The Importance of the Coming King

Intro:

- When I was 5 years old, our family lived with my grandparents in Pasadena. I had 2 aunts who lived with us as well who were in high school at this time, as well as my sister who was possibly 10 years at this time.

- My aunts went to a high school that was directly across the street from my elementary school, so the normal practice was that they would pick me up every day from school and we would all walk home together.

-  On one specific day, things were different, and depending on who you ask, you might get a different story.

- One this day, there was minimum day  and there must have been some sort of miscommunication of how the day was supposed to go, because my aunts got out of school and went to my sisters class and picked her up. But somewhere in the miscommunication, the detail was left out of who was supposed to pick me up.

- So the teacher waited for all the kids to get picked up and after I was the lone ranger, she took me to the principal's office, a sign of things to come in my future.

- The principal tried calling my mom and our house and was unable to get ahold of anyone since they were all working.

- The principal didn’t know what to do and she had to go to a hair appointment. The principal actually took me with her to her appointment and to do other things before she ran out of ideas of what to do with me.

- Now at our house, my aunts and my sister and friends all having the time of their lives. As the day got later everyone started to make their way home from work and were outside in the front yard , when a police car pulls up to the house. The back door opens and guess who comes out…… I am told I was all smiles when I came out until I got into the house, once I walked in the door , I started crying……

- To this day, this is the running joke our family tells at every gathering…… how I was forgotten about, and how I came rolling in a police car……  

Transition

- The reason I start off with that story is because I sometimes feel like we can get into these ruts of the day to day familiarity.

- Where I am going about doing the same thing day in and day out , or listening to the same thing over and over again, that …… I can lose interest, or I can miss the impact  of something or miss the importance of something…..  

- You’ve heard the saying….. “familiarity breeds contempt”.

- This is what can happen to us as believers I fear, during certain times of year… Christmas, and Easter can be a time of going through the motion. Where we hear the same messages over and over again, that it is so normal to us, that we can forget the importance of these days, and we can miss out on the impact the message in our lives

- Now You and I are not the only ones this happens to.

- In the Gospel of John, we gain insight into the reality that even Jesus’  disciples, who walked with Jesus for 3 years, who saw Him heal the sick, raise the dead, walk on water……. Who saw him fed the multitudes, who taught them truth of God’s plan day in and day out……. Still missed the importance of the season they were in, entering Passion week.

- This is spoken about the disciples concerning the events of the triumphal entry.

John. 12:16

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

Transition

- With that said, today being Palm Sunday is a day where churches all over the world will be teaching the same story out of one of the four accounts in the Gospels. Most of you were all in church this morning listening to the Triumphal Entry of Jesus….

- I myself taught on the Triumphal entry a few hours ago at a church .  So what I didn’t want to do was simply teach you all the same exact message that you just listened to, knowing that for many……. That repetitive message can lead to tuning out on what God wants to say to you this afternoon.

- So, what I am going to do is rather than teach you the same exact message describing every detail of this story to you….

- I am going to do a shorter devo style, overview, more geared to applying why this day is important….. in regard to our salvation but  also why it is important to us on a practical daily basis.

- I’ve Titled this message, “The Importance of the Kings Arrival to Me”.  

- And we are going to briefly look at 3 things that are evident through the story of the Triumphal Entry , and why this is important to you and I on a daily basis. If you like to take notes, this is what we will look at today.

I. God’s Sovereignty through His Word

II. God’s Sovereignty through His timing

III. God’s Sovereignty through His Methods

- Now that word “sovereignty” – speaks of the biblical teaching that all things are under God’s rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. We will keep that in mind as we dig in today.

- Turn with me to the Matt. 21:1-11

I. God’s Sovereignty through His Word ( Matt. 21:1-8)

Read. V. 1-11

A. Background of our story ( Mat. 21:1)

- as you may remember, Jesus and His disciples were coming from Jericho and were making there way to Jerusalem for the Passover.

- We understand that because of the requirement of the Jewish law, the Jewish males 20 years and older were required to go to Jerusalem to celebrate 3 specific feasts each year. The Passover was one of the feasts that they were to celebrate.

- Most scholars estimate that during this time, you could have anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 million people in Jerusalem and the surrounding cities.

- Jerusalem and the surrounding cities would be packed with people. Now, in John 12:1-11 we see that Jesus stays in Bethany at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He was more than likely staying here because all the cities were completely packed.  

Transition

- Now as we jump back into our story to look at The Sovereignty of God through His word, we want to look at 2 specific words that were fulfilled that reveal to us the Sovereignty of God, that reveal that God is in control of all things.

B. Jesus’ Prophetic words Fulfilled ( Mt. 21:1-7)

- As they are on there way to Bethany, they come to Bethpage and Jesus tells 2 of His disciples to go into the City opposite of them and there they would find a donkey tied up with a young colt with it.

- Jesus tells them to untie the donkey and the colt and to bring it to Him, and if anyone says anything, to simply say, “the Lord has need of it”.

