Palm Sunday 2023: Gentle & on a Donkey (Matthew 21:1-11)

We're in Matthew chapter 21, verses 1 through 11 this morning.

Matthew 21:1–11

So would you please stand with me for the reading of God's word.

When they approached Jerusalem and came to Beth Page at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, telling them, Go into the village ahead of you.

At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt.

Untie them and bring them to me.

If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.

Tell daughter Zion, see, your king is coming to you.

Gentle and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them.

They brought the donkey and the colt.

Then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them.

A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road.

Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.

Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest heaven.

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, Who is this?

The crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you so much for the gift of Jesus Christ.

Lord, as we celebrate today the triumphal entry, Palm Sunday, Lord, I pray that this would be a time for us to appreciate Jesus all over again.

And to appreciate all that he did for us.

That he was fully God and fully man.

Lord, all that he did for us, for others in his ministry.

We don't see one selfish act by him.

Lord, help us uh, especially this week, as we're gonna be talking about to appreciate the gift of Jesus, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

So last year, and actually the year before that as well, we didn't do a special message for Palm Sunday.

Last year we just continued on in the book of Romans, which was the book that we were studying at the time.

But I wanted to do something a little bit different this year.

Really recognizing that this is what we refer to as Palm Sunday.

A time where we recognize Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

And as an interesting side note, it's one of the few events that we see listed in all four of the Gospels in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

So it's something that all four of those writers, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course, saw as very important to include in their gospel account.

And this triumphal entry marks the beginning of what's often called holy week, or maybe you've heard it referred to as Passion Week.

And it starts off a very, very busy week for Jesus.

So before we talk about that week, I wanted to ask you a question.

I want you to consider something before we jump in.

If you had one week left to live, and you knew you only had that one week, what would you do with that time?

You know, we get to see Jesus answer that question.

Jesus knew his time was coming.

He knew that this was the final week of his life.

And so we get to witness through Matthew 21 through 28 what Jesus does with his time in that final week of his life.

And I think the answer that could sum up everything that he did in that week is he loved others.

He loved God and he loved others.

You know, this week for Jesus, it includes the triumphal entry, like we're going to be looking at this this morning, which leads to the second cleansing of the temple, where Jesus drove out those that he referred to as thieves.

And we see him in the temple, and we see children praising him in the temple, and we see him healing many at this time.

We see where he curses the fig tree and then teaches his disciples about faith, what true faith looks like.

We see his conversations with the chief priests and the elders regarding authority, and they try to corner Jesus, and Jesus ends up cornering him, which I just love it when he's able to do that.

He uh then he spoke to his disciples and he spoke to the crowds and he spoke to the Pharisees.

He told a bunch of parables in this time as well.

Then there was the plot in this week as well to kill Jesus by the religious leaders.

Jesus had his last supper with his disciples.

Pretty sure they were on both sides of the table, too, when they did that.

His time, some of you'll get that in a second.

His time praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.

That's when we get we see him, you know, in anguish as he's praying to the Lord.

We see the betrayal by Judas.

We see the various bogus trials that he has to go through, that he faced.

We saw abandonment by his very own disciples, the people closest to him.

We see his scourging, we see the crown of thorns.

We see him carrying his own cross to his death.

And then, of course, we see his death, his burial, and his resurrection.

So this was a very, very busy week for Jesus that we see from Sunday to Sunday.

And I wanted to do this special message this morning on Palm Sunday this year, because we as followers of Christ, I know this is very true for myself, can often get to the Monday after Easter and realize, oh wow, Easter's over, and I never really took any time to reflect on what Jesus has done for me.

Especially if you're serving in some capacity on Easter Sunday, because maybe your week's filled with planning and serving and being at meetings and different things like that.

So I want us to start now, this morning, with that reflection.

And with an encouragement to all of us to continue to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us.

To reflect on what that means, that he was raised from the dead for us.

You know, we can so often become so callous or so used to what Jesus did for us.

And we can forget the magnitude of the gift that was given for us.

You know, Jesus stepped down from his heavenly throne.

