Palm Sunday: Who Is This Man?

Palm Sunday: Who Is This Man?

I recently heard a story of a driver that refused to stop at a STOP sign; he was then pulled over by a cop. The incident happed in the 1980’s. The cop told him that the reason he pulled him over was because he refused to stop at a STOP sign. He replied that he slowed down, the cop then explain to him that the sign reads STOP and not slow down. He then gave him a ticket.

The second day, the same driver refused to stop at the same sign, the same cop pulled him over, the same accusation and the same defense, he was then given another ticket.

The third day, the same driver refused to stop at the same STOP sign, he was pulled over by the same cop, and was accused of not stopping at the same STOP sign, again, he told the cop that he did slow down. The cop then took a big stick and started hitting him with it on his head very fast, he then asked the driver, "Since you are finding it difficult to understand the difference between STOP and SLOW DOWN, here I am, hitting you with this stick on the head very fast. Now do you want me to slow down or stop?"

Point:

Sometimes life goes pretty quick. As Ferris Buller once said, we need to slow down or we will miss it. To many times, believers read the events of Palm Sunday and see it merely as a precursor to the Resurrection. Indeed it was. However, Palm Sunday reveals relevant information to us about Jesus, His nature, His purpose, His mission and how people misunderstood Him. It is important not just to slow down through Palm Sunday, but to stop here, ponder it’s meaning and pray. So this morning, let’s not race through these events. Remember it is important to pause on Palm Sunday.

For The Believer, It Is Important To Pause on Palm Sunday!

Background of Text:

The twenty-first chapter of the book of Matthew begins with Jesus entering Jerusalem. Looking back a couple of chapters we see that Jesus had not only taken part in the transfiguration, but had also been doing lots of teaching. One gets the sense when reading that Jesus knew his time was coming to an end and after the confirmation moment of the transformation had pushed to teach all he could to his disciples. We see this even in chapter twenty where Jesus predicts his death that will come as he enters into Jerusalem.

It is in this context that Jesus goes to Jerusalem. The first picture we see is of the triumphal entry where Jesus is adored by the crowd and hailed as the messiah. This seems to be a high moment in the final few days of Jesus life. The text says that Jesus created a stir, maybe a better way to say it would be that this “prophet” from Nazareth created a buzz among the people as the “Son of David” entered into the city of David. There must have been some nationalistic pride, and even more a sense of hope that maybe this prophet from the line of David was finally here to kick out the Romans.

The rest of the chapter seems to be a mixture of both confrontation and teaching. When looking at the text it would seem that the disciples must have been walking on egg shells. There rabbi had torn up the temple and driven out the market, while seemingly taken on the religious leaders. When thinking about what he had said coming to Jerusalem they had to be worried. It is in this context that Jesus does not back down, but continues to confront and teach, and push back against the business as usual type of faith being taught in the temple courts.

Matthew 21:1-11 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

    humble, and mounted on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Arrives In Jerusalem…

I. Powerfully vs. 1-3

Matthew 21:1-3 ESV

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

Point:

Palm Sunday is often regarded as a powerful moment in Jesus’ life and ministry. With the exception of the resurrection itself and Jesus authority over death, Palm Sunday illustrates the true expression of power of Christ. 

Jesus is now fully realized deity in human form. He understands His purpose, knows where He has come from, has embraced His role in salvation, defeated Satan, and is now ready to overshadow hell itself with His might. 

Jesus is God! Not god with a little g, God with a big G. 

Point:

One way that Jesus demonstrates His power and authority occurs in Matthew 21:1-3. Jesus is drawing near to Bethphage. Bethphage means “House of Unripe Figs”. It was a village on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The mountain that Jesus sits is several hundred feet above the city. Here Jesus could see the entire city laid out before Him. 

Jesus draws on His omniscient power and commands the disciples to go into the city where they will discover a very specific donkey. He tells them to untie the donkey and then reveals what their response should be to a conversation that has not even happened yet with the donkey’s owner. 

The disciples who once previously questioned Jesus’ commands do as He says. The donkey goes as it is commanded. The owner of the donkey relents to the Lord’s wish. Not only does Jesus see the future, He sees the hearts of people. He knows the hearts of His followers, the heart of the donkey, and more specifically the heart of the owner. 

Point:

Jesus demonstrates one more act of power in this story. Supression! Jesus is the King of King. The Lord of Lords. The Alpha and the Omega. Yet, Jesus surpasses His power and rides into Jerusalem on a donkey. This might be one of the most astounding acts of power in the Bible. An all powerful, omniscient being, humbling Himself to be viewed by human eyes. Perhaps the most powerful scene in this Scripture is an all powerful God choosing weakness. 

