Palm Sunday 2023 Matthew 21:1-11 Who is This? - April 2, 2023

 Palm Sunday 2023 Matthew 21:1-11 Who is This?

Good morning! It’s Palm Sunday in case you weren’t aware. It’s kind of a festal Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, or Resurrection Sunday, it’s a kind of preparatory festival, getting ready for the most important Sunday on the Church’s calendar.

And so with that in mind we are going to lay aside our study in the Gospel of Luke for a few weeks. This morning we are going to look at Matthew chapter 21, and verses 1-11, and that’s on page 826 in the pew Bibles.

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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 

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!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Let’s pray.

One of the main difficulties with preaching on festal Sundays like Palm Sunday, and Christmas Sunday, and Easter Sunday is that we get kind of dropped into the middle of an ongoing scene and we have to do a little work to get caught up with the context.

One of the reasons that I prefer to preach expository book by book and verse by verse is that each week we know where we have come from and where we are going. Each sermon builds on the previous text but that isn’t our luxury today.

Today we find Jesus coming from Bethany on His way to Jerusalem. What had happened in Bethany is very important because it has great effect on the context in which we find Jesus.

Can anyone think of a famous family that lived in Bethany? Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

Bethany was where Jesus was coming from on His way to Jerusalem and that’s important because the folks from Bethany that knew that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead were most likely part of the crowd shouting their loud Hosanna.

The timing of Jesus’ trip from Bethany to Jerusalem is also important.

Does anybody know what festival the people in Jerusalem were preparing for? Passover.

This meant that there were upwards of 2 million people in and around Jerusalem. The road from Bethany was most likely lined with tents of families that had come to the holy city to celebrate Passover. This would also contribute to the festal atmosphere around the city and these worshippers were also part of the crowd that followed Jesus into the city shouting their loud Hosannas.

Of course Jesus was also followed by the crowds from Galilee as well as His disciples. They had seen His miracles and heard His teaching and they helped initiate this scene that we see played out before us.

But even though they had witnessed the things that Jesus had done and had heard Him talk about the kingdom of God, some form the very beginning of His public ministry, I don’t think that anybody besides Jesus had any idea what was really going on. Not a clue.

I’m not going to try and imagine what the disciples who were sent after the donkeys were thinking, I’m certainly not going to try and imagine what the donkeys were thinking, we only have a faint idea of what this mixed bag of festal crowd members was thinking. I do know that they were all clueless except for Jesus.

So let’s not be like them. They didn’t know what was happening really, but Jesus did, and do you know why? Because He wrote the book, this book, the Bible, Old and New Testaments, so He knew the significance of these events even if everybody around Him didn’t. 

That’s one of the advantages that we have over the crowd and even the disciples, we have the book so we can look up the answers. So let’s look at a few that point out the significance of the day and its events.

First, it was the Sunday before Passover. Exodus 12:1-3 says, The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household.

On the tenth day of the month, in preparation for Passover, each family selects a lamb that will be for them the Passover Lamb. Palm Sunday was the tenth of the month and Jesus is our Passover Lamb.

In verse 2 Jesus sends two disciples down into the village to fetch two donkeys for Him to ride into the city. “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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

Jesus didn’t ask for the donkeys because it was such a long ride from Bethany to Jerusalem, He wasn’t worn out, He was fulfilling prophecy. The prophecy is found in Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew quotes it in verse 5.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The donkey itself is significant too. Entering the city on a donkey was a simple way to symbolize the truth that Jesus did in fact come as King of Israel. 

When Solomon became king after David, King David commanded that he ride his favorite mule during the inaugural procession into Jerusalem in 1 Kings 1:33. Now, a far greater "Son of David" rides triumphantly into the city of kings on a donkey.

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!”

Why did the crowd shout Hosanna? What does that even mean? Where does it come from?

Good news, it comes from the Bible, the word is defined for us, and the reason the people were shouting it is given to us, all in Psalm 118. 

Psalm 118 was one of the Halel Psalms that were sung specifically when entering Jerusalem, it wasn’t at all random that the crowd just started shouting this at this particular moment, but for the first time they had the right person there in their midst to apply it to.

I’ll read just a portion of it and tell me if anything here sounds familiar.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Jesus would enter Jerusalem through the gate called Beautiful and go cleanse the Temple of the money changers.

Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Church, the stone that the builders, the Jewish leaders, rejected.

Save us, we pray, O Lord! Know what the Hebrew word is for this expression? HOSANNA!