He walked on this earth for 30-something years.

He raised up disciples in that process, he healed lepers, he gave sight to the blind.

He taught us about what it really means to be a part of the kingdom of God.

All to be led to this humiliating, brutal death on the cross.

To die in our place.

That death that we deserved for our sin.

And then to be raised on the third day, proving that he was and is, in fact, God.

And you may be of the attitude, you know, kind of like Valentine's Day, of shouldn't we do this every day?

You know, being thankful for Jesus and what he's done, reflecting on the magnitude of what it means that he brought salvation, that he paid for our salvation, being thankful for what he endured in our place on that cross.

And the answer is absolutely, we should.

Absolutely.

But sometimes if we stop and take focused time to reflect on these things, it helps us to appreciate those things even more on a daily basis as the year goes on.

You know, this is a week that the church has set aside to remember these things regardless of the date that they actually took place.

This is the week that we've chosen because if you've noticed, it's always on a Sunday and it's a different date pretty much every year.

But I hope that we will take the time to reflect.

We would take advantage of this week starting this morning.

And if you're looking for a way to do that during this week, a great way to do it is to start in Matthew chapter 21, as we are this morning.

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

And each day, just read the following chapter.

So tomorrow, chapter 22, Tuesday, chapter 23, which will bring you to chapter 28 on Easter Sunday, which is all about Jesus' resurrection.

So if you're looking for a way, that's just an easy way to do it.

Just start reading those chapters.

You can finish reading chapter 21 today, 22 tomorrow, 23, and so on and so on.

But regardless of what you do this week, maybe you have something else that you do to remember the gift of salvation, but let's just make a point of not getting through Easter.

Let's just make a point of not showing up on Monday and thinking, man, I really just kind of missed what that was all about.

So, with all that said, let's jump into verse 1.

It says, When they approached Jerusalem and came to Beth Page at the Mount of Olives, Jesus then sent two disciples, telling them, Go into the village ahead of you.

At once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt.

Untie them and bring them to me.

So the setting here is the Mount of Olives, which Jesus basically kind of sets up his home base for the week here.

And we'll see him in this setting three different times within this week leading up to his crucifixion.

And then after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, the Mount of Olives is where Jesus will ascend into heaven.

And we see that in Acts 1.12.

And then in Zechariah 14, 4, we see that this will also be the place that Jesus sets his feet down for the first time when he returns the second time for his second coming.

So that's the setting that we're in, Mount of Olives.

And in verse 2, Jesus tells two disciples to retrieve these donkeys in the village ahead of them.

Which seems like a bit of a strange request, doesn't it?

And then look at what he says in verse 3.

If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.

So, what would you do if I told you there's a Honda Accord in the certain parking lot up in Templeton?

Just jump in and drive it back to the church because the Lord needs it.

And if anyone asks you any questions or thinks that you're stealing the car, just tell them the Lord needs it and just take off.

You probably have a lot of questions, wouldn't you?

Like, wait, whose car is this?

Like, are they okay with us borrowing this car?

And how do I know I'm not gonna get arrested and end up on KSBY tonight?

You know, it's like we have a couple questions like that, right?

You know, it's there's debate about this.

People wonder if Jesus had this set up ahead of time with the owner of these donkeys, or was this one of Jesus' miracles and just his full authority on display?

We don't know for sure, but it's kind of fun to think about.

But it is kind of a strange request that I would think the disciples would have lots of questions for Jesus.

But anyway, look at verse 4.

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled.

And then he quotes Zechariah 9:9 here in verse 5.

Zechariah 9:9

He says, Tell daughter Zion, see your king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

You know, the key here that Jesus demonstrates, but the crowd seems to have forgotten, is the word gentle in verse 5.

And if you're an underliner or a highlighter in your Bible, that word gentle right there.

You know, the the crowd, Israel as a whole, for the most part, wanted Jesus' second coming.

They weren't interested in his first coming.

You know, the first coming, he comes gentle as a lamb and on a borrowed donkey.

His second coming is on a white horse like a lion, with an army behind him, ready for judgment and ready for war.

