INTRODUCTION:
A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch. The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?” “You see when Jesus came into town, everyone waved Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today.” The little boy replied, “Aw Shucks The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!”
Today is what we call “Palm Sunday.” And this Sunday begins what is often referred to as Holy Week or Passion Week, where we remember the final week of Christ's earthly ministry, and His death and resurrection. It is my prayer that Jesus shows up every week as we come together. Amen?
Today I want to ask you: What does the Lord need from you? For that to happen... for Jesus to show up... for the Gospel to be shared... for salvation to be found... what does God need from you... Today?
Today we are going to ask two things of ourselves: How do we worship and what does God ask of us? I'd like you to turn in your Bibles first of all to Matthew chapter 21...
BODY:
Context- The Triumphal Entry, as it is called, is one of the events that all four Gospels record. Jesus, the Passover Lamb, heads into Jerusalem [for the last time], and He comes as a lowly King riding on a donkey.
Matthew’s account of the Triumphal Entry begins with Jesus sending two disciples...
Matthew 21:1-6 (NIV) says...
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
Now turn to Luke 19:32-35 (NIV) There it says...
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.
The Lord needs it.
Imagine if those words were said to you. Only maybe it’s not a donkey, but your time, your service, your gifts, your talent, or maybe just your availability.
What does God need of us? What does God need of us today to bear Jesus... the message of Jesus so that others know Him so that people will praise Him, so that He can be their Lord and Savior?
Here Jesus is coming to Jerusalem during one of its most holy days, the Passover, the Celebration of God's deliverance from slavery in Egypt. And hundreds of people are on a pilgrimage to the Holy City, to the Temple, to worship their God, to sacrifice and feast and celebrate.
Every Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, on Sunday, worshipers come together because we believe in the deliverance from our slavery to sin found in Jesus.
Jesus has told the disciples several times now, “We are now going to Jerusalem where I am going to hand over the chief priests and the teachers of the law and I will be mocked, beaten, spat upon, whipped, and killed. But then on the third day I will rise again.” And just like those many worshipers, Jesus is headed to the Temple, but not to sacrifice. He's come to be the sacrifice. As multitudes gather to remember the Passover where a perfect lamb was killed to free them from death and slavery in Egypt, Jesus comes to be that perfect lamb, to be killed, to set us all free from death and slavery to sin. But why on a donkey?
In Matthew 21:4-5 (NIV) it says...
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]
In those days, the traditional mount of kings in that part of the world was on a donkey.
Now maybe to a Roman, this might seem strange – a king riding on a donkey.
But to the Jews, this fulfilled what was foretold about the Messiah coming down from the Mount of Olives toward Jerusalem at the time of Passover. Their dreams and wishes, their prayers were being answered right before their eyes, they thought. The days of oppression were over and the days of God’s mighty kingdom were here. Those that had heard of this Jesus and all of the miracles, were thrilled to see Him arriving this way, proclaiming openly that He was in fact the Messiah.
On that first Palm Sunday, one might have expected Jesus the King to enter Jerusalem on a mighty steed. But He chose a lowly donkey instead. Before He could come as a King to reign, He had to come as a Savior to die. And the crown that He had come to wear was not a crown of gold, but a crown of thorns.
Before Christ can reign as your Lord and the King of your life He must first be your Savior, saving you from sin so that you can live a new life for Him. Those of you who know this message. You've heard Oh so many times. What does God need from you to bear His message to others? So that others may worship Him. So that others may know Him as their Lord and Savior.
Matthew 21:7-11 (NIV) says...
7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]
“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”
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.”
“Hosanna” is from the Hebrew word that means, “Lord, Save-deliver (us), we pray!” There are several Psalms that are sung by the Jews called the Hallel which have these words. It was an acknowledgment of God’s power as well as a petition for God’s help. It was a prayer for deliverance though their thinking was probably from the Romans instead of from their sins. So they are praising, they are worshiping, they are praying - “Save us! Deliver us!” And it's not just a prayer; it's a proclamation of faith. “We believe in the God who can save us through Jesus the Christ.”
Folks, When we pray, when we worship, when we sing, when we gather... is this our prayer? Is this our proclamation? “We believe in the God who can save us through Jesus Christ!” Do you believe that? Don't you want others to believe that too? Then what does God need from you to proclaim that message to a world that needs Him?
It all started with two disciples who were sent and a man who gave up his donkey so that Jesus could be worshiped to the Temple. The Bible says that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and that God, by His Holy Spirit, desires to live and be worshiped in us.
I believe that the church is like that road to Jerusalem. Some are coming because it's what is required of them. It's what you're supposed to do if you're a Christian. Some are coming because they've heard of this Jesus and want to know more. But the journey from here to the temple where the Lord dwells in our midst is a road marked with surrender, submission, worship, and faith in the God who delivers.
Will you be among those who are sent to find a way to bring Jesus to others?
Or will you be the one who gives because the Lord needs it?
Will you be willing to lay down your pride, your rights, your ambition, your wants, and desires so that Christ might be glorified? Will you openly proclaim your faith in salvation and in Christ your Savior?
When Jesus entered Jerusalem it says the whole city was stirred with excitement. The Greek word translated as “moved” or stirred is where we get our word “seismic.” Think of an earthquake! In other parts of the Bible, it is rendered 'quake' or 'shaken.'
And I believe it is time for the church to get shaken up! Moved! Stirred!
We've sat quietly too long. We've fallen asleep. Church has become very routine, going through the motions of religion. If Jesus is here and we do feel His presence, if we believe in the God who can save through Jesus our Savior, then where is the worship? Where is praise? Where is the excitement? Where is the joy? Where is the hunger? Where is the faith?
This is what the people gave that day when Jesus came to town: They gave Him a way to be carried to the Temple, they cast off their garments (their outer coats) for Jesus to walk upon, they waves branches and sang praises, and they proclaimed their belief in God's salvation.
For many of us, it seems almost too much to ask just to get out of bed and show up for Sunday Meeting. Much less to pray for Jesus to show up in that meeting and to carry Him into that meeting with us through faith and the relationship that we have built in our prayers with Him throughout the week. Much less to cast off our pride and self-righteousness and sinful rags before Jesus, honoring Him as Lord. Much less to offer up our sacrifices of praise and glory and faith, believing … actively believing in the God who can save because we know Jesus came to do just that.
And we wonder why so many believe that church is just not needed, not necessary.
Is it because we are no longer moved to worship, we are no longer stirred to tears, we are no longer passionate about our desire for God to save us… save our families, save our children, save our community, save our world? Folks, what does God need from you today?
CONCLUSION:
That little boy thought that he missed it, the day that Jesus showed up. We sometimes think like that, like God is more present in one place than He is in another. But the truth is, God is everywhere. See He is omnipresent.
The Psalmist said that there is nowhere he could go from God’s presence.
There’s nothing that we can do or give for Jesus to “show up.” He’s already here. But are you aware of His presence? Or are we acting like He never came? Like it’s just another Sunday. The difference between just another Sunday and a Triumphal Entry is how you have received your King. What does He need from you today?