- And we see that the disciples found the donkey and the colt just as Jesus had told them.

Transition

- Now some have speculated that Jesus must have prearranged this before hand which is why the disciples found the donkey with no problems.

-  It is possible, but weather Jesus prearranged this meeting before hand naturallyor weather this was a supernatural act……. The result is the same….. Jesus’ words were accurate and true, and were fulfilled just as He said.

- Time and time again we see Jesus speak forth truth, and not only does he speak truth , He is truth.

John 14:6

“I am the way , the truth and the life”

- This signifies that Jesus is not just a teacher of truth, but the ultimate source and embodiment of truth. One of the important characteristics of Jesus we have to take note of.

- Now the 2nd word we want to look at is, the Prophetic word  spoken of by the prophet  of the Messiah fulfilled here.

C. Prophetic words of the Messiah Fulfilled ( MT. 21:4-5)

- Now one of the things that Jesus said to his disciples when he sent them to bring the donkey was that if they were asked about it, to say “the Lord has need of it”.

- This is an oxymoron when you think about it. The Lord over all, who has been sent by God the Father, who has been performing supernatural miracles, who has been walking all over Israel, needs a young donkey to ride on for 2 miles?

- See what He meant is seen in verse 4 & 5. He tells us the purpose to why He needed this young donkey. In order to fulfill what was spoken of by the prophet. Jesus here is quoting  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.

- Zechariah prophesied 500 years before this day came to be, about HOW the promised Messiah would enter into Jerusalem.

- Interesting that Zechariah spoke about the King coming humbly riding the foal of a donkey. During the days of Jesus, the Roman conquers would enter the cities victoriously riding a horse, displaying their strength…..

- This is a complete contrast of what both Zechariah spoke about and how Jesus entered Jerusalem here in our story. He entered with humility as the prince of peace.

- So the donkey and the colt were necessary in order for Jesus to fulfill the very words spoken of 500 years earlier.

Transition

- In both the words of Jesus and the words of Zechariah, you get the same picture….. God’s word is true, it does not fail, it is from everlasting to everlasting … this is seen in the fulfillment of these words.

Ish. 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever”.

“

Ps. 119:89

“your word, O lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens”

Gods word is perfect

Ps. 18:30

“ As for God, his way is perfect, the word of the Lord is flawless”.

Prov. 30:5

“every word of God is flawless”.

- You and I can take great comfort in the reality that God’s word is everlasting and does not change because God doesn’t change. His promises to you and I don’t change. And the things that God says to you and I in His word are true and will come to pass……

- The fact that God loves you, that God has a great plan for you. The truth that God has forgiven you, he has removed all of your sins as far as the East is from the west, and remembers them no more.

- This passage shows how Gods word is true and How He is faithful to bring it to pass. I can trust in His word, I can trust in His promises.

- He shows His sovereignty in our lives through His very words, the words that hold the universe together as

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,

- God not only gives us promises in His word, but HE holds us together by the power of His word. When you and I are falling apart due to our circumstances……. We can turn to His word, and be completely sustained in that moment. HE holds us together by the power of HIS word.

- And our confidence comes by seeing the very words God has spoken, come to pass even in our story.

- Matthew here is showing the Jewish readers how Jesus is a direct fulfillment of Zechariahs prophecy. Gods very words are fulfilled.

II. God’s Sovereignty through His timing

- In the gospels, you see multiple times the disciples try to elevate and reveal Jesus to the people as being the promised Messiah and King. Yet, time and time again specifically in the Gospel of John, you see Jesus make this comment….. “my time has not come”.

- Even Jesus’ mother in John 2 would rush Jesus to do a miracle at the Canan wedding feast. You remember that they ran out of wine, and Mary wanted Jesus to do something about it.

- John 2:4

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

- In other words, the timing of the His revelation as the promised Messiah was important. It had to be at a specific time. He could not rush his revelation.

- The revelation would have to be at the exact time that the Lord had planned and had prophesied about  hundreds of years earlier.

- The time was now.

Transition

- We not only see how the Messiah would enter into the City, but we are also given insight as to whenthe Messiah would reveal himself

- In Dan. 9:25, we see another prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah.

25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The [d]street shall be built again, and the [e]wall, Even in troublesome times.

-  Daniel gets this vision while in Babylon during the 70 years of captivity. The temple and the City of Jerusalem had been destroyed, the Nation of Israel had been taken into captivity.

- Now I’m not going to go into detail and break this passage out, because I assume your churches went into detail describing and breaking this down this morning. But in a nutshell, Daniels gives the timeframe of when the Messiah would enter into Jerusalem, He gives us the time.

- And when you are able to break out the dates from Neh. 2:1, you can see that this prophecy was fulfilled exactly to the day when Daniel prophecied hundreds of years earlier.

- On April 6, 32 AD, Jesus enters into Jerusalem fulfilling the exact timeframe that was prophesied by Daniel hundreds of years earlier.