And I want to read you a passage from Revelation 19, verses 11 through 16.

Revelation 19:11–16

Uh, you can turn there if you want, but I'm just gonna read it to you right now.

This is all about Jesus' second coming.

This is what Israel was really desiring from him at this moment.

It says, Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse.

Its rider is called faithful and true, and with justice he judges and makes war.

His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head.

He had a name written that no one knows except himself.

He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen.

A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it.

He will rule them with an iron rod.

He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God the Almighty.

And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When you read that, does anyone here go, yeah, that's my Jesus, right?

But does anybody read gentle and on a borrowed donkey and have that same reaction?

You see, we're not so different than the Israelites, are we?

Israel wanted judgment on their enemies.

They wanted oppression to be lifted, they wanted their lives to be made easier, not realizing how badly they needed salvation for themselves.

So that they would not end up being a part of the people that Jesus came to judge, should he come back as they wanted him to.

You know, the majority of Israel at this time would have been part of the judgment that Jesus would have been bringing had he come like they wanted him to.

They wanted him to slaughter the Romans because of their occupation of Israel at the time.

They wanted him to take out the Samaritans and the Greeks because they thought of them as no better than dogs, not realizing how far away from God they had wandered themselves.

You know, praise the Lord that Jesus wasn't on a white horse in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Praise God that he came gently and on a donkey to take our place and die the death that we deserve.

To be the once and for all perfect sacrifice that was offered for us.

To not wage war on our earthly enemies, but to bring us peace with God.

If Jesus came like they wanted him to, to wipe out the Romans and all of Israel's enemies, we'd still need to sacrifice animals to temporarily atone for our sins here today.

That whole system would still have to be in place.

But Jesus took care of all of that with his first coming.

You know, death was the price, it was the payment to save us from death.

Back then it was by animals.

But Jesus offers to pay that price for anyone that will receive that free gift.

We just need to accept it.

We just need to take it as he reaches out and says, Here is this gift of salvation.

We just need to reach out and accept that gift from him.

So Jesus came gently and on a borrowed donkey, not giving people what they wanted, but giving the people what they so badly needed.

Look at verse six with me.

The disciples went and did just as Jesus directed them.

They brought the donkey and the coal.

Then they laid their clothes on them, and he sat on them.

A very large crowd spread their clothes on the road.

Others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.

So think of this like a modern-day red carpet, so to speak.

The royal treatment where your feet or your mode of transportation didn't have to touch the dirt or the manure that would be on the road from all of the other animals that were traveling as well.

And think about this.

Most people didn't have a closet full of clothes at home.

They probably only had one or two changes of clothes at this time.

So this is a sacrifice to throw your clothes under the feet of a donkey on a well-traveled road that a lot of other animals were using at the same time.

So they're treating Jesus just like a king when they're doing this.

So the treatment is correct, but the people's expectation of Jesus is wrong.

Jesus' first coming was to conquer sin and death, not to establish an earthly kingdom.

Look at verse 9 with me.

Then the crowds who went ahead of him and those who followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest heaven.

Hosanna meaning save, we pray, or save now.

It's an exclamation of praise.

And this is a quote from Psalm 118.

If you want to turn there now, you can.

This crowd did want a savior, but they wanted saving from their current circumstance.

Jesus wanted to save them for all of eternity, not just from their current circumstance, which they wanted so badly.

So I want to read you a section of Psalm 118, starting in verse 22, and see if we can identify the part that Israel was leaving out of these praises that they were giving to Jesus at this time.

So Psalm 118, starting in verse 22, it says, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This was the Lord's doing.

It is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

That's the word Hosanna right there.

O Lord, O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

God is the Lord, and he has given us light.

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will praise you.

You are my God, I will exalt you.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

You see that in verse 27?

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

You see, Israel did not understand that their Messiah would first have to be a sacrifice.

And you know, if you think back, if you've been with us since we went through the book of Mark, think of how many times Jesus had to tell his disciples of his death.

And they kept looking at him like, we don't understand this parable, Jesus.

