Hosanna to the Humble King: Christ’s Kingship in a Season of Transition

Let us hear God’s Word from Matthew 21:1–11.

Sermon Manuscript: “Hosanna to the Humble King” 

Text: Matthew 21:1–11 

Big Idea: On this Palm Sunday, Jesus rides into Jerusalem as the promised humble King—not to give us the earthly triumph we crave, but to save us through the cross—so that we might trust His sovereign rule even when we cannot see what lies ahead.

Introduction

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the promised humble King—not to give His people the worldly triumph they craved, but to save them, and us, through His life, His death on the cross, and His resurrected body that now sits at the right hand of the Father. And He did all of this so that we might all trust in His sovereign rule especially when we cannot see what lies ahead.

And this was His plan all along. This is the major point of what I want to get across to you this morning. God has a plan and we do not always know what it is. We may have expectations; we may think we know and understand when how and why things are going to happen but in the end it is what God has had planned from even before the beginning of time.

As we gather on this Palm Sunday, many of us may still be carrying heavy hearts. But I think most of us remain confident in the path moving forward as planned. But for some of you, the future of our church might feel a bit uncertain. We might wonder what’s next

The apostles knew something of that feeling. Peter and the others walked right beside Jesus on that first Palm Sunday. Even before that,… they often asked Jesus to explain what He was saying to them.

But on this day,… they saw the crowds cheering, the clothes on the road, the palm branches waving. And yet the apostle, John, later tells us, in his record, that, Jesus’ “disciples did not understand these things at first” They had no idea that this King that they hailed was riding straight toward a cross.

Like them, we are here today with limited insight. But the good news of Palm Sunday is this: we are not left to our own understanding. We are invited to fix our eyes on Christ—who is the humble King that came to save us from ourselves.

Main Point 1: Christ the Promised King Comes in Humility (vv. 1–5)

If you’re looking at verses 1–5 you see…

Jesus sends two disciples into the village; He tells them exactly what they will find: a donkey and her colt. He even had a special phrase to tell someone so that the access to the Donkey and her colt would no be hindered. This detail is a little controversial because Jesus tells them the future of what is happening. And I have heard this explained as Jesus setting up this plan to have a donkey and her colt ready and tied up in a specific spot for this specific moment. Even set up a special phrase as a passcode to tell the person waiting to release the animals.

At first,.. I thought this was a kind of methodological naturalism—a way of naturalizing Jesus’ foreknowledge and demining His divinity. But as I continued my study and work preparing for today I thought, is this not what we are here for today? To learn more about His plan? And here I am,…in my preparation,… pushing this part, His divine planning of the narrative…pushing it away.

We do well to just hear the words and believe that this is one of many passages that reflects Christ’s divine nature.

And Matthew tells us in v. 5 why that is: This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Zechariah, (quoting Zechariah 9:9), “Behold, your king is coming to you, lowly [meaning humble], and mounted on a donkey….

As you heard earlier in the service, the passage from of 1Kings read to you. Solomon also rode in as the new king. The Son of David was announced as the new king over Israel. And he even rode in on a mule.

In the ANE times, most kings and rulers would ride in and parade around on a horse fit for a king. They would be covered in robes and fancy jewelry. (You might remember Mordecai in the book of Ester and how he was paraded around the city square. (Ester 6:11) So, if Jesus was coming to announce His presence as King, and we know this to be true, why a donkey?

He’s not stumbling into Jerusalem by accident.

He is deliberately fulfilling prophecy.

He is the King promised for centuries.

But He doesn’t come in raised up high on a royal horse—not on a war horse, He doesn’t parade in with an army, not in the splendor the world expects.

No, He rides a lowly donkey, the animal of peace and burden-bearing.

This,… is the heart of Palm Sunday: Christ the King has come in humility.

Unlike what the people had expected, Jesus came riding in as a humble king.

And like the Apostles and much of the crowd around Jesus …

We also need to learn to recognize Christ’s kingship as it truly is, not as we imagine it to be.

Because very often, we expect Christ to act like the kings of this world.

We expect:

Immediate worldly solutions

Visible and worldly triumph

Worldly success

But Christ rules differently than man…

He rules through:

Humility

Obedience

Sacrifice

And that matters especially in moments of uncertainty. Moments like transitions. Moments like leadership change. Moments when the future feels unclear.

Because this passage reminds us: Christ is not reacting to what is happening around Him..

He is governing them.

So what do we do with this information?

