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The Triumphal Entry (Matthew 21:1-11)
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Sunday Message recorded 29 March 2026
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Excitement and Privilege of Gathering
00:00:06
Speaker
Wow. Well, good morning, everyone. How are we doing? Guys, this is an exciting day, right? every Well, I say that. Every time we get the opportunity to meet together in the in the Lord's house, this is an exciting day. It's a privilege that we get. We should take full advantage of it every opportunity we have. Amen?
Gratitude and Challenges of Preaching
00:00:25
Speaker
Amen. Well, it it is good to be with you guys. And if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew 21. chapter twenty one And I just want to say this.
00:00:38
Speaker
Every time Victor allows me to get up here and preach, it's a humbling opportunity. So I just want to say thank you all again for allowing me to be able to share the message this morning. Because I'll just confess, this past week, don't know about you guys, this past week for me personally it was a hard week.
00:00:51
Speaker
i I will confess, it was hard to study. It was hard to want to get into God's Word. don't know if you guys ever had those weeks. But i just want to confess, that's where I was this past week.
00:01:04
Speaker
But the good news is, is that the word of God is living and active and it can speak to the, even most hardened of hearts.
Significance of Palm Sunday
00:01:11
Speaker
So my prayer this morning is that as I share the word of God with you, one, that it's not me, that it's the Holy Spirit, right? And I pray that whatever word I say or words I say that you take and you hold me accountable to the word of God, because this is the life and the breath that breathes into us, right? Not Josh's words, not Victor's words, not the worship that we just did.
00:01:33
Speaker
So I pray that that will be the case. And two, I just pray though that you'll be blessed. Because this day and the history of Christianity is a very monumental day when it comes to what happened and as you know coming into the city of Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago when Jesus rode into the city triumphantly on a donkey.
00:01:54
Speaker
And I know I heard that the students over across the street, y'all talked about the triumphal entry this morning at Sunday school. And I'm sure the adults, some of y'all probably did as well. So not to beat a dead horse, but we're going to talk about the triumphal entry again. i hope that's okay.
00:02:06
Speaker
But so that's where we're going spending our time this morning, though, in Matthew chapter one is in the triumphal entry. But I want to stop and I'm going to pray over this and then we'll continue our time together. Because I do understand that we have a lunch after this and I know my tendencies to go a little long. I promise I'll try to finish early. Okay, so if I see a stone coming my way, I know it's time to go.
Celebratory and Somber Nature of Palm Sunday
00:02:28
Speaker
So, but let me pray.
00:02:30
Speaker
Father God, we come before you. God, we humbly come before you. God, we just thank you for your love for us as your people. the God, even in the days where we feel like we just want to give up, you're were there.
00:02:45
Speaker
The days where we feel like we're just not good enough, you remind us that it's not about us. It's about the finished work of Christ, which he did on the cross for our sins. And Lord, I just pray that as we spend this time together in word, that if there's any hard heart in this congregation today, Father, or even if there's a believer in this room who's just been struggling, I pray, Father, that you would just truly soften their heart to the reality of who you are and the hope that we can find in you and the greatest gift that this world ever received through your son, by him taking ah by him stepping down off the throne to come into a broken world to save mankind like us.
00:03:26
Speaker
Father, that's the greatest gift this world's ever received. And i pray, Father, again, that there's anyone in this room who's never received that free gift of salvation, that today or sometime this week, just sometime soon, Father, that they will soften their heart and that you will allow them to come to you with open arms.
00:03:43
Speaker
Lord, that they will accept you as personal Lord and Savior. So God, be with our time, be with us this morning, and may it be a blessing to our souls. In Jesus' name we pray. All God's people said.
00:03:55
Speaker
Amen. Amen.
Prophecy Fulfillment by Jesus
00:03:57
Speaker
So as I said this morning, we welcome what we often is known as, well I say often known this as, we commonly know it as Palm Sunday. Right?
00:04:06
Speaker
This is the the day in which we commemorate Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It was just with the start of what we call the Passion right The week leading up to the the turning of Jesus over to the Pharisees and Sadducees to where he would then be falsely convicted, falsely condemned, and then crucified on the cross for our sins.
00:04:30
Speaker
This is the defining moment, though, of Palm Sunday where Jesus will ultimately finally reveal himself as the prophesied Messiah. right? And he will ultimately fulfill his role as the promised sacrificial lamb that would cleanse us for all those who believe in him of all unrighteousness and sin and bring us into his eternal kingdom forevermore.