Jesus keeps looking back at them and saying, It's not a parable.

Like this is actually going to happen.

And they still didn't believe him until they actually saw him resurrected and they saw him physically.

This was just something that was not on their radar, and it was something that they did not want for their Messiah.

And these were the people that were closest to him, his disciples.

They were getting a suffering servant that was prophesied in great detail in Isaiah 53, if you want to go and read that on your own.

But their expectation, again, had been for a war hero that would remove them from their current circumstance.

Look at verse 10.

Sorry, go back to Matthew, not in 118, back to Matthew 21, verse 10.

Matthew 21:10

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, Who is this?

The crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth and Galilee.

You know, this crowd shouting, Hosanna, quoting from Psalm 118, giving Jesus a king's entrance into Jerusalem, would in a matter of days be shouting, Crucify Him.

Crucify Him.

In effect, yelling, My God is not doing what I want him to do, so let's kill him.

Their expectations were not being met by their God.

You know, my prayer this week, as I've been preparing this for day today, has been, oh Lord, forgive us for the ways that we have unknowingly yelled Hosanna and for the ways that we have unknowingly yelled crucify him.

To think that we would have been any different, or that we are any different than these people that are on both sides of this road that Jesus is coming down, I think, is wishful thinking and pride on our part.

You know, so often we read scripture with a highlighter and a sharpie, and don't we?

Oh, I like that one.

I'm gonna highlight that.

Oh, I really don't like what that's saying.

I was just gonna use the sharpie on that one.

But the end of Psalm 118, in verse 19, it says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

In God's mercy, he allowed the people to praise Jesus and treat him like the king that he is.

There were people who were one day shouting, Hosanna, and then less than a week would be yelling, Crucify Him.

But then I also wonder on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus' resurrection, as we read about in Acts, how many of those same people that were a part of this crowd were actually saved?

How many of those people truly accepted Jesus as their Messiah?

For who he really was and not who they wanted him to be?

As their, who accepted him as their perfect sacrifice, who was bound with cords like a lamb to the horns of the altar for them.

Who in his mercy and gentleness said, I forgive you for your incorrect expectations of me, and I forgive you for yelling, crucify.

Psalm 118, 29.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

When we praise him or pray incorrectly, or I our idea of God is incorrect, or when we've highlighted verses and taken sharpies to others, oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.

This is why we study the word every Sunday.

This is why we encourage daily Bible reading for everybody that's in this church, because none of us, myself included, has perfect theology or doctrine.

We're all learning every day and allowing Scripture to inform us in these things, to know Jesus better, to abide with him more closely, and thank God for his mercy on us, because we so desperately need it.

You know, Jesus said in Matthew 11, 28 through 30, he said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

You know, if we come to him now, we won't have to worry about the Jesus that comes on a white horse on judgment day.

The Jesus that comes to wage war in his second coming, because we will have already been saved from that judgment.

If you've never accepted that gift of Jesus' salvation, in God's mercy, he's extending that gift to each one of us today.

And you just need to reach out and accept that gift that God is offering.

To accept Jesus for who he is and not who we want him to be.

He wants to come alongside of each one of us in this life and walk with us through every circumstance and through every season.

He wants to give each one of us an eternity in paradise, free from the cares of this world.

He wants to cleanse each one of us from our sin, from all of our past mistakes and our failures and all of our wrongdoings, and give us a new birth into the family of God.

And we just need to accept it as his gift to each one of us.

And you can do this if you've never done this before.

You want to renew your vows, so to speak, to the Lord, you can do this in the quietness of your own seat.

And this is a great day to do it.

To appreciate the gift that is Jesus and to accept that gift that is Jesus into each one of our lives.

And I say it's a perfect morning because we're going to be celebrating communion this morning.

We're going to be holding those symbols in our hands of the bread and the cup.

The bread signifying his body and the cup signifying his blood, the sacrifice that he made for each one of us.

And if that is you, it's a great day to make that decision.

To confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and to accept in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

That's all we need to do and allow him to live inside of us and to move through us from this day forward.