As a congregation moving into a new season, this passage calls us to: Trust Christ’s Providence

Even when we do not understand the future. Even when circumstances change. Christ is still directing the path.

He knows where the donkey is tied.

And He knows where His Church is headed.

As the Heidelberg Catechism so beautifully confesses in Q&A 31, He is “our eternal King, who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and guards and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.” Westminster Confession of Faith 8.1says it even more clearly: God the Father ordained the Lord Jesus to be “the Prophet, Priest, and King; the Head and Savior of His Church.”

On Palm Sunday the spotlight is not on the crowds, not on the apostles, and certainly not on any other leader. The spotlight is on Christ alone—the King who comes to us in meekness so that He might accomplish our full redemption.

Main Point 2: The Striking Irony of the Crowds’ Praise (vv. 6–9)

Now look at verses 6–9. The disciples do what Jesus commands. The crowd respond with wild enthusiasm. They spread their cloths on the road. They cut palm branches. They cry out,

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

On the surface it looks like perfect worship. But the irony is thick. These same crowds expected a political Messiah who would ride into Jerusalem on a war horse, drive out the Romans, and restore Israel’s earthly glory. They wanted a king who would make them great again.

Instead, Jesus rides a donkey straight toward betrayal, a false trial, scourging, and crucifixion. In just a few days the shouts of the crowds “Hosanna!” will turn into screams of “Crucify Him!” by the people of the city.

“I think this is the profound irony of Palm Sunday: the King is praised for all the wrong reasons, and He is welcomed for a kingdom He will establish, not by force, but by His own blood.”

Think about what is actually happening in this moment.

The crowd is shouting.

Palms are waving.

Cloaks are laid down on the road like a royal carpet.

Their voices echo through the streets of Jerusalem:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

And yet—while they shout words of praise—they misunderstand the very King they are praising.

That is the irony.

They are not wrong to praise Him.

They are wrong about why He deserves praise.

They believe He has come to conquer Rome.

They believe He has come to restore political power.

They believe He has come to make Israel strong again.

But Jesus is riding into Jerusalem to do something infinitely greater—and infinitely more costly.

He is riding toward betrayal.

Toward abandonment.

Toward suffering.

Toward the cross.

You see the crowd saw a crown

Christ Saw a Cross He would soon be hanging from

The people saw:

Victory.

Power.

Dominion.

But Christ saw:

Scourging.

Mockery.

Nails.

Darkness.

Wrath.

They expected a throne.

But He came to carry a cross.

That is the great irony of Palm Sunday:

The King is celebrated as a conqueror—while quietly preparing to be condemned as the greatest sinner.

He is welcomed for a kingdom He will establish—not by force—but by His own blood.

Every worldly kingdom is built the same way.

Through force.

Through strength.

Through weapons.

Through conquest.

Kings take power,….they defend territory,…they crush enemies.

But Christ does something entirely different.

He conquers not by killing His enemies—But by dying for them.

That is the kingdom of Christ—secured with sacrifice—and accomplished through obedience.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He was not marching toward political victory.

He was marching toward our substitutionary atonement.

Every step of that donkey carried Him closer to the punishment we deserve

It was the wrath of God against unrighteousness.

That enemy cannot be defeated by political strength.

It could only be defeated by divine sacrifice.

That is why Westminster Confession of Faith 8.4 fits so beautifully here.

Christ:

“most willingly” took our nature…

“most grievously tormented” in soul and body…

crucified, dead, and buried…

The crowd was not insincere; They were simply blind.

They praised Christ—But did not understand Christ.

They celebrated Him—But did not submit to Him. They welcomed Him—But only on their terms.

And when Christ refused to become the king they imagined…

Many would abandon Him.

And that is where this passage begins to search our own hearts.

Because the same danger still exists.

We must ask:

Do we praise Christ for who He truly is— or for what we hope He will give us?

It is possible to cry:

“Hosanna!”

While secretly hoping Christ will simply make life easier.

To fix our problems and remove our hardships.

But Christ did not enter Jerusalem to give comfort first.

He entered Jerusalem to purchase salvation.

Through suffering.

Through blood.

Through death.

But the Gospel is hidden in this irony Because while the crowd misunderstood Him…Christ never misunderstood His mission.

He knew:

Why He came.

Where He was going.

What it would cost.

And still yet He rode in ….Because He came to establish a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

A kingdom purchased:

Not with gold.

Not with power.

But with His own blood.

“So while the crowds waved palms expecting victory, Christ rode forward knowing that victory would only come through His suffering—and that suffering would secure a kingdom far greater than anything they imagined.”

