Palm Sunday – Matthew 21:1–11

Intro (Tension)

Palm Sunday looks like everything is finally coming together.

The crowd is loud.

The city is stirred.

Jesus is being celebrated.

And still… something is off.

Because the same voices shouting “Hosanna”

will not be shouting that by the end of the week.

Palm Sunday is the moment Jesus enters Jerusalem for the final time before the cross.

They weren’t random locals showing up for a moment.

They were Jews traveling from all over to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.

Passover was one of the biggest gatherings of the year. According to the Law (Deuteronomy 16), Jewish men were expected to come to Jerusalem for it. So people would travel from:

Galilee (where Jesus had been ministering)

Judea

Surrounding regions

Even Jews scattered across the Roman world

So you’ve got layers of crowds:

People who had seen Jesus’ miracles (especially from Galilee)

Locals from Jerusalem

Travelers already in the city for Passover

And people who had just heard the stories (like Lazarus being raised in John 11)

This wasn’t a small group.

We don’t have an exact number, but historians give us a strong sense.

The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus recorded that during Passover:

Jerusalem could swell from ~30,000–50,000 residents

This was a charged, expectant, religious crowd.

Jesus rides in on a donkey.

Crowds line the road.

They lay down palm branches like a red carpet.

They shout “Hosanna,” which means “save us now.”

It looks like a coronation.

It feels like a victory.

But they’re not celebrating the Savior He came to be.

They’re celebrating the king they want Him to become.

The Big Questions….

How do we get that close to Jesus

say the right things about Jesus

and still completely misunderstand Him?

If it can happen there

it can happen in us.

Jesus defines who He is not us

Matthew 21:1–5 “1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ””

Jesus plans this moment.

He sends for the colt

He fulfills prophecy

He presents Himself as King

This is not reaction

this is revelation

Jesus is not asking the crowd who they need Him to be

He is telling them who He is

Theology

He is the promised Messiah

not a version shaped by our preferences

Application

We don’t usually reject Jesus outright

we reshape Him quietly

We keep what we like

and sidestep what confronts us

We want:

His grace

His help

His presence

But we resist:

His authority

His commands

His rule

We resist his high standard

If Jesus only agrees with us

we are not following Him

we are using Him

Tie back

Jesus is King but not on our terms

Jesus does not meet our expectations He exceeds them

Matthew 21:6–7 “6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.”

He rides in on a donkey

That is not random

that is intentional

This King comes in humility

not force

not power

not dominance

This crowd Jesus is about to be walking through saw a King

but not the King they expected

Theology

Jesus came to bring peace with God, not immediate relief in life

They wanted political deliverance

He came for spiritual salvation

They wanted Rome removed

Jesus came to deal with sin

Application

Most of our tension with God

comes from expecting Him to prioritize what we prioritize

We want:

comfort

clarity

control

Jesus works on:

repentance

dependence

transformation

Anchor line

Disappointment with Jesus

often reveals a misunderstanding of Jesus

Tie back

Jesus is King but not on our terms

We can celebrate Jesus and still resist Him

Matthew 21:8–11 “8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.””

Nothing about this moment looks fake

They are loud

They are passionate

They are expressive

They are saying the right things

And still… they miss Him

Theology

Right words do not equal surrender

and proximity does not equal submission

“Hosanna” now

“Crucify Him” soon

Application

We can be involved in spiritual things

and still resist spiritual authority

We can:

sing

and not surrender

show up

and not submit

agree

and not obey

Anchor line

Praise is cheap

if it is not backed by surrender

Tie back

Jesus is King but not on our terms

CLOSING

Palm Sunday shows us something uncomfortable.

You can be close to Jesus…

say the right things about Jesus…

and still completely miss Him.

We talk a lot about accepting Jesus…

But Jesus did not come to be accepted.

He came to save.

And He came to rule.

Some of us have done exactly what that crowd did.

We’ve said the right things…

but we’ve kept control.

There is no version of following Jesus where He is not King.

You don’t add Him to your life.

You surrender your life to Him.

GOSPEL:

And the good news is…

the King we rejected

went to the cross for us anyway.

He stayed.

He died.

He rose.

So the question is not:

Do you believe in Jesus?

The question is:

Have you surrendered to Him?

What are you still holding onto?

Because you don’t gradually make Him King.

You bow.

7. Final line (stick the landing)

Don’t just welcome Him.

Surrender to Him.