Palm Sunday 2024
Easter 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewThis Sunday, we'll explore the deeper significance of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11. As we delve into the biblical context and Old Testament prophecies, we'll uncover the profound implications of this event and discover how it affirms Jesus as the promised Messiah. Join us to gain fresh insights into a familiar story and be challenged by the remarkable truth it reveals about our Savior.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
As we are just a week away from Easter we remember the beginning of what we call Holy Week with Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Here is a map of the route that He took going into Jerusalem for the final time.
This is a deeply political message this morning as what we will read about Jesus this morning is also deeply political.
I’m going to go ahead and tip my hand and let you know what my hope is that we will walk away with this morning. That as we engage our own political process this year, that we who are followers of Jesus will be able to do a few things:
1. Our politics will be guided by our allegiance to the Kingdom of Heaven and our loyalty to King Jesus.
2. Our message will be subversive, but like Jesus, when brought before any authority, we will be innocent of any wrongdoing.
3. We aim to sit at the dinner table with our families in November without anger or arguments, providing a fountain of hope regardless of the election outcome.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, I can be criticized for not talking about certain cultural topics in the moment. We trust the LORD to lead us in Scripture to touch on certain things as it comes up in our text. When it comes up, we do our best to address these issues. Today is deeply political text and so we are going to address the topic of politics and the follower of Jesus.
It’s important to remember that Jesus is political but He is not partisan (not republican, not democrat, will not be voting in our election) but he is deeply political.
Politic comes from the Greek word πολις which means city.
Politics: beliefs, opinions, and actions concerned with the ordering of society
When some of us think of politics we think the science of government, this is a part of it, but not the whole. Jesus has a lot to say on how the ordering of society should be, therefore He is very political. One day we can get into this, but I want to prepare us because what is happening in the triumphal entry is very much a political move by Jesus.
If you have your Bibles, or on your devices, would you turn with me to Matthew 21:1-11. If you are able and/or willing, would you stand with me as I read God’s word this morning.
Matthew 21:1-11
This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. You may be seated.
Every Jew in that day knew the scripture of the coming King, specifically in Zechariah. It was read often in the synagogues. They were looking for their King to come and liberate them from the oppression of the Romans.
What we’re going to do now is read through the prophecy that was in the mind of the Jew that was there that day as Jesus was approaching Jerusalem. I want to show how what Jesus was doing speaks to us as much as it did to them in that day. After which we’ll look at how that informs where we are today.
The prophecy that Matthew is referring too is found in Zechariah 9… that is in the Old Testament… He is a minor prophet (again only called that because of the amount he wrote as opposed to the major prophets who wrote a lot in comparison). So you’ll find it close to the end of the Old Testament in your Bibles.
Zechariah 9:1-8 (summarize)
God is pronouncing judgement on those nations that are oppressing His people. He will bring judgement and they will not be able to stand underneath it but will bring upon them what is due. And the hope he brings is in verse 8…
Zechariah 9:8 “But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch.”
The Lord is going to stand watch and protect them… they turned to other gods, they did not follow in the way that He said “follow”, He turned them over to these nations they followed after, but now that they have embraced God’s judgment, He has set up watch over them and says, “No more!”
How will they know… vs9
Zechariah 9:9-13 (teach the signifcance)
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
What do we find Jesus doing in Matthew 21? It is this!
Jesus and the people are telling Rome in their day, Caesar has no dominance over us… our King is here!
Look what this King will do according to Zechariah…
Zechariah 9:10 “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken (This is a removal of the oppressor). He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”
Ephesians 2:14–20 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”
Matthew 28:18–20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
Zechariah 9:11–12 “As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.”
1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.””
Psalm 33:17–20 “A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love… We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”
Zechariah 9:13 “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.”
As a bow goes out so as we read in Matthew 28 that they are sent out into all the world and as they go they are to share the gospel.
So look at how it doesn’t matter who is in power. The Romans, the Goths, the British, the Han Dynasty, the Nazis, the Bolsheviks, Capitalism, Socialism, Fascism…
Zechariah 9:14-17 (now and not yet)
The rest of the Zechariah passage we can read and see sprinkled throughout it what God has yet to do.
The sin of Israel started back when they wanted to be like all the other nations… “Give us a King”
1 Samuel 8:4–8 “So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.”
It is the human condition to align ourselves to power thinking that we can obtain the things of God through force, coercion, or authority.
