Today is Palm Sunday. Every year on this day, we celebrate what the Bible calls, The Triumphal Entry. This is the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem after three years of miraculously healing the sick, proclaiming freedom for the spiritually oppressed, preaching the establishment of the kingdom of God, picking fights with the religious establishment, and generally creating his own death sentence.

We all long for a good King to rule over us with compassion, authority, grace, and genuine care. We long for a kingdom that offers prosperity, safety, comfort, and peace. These were the deep longings of the hearts of the people in Jerusalem. For thousands of years, God’s people, had been oppressed by one evil kingdom after the next. They knew from experience that this earth only offers fading regimes, failed kingdoms, and oppressive systems that were not designed for the health, wealth, and prosperity of God’s people.

Every earthly king and kingdom had failed up until this point – I am sure you can relate with the people of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ triumphant entry. But there was one kingdom – an ancient kingdom – that had begun at the Garden of Eden, that was brought through the flood, that was nearly crushed by one enemy kingdom after the next for centuries, that finally found an earthly identity under a shepherd king named David, that had endured years of infighting and rebellion and exile as a result of their stupidity, and was now under the oppressive rule and reign of an evil earthly kingdom known as Rome.

Into this state of oppression and desperation steps a man named Jesus who did miraculous things and claimed to be the new, incoming, Messiah King that had been promised since things went south back in the Garden. All the other failed kingdoms of this earth will ultimately bow in submission to this new, incoming, Messiah King, and the people in our story know this and they believe that the time of their redemption is now; in their minds their long promised Messiah King was now riding into Jerusalem to wage war against Rome and set God’s people free once and for all.2

Of course, we know that Jesus did not come to establish an eternal kingdom on earth just yet – at least not in the way that God’s people envisioned it at this time. But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Let us stay in that place of longing for a better Kingdom, and a better King.

I do not know what circumstances make you long for a better Kingdom and a better King. Maybe it is the inevitability of suffering, or the realization of the depths of evil in this world, or the failed promises of one earthly king after the next, either way, I am sure you sense that deep longing for a better Kingdom and a better King. For me, it is the inevitably of loss, suffering, and death in this life that makes me long for a better Kingdom and a better King.

Into this deep longing, Jesus comes riding in triumph as he weeps over my sin and my rebellion, fully prepared to cleanse the deepest, darkest places of my soul. What I just said captures the heart of the movement of the passage before us today. In these verses, Jesus rides into the heart of the city of Jerusalem (vv. 28 – 40), he weeps over the sinful and rebellious condition of God’s people (vv. 41 – 44), and he intentionally cleanses the filth from inside the temple of God (vv. 45 – 48). Look at the text with me…

28And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, “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. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37As 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, 38saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

41And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43For 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 44and 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.

45And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46saying to them, “it is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” 47And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

#1: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY (VV. 28 – 40)

In our first movement, Jesus rides into the heart of the city of Jerusalem in verses 45 – 48. It is difficult to capture the full significance of this moment in the time we have together today. But we have to remember that back in chapter nine, Luke tells us that Jesus set his face like a stone as he began heading towards Jerusalem – towards his impending death (Lk. 9:51). He then spends the next ten chapters or so zigzagging back and forth through various towns and locations for the next nine months “timing the journey just right in order to end up in Jerusalem for Passover.”3

During this nine-month journey, Jesus did many amazing and miraculous things, but nothing probably comes close to the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. This one miracle had literally blown the roof off Jesus’ ministry as he now prepares to ride into Jerusalem with the risen Lazarus in his crew along with many others who had witnessed this miracle, not to mention all the buzz among the religious establishment who were already seeking a way to murder Jesus because of their jealousy (Jn. 11, 12; Matt. 26; Mark 14).4

I am certain, if you and I were present for this moment, we would feel the energy, the uncertainty, the longing, the excitement, at a fever level. And into this emotionally charged atmosphere, Jesus deliberately prepares for his grand entrance by sending a couple disciples to get an unridden donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem on (vv. 29 – 34). Jesus’ disciples throw him up on the donkey and he rides into Jerusalem on a road covered in cloaks and palm branches (Jn. 12:13) to the praises of his people and the chagrin of his enemies, the Pharisees (vv. 35 – 39).

