Christ's Tragic Entry to Jerusalem

Amen.

Habits are hard things to break, and after preaching for 35 years and taking my watch off, which

! seldom means much of anything, and putting it on the pulpit kind of to remind myself

! of where I am now that I wear a Fitbit that keeps track of my heart rate never

anything else. It's like, I just take it off out of habit, and I put it in my pocket,

and I hope that this is accurate. Let me ask you to pray for me this coming Thursday at

3 o'clock. I will be preaching the funeral service for my son's father-in-law. In case

you wonder, Tim Knoyer loves weddings and loves funerals. Here's why. God in His providence

gives me a captive audience to which I may freely and joyfully proclaim the gospel. And in some cases,

that venue is the only time people ever hear the truth.

God in His providence to the Lord. And in some cases, I may be praying for you to pray for me at 3,

and that's Jesus. So pray for me at 3, Thursday. Pray for me this morning because I need the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

But there's much in the text. Let's pray together.

Father, the prophet Zechariah rightly said under the prompting of the Spirit of God that apart from you,

it can't be done in the sense that not by might nor by power, but my spirit saith the Lord.

And I ask that you would work this morning that the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to be the Savior

of sinners, would be the one that is supremely adored, that the ambition and affection of our souls would be Jesus,

and that as a result of our attending to the Scriptures, as we are reminded in 2 Corinthians chapter 3,

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

that our hearts and lives the way we think would be affected,

and that we through your Spirit would grow to be more like Christ,

that our behavior, our attitudes, our relationships, our conduct at work,

the things that we think would all be marked by the sensitivity we have to the character and Word of Christ.

We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

I want you to think with me just for a moment at the start, and it has tremendous bearing on the passage.

I want you to think with me just clearly, quietly. Here's what I want you to do.

I want you to think of some of the thoughts you've had already this morning that you would prefer no one else knows about.

I want you to think about some of the attitudes you've had towards other people.

I want you to think about where your eyes have been that nobody else knows.

I want you to think about where your eyes have been.

I want you to think of your discontentment you've had with some of the circumstances that God has allowed.

I want you to think of the things you've thought about saying that age and discretion have kept you from saying.

Practically speaking,

I think one of the things that I will first enjoy a great deal about heaven

is that I will not deal with sin anymore.

I don't know about you.

But Tim Knoyer is fully persuaded that the biggest problem he has in life is himself.

And that the biggest battle I have is with sin.

So I want you to think just with me about this for a moment.

And that's what we're going to be looking at today is Christ's tragic, not triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

I just want you to imagine this morning that we are in a completely different political season than we actually are.

And you are stunned to hear that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both came to the platform

and made an absolutely stunning statement that the greatest problem in our nation today is sin.

Is sin.

I bring that up because

If that were to happen,

I want you to recognize that the media would be as apoplectic about that statement today

as the entire nation of Israel was when Jesus came into Jerusalem

on the week of his death

on the donkey

in complete contradiction

to what those people thought they needed.

Let me read the passage.

John chapter 12

John 12:12

verse 12

The next day

the large crowd that had come to the feast

heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees

and went out to meet him crying out

Hosanna!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

even the King of Israel!

Jesus found a young donkey

and sat on it just as it is written

Fear not

daughter of Zion

Behold your King is coming

sitting on a donkey's

colt.

Most of us have Bibles

that probably

break down the paragraphs

etc.

and give us little headers

to kind of let us know

what that passage is about.

Am I right?

Most of you have that there?

And I'm going to venture to guess

that every one of you

that have a header over that

speaks of this as the triumphal entry.

Am I right?

Triumphal.

I

not original with me

but I have to tell you

that over the years

as I have

as I've read this passage repeatedly

and as I've thought about this passage

I've always wondered

at the triumph piece.

I've got to tell you honestly

where's the triumph piece?

I mean it's a little off-putting

to ride a donkey.

How many of you have ever ridden a donkey?

The donkey crowd out here.

Bill for real?

It had to be a profoundly exhilarating experience

right?

Not really.

I

you know just imagine that.

