Peaceful Surrender, Is This Really the King?

Peaceful Surrender, Is This Really The King?

1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.[1]

I would like to open the message by telling you about one crazy day in a frontier town when a horse bolted and ran away with a wagon carrying a little boy. Seeing the child in danger, a young man risked his life to catch the horse and stop the wagon. The child’s parents praised the man for risking his life to save their son. The parents were so thankful that they threw him a great celebration and the entire town gathered to rejoice in the saving of the boy. However, the story dose not turnout how many would expect. The boy who was saved grows up to become a lawless man, and one day he stood before a judge to be sentenced for a serious crime. The young man now recognized the judge as the man who, years before had saved his life; so he pleas for mercy on the basis of that experience. I share this story and will conclude it at the end of the message.

Verse 1, Here we have the account of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. We are given the staging area of Jesus before his triumphal entry around the Mount of Olives, the connection of the Mount of Olives has four emphasizes for us. First, it was a location of a great battle recorded in the Old Testament. The battle divide the area from east to west and north to south. Second, it is where Jesus weeps over the Holy City for it’s sinful nature. Third, it is one of the places where Jesus teaches his disciples using parables. Last, it’s where Jesus ascends to heaven. The information about the triumphal entry is introduction and preparation. For us we will focus on the idea of peace and the celebration of the Lord’s entry.

Verse 2, We are given some more general information and instruction for the disciples about the transportation. The question that is mainly asked is “why does Christ instruct his disciples to bring him a donkey for triumphal entry and transportation?” One might say that He does not want to be picky about His transportation. However, the point that is made is that the transportation that He instructs His disciples to retrieve does not show power, but peace. Christ instruction his disciples to retrieve a donkey to provide an example to us that when taken the message of Christ to a group we must do so in peace. Have you ever had the chance to share the message of Christ and when you ask them to turn control over they became very hostel about the idea of given over their life to a unseeable God. Then you start applying the eternal life of fire to the message, which caused more difficulty for the non-believer. We must be able to share the message of Christ in peace just as He came to the City of Jerusalem to die for us in peace. He knew that His kingdom stood for peace not chaos. Second, it is to fulfill the prophesy given in that the King will come sitting upon a donkey.

Verse 3, Here Jesus instructs them to answer any questions that they may be asked, why do you take these animals? He instructs them to give the purpose that the Lord needs use of them to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet. The instruction to His disciples that the Lord needs them (The word Lord in Greek is kyrios, which was used both of a property owner or master as well as the primary name for God in the Old Testament. Thus the disciples are to tell any who object that the owner—God himself—needs the animals.Hahn, R. L. (2007). Matthew: a commentary for Bible students (p. 246). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.) says to me that when the Lord ask for something we should fill honored that He has chosen a resource that He has blessed us with to be used for the building of His kingdom. Have you been called by the Lord to give of your resources but find at times that you feel it’s to great for you to give that much? Think of this for just a minute, if the man that gave the disciples the donkey and the colt said to them; “I do not desire for the Lord to use my animals for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.” How then could the Lord enter the City where He was to give His life for our sin? How do we look at the blessing that we receive from the Lord? Here is one man that truly gave his resource back to God and did not feel like he gave too much.

William Borden was a wealthy Christian growing up in Chicago as an heir of the Borden milk fortune. When he was in his first year at Yale University he committed himself to reaching the Muslims of North India. Three years later he sailed for Egypt to study Arabic before going to India. He knew that money could not mean security so before he left he gave away his inheritance of nearly one million dollars to various missions. He was in Cairo for four months when he contracted spinal meningitis and was dead within weeks. He had scrawled on a piece of paper under his pillow the words, "No reserve! No retreat! No regrets!"...

The men that gave his animals to the Lord probably had no reserve, no retreats, and no regrets because they felt blessed knowing that the Lord needed their animals. He chose their resources to use to ride into the city to bring peace to all those that chose to accept Him as King over their life. How are you giving of your resources for the Lord’s use today?

Have you noticed how each verse builds onto the next verse?

Verse 5, The qualities that the prophet mentions about is the gentleness of the Lord. We know that this is the Lord’s triumphal entry, but even more this is the Lord’s final week to spend teaching, sharing, and mentoring his disciples. Second, it is a road that leads to a great passage way for all of mankind to come to a revelation of who God is and what he desire for His creation. says “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” Christ provides us an example as to how to inherit the earth through showing a gentle spirit

Verse 6, Here the disciples prepare the animals for the Lord. They do this by placing their garments over the animal. For the disciples to place their garments over the animal is a building of the garments being thrown down before the Lord in verse 8. Now in the day of the Lord the people wore a garment that was call a prayer shawl. This is the garment that most likely the disciples put across the animal.

