It is great to be with you after being away for three months on sabbatical! It feels like it has been an eternity since I stood in this pulpit and I have really looked forward to being back with all of you. I missed all of you, deeply!

            Christy and I really enjoyed our time away and we really enjoyed experiencing a ton of things that we have never experienced before. One of those things we experienced was a Nascar Race called The Daytona 500. While there are many things I could share with you about that experience, the noise, the excitement, the crashes, the jets that flew overhead at the speed of light with a deafening roar, the weather delays, and the unbelievable traffic jams trying to get out of there afterwards, there is one experience that I think relates to our passage today.

            As we were waiting for the race to begin, the race cars got all lined up, ready to begin racing, when suddenly the noise level of the crowd became electric with a whole bunch of chatter and people began pointing to something that looked like a line of black cars off in the distance in the inner track area. That is when I heard a guy behind me say excitedly that President Trump was in that line of cars in the distance and that he was leading the procession in a large SUV called “The Beast”!

            The atmosphere was electric as the President’s SUV came to a stop in the middle of the track and a door swung open. Most people began cheering loudly as President Trump stepped out of the vehicle with his young granddaughter holding his hand. It was a simple ceremony as he and his granddaughter and then his son and his wife and other kiddos stepped out and began to greet every race car driver. Then he got back into “The Beast” and he led the pack of race cars around the track for their first two laps. It was pretty cool!

            I was honestly kind of shocked by my emotional response to what we were experiencing together. I actually began to shed some tears for some odd reason. Now listen, I am not a huge political guy and I am not really a fan of President Trump. I respect him and the office he holds but I am far from being infatuated with him or really any other US President. But I did shed a bunch of tears that morning.

            The experience kind of shook me. Why the tears? Where did they come from? Am I emotionally unhinged or something? As I pondered the experience over the next few days, I realized that my emotional response was because of the display of power, courage, victory, and redemption that President Trump represents for so many people. I understand the danger of this illustration, fully. Not everyone would have the same reaction as I did.

            But when I think about it… President Trump may arguably be the most powerful man on the planet at the moment (as is typically true of any sitting US President), he definitely possesses levels of courage that I can admire (pursuing his office even in the face of attempted assassinations), he definitely was decidedly victorious over his opponents (even though it seemed dismal at times), and for many, he does represent a kind of salvation from the cultural erosion that many can see in our country. Even if President Trump does not affect you the same way, I am certain you can think of some high level official or some famous person that affects you the same way.

            In many ways, our passage this morning describes a very dramatic entrance that could be similar to what Christy and I experienced that day in Daytona. The reality is that our passage describes the dramatic entrance of the most powerful, the most courageous, the most victorious, and the only true Savior the world has ever seen as he enters into Jerusalem. As one commentator states, when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, the way he does in our passage, he is deliberately, aggressively, and publicly announcing that he has arrived, and his enemies better take note because he is the only True King who brings real peace, offers true deliverance, and he will occupy the eternal throne that was promised to King David many years before this day!2 Look at the passage with me…

1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street and they untied it. 5And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest! 11And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

            There is nothing haphazard about the way Jesus enters in to Jerusalem on this first Palm Sunday some two-thousand years ago. Every detail was an intentional part of the King’s Plan to wage the final battle in his war against Satan, Sin, and Death on this earth. Think about the way Jesus lays out his plan in the first three verses.

#1: THE KING’S PLAN (VV. 1 – 3)

            In verses 1 – 3, Mark tells us that as Jesus and his crew of disciples get close to Jerusalem, he sends two of the guys into town to fetch an unridden donkey to ride into the city and he gives them specific instructions on how to handle anyone who questions what they are doing.

            At first glance, there does not seem to be anything significant about Jesus acquiring a donkey to ride. Was he just tired of walking? Did he think it was time to upgrade his mode of transportation to the latest and greatest vehicle in the form of a donkey? I think I can assure you that Jesus was not simply tired of walking and that he did not decide to upgrade to the newest form of transportation for famous rabbis!

            The reality, as many commentators point out, is that Jesus is snagging this donkey in fulfillment of a concert of ancient prophecies from the likes of Zechariah and Jacob regarding the fact that the Redeemer, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem humbly, riding on the back of a previously unridden donkey (Zech. 9:9, Gen. 49:10-11).3 The point here is that Jesus is intentionally unfolding his plan to ride into Jerusalem in a huge display of humble, pomp and circumstance as though he is taunting his enemies; literally picking a fight with Satan, Sin, and Death!

            This has been Jesus’ plan all along! From eternity past, Jesus had planned to enter Jerusalem in this way so that he could fulfill ancient prophecy and pick a rigged fight with his enemies. The question is whether or not his disciples will get in line with his plan and follow his instructions obediently. And, thankfully they do!

#2: THE DISCIPLES’ OBEDIENCE (VV. 4 – 6)

            In verses 4 – 6, the disciples obediently head into town and they find a donkey, they untie it, begin leaving with it, and when some people begin to question what they are doing, they obediently tell them what Jesus had said regarding his need of the donkey and his promise to return it soon.