And I've got to tell you

as I think about the triumphal entry

I'm kind of struck by the fact

that it was just days

after this

that the entire crowd

is screaming crucify him.

and

I have to tell you

I think honestly

that little statement

triumphal entry

is a little off-putting

to the truth.

I don't want you to go

take your magic marker

or pen

and

line it out

and write in tragic

because you know

it'll bleed through the other side

and confuse you terribly

so just kind of stay with it

whatever you have.

But I want to break the passage

into two parts.

One

dealing with Christ's

intentional entrance

into Jerusalem.

As we take up verse 12

one of the things

I want you to mark there

is it says

that a large crowd

had come to the feast

the large crowd

that had come to the feast

heard that Jesus was coming

to Jerusalem.

Christ's coming

was not merely a rumor

and it was not

just an anticipation

of the throng

that gathered

hoping that

there may be a chance

that they might see Jesus.

The fact of the matter is

is that in

the perfect choreography

of God's sovereign control

of all details

Lazarus falling sick

and ultimately dying

and then Jesus

coming to Bethany

and healing

or raising him

and then subsequently

coming back again

and engaging

in a dinner party

together

was bringing Jesus

within a two mile

distance

from the city

in which he was going

to die.

The fact that the crowd

knew that he was coming

into Jerusalem

tells me that

Jesus let his disciples

know the fact

and he let them know

that it was appropriate

to let other people know.

Now in case you're wondering

what went through

the disciples' minds

when Jesus said to them

hey

we are going

up to Jerusalem

all you have to do

is remember

that the disciples

had the attitude

that when Jesus came

this last time

what was he going to do?

he had told them

over and over again

I'm going to Jerusalem

I'm going to die

and three days later

I'm going to rise again.

Did any of them

understand

or believe him?

The answer is

not in your life.

The last recorded

little intramural dispute

!

You know what I mean

by intramural disputes

it's when people

who are believers

have little

snitty attitudes

and argue about

stupid things

and here are

the disciples

what were they arguing

with about

the night of

Jesus' betrayal?

Does anybody remember?

With your eyes closed

I can tell you

they were arguing

about who was going

to be number one

when Jesus pulled it off

and came stomping

into Jerusalem

and put the smack down

on the low life Romans

and took over.

Now I can hear Peter.

I'll be there.

And you know what?

The rest of you

are going to be

kind of my sidekicks

as I run the show

for Jesus.

James and John

the sons of thunder

you know what

they were thinking?

It's time.

He held me back

from frying them

in the past

but this is going

to be the day

when I bring fire

from heaven

and we're going

to settle score.

I mean in their

dramatic little pea brains

you know

they had it all worked out.

Jesus let them know

he was coming into town.

And I want you

to understand that

Jesus really had

no intention

of people missing

his great purpose.

He planned

his final journey

into Jerusalem

and set the stage

perfectly.

The grand plan

of heaven

for our salvation

through the death

of Christ

on the cross

for our sins

and his resurrection

had been structured

and put together

by God

in eternity past

with perfect

placement

and time

and thought.

And it was not

an accident

that when Jesus

arrived in Jerusalem

that he arrived

at the time

of the celebration

of the Passover.

He had done

an incredible miracle

in raising Lazarus

from the dead

just so close

to Jerusalem

that the entire city

was buzzing

with the undeniable

evidence

of his power.

And you can understand

how the entire

city

would have been

enthusiastically

expecting

Jesus

to finally

come into town

and clean

house.

We do see

something else

in the text here

that I want you

to recognize

and it's this.

Jesus let people

know exactly

why he came.

In eternity

I want you

to recognize

that no one

will ever

be able

to claim

ignorance

for the reason

of their rebellion

and rejection

of Christ.

There are some

of you sitting

here today

the truth

of the matter

is who do

not know

the Lord Jesus.

