Psalm 24 "That the King of Glory May Come In"

Psalm for Today = 24:9-10
"Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!"


Across the Kidron, looking at the wall

Comments: This psalm speaks of the Messianic entrance into Jerusalem, the King of Kings in triumph. He did it on Palm Sunday...not that he won’t do it again someday. However, the gates and doors that need to open to him are the doors of churches where he is desperately needed in their midst (Revelation 3:20). By the way, Lord of Hosts paraphrased is "Lord of Angel Armies" as in the song that is so popular. But what about the stronghold of our hearts? Have we thrown wide the doors for the King?

We are not able to ascend the "holy hill" into the presence of God for we cannot atone for our own sin, yet Jesus who is the forsaken and pierced Messiah (Ps. 22), and our Good Shepherd (Ps. 23), is also the "King of glory" (Ps. 24) who brings us up the hill with him. Sovereign love, amazing grace!

In 2011, on a trip to Israel, we shot a short sermon-bumper video about the East Gate for the "Jesus for Everyone" (Luke) Series. We entitled it, Presumption. Since the video is no longer available online, here are some of the notes that went into the production of that video.

This current east wall of the city is right where Solomon’s Temple wall would have been. It is built right on the ridge above the Kidron Valley. We are looking across from the Mt. of Olives. Notice the gate in the wall across from us. This is the East Gate, also called the Golden Gate; the most iconic of all the gates of Jerusalem.

The Golden Gate is the most important and most impressive gate in Jerusalem and the only visible entrance to the city of Jerusalem from the East. This oldest of all the gates to the city was the only one not rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent in AD 1539-42. Monolithic stones in the wall just above ground have been identified as 6th Century BC masonry from the time of Nehemiah.[1]

But it is walled up. Why is it walled up? Inquiring minds want to know!  Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Turks walled it up to prevent the entry of the Messiah of course. The Muslim cemetery just in front of the wall was intentionally built outside the gate to prevent the forerunner of the Messiah from entering. The thinking was that the forerunner, being a priest, would not enter the cemetery for fear of being made unclean.



Inside view of the "Golden Gate"

What an example of medieval thinking! To think that literal stones could prevent the Messiah’s entry into the city. Yet, we modern and post-modern thinkers do the same when we compartmentalize our lives in an effort to deny Jesus the Messiah access to our hearts.

It was also a bit of “locking the barn door after the horse gets out” Too late to seal it up… the Messiah already went through that Gate…most likely on Palm Sunday!

But will we open the gates of our hearts to allow the King of Glory to enter in?

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[1] Biblical Archaeological Review [BAR], Mar/Apr 1992, p. 40.