Sermon on Palm Sunday

The Triumphal Entry

Matthew 21 verse 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,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’”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.

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.”

Sermon by Charles Spurgeon. Every circumstance connected with the life of Christ is deeply interesting to the Christian mind. Wherever we behold our savior, he is well worthy of our notice. “His cross, his manager, and his crown, are big with glories yet unknown.” All his weary pilgrimage, from Bethlehem’s manger to Calvary's cross, is in our eyes, paved with glory. Each spot upon which He trod is to our souls, consecrated at once simply because there the foot of earth’s savior and our own Redeemer once was placed.

This is palm Sunday and sometimes we overlook this week. At times we forget and just remember Easter but this day is a remembrance of what is to come. Christ’s life is important and he is one of the most notable people in history. But What did he really do? We see here Charles Spurgeon’s take on Christ. Everything about Jesus is important. From His 30 years before his ministry to his 4 years on ministry revealing God and His ultimate purpose on earth to redeem us through His sacrifice.

In Matthew, the first 20 chapters describes Jesus earthly mission and the next 8 chapters or 30 percent is about holy week. We see the importance of this week to the writers of the Gospels. They remember this week, they talk about it and they record a lot of it. It’s the climax to God’s plan on earth for His son. All Gospels mention Jesus triumphal entry to Jerusalem. It was His last week on earth. The king of the universe, coming to do what he came to this world to do when he was sent here 34 years prior. Now fulfilling the prophecy.

Going through verses 1-7 Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem on a donkey and colt. The Jews were ruled by the Romans and they were waiting anxiously for their king to come to free them from their oppressors. They wanted their nation back and they wanted freedom. But what did they see? Jesus on a donkey. Donkeys are not a symbol of conquest or of a great king coming to free them. If Jesus wanted to fulfill that he would have came with a horse and his followers would be armed and ready for war and conquest. But he came riding on a donkey. For peace. What we want to see Jesus do is the same as what the Jews wanted, for Jesus to be a great conquered and a liberator. I love movies of heroes saving people and action. I love history like Alexander the great conquering all nations surrounding him. We have so much action movies today, showing us what we want to see, a brave leader conquering the bad and winning for the good. But I was listening to Tim Keller and he made an interesting point. If Jesus came as they wanted to conquer the Romans and to be king, the people would still have their sin and there would be no restoration. They would still long for God and they would revert back to the old ways of subduing other nations and killing and pillaging. Their King would have lead like David, bringing the kingdom back to the Jews and then he would die and then history would repeat itself. The people turning back to their sins and God punishing and exiling them because of their sins. That was not God’s plan. Not for momentary happiness but for eternal joy with him.

But how did Jesus come? As a messenger of peace. As the sacrifice that is to come to redeem us and restore us through faith and trust and surrender to Him. He is the example of peace versus strength. What happens if we rely on strength? We take things to our own hands, and we hurt and regret what we say and do. We can kill and conquer but things will revert back to what they once were, evil being in control. But what happens when we are like Jesus? Relying on the father to bring justice in his time and remembering we too are sinners and need grace. We treat others differently and empathize instead of Judging and hurting. It leaves judgement to God and gives us a clean conscience. Jesus came to fulfill the command of God that was unknown to the believers then and is still not know by people today. We needed a savior but in our minds we turn to a hero that kills, and wins battles and overthrows the bad and restores the good but that was not God’s intention for the first coming of Jesus. He will come back to rule the earth for a 1000 years as it says in revelation 20 and be the prince of peace but not then. He came humbly.

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.”

8-11 is the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The crowds see the miracles and have heard of Jesus.

Reading from the NIV Application Commentary, Jesus intentionally declares his identity to the nation. The circumstances of his entry will produce a variety of reactions among the people. At the Passover season, messianic excitement tended to run high. Pilgrims crowding into Jerusalem from the surrounding region in hope for the appearance of Messiah was ready to be ignited. The recent raising of Lazarus stimulated renewed interest in Jesus, both the crowds hope in him as a miraculous liberator and, the religious leader’s opposition to him as a threat to the national security. Jesus descent from the mount of olives into Jerusalem invoked images of Zechariah’s prophecy of the Lord's fighting against the nations with his feet on the mount of olives and liberating Jerusalem. Further excitement is stimulated by Jesus’ riding on a cult, for filling Zechariah’s prophecy of the messianic king who comes to liberate his people. This is no mere coincidence. The acclaim of the crowds come from their own expectation of what they want Jesus to be. But for Jesus it is a self-disclosure to Israel, which will seal the fate of his people but will also be a testimony to his disciples once they reflect on these events with their eyes of faith after his crucifixion and resurrection.

Jesus Finally reveals who He is. Remember what he said to those he healed? Don’t tell people who I am. Remember what he said to His disciples? My time has not yet come. But now its here. He reveals himself. The people knew who he was, a prophet who did miracles but now he is revealing himself as the son of God. Hosanna in the highest. Come save us they cried, not knowing what it was he was saving them from. From the poorest sinner to the richest sinner, Christ came, knowing what was to come and what would ultimately be required of Him. Going willingly by the way of the Cross.