1 -- Palm Sunday 2014

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1 Jesus Triumphal Entry Palm Sunday 2014 Luke 19:28-44 I. Introduction This morning I want to remind you of a very familiar story. It began one early Sunday morning; just after sunrise we call it Palm Sunday. Once again, Jesus was walking towards Jerusalem with His disciples. The disciples had lived with Jesus day and night for 3 years and I suspect that they felt that they had seen everything Jesus was capable of doing. But as they approached Jerusalem to celebrate their 3 rd Passover with their Master, Jesus surprised them once again. As they walked along talking about all the people coming to Jerusalem, Jesus stopped for a moment and then sent two of His disciples into a nearby village to carry out a special mission. They were sent to begin the preparations for a procession. II. The Preparations for a Procession The two disciples must ve wondered about what Jesus told them to do, because nowhere else are we told that Jesus ever rode an animal to get from one place to another. He must ve walked hundreds of miles back and forth throughout the Promised Land, but there s no mention of Him ever riding, except in a boat across the Sea of Galilee. But now, He gave this unusual command to go into the village to get a colt that had never been ridden and to bring it back to Him. It must have seemed really strange to the disciples. He even told them the exact words they were to say should someone question them. They were to say, The Lord needs it. Was this prearranged? Did the owners know what Jesus was going to do? We don t know we do know that the disciples returned with the colt. From what we ve seen in our study of the book of John, it s obvious that Jesus knew what He was going to face in the city of Jerusalem. In John 16:32, Jesus said, The time has come i.e. now was the time for which Jesus had come to earth. As we read in the responsive reading from Luke 9:51 Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. This day was different, Jesus even allowed His followers and others to give a public demonstration in His honor a procession into Jerusalem. This too seemed out of character for their Master. Jesus rode into Jerusalem in such a way that He made an unmistakable claim by riding on a colt into the city He made a public declaration that He was coming as a King. 500 years earlier, the prophet Zechariah had prophesied in Zechariah 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 1 -- Palm Sunday 2014

2 on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. To the crowds lining the road and to those gathered in Jerusalem, there was no way to misunderstand what Jesus was saying: He was this promised King! Jesus Triumphal entry into Jerusalem was greeted in a variety of ways. III. Responses to the Procession A. First, there were the Roman soldiers. A large contingent of Roman soldiers had come along with Pontius Pilate from his palace in Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea. Their job was to keep order during this turbulent festival of Passover. This was a time that traditionally brought small fights which could escalate into major battles if not brought quickly under control. The soldiers would have been reminded of Theodus of Jordan who, several years earlier, had ridden into Jerusalem just as Jesus did except he had ridden a white horse. Theodus had promised to do the miracles of Elijah, and he had led a fairly large revolt. The soldiers probably remembered how Theodus, along with over 400 of his followers were slain, and the head of Theodus was hung on the garrison wall. The soldiers knew Passover could bring trouble and so they were ready. Although having a King ride a donkey was laughable in their minds, the procession was unusual so the Roman soldiers were ready for trouble. B. Then there were the religious leaders--the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They objected to the enthusiasm on general principles and they certainly didn t want Jesus proclaimed as the Messiah. From their point of view, His riding into Jerusalem in this way was an act of arrogance and blasphemy against God. But more importantly, they were afraid they were going to lose their standing with the Roman rulers and their standing as the religious elite if this kept up. They wanted Jesus to control the rabble. Jesus didn t help when He said that the shouting was inevitable. If the people kept quiet, then the very stones would cry out. The Pharisees were afraid of Jesus and afraid of the crowd. C. There was the crowd itself. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, those in the crowd waved palm branches. They shouted, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! They were saying that Jesus was the promised king, God s anointed One He was the Messiah. However, the crowd wasn t interested in Jesus saving their souls, but in His saving their nation. Now, at last, they thought, He had come to be the Conqueror to be their Liberator. What better occasion or time could there possibly be for God s anointed, the Messiah the Christ, to make the ultimate final deliverance of His people from tyranny then at Passover just like Moses had done thousands of years earlier. The people desired deliverance from oppression Palm Sunday 2014