00:04:54
Speaker
That's what is happening when we look at the triumphal entry. This is a monumental moment in history when when Jesus, as he's coming into the city, He is fulfilling the promise of our everlasting and good king, as we see Zechariah 9 and 9, which we're going to look at here in just a moment.
00:05:13
Speaker
But also, this day in history is also a sad day in history, because as Jesus comes in, though there's a lot of great celebration and rejoicing over him coming as our triumphant king, as we've already mentioned, just a few days later, he would be handed over, falsely accused, and tried by the same the very same people who were praising him.
00:05:34
Speaker
will also become the same people who will yell, crucify him. So this is, a again, in then the in the history of Christianity, this is a very profound day, but yet it's also a very sobering day for us all.
00:05:48
Speaker
Because if if we, I don't want to get too far ahead, but if we're if we really are honest, a lot of us in this room are no different than those in the crowd who was once ushering him in with Hosanna, and then a few days later yelling, crucify.
00:06:05
Speaker
And so as we go through this, my prayer is that we will just humble ourselves and really do some self-evaluation with where we are at. Because again, what starts out as a great celebration of our of our arriving king turns into a great acknowledgement of sorrow towards the wickedness of man as the king would be sent us to the crucifixion.
00:06:23
Speaker
But all hope is not lost because of what Jesus ultimately says in John 16, 20. That sorrow that we experience in this world would be quickly turned to joy because of who he is and what he ultimately fulfills as he comes in triumphantly to Jerusalem as our Messiah.
00:06:42
Speaker
Because, you see, as he goes to the the cross and is crucified, hes he doesn't just die. And it doesn't just end there. What happens? He rises again.
00:06:54
Speaker
Through his death, burial, and resurrection, what we now experience as sorrow through this crucifixion of Jesus now gets turned to joy. And this joy is not temporary.
00:07:05
Speaker
This joy is eternal because of the fact that Jesus is who he says he is as our triumphant king. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, we now get to experience his eternal kingdom forevermore.
00:07:16
Speaker
It's an eternal joy. So again, this morning, what I want us to really focus in on is that As we look at, the goal is to look at Jesus and how he ultimately fulfills the Old Testament prophecy of our coming Messiah.
00:07:33
Speaker
i want us to really I want us to really hone in on that and to realize that we can trust who jesus or we can trust Jesus when he says he that he is the Messiah. But I also want us to take a step back and I want to see, are we actually truly trusting him as the Messiah?
00:07:51
Speaker
Because again, it's one thing to be sitting in the congregation today and saying, Jesus, you're Lord. it's It's one thing to be singing Hosanna, right? As Marsha and the worship team was leading us.
00:08:03
Speaker
But it's whole other thing to to say those words and not truly mean it.
00:08:09
Speaker
So that's my challenge for us today is to stop and to evaluate where are you at?
00:08:15
Speaker
Where are you at with how you truly acknowledge Jesus? Because we live in a world right now of great deception. There are a lot of false Jesuses out there. There's a lot of false truth that's that's circulating.
00:08:29
Speaker
And so if we are not careful, it is easy for us to fall into this deception. So let's read this passage together out of Matthew chapter 21. We'll read verses 1 through 11. So if you would like to, you can stand with me in honor of God's word. And we'll read this together. and then we'll just look at four quick things as we go throughout our time.
00:08:52
Speaker
It says this in Matthew 21, 1. It says, now when they drew near to jerusalem and came to beth page to the mount of olives then jesus
Jesus' Mission and Spiritual Battle
00:09:01
Speaker
sent two disciples saying to them go into the village in front of you and immediately you'll find a donkey tide and ault with her untie them and bring them to me if anyone says anything to you you shall say the lord needs them and he will send to him at once ah Yeah, and he will send him at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying, say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you humble and mounted on a donkey, on a c colt, the foal of a beast of burden.
00:09:33
Speaker
The disciples went did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put them put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road and the others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. the crowds that and the And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David.
00:09:56
Speaker
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, who is this? And the crowd said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
00:10:11
Speaker
You guys pray with me. Father, again, and we just come before you. We just ask that, Holy Spirit, you'll come and that you'll just lead us and guide us through this passage. And Lord, that you will reveal to us something new, a fresh perspective that will ultimately draw us closer to you, an acknowledgement of the fact that you are the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the the promised Messiah from of old, and that you did come to fulfill that role and that you are now sitting in the right hand of the Father right now to prepare a place for us, interceding on our behalf, Lord.