            This may not seem super significant but let me remind you that anytime the disciples are obedient is a moment for us to stop and think about the many times they were either disobedient or just simply caused a stir because of their immaturity. James and John were always arguing about who would sit at the right hand of Jesus in eternity, Peter cannot stop opening his mouth and allowing his stupidity to come rolling out on everyone around him, and they constantly questioned Jesus and often doubted him, especially when they were overwhelmed by stormy seas as they embarked upon one sailing expedition or another.

            Suffice it to say, the disciples’ obedience here is remarkable, especially when you think about how they took Jesus’ words and passed those exact words along to the people who questioned what they were doing. I find it to be most helpful, when being questioned by some critic or onlooker, to just simply recite Jesus’ words without any extra fluff. In doing that, we are literally proclaiming the words of Jesus to critics and questioners everywhere.

            If the perfect plans of Jesus and the obedience of the disciples does not get your mind and heart going, maybe the celebration of the town’s people will put a nice little cap on our text for today. The exuberant celebration of the crowd is definitely something with tons of historical and eternal significance.

#3: THE CROWD’S CELEBRATION (VV. 7 – 10)

            In verses 7 – 10, Mark tells us that the disciples bring the donkey to Jesus, put their cloaks on it for comfort, and Jesus rides it into Jerusalem to the shouts of the crowds as they pave the road with their cloaks and palm branches. Seems like a wild celebration to the shouts of praise as the people exclaim in verses 9 – 10, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

            What a riot! But this is so much more than a simple celebration of Jesus’ biggest fans. As one commentator reminded me, the palm branches are a throwback to the Maccabaean revolt symbolizing the miraculous defeat of God’s enemies; the proclamation of “Hosanna” literally means “save us”; and the phrase “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” comes from Psalm 118 and verse 26 where David sings of the steadfast love of our victorious God who crushes his enemies underneath his feet.4

            Suffice it to say, this celebration is a prophetic celebration of what Jesus is about to do in a little under a week at the cross of Calvary as he literally crushes Satan, Sin, and Death as the reigning king who comes to provide Salvation and take his rightful place on the eternal throne that was promised to David many years earlier.

            Even though the crowd may not fully comprehend what they are celebrating – just as we often do not fully comprehend the depth and the beauty of the gospel – nevertheless, they are prophetically celebrating the impending victory of the cross and the empty tomb over our mortal enemies!

CONCLUSION…

            By way of conclusion this morning I want us to think briefly about how this passage could apply to our hearts and lives. First, we examined the intentional plans of Jesus to make war against his and our enemies. Second, we saw the stellar obedience of his disciples as they rounded up the donkey and proclaimed the words of Jesus. Third, we saw the crowd as they celebrated the arrival of Jesus as their Savior and Eternal King who would occupy the throne of David forever. In light of those three things, here are three brief observations that I hope will challenge and encourage you as we wrap this up.

  1. Jesus’ intentional plan should encourage and challenge all of us regardless of the current season we are walking through. Whether you struggling or thriving, suffering or excelling, barely getting by or living on a high, we can rest assured that nothing escapes Jesus’ attention and nothing catches him off guard. Jesus is the Sovereign King. Every circumstance of your life was carefully planned by your Creator, right down to the finest detail. This means that both hardship and prosperity were ordained by God as needful to draw you close to him and make you more like him. You can trust him when it is all falling apart and you can trust him when everything seems to be just fine.
  2. The disciple’s obedience should challenge and encourage us to be obedient to God no matter how mundane the task may seem. God might be calling you to start encouraging your spouse more often, or to begin giving your time, talent, and treasure in faithful accordance with the commands of Scripture, or he may be asking you to start sharing your faith with a friend, or he might be asking you to start serving in some area of ministry. Whatever area of obedience the Lord is speaking to you about right now, if the disciples can get a donkey and share the words of Jesus with others, maybe you and I could begin to walk in greater obedience too.
  3. The crowd’s celebration is meant to stir our affections for Jesus as our Savior. Not the kind of savior who changes our physical circumstances. The kind of Savior who changes our eternal address. If you and I can catch a picture of just how ferocious our enemies – Satan, Sin, and Death – really are, and the intentionality by which Jesus picks this fight with them on our behalf, maybe we too would give up our possessions in a joyful celebration to pave the way for Jesus to ride into the depths of our hearts on a daily basis.

            After all is said and done, Jesus’ plan, the disciples’ obedience, and the crowd’s celebration are only meant to do one thing and that is to draw our attention to the life, death, resurrection, and promised return of the One, True King. The Only One who holds all the power. The Only One who is fully courageous. The Only One who truly redeems. The Only One who mighty to save!

            King Jesus is the only One! He is our crucified, risen, and returning King. At his name, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that he is King of kings and Lord of lords. His iron scepter will crush our enemies once and for all when he returns. His bloody cross is where our salvation is solidified! His empty tomb is where our eternal victory is secured! His promised return is where our hope is rooted! – 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, Mark: Jesus, Servant & Savior, Preaching the Word Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2015), 264 – 268.

3 Ibid., 264 – 267.

4 Ibid., 268.