The image we have here is similar to a triumphant king riding back into town from defeating his enemies, but Jesus is not on a war horse, he rides in on a beast of burden to symbolize the burden of his coming execution in humility and in fulfillment of ancient prophecies (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:4 – 5).5 Jesus is the triumphant and victorious king, but his victory does not come in the death of his enemies just yet; it comes through his own death a few days from now.

The reality is that even though God’s people do not understand what is about to happen – in the impending death of Jesus – they do rightly proclaim Jesus as the King in their praise and worship as he rides into town. When the people cry out in verse 38, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” they are rightly praising and worshipping Christ as the incoming King of the world, even if they are disillusioned as to what is about to happen. Christ is still the king who is worthy of our praise, even when his plans contradict our expectations.

What stands in stark contrast to me is the heart posture of the Pharisees in verse 39 where they tell Jesus to rebuke his disciples to make them shut up and Jesus responds in verse 40with this well-known response, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” The disciples have been obedient and worshipful in getting the donkey. The donkey’s owners have been submissive to Jesus in giving the donkey. The people are obedient, worshipful and submissive in their loud praises and worship. Not the Pharisees though!

The Pharisees, the religious establishment, they have issues because the people love Jesus more than them. They cannot stand it when people praise Jesus and they want their worship silenced. They think they know God, but their hearts are hard as rocks. All of creation is designed to praise and worship the God of the universe. But these religious fakes were unable to handle the worship of the one true king because their hearts had been turned into dead stones. And ironically, Jesus says, that if his people do not worship him, the stones will.

It really is disturbing – heartbreaking – to think that you or I could withhold the worship that Jesus deserves just through our silence. It really is true that stubborn, distracted, self-centered silence is the enemy of wholehearted, joy-filled praise. This makes me question where I am remaining silent instead of worshipping God in joy-filled praise. In what ways am I remaining silent when God is calling me to joy-filled praise and worship?

#2: JESUS WEEPS OVER JERUSALEM (VV. 41 – 44)

In our second movement, Jesus weeps over the sinful and rebellious condition of God’s people. Luke tells in verses 41 – 44 that as Jesus came near to the city of Jerusalem that “he wept over it” because they were ignorant to “the things that make for peace” and that because of their ignorance they would experience utter destruction in the near future because they “did not know the time of [their] visitation.”

The sinful rebellion in the heart of God’s people is that they did not respond in wholehearted praise and worship to the presence of God in Christ. Sure, they were praising and worshipping now but in just a few days God’s people would turn against the presence of God in the person of his Crucified Son as they called for his execution because he failed to meet their expectations.

Can you imagine the depth of grief this caused the heart of God? It is true that when we ignore the presence of the God, it causes deep grief in the Father’s heart. It is also true that when we grieve, we know that we have a Savior who enters into our grief and never leaves us alone like our human friends who come and go amidst our grief. We all know the grief of pain, and suffering, and loss on this earth. But the grief that Jesus felt on this day, was an emotion that emanated straight from the heart of the Father.

Our Father grieves over our refusal to praise and worship him when he fails to meet our expectations. This makes me wonder when or in what ways I am causing grief in the heart of God by ignoring his presence instead of worshipping him in spirit and in truth. I ask the question again: In what ways have I been causing the heart of God to grieve as I ignore his inviting presence in my life?

#3: JESUS CLEANSES THE TEMPLE (VV. 45 – 48)

In our third movement, Jesus intentionally cleanses the filth from inside the temple of God. In verses 45 – 47, Luke tells us that Jesus went into the temple and began driving “out those who sold” reminding them that God’s house was meant to be “a house of prayer” not “a den of robbers” and then he went on teaching all who would hear him. But of course, the religious elite could not stand to have Jesus teaching in the temple because it would mess with their profit margins so Luke tells us in verses 47 – 48 that they began looking for a way “to destroy him” but could not do anything because “all the people were hanging on his words.”

The reality here is that the religious elite had turned God’s house into a supermarket of overpriced sacrificial supplies for those who did not have the means to bring in a spotless lamb or a pigeon to worship God with. The religious elite had turned God’s house into an overpriced, for-profit, pay-to-worship, supermarket. They literally turned God’s house into a den of thieves who were using the worship of God to satisfy their own consumeristic, self-serving, desires.

