Palm Sunday: Welcoming the King!
Text: Matt. 21:1-17 [also see Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; and John 12:12-19]
Intro: The account of what is often called the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday is found in all four Gospels. It is in Matt. 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12. It is a very important event because Jesus gives a vivid illustration to show that He is Israel’s Messiah.
As we look at Israel’s history, we see that they had lost their freedom to live under God’s blessing as His special chosen people who would be a light to all other nations. Their disobedience and idolatry had brought God’s judgment on them. Therefore, the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and the southern tribe of Judah was conquered by the Babylonian empire around 586 B.C. Years later, Israel was dominated by the Persian Empire, then Alexander the Great’s Grecian Empire, and finally, during the time of the NT, Israel found themselves under the domination of the Roman Empire.
While going through all these years of oppression and captivity, Israel was looking and hoping for someone like King David to come and rescue them from the evil pagan governments they were under. By the time of Jesus there had been several false messiahs (or anointed ones) who claimed to be God’s chosen leader for the nation. Now, as people had seen Jesus heal the sick, feed the 5000 & the 4000, raise people from the dead, and do all kinds of miraculous works, they were filled with hope that maybe the real Messiah had finally come. They wanted Jesus to step up and use all of His wondrous powers to overthrow the Roman government and set up the kingdom of Israel as the powerful nation it had once been.
However, Jesus had other plans than setting up an earthly government. He did not come to overthrow the governments of the world. Rather, He came to save the world in a way that nobody was expecting.
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at what happened on that Palm Sunday, during the Feast of Passover, a few days before Jesus would die a gruesome death at the hands of people to whom He had given life and breath.
Prop: The main truth I want to leave with you today is this: Those who welcome Jesus as King must also learn to trust Him with the future.
Interrogative: How can we learn to trust Jesus with our future?
T.S.: The following traits of Jesus will help us learn to trust Him more.
I. The Meekness of the King (Read Matt. 21:1-11)
When I have read this passage in the past, I thought it seemed kind of strange that Jesus would send two of His disciples to take someone’s donkey, and then proceed to ride it into Jerusalem. What was this all about?
We must remember that Jesus often said things by His actions, and not only His words. Jesus was creating an illustration in the minds of the people that would help them understand who He really was. See, most Jews of the time knew the OT very well, and had memorized most or all of it. So, as they see Jesus enter Jerusalem on a donkey, some of them likely think of the Scripture in Zechariah 9:9 9 ”Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The people are so ready for the Messiah to come – the one who will be like King David. He will help them defeat all their enemies, and will restore Israel to its place of prominence in the world. However, they seemed to miss the fact that Jesus was coming gently and meekly, just as He described Himself in Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Some of the people would not be happy when they found out that Jesus was not going to whup up on the Romans. However, the gentle, patient grace of God was being shown as Jesus prepared to go to the cross where He would bear the sins of the world.
The people’s response to His entrance on the donkey must have been pretty incredible, however. Apparently, what we see in verse 8 was a common sight as people journeyed to Jerusalem from far away to keep the Passover. When these pilgrims would enter the city, they were welcomed by the crowds who were already there.
However, by waving palm branches and spreading out their garments, the people were clearly intending to show homage and honor to a King, the long-awaited Messiah. Passover was a time when Jews celebrated their deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. During NT times, it became a time when many people had high expectations that another Exodus of sorts (or deliverance from Rome) would take place. But again, the deliverance that Jesus was bringing had more to do with the heart than with the political scene. In Matthew 1, we see that Jesus’ name was given to Him to show that He would save His people from their sins. His Hebrew name, Yeshua, means, Yahweh (God) saves, or Yahweh is our salvation. One day He would also save His people from the consequences of sin, such as domination by a foreign power, but first, there was a spiritual salvation that was needed.
When the people saw Jesus riding on the donkey, they cried out, “Hosanna!” Hosanna means O save, or Save now. This and the next line of verse 9 are from Psalm 118:25-26. Jewish worshipers regularly sang Psalm 113-118 (called the Hallel) during the Passover season. So, these words would have been fresh in the minds of the people during this time.