00:10:41
Speaker
God, we thank you for your love. We thank you for your grace. Be with us now. It's in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. You guys may be seated.
00:10:53
Speaker
So again, the the goal of this morning is by looking at the triumphant the triumphal entry to demonstrate that Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of the prophetic scriptures and as a result, how it should bring us to a place of humble recognition of his lordship over our lives.
00:11:10
Speaker
And so to help bring us to that place, there's four things I want us to see in this passage. And right off the bat there in verses one through three, the first thing we see is how Jesus in this moment, again, is declaring the prophecy to be fulfilled, right? With his sovereign intent.
00:11:29
Speaker
When we look at there in verses one through three where Jesus is summoning the donkey in a colt, this is a significant moment because upon this point in Jesus's ministry, if y'all remember, leading up to this, when Jesus is out doing his ministry and he's doing the healings or when he's ah healing the sick and giving sight to the blind and and making the lame walk, all these things, do y'all remember what he commonly says after he does a healing?
00:11:56
Speaker
Don't tell anybody. Go and say no more. Go go and and do good, but don't tell anybody, right? we've we've i think we've talked about this before, but the reason why Jesus is doing this is because he realized that his appointed time has not yet come.
00:12:13
Speaker
And he did not want to bring unwanted, unnecessary attention to him from the religious leaders, from those who his enemies, or even from those who would desire to know him because there was a lot that needed to be unfolded.
00:12:25
Speaker
But yet now, in this particular moment, as Jesus is going into Jerusalem, the time has come. He's no longer hiding himself from who he actually is.
00:12:38
Speaker
He is boldly, by by by telling these disciples to go into the next city to find a donkey and a colt and to bring them to him, he is boldly proclaiming who he actually is in light of the Old Testament prophets, in in light of the Old Testament prophecy.
00:12:54
Speaker
You see, when by Jesus telling his disciples to go and grab that donkey and that colt, which when you think about it, when you look at the different accounts, like ah Mark and Luke, they only actually say colt. They don't actually don't say donkey and a colt. But the reality is is that whether there was two or one there was a colt that Jesus was riding on that fulfilled this prophecy of Zechariah 9.9. Right? Right?
00:13:18
Speaker
right But by him to commanding his disciples to retrieve this donkey or a colt, Jesus is making a prophetic claim regarding his title.
00:13:29
Speaker
And if y'all remember, the nation of Israel, who they've been waiting for this whole time? The Messiah, the promised one of old. And for Jesus to make this claim, you gotta remember, the disciples have been walking with him for a long time. They've been soaking up a lot of his teachings. They even heard him say things that were pretty radical,
00:13:46
Speaker
Right? And in this moment, you can only imagine what those two disciples are thinking. Like, okay, why does he want to go get these two colts? Like, why does to go steal two colts from people, right? Like, i don't even know if they were really understanding what they were tasked to do.
00:14:01
Speaker
But yet, Jesus knew in his heart what he was ultimately going to fulfill. So again, Zechariah 9.9 says this, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
00:14:12
Speaker
Behold, your king is coming to you. So again, this particular passage is one the Messiah.
00:14:30
Speaker
so again this particular passage is one of the greatest old testament prophecies regarding the coming messiah And what we find in this particular passage of Zechariah 9.9 is four statements about the promised messianic king.
00:14:45
Speaker
The first one is that his identity is fulfilled as the, is his identity is as the
Spiritual Victory and Misunderstanding
00:14:51
Speaker
fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. If y'all remember back in the Old Testament, God makes a covenant with David that through him, there would be one who would come, who would never perish, right?
00:15:01
Speaker
He would reign forevermore. And so by Jesus declaring Zechariah 9-9 here and having his disciples go and get this donkey and making this proclamation, he is fulfilling what is promised in the Davidic covenant in this moment of this everlasting king who would come humbly on a donkey forevermore, right?
00:15:22
Speaker
The second thing is that he emphasizes, Zechariah 9-9 emphasizes the king's righteousness, right? And what we see in Hebrews 4, verse 15 says, if y'all remember what the author says about our Messiah, is that, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but with one who in every respect has been tempted as we were, yet with what? Without Without sin.
