A Journey to Calvary; His Passion, our Deliverance Part 1
The Arrival of the King
Am Service March 22nd 2008
Matthew 21:1-11
Introduction
I’d like to read you a little piece written by an unknown author called One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He did not go to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things associated with greatness.
He had no credentials but himself.
He was only thirty three years of age when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away.
He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone and today he remains the central figure of the human race, and the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man on this planet so much as that one solitary life.
Of course this peace is written about Jesus, and today I we will begin a four part series entitled “A journey to Calvary; His passion and our Deliverance”. We will take a look at some of the events in the life of Christ specifically in the last week of His life here on earth leading up to his resurrection which we will celebrate on April 12th.
Today we take a look at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is the beginning of what is called the Passion Week. We will again look at this passage from the title “The arrival of the King”, and see what we can learn when Jesus the King arrived in Jerusalem.
Read Scriptures: Matthew 21:1-11
I. Jesus the King arrived because God never breaks a promise
Vs. 4-5 “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
This was written hundreds of years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Prophecy is a big reason we know the Bible is God’s Word. No other religious book has prophecy. The Bible has been accurate 100% of the time.
The Bible told exactly how Jesus would enter Jerusalem and that’s exactly the way it happened. Their King would come riding in on a donkey.
The Prophet Daniel over five hundred years before this point, received a promise from God that 490 years after the work to rebuild Jerusalem began it says in Daniel 9:26 “Shall Messiah be cut off”.
In the book of Nehemiah the work to rebuild Jerusalem began in the year 445 BC. When that work began God started His Holy stop Watch and when the time was fulfill of the 490 years exactly Jesus rode into Jerusalem. “See, your King comes to you” is a promise from almighty God, not only is He the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, but He is your personal King.
That event reminds us that God never breaks a promise to us. He never goes back on His word. My favorite promise in all the bible is when Jesus said in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
The promise of Heaven is true and real for all of us who have truly made Jesus our personal King of our lives.
II. Jesus the King’s arrival reminds me that He came to bring Peace
Vs. 5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ’See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Not only was Jesus the King’s arrival a fulfillment of God’s promise, but the manner of how Jesus rode into Jerusalem teaches that His intent is to bring peace.
The Jews were looking for conquering King, a King who would deliver them from the under the bondage of the rule of Rome. If that would have been Jesus’ intent then He would have rode into town riding a horse. But Jesus riding on the foal of a donkey, which is the son of a donkey, the foal of a donkey is a symbol of peace, so Jesus was sending them a message, “I am not going to give you peace like the world gives, but I am going to give you peace that world cannot understand”.
Through Jesus I have peace with God, no longer am I an enemy to God because of My sin, but now I am at peace with God, and Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey reminds me that I can have peace with God through Jesus.
III. Jesus the King’s arrival reminds me that He deserves Reverence
Vs. 7-9 “They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"”
Jesus’ Disciples took off there own cloaks to create a saddle for Jesus, and the others that went ahead of Him took off there cloaks and place them on the ground was symbol to reverence.
They were more concerned about the comfort of Jesus than there own. They gave Him the utmost respect by denying themselves to serve Him in some manner. Jesus the King’s arrival reminds me that He deserves reverence in my life. He deserves my worship, He deserves my service. He rode into Jerusalem for the purpose of providing something for me that I could never earn or attain on my own, and that is a right standing with God.
Although most of the people there didn’t fully understand who they were worshiping, we know that because those same cries of worship were later in the week turned to murderous cries of Crucify! Crucify! Crucify!
In that moment those people didn’t fully understand Jesus; it reminds us that He does deserve reverence.
IV. When Jesus the King arrives questions about Him must be answered.
Vs. 10-11 “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
When Jesus finally made it into Jerusalem, with all of the worship and shouts, and the large crowds of people with there excitement and enthusiasm, it caused the people of Jerusalem to ask the question “Who is this?”
This should speak to us as followers of Christ, when we go out into the world and live out our lives, are we excited about Jesus, and what He has done for us, and what He does for us, do we have an enthusiasm about our faith in Him, because you see if we do, it will cause those who don’t know Him to ask, “Who is this?” Tell me about this Jesus, and the relationship you have with Him, even it is the worst time of your life, you still have an excitement about Jesus.
Lets be honest in a crowd this size, there are some in here that are lost, and those that are lost see how we act on Sundays with all of our smiles and handshakes and hugs, but how do act when we are away from here, you see these people on the road were not in a church setting, they were in the streets, in the market place and they were excited.
Only when the church of Jesus Christ gets excited about Him in our ordinary everyday lives will we begin to have an impact on our community. Because those who are not truly saved see who we really are when we leave this building, and we engage in gossip, and slander, cursing, anger, snobby attitudes, they see you at bar rooms and casinos, that shows an excitement for the world not for Jesus. Jesus the King’s arrival in Jerusalem reminds us that we need to have an excitement for Him in our every day lives and when we do, the lost will take notice and ask the question “Who is this?”
When was the last time you had such and excitement and enthusiasm about Jesus in your life that it caused other people to ask you what makes you so excited about life. Then you can respond, “I have never been the same since Jesus came into my heart”.
Conclusion
Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem teaches us that God never breaks a promise, that Jesus came to bring us peace in our hearts and minds, because we have peace with God through Him, it teaches us that Jesus deserves reverence in my life, and it teaches us from the excitement of the people that we too need an excitement in our lives about Jesus so that others will want to know Him as well.
Maybe today you realize you really don’t know Him as King, and Lord and Savior, maybe you have been attending our worship services for a while now, and you have heard how to be truly saved and you have been putting it off, maybe you think you are in good standing with God just because you come to Church, when in reality you don’t come to church to be in good standing with God, you come to Jesus for that, but you come to church because you want to worship Jesus because He paid the price for you to be in good standing with God.
This altar will open for you today to come and seek the Lord and the response that He wants out of you in your life.
(Thanks sermoncentral contributor, Preacher’s outline and sermon bible)
