Jesus on Palm Sunday: The Triumphful Entry of Jesus Sends a Message

Jesus on Palm Sunday: The Triumphful Entry of Jesus Sends a Message.  Kelly Durant 

Luke 19:29-34

30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"  

32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 

34 They replied, "The Lord needs it." 

 

2. Today I want you to discover certain attributes that Jesus left us to follow on Palm Sunday. Let me see if you can identify the first one. 

Just think Jesus, at the height of his popularity is being praised as a King and is coming into Jerusalem on a donkey. How did the Romans ride into any city? With horses, aggression, pride and pompous!

 

Jesus is coming into Jerusalem on a donkey today is the equivalent of a man going down the street of a city on a little scooter! Ha! There’s no pride there!

What was his motive for this? To display his gentleness and humility!

Jesus is fulfilling prophecy as we read in 

 

Zech 9:9

9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! 

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you, 

righteous and having salvation, 

gentle and riding on a donkey

 

3. When Jesus goes into Jerusalem, what holiday is it?

Take into account that Jesus is going in on the same weekend that the Israelites prepare to remember the Passover. From the time of the plagues of Egypt, the last one was the worst in which the oldest son died of all of the Egyptians. 

 

But do you recall, if the Israelites put the blood of a lamb (And remember Jesus is God’s lamb) on their door frame, the angel of the Lord would Passover and not kill them! If you know the story of Moses leaving Egypt, you know that this plague was so heart-breaking that it resulted in Pharaoh letting the Israelite slaves go free. This Passover liberated them!

 

Did the Israelites want to be liberated in Jesus day? Were they oppressed?

At the time of Jesus in Jerusalem the people were very oppressed by the cruel Romans. Many wise Jews were all expecting their Messiah, or King that would liberate them as Moses had liberated them before. Many of them recognized that Jesus was indeed their long awaited King and Messiah fulfilling prophecy. For sure He would liberate them from the Romans!

 

What we know today is that Jesus is a liberator! But He frees us from greater things than just the political powers. He frees us from our sins which would bring us a second death, or a spiritual death. Judgment and death struck the Egyptians, but life was for the obedient Israelites! Jesus frees us from guilt, and the enslavement of our own greed and humanity and gives us life!

 

What was first? That Jesus showed humility! He now is showing how He is the Lamb which takes away the sins of the world and by doing so liberates us. So, He is a Redeemer and Liberator! What does that provoke next?

 

4. Praise! How was Jesus praised? Luke 19:38-40

38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" 

"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 

40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." 

 

Here again entering Jerusalem Jesus is fulfilling another prophecy as we read in Palms.. Ps 118:26

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.

From the house of the LORD we bless you.   

 

One week before Jesus is to be crucified He is giving everyone a chance to see that He is honored as the King and Lord of all creation! Every Jew and person in Jerusalem, and even the rocks, had their chance to witness that He indeed is the King of kings and Lord of Lords! On Palm Sunday we honor Him as the Messiah, the Son of God who brings salvation to the whole world!

 

5. What lesson is here by all the shouting? That Jesus’ presence should provoke in you and me a strong reaction so that there is crying out to bless, worship, and praise Him forever!

 

Now the rest of the story that will make you tremble and be afraid because even Jesus sheds tears here over the suffering that is to come.

 

 

Luke 19:41-44

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and them you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."  

 

This is a prophecy of Jesus that the very city of Jerusalem would be encircled by an army and be destroyed for not accepting that He was the Son of God. Did this happen?

 

6. According to the famous historian Flavious Josephus the Roman army invaded and destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD, just 40 years later, a generation after Jesus. What happened was the Jews had had enough and they kicked out the Romans trying to liberate their own selves. 

 

Well, the Romans don’t just get kicked out of anywhere, they always get revenge and months later they marched all the way from Rome with a large army under General Titus with the sole purpose of taking back the city of Jerusalem. They encircled the city and starved everyone for quite some time, being close to two years but then they entered in and burnt it to the ground! 

 

Looking for gold that had melted into the walls of the temple after the fire, the Roman soldiers afterwards removed stone by stone seeking the gold that was originally on the temple walls.

The Romans then crucified every living person they caught and used all the wood of the forests nearby for crosses and converted Jerusalem into a sight of horror filled with dozens of thousands of crosses with rotting bodies!

Josephus goes on to mention that for miles and miles the stench of the bodies could be smelled!

 

7. What was Jesus final message there? Judgment! If you dare reject Him, you will receive a judgment that is far worse than your imagination!

 

What does this Sunday mean to you? It is special! All of us have good memories of Palm Sunday. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem parallels the message of salvation. It parallels how He presents Himself to all.

 

Contemplate this seriously before God right now.

Jesus first comes into your life gently, with peace, and humility.

 Then He reveals Himself to you that He is the King, the Savior, of all people including you; that He is the lamb that takes away your sin and gives you life.

 

Next Jesus expects for you to worship, praise, and honor Him in every way, by blessing Him with your mouth and heart, by serving with your good deeds, and by loving God and all people!

 

8. But last, for those who dishonor Him, Jesus leaves a message of judgment and destruction! Did Jesus leave our generation a message of judgment and destruction? All of the book of Revelation and several others in the Holy Bible reveal God’s wrath and anger that will come down on the earth’s rebellious people in the end-time. 

 

The sad reality is, all rejecters of Christ will face a judgment, a punishment!

Jerusalem is one proof that God does not go soft on those that reject the sacrifice of Jesus’ life on the cross! God is love, and He loves first, but He wants you to love Him back and there are consequences if you don’t.

 

Are you humble like Jesus? Have you really praised Him as the sincere ones of Jerusalem?  Have you thanked, blessed, and worshipped Him as He deserves for being King of Kings?

 

If there is a little doubt in your heart that you are not up to the standard that God expects then I invite you to come and repent! Imagine the cruel death of everyone in an entire city like that of Jerusalem, totally in rumble and burnt to the ground.