Palm Sunday

Today begins Passion week. The final week of Jesus’ life leading up to the resurrection. Everything that Jesus did was intentional. God did all of this for you and for me, that we could come into a right relationship with Him, through the blood of the perfect Lamb.

The Coming of Christ

Zechariah 9:9 NLT

9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.

600 years before Jesus was born, the Prophet Zechariah told us how he was going to enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. Less than a week later He would be beaten, scourged, and crucified to cover yours and my sin debt. Jesus wrote a check only He could cash.

We should be rejoicing! We should live excited knowing that our Savior, Jesus Christ has come! Zechariah said “He is coming!” We get to say that He has come! Our humble King has brought victory!

He goes before you in all righteousness and brings victory into your life and in my life. Praise the name of Jesus Christ this morning. Jesus Christ intentionally fulfilled this prophecy on Palm Sunday. He did this with you in His heart and His mind.

The Command

Matthew 21:1 NLT

1 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.

In Zechariah 14:4, we are told this is where Jesus would be standing. Look here with me, this and the next few verses are often overlooked, remember, Jesus was always teaching!

Jesus sent two of the disciples ahead. We know that Jesus is for us. Guess what, He does not want you to be alone in this walk. Jesus always sent the disciples out in pairs or groups. Here is the caveat: Are we being obedient unto Jesus as these two disciples where obedient? Are we doing what Christ calls us to do, or do we argue with Him?

How we feel is of little consequence when it comes to the Truth of God. Feelings shift from moment to moment, the Apostle Paul calls our feelings the shifting winds. Coming into obedience under Christ means that we are not wishy washy or shifting in His Truth which is perfect and unchanging.

Matthew 21:2–3 NLT

2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”

Jesus is now in full Messiah mode. Jesus knew where the donkey and colt were, He knew the disciples would find them, He knew that the owner would let Him borrow them. Did you catch that, Jesus, God with us, borrowed a donkey and a colt. He did not have a horse, a camel, or anything else. He depended on God completely.

Our King! Not concerned with material wealth. No place to call His own. All He had were the clothes on His back, and a laser focus on Kingdom living. Teaching us in every moment what it means to be a child of God!

How it must break God’s heart when our focus is on the world, on materialism, when His message is of eternal hope, kingdom living, and eternal life with Him.

When Holy Spirit, under the direction of God, speaks to you, are you following His prompting or fighting Him? Like the owner of this donkey and colt, like the two disciples he sent to get them, we must recognize the voice of our LORD, and act on His prompting in our lives. Again, this is not about our feelings, this is about His Truth and coming under the influence of Jesus Christ and nothing else.

Matthew 21:5 NLT

5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’ ”

The people were expecting a King riding in on a warhorse, someone who was going to take down the Roman empire. Here comes Jesus on a donkey’s colt, a sign of peace and humility!

Our King! He came to us! He came to you! We did not beg for an audience with Him, He begs for an audience with you and me. His great love, mercy, and grace poured out on you and me, His brothers and sisters, children of God. Remember, you are not a stepchild of God, you have been adopted through Christ by God Himself.

What are your expectations of God? Are we asking God to show us grace, mercy, and love and then in the next breath expecting Him to smite or somehow harm those we do not agree with? Do we siphon that Grace, mercy, and love and then fail to share the same grace, mercy, and love with others?

As believers with faith in the King of Kings, we are to exhibit the very characteristics of Christ. He is our savior yes, He is also to be Lord of our lives. As our Lord, we follow Him. We deliver His message, we reflect Him by whatever means we have available, in all circumstances.

I rode in on this little girls bicycle to make a point. Some of us do not have a vehicle, some of us wish we had a better vehicle, many of us do not have a motorcycle, some wish they had a nicer motorcycle. Some deliver the message from a wheelchair, while others are bedridden. In the end, its all hay and stubble.

We must share Him through Word and deed with this broken world, however we are able, even if it means we have to ride a little girls bicycle or a donkey’s colt to do it.

The Call

Matthew 21:6–7 NLT

6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They knew that what they were doing was for the Messiah, God with us, Jesus Christ. They did exactly what Jesus asked despite the uncertainty. These disciples were poor people often made to feel insignificant, with no means to buy or rent anything. Yet they paid homage to Christ with all that they had to offer.

This seems like an insignificant part of the story, but it is huge! There is no such thing as an insignificant call from Jesus. You may be questioning God this morning. Where you are in your life, things may be great and you may be wondering when the other shoe is going to drop. Maybe you are experiencing loss or tragedy in this life.

There is no circumstance in this life that does not afford us the opportunity to Glorify Him. These disciples had little clothes, yet they put there garments on the colt for the comfort of Jesus, for the sharing of the message. These actions in faith touch the very heart of God.

Someone here needs to know this morning; You are not insignificant. Jesus made this journey for you. He did not enter Jerusalem because it was going to be something fun to do. He knew what was at the end of this road for Him. The cross. He is the living victory and He gave it all to share that same victory with you and me this morning. Live in His victory.

Matthew 21:8 NLT

8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

This was the crowd acknowledging that Jesus was King. In 2 Kings, when Elisha anointed Jehu as King of Israel, the armies did the very same thing. This is known as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This where we need to get real with God.

Have we each experienced His triumphal entry into our hearts? Have we truly cleared the path, have we laid the palm branches and garments down for Him? Do we at times litter that path with garbage from this world? See, when we talk about Jesus being our LORD and Savior, many times we will gloss over the LORD part.

When we recognize Jesus as our Savior, everything changes. That is the easy part. When we call Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are saying that HE has full authority and that we give Him all control. Jesus is the Master and the one who influences our hearts, our minds, and actions. Jesus becomes the center of everything.

Matthew 21:9 NLT

9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!”

Jesus is smack dab in the center! The crowds are screaming “Anna YHVH Hosia Anna!” "Please LORD, save us, please. Recognizing Jesus as the son of David was to call Him the Messiah. The triumphal entry is fully under way! Yet, the same people would be shouting for His death less than a week later. From proclaiming Jesus as the King in their lives to shunning Him.

We must proclaim Christ as our King. He is to be the King of our hearts and lives, to rule and reign over us. The people of Christ’s day were willing to accept him as an earthly King; that is, they were willing to accept what authority and power He would use for their benefit. The farthest thought from their minds was the spiritual rule and reign of their lives. They wanted earthly and material benefits.

How much like so many of us! We want His kingly power when in need (physically or materially), but other times we want nothing to do with His kingly authority over our lives.

We must welcome Christ as God’s true Messiah, the One who has come to truly save us. We should not presume upon His earthly care and deliverance unless we are first willing to receive His spiritual care and deliverance (salvation and rebirth, the surrendering of all we are and all we have).

Glory be to God in the Highest.

God Bless you.

Alter Call