This is the reason these religious sleazebags wanted to kill Jesus. But something stood in between them and the fulfillment of their plans – at least for the moment – and the thing that stood in between them was a large crowd of people hanging on every word that came out of Jesus’ mouth. The contrast is stark. There are fake worshippers seeking to fulfill their own desires and there are true worshippers who are hanging on every word that comes from the mouth of Jesus.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: which kind of worshipper am I? Am I the kind of fake worshipper who really only participates in the things of God to get my needs and desires met, while at the end of the day I could not care less if Jesus lives or dies? Or am I the kind of true worshipper that hangs on every word that comes from the mouth of God? 

APPLICATION…

By way of application, we have to realize that this story of the triumphal entry, with its three different movements, is meant to bring us face to face with a soon to be crucified, risen, and returning King who comes riding into our lives in triumph as he weeps over our sin and rebellion, and fully ready to cleanse the deepest, darkest places of our souls, if we will allow him to do so.

But you have to ask: Is Jesus the King of my life? Am I granting him access into the deepest darkest corners of my little self-made kingdom called life? Have I been responding to his presence? Am I hanging on every word that comes from his mouth? Or am I avoiding Jesus, building my own self-serving kingdom, ignoring his presence, and ultimately trying to push him away from me?

To be part of the Kingdom of our Suffering King is to worship a crucified, risen, and returning King. All of us are infected with a worship dysfunction called sin. Sin causes us to turn inward with our focus and attention, and it forces us to live in ways that are self-gratifying, self-satisfying, and self-promoting. But the way of our suffering King is the way of humble, self-sacrificing, dying-to-self, worship.

This is the kind of worship that fully surrenders to Jesus in humble, joy-filled praise. It is the kind of worship that responds in obedience to God’s commands. It is the kind of worship that does not ignore the presence of God. It is the kind of worship that hangs on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Is there anything that is causing you to avoid the worship of Jesus? Anything causing you to ignore him? Anything causing you to resist his Word rather than to hang onto it? Anything causing you to focus more on yourself rather than on the King who gave his life on your behalf?

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, I think the greatest enemy we face when it comes to our own genuine heartfelt worship of God is the enemy of disappointment and failed expectations. Satan, Sin, and Death will use any means necessary to get you and I to live in a state of disappointment with God because he somehow failed our expectations. The job did not pan out. The marriage got rocky or failed altogether. That sin got a foothold again. Our friend abandoned us or betrayed us. Someone close to us died suddenly.

We expected a King and a Kingdom that was free from the effects of Satan, Sin, and Death but we failed to see that that Kingdom will be established in eternity. Between now and then, our calling is to worship God despite the disappointment, despite the failed expectations, and despite the pain and suffering of this world. When we praise him with joy, when we respond to his presence, when we hang on his every word, despite the disappointments of this life, we worship him as the Returning King of an eternal Kingdom that he gave his very life to establish.

And honestly, the real shocker here is that Jesus knew, he knew exactly how this day would go – and the rest of this week for that matter. He knew that even those who worshipped him on this day, would either abandon him altogether – even his closest friends – or they would flat out call for his execution. He knew he would be betrayed and abandoned by the entire world.

And yet he still kept his face set like a stone for the cross that was set before him. He knew just how despicable and disgusting you and I were and yet he went the distance on our behalf – giving his life as a ransom – so that we could be rescued from Satan, Sin, and Death, to become sons and daughters of God. That cross becomes bloody in a few short days. But that tomb gets left empty three days later. And the promise of heaven is for everyone who surrenders to Jesus.

The bloody cross, the empty tomb, and the promise of heaven, I can think of no other reason to worship than this! Praise God my friends! Praise him with joy amidst the difficulties and disappointments of this life. Draw close to his presence despite the difficulties and disappointment of this life. Hang on his every word despite the difficulties and disappointments of this life. And in so doing, you will worship our crucified, risen, and returning King, in spirit and in truth. – Amen!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 R., Kent, Hughes, Luke: That You May Know The Truth, Preaching the Word Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2015), 671 – 672.

3 Ibid., 672.

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid., 675.