His Time Has Come

Matthew 21:1–11 (NASB 2020) pew bible 660

1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples,

2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me.

3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them on immediately.”

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.’ ”

6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,

7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks.

8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.

9 Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Palm Sunday feels like a celebration doesn’t it?

We have been in the season of Lent reflecting on Jesus in prayer and fasting.

The time is coming to an end as we enter what is called Holy Week

What we might forget or not know while shouting Hosanna! is the word itself means, save now, oh save us!

It is a plea of rescue

The crowd that day weren’t just singing songs of joy the way we typically think of it, they were singing a song of plea for liberation!

Doesn’t this make sense when we think how the people of Jerusalem felt at this time - EXPLORE THIS WITH THEM

I have often thought how sad that the crowd missed the point of Jesus coming to Jerusalem

How many times have we talked about them wanting Messiah to come and over throw their Roman oppressors?

Jesus came in an unexpected way

Peaceful instead of violent

Humble instead of flashy

On the colt of a donkey instead of a giant white horse

He did come to liberate them

However, His liberation was going to look different from what they were expecting

You see if we aren’t careful we can gloss over the reality of the event, when we focus more on the celebration of Palm Sunday

Oh, and how fast we can gloss over our own pain, suffering, and our need of a savior.

Let the deep hearted cries Hosanna sink deep within us

Are you ready to hear the message God has for us?

Let’s dig in

The Unusual King

Triumphal entries have a long historical tradition associated with them in the Roman Empire - Describe

Led by government officials

Champions on a chariot led by white horses

Sacrifices to the pantheon of Gods

Wearing purple, captives of war

An honor for victories

Path of procession was cleaned and prepared in advance

Lots of pomp and circumstance for a great celebration

Notice how different the triumphal entry of Jesus was to that long tradition

It was not in the city of Rome

Jerusalem the location of the temple

It was not the heart of Roman empire but the heart of Jewish faith

He was not entering as the victor of war or battle

He was marching towards his own death

Instead of horse and chariot Jesus rode in on the colt of donkey

White horses were a symbol victory, a donkey was the symbol of humility

Interesting that in this season we have seen that Jesus broke with what was the accepted norm

Jesus The Liberator

There was a physical liberation that Jesus did in His ministry

Think of all the miracles - sight, mobility, health, and even life from death

Miracles that brought relief - from hunger, thirst (water to wine), catching fish

Jesus also brought social freedom

He called tax collectors to quit cheating

Called on the wealthy to live lives of generosity

He overturned tables in the temple show His intolerance for injustice, and exploitation

Jesus also freed people spiritually

Freed the demon oppressed

Pointed people to the kingdom of God

Urged people to repent from their sins

Jesus was also the liberating Savior

The road that led to Jersualem would be the same road that would lead to mount calvary

Liberation saw its greatest work in the atonement of the cross

The cross is the ultimate act that brought people of all generations liberation from sin

The crowd longed for the liberation of a physical kingdom, but Jesus longed to give the Kingdom of Heaven

Hosanna!

Do we miss the Kingdom of God today because we like the crowd are looking for something physical?

Do we ignore our own deep need for liberation because surrender to transformation is uncomfortable?

We struggle with what it means to be vulnerable!

We allow shame to narrate our lives!

How much Jesus wants to liberate us from the oppression of sin!

Jesus came to save us, to respond to the cries of Hosanna, Lord, Save us!

We need to surrender our lives to Jesus so He can liberate us from the bondage of Sin.

Conclusion

Hosanna! Lord save us!

We cry from the deepest and most broken places of our lives!

If we would but stop and listen, we would hear the cry all around us as well!

Our wold is so lost in brokenness and sin and there is a deep need of a savior, a liberator!

Those cries were heard by our Father in heaven who sent His Son to this world

To reveal a better way, to heal and restore, to free us from bondage.

Would you let Jesus be your liberator?

Give your life to Jesus today so he can free you from the bondage of sin!

How wonderful to feel that tremendous weight lifted from your life!