The Courageous King

Main idea: Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey knowing full well he would trigger the religious and political authorities. Jesus’ mission required him to demonstrate incredible courage regardless of the reactions of others. He is Lord, the absolute authority over all things. The question is, does he have all authority over you, too?

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, as we enter Holy Week we give you praise. We praise you for who you are and how you courageously faced incredible opposition and hardships, but you always overcame with self-giving love. You are the Son of God, our Messiah, the savior of the world! Amen.”

Scripture: Matthew 21:1-11, Zechariah 9:9-10

Jesus’ mission required him to demonstrate incredible courage regardless of the reactions of others.

Introduction

Hello Church, today is Palm Sunday. This marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent. Palm Sunday is the day in which we commemorate Jesus’ courageous entrance into Jerusalem which kicked off the week when he was arrested, convicted, crucified, and most importantly, resurrected.

By all worldly viewpoints, Jesus is about to have a week of nothing but failures, but these failures were sufferings that contrasted God’s nature of love with mankind’s nature to control and dominate. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, he washes his disciples feet, a close friend betrays him, he’s spat upon, abandoned, beaten, whipped, tried, and convicted of being King of the Jews, which is exactly what he was and is. And finally, he was crucified, dead, and buried. These events contrast God’s holiness with humanity’s sinfulness.

Main Teaching

The story begins with Jesus approaching Jerusalem. Before he enters, he sends two of his disciples into a village to return with a donkey and her colt. The disciples do what they’re told, return with the donkey, and Jesus rides slowly into town. The text says that this was done to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah, who envisioned the Messiah would come “gentle and riding on a donkey” (21:5).

A. Jesus has all authority

There are a couple of things going on here which are important.

1. Riding a donkey signified peace

First, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey is a highly intentional move by Jesus. In the ancient world, if a king rode into town on a horse he intended war and aggression; but if he rode into town on a donkey, he intended peace. Jesus rode into town on a donkey to demonstrate his kingship will be one of peace!

The passage from Zechariah continues: “I will take the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from seas to sea” (Zechariah 9:10).

This is a Messianic prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling. He is the anointed one, the messiah, the king coming into town proclaiming peace instead of conflict. The war is over. There will be no more violence. I don’t think the disciples nor the crowds fully understood what Jesus was doing right before their eyes.

The gospel of John says, “At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him” (John 12:16).

2. Jesus proclaims himself King

Secondly, Jesus is proclaiming himself to be king. And this is no small thing! The crowds declared Jesus to be “the prophet from Nazareth” (21:11), but that’s not what Jesus claimed for himself. He was more than a moral teacher and more than a prophet. He was —and is— the King and Messiah.

During his life and ministry Jesus consistently demonstrated true authority ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium