Palm Sunday-The Ultimate Triumphal Entry

Title: Palm Sunday-The Ultimate Triumphal Entry

Date: 4/9/17

Place: BLCC

Text: Luke 19.29-44; Revelation 19.11-16

CT: The real triumphal entry must take place in our heart.

[Screen 1]

FAS: Palm Sunday.

No greater pain has ever been experienced on any level more than the hell of Christ suffering in the moments leading to the Passion. His death on the cross. But why? Because he carried all of that pain, sin, guilt, and shame in that moment. Yet on a far deeper level he was forsaken and punished for us to reconcile us to God (2 Cor. 5:18). [Screen 2] God reconciled Himself to us through Jesus Christ.

Tim Keller illustrates it this way:

If after a service some Sunday morning one of the members of my church comes to me and says, "I never want to see you or talk to you again," I will feel pretty bad. But if today my wife comes up to me and says, "I never want to see you or talk to you again," that's a lot worse. The longer the love, the deeper the love, the greater the torment of its loss.

But this forsakenness, this loss, was between the Father and the Son, who had loved each other from all eternity. … Jesus, the Maker of the world, was being unmade. Why? Jesus was experiencing Judgment Day. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

It wasn't a rhetorical question. And the answer is: For you, for me, for us. Jesus was forsaken by God so that we would never have to be. The judgment that should have fallen on us fell instead on Jesus.

Stu Epperson, Last Words of Jesus (Worthy Inspired, 2015)

LS: Jesus knew what he was facing as he headed toward Jerusalem. He knew the praise and adoration he was receiving would all too soon turn to hate and resentment.

Let’s go straight to the triumphal entry as found in Luke. [Screen 3]

Luke 19.29-36, 36 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. [Screen 4]

Jesus went down that road on a donkey. It was a donkey that had never been ridden. This donkey had yielded its back to its Creator and willingly carried Him down that road. That donkey happens to be a lot like us when we came to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness. We come, used to having our own way. You know doing what we want when we want with whom we want. But knowing we have met our Creator and we need to yield our life to Him. What an honor to be of use to the Creator of all things! Oh to be as used as that donkey should be the desire of every follower of Jesus.

[Screen 5] Luke 19.37-40.

37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

38 “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 Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

What a magnificent scene this had to be. Jesus surrounded by adoring people who saw him as the messiah come to save them.

This was worrying the Pharisees of course. They feared the Romans would react and come down upon the people for shouting such things about this Jesus.

The people knew this had all been foretold in the Bible. They knew their Scripture. This had been prophesied in [Screen 6] Zechariah 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.

These people were doing just what the prophecy had called them to do. They rejoiced. It says in [Screen 7] Matthew 21.9, The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,