After The Parade Passes By

After The Parade Passes By

Matthew 21: 1 - 11

Intro: On March 1, 1962 the largest ticker-tape parade ever given in New York City took place. It was for astronaut John Glenn after he became the first American to orbit earth in a spacecraft. After the parade, the sanitation department of New York cleaned up 3,474 TONS of ticker-tape, confetti and other paper along the 7-mile route taken by the parade.

I Here in Palestine, Texas we have many parades. Each one passes right down the street passing our church.

A Nearly everyone loves a parade. They are usually exciting and uplifting. It is easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm for the moment.

B There are usually two groups of people at every parade: 1) those who support the reason for the parade, 2) those who are there just because it is an excuse to have some fun.

C The same was true of the “parade” of Jesus entering Jerusalem. There was the crowd of disciples and followers who knew Jesus and there was the “city “asking “Who is this guy? What’s going on?”

II It was the season of Passover in Jerusalem; a religious holiday that came with certain requirements.

A Jews were slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to set them free using 10 plagues to convince the pharaoh to set them free. Death passed over every home sparing the 1st born inhabitants where blood was put on the door posts.

B There were usually large crowds of people in Jerusalem during Passover because every Jew who lives within 20 miles of Jerusalem was required to be there.

C It was during this holiday that Jesus entered Jerusalem to the excitement of the people who believed Jesus would set them free.

III I believe Jesus was deliberately led by God to come to Jerusalem at this specific time. This passage from Matthew tells us three things about Jesus:

A It shows us the courage of Jesus b/c her knew the religious leaders were out to get him; but, he came.

B Jesus came in broad daylight with a flurry of followers screaming, “Hosanna” which was an Aramaic word meaning “we beseech you to save us.”

C He came to fulfill the prophecy of Zachariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Concl: It’s easy to be a Christian on Palm Sunday, or Easter Sunday; but, what about the rest of the week? Who is this Jesus after the parade passes by? We may know the truth of the gospel story. Knowing the truth is not the same thing as DOING the truth.