The King Is Here - The Triumphal Entry

Open your Bible up to Luke, chapter 19. Luke, chapter 19. Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, the week leading up to the cross. And all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John actually tell the story that we're going to look at today. We're going to look at it in Luke.

And this story is called the Triumphal Entry. It's the story of Jesus arriving into Jerusalem. And I just want to ask a question to get started. Like, what would you do if Jesus walked in the room today? Would you just freeze?

Would you get your phone out and take a selfie? Jesus, come here. I gotta get a picture. Would you like hide under your chair? Cause you know, what you did this week?

Come on, let's just real talk, right? Or would you fall on your knees and would you worship him? Okay, here's the thing about that question. It's not really like a theoretical question. He is here.

The king is here. That's what the triumphal entry is all about. The king is here. Tell your neighbor the king is here. And every person has to decide what they're gonna do with that incredible news that the king is here.

Okay, Luke chapter 19. We'll start in verse 28. This is the moment that Jesus steps into his mission and his identity as Messiah. And we're just going to take it little by little. Okay.

It says when he had said these things and right there, I see that. What things? Okay, well, a lot of times when you're reading the Bible, it's good when you see something like that to read what's right before it. You, you with me? So right before this, Jesus tells the parable of 10 servants.

And what he's doing is he's correcting his disciples belief that the kingdom was gonna come. Immediately the disciples were fired up. They're like, we're here. It's about to happen. They were ready to wear crowns of gold and crowns of glory and have some notoriety and fame.

But Jesus came with a crown of thorns and a cross to carry. It wasn't what they were thinking and he was trying to correct their thinking. They thought that kingdom would come right then, right there. And here we are a couple thousand years later, still longing for and watching for the kingdom to finish coming to this earth. And that's the tension that we live in.

Do you realize that we have a king that has come and will come again? We are a part of a kingdom that has come and is still in the process of coming here. We are longing for the fullness of the kingdom of God. So I Don't know if you've ever prayed like this. I have several times.

Usually in a time of frustration or a time when I'm seeing what's going on in our world. Have you ever prayed something like, lord, would you just come quick? And then you might think, what's wrong with me? Why am I praying that way? And I would actually say, nothing's wrong with you.

You're echoing the prayer that generations of Christians have prayed. And you just have a kingdom mind. That's a good way to pray. Lord, come quick. I'm tired of this.

Come fix this mess. I don't know what to do. Jesus, come quick. Praying like that doesn't make you faithless. It makes you kingdom minded.

Like that cry is the cry of your heart for a reason. So when he had said these things, I love the next phrase, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem, how powerful that Jesus went on ahead knowing the cost, knowing what he was walking into, knowing he was going there just to be murdered and crucified. Now on that note, let's just talk about for a second who killed Jesus. It wasn't just one person, it wasn't just one group. Many different people had a part to play.

And you can find so many different scriptures about this. I'll just give you a few if you want to study them later. Acts, chapter 7, verse 52. That's the story of Stephen being executed. And right before he's executed, he says to the council, you are the ones that betrayed and murdered Jesus.

So we know they had a part to play. Matthew 27 is a story of a guy, you might remember his name, Pontius Pilate, who remembers him. He's the Roman governor who has to make the decision about whether or not Rome is going to crucify Jesus. And he actually thinks Jesus is totally innocent and shouldn't be crucified at all. But then the religious leaders begin to press him to have Jesus crucified.

And then the crowd shows up and things are getting a little out of hand and rowdy. And they say, hey, crucify Jesus. And there's this known murderer named Barabbas that was supposed to be crucified that day. They're like, just let Barabbas go and crucify Jesus. And so you could make a case.

It doesn't tell us in the scripture, but you could make a pretty good guess that the cross that Jesus hung on was actually the cross prepared for Barabbas. And so Pilate decides, yeah, we'll crucify Jesus. John, chapter 10, verse 18. Jesus himself says, I lay down my life on my own accord, indicating, like, regardless of who crucified him, he went to that cross willingly. Isaiah 53, one of the great prophecies of Easter Sunday.

It says, he was pierced for our transgressions. Remember, he was crushed for our iniquities. It was the will of the Lord to crush him. And then in First Corinthians 15:3, we learn, Christ died for our sins. Your sins, my sins, in accordance with the Scriptures.

So you study these Scriptures, and of course, many, many others. And what you'll see is the bottom line. The Jews betrayed him, The Romans crucified him, but you and I are the ones that made it necessary, the ones that put Jesus on that cross and murdered him. It wasn't just ancient history. It was our sin.

