The King No One Expected

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Intro

in 30 A.D., in the beginning of the week of Passover, a king rode into Jerusalem surely to be talked about all over the city.

hundreds, if not thousands of people celebrated who he was and what he meant for their people

His mere presence invoked a sense of awe and wonder

I am sure many

Some were curious and maybe even some were resentful of his presence

On the other side of town, hundreds of peasants threw their cloaks down and shouted at the top of their lungs “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

A cry of celebration and a cry for help from a people who were oppressed by the “king” who was coming into town at the same time

One rode in surrounded by calvary on horses, foot soldiers with leather armor an weapons, banners, golden eagles on poles and the sound of beating drums

Another came surrounded by fishermen, riding a donkey

Pontious pilate and Jesus may have came into the city on the same day but they represented two totally different settings for Jerusalem

Pilate’s procession proclaimed the power of an empire, Jesus’ procession proclaimed the power of the Kingdom of God

Palm Sunday is a day of celebration for Christians

It is a day that begins the specific plan that Jesus has for the last week of his life.

He has set out to fulfill the prophecies about his coming over the next week in a specific time and manner

Even this procession was done on a specific day for a specific reason

Roman leaders came to town around large jewish holidays not as a sign of reverence but to make sure that things didn’t get out of hand

The population in Jerusalem, on this most important week, would grow to more than 2.5 million people

They were not concerned about showing support for these people

They wanted to make sure that they complied with their kingdom rules

This almost seems like a political demonstration

But a definite counter to the

The cries of Hosanna come from a people not looking to celebrate the coming messiah but are a cry for help from what they believe is the King that will save them from the Roman oppression.

recalls the prophecy in

Zechariah 9:9–13 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

Matthew 21:5 ESV

“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.’ ”

Zechariah 9:9–13 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double. For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

The problem with this celebration was they were looking for the king like the one on the other side of town

They were looking for the king to ride into town with an army banging drums and declaring war against the oppressive rulers of Rome

They were looking for the king who would ride in and fulfill the promise of double restoration

They were looking for a warrior

The king they were celebrating was the king that no one expected

We are a lot like these people

We look to Jesus to fit into our plans, into our processes

We are looking at him as to how he fits into our lives instead of fitting our lives into his.

These people were looking for a conquering hero instead of the savior that they needed.

We often try to put God in this box of our own metal capacity

But who are we to understand who God is?

But our minds cannot contain how great God is

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

His ways are higher than ours

His thoughts are higher than ours

But just like these people we put this messiah in our box

But just like he was for them, he is so much more than we could ever imagine

PRAY - First Baptist Church Bryant

Jesus is never what we expect. He is exactly what we need.

was a passage I am sure that many people knew and believed in

They expected to have a king who would come in and fight the battle to win their freedom

But even the way that Jesus came into town should have been a clue

He came on a lowly donkey, not the horse of war that Pilate entered town on

He was nothing like the people expected, which is likely what led to the raucous crowd screaming crucify him!

Our expectations of Jesus are based on our own selfish desire.

It’s hard to think of that but it’s true

We

We are a part of the instant pot generation

It used to take a roast all day on sunday to cook but now you can slap it in an instant pot and it’s done in 2 hours

We think God is going to move right then and right now

We expect God to be an instant pot God

Or we look at God as Veruca Salt looked at her father

Don’t take forever. Give it to me now

I expect to God to just give me what I want and I want it now!

It’s a result of a prosperity gospel

We are not concerned about the long term benefit

Our

We just want instant gratification

We expect that!

But God knows what we need

Veruca didn’t need a goose that laid a golden egg like in the original

Or a squirrel like in the remake

She just wanted it

It was instant gratification

We look for God to make us happy

WE look for God to work all things together for good like he promises

But our good is not the good he has for us

He will give us what we need!

The people cheering Jess on were expecting a warring king to save them now

But Jesus knew that they needed salvation for eternity

So his mission would have to continue

We think in immediate benefit. Jesus is thinks in eternal impact.

Someone who will rescue us from oppression

I truly believe that these people knew that he was the messiah that was promised

They could not have heard the prophecies and then see them fulfilled and not believed

They had to know that he was the messiah that the prophets had foretold

SO what made them turn on him only a few days later?

tells the story of a messiah on a warhorse

He was coming to set the prisoners free

They were the prisoners!

They were tired of being captives!

They wanted to be free now!

Even Peter tried to stop him from fulfilling his purpose

Matthew 16:21–23 ESV

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

This is not what Peter had envisioned

He was expecting Jesus to mount the warriors horse and free them all!

Some times I thank God for unanswered prayers

Can you think of things that you have asked God for and how he never answered them

Are you thankful for that?

Or maybe you have prayed and prayed for things and they aren’t happening.

Are you thinking immediate benefit or eternal impact?

Peter believed in Jesus

Just a few seconds before Jesus called him satan he told him he was going to build his church on him because he had confessed that Jesus was the son of the living God!

But his mindset was not eternal.

Sometimes we live our life looking at the end of out noses

We are looking at what is directly in front of us

Instead of looking in advance

WE have to look at the eternal impact of what we are doing

To look at how what God is doing in us is going to impact eternity!

WE have to see the eternal impact above the immediate benefit

Why is this important?

This Palm Sunday is the beginning of a week that has an eternal impact on everyone that would hear it

When Jesus began this entry into the city it was all part of a specific plan to make it to the cross

This entry into the city was the beginning of the end for him and the beginning of eternity for all mankind

What we do with this week is up to us

Jesus worked this plan to perfection so that all of humanity could know about the redemption that he carried for them

God has a specific plan for your life

He wants to carry it out to perfection for you

It may be nothing close to what you expect or think

But it will definitely be for the benefit of you and the kingdom, if you will let him be the king of your life completely

Where do we go from here?

What are you looking for in Jesus?