The Courageous King
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The Courageous King
The Courageous King
Sermon 7 - Palm Sunday
Main idea: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey knowing full well he would trigger the religious and political authorities. Jesus’ mission required him to demonstrate incredible courage regardless of the reactions of others. He is Lord, the absolute authority over all things. The question is, does he have all authority over you, too?
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, as we enter Holy Week we give you praise. We praise you for who you are and how you courageously faced incredible opposition and hardships, but you always overcame with self-giving love. You are the Son of God, our Messiah, the savior of the world! Amen.”
Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11, Zechariah 9:9-10
(All scripture is taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Introduction
Hello Church, today is Palm Sunday. This marks the beginning of Holy Week, and also the final week of our Lenten journey together. Palm Sunday is the day in which we commemorate Jesus’ courageous entrance into Jerusalem which kicked off the week when he was arrested, convicted, crucified, and most importantly, resurrected.
By all worldly viewpoints, Jesus is about to have a week of nothing but failures, but these failures were sufferings that contrasted God’s nature of love with mankind’s nature to control and dominate.
What happens when the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God, rides into town on a donkey, stoops to wash his disciples feet, is betrayed by a trusted friend, is spat upon, abandoned, beaten, whipped, tried, convicted, and crucified, dead, and buried. What do you get when that happens? You get a crystal-clear picture of God’s core nature of self-giving love. Jesus endured the Cross events in order to save humanity. There was no other alternative. And in doing so he demonstrated that he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Messiah, the Son of God who came into the world to save the world, not condemn it.
Today we’re going to focus on his courageous entrance into Jerusalem. Let’s go to the story.
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.
If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Main Teaching
The story begins with Jesus approaching Jerusalem. Before he enters, he sends two of his disciples into a village to return with a donkey and her colt. The disciples do what they’re told, return with the donkey, and Jesus rides slowly into town. The text says that this was done to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah
SLIDE
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey...
A. Jesus has all authority
There are a couple of things going on here which are important.
1. Riding a donkey signified peace
First, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey is a highly intentional move by Jesus. In the ancient world, if a king rode into town on a horse he intended war and aggression; but if he rode into town on a donkey, he intended peace. Jesus rode into town on a donkey to demonstrate his kingship will be one of peace!
SLIDE
The passage from Zechariah continues: Zechariah 9:10
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
This is a Messianic prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling. He is the anointed one, the messiah, the king coming into town proclaiming peace. The war is over. I don’t think the disciples nor the crowds fully understood what Jesus was doing right before their eyes.
SLIDE
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
2. Jesus proclaims himself King
Secondly, Jesus is proclaiming himself to be king. And this is no small thing! The crowds declared Jesus to be “the prophet from Nazareth” (21:11), but that’s not what Jesus claimed for himself. He was more than a moral teacher and more than a prophet. He was —and is— the King and Messiah.
During his life and ministry Jesus consistently demonstrated true authority. Jesus had —and still has— all authority over nature, demons, sickness, and death. He spoke with authority and not like someone who memorized all the right answers (Mark 1:22). He protected people from storms and waves (Mark 4:39); healed them from blindness (John 9:7), leprosy (Matthew 8:3), and fevers (Mark 1:31); set them free from evil spirits (Matthew 8:32), and demons (Luke 4:41) and more. At Jesus’ word the devil left him (Matthew 4:10). Demons left, fevers disappeared, and paralysis went away because he had all authority over them.
Everything obeyed Him. Nature to demons to disease. Why? They are fully under his authority. Just as God spoke the cosmos into existence in Genesis, everything under Jesus’ authority must comply with whatever he speaks because he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is Lord.
The early Christians understood. Their creed was, “Jesus is Lord.” The word Lord meant absolute authority.
It was not a fancy way to say Mister, as in Mr. Jesus. When they confessed, “Jesus is Lord!” they were proclaiming his complete authority over everything in this world: ... and themselves!
This proclamation got them ostracized, beaten, jailed, and killed, by the way, because only Caesar was lord.
A Christ follower’s proclamation was punishable as treason.
While Jesus used His authority over demons, sickness, and bad weather.... he was loving, welcoming, and direct with people.
This is the Jesus who ate with tax collectors, sat with sinners, and let sinful women wet his feet with their tears. He touched the untouchable. He loved those who were oppressed AND loved their oppressors!