The Lord is God, and He has made His light, Jesus, to shine on us.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar. Jesus is the festal sacrifice, the Passover Lamb, given for us.

And though the crowd that day was participating in the fulfilling of prophecy verse ten proves the point that nobody but Jesus knew what was really happening.

10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The city was jammed with people getting ready for the nation’s greatest feast and all of a sudden there is this great procession down the Mount of Olives, through the gate called Beautiful on the east side of the city with people singing and shouting Hosanna and the whole parade is being led by a man on a donkey’s foal. It only stands to reason that people would ask, “who is this?”

And those in the crowd said, “This is the Prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Were they wrong? No. Were they right? Not completely. Their explanation of who this was and their expectations of what He would do fell desperately short.

The crowd said that Jesus was a prophet, Jesus was saying “I am so much more, I am Messiah.”

The hopes of friends and foes alike were fulfilled by Jesus though not in the ways that they thought. 

Jesus suffered death a few days later that He might gloriously conquer it. 

In Jerusalem He didn’t receive a throne as the disciples would have wanted but instead received a cross that He might rule from the throne of the hearts of all that would believe in Him.

The crowd shouted, HOSANNA, save us! And that’s exactly what He would do on the cross, not save us from our circumstances but save us from our sin.

Amen.

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Naming the Savior - Luke 2:21 - April 10, 2022

 Luke 2:21 Naming the Savior

Good morning! Today is Palm Sunday, the warning shot across the bow of pastors across the world that next Sunday is Easter! You better get ready!

In truth, on Palm Sunday we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on the foal of a donkey walking on the cloaks of His followers spread on the road and palm branches waving and shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

This is the beginning of what is often called Passion Week or Holy Week where the New Testament describes daily accounts of Jesus ministry in and around Jerusalem culminating with His death of Good Friday and His Resurrection Easter Sunday.

We’ve spent the last few weeks focusing on Jesus’ birth that we celebrate at Christmas and in the week to come we will remember His death on Good Friday here Friday at 6:30, and His Resurrection Easter Sunday at Sunrise-ish 7am.

Today I’d like to focus one a day that happened somewhere in between Christmas and Easter, a significant day, as significant as the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that donkey, the day that Jesus was given His Name. Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke 2:21, page 857 in the pew Bibles.

21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Let’s pray.

So Mary and Joseph, in obedience to the Law of Moses, specifically Leviticus 12, eight days after Jesus was born had him circumcised and officially named Him Jesus.

It was significant that Jesus was circumcised.

Circumcision was a seal of the covenant between Yahweh and Abraham, that God would make Abraham a great nation and that all the world would be blessed through his offspring which was Jesus.

For the Jewish people circumcision was symbolic of the putting off of sin and for Jesus to be circumcised, even though He had no sin, was a token that He belonged to God’s covenant people. He took on the emblem of the purification of sin so that He would be like His brethren in every way except for sin itself.

Galatians 4:4-5 says,  …when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Jesus lived His earthly life in complete obedience to the Law, there was no sin in Him, and now He lives as a fulfillment of that Law for us who have faith in Him.

So His circumcision on the eighth day was significant. In this first earthly act of obedience for us He shed His first drops of blood, and on His last, on the cross, He would shed streams of blood for us.

But what I’d like for us to focus more on today is the significance of the naming of the Savior.

Back in chapter one and verse 31 that angel Gabriel announced to Mary, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His Name Jesus.”

Matthew 1:20-21 records the angel announcing the same to Joseph in a dream. 

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The first of three points, of course, is that naming the child, “Jesus,” was an act of obedience.

So something to note here for you language nerds. The way we pronounce “Jesus,” is not the way the First Century church did, it’s not the way Gabriel did, and not the way Mary and Joseph would have either. “Jesus,” is the English pronunciation of the Greek name, “Iesous,” which is actually the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, “Yeshuah,” which, in English, we pronounce, “Joshua.”

That doesn’t mean that we should start calling the Lord Jesus, “the Lord Josh,” nor the Lord Yeshuah. What it does mean is that there is meaning in the Name of Jesus that was assigned by the Lord God when He instructed Mary and Joseph about what to name their Son.

Naming the Savior, “Jesus,” was a word of prophecy.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

The Name, “Jesus,” no matter how you pronounce it means: “Yahweh is salvation.”

When we think of Joshua, in the Old Testament, he was the leader of Israel after Moses and led Israel from the wilderness into the Promised Land. The Lord Jesus followed that pattern by leading His people out of the wilderness of sin and into the promised land of His kingdom through faith in Him.