And so when it says, he went on ahead, I just want you to see how powerful that little phrase is. He came knowing the cost. It shows us how much he loves us. He went on ahead. The king came with purpose.

He came with purpose. It was on purpose. It wasn't on accident. And he wasn't forced to the cross. He walked to it willingly.

He didn't flinch. He didn't run. He didn't shrink back. Every step, if you trace his steps through Holy Week, every step was completely full of purpose. And the purpose was to rescue us, to die for us, to make us right with God.

So he walks right into enemy territory with fire in his eyes and love and in his heart. Why? Because he came with purpose. To win hearts, to change lives, to forgive sin, to conquer death itself, to make a way for us. Verse 29.

It says, when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples saying, go into the village in front of you where on entering, you will find a colt. Okay? A donkey tied up, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, why are you untying it?

You shall say this. The Lord has need of it. Now, I don't know about you, but for me, this feels like a diversion in the story. Like, why are we talking about donkeys now? What is going on here?

Okay. And through the donkey, what we're going to see is, the king revealed his heart. So he shows up with purpose, chooses a donkey, the donkey reveals his heart. Think about it. Jesus sends these two disciples on donkey duty.

It's funny, it seems like a small detail, but how many of you know Jesus doesn't do Anything on accident, everything he does is full of purpose. And Jesus knows the future, right? And so he already knew what would happen. And he tells these two disciples only what they need to know, only when they need to know it. How many of you ever feel like God does that to you?

He gives you direction, but not a whole lot of clarification. He gives you direction, but not all the explanation. And then you're like, God, I just need to know what steps 8, 9, and 10 look like. And God's going, would you just do step one? Like, would you just obey me?

Would you just listen to me? And parents in the room, we totally understand that, don't we? Because when we ask our teenager to do something and they say, why? What do we say? Because I said so, right?

Because I'm in charge. Because this is my house. Because I gave you that bed to sleep in. Because I feed you, I put food in your little tummy. Are there any parents excited about this preaching?

Okay, see, so we do get it right, parents. We actually totally understand it over here and parenting world. But then for some reason sometimes struggle to understand it over here. When it comes to following Jesus, we do understand how it's supposed to work. Honestly, if we would just do what God says, when God says to do it without questioning him, our lives would be so much more blessed.

If we would just trust God at his word, even when we don't fully understand, our lives would be so much more blessed. So that's these two disciples. They're like, go get a donkey that no one's ever ridden on untied. Like, it sounds like you're saying, steal a donkey, Jesus. Okay, verse 32.

It's exactly what they do. So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, look at this. It's proof they stole the donkey. Its owner said to them, why are you untying the colt?

Why are you stealing my donkey? And they said, the Lord has need of it. This is like Jedi mind trick stuff right here in the Bible, right? And they brought it to Jesus and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. So again, I just want to point out, it just seems so random.

Why so much focus on a donkey? But then when you start thinking about where else does the Bible talk about donkeys? Actually talks about donkeys quite a bit. Zechariah, chapter 9, verse 9. One of the great prophecies says, rejoice greatly.

Behold, your king is coming to you. Righteous and having salvation is he. And there it is, humble and mounted on a donkey. So I don't know about you, but listen, if I'm the son of God, I'm pulling up on a war horse with battle armor and I got a chariot and there's fireworks going off behind me and I got rock music playing in the background. Wee, well, right, like that's how I'm doing it.

And Jesus says, no, I'll just ride in peaceful quiet on a stolen donkey. That's how I'm going to do it. And you have to start wrapping your brain around what a donkey symbolizes to really get what's going on here. Donkey symbolizes two things. First, humility.

A donkey is a humble animal. Isaiah 53:2 says, he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. So he chooses a donkey because of the representation of humility. But then also a donkey is a beast of burden. Donkeys are used to carry very, very heavy, heavy weight.

So. So humility, but also burden bearing. I think it's Second Peter. I'm sorry. First Peter, chapter two.

It says, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree like the heaviest weight. Are you following me? So he was fulfilling prophecy and he was making a statement when he chose the donkey. He was announcing, I'm the long awaited Messiah. That's what he's doing.

He's saying, I'm here to carry your sins to the cross. I'm not here for political power. I'm not here for clout or fame. I'm here to carry your burdens, to deal with your sin. I'm here to die for you.