There will be

none of you

that will ever

be able to say

I really

didn't understand

the clarity

and truthfulness

of the gospel

which announces

this

all men

stand justly

condemned

before a holy

God

their sin

bringing

eternal

condemnation

in hell

Christ Jesus

being the only

remedy for

their sins

and here was

Jesus coming

into town

and he made

it very very

clear that he

was coming

into town

to be the

sin bearer

and he was

coming into

town

with abject

humility

and tenderness

and meekness

I have been

around donkeys

growing up

in India

and I can tell

you I have

never

I would rather

walk

than ride

a donkey

bony

back

so low

slung to the

ground

that it's

almost offensive

to imagine

straddling one

insufferably

stinky

just a vile

animal

and yet

an animal

of burden

and while

John doesn't

give us much

background

we find it

in all the

other gospels

that when

Jesus prepared

to enter into

Jerusalem

he gave

instructions to

his disciples

to go find

a donkey

the foal

of a donkey

actually it was

a younger

donkey

that had

never been

broken to

a saddle

yet

now

any of you

that have

ever dealt

with animals

know that

the process

of moving

from being

saddle free

to being

saddled

is a process

that animals

don't take

too normally

and enjoyably

you don't just

walk up to a

donkey and say

so what

you know

I've been

thinking about

the fact

that I'm

going to

sling about

a couple

hundred pounds

on your back

and you're

going to spend

the rest

of your low

life

just kind

of walking

around

making me

happy

carrying what

I don't

want to

carry

and donkeys

don't say

good idea

put it up

there man

I'm ready

this donkey

had never

had the

privilege

of being

saddled

Jesus said

to his

disciples

you walk

into town

and you

find a

donkey

on the

little

foal

and you

bring the

donkey

to me

and I'm

going to

ride it

well they

did what

Jesus said

can you

imagine what

they were

thinking

triumphal

entry

right

it's in

your

bibles

and hey

we're

going to

go get

something

for Jesus

to ride

had he

ever ridden

a donkey

before this

no indication

that he

did

so he

says to

his

disciples

we're

going

into

Jerusalem

today

go find

me a

ride

in

southern

Ohio

vernacular

he asked

for a

pickup truck

that was

about 30

years old

and it

doesn't even

have a bed

in the back

it just

has pieces

of board

stuck back

there

how many

have you

ever seen

those

okay

that's

a real

ride

find me

a donkey

oh yeah

okay

we'll do

it

and here

comes

Jesus

I gotta

tell you

I have to

respect

the fact

that the

crowd

looked beyond

the clear

physical evidence

of how

Jesus was

coming into

town

and they

still got

pretty

enthused

at the

prospect

of what

they thought

he was

going to

do

you know

if you were

to read a

little bit of

ancient history

you would

understand that

the rich and

powerful rode

in chariots

or on

horses

or on

camels

donkeys

were not

their chosen

means

of

travel

now

there's

no doubt

picking up

there in

verse 13

that as

the people

saw Jesus

coming into

sight

they were

so enthusiastic

and expectant

in what he

was coming

to do

for them

that they

grabbed

palm fronds

and they

laid their

coats down

in front of

him and they

were just

enthused

beyond

imagination

listen to

what they

said

Hosanna

blessed is

he who

comes in

the name

of the

Lord

even the

king of

Israel

now

what they

expected

Jesus to

do

was be

the remedy

for their

political

economic

cultural

circumstances

they had

suffered

under

first

Greek

rule

and now

under

Roman

rule

and I

want to

tell you

the Roman

rule that

they had

endured

was

incredibly

brutal

it was

taxation

without

representation

it was

abuse at

every hand

the Roman

legion

was

absolutely

disrespectful

of the

nation

in every

way

conceivable

and there

was a

visceral

hatred

for the

Romans

who were

in Jerusalem

an entire

nation

hated them

and so

here comes

Jesus

into the

city

and the

expectation

of the

throng

was that

Jesus

was coming

to be

their

political

