over, and so is Jesus’ journey to the cross. Since his transfiguration, he has taught us about mercy and repentance, God’s celebration and priorities, and most recently, God’s grace for outsiders. Together, these constitute much of Jesus’ message.

Passion, Palms, and Holy Week

These are the most important eight days in the whole church year (Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday). The Gospel of Luke spends almost a quarter of the book on the events between the triumphal entry and the resurrection (which is actually the least of the Gospels, the highest being John at over 40%).

The triumphal entry kicks this all off with a parade, as do many of our Palm Sunday services. In addition to Palm Sunday, this day is known as Passion Sunday. In contrast to what many of us have heard, Passion Sunday is not a modern invention meant to give worshippers who do not go to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services a chance to hear the whole story. In fact, for hundreds of years, the Sunday of the Passion was on Lent 5, beginning a now-defunct season of Passiontide. But, no matter the true origin, this gives us the opportunity to hear the whole story of Jesus’ passion after celebrating his triumphal entry.

If you are looking for a common thread throughout the Narrative Lectionary’s Holy Week readings, I might suggest that of Jesus’ kingship.

The King Who Approaches (Luke 19:11-27)

Jesus follows up his meeting with Zacchaeus with the Parable of the Ten Pounds (Luke’s version of Matthew’s more famous Parable of the Talents), which he told:

As they were listening to [Jesus’ reaction to Zacchaeus], he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

Luke 19:11

In fact, within the parable, the owner of the ten pounds (and the slaves he gives them to) leaves his estate to gain royal power, an analogy to Jesus’ coming absence before returning at an unknown time in the future with full royal (and divine) authority.

The King Who Enters (Luke 19:29-44)

When he is finished with the parable, Jesus goes to Jerusalem to enter with pomp and circumstance. Jesus’ kingship is both shown and told here. Jesus very purposefully chooses to enter Jerusalem on a (donkey’s) colt, an embodied fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, a promise about the coming, messianic king. The crowd of disciples recognize this and, along with their previous experiences (verse 37), proclaim:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Luke 19:38

Jesus is a king, acclaimed by his disciples for his past marvelous deeds of power. Jesus tells the religious leaders that, even if they silence the crowd, the stones themselves would take up the acclamation. But Jesus is also a king who weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44). He knows what is coming for this holy city and mourns its upcoming loss.

The King Who Serves (Luke 22:24-27)

We now jump from Sunday to Thursday, when his teaching ministry finally ends and the gut-wrenching events pick up speed. The Passover is hours away, and the religious leaders’ fear of Jesus reaches a height where murder/execution is the most logical course of action. Jesus’ followers are claiming that he is the long-awaited king. This threatens the safety of the people (the Romans weren’t fond of rivals) and their own power.

While Maundy Thursday is best known for the Last Supper (and footwashing from the Gospel of John), Luke’s version places the disciples’ argument about who is the greatest at the Passover table. Jesus points to the selfish and tyrannical power/rule of the gentile kings and contrasts that with the definition of greatness in God’s kingdom. In the kingdom, power over others doesn’t make someone great. Greatness is about using any power we have to serve others.

Jesus exemplified this throughout his entire ministry, using his divine power to heal and liberate. He is about to go much, much further. Despite being God, Jesus submits himself to serve the entire world to the point of death and beyond. While the religious leaders and Romans are the ones to torture and kill Jesus, he is not a passive victim. He is the true king who serves us all.

The King Who Remembers

So much happens between the Supper and the tomb! Jesus is crucified between two criminals. The religious leaders scoff at their vanquished foe, now proved to be a false king. His execution is proof that Jesus is not, in fact, a king. Pontius Pilate had written Jesus’ crime and identity on a placard on the cross: the King of the Jews. The Romans don’t care if he is a king or not. They might even hope that he is, since this means that they are more powerful than a king established by Israel’s God.

It is only one of the criminals in excruciating pain beside him who believes that Jesus is still the king and will still have a kingdom.

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Luke 23:42

Jesus responds with much more than the man asks for. Jesus won’t just remember the man, but the man would experience Jesus’ kingdom himself.

Our King: A Faith Formation Connection

While it is by no means unusual to discuss Jesus’ kingship in Holy Week, I find that we more often talk about Jesus’ kingship over us on Christ the King Sunday (logical, as that’s the whole point of that festival). But Jesus is not “just” the promised king—Messiah—of Israel and head of the kingdom of God. He is also your king and mine. He is the king of all people: people who are poor, sick, disabled, vulnerable, and oppressed as well as those who are rich, comfortable, and powerful—though his message is different to each group.

How can we acknowledge and live out Jesus’ kingship in our lives? Trusting that he is king is the first step, but we also need to follow him: love as he loves and serve as he serves.

In Christ’s incomprehensible love,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

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During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 8 to June 8), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download a Holy Week weekly devotional resource from our Living the Word: Sharing God’s Story @ Home (NL) product (2024-2025) and (2025-2026). This can be used in many settings, but it is especially designed to be used at home! 

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