In verse 8 we see that when the Lord rides in on a donkey the people begin to take off their prayer shawl and throw them on the road before the Lord. Here’s the question that I see that is most important to ask is “why are they taking off their prayer shawls and placing them before the Lord?” Second, why do they cut branches from a palm trees and place them before the Lord? The climax of the story is found in verses 8-9 and this is where we find great application for us today in how we are to come to the Lord.

Looking at the first question of why the people placed their prayer shawl before the Lord?

These prayer shawls were very elaborate in how they were made. A prayer shawl was made with very expensive thread that made up the design and tassels. The tassels were also very distinct because this was how each person identified their tribe and their place in the tribe. These tassels were how a person would place a mark into a piece of clay to buy things on credit. The special mark was a marking of their control. The major point is that people were throwing down their control of their identity down before the Lord. The passage teaches us that we are to come to the Lord by relinquishing control of our life. Jesus’ triumphal entry shows us that in order to be children of God we must turn over our control to the true King. Here they are making peace with their King.

Verse 9, Here we have a large crowd calling out to Jesus, “Hosanna,” which means deliverer, savior, and then the connection of His linage is resounded by saying Savior, Deliverer to the Son of David. David was one of three of the King’s of Israel and now as they call out they proclaim the prophesies that were made in “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”[2] Here the prophesies tells us that the one that will come is just and having salvation for the receiver of the Lord. For us today we are waiting and watching for His second coming. However, his next return will not be a time of rejoicing for everyone. For those that choose not to receive the Lord they have chosen to be judge by a just judge and be sentenced accorded to the scriptures. However, the second coming for believers will be a time of even greater rejoicing than when Christ came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The reason why is that those that have turned over control of their life to Him much like the people did by throwing down their prayer shawls will truly be able to say Hosanna, Savior, Deliverer Blesses our we through your sacrifice given to us by the Lord.

Verse 10-11, we see in these verses that many people questioned who this man was. For us today there are many people that will question why do people believe and offer praise to a God that can not be seen. They question that I ask to you is “do you know someone that questions who this man is today? Do they ask you why there is so much destruction in the world today? Do they ask you why there are sinful acts like murder, war, and diseases? Do they ask you why there is so much danger in the world today? Last, do they ask you why you give praises to God? If so I pray that you are able to answer them by saying: Christ is the man that offers peace for the world today. Second, He will judge justly the sinful acts of man. Third, when he returns there will be no more danger for His kingdom is filled with peacemakers. Last, I praise Him for the gift of having peace in knowing my eternal destine nation. You see we can praise Him now as they praised Him then, by calling out Hosanna, Blessed is he that comes in the Name of the Lord. For we have been given the comforter to relive our fears. Do you know someone today that cannot lift praises to God?

Remember the story about the young boy that was saved from his death by another. Here is the conclusion: But the words from the bench after the boy pleaded for mercy silenced his plea: "Young man, then I was your savior; today I am your judge, and I must sentence you to be hanged." One day Jesus Christ will say to rebellious sinners, "During that long day of grace, I was the Savior, and I would have forgiven you. But today I am your Judge. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" I ask you now does your family, friends and neighbors know the savior, will you and them be able to praise Him crying out “Hosanna, Blessed are we through your sacrifice that gave us eternal life?”

If your answer is yes then praise Him now for the blessings that he has given. If your answer is no then now is the time to ask the Lord to forgive you and receive him just as the people did back then. Throw down your identity of self and pick up the identity of Christ. Then ask him to help you share the message of peace. Do not let a family member, friend, or neighbor pass you by this week knowing that they will face a just judge and be sentenced to a eternal death of fire, because you failed to share the resource of the message of peace. If you desire to share this message this week with someone let us stand now and offer praises to Hosanna who will bring the blessings through the giving of our resources of the message.

General Outline

Peaceful Surrender, Is This Really The King?

1. Giving our Resources For His Use. Verses 1-3

a. How are we to give

b. Receiving Blessing for our giving

2. Giving Control Over to God Verses 5-9

a. The laying down of total control

b. The receiving of the peace

3. Praising the Savior Verses 10-11

a. For his Mercy

b. For life eternal

[1]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA

[2]The Holy Bible : King James Version. 1995 (). Logos Research Systems, Inc.: Oak Harbor, WA