Palm Sunday – Matthew Chapter 21:1-11

Sermon Notes: Palm Sunday – Matthew Chapter 21:1-11

In Matthew 21 we join a crowd outside the city of Jerusalem who see and are there to welcome Jesus. This is the One they’ve been waiting for, dreaming about for hundreds and hundreds of years. The One who’s been promised by God throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. This is the day, now is the time, He is in their midst, but how will they respond to Him?

1: Come join the crowds and let’s welcome Jesus into our town and lives as King. But will you still love Him and obey Him when you have to make some difficult choices, as some had to make that week?

Jesus commands His disciples to do something, verse 2, ‘Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘GO’. Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with a colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.’

I’m not too sure what the disciples made of the request? Verse 3 gives a sense of encouragement to the disciples to do what they are about to do, ‘If anyone says anything to you, tell them that the Lord needs them, and they will send them right away.’

There wasn’t any sudden impulsive action. Jesus hadn’t left things until the last minute, but He has arranged with the owners of the donkey that He would be in need of them. the owner of the donkeys will recognize that Jesus is Lord and whatever Jesus wants, He can have right away – no hesitation on their part!

Don’t we struggle with that? Don’t we often say: ‘Yes, Jesus – BUT not in this situation – not immediately – not now – not this way! What does Jesus say in John 14 and Matthew 7? ‘Jesus replied if anyone loves me they will obey my teaching, they who do not love me will not obey my teaching.’ Straight forward and simple!

2: Come join the crowds, let’s not reduce Jesus or remold Jesus into a shape and size that fits our expectations! Let Jesus be King!

Here’s Jesus completely surrounded and engulfed in a singing, shouting, celebrating crowd. They were passionate and they were loud. They see Jesus as some sort of King and leader, and they give Him the Red-Carpet treatment. They take off their cloaks and spread them along the dusty road. But Jesus knows that he is journeying along this road on this Sunday, which ultimately will lead to the Cross. He is carrying through the will of His Father.

480 years before this event it was prophesied by a prophet named Zechariah that there would be a day, when Jesus would ride into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey. Kings would usually make their entrance into their city on the most powerful warhorse that they could find, not a donkey as King Jesus does on this day.

Jesus is God’s King, a very different kind of King than we expect Him to be. He is setting up a very different kind of Kingdom. He is going to be gentle, v5, with people, especially broken people, and we’ve seen that already in His life. But He’s never going to be a soft touch, especially with the religious leaders, v12. Though they shout their praises on this particular Sunday, it will not last, because He will not fit the majorities idea of what kind of King He should be for them.

Let’s not reduce Jesus down to a size that’s convenient to us- let’s allow Jesus to be the King that He is.

3: Come join the crowds, let’s grasp who Jesus really is, let’s wait expectedly for that day when He will return as King of kings and Lord of all, v10-11.

What an entrance? V10, ‘When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ Jerusalem is the city of king David – the Royal City, and here is it’s rightful King, King David’s Greater Son. He is coming to take up His rightful place, coming to take up His throne in heaven, but He is going to go by the way of the Cross on earth. Will these people realize who He is or how great He is? Sadly, most of them won’t! But the whole city is stirred as Jesus enters.

We know the rest of the story, we know about the Cross – the Resurrection – the Ascension into heaven, and when He comes into Heaven He will take up His throne, and we see a little picture of that in the Book of Revelation 19:11, ‘I saw heaven open and a white horse and it’s rider. His eyes are a blaze of fire, on his head were many crowns. On his robe and thigh is written King of kings and Lord of lords.’

That is who Jesus is – He is not just the prophet from Nazareth – He is the King of kings, He is Lord as all lords, He is high overall. There is no one like Jesus, no one greater than Jesus. One day Jesus will return to wrap up this world as we know it, and we will be accountable and responsible for how we’ve lived and what we have done with Jesus.

Are we ready for that return? If the King were to come, are there things in our lives that need to be sorted before that day?