- I find this amazing that God knew exactly when Jesus would enter Jerusalem to the very day. You see now, why Jesus would say, “my time has not come”. He was aware that there was a specific time that needed to be fulfilled in order for Him to be revealed as the promised king.

Transition

- I want you to think about your own life. Think about the things that you have been praying for, the things that haven’t come to pass yet. We can often get discouraged because these things don’t come to pass, yet I want you to understand,

-  that just because God says no today…… does not mean that he is finished with your circumstance. Understand, that God is working your life out according to His perfect timing.

- He knows when you are supposed to get that spouse, he knows when you are supposed to get that job, when you are supposed to get that promotion, when you are supposed to have the next child, when your prodigal will come back to the Lord……..

- Just because we don’t have a yes today, does not mean that God does not see my needs or wants……. It simply means that His timing is not yet, He is in control of our lives and knows what is best for us today.

Ps. 84:11

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.

- If the Lord is saying no to me today, it means it is not what is best for me today…… but in His timing, He will bring forth His promises.

- Take courage that God is working out every detail of your life to the very day and minute. God is in control of all things.

III. God’s Sovereignty through His Methods ( Mt. 6-9)

- Now we see that the disciples brought the donkey and the colt and laid their clothes on it and Jesus mounted the young colt

- We see the crowd laying their clothes on the road. Johns account tells us that they were cutting palm branches and spreading them on the ground. Both the laying of the clothes and the palm branches were a sign of  victory . they would proclaim “Hosanna, Hosanna”, which means…. “save now, save now”.

- They were quoting ps. 118, which is a Messianic psalm.

- The people were under the assumption that the coming Messiah would come as a conquering king to overthrow the Roman empire, they wanted victory. They were crying out for salvation from Rome.

- They did not understand that the Messiah came to conquer death and sin that plaqued humanity, He would bring victory over death in a few days.

- The crowd was a mixture of His disciples who believed in Him, but did not understand How God would bring victory and people who just jumped on the band wagon and started to celebrate with an incorrect understanding of what was happening..

Transition

- Even with all that the disciples heard and saw in the last 3 years of being with Jesus, they still did not fully grasp what was happening.

- The Jewish people were even more lost to the situation. Even while Jesus was fulfilling all of these prophecies, they were still unable to see the true characteristics of who Jesus was, HE was the Messiah.

- In Lukes account as Jesus comes to Jerusalem we see that Jesus weeps over the city and says this….

Luke 19:42-44

42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 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.”

- Jesus weeps as HE sees that the people did not recognize that He was the Messiah and He was revealing himself to them, instead they rejected him. Many of the people who were in the bandwagon crowd crying out “hosanna”,  would be among those crying out….”crucify Him” in a few days.

Transition

- God knew what the world needed was not to conquer the Roman empire, but to conquer death and the power of sin. And the only way to do that was by a perfect sacrifice. The sacrifice of His Son on the cross, that through His blood, the world would be saved, and we would be able to declare complete victory over death and sin.

- The revelation of the King was a revelation of God’s great plan for a lost world, it was a sign of God’s love for you and me.

- Now here is a neat nugget, Passover was held on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. That day was the day that they were saved from Egypt.

- Now according to Ex. 12:3, 5 days earlier from the Passover, the people were to select the lambs that they were sacrifice on Passover, that would be the 10th of Nissan.

- This day that Jesus is entering into Jerusalem is the 10th of Nissan, the day that the Lord had chosen His perfect blameless lamb that would be sacrificed for the world in just a few days, and yet even with this understanding…… the Jewish people could not connect the dots.

Application

- The reality is that even today we may not always understand what God is doing or how He is working in our lives. We might assume God is doing something and be completely wrong.

-  But we must understand that while we do not see the entire picture, God see our entire lives from beginning to end, and sees all things and He is working at all details according to His plan and His knowledge.

- We must find confidence in the promise that He is working all things out for my good even when it doesn’t seem like it. as Rom. 8:28 says

- We must find confidence in the promise that He has good plans for me, even before I was born, He had ordained my steps. Jer. 1:5, 29:11 say

- God is in control of my life, he ordains my steps. Knows all of my days on this earth with great detail.

Conclusion

- Todays story is important because the arrival of the King signified the victory over death and sin for you and I, if we place our faith in Jesus. This week leads us to the greatest act of love ever made, our Savior will willingly give up his life for you and i.

- But this story is also important to you and I because of what it says about who God is. God is in control of all things. He holds the world together by His word, His word is truth and can be trusted.

- God is in control of all the details and the timing of those details in my life. Nothing goes beyond God understand, he knows exactly what he is doing. He is working in my life in ways that I do not understand. His ways are not my ways.

- This story not only reveals the King who has come to save the world, but it reveals the Sovereignty of God in every aspect of my life. And so we enter into this week with gratitude for God’s love for us, but I move forward being reminded that God is working in my every aspect of my life as well, I can daily look to him and trust in Him and in His word.