The King has Come! Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Intro: Kid’s Minute(I need some palm branches for the kid’s sermon) | Do you like parades? What parades have you seen? What is it like to be at a parade? Have you ever seen someone important at a parade? Did anyone do something special for that person? E.g., sometimes people will walk in front of them, play music, do tricks, whatever to bring attention to the most important person in the parade.

Today we are going to talk about a kind of parade for Jesus. It is called His Triumphal Entry. It was the time when Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem & people celebrated Him as their King. His disciples put their coats on the donkey & others spread them on the road for Jesus to ride over. Others cut down leafy palm branches & spread them over the road. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem the people shouted - “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna means “save us.” That’s what Jesus came to do, to save us from our sins.

I have palm branches for you today.And I want you to say “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Later when we get to that part of the sermon, I will ask you to wave your branches & say, Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Let’s practice saying that, and then we will pray.

Mark 11:1-11, Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; 2 and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”

4 So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. 5But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?” 6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.

8 And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

There are 3 things I want us to see in the text, & you can go ahead & fill in the blanks: Christ is Coming; Christ is King; The King has Come!

CHRIST IS COMING, Vss. 1-3

They drew near Jerusalem- the book of Mark can be divided into 2 main parts, the first part being Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (1:1-8:26) and the second part moving towards and in Jerusalem (8:27-16). Chapters 11-16 begin with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and detail the final week of His life, up to and including the resurrection. 6 chapters are dedicated to the last week of Christ’s life and earthly ministry to the resurrection.

Bethphage-a village on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. Bethany- one of Jerusalem’s outlying settlements (Martha, Mary, Lazarus lived)

Mount of Olives- a 2-mile-long ridge on Jerusalem’s eastern border it rises about 300 feet above the city; a site of many olive groves.

The Mount of Olives is to be the place where God’s glory will be revealed in the Day of the Lord. Zechariah 14:4-5, And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. 5Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lordmy God will come, and all the saints with You.

Vss. 2-3, Jesus’ instructions to the disciples & Him riding on a donkey is to fulfill another prophecy in Zechariah. Zechariah 9:9, “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.”

Notice the instructions-if anyone asks, “Why are you doing this?” they were to say- “The Lord has need of it.” Think about that. This is the Easter season, not everyone understands what Easter is about. Why do we worship? Why do we celebrate Good Friday? Why do we observe the Lord’s Supper? Why is Easter so special to us?

People don’t know, we think they do, but they do not. This is our opportunity to say- the Lord needs it. Now, He doesn’t really need it, but He really does deserve it. We have a challenge this week to help other people know that Jesus deserves it. Challenge: give an invitation card to at least 3 people this week. Cards are available at the end of each pew.

Jesus doesn’t really need it, but He does really deserve it- Jesus is King.

CHRIST IS KING, Vss. 4-7

Notice the action here-Jesus gave two of His disciples instructions and they obeyed Him. Some people did ask them what they were doing by taking the colt, and they responded exactly as Jesus told them to.

Then they brought the donkey to Jesus, & saddled it with their clothes, so that Jesus had something soft to sit on. What’s going on here?

The royal procession was a cultural custom. It’s highly likely that Mark’s gospel was written to Roman Jews (e.g., Paul). Mark’s audience would have understood the glory of the “Roman Triumph.” It was customary for kings to enter cities in displays of splendor, especially when being crowned as king, or coming back from a victorious battle.

The striking difference is the way a regular king would enter vs. the way Jesus entered.A normal king would have been much celebrated, riding a chariot pulled by horses or elephants, and accompanied by a host of troops. If he had won a great victory, there would have been an official welcoming parade, he would be leading a procession of captives, & would be handing out the spoils of war to his friends.

But Jesus’ approach was humble.He was not accompanied by soldiers but by disciples. He was not riding a chariot but a borrowed donkey. A donkey symbolizes humility & peace. Jesus riding a donkey shows the humble way God’s kingdom comes & that it is a kingdom of peace. Donkeys are beasts of burden, & Jesus bore our burdens at the cross.

The donkey also signifies Jesus as a “Son of David,” & the rightful heir to his throne. In 1 Kings 1, David commanded that his son Solomon be led around on David’s mule to show that he was the rightful heir to the throne. Here Jesus was being led in a similar royal procession (1 Kgs 1:38-40), laying claim to the title “Son of David.” This royal procession is declaring “Christ is King!,” which means for us that the King has come!

THE KING HAS COME! Vss. 8-10

Vs. 8, Following the disciples’ example, the crowd began to spread their clothes and leafy tree branches on the road to make way for the King. I.e., they rolled out the red carpet for Jesus.

This crowd was mostly peasants, many of whom probably followed Jesus from Galilee. Unlike the city-dwellers who later in the week would call for Jesus’ death, these people believed that Jesus was their King and Messiah. Their act signified a public declaration of allegiance to Jesus as their King. They demonstrated their belief with their shouts of praise.

Vs. 9 says they were shouting- Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Kids, will you say that together with me?

Notice what else they say (vs. 10)- Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

This praise is adapted from Psalm 118:25–26. Psalm 118 commemorates God’s victory over foreign powers through the Messianic King. I think you will recognize several verses here so I want to read a few of them- Psalm 118:21-26, I will praise You, For You have answered me, and have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

Notice this phrase in vs. 25, “Save now...” It is the literal meaning of “Hosanna.” Hosanna is the transliteration of the Hebrew phrase hoshi'ah na, which means “save us!”

Vs. 10, this group of people expected Jesus to somehow restore the Kingdom to Israel, probably by some kind of political move or military force of power. They did not understand the Messianic King was also the Suffering Servant, who would die for the sins of the people. But that’s how Jesus came to save Israel, & the world, & us.

Mark presents Jesus to be the Son of God and the Suffering Servant. By the end of this week, Jesus would be betrayed, arrested, denied, tried, beaten, mocked, flogged, & crucified. Then after three days Jesus rose from the dead.

According to Romans 1:3-4, Jesus, the Son of God “was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” By believing in your heart that God has raised Christ from dead, and confessing Him as Lord, that is how we are saved.

Today we saw in our text that Christ was coming to Jerusalem, where He was hailed as the King of the Jews. Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem signifies that Christ is the King and He has Come. We must recognize Him for who He is and be obedient to Him.

- Is Jesus your King?Have you bowed your heart to Him? Have you confessed your sins & confessed Christ as Lord? Have you declared Jesus your King?

- If you have not, you can by 1) Agreeing with God that you are a sinner, 2) Believing that Christ is who He says He is- the Son of God & Savior of the world, & 3) Confessing Him as your Lord.

- If you have already confessed Christ as your Lord, then are you declaring that message to others?Are you proclaiming Jesus- Blessed is He who has come in the name of the Lord?

Easter is a time when people are open to going to church. One of the ways you can publicly confess Christ as Lord is to invite people to join us in remembrance of His death and in celebration of His resurrection.

When you interact with people this week, will you invite them to join us here? Will you invite them to remember & celebrate Christ? Will you say to yourself- the LORD has need of it? He deserves my obedience.