Why? Because..
SLIDE
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
. Jesus used his authority to save, heal, and make people whole.
He never used it for selfish purposes or grand displays of power.
He used his authority humbly as a way to demonstrate God’s self-giving love in ways consistent with his mission.
Here’s the question though: Jesus has all authority over nature, sickness, demons, and death, but does he have all authority over you?
Meaning, are you truly his disciple?
I don’t mean have you accepted some belief “about him,” but do you trust “in him” as the Lord of your life? Have you given Him all authority over you?
This one’s tough isn’t it? I mean if feels good to know about Jesus. But to say...you have all authority over me, I’m dying to myself...but I know that you want to remake me...whole again. As first intended before sin entered the world.
B. Jesus is courageous
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem had been planned and it wasn’t on a whim. Before Jesus rode into town, he needed a donkey, so he sent the disciples to fetch the ones he had in mind. He gave them instructions that if anyone questioned why they wanted the donkeys, they were simply to say “The Lord needs them” (21:3).
Mark tells us that the village was Bethany, where Jesus recently raised Lazarus from the dead. No doubt Jesus knew a lot of people in Bethany, and that the code word of “The Lord needs them” was established in advance with someone. Jesus had been planning his entrance for a while.
The timing was perfect. Jesus knew Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims for Passover. The law highly encouraged all adult Jewish males who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem come to Passover. And not only they came, but Jews from all over the known world traveled to Jerusalem for this festival. Jerusalem would be jam-packed with tens of thousands Jews for the Passover. This was the time for Jesus to make a statement for all to see.
The Jewish leaders were already plotting to kill Jesus (Lazarus too). The most dangerous way Jesus could enter the city was in broad daylight with a lot of attention and noise. And that’s exactly what he did.
Without any fear, He made himself the sacrificial lamb entering the city. He knew those who hated him and wanted him dead would be triggered, but his actions and decisions were based on doing God’s will. Jesus was courageous and he calls us to be courageous also. Completely confident in truth. Humble, at peace with truth.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (can’t say 7, everyone always says 7, so that’s not an option!) how courageously confident in Jesus’ truth are you?
To be a disciple is to consistently do your best to live like Jesus.
• Pastor:how can your church help people get unstuck from their comfortable lives with little meaning or purpose? People hunger for true meaning. How can they partner with your church in its mission? Cast some vision!
C. Who do you say that Jesus is?
The very large crowd “spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (21:8) as Jesus entered. This was a reception reserved only for a king. Jesus, however, had no intention of taking political power like most kings. Jesus was only interested in becoming king in the hearts of each and every person, for his kingdom was not of this world.
They shouted, “Hosanna!”which means “Save now!” and comes from Psalm 118:25. That’s exactly what Jesus came to do! Remember, he did not come into the world to condemn the world but to save it! (John 3:17).
“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’” (21:10). There were tens of thousands of visitors in the city for the Passover and they had yet to be exposed to Jesus, so this is why so many were asking who he was.
“The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”(21:11).
The crowds called Jesus a prophet because they did not fully understand him. But those closest to Jesus, those who spent time with him, listened to him, engaged with him, and learned to obey him, knew exactly who he was.
He was not a prophet or just a great moral teacher, he was more than that.
He was not an earthly king, he was beyond an earthly king.
Those who knew him called him the Messiah, the Son of God, who came into the world to save it, not condemn it!
SLIDES
• Jesus’ friend, Martha, in John 11:27
“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world.”
• Jesus’ disciple, Peter, in Matthew 16:16
And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
• The entire town of Sychar, after spending two days with Jesus, in John 4:42
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Conclusion
The question is, who do you say that Jesus is? Is he a prophet? Is he a moral teacher? Or is he your Lord, your absolute authority?
C.S. Lewis said, “Let us not say, ‘I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.’ That is one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg-- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”[1]
Who is Jesus?
What does it matter to your life today?
What does it matter to your life, everlasting?
These are difficult questions, but they’re important ones. As we wrap up our series Letting Go this coming week I’d like you to think through these questions. Think about the people in your life that may also be struggling to answer them. Can you invite them to Easter Sunday? Can you encourage them to Let Go of all the sin, shame, doubt, and fear in their lives?
Let’s pray together.
[1] C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity
