| Introduction Today marks the beginning of Holy Week in the ecclesiastical calendar with the celebration of Palm Sunday (from Jn. 12:13). Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem on the Sunday before he was crucified. I wonder is this day almost 2,000 years ago began any differently than any other day. Could the people feel it in the air that something big is about to happen? Were they aware that events were about to take place that were going to change the course of history? For all we know, it could have just been another spring morning in the lows 70's. What we do know is that the population of Jerusalem was already swollen with pilgrims who had come to celebrate the Passover in just a few days. We also do know what our text says. As a matter of fact, the Triumphal Entry is one of the few events in the life of our Savior that all four gospels recorded. So let's take a look at it. ü When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. A. In the flow of Luke's gospel, Jesus's words of judgment immediately precede his entrance, 27. 1. Notice how the Holy Spirit connects the words of judgment with the Triumphal Entry – when he said this. 2. Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem as king and the last recorded thing he says before that is that those who don't want him to reign over them should be slain before him, 27. a. This sounds very Islamic, doesn't it? b. The massive difference between Jesus and Allah is that Jesus builds his kingdom through the proclamation of the Gospel of grace, not through the sword. B. Another thing about the flow of the gospel of Luke is that Jesus is always going to Jerusalem. Lk. 9:51-53 – Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 1. No matter what direction Jesus was geographically going, he was always going to Jerusalem because that's where his mission would eventually take him. Mk. 10:45 (said a few days earlier) – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. 2. Now the time has come when he is going finally to head to Jerusalem to complete his mission. ü And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet…. A. He was coming from Jericho where he had healed blind Bartimaeus and saved the wee little man Zacchaeus. B. Just a couple of days before that he had raised Lazarus from the dead. C. Because of all that, his followers were riding high with excitement and the people of the region were eager to be around him. Jn. 12:17-18 – Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. ü He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'" So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of him." Then they brought him to Jesus. A. The whole donkey story is of great significance. 1. Jesus did not need a donkey. 2. He could have walked into Jerusalem – after all, that's what he had done his whole ministry. 3. As a matter of fact, the only other recorded time that Jesus rode on a donkey, he was in Mary's womb. B. Why a donkey now? Matthew tells us Jesus did this expressly in order to fulfill prophecy and show that he is the Messiah, the King, so often prophesied in the OT. Mt. 21:4-5 – All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "Tellthe daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" 1. Matthew is quoting from Zechariah 9. Zech. 9:9-10 – Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.' a. This prophecy and its fulfillment in the Triumphal Entry are definite declaration that Jesus is King – "Wondrous King, all glorious, Sovereign Lord victorious…." Joachim Neander b. Definite declaration, but not what the people expected. 1) How often do we expect Jesus to be a Savior that does certain things for us? 2) So, when all he does is save us from our sins and give us eternal life and restore us to the Father, we are disappointed. 2. Perhaps the optics would have been better if he rode into Jerusalem on a white stallion like victorious generals may have done. 3. But reality is that riding on a donkey that had never been ridden before (Mk. 11:2 tells us that) shows much more power than riding a horse trained for the occasion. a. The one riding on a lowly donkey controlled all of creation including the taming of an untamed donkey. Heb. 1:3 – … who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself…. b. I think sometimes we forget how powerful Jesus Christ really is. 4. This King on a donkey is the Prince of peace whose dominion, according to Zechariah, is sea to sea and who will speak peace to the nations. a. He comes into Jerusalem as he came into the world: to proclaim the way of peace between man and God. b. Jerusalem was not interested in the peace Jesus was offering. C. Notice the interaction between the disciples and the owners of the donkey, 32-35a. 1. The owners of the donkey were likely followers of Jesus. 2. When they saw the disciples untying the donkey, they wondered about what was happening, but as soon as they heard that the Lord was in need of it, they let go of it immediately. 3. Jesus wants it? Ok, take it – "so they let them go" (Mk. 11:6). a. How tight are you holding on to life and stuff in life? b. If Jesus says I want it, are you ready to let it go, whatever it is? ü And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" A. It is from here that we get the name Palm Sunday. Jn. 12:13 – … took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him…. B. An interesting thing about this passage is that it is contrary to how Jesus operated throughout his ministry. 