Hope Enters

This is the manuscript from the sermon I preached online for West Bradenton Southside this week.

Scripture
Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28 – 40, John 12:12 – 19
 
Introduction
Easter is a time when we reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  During this time, we are reminded of the humiliating and excruciating painful death our savior endured to atone for our sins.  As Christians we remember that Jesus died for our sins and we rejoice in the truth that he rose from the grave.  We celebrate Easter because He is alive today and seated at the right hand of the Father. 
 
The Bible tells us Jesus endured the cross and rose from the dead so that anyone who puts their faith and trust in him will share in the resurrected life he offers to all who confess their sins, repent and believe on His name.  I will speak more specifically about this next week.
 
Today is Palm Sunday, and this day begins “Holy Week”.  My goal for today is to talk about the four separate accounts of the same event that is called Jesus’ triumphal entry or more commonly known as Palm Sunday found in the Gospels.  This event is one of a few occurrences that is recorded in all four Gospels in the life of Jesus. While all four are similar in subject there are some differences in the way the accounts are re-told.  Today we will look at these accounts collectively as we read about and celebrate the significance of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry.
 
The Story – (Outline)

• The theme of this account is Jesus making preparations for his royal entry.  Palm Sunday is the first time where he publicly accepts worship and He identifies himself with the Messiah. 
• Jesus and his Disciples went to Bethphage which was near Bethany (approximately 2 miles east of Jerusalem) to a place called the Mount of Olives.
• A great crowd of people followed him (John 12:12).  This crowd probably consisted of people taking a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover.  According to the historian Josephus there was one Passover where over two million people came to Jerusalem to attend.  Now, we are not sure if that was normal, but there was certainly a potential for a large gathering of people in Jerusalem for Passover. 
• As Jesus draws near to the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples (undisclosed) to the town to get a donkey colt.  According to the Gospels of Mark and Luke the donkey should be one that has never had a rider; one that is pure and undefiled.
• Matthew and John tell us this all takes place in order to fulfill the words penned by the prophet Zechariah.

Zechariah 9:9 (Read)

• This was a prophecy about the coming King of Zion or more specifically the coming Messiah.
• In this prophecy the people of Israel are told to rejoice and shout because the King is coming soon.
• They are to rejoice because He is a righteous King and He will bring redemption and salvation.
• He will be a gentle and humble king, and this will be evident by his riding on a colt’s donkey.
• Since he was the TRUE king, He could have ridden in on a war horse, but instead he chose to be a King of peace and humility.  A humble, servant King.
  • Jesus tells the disciples that when the owners ask what they are doing to tell him, “The Lord needs it.”
  • As you can imagine that would have been an awkward conversation and moment.
• Think of it this way…. You left your car in the driveway with the keys in the ignition and you see a couple of rough looking guys walk up to the car and get in and start it up.  You run outside and say, “What do you think you are doing?” and they reply, “Jesus needs this car.” 
• How would you respond?  Probably not as compliant as the owner of the donkey colt.  He allows them to take it so the prophecy could be fulfilled. 
• This raises a lot of questions in my mind.  Did the owner know what they were talking about?  Was he aware that something special was happening that day?  Were ALL colt’s donkey owners aware of the prophecy and anticipating the possibility of this happening? 
• I don’t have an answer for any of these questions, but I do believe that the owner was divinely chosen by God to be the one to provide the colt’s donkey to fulfill the prophecy.
• This little side story is encouraging to my heart because this shows me that God uses the smallest of things to accomplish his will. 
• We sometimes think that God needs us to accomplish the big things for Him in order to be used by Him, but we can see right here that even with what seems small and insignificant God can and does use them for His glory and purpose.
• So don’t you ever think that what you do for God is ever too small or insignificant for Him to use for His purposes.
  • Jesus rides into Jerusalem and the people begin shouting and rejoicing saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:9)
  • Hosanna – Greek transliteration is “Save us!”  It’s an exclamation of exaltation and praise, and it implies rulership.
  • The praises of the people were reflecting the words of Psalm 118:25, 26, “Lord, save us!  Lord, please grant us success!  He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed. From the house of the Lord we bless you.”

​Psalms 113 – 118 are called Egyptian Hallel or praise psalms to remember God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.  These Psalms were/are chanted, recited, and sung during Passover and other major festivals and feasts.  It is probable that the songs Jesus and his disciples sang at the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper were Psalms 115 – 118.

• As the people shouted, they also put their cloaks and palm branches on the ground for Jesus to walk on.  This was a sign of honor and respect. 
• The palm branch symbolizes victory.
• According to author, and New testament scholar N.T. Wright, “They waved branches they’d cut from the trees to make a celebratory procession for him.  This carried royal implications.  In the long folk memory of Jerusalem and its surrounding villages, stories were still told, and some of them by this stage were written down, about the famous Judas Maccabaeus who, 200 years before, had arrived in Jerusalem after conquering the pagan armies that had oppressed Israel.  He, too, was welcomed into the city by a crowd waving palm branches.  And he was the start of a royal dynasty that lasted for over a hundred years.”[1]
• The people were well aware of the setting surrounding the coming Messiah so when the people saw Jesus coming into Jerusalem on the colt, they immediately understood what was going on. 
• However, many of them had false hopes about the Messiah.  They were expecting a mighty warrior who was now going to take charge and lead a revolution against Rome and set the nation of Israel free from the bondage of the Romans. 
• Jesus could have easily allowed the crowd to get into a political riot but since he was the gentle King riding on colt, he signified to the people he is a peaceful and gentle king.
• According to Luke the religious leaders approached Jesus and told him to rebuke his disciples.  They too knew Jesus was accepting the praise of the people as the Messiah.
• Jesus responds that if he were to silence them then the stones would cry out in praise to him.  Jesus responded that there must be some proclamation that He is the Messiah. If not, even inanimate objects (stones) would be called on to testify for Him. All history had pointed toward this single, spectacular event when the Messiah publicly presented Himself to the nation, and God desired that this fact be acknowledged.[2]   .  The Pharisee’s tell Jesus to rebuke his disciples, but Jesus rebukes the Pharisee’s for failing to see that this moment is a God ordained moment.

 
Conclusion
Today we celebrate and worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by joining the multitudes by proclaiming “Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” 
 
Now, we know what comes next, but the people who were emphatically proclaiming Jesus as Messiah on this day did not.  Eventually many of them will turn on him and joined the riotous mobs a few days later screaming “Crucify him!”  “Kill the blasphemer!”  “He is not our king!”
 
It’s easy to be like the multitudes and get caught up in the moment, have an intense emotional experience and rejoice over Jesus, but it’s temporal. When things don’t go your way, something bad happens or the excitement of the moment goes away so many people are quick to turn their back on Jesus and end up like the riotous mob that turned on Him and demanded his death.
 
The challenge and question before you today is, “Are you fully in?”  Are you committed to be a full-on disciple of Jesus Christ?  Are you willing to praise him in the glorious sunshine of the morning as well as the darkness of the night?  Are we willing to put our cloak on the ground and praise the King of salvation?  Are you determined to follow and are you committed to your Lord during the good times and during the troubled times?  This is your challenge for today and for the week ahead.  Praise the King for he has come!  Praise the King for he has died a death that we deserve so that we might live.  Praise the King for he is alive today and He dwells among us.


[1] Wright, N.T. (2004) Matthew For Everyone p. 67 Westminster John Knox Press

[2] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 253). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.