Jesus’ Name is in complete harmony with His work, Yahweh is salvation.

Naming the Savior was an act of obedience, a word of prophecy, and also a promise fulfilled.

Yahweh is indeed salvation, it is by faith alone in the Name of His Son Jesus that we are saved.

There’s a great story in Acts 4:5 after Peter and John had healed a lame man in the Name of Jesus… 

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” 

There is NO OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN BY WHICH WE MUST BE SAVED!

No amount of good deeds, nor religion, no name of any other god or prophet has the power to save people from their sin, only the Name of Jesus.

And to call on His Name is to believe all that He said, to trust all that He did, and to obey all that He commanded. 

There is power in that Name!

Philippians 2:4 says,

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

All that we believe and confess is summed up in that one Name.

If we were to stand before God and he were to ask us: “Why should I let you into my kingdom?” The answer is: JESUS.

All that we do we do in that one Name: JESUS. The early church turned the world upside down with the Name of Jesus even if it cost them their lives. But it didn’t matter because all that we take out of this life is that one Name: JESUS.

You can line your coffin with silver and gold but it won’t go with you, all that we take with us beyond this life is the Name of Jesus.

Without the Name of Jesus, Christmas is just for Santa and trees and presents, without the Name of Jesus Easter is just bunnies and eggs, without the Name of Jesus we are among men most to be pitied, without the Name of Jesus we are all bound for destruction.

What name has ever been given that promised more and disappointed less than the Name of Jesus? He is all we need!

In His Name we have new life, new purpose, new hope, a new family, and a new home, His home, God’s eternal kingdom. All because of the Name of Jesus!

Amen.

Triumphal Entry? - Luke 19:29-44 - April 5, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for April 5, 2020. Watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

Luke 19:29-44 Triumphal entry?

Good morning! Today is a special day, on the Christian calendar today is what is traditionally called Palm Sunday. 

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter where we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Gospels give us a day by day account of Holy Week, the week that begins today and ends on Easter Sunday next week. 

But the church didn’t just slap a label on Palm Sunday, the events we are going to look at in Luke 19:29-44 this morning really happened on the Sunday before Jesus was crucified, the Last Supper really did happen on Thursday of that week. Jesus really was crucified on Good Friday and He really did rise from the dead on Easter Sunday.

The church has given these special days special names over the years and today we are going to think about Palm Sunday and some of the elements of Jesus’ triumphal entry and consider if Jesus’ triumphal entry was really all that triumphal.

Luke 19:29-40

29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, [the Mount of Olives] he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

There is some really interesting stuff going on here! But to understand its significance we have to dig a little deeper. 

The Prophecy

Luke leaves out some of the details that the other Gospels include, the first of which is that Jesus is fulfilling prophecy here in this scene.

Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

That’s Jesus riding on the colt! And the Jewish people, the daughter of Zion, the daughter of Jerusalem, were rejoicing greatly and shouting aloud! Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

The Donkey

The donkey itself is significant too. 

Entering the city on a donkey was a simple way to symbolize the truth that Jesus did in fact come as King of Israel. 

When Solomon became king after David, he rode his father's favorite mule during the inaugural procession into Jerusalem in 1 Kings 1:33. Now, a far greater "Son of David" rides triumphantly into the city of kings on a donkey. It showed for the first time that he accepted the title, and he accepted the people's praise.

Do you have a flannelgraph picture in your mind? ‘Cause I do!

The Palms

We call this Sunday “Palm Sunday,” but interestingly Luke left out the palm branches. 

Matthew and Mark both include the cutting down of palm branches and waving them around and spreading them on the road and this was significant! It’s traditional to hand out palm fronds on palm Sunday that often get woven into little crosses.

Palm branches are highly symbolic in Jewish culture, they are like the bald eagle of Israel. They represented refreshment, blessing, festival, new life, and victory! Palm branches were even stamped on their coins! 

It was no small thing that the people would spread them on the road before Jesus, they were declaring that Jesus was in fact the Messiah! “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

Verse 38 says, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Does that sound familiar? It reminds me of the angels’ annunciation of Jesus’ miraculous birth.

The Crowd

This crowd of people was an interesting mix too. You’ve got the disciples obviously, you also have a crowd from Bethany, people who had just witnessed Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The city of Jerusalem and its surrounding villages would have been filled to overflowing with pilgrims for Passover, you also have the regular crowd of cranky old Pharisees following Jesus around, and then you have the Romans trying to keep all this craziness under control. You’ve got believers, you’ve got skeptics, and you’ve got scoffers.

