Palm Sunday 1997 - Here He Comes!

Reading: Luke 19:28-44
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:40 (NIV)

I.   A Dramatic Entrance

     A.  Something Borrowed

         1.  Jesus didn’t have a donkey to ride.

               a.  He traveled around in his ministry by walking.

               b.  He was poor — he didn’t even have a place to lay his head.

         2.  He needed it (v.31) and wasn’t too ashamed to express his need.

         3.  In Matthew’s version, Jesus promises to return the donkey(s) when he’s done.

               a.  Jesus claims no right of ownership, though He is King of all.

     B.  Donkeys are not Impressive

         1.  Jesus might have borrowed a war horse

               a.  As such He would have made an intimidating spectacle.

         2.  He might have borrowed a parade horse — a fancy, high stepping, prancing horse.

               a.  As such He would have made an impressive entrance.

         3.  Jesus comes riding on a donkey that had never been ridden.

               a.  It would have been awkward to ride.

               b.  Donkeys are beasts of burden, not battle; a beast of service, not a symbol of stature. (How many city park heros do you see sitting on donkeys?)

               c.  This donkey was actually a young one - a colt, as Matthew puts it.

               d.  low to the ground — and to the people. Jesus comes mounted, but humbly so.

     C.  Just like Solomon

         1.  He comes like the Son of David.

33 he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. 34 There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

38 So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and put Solomon on King David’s mule and escorted him to Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 And all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound. 1 Kings 1:33-34, 38-40 (NIV)

         2.  Like the Messiah promised through the prophets

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.Zechariah 9:9(NIV)

II.  The Right Response

     A.  This was appropriate for Kings

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.   Psalm 118:22-29 (NIV)

     B.  Jesus Came to be Praised

         1.  Jesus knew what he was doing!

               a.  He chose a colt, because He knew what it would evoke in the hearts of those around Him!

               b.  Jesus was proclaiming himself King.

         2.  At this point in time, if the people weren’t praising him, creation itself would have taken over — it was the appointed time!

               a.  The very stones themselves would have broke out into song

                     (1) As Jesus said God could turn stones into children of Abraham.

                     (2) As Satan reminded Jesus, God could turn them into bread.

                     (3) As God showed Moses, at His command stones would gush with water.

               b.  Those stones had been there at the coronation of Solomon, had been under the hooves of David, and under the feet of Abraham

               c.  They had felt the steps of the prophets who foretold Jesus’ coming. Some of them may have been picked up to kill some of those prophets who brought words of God’s judgement to Jerusalem.

               d.  They had been under the feet of Israel’s oppressors — the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans.

               e.  They knew what this meant!

III. The Wrong Reason

     A.  Jesus Weeps

         1.  He wept while all around was rejoicing

               a.  They didn’t recognize who He really was.

               b.  They knew He was King — that was right — but they didn’t know the kind of King Jesus was to be.

         2.  He saw the whole city - not the buildings, but the people. He longed to gather them together like a hen gathers her chicks but Jerusalem was unwilling (Luke 13:34-35).

         3.  He saw Jerusalem’s future — its punishment for not recognizing him.

     B.  The Time of God’s Coming (v.44)

         1.  While the world sings its songs of victory, Jesus still weeps.

         2.  Today Jesus comes to us.

               a.  Unpretentiously, humbly, in ways we might not recognized.

                     (1) Today he borrows me, or the person who invited you here, or someone else.

                     (2) He doesn’t come looking like much — that’s by design: He wants you to know Him for who he is, not for who you wish He were.

               b.  Do we know who He is?

The Bottom Line:

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