I am here to restore you. Come on. The king didn't come to be carried. The king came to carry you. He came to carry the weight of your sins so you could walk in freedom.

He came to carry your past to the cross and leave it buried in the grave. When he got out of the grave, he came to carry the curse so you could begin to walk in blessings. He carried your sin so you could carry his Holy Spirit. That's what it means that he chooses a donkey. He could have chose anything.

And by the way, the king will come again. Have you ever thought about that? The king will come again in glory. So this is the first triumphal entry that we're reading about. But Jesus is going to have a second triumphal entry.

Okay, the first triumphal entry. Humble beast of burden donkey. Quiet, serene, till he actually gets to the town. People start singing and shouting And I asked AI, like, could you make me a picture of the triumphal entry? And.

And it gave me exactly what you would think, right? Jesus on the stolen donkey. And there's some people cheering, but then there's some people, like, just look upset, like, what's the big deal, right? And he rides in on the donkey. That's the first triumphal entry.

But here's the second triumphal entry. It'll look quite different than the first. It's described. Just listen to these words. In Revelation 19, it says, Then I saw Heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there.

Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of Heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.

And from his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. And on his robe, at his thigh, was written this title. King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

So I asked AI to make that picture, too, okay? And here's what we got. We got Jesus coming in triumphal entry number one on the left, and Jesus coming in triumphal entry number two on the right. And that's pretty dang accurate if you pick that scripture apart. Eyes of fire, sword from the mouth, robe dipped in blood written on his thigh.

King of all kings and Lord of all lords. And following him, Heaven's army on white horses and white robes. Now, all, like fun and AI and joking aside, okay, here's what I want you to see when you look at these two pictures. That's the same Jesus as that Jesus. That's the same guy as that guy.

First triumphal entry. Second triumphal entry. And you want to understand both of those images, to understand the fullness of the God that we serve? You've got to understand that Jesus is both tough and tender, just and merciful, right? Warrior and healer, lion and lamb.

Come on, somebody. Master and friend, king and servant. Jesus is both. Tell your neighbor he's both. The same hands Jesus used to wash the feet of the disciples he will one day use to break and crush the power of evil and the serpent forever and ever.

The same voice that said over the storm, peace, be still and calm. The sea will one day roar like the Thunder that was over that sea, over his enemies, the same one who was innocent and crucified on that cross will come again in roaring power to judge the living and the dead. He's the same Jesus. He's the same king. Don't settle for a half accurate, one sided version of Jesus.

You need all of Jesus for all of life. But what so many people do is they just pick one or the other and they get a one sided, half hearted version of Jesus. Jesus is both. He's both. Now look at how the crowd responded to that first Triumphal entry, verse 36.

As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. And some of the other gospels say they've got palms, right? And that's why we have Palm Sunday, okay? And as he was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples, look at this, they break out into worship, okay? They begin to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice.

It's crazy how many times when you really pay close attention to worship in the Bible, it's loud. A loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. If you read in the book of Matthew, it says they're shouting, hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the son of David, Hosanna in the highest. And some of the Pharisees, everybody say, oh. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, these are the guys in the AI picture like this.

Some of the Pharisees said, teacher, rebuke your disciples. So they're trying to shut it down. And he answered, I tell you, if these were silent, he's like, if my disciples weren't worshiping, the rocks would cry out and do it. The stones would begin to worship. So try to get the picture in your head.

Here he comes in on his donkey, okay? The people that knew the scriptures are going, he's saying he's the Messiah. That's what that means. He's making an announcement. Some are cheering, shouting, worshiping, celebrating, throwing their cloaks on the road.

Why? Because they understood what was happening. They understood that the king had arrived. But then many missed it. Just folding their arms.

What's the big deal? One group got it, one group missed it. Listen, today it's the same. It's still the same. Today there's a crowd that celebrates Jesus has come.

And there's a crowd that's like, what's the Big deal. And spectates. And the question of the day is which group are you in? Because if the king is here, you don't want to miss it. You don't want to stay silent.

You don't want the rocks to be crying out in your place. On that note, just remember, church. We are first and foremost worshipers. We worship God. It's the first most important thing that we do.

Our praise isn't about our preference. Come on, y'all. It's about obedience to God. Okay? Verse 41.

When he drew near and he saw the city, he wept over it. And here's. Here's his explanation. He's like, this is why I'm crying. Would that you even you had known on this day the things that make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes.