If we recognize that only God’s rule is perfect, we don’t set ourselves up or others up for failure putting a burden on them that they can’t possibly bear.
This is why we are told to pray for our leaders and those in authority (no matter what party we align ourselves with): 1 Timothy 2:1–4 “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Our system is currently set up to pit us one against another. It is fueled by rage, belittling the other, and telling us that all of our problems are because it is the other persons fault. We don’t have to play that game. In fact we’re called to a higher ethic.
We’re called to follow Jesus.
We are called to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and we are to give to God what is Gods.
What this means is that we are allowed to nuance. People won’t like that. People will want to put us in one camp or another. I have a diverse group of people that I know. The message of the gospel and its implications is so subversive that my conservative friends think I’m liberal and my liberal friends think I’m conservative.
The gospel and its implications are so radical that we’ll often be misunderstood. We do our best to bring clarity and truth, but sometimes people will not completely understand. But we can took courage and heart because Jesus was also misunderstood.
Here is a helpful reminder though… Jesus being King would die for our sins. The Sanhedrin (the religious/political leaders for the Jews) saw Him as a threat but look at what happens when Jesus stands before Pilate just a few days later…
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
19:4–16pp
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9 and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
The New International Version (Jn 18:33–19:11). (2011). Zondervan.
Jesus is accused of subverting the politic and culture of that day… and He did. This is a threat to power, to control, to authority of man/kingdoms of men. But when it came to wrong doing He was found innocent. Jesus still was able to submit to the authorities. This is your homework.
How can be a submissive people, doing what is asked of us by our governing authorities (regardless of who is in power), but yet still lead and live our lives according to the gospel that seeks to impart hope, life, and freedom to all who embrace it and come under the Lordship of Jesus.
That is the true expression of freedom… in that we know the truth of the crucified life with Christ it is then we are free. Our politics is filled with religious language that we bring our biblical implications and knowledge too, but we must continually put our rights, freedoms, entitlements to the cross of Christ and say, “Not my will but Yours be done.” Just like our Lord, just like Jesus in the garden.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we reflect on Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the subversive nature of his Kingdom, may we as his followers embrace our ultimate allegiance to King Jesus above any earthly political system or leader. The way of Jesus will always be countercultural and a threat to the ways of the world. But we need not be drawn into the angry rhetoric, tribalism and zero-sum thinking that characterizes so much of today's political discourse.
Instead, with our citizenship firmly in the Kingdom of Heaven, we can be ambassadors of a radically different way - marked by selfless love, truth, justice, compassion and hope. As we submit to Jesus' Lordship in every area of life, including the political, and stay grounded in the truth of His Word, He will empower us to be winsome witnesses in our communities.
Here are some introspective questions you can ask yourself to discern if you are truly following the way of Jesus or being shaped by worldly political thinking:
Am I more passionate and vocal about my political party and ideology than I am about Jesus and His Kingdom?
Do I spend more time consuming political news and commentary than I do reading Scripture and praying?
Do I feel anger, contempt or hatred toward those who hold different political views, rather than seeing them as people made in God's image?
Am I quick to speak and slow to listen when engaging in political discourse, or vice versa (James 1:19)?
Do I find my sense of identity, security and hope ultimately in a political leader, party or ideology rather than in Christ?
Am I willing to call out un-Christlike words and behavior in my own political party or do I practice a double standard?
Does my political engagement lead me to become more fearful, cynical and self-interested or more filled with faith, hope and love?
Am I more concerned with winning political arguments than I am with reflecting Christ's character in how I engage with others?
Do the policies and leaders I support reflect a holistic ethic of life and Jesus' particular concern for the poor, the powerless, and marginalized?
Am I faithfully praying for leaders I disagree with politically and believing the best about their motives rather than demonizing them?
Honestly reflecting on questions like these can help reveal areas where we need to repent of worldly thinking and realign our political engagement with the way of Jesus. The goal is not perfection but consistently examining ourselves and keeping Christ as our north star in the political realm.
So as we engage the political process, let's do so with conviction but also with grace, humility and respect. Let's affirm where we can the good in our earthly political systems, but never lose sight of our ultimate hope which is in Christ alone. And let us live in such a way that regardless of who is in power, our lives point to Jesus - the King of Kings and the only One who can bring true peace, justice and human flourishing. To Him be the glory, now and forever, Amen.