Application: One thing I noticed here is that honoring the king caught the attention of others, and made them ask about who Jesus was. Look at Matthew 21:10-11 10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" 11 The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
I believe that when we honor Jesus as King and ultimate ruler of our lives, other people will notice and wonder what would cause us to give our love and devotion to someone we had never seen. Then we have an opportunity to share Jesus with them.
Jesus came meekly and gently, but then we see quite a different picture, as Jesus shows that He is indeed the King who is righteous and will not tolerate hypocrisy or extortion in the name of worship or religion.
There is a time for everything, as Solomon said. Jesus wants his followers to be gentle and meek, but that does not mean spineless and weak.
II. The Mighty Zeal of the King (Read Matt. 21:12-13)
Matthew 21:12-13 12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ’den of robbers.’"
The high priest Caiaphas and his family were very corrupt. When someone would bring a lamb for a Passover sacrifice, they had their priestly inspectors pretend to find something wrong with the lamb. Then the worshipper had to buy one of their lambs for the sacrifice, which cost several times more than what was a fair price. Some have compared the high priest and his father Ananias to the mafia today.
Well, Jesus fearlessly faced down this whole corrupt system and stood up for what was right.
Sometimes, we have to do the same. When we see injustice and cruelty in the world and we have the power to do something about it, God may ask us to step up and risk our own well-being for the sake of what is right.
Maybe you heard the story of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. They were riding through a canyon when suddenly they were surrounded by dozens of Indian warriors. The Long Ranger looked at Tonto and said, “What are we going to do?” Tonto looked back and said, “What you mean, ‘We,’ White man?”
Are we willing to risk our lives and reputations to help someone else out of trouble? Jesus was, and He did. This act of cleansing the temple was enough to enrage the mafia high priest and his cronies. Some believe that this, more than any of the teachings or works of Jesus, was what brought about His death.
Nevertheless, Jesus was fearless, He was mighty, and He was filled with righteous zeal for the things of God.
T.S. Finally, let’s look at the mercy of Jesus.
III. The Mercy of the King (Read Matt. 21:14)
Throughout His entire ministry, we can read about the mercy of Jesus. He had compassion on the people, so he taught them, healed them, fed them, and was kind to them. He valued each person, showing that we are all created in God’s image and are therefore valuable to Him. No amount of money is worth the life of a person. “What can a man give in exchange for his soul? What will it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his soul?”
Matthew 21:14 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”
Even after what appears to have been a violent confrontation with the dishonest merchants who were robbing the people who had come to worship, Jesus is still able to come down to eye level with those in need and heal them.
Normally, the blind and lame would not be allowed in the temple itself. They were probably allowed in the outer court (Acts 3:2), but not in the temple. Well, Jesus again bucks the system, and heals the blind and lame. They were restored and could then worship the Lord without the restrictions they once had.
Jesus is a merciful King, and He calls each of us to be merciful. We need to show mercy by helping meet the real needs of people- food, we can offer them healing, when we pray for them. Ultimately, we can offer them Jesus by the way we live and show them the mercy of the King.
Close: As we close today, I’d like to ask you, when is the last time you welcomed the King of Kings into your daily life on His terms? We can so easily be like some of the people who wanted Jesus to act a certain way, and if He didn’t, then He really must not be a king. We need to learn to totally trust Jesus with our future. Many of the Jews thought they knew how to improve their future – if only our Messiah would come and defeat this Roman govt., then everything would be okay. When we pray, sometimes we think God should answer a certain way, but we do not trust Him to handle it His own way. He is the King. We are servants of the King. Let Him take control of your problems and situations and do what He knows is best.
If you find yourself needing to trust the Lord more completely, I would encourage you to give control of your future over to Him. As we bow our heads, I would like to pray for you, and agree with you that you will be willing to take your hands off of the controls, and invite God to take charge of your future. He knows your need and He is willing to help. He is meek and gentle; He is mighty and fearless to stand against evil; and He is merciful and will reach out and help you today.
Pray.
