Triumphal Entry
Matt Redstone
The Road to Resurrection • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 19:54
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· 5 viewsEaster is right around the corner. Over the next couple of weeks, we will set the stage for Good Friday, looking forward to Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why did Jesus have to die? What was so significant about His entry into Jerusalem? What was the Pharisees problem? Most importantly, what implications does Easter have for you?
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Introduction
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Transition
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As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead.
“Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’ ”
The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door.
As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?”
They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it.
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.
Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.
Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”
So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Crowd vs Pharisees
Crowd vs Pharisees
Jesus enters the city with the crowds cheering and rejoicing. Here comes the king of Israel! Here comes the Messiah, the one who will restore Israel to the days of David!
The reference to David is significant because it was under David that the nation grew. It was David who led Israel to so many victories over their enemies. The people are excited because this could be the one who runs Rome out of their land!
Remember many in the crowd were poor, and many of them were uneducated. They probably missed the significance of the Jesus riding a colt, one that had never been ridden before. They probably didn’t realize that this was prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes.
Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
right before their very eyes, the words of the prophet were unfolding before them. But because they didn’t know, it was all too easy to abandon the show of support when Jesus was bound and in chains. It was all too easy to believe that maybe they had been duped, and as a result lash out in frustration and anger. You tricked us Jesus, and now you must pay. What kind of conquering king is bound and beated before the religious leaders?
The Pharisees Probably Knew
The Pharisees Probably Knew
On the flip side, the Pharisees may have seen the events unfolding and known exactly what was going on. They might have missed it, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. In John’s account, as they are plotting Jesus’s death, the Pharisees conclude that it is better that one man die then the whole nation, fearing the back lash from the Romans
But they probably knew. They were the ones who had the words of the Law memorized. So as they saw the words of Zechariah 9 unfolding, they would have been drawn to a few lines later in Zech 10:3
“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.
You must know the word
You must know the word
who are the shepherds and the leaders that Zechariah is refering to? At the time of his writing this, it refered to leaders of the nation who were leading the people into idolatry.
But if Zech 9 was unfolding before their very eyes, then that meant the leaders that God was looking down with anger would be the Pharisees and religious leaders! But that can’t be true. They should eliminate this threat, just to be safe
The point that needs to be pointed out here is how important that church of Jesus knows the word. There is no reason for any of us to be unaware of what is in this book. The Western church has unprecedented access to the word. It is easy to see how the crowds wouldn’t understand; their only access was what the religious leaders taught them from the synagogue. There was one scroll, and only a few select had access to it. Today, you not only have access, you can choose the wording of the text. Do you want Shakespearen English or grade 5 level English? Do you want a paraphrase or Hawaiian Pigeon? If you don’t get that reference, no worries.
The truth is that scripture hasn’t stopped unfolding. Every day, we are seeing the words of Jesus, the prophecy of the New Testament unfolding. The wars, the disease, the corruption, the increase of natural disasters. It is all here.
The problem is, most people are so distracted by social media, habits, addictions, politics, and anything the world can throw at you. As long as you are focused on the things of the world, you are going to miss what is happening all around you.
Not only is it important to be in the word of God, it is important to allow the Holy Spirit to interpret the word for you. Where you have access that the crowd didn’t have, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, revealing the truth to you, something the Pharisees didn’t have.
If you are not in the word, then it is easy to be distracted by the things of the world, and it is easy to lose faith when things get tough. For the crowds, it was going to be hard to see Jesus being imprisoned and beaten. For the Pharisees, it was hard to hear the conviction that maybe they had missed the mark.
What is the reason you have trouble getting into the word? There are lots of reasons that maybe reading this mught be tough, but you need to remember that there are more reasons it is vital! This is the manual to life, this is the key to blessing, it is the venue which God speaks and transforms us. If you are not in the word and allowing it to soak in, then you could be missing something amazing that God is doing before your very eyes.
The victory is already won
The victory is already won
there is something else significant that is happening in this story that even the disciples missed, and this requires a bit of historical background.
The reason I chose to read the Mark account is that this is not the first time history has seen these course of events happen. King Solomon in 1 Kings 1, Alexander the Great, Judas Maccabeus (leader of the Jewish revolt of the second century BC), Antigonus (heir to Alexander the Great) and Marcus Agrippa all followed the same pattern. There was:
a formal and ceremonial entry
greetings and acclamations together with invocations of God
Entry into the city climaxed with entry into the temple, in the city had one
Some form of worship, either positive or negative
Now the significance of these similarities actually comes from the reason for the entry. The five men of history I mentioned all entered the city from a position of victory or some kind of achieved status.
If we were to follow that same logic, that means that Jesus is not entering Jerusalem on the verge of victory, but having already secured the victory. Jesus has spent the entirety of His ministry reminding the people of Israel and the devil who is in charge, whose kingdom this really is. Jesus is not entering the city from a place of needing to conquer; He is entering from a place of victory and is simply wrapping things up.
The reason this is significant is that the same applies to whatever challenges you may be facing in your life. If you are looking for healing, it is easy to think the victory is only after you’ve been healed. The truth is that you are already healed, it just hasn’t been finished yet.
You may be praying for a healed relationship, thinking that victory is only after things are restored. But Jesus has already healed the relationship, you just need to wait for it to be fully realized.
Whatever your challenge is, you don’t need to approach from a place of defeat or overwhelm, waiting for victory. The victory is already won, you need to pray from a place of victory, and just wait for it to be finished. The relationship is restored, you just can’t see it yet. You’ve already been healed, you just don’t feel it yet.
Do you believe that when Jesus declared on the cross, “IT IS FINISHED!” that is actually finished, the victory is already won? If you can see the victory that you have in Christ, it will change the way you pray. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. You are not a victim, you are not defeated. You are more than a conqueror. You are healed. You are made new in Christ’s image. Do you believe it?
The challenge for you this week is to pray from a place of victory, whatever victory looks like for you. Instead of, “God please heal me,” you pray, “Jesus thank you that I am healed!”
Instead of, “Jesus, heal my marriage,” you pray, “Jesus, thank you for restoring my relationship with my spouse.”
You may be thinking, “I can pray that, but I don’t know if I believe it.” Craig Groeschel once said that sometimes you need to act in faith, and then your heart will follow. Sometimes, you need to take a step of faith in order to grow in your faith.
You don’t need to understand in order to believe, you need to believe in order to understand.
Let’s Pray
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
1. What stood out from the service?
1. What stood out from the service?
2. How can you spend more time in the Word this week?
2. How can you spend more time in the Word this week?
3. Why is it easy to know the truth, but not always easy to believe it?
3. Why is it easy to know the truth, but not always easy to believe it?
4. How can you take a step of faith this week towards victory?
4. How can you take a step of faith this week towards victory?