Point: 

Today reflects on Christ’s first coming into the city of Jerusalem. However, His second coming will be vastly different. The Second Coming of Christ will be “with power and great glory.” Perhaps the best way to understand that statement is to compare the circumstances surrounding the first and second comings. The first time Jesus came unnoticed into the world, the second time “every eye will see him.” In his first coming Jesus humbled himself, being born in a stable in Bethlehem. When he returns, he will come back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In his first coming he endured the mockery of men who despised him for his goodness. Although he was the Son of God, he allowed them to put him to death, that he might thereby provide salvation for the world. When he comes again, all mockery will cease for he will rule the nations with a rod of iron. He came the first time as the Lamb of God; he comes again as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Two thousand years ago the religious leaders shouted in scorn, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!”. 

The day is coming when the whole world will see Jesus as he really is. When that happens, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Around the first coming inscribe the word HUMILTY in letters large and bold. Around His second coming inscribe the word GLORY so that all the world may see. Nothing could be more natural than a triumphant return of our victorious Lord. Though He was once “despised and rejected of men,” He will one day return “in power and great glory,” heralded by angels and accompanied by his saints.

Revelation 1:7 ESV

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Jesus Arrives In Jerusalem…

I. Powerfully vs. 1-3

II. Prophetically vs. 4-5

Matthew 21:4-5 ESV

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

    humble, and mounted on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

Point:

500 years before Christ was born, the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah said these words:

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

    righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus did just as Zechariah has said so long ago. He came as a King, humble, and on a donkey.  Yet there is far more to this passage than just telling us the transportation that Jesus would take into Jerusalem. 

People would have immediately known the rest of that verse. They would have been familiar with the context of Zechariah 9. 

Zechariah 9:8-11 ESV

Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,

    so that none shall march to and fro;

no oppressor shall again march over them,

    for now I see with my own eyes.

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

    righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

    and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

    and he shall speak peace to the nations;

his rule shall be from sea to sea,

    and from the River to the ends of the earth.

11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

    I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Here is what Zechariah is saying, “Israel I am coming to save you from your oppression”. 

Jesus fulfilled some 300 prophesies in His time. 300! A feat that can only be explained by Jesus’ divine nature and omniscient power. Perhaps of the greatest prophecies in Old Testament concerning Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem comes from Daniel 9. 

In Daniel 9 we are told that it would be 483 years (of Jewish 360 day years) from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of Messiah the Prince. In Nehemiah 2, Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah permission to go and rebuild Jerusalem. Biblically we know exactly what year this was (Jewish month of Nisan of Artaxerxes’ 20th reigning year) and from historical Babylonian records we know this command was actually on March 14, 445 BC.

483 years later—to the exact day—brings us to April 6th, AD 32, the date of the triumphal entry! From Artaxerxes command to rebuild, to the day of the triumphal entry was exactly 173,880 days.

Point:

How could this happen? Was Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem a happy accident? Was it by sheer happenstance that He met some 300 prophesies in His life? Friends, this was no accident, it was an appointment. This was not some random cosmic display of things coming together, this was the Sovereign hand of God and the power of His providential nature on display. 

Point:

Jesus knew that the Old Testament was pointing to Him and His eventual sacrifice. He discussed it openly. Read Luke 24:25-27. On the road to Emmaus, after His resurrection, Jesus met Cleopas. Cleopas was struggling with what had happened. Listen to Jesus’ response!

Luke 24:25-27 ESV

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus Arrives In Jerusalem…

I. Powerfully vs. 1-3

II. Prophetically vs. 4-5

III. Peacefully vs. 6-9

Matthew 21: 6-9

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Point:

Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem was not the first one the city had seen. Some three years earlier there was another procession. However, this procession was wildly different than that of Jesus’. This procession was Roman in nature and illustrated the might and power of the Roman Empire. At the center was a man who lives today in Scriptural infamy. Who is this man?

Ponitus Pilate. 

Historians of the day remember the event in their writings. It is said that Pilate entered Jerusalem surrounded by legions of Roman soldiers during the time of Passover. Each soldier was clad in leather armor polished to a high gloss.  On each centurion’s head, hammered helmets gleamed in the bright sunlight.  At their sides, sheathed in their scabbards, were swords crafted from the hardest steel; and, in their hands, each centurion carried a spear; or if he was an archer, a bow with a sling of arrows across his back. 

In the rank and file of the military procession were musicians and drummers. These drummers hammered out a cadence for the soldiers to march. Pilate rode high atop a mighty horse. He was the governor of Judea, Samaria, and the surrounding area. 

