The Power of the Cross Week 5: The King Arrives

The Power of the Cross: The King Arrives

Palm Sunday Text: Matthew 21:1–11 (CSB)

Introduction: (Show Barn Slide)

We’ve stood in that barn every week.

We saw the beam holding weight. We saw it scarred. We saw it redeemed.

But today, imagine something else.

Imagine a storm so violent you think the entire structure will collapse.

Wind howling. Rain pounding. Lightning striking nearby.

And for a moment, it looks like the barn won’t survive.

But when the storm passes…

It’s still standing.

Not barely.

Secure.

Because the beam held.

And that image is going to help us this morning.

Because Easter tells us something stunning:

What looked like defeat was actually victory.

Let’s read our text.

Colossians 2:13–15

CSB

13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

Friday looked like loss.

Sunday revealed victory.

Transition: And that leads us to our first truth this morning.

I. The Cross Canceled Our Debt

Main Idea: Christ completely erased the legal record against us.

Verse 14:

“He erased the certificate of debt…”

Psalm 103 says:

Psalm 103:12

CSB

12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Micah declares:

Micah 7:19

CSB

19 He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

The debt is not reduced.

It is erased.

Application:

Stop living like you still owe what Christ already paid.

Questions:

Am I clinging to forgiven guilt? Do I believe the record is truly gone?

Transition: But something else happened.

II. The Cross Disarmed Our Enemy

Main Idea: Jesus stripped spiritual powers of their authority.

Verse 15:

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities…”

Hebrews says:

Hebrews 2:14

CSB

14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil—

1 Corinthians declares:

1 Corinthians 15:55–57

CSB

55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

The enemy thought the cross was triumph.

It was defeat.

The beam didn’t break.

It conquered the storm.

Application:

Stop living in fear of a defeated enemy.

Questions:

Do I believe Christ has ultimate authority? Am I walking in victory — or intimidation?

Transition: And finally —

III. The Cross Secured Our Life

Main Idea: Resurrection power now defines our present and future.

Verse 13:

“He made you alive with him…”

Ephesians says:

Ephesians 2:4–5

CSB

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!

And Jesus said:

John 11:25

CSB

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”

The cross is not the end.

It is the victory.

The barn stands.

The storm passed.

The beam held.

And the empty tomb proves it.

Application:

Live like resurrection is reality.

Questions:

Am I living in new life? Is Easter changing how I face fear, suffering, and death?

Conclusion: (Show Barn Slide)

The world saw a cross.

Heaven saw victory.

The enemy saw opportunity.

God secured redemption.

The beam held.

And because it held —

We stand.

Christ is risen.

And because He lives —

You can live too.