savior

the word

Hosanna

means

save

now

now

question

do you

think

they were

thinking

about their

physical

spiritual

salvation

or they

were thinking

about their

political

salvation

which do you

think they

were concerned

about

if you

were to

ask most

people

and I

actually

made a

note to

myself

and changed

my mind

I wondered

if I were

to ask

you so

what's the

biggest problem

you would

like help

with

or if I

could grant

you one

wish

now that's

a question

I often

use in

counseling

I will

say to

a person

so if

I could

and I

can't

get that

off your

mind

but if I

could answer

one request

you have

what would

you like

I really

wish you'd

do something

for my

wife

I've had

them say

that

Pastor Saul

you've had

similar

experiences

right

and Pastor

Andrew

you've had

that

Pastor

Shear

and Sarah

are two

weeks from

finishing their

counseling

training

and I

can promise

you

Pastor

if you

ask that

question

people are

going to

come up

with pretty

simplistic

problems

that are

you know

solutions

it's like

well you

know if

you'd

change

my

wife

it'd

be

okay

or you

know

hey

I know

Pastor

you probably

couldn't

do that

but if

you'd

write me

a check

for a

million

dollars

that would

really

that help

you see

when they

said

save now

that's what

Hosanna means

save now

save now

and they

were shouting

this

that they

were

do it

now

do it

now

do it

you get

that

and they

were fired

here comes

Jesus

I mean

this is a

guy

who brings

people back

from the

dead

right

I mean

dealing

with Rome

is no

big thing

save now

save now

save now

then they

kind of

added on

to it

blessed is

he who

comes in

the name

of the

Lord

even

the

king

of Israel

they were

all caught

up in

believing

that

Jesus

was going

to be

their

political

savior

and

if you

are

going

to

do

something

for

us

go ahead

and

take

care

of

the

food

stamp

problem

I mean

after all

he'd shown

he could

feed

people

right

on a

moment's

notice

and

what

about

health

care

Christo

care

instead

of

Obamacare

or

whatever

else

the

plan

is

it's

like

you

know

hey

there

will

be

healing

stations

and

I'm

going

to

do

a

little

bit

of

training

and

put

a

little

bit

of

power

into

all

my

disciples

and

they're

going

to

scatter

around

a little

clinics

all

over

the

place

and

whatever

the

problem

is

I'll

take

care

of

it

I

mean

the

people

were

enthused

at the

prospect

of

Jesus

taking

care

of

their

problems

look at

verse 14

and

Jesus

found a

young

donkey

and sat

on it

just

as

it

is

written

fear

not

daughter

of

Zion

behold

your

king

is

coming

sitting

on

a

donkey's

colt

you

know

the thing

I want

you to

understand

here

is

as

you

look

at

this

passage

Jesus

fulfilled

the

prophecy

of

Zechariah

Zechariah 9:9

9

verse

9

and

came

in

peace

and

humility

it's

interesting

that

as

we

read

in

John

John 12:16

12

verse

16

that

after

Christ's

death

and

resurrection

that

the

disciples

understood

this

a

little

better

look

at

verse

16

his

disciples

did

not

understand

these

things

at

first

but

when

Jesus

was

glorified

then

they

remembered

that

these

things

had

been

written

about

him

and

it

had

been

done

to

him

there's

another

little

interesting

historical

question

here

how

many

of

you

know

when

we

celebrate

Christ's

death

what

day

is

it

normally

we

call

it

good

Friday

I'm

not

here

to

raise

the

dispute

or

cause

any

angst

in

any

of

your

hearts

but

there

are

some

Bible

scholars

that

suggest

actually

Jesus

came

into

Jerusalem

on

Thursday

and

he

died

on

Thursday

I'm

not

going to

get

into

all

the

details

of

the

argument

but

if

that

is

true

then

it

is

in

keeping

with

that

frame

that

Jesus

came

in

to

Jerusalem

at

the

same

day

that

the

Old

Testament

passage

in

which

the

process

of

choosing

a

Passover

lamb

and

bringing

it

into

your

own

home

was

to

play

out

the

Passover

lamb

by the

way