Pilate entered as a conquering King. He was not to be trifled with as he had authority to squash rebellions by any means necessary. Pontius Pilate had complete authority under his command to do what he pleased with the Jews. What authority did the Romans have over the Jews. The killing kind. There had once been a revolt in the city a few years earlier and the Romans marched into the city and crucified over 2000 Jews that were accused of being a part of the rebellion. 

Point:

Pilate’s entry into Jerusalem was meant to send a message to the Jews, and to those who might be plotting against the empire of Rome.  The spectacle was meant to remind the Jews of what had happened the last time of a wide-scale uprising.  And, it was meant to intimidate the citizens of Jerusalem themselves, who might think twice about joining such a rebellion if it was slated to fail.

Point:

If Pontius Pilate’s procession into the city meant to show Roman power, Jesus’ entry into the city meant to show heavenly peace. Jesus, the King of Kings, came not with soldiers or a mighty army. He did not ride the back of a tall horse as a historical conquerer would have done. Hardly. Jesus entered on the back of a donkey. This was the expression of royalty entering a city in peace. 

Point:

The two processions could not be more different in the messages they convey.  Pilate, leading Roman centurions, asserts the power and might of the empire of Rome which crushes all who oppose it.

Jesus, riding on a young donkey, embodies the peace and tranquility that the shalom that God brings to His people.

Point:

Friends, remember that today Jesus does come into your heart ready to dominate you, conquer you, and trample you. He comes to bring you peace, spiritual health, a purpose for living, and forgiveness. Jesus does not ride into our world with a show of force, rather He comes to us in an act of faith, willingness and obedience. 

Remember the words of Christ in John 14:27. 

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Jesus Arrives In Jerusalem…

I. Powerfully vs. 1-3

II. Prophetically vs. 4-5

III. Peacefully vs. 6-9

IV. Perplexingly vs. 10-11

Matthew 21:10-11 ESV

10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Point:

Jesus comes into Jerusalem in a most confounding and confusing way. We see another account of Palm Sunday in John 12 and it says that the “disciples were confused by all of these things”. The disciples thought that Jesus was coming to overthrow Rome but He rode in peacefully on a donkey, not a war horse. The disciples were not the only ones confused. People in general had no idea what was really going on. One moment they are shouting “Hosanna” which means “Lord Save Us”. In this moment they are verbally validating Jesus’ Kingship and His divine authority. Yet, in a few days the same crowd will call for His death. People are often very fickle when they feel that their leaders don’t deliver what they want. You see, Jesus know what the people wanted, but He came to give them what they needed…namely salvation. Then there were people confused by the entire event. They were there. They were in the crowd. They might have even had a palm branch in their hand but they were confused to Jesus’ real identity. They shouted, screamed, praised, and had no idea what they were doing. Then in response, some claimed that Jesus was a prophet. Jesus was so much more. 

Point:

I have said it before and I will say it again this morning. Not much has changed in 2000 years. 

1. People are still fickle. People will abandon you in a moment if you disappoint them. 

2. People still want what they want, not understanding their deepest need. Many people run around chasing relationships, jobs, material possessions, friendships, acceptance, and approval. They think that these things will make them happy but they just feel more and more empty. Jesus came not to give you what you think you want, He came to give you what He knows you need. 

3. People still try to understand Jesus without taking the time to really know Him. People are satisfied with a sermon about Him, a catchy song about Him, a devotion about Him, or what a blog maintains about Him without ever reading a word of the Bible. They come, they are there, but they really have no idea what’s going and how Jesus wants to impact their lives. 

4. Lastly, people are happy to attribute Biblical characteristics to Jesus without having to call Him what He really is…namely God. Jesus is a Prophet. Yes. Jesus is a Teacher. True. Jesus is a Healer. Absolutely. All of those things are great but none of them mean that I have to make Jesus the boss of my life. 

Jesus is God. The Son of the Living Almighty and Everlasting God and His Word rules over my feelings, my desires, my longings, and my dreams. If Jesus is God, my sacrifice is worth it to bring His name glory. 

Point:

The people missed God who was right in front of them. If you miss Jesus in the events of this day, you’ve missed the point. It is so easy for us to be in awe of other people or in awe of what God has done but to miss Jesus Himself in the works that He has done. Sometimes people are the means of God’s working, but never forget the Source of the wonderful works of God is God Himself. The Lord Jesus is singular. He will not share a place with anyone else in your life, and He deserves our highest praise and recognition in the events of this day. Remember the next time Jesus comes, He will be impossible to miss. 

Luke 21:27 ESV

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Turn This Information Into Your Inspiration