Palm Sunday: The King is Coming

Introduction

Holy Week Overview

Palm Sunday: After walking 20 miles uphill from Jericho, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey to a massive crowd shouting “Hosanna” and waving palm branches. Then he goes to the temple, looks around, and goes back to Bethany for the night.

Holy Monday: Jesus curses the fig tree and cleanses the temple.

Holy Tuesday: The fig tree is withered, Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and teaches on the end times (Olivet Discourse), Judas strikes a deal with the religious leaders to betray Jesus.

Silent Wednesday

Maundy Thursday: Jesus has the last supper with his disciples, goes to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer, Judas betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, Jesus is arrested.

Good Friday: Jesus is crucified, dies around 3pm, is buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb.

Holy Saturday: Jesus is dead.

Easter Sunday: Jesus is resurrected!

What does Palm Sunday mean? What’s the point of the story?

Body

Jesus is King, not just of Israel but of everything. Jesus is the Lord of all that exists.

Exposition (Luke 19:28-39)

Several things here show us that Jesus is claiming to be the prophesied King God promised to send to restore the Kingdom.

They start the parade on the Mount of Olives, the place that Zechariah the prophet said God’s King would come down from (Zech 14:4).

Jesus rode on a colt, which wasn’t a surprise. It’s exactly what was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. The King would come on a donkey’s colt.

The colt had never been sat on, which signals its purity—fitting for God’s King.

Jesus conscripts the colt. He doesn’t pay for it, he takes it. A king has the authority to do that.

The disciples spread their cloaks on the road, which is what OT Israel did when a new king was coronated.

Just in case we missed all these clues, look at what they shouted in Luke 19:38 as Jesus rode along: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Why don’t the Pharisees celebrate with everyone else (Luke 19:39)?

We need to understand the Pharisees’ logic.

God’s Kingdom = Israel.

But Rome has conquered Israel.

So, if Israel will obey God’s laws and be good enough, God will send the Messiah King to overthrow Rome and restore the kingdom to Israel.

But God’s Kingdom is not just Israel—it’s all of Creation. And Jesus isn’t just the King of the Jews—he’s the King of everything and everyone (Luke 19:40; Ps 96:12-13; 98:7-9).

Is Jesus your King?

Illustration: Tim Keller quote…

When Jesus Christ comes to you, he says, “You can despise me horribly as a lunatic, or you can throw everything over and serve me completely, but there’s nothing in the middle. Kill me or crown me. Nothing else.” If you come to him and say, “I would like some help. I would like some inspiration. I would like you to be my consultant. I would like you to be my partner. I would like you to be my counselor,” you know what Jesus Christ says?

Jesus says, “Oh, I can be more than that. I can be your shepherd. I can be your brother. I can be your guide. I can be your friend. But I won’t be anything unless I’m King. Either I will be King, or I will be nothing. I want all of you or I want none of you. You must either crown me or kill me. Throw everything over and make me the supreme, absolute monarch of your life, or despise me, but I will not be liked. Worship me or hate me, but don’t like me. I won’t let you like me. Crown me or kill me.”

Application: Jesus is everything or Jesus is nothing. So many Christians today don’t hate Jesus, but they don’t worship him, either. They don’t want to kill Jesus, but they don’t want to crown him. They like the idea of Jesus but not the surrender to Jesus. But that’s not how it works. Crown him or kill him. Worship him or hate him. Love him or despise him.

The King doesn’t come to start a rebellion but to end one. Jesus came not to start an uprising but to put one down.

Exposition (Luke 19:41-44)

These verses were fulfilled in 70 AD. The Roman army killed over 250,000 Jews in the siege of Jerusalem. When they finally breached the city, they massacred most of the survivors and completely destroyed everything.

Look at Luke 19:42… The Pharisees got it wrong. The King did come to restore the Kingdom, but not to Israel. Jesus didn’t come to start a revolution against Rome. He came to put down a rebellion against God. He didn’t come to overthrow Rome. He came to overthrow us.

Rome isn’t the problem. We are.

Revolution isn’t the answer. The cross is.

We don’t need an uprising. We need a surrender.

Oh, that we, even we—LakeView Church, might know on this day the things that make for peace!

Illustration: God keeps bringing me back to 2 Chronicles 7:14-15…

Application

We don’t need a revolution. We need a revival.

We need to fall on our knees and seek the face of our God, confess our spiritual apathy, surrender everything to Jesus, and rise again with the King’s seal on our hearts, the King’s words on our lips, and the King’s book in our hands.

Conclusion: Invitation

Category 1: You need to surrender to Jesus as King. Quit the rebellion and surrender.

Category 2: We need to seek God. We need to stop going through the motions. We need to wake up and cry out to God to set a fire in us—not to win the culture wars but to win the hearts of the lost.

E. M. Bounds said, “Before you talk to people about God, you need to talk to God about people.”

Song - I Am Free