Here Comes the King!

Scripture Reading: Beau Wollerton

Intro: Michael Jackson Trial

On a Lowly Donkey vs. 28-34

This king of kings came on a lowly donkey to bring peace

Knowing full well what awaited Him, knowing that He must endure the cross before receiving the kingdom, Jesus went.

In His suffering, we should admire, not pityJesus. He knew exactly what was before Him.

Jesus had come the first time to die to purchase those for whom He would come the second time to reign with

Leaving Jericho, Jesus began the arduous ascent of thirty-five hundred feet to Jerusalem

a six to eight hour walk to cover the straight-line distance of fifteen miles

About two miles east of Jerusalem were the small villages of Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet (the Mount of Olives).

John 11:18 ESV

Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,

When He visited Jerusalem, Jesus had often stayed in Bethany, the hometown of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus

He sent two of his disciples into Bethphage

You will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat: Jesus rode this relatively humble animal into Jerusalem.

Instead of coming on a horse as a conquering general, He came on a colt, as was customary for royalty.

He came to Jerusalem as the Prince of Peace.

This event was foretold by a prophet

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus’ humble coronation was much like His humble birth.

Both were attended by lowly people and ignored by the nobility.

The momentous entry of the Messiah was set in motion when Jesus sent two of the disciples

The details of what the two would find there provide an undeniable illustration of the Lord’s omniscience.

First, He told them that they would find a donkey colt tied.

Jesus had not been to Bethphage, nor had He sent anyone to arrange for the colt to be available.

The detail that the colt was one which no one had ever ridden gives further evidence of His omniscience, as does His knowledge that the disciples would be asked, “Why are you untying it?”

Triumphant Entry vs. 35-38

This king got his rightful triumphant entry

This entry into Jerusalem has been termed the triumph of Christ.

It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride and worldly grandeur;

of poverty over affluence; and

of meekness and gentleness over rage and malice.”

When He was still approaching the city, adoration of Jesus began as the people were spreading their coats on the road ahead of Him.

By doing so they were expressing their eager submission to Him, symbolically placing themselves under His feet as their king.

Other people came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus and those who accompanied Him from Bethany .

The two great tides of people joined to make one huge throng, some behind Jesus, others in front of Him (Matt. 21:9).

Matthew 21:10 ESV

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?

The Greek word used here is seismos—the same word used for earthquakes.

His arrival shook the city.

The Jews were hungry for the Messiah to come

While some threw their coats in front of the Lord, others cut palm branches and threw them on the road.

John 12:13 ESV

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Palm branches symbolized victory, joy, and celebration

Not only was the donkey prophesied about, so was this parade

Isaiah 40:9 ESV

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Jesus

Do you see Jesus as your king?

Rocks Will Cry Out vs. 39-40

This king will be worshipped even if the rocks have to cry out

Teacher, rebuke Your disciples: The crowd's praise made Jesus’ enemies uncomfortable; it made them object to the praise being offered. It made them know they were being defeated.

Nothing tells Satan and his followers that they have lost like the praises of God ringing in their ears.

Satan loses because when God’s people are really worshipping, their hearts and minds are on Him - and not on sin, self, or Satan's distractions

I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out: Jesus said this when the Pharisees told Him to quiet those who praised Him and received Him as King.

On this day, Jesus was going to be praised.

For most of His ministry, Jesus did everything He could to discourage people from publicly celebrating Him as Messiah.

Here Jesus invited public praise and adoration as Messiah.

The stones would immediately cry out: The idea of creation itself praising God may seem strange, but the Bible speaks about it in a few places - trees, hills, oceans, rivers, mountains, valleys, cattle and creeping things, birds and fields all give praise to God (Psalm 148:7-13, Psalm 96:11-12)

A great indictment against much of our praise is that it is mindless.

We do not have anything specific in our minds that we praise God for, things that we have seen Him do in our lives.

Anyone who says, “Praise the Lord!” should be able to answer this question: “Praise Him for what?