1. He always asked people to be discreet and shunned away from being acclaimed king. a. He had stayed away from any publicity, any recognition. b. He had asked people not to broadcast his identity. 2. Today he seems to be orchestrating everything for maximum exposure. 3. Why? Because he wants to bring his enemies timetable in sync with his timetable. a. He wants to speed up their schedule. b. He knew that this move would infuriate the leadership of Israel and lead to his crucifixion, 22:2. C. The people sees this triumphant and yet humble king riding on a donkey and they start to lay their outer garments on the ground as recognition of his kingship. 1. According to the other gospels, they also start waving palm branches. 2. Once Jerusalem was in site as they began descending the Mt. of Olives, the crowd started praising him. a. This lasted till he was well into Jerusalem and the temple. b. There is some variation among the four gospels as to what they were saying, but they all include Psalm 118:26. 1) This was fitting Psalm for the occasion since it was one of the psalms that a first century Jew would sing during the Passover. 2) It is also a theologically fitting psalm. a) The whole quote goes as follows: Ps. 118:26-28 – Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God isthe Lord, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. b) The people in this psalm are praising God as their king and are bringing God a sacrifice. c) That's what is going on here, but the difference is that God himself is bringing the sacrifice. d) Notice that Jesus's ride didn't at the Herod's or Pilate's palace – it ended in the temple. c. In their praises, the people were so right and at the same time so wrong. 1) Their words were true, but hearts were far from the Lord. 2) They were excited about the things Jesus had done, but that's it. Jn. 12:17-18 – Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. D. While everyone is cheering him because they think he is going to be their military king, he knows that he is riding to his death, a death he didn't deserve, a death in the place of those people who were, in one week, be screaming "Crucify him!" 1. He is entering Jerusalem in order to die and yet not even his disciples got that, 18:31-34. 2. How lonely this must have been to our Savior. a. He is surrounded by a crowd and yet utterly alone. b. This is a theme that will be present all through the crucifixion where even Father abandons him. c. He is truly a Man of sorrows. 3. Why would he do all this? Why would he willingly go through all this? To draw all kinds of people to himself. Jn. 3:14-17 – And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Jn. 12:32 – And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. ü And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." A. Praises to Christ will upset the enemies of Christ. B. But if people stop praising Christ, all of creation will burst forth in praise – it just can't help itself! ü Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that makefor your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." A. While the crowd was cheering excitedly, Jesus was mourning over Jerusalem. B. The Holy Spirit uses the strongest possible word for crying. 1. This is not just a single tear running down his faith. 2. It communicates "the sob and the cry of a soul in agony." 3. So, Jesus is riding to his death, but his thoughts and his heart are on the thousands of people in Jerusalem. 4. Why? Because God was going to judge the city for their unrepentance. "In Jesus God has proved once and for all that He is indeed the God of love. He is, however, also the God of holy righteousness, the Almighty who is not mocked. Every nation or person who rejects the opportunity offered by Him to be saved through Christ will be inexorably visited by His judgment." Norval Geldenhuys a. In part, Jesus is weeping because Israel wanted its own kind of Messiah, not God's kind. b. Israel, as represented by Jerusalem, missed the day of their visitation. c. Jesus is also weeping out of compassion for the lost. 1) Jerusalem deserved to be destroyed, but Jesus still sorrowed over it. 2) Compassion was a constant trait in Jesus's ministry. Mt. 9:35-38 – Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly isplentiful, but the laborers arefew. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the King because he IS king. What does this truth impact you? ü What are you doing with the opportunities to believe placed before you? Each time we are given the opportunity to believe in something in God's Word, it is a time in which the Lord is visiting us (not just that first believing but every opportunity of growth in faith – I believe, help my unbelief). ü When King Jesus says, "I have need of you," are you ready to give of yourself?
ü Lastly, Matthew's account of the Triumphal Entry ends with the people in Jerusalem asking themselves, "Who is this? What's your answer? Peter was asked this question directly and his answer was "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!"
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