Jesus Christ Came To Jerusalem As King Series

Today is Psalm Sunday when we remember and celebrate that Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem as King. But he came to Jerusalem as a king with a difference. So today we will look at the following:

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies about his entry into Jerusalem.

The crowds cried out to be saved.

Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem not to be crowned king but a crown was thrust upon him.

Jesus Christ fulfilled 3 Old Testament prophecies as he entered Jerusalem. These are found in Zech 9:9, the first part of Ps 118: 26, and Isa 61:11.

These verses state:

Zech 9:9 says: “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.”

Ps 118: 26 says; “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” and lastly,

Isa 61: 11 says; “The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your Saviour comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” Therefore, three separate Old Testament passages were fulfilled by Jesus as he entered Jerusalem.

Why do I point this out? I point this out because I want to show that if God has said something, we can be reassured that He will carry it out. And so today we can rest assured that he will fulfil His promises to us. In the Bible, God has promised many things to us, and just now I want to state 10 promises from God for us today:

1. God promises to strengthen you.

Paul said at Eph. 3: 16; “For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.”

2. God promises to give you rest.

Matthew wrote in his gospel in Matt 11:9; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

3. God promises to take care of all your needs.

Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi, at Phil 4:19; “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

4. God promises to answer your prayers.

In Matt 7:7 we read; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

5. God promises to work everything out for your good.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome and said; “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

6. God promises to be with you

In the Old Testament, in the Book of Judges we read; “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

7. God promises to protect you.

The Psalmist wrote at Ps 92:2; “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

8. God promises freedom from sin.

Again in the Book of Romans, we read in Rom 6: 22; “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

9. God promises that nothing can separate you from Him.

Then further on in Rom 8: 8 we read; “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

10. God promises you everlasting life.

Finally, John wrote this famous verse in John 3: 16; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Next, the crowd called out Hosanna. It’s interesting to note that the account by Luke says that “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen”. This is what we traditionally hold close to our chest when we celebrate Palm Sunday. We like the celebration; we like the thought of Jesus being brought on the crest of a wave of rejoicing. John’s account even has a dig at the Pharisees by highlighting the Pharisee’s despair when they said “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after Him”. This is great, we see our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as the focus of all the celebrations. But these versions don’t show the complete picture. There is something more serious in Matthew’s account. Matthew adds the sentence “Hosanna, to the Son of David.” And here, we see a different dimension coming out. We see the crowd, looking to Jesus as their Messiah, a man anointed by God, a king riding into town coming to get rid of the Romans. And this storyline is reinforced when the crowd shouts Hosanna.