King of Shame :: Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 25:1-3

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1.     Fellow baptized saints of Trinity Lutheran Church, do you remember what it’s like to be ashamed? 

You know ... that awful moment when you realize that people can see what you’ve done. They can see what you don’t want anyone to see. 

Here, you thought you had it covered.  ... Here, you thought you had a handle on it. But now, it’s out ... in the open ... and you feel like a fool ... They know. ... It’s a disgrace ... The shame ... The guilt ... It’s all exposed ... There’s nowhere to hide. ... It makes you want to scream. Yes, it makes you want to curl up and cry ... to crawl into a hole and die. 


So brothers and sisters in Christ, tonight, the Lord is going to do something to you. Behold, your king is coming to you. 

Are you ready? 

No, you don’t get to go check yourself in the mirror. You don’t get a minute to put your life in order, to wipe away the tears, to put your mask on ... the one you call a happy face. You don’t get to pretend any longer that everything is OK. 

Behold, your king is coming to you.

2.     Shame is powerful. Have you noticed the power of shame increases with the power of the person who sees it? 

You aren’t as concerned if a homeless person sees you fall. But what if it’s your best friend? Teenagers can bear some shame from mom and dad but be totally ashamed in front of their peers. The more honor you give a person, the more shame you’d feel before them when you fall. 

Picture that ONE person you respect the most ... Picture that one person you want to make proud, you want to be like, you want to look up to ... what if that one sees you fall? ... What if they see your darkest, most painful shame?


Embarrassment is messy! It creates distance between us ... not only because I lie awake with my secrets spinning around my head ... but because people try not to be associated with those who’ve been disgraced. 

Shame isolates you. When you are shamed, other people fear they’ll be “painted with the same brush” so they clear the shame zone quicker than a bomb threat ... even as they develop rubber necks ... staring ... blending in with the gawkers. 

Shame hurts. So in our shame, we try to keep others away from us. We push them away from us ... We do it to protect ourselves ... We do it to protect them. Why should they go down with us?


Brothers and sisters in Christ ... 

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he.


No, Lord, don’t come near me! I’m too ashamed. 

Stay away. I’m not worthy. I’ll embarrass you. I’m not worthy to be near you. The church will swallow me up. You’ll look like a fool, and you’ll become a disgrace. I can’t let others know I am Christian when I look like this. I will give you a bad name. 


Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he.

But you don’t understand ... I’m contaminated. I’m defiled. I’m dirty and filthy and unclean. My shame is so thick, it’ll rub off on you. My sin is black. My sin is killing me. My sin exults over me. My sin keeps showing me that I’m a disgrace. My sin lords itself over me. 

Why won’t my sin go away? 

Why can’t I forget?

Why can’t I forgive?

Stay away, Lord. Stay away. 


Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he.

3.     Beloved, Jesus says, I’m not afraid of your shame. I am the King of your Shame. 

I don’t come to expose you. I come to cover you. 

I don’t come to reveal you. I come to hide you in me. 

I don’t go running. I’m coming to you. ... into your shame ... for your shame.

I AM GOING TO TAKE YOUR SHAME ... UNITE MYSELF TO IT ... MAKE IT MY OWN ... BECOME IT ... BECAUSE I AM YOUR KING.

4.     I am the King of Shame

When he first came, they called Jesus a fool. When he first came, they declared Jesus guilty. When he first came, he was labeled a disgrace. He was mocked for healing the people, for making them whole. He was spit on, stripped naked, beaten, crucified. This didn’t happen in private, it was very public. 

It wasn’t done in hiding. It was done in order to expose. 


Beloved, Jesus is not afraid of your shame. 

This is why he came, righteous and having salvation. This is why he came. 

He came to give you his honor ... his name. ... He spoke it over you. ... He placed upon you. ... Watering you ... Cleansing you ... Renewing you. 

You there nothing left to hide. He has given you his honor, his mercy, his grace.

5.     Behold, your king comes for you even when you aren’t ready.

Fellow baptized saints of Trinity Lutheran Church, this passage from Zechariah comforts us at our roots. It offers us the most gentle, most loving, and most forgiving master. It promises us a place of honor in his presence. 


Jesus comes as our champion. He who knew no sin has come to become our sin. He who knew no sin has come to give you his righteousness. Our King of Shame has taken our place on the cross so that God could pour out his wrath upon him instead of upon us. In this way he has destroyed your shame. 

Christ lived for you and died for you. He shed his blood for you to cover your shame with the robes of his righteousness so that might proclaim with the psalmist ... Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame (25:3).


Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord is going to do something to you tonight. He is going to come to you ... ashamed or not. 

Are you ready?

It’s OK if you aren’t. Behold, your king come to you any way, because he is your king, righteousness and having salvation he.

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