The believers in the crowd were shouting a phrase straight from Zechariah’s prophecy: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The word "Hosanna" is an Aramaic expression that means "save, I pray!" or "help, I pray!" 

We can see it in Psalm 118, 25Save us, we pray, O Lord! [There’s the word Hosanna] O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

It’s not insignificant that in Luke’s account Jesus goes directly to the Temple after all of this.

Some of the skeptics and scoffers in the crowd, otherwise known as the Pharisees say to Jesus in verse 39, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “They are saying that you’re Messiah! Tell them to knock it off!”

But Jesus knew what was going on and He accepted the people’s praise because He is in fact Messiah! He said that if He made the people stop yelling praises the rocks would start yelling praises instead!

The Twist

Now this is where the “Triumphal Entry” takes a twist; a turn that the people didn’t expect. 

The people had misunderstood the Messianic hope. Their “hosannas” were a cry for Jesus to save them from their circumstances, a prayer that lately, I am sure, has been echoed all over the world in the midst of our current crisis. The people on that day were shouting “Hosanna,” in hopes that Jesus would save them from the oppression of the Romans and give Israel back their kingdom. 

People had tried to force Jesus to be their king in the past but He had refused it and hid Himself from them, but now here He was finally accepting their nomination and riding triumphantly into the city! 

And in the middle of the parade He stops, no doubt to make a very kingly speech…

Jesus stops the procession and looks out from the hillside across the valley to the Holy City of Jerusalem… 

A hush falls over the crowd… Jesus is going to speak…

But instead of making an acceptance speech, instead of making a declaration that now is the time for the Romans to go and for His kingdom to be set up and for Him to take His rightful place on the throne of His father David… He starts to cry. He weeps over the city and her people.

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Can you hear His heart? The people longed for peace and He longed to give it to them, but it wasn’t the same kind of peace. 

Can you see His love for God’s chosen people and for the Holy City? Can you see His anguish over their rejection of Messiah?

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem wasn’t triumphant, it was tragic. 

He was scorned and rejected by the ones He came to save. They wanted Him to conquer the Romans and cleanse the nation of Israel but instead He came to conquer sin and death and cleanse those who would believe in Him of all their unrighteousness.

But that’s not what they wanted, that’s not what the crowd was after, His triumphal entry had totally fizzled. It’s not that it didn’t go as Jesus planned but it certainly didn’t go as anyone else wanted…

The people were disappointed and the crowds dissipated, even the Disciples would eventually desert Him. 

He wasn’t the kind of king that people were looking for but He is the kind of King that people NEED.

I’m not so sure that we are that much different.

They wanted a Messiah to save them from our circumstances not their sins.

They wanted a king to conquer Rome and give them their nation back but Jesus said that His kingdom is not of this world.

Are we any different? 

After all, we can see our circumstances; we can see what our earthly troubles do to us, what this virus is doing to us, to our families and friends, we pray for sickness to stop, we pray for difficulties to end, we want health and wealth and good times, and to watch baseball and eat out again. 

We often don’t see how Jesus could work through our trouble, how He can and will use our difficulties to make us more like Him, to spread His gospel and expand his kingdom.

We want Jesus to conquer America again, we want Him to kick out the ungodly rulers and make this a Christian nation again with laws that honor Him. Have we have forgotten that He said that His kingdom is not of this world?

The people in that crowd on the first Palm Sunday didn’t trust Jesus to be who He really was or to do the task that the Father had asked Him to do. They wanted a political Messiah and He said, no.

They wanted Him to save them from their difficult circumstances and He said, no.

When given the opportunity to trust Him to be who He is and do what He was there to do the crowd said, no.

But what will you say?

Will you trust Jesus Christ to save you from your sin even if He doesn’t save you from your circumstances? Jesus died on the cross in our place, to take the punishment that we deserved for our sin, not to make our lives any easier.

Will you trust Jesus to walk beside you through your circumstances and allow Him to make you more like Himself even if it’s hard? Because that’s exactly what He promised to do! 

He promised to never leave us! He promised that in this world we will have trouble! But we can take heart, because He has overcome this world! 

It doesn’t matter how bad it gets, it will never separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus!

So, do you trust Him?! Well… trust Him then! 

Don’t be like the people of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday who blinded their eyes to the things that made for peace. 

It is only by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone by God’s grace alone that makes for true peace: peace with God, and peace with our circumstances because we know that God is at work in them.

Amen.