He's saying you're missing your moment of salvation and there's not going to be another one. Think about how short our lives are in the scheme of things. James says, we're amiss here for a second and then gone. See, we could miss it. We could miss it.

For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children with you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you. Jesus is given a prophetic word right here that actually came true in 70 AD when Rome goes to the Temple Mount and throws every single stone off of it. And if you go to Israel today, here's a picture of it. I've been and seen it several times.

You go to Israel today, that giant wall in the background, that's the walls of the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock, big gold dome is on top of it. Those are the stones the Romans threw down. They're still there. They're too big and heavy. They've never moved them.

Can't get any big machinery up there because you would damage the holy site. And so you can go see this prophecy that literally came true. The words of Jesus, why he was weeping over the city that he came into. And then he says at the end, you did not know the time of your visitation. So he's seeing the pain ahead.

He's prophesying judgment on Jerusalem, and he's saying, you're missing your salvation moment. Not just missing it, but actually rejecting it. See, the king was rejected by many. Many received him, but many rejected him. It's so sad.

Salvation was literally walking down their street and they Couldn't see it. I think of John 1:29. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Some understood that message and saw it. This is the Lamb of God that will rescue me from my sin.

Others literally rejected it. Jesus wept because they were missing their salvation. The king had arrived and they couldn't see it. They didn't know it. Don't let that be your story.

See, from every one of us, the king demands a response. Every single man, woman and child has to make their own decision. Who do you say Jesus is like? Which crowd are you in? Are you in the one shouting hosanna.

Hosanna in the highest? Are you in the one that would eventually, after just crossing their arms and rejecting him, shout, crucify him. Crucify him. You might not be shouting it with your lips, but think about what your life is shouting. Is it hosanna in the highest, the king is here?

Or is it to reject him? It's not just about your lips or your life. It's about your choices. It's about your thoughts each and every day. It's about what you say yes to and what you choose to ignore.

It's about the fact that the king has come. He's here. And there's only one right response, and that response is to surrender to him. Romans chapter 10 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Receive him or reject him, what will your response be?

It's your choice. See, this story, it's not just about Palm Sunday. It's not just about a crowd and a donkey. It's not just about shouting hosanna in the highest. It's about your heart.

It's not just about Jesus riding up into Jerusalem on a donkey. It's about Jesus walking right up to your heart to the door of your soul. It's about Jesus saying to you and to me, I call you to faith, and I call you to surrender. Now you decide what to do. And if you've never made that decision, just to say, yes, Jesus, I want to follow you.

I want to trust you for the salvation of my soul. Yes, Jesus, I surrender to you. Or if you say that you've had that moment, but if you're being brutally honest, it hasn't been reflected in your life. There hasn't been fruit. There hasn't been change.

See, when we say yes to Jesus, our salvation is secure. But then immediately, we're put into the process called sanctification. Where we spend the rest of our life becoming more and more like Jesus. And we won't be perfect till that day we go to meet him or that day that he comes back and. But there should be some progress in our lives.

Amen. So think about that question. Does my life exhibit some of the fruit? Has there been some change in my life? Have I truly received him or have I rejected him in the work that he's trying to do in me?

Like, maybe you're realizing you've been really close to Jesus but not actually committed to Jesus. This could be your moment on a Palm Sunday that could change everything for you. Don't let what so many missed in Jerusalem be what you miss. Realize the King is here and it's time to give him your whole heart. We're gonna have communion in a second, but before we do that, I just want to pray with you and give anybody the opportunity that needs to say yes to Jesus to take that important step.

Would you bow your head and close your eyes and if you're ready to say yes to him today and surrender to him today, or if you would fall into that category of somebody who has said yes to Jesus, but if you're just being honest, it was fake because there's been no change in your life. And today you're like, it's going to change today. It's got to change. I'm going to really say yes to him. It's going to be commitment.

This is your moment. Make this prayer the echo of your heart. Make it the cry of your heart. We're going to pray it with you. Can we pray like this?

Church? God, I confess I've sinned. I've gone my own way. Today I repent and I trust you. I turn to you.

I believe Jesus died for me, gave his life for me, Rose again for me. Jesus is king. Jesus, would you save me? Would you forgive me? Would you make me new?

My whole life is yours from this day forward. I want to follow you. Thank you for loving me, thank you for carrying my sin and thank you for calling me home in Jesus name, Amen. Isn't God good? Come on, let's make some noise for anybody taking that step.