what was

the

significance

of the

Passover

lamb

you'll

remember

the

story

of

the

Passover

God

said

to

the

nation

of

Israel

you

are

to

choose

a

lamb

and

you

are

to

bring

it

into

your

home

and

you

are

to

keep

it

there

with

you

and

then

on

the

fourth

day

you

are

to

slaughter

that

lamb

and

you

are

to

put

the

blood

of

the

lamb

on

the

doorpost

and

on

the

lentil

so

that

when

I

see

the

blood

I'll

pass

over

and

bringing

that

little

lamb

into

the

home

of

every

Jewish

believer

was

an

expression

of

hope

but

of

sorrow

do

you

follow

that

during

those

days

in

which

that

lamb

was

so

close

to

the

family

there

was

a

bonding

of

sorts

and

then

that

lamb

was

going

to

die

for

that

family

and

here

is

Jesus

actually

coming

in

to

the

city

in

the

same

context

and

on

the

same

day

perhaps

in

which

the

lambs

came

in

to

the

city

in

preparation

for

the

Passover

and

remember

Jesus

was

going

to

die

on

the

day

proportionate

to

that

actual

sacrifice

I

want

you

to

mark

this

as

certainly

true

Christ's

first

coming

and

his

present

appeal

is

as

our

Savior

and

as

the

Lamb

of

God

let

me

point

out

a

couple

different

passages

have

fixed

in

your

mind

for

one

in

John

John 1:29

chapter

1

verse

29

remember

when

John

the

Baptist

saw

Jesus

he

said

this

behold

the

Lamb

of

God

what

that

takes

away

the

sins

of

the

world

here

was

John

the

Baptist

that

had

grown

up

with

a

singular

desire

to

see

the

Messiah

it

had

been

his

responsibility

to

preach

repentance

make

straight

the

way

of

the

Lord

prepare

the

way

of

the

Lord

repent

for

the

kingdom

of

God

is

at

hand

and

when

he

sees

Jesus

do

you

know

what

he

says

behold

the

Lamb

of

God

that

comes

to

take

away

the

sins

of

the

world

and

Jesus

when he

spoke

about

himself

over

in

John

chapter

or

Luke

Luke 19:10

chapter

19

verse

10

he

said

this

For

the

Son

of

man

came

to

seek

and to

save

that

which

is

lost

why

did

he

come

he

came

because

I

was

lost

because

I

was

destroyed

and

broken

by

my

sin

and

he

came

to be

my

savior

and

I

have

to

tell

you

the

way

and

the

day

in

which

Jesus

chose

to

enter

Jerusalem

announced

that

the

greatest

problem

we

have

is

our

sin

oh

that

our

hearts

would

be

gripped

by

that

truth

and

our

longing

for

his

grace

to

save

us

and

also

help

us

to

grow

to

be

more

like

him

and

less

like

our

old

selves

!

older

I

am

more

persuaded

of

the

doctrine

of

depravity

than

I

used

to

be

I

know

more

about

the

darkness

of

my

own

soul

than

I

used

to

and

as

a

result

of

my

growing

to

understand

the

darkness

of

my

own

soul

I

am

growing

in

my

affection

for

Christ

there's

only

one

person

who

can

take

care

of

the

darkness

of

this

soul

and

Jesus

I

want

you

to

notice

something

else

you

look

here

at

this

passage

and

get

this

truth

in

your

mind

the

Jews

didn't

get

it

but

they're

not

the

only

one

so

we

put

it

this

way

I

guess

as

you

go

back

again

to

look

there

in

verse

13

the

world's

rejection

of

their

greatest

need

it

must

have

been

fairly

frustrating

to all

the people

who were

waving palm

fronds

and saying

save now

save now

be the

king

we need

you to

do

something

with those

skunks

who are

giving us

a hard

time

we'd like

better

health care

and we need

something about

the food

they're waving

the palm

fronds

I

want

you to

understand

that

the use

of palm

branches

was not

something

that was

a part

of Jewish

history

for most

of their

record

actually

it had

only happened

in the last

couple

centuries

and what

had happened

actually

is this

is Judas

and Simon

Maccabeus

had driven

out Syrian

invaders

from

Israel

and when

they had

driven

them out

and they

came

how many

of you

understand

that

victorious

generals

had the

victory march

into the

city

where they

had