THE KING IS HERE Palm Sunday

 Today is Palm Sunday! Today is the day that marked the beginning of Jesus’ last week here on earth. It is the beginning of Passion Week. Now there is a lot that takes place during Passion week that we are all quite aware of:

•  Cleansing of the temple

•  Parables of Wedding Banquet, Ten Virgins, Talents, etc.

•  Silent Wednesday (Judas agrees to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver)

•  The Last Supper

•  Jesus arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane

•  Jesus crucified

•  The resurrection (Easter Sunday)

Among the many popular events of Jesus that are found in Passion Week, Palm Sunday is the event that kicks off all of it. However, not everyone knows what Palm Sunday is. Most people have heard of Palm Sunday and know that it's connected to Easter Sunday. However, they couldn’t really tell you much about what Palm Sunday is.

So what is Palm Sunday? Why is Palm Sunday important? Why is it important to you?

Let’s talk about it!

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to Passover just like everyone else. He had recently raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany not too long before this. So a lot of people heard about Jesus and what He did. There was a stir taking place among the people of Jerusalem.

With that said, let’s read:

Matthew 21:1-2

“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.”

Two of His disciples go to fetch the donkey and they do exactly as Jesus asked.

Matthew 21:6-9

“6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!””

Now, this account may not have all the ooh’s and aah’s like some of the other accounts found in the gospels. However, there is tremendous significance in what we just read.

There is significance in what:

1.    Jesus Claims

2.    Jesus Does

3.    Jesus Receives

 

I.     Jesus Claimed to be the Messiah

Matthew 21:3 — “If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

What is important to keep in mind here is that Jesus spent much of His ministry telling people not to say anything to anyone after performing miracles for them.

•  Healing of the Leper — “See that you say nothing to anyone…” (Mark 1:44)

•  Healing of the Two Blind Men — See that no one knows about this…” (Matthew 9:30)

•  Raising of Jairus’ Daughter — “He gave strict orders that no one should know about this…” (Mark 5:43)

•  Jesus spent a lot of time telling people not to say anything. Why? Because His time had not come yet. However, this time in the text Jesus told them to tell the owner of the donkey that “the Lord needs him.” Jesus was saying that the time is now. His time has finally come.

Jesus was claiming that He was the Messiah. He was claiming that He was God.

•  He was making the claim that He was the one that Israel had been waiting for all of these years. He was claiming to be the one that the Old Testament was speaking about. He was claiming to be the one and only King.

This is important because while Jesus was making the announcement “the King is here” on Palm Sunday, Jesus is also reminding us that He is the king of our life today as well. The King is here today. He is here in this room. He knows what you are going through. He sees what you have battled through. Jesus is saying that He is here for you today.

II.    Jesus Sat on the Donkey

Matthew 21:6-7 — “6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.”

Now this may not seem like a big deal here. But we have to be aware of something. Anytime you read about Jesus in the Gospels, He is never riding anything. He is always walking. Jesus walked everywhere! However, here He chose to ride a donkey into Jerusalem. Now, Jesus could have walked in just like every other time He did. However, Jesus was making a statement. He was making the statement that He was the King that His people had been waiting so long for.

Zechariah 9:9 — “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”

Jesus was fulfilling scripture from 500 years before this moment when He was riding in on that donkey. He was fulfilling a promise by God from long ago. Jesus was telling them that the King is here.

Jesus is also coming to fulfill His promises in your life as well.

III.  Jesus Received the Praise

Matthew 21:8-9
“8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!””

Palm Branches = Symbol of Celebration and Victory

Luke records that there were pharisees that were there in the crowd and were telling Jesus to get them to rebuke his disciples and get them to stop saying these things. But Jesus responded by telling them that if they didn’t say it, the rocks would cry out and say it. Jesus was not only receiving the praise, He was encouraging the praise!

Now, the real question is, why were the pharisees so upset about what the phrase the people were saying about Jesus?

“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

1)   Son of David

•  Jesus was not the literal son of David; He was the son of Joseph. However, the OT discusses how the king and savior of the world would come through the lineage of David. Psalm 89 is a specific text that continuously refers to the future King as the Son of David.

The Pharisees knew exactly what they were saying. They were so upset because they knew they were calling Him the Messiah, and Jesus was encouraging it…

Matthew 1:1

•  2)   Hosanna = Save Us

•  Jesus received the praise of the people as they shouted to Him “Come save us, Messiah, the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus knew what He was doing! Jesus was saying that the King is here!

The King came, and He is coming back again!

The King is also here today, here in this room.

TAKEAWAYS

1.    You can trust Jesus as your Messiah

2.    You can trust Jesus as your Lord

3.    You can trust Jesus for the victory