3 D. Finally, there was Jesus response. As Jesus rode down the road from the Mount of Olives toward the city gate, the crowds were growing and the air was filled with cheering the air was also charged with emotion. In Luke 19:41 we see Jesus response, As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. While the Pharisees complained and the crowd was rejoicing, Jesus wept. This is the 2 nd time in which it is recorded that Jesus wept openly the first time being at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:35. There He wept quietly, but here He cried loudly like one mourning over the dead. So why did Jesus weep? 1. Jesus wept because they didn t recognize Him or His purpose; the last part of Luke 19:44 says, You did not recognize the time of God s coming to you. The crowd was looking for the kingdom of God and Jesus had already told them that the kingdom was already in their presence turn to Luke 17:20-21 the kingdom was in people s hearts. The people were aware of Jesus claims to be the Son of God. They had seen His miracle working power. They had eyes, but they didn t see. They had ears, but they didn t hear. They should have known who Jesus was, for God had given them His Word and sent His messengers to prepare the way. But they had missed the whole point of the message that God had given to them. They didn t recognize Jesus or His purpose. Turn to Matthew 16:1-3. The religious leaders and the crowd itself couldn t see Jesus purpose because they only had eyes for the conditions around them and not for their heart-condition. The city was filled with pilgrims celebrating a festival but the hearts of the people were heavy with sin and life s burdens. The people cried for deliverance from oppression. BUT Jesus came to deliver them from the bigger problem the problem of sin. In their desire to escape their immediate circumstances and to have their kind of peace, they missed the very fact that they were in the presence of the Prince of Peace. Spiritually, they were blind. They refused to see who Jesus was. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. But they didn t recognize the One who made the offer, so they didn t go to Him. They didn t recognize Him or His purpose. 2. Jesus wept because they refused to accept His terms. Back in Luke 19:42 Jesus said, If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace. The people had heard Jesus speak, but they didn t really hear they didn t understand and act on what He said. In John 14: Palm Sunday 2014

4 Jesus told the disciples, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. To know... what brings peace means more than to have some knowledge about this peace, it means to have knowledge and to act on it--to accept what has been said. As Jesus said in Mark 8:34, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The terms for peace meant accepting God s terms and the terms for God s peace was (and is) submission to Him. As Romans 10:9 says Jesus must become the Lord of one s life. The people in Jerusalem wanted peace, but they wanted it to come through conflict. Jesus was offering them peace in the midst of conflict. In John 16:33 Jesus said, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. In Luke 13:34 Jesus had lamented, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stoned those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Jerusalem refused Jesus terms they wanted to set their own terms of peace. 3. Jesus wept because their refusal would bring judgment. Jesus wept because they didn t recognize His purpose; Jesus wept because they refused to accept His terms. Finally, Jesus wept because their refusal would bring judgment. As Jesus looked ahead, He wept as He saw the terrible judgment that was coming to the nation, the city, and the temple. In AD 70, the Romans would come and, after a siege of 143 days, kill 600,000 Jews and take thousands more captive. Finally, they would destroy the temple and the city. This happened because the people didn t recognize that God had visited them John 1:11 says, He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. This happened because they wouldn t accept His terms as the parable in Luke 19:14 says, We don t want this man to be our king. As Matthew records in Matthew 27:22, when Pilate asked, What shall I do then, with Jesus who is called the Christ? They all answered, Crucify Him! Their refusal would bring judgment on Jerusalem. But there was an even greater judgment coming on those who refuse Jesus John 3:36 says, Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God s wrath remains on him. Jesus wept for this judgment, too. IV. Conclusion There aren t a lot of events in Jesus life that are recorded in all 4 Gospels like His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Obviously, it is an important event it wasn t important only to show us that 4 -- Palm Sunday 2014

5 God s plans always work, it, also, shows us what our attitude should be towards God and His plans. When we experience trials or hardships, we must not focus only on the circumstances around us but on Jesus Christ. As well as praying for the circumstances, we need to pray that the Lord use those things to change us and bring glory to His name. Like Jesus we need to humble ourselves before God and be obedient to Him. Instead of demanding peace and blessings on our terms, we must look to Jesus and bow to His terms. In John 14:1 Jesus said, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. Later in the same chapter in verse 27 He said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. As David wrote in Psalm 37:5-6, Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. We need to recognize who Jesus is and why He came to earth. We must accept Him on His terms. If we don t, we will bring judgment on ourselves. On a day of celebration like Palm Sunday, it isn t right to end here. In Acts 1:10-11 we are told that Jesus is going to come back to earth. The second time He comes, He will come riding a charger, not a lowly donkey. He will come as a warrior King with majesty and power. As Paul wrote in Philippians 2, then every knee will bow before Him. If you are one of His children, you will join in the greatest coronation of all time heaven itself will ring with celebration. Turn to Revelation 5: What a grand and glorious day that will be. Palm Sunday will be as if it were a mere whisper. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, our Lord will be crowned and we will be there with Him to celebrate His victory. Let s rejoice today and every day: Hallelujah to the King of kings; Hallelujah to the Lamb. Hallelujah to the Lord of lords, Who is the great I AM Palm Sunday 2014