Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture

Turn to your neighbor, and say “Neighbor.

There’s a King Coming.

Act Like It.”

Introduction

Introduction

Last week, Pastor began a series on “Jesus’ Journey to Calvary,” and he preached from , where Jesus starts his journey to Jerusalem.

In last week’s sermon, Pastor pointed out how when Jesus was going through Samaria they rejected him because his eyes were fixed on Jerusalem.

The Samaritans and the Jews didn’t get along so they didn’t quite like the fact that Jesus was trying to be friends with everybody.

They rejected Jesus because they felt if you are going to be friends with me then you can’t be friends with them too.

And so last week Pastor started with Jesus beginning his journey to Jerusalem.

And now today in our text, it the Sunday before Jesus’ resurrection.

It would be the equivalent of our Palm Sunday.

And Jesus is making his triumphant/victorious entry into Jerusalem.

It’s so triumphant for two reasons:

Last week, Pastor began a series on “Jesus’ Journey to Calvary,” and he preached from , where Jesus starts his journey to Jerusalem.

In last week’s sermon, Pastor pointed out how when Jesus was going through Samaria they rejected him because his eyes were fixed on Jerusalem.

The Samaritans and the Jews didn’t get along so they didn’t quite like the fact that Jesus was trying to be friends with everybody.

They rejected Jesus because they felt if you are going to be friends with me then you can’t be friends with them too.

And so last week Pastor started with the Jesus beginning his journey to Jerusalem.

First it is triumphant because Jesus is literally undermining what people had accepted as normal.

For instance:

And so last week Pastor started with the Jesus beginning his journey to Jerusalem.

And now today in our text, Jesus is making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

This is triumphant because Jesus is going to Jerusalem, knowing that he is going to die a brutal death on the cross.

And now today in our text, Jesus is making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

This is triumphant because Jesus is going to Jerusalem, knowing that he is going to die a brutal death on the cross.

Jesus is being looked at as a King, yet he is riding in on a donkey instead of a great white horse.

Jesus is coming in as a King, but not as strong warrior, but a gentle peacemaker.

And now today in our text, Jesus is making his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

This is triumphant because Jesus is going to Jerusalem, knowing that he is going to die a brutal death on the cross.

Jesus is coming in as King that is strong, but not bossy, cruel, hard and loud.

Jesus is coming in as a King that is humble, not arrogant and full of pride.

Jesus is coming in as King that that is victorious and yet he is headed to his death.

Jesus is riding in as someone who is victorious and yet he is headed to his death.

Jesus is undermining what people had accepted to be normal.

And when we are constantly are being shaped by our experiences and culture and media, it is so easy to begin to develop things that we think should be normal, but are not necessarily how God wants us to think.

But when we come into contact with Jesus, it ought to invert our way of thinking.

Up ought to be down.

Down ought to be be up.

Left ought to be right.

Right ought to be left.

The first ought to be last.

The last ought to be first.

Servants ought to be the leaders.

Leaders ought to be servants.

To gain your life, is to lose it.

And to lose your life, is to gain it.

When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, it is so triumphant because he undermines what people have accepted as normal.

Jesus is undermining what people had accepted to be normal.

And when we are constantly being shaped by our experiences and culture and media, it is so easy to begin to develop When we come into contact with Jesus, it ought to invert your thinking.

Up ought to be down.

Down ought to be be up.

Left ought to be right.

Right ought to be left.

The first ought to be last.

The last ought to be first.

Servants ought to be the leaders.

And leaders ought to be servants.

Second it is triumphant because it fulfills prophecy.

It has been almost 500 years since Zechariah prophesied in that the Savior would come in riding humbly on a donkey.

Jesus’ entry reminds us that God always follows through on His promises.

But I can’t help but think about the amount of time that it took for God to follow through on his promise.

Because if the truth be told many of us can’t even handle waiting on God for a few days, let alone 500 years.

But when I look over Scripture, I find that God’s blessings are like good food.

The greatest food you will taste is not the food that is cooked by a microwave, by it is the food that took time to make.

It is the food that someone had to take time go to store for.

It is the food that someone had to take time to chop up.

It is the food that someone had to take time to marinade.

God blessings is like good food.

The longer it marinades, the better is tastes.

And I have recognized that for some reason God likes taking an enormous amount of time when He is getting ready to deliver people out of slavery.

For back in the book of Exodus, it took God 430 years before he called Moses to deliver the Israelites of slavery in Egypt and now it has been almost 500 years since Zechariah prophesied about a Messiah, and now Jesus is headed towards Jerusalem getting ready to deliver us not out of physical enslavement, but this time Jesus is coming to deliver us out of spiritual enslavement.

He has come to bring:

Deliverance from pride.

Deliverance from hate.

Deliverance from racism.

Deliverance from Sexism.

Deliverance from backbiting.

Deliverance from addictions.

Deliverance from sin.

There’s a King that coming to bring deliverance over sin and death, and I think we ought to act like it.

There’s a King that coming to bring victory over sin, to bring peace between us a God and I think we ought act like it.

So the question is how should we act towards this King, that is Jesus?

And now

The crowd in the text is going to show us two ways in which to respond to a King.

First, they are going to show us two things we should do and then they are going to show us what we shouldn’t do.

But first, the things we should do.

Release Ownership (vs.

28-34)

The first way the crowd teaches us to act towards a King is to RELEASE OWNERSHIP.

Starting in verse 28, Jesus is still some distance away from Jerusalem.

And he sends his disciples out to the village ahead of them, and because Jesus is all knowing, he tells them that they will find a colt or a donkey that has never been ridden, untie it and bring it to him.

And because Jesus is forward-thinking and strategic, he says if anyone asks you “Why are you untying the donkey?,”

tell them “The Lord needs it.”

So the disciples went ahead to the village, found the donkey, began to untie and lo and behold the owners, which in Greek literally means lords (with little “l”), asks the disciples “Why are you untying the donkey?”

And the disciples respond to these lords (with a little “l) that the Lord (with a big “L”) needs it.

When you come into contact with King Jesus, you have to learn how to Release Ownership.

I’m sure the owners or the lords (with a little “l”) had some plans for that donkey, just like many of us have plans for our lives.

But when you when you give your life to King Jesus, you have to recognize that you have been bought by the precious price of his blood.

And because you have been bought with the precious price of his blood, your donkey no longer belongs to you, but your donkey now belongs to the Lord.