Because Christ’s kingdom has never depended on:

Political strength

Human leadership

Worldly certainties

It has always depended on:

The finished work of Christ. And because that kingdom was purchased by His blood—

It cannot fail.

It cannot collapse.

It cannot disappear.

Even in uncertain seasons.

The King who rode into Jerusalem still reigns.

Palm Sunday is not the beginning of worldly triumph. It is the beginning of the King’s humiliation that purchased our eternal exaltation

So how should we respond today?

This is where the passage presses into the life of the congregation.

Because the greatest danger is not misunderstanding Palm Sunday historically—

It is misunderstanding Christ personally.

Examine your Worship

As we gather as a corporate visible church Ask yourselves:

· Do you worship Christ for who He truly is…or for what you hope He will give us?

· Though your voices are beautiful … are you understanding the words you’re singing ?

· Do we use biblical language to describe our lives… yet hold worldly expectations ourselves?

· Do we shout “Hosanna”… Yet resist the cross Christ calls us to bear?

· These are all examples of what we might find that crowd doing

· And it is still possible today with us.

We see it all the time in these Sunday morning night clubs. They say they are praising God while appealing to their own emotions and opinions.

We must all Submit to Christ’s True Kingship

Christ is not a King we invented—He is not merely a carved piece of wood widdled with our own hands.

He is the King Scripture reveals.

A King who rules:

Through humility

Through suffering

Through sacrifice

Heidelberg Catechism Q1 reminds us: Our comfort is not that Christ makes life easy… But that we belong to Him¾Body and soul¾In life and death.

We need to trust Christ When Expectations Fai

This is especially important in seasons of transition

Because just like the crowd: We may have expectations—We may imagine how God should work—But Christ’s plans often unfold differently than we anticipate…

Not worse—but different.

And always wiser.

The crowds thought Palm Sunday meant immediate victory.

God knew it meant necessary suffering.

Main Point 3: The Understatement of the True King (vv. 10–11) + Fallen Condition Focus

Finally, verses 10–11. The whole city is stirred. The crowds are asked, “Who is this?” And they answer, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

What an understatement! They reduce the eternal Son of God, the King of kings, to “the prophet from Nazareth.” Even the apostles did not yet grasp who He really was.

FCF:

We are just like those crowds and just like the apostles. In our fallen condition we crave stability to secure our future. When loss comes—when a beloved pastor leaves, when the “Hosannas” of yesterday turn into questions about tomorrow—we become anxious, some churches might become divided.

This is because, in our sinful nature we tend to look for earthly kings rather than submitting to the humble, sovereign kingship of Christ. We want a God who fits our expectations instead of a King who calls us to take up our cross and follow Him. This fallen condition leaves us fearful, and it leaves the church vulnerable instead of faithful.

But here is the gospel¾the Good News: Jesus knew all of this about us, and still He rode in humbly on that donkey. He came precisely for people like us.

Application

Because Jesus is our eternal King—who governs us by His Word and Spirit, who guards and keeps us, who is the Head and Savior of His Church and because He has promised to preserve every true believer through every trial so that we persevere to the end we are not left to drift alone in fear.

This Palm Sunday the Lord calls us to one concrete, unified response as a congregation.

So I ask you to commit with me this Holy Week a reading plan

Read through the Gospel passages from Palm Sunday through the passion. You can do this as a daily reading and reflection time before bed or early morning. Take the time to reflect on it. Have a moment of silence,… If you do this with your spouse or family then have a moment of discussion afterwards.

Maybe even pray through the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1 each day remembering: “That we are not our own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to our faithful Savior Jesus Christ… all things must work together for our salvation.”

Commit to personally perform one weekly act of humble service to the body—encouraging a fellow member, volunteering to do something for KRPC

Join us on the Wednesday night zoom meeting were we gather in a small group

Be active, joyful trust in the living Head of the Church. As we serve in humility, the same King who rode into Jerusalem will defend us, preserve us, and advance His kingdom among us.

Conclusion

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Palm Sunday is not ultimately about palms or past leaders or even our future. It is about Christ—the humble King who came on a donkey to die in our place, rise in victory, and now reign forever as Head and Savior of His Church.

So lay down your clothes of fear and self-reliance.

Cry out “Hosanna!” with renewed faith.

Because we belong—body and soul—to this faithful Savior, we can walk forward together: united, hopeful, and obedient, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.

To the glory of God the Father,…Amen.