The Triumphal Entry

Passage Guide

If you have your bibles, turn with me to Luke 19.

Today, we are beginning a new series entitled, “Lead Me To The Cross.” We are going to dive into the timeline of “Passion Week,” beginning with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ending with the resurrection and eventually, although not a part of the actual “week,” if you will, the Ascension.

Message Introduction

Today, we are going to be looking at two things:the triumphal entrypassover Mainly the passover, but we are going to start with the triumphal entry, which we will be celebrating next Sunday as Passion Week begins and Pastor Don Jr. will be speaking to us about the crucifixion. You do not want to miss that.

Main Text #1

Okay so, Luke 19, beginning in v28:

​Luke 19:28–40 NASB28 After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

28 After Jesus said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mountain that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the [g]miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting:“Blessed is the King, the One who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”39 And yet some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!”40 Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!”Let us pray...

I. PALM SUNDAY

Okay, so Jesus, upon leaving the Olivet Mountain, is ready to come into Jerusalem. So he has his disciples go and grab a jackass that no one had ever ridden before.

Illustration

How many of you remember those old cowboy shows, the westerns like “Gunsmoke,” “The Rifleman,” “The Virginian,” and “Bonanza?”

I saw this episode of “The Virginian” one time, and The Virginian, Trampas and Judge Garth’s daughter Betsy are are standing around their stable and they’re talking about this black stallion that Betsy found that everyone claims can’t be ridden.

Trampas decides that he’s going to break this horse.

Anybody who knows anything about training a horse knows that over time, you slowly introduce them to elements, such as a flag, a rope or a blanket before you put the saddle on one. You are gentle, but deliberate in your movements and your actions, like when you’re running the horse around the round pen, or when you’re getting the elements of the saddle on. But it’s almost to a point where you are gently making friends with this horse.

This is not what Trampas did.

The first time he tried to ride him, he got kicked. The second time, he made it all the way up just to get thrown off.

In fact, after a dozen or so tries of this, Trampas gave up. It wasn’t until Betsy gave it a try that the horse finally got with the program.

This is what we find when Jesus’ disciples came upon this colt — no one could ride him. Now, I’m sure you can imagine Peter or James or whoever it may have been getting kicked, thrown off, bucked and red-face embarrassed! Then Jesus steps up and within seconds, he knows what to do with this colt, and just like that, he’s broken. So he gets on this colt. Why? A few moments later we find that as he rode on into Jerusalem, his followers had gathered and they begin throwing blankets and coats and palm branches onto the ground. (Joke) Did you know that’s why they call it Palm Sunday? Those people started shouting and cheering for Jesus! Why? It got so loud that the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” To which Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, the stones will cry out!” (Joke) Both of those lines in the written Word of God have exclamation points because you have to yell when you’re in a crowd of people screaming at you.(That’s funny because it’s WRITTEN, not spoken.) Why is this important, why was this included in the Bible? What is the significance? Why is this city so special, and why did God set His affection upon Jerusalem, city of Zion? Very quickly, I want to give you three things:

1. The City

The City of Jerusalem was important because God would send Jesus there to die for sinners. It was called the City of Peace, although today it sees quite a bit of heartache and strife, but it is called the City of Peace because this is where God reconciled man to himself.

​Genesis 3:15 NASB15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

15 And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

​Ephesians 2:14–16 NASB14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace; 16 and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility. This is important because God will rule from Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom. (Joke) Could you imagine a kingdom run by millennials?

​Psalm 132:11–14 NASB11 The Lord has sworn to David A truth from which He will not turn back: “Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne. 12 “If your sons will keep My covenant And My testimony which I will teach them, Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.” 13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. 14 “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

11 The Lord has sworn to David a truth from which He will not turn back: “I will set upon your throne one from the fruit of your body.12 If your sons will keep My covenant and My testimony which I will teach them, their sons also will sit upon your throne forever.”13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it as His dwelling place.14 “This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

​Zechariah 6:13 NASB13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” ’

13 Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the majesty and sit and rule on His throne. So He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.”’

2. The People

In John’s account of the story, when the people began to shout and cheer and throw down palms, they shouted “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the KING of Israel.”

​John 12:13 NASB13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.”

3 they took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, indeed, the King of Israel!” When Jesus went through Samaria, He met the woman at the well. This is what he said to her:

​John 4:22 NASB22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews.

​Matthew 1:21 NASB21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

21 She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The people who were cheering for him were the same people, mind you, that a few days later would cry out, “CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!” Yet Jesus came to save them — he came to the Jew first.

​Romans 1:16 NASB16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

But the Jews ultimately rejected him, and he knew they would. There were many people present on Palm Sunday — thousands and thousands of people — Jew and Gentile, alike. In his account, John writes:

​John 12:20 NASB20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast;

There was an assortment of backgrounds represented on that day — there were the religious leaders, the Pharisees, the rich and poor, the common and the well-off. Even the people who had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus were in attendance.

​John 12:17 NASB17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.

So he came for everyone else, too. Yes, the Israelis were important, even though they ultimately rejected him and crucified him, but it was all the people whom he loved so much and who he ultimately came to save. This is why he told his disciples to “be [his] witnesses … to the remotest part of the earth.”

​Acts 1:8 NASB8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”

3. The Prophecy

He came to Jerusalem and entered like he did to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah and Zechariah. Notice what it says in Matthew’s account:

​Matthew 21:4–5 NASB4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

4 Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

​Isaiah 62:11 NASB11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation is coming; behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”

​Zechariah 9:9 NASB9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.