00:15:46
Speaker
Y'all remember? Y'all remember back in early in the chapters of Matthew with the temptation of Jesus? you know, there's a lot of righteous men that lived throughout the history of the world, right? Y'all go back to Old Testament. You have Noah, who's counted righteous. You have Abraham, who's counted righteous. You have Moses. You have Jacob. You have Isaac. You have all these different figureheads who are counted righteous, even David.
00:16:07
Speaker
But yet, all of them have still walked in sin. But yet Jesus, when he came on earth, he set himself apart. When he was tempted, just like all these other guys, he never sinned once. When the Spirit took him out into the wilderness and made him fast for 40 days, and then Satan came and tempted him, every time Satan tried to tempt Jesus, Jesus withstood his ground.
00:16:30
Speaker
And he remained perfect. He is our perfect, spotless, righteous lamb. And so what we see in Zechariah 9, 9 with this king who would be righteous is now being fulfilled in Christ in this moment.
00:16:46
Speaker
And the the third thing is how in Zechariah 9, how the king was be predicted that the king would come humble on a donkey, not a military conqueror. Right? So again, we see here in this verse, verse 7, how Jesus would ultimately ride on the donkey. We see it in Mark 11, 7. We see in Luke 9 or 19, 35, how Jesus, he comes in on this donkey. And this is significant because if y'all remember, when kings come in, typically they came in militarily.
00:17:14
Speaker
They came in riding on a horse, serving as an image of conquering the Right? But for Jesus to come in on a donkey, he's coming in as a man of peace, a man of humility.
00:17:29
Speaker
He's not coming in to conquer because he's already claimed victory because of who he is, the righteous son of God. And he knew that. And that's why he fits the bill to fulfilling this prophecy of Zechariah 9.9.
Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Salvation
00:17:46
Speaker
You see, the people were wanting this righteous military figure to come, right? if Y'all remember we' allll remember back when Jesus went back to his hometown and he went into the temple and he yeah started teaching in the temple what passage he referred to?
00:18:01
Speaker
It was Isaiah 61, verses 1 and 2. I'm going to read it to you. Y'all ready? says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And that's where Jesus stops it.
00:18:22
Speaker
i remember that when he's teaching? And all the people in the temple were like waiting for him to finish it, but he doesn't finish it And because they were waiting for this figurehead to come in, this military figure to come in to eliminate, to eradicate the enemy, to restore God's kingdom forevermore in that moment. But Jesus says, I have come to fulfill this prophecy, but my time has not yet come to conquer yet.
00:18:47
Speaker
Because then if you finish it, it says to proclaim year Lord's favor in the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn. You see, that Jesus' work hadn't quite been finished when he read that passage to the in the temple.
00:19:00
Speaker
But now, with Jesus coming humble on a donkey, coming into the city of Jerusalem, knowing what was coming ahead of him, he was ready to take on what was due as the Father commanded him. To come, to conquer evil, sin, and death.
00:19:16
Speaker
To be buried, so that way he could raise, conquering it all, and then bringing about a new sense of victory that the people were not expecting. This is a spiritual battle, not a physical battle.
00:19:33
Speaker
And so often we're just like the people where in our daily life, including myself this past week, I was like, Lord, deliver me from this daily battle, this physical battle. I don't want to deal with this anymore.
00:19:45
Speaker
But the Lord says, no, no, no, no time out. You're missing the point. there's something far greater that you're losing sight of. Your battle's not with the flesh and blood, but it's a power ah it's it's a spiritual battle, and I've already claimed victory over both.
00:20:02
Speaker
So this, again, is a very significant moment for Jesus. and And honestly, for Jesus to come in on this humble donkey, you can only imagine why the crowd was responding they the way they were, saying, Hosanna, the son of David.
00:20:17
Speaker
Hosanna, blessed be the Lord. Because they thought that he was going to come in and just lay waste to the enemy. And establish the heavenly kingdom for forevermore. And make Israel the great nation.
00:20:30
Speaker
But you see, when Jesus came, do you remember what he was talking about? He says, i came not just for the Jew, but also for the Gentile. You see, it's not just about the physical body of Israel. It's about the spiritual brotherhood of the believers.
00:20:44
Speaker
All those who believe in and confess that Jesus is Lord. He saw the greater picture. The people in the city missed the mark. But there's a fourth thing that we see here being predicted in Zechariah 9, now that Jesus ultimately fulfills, and it's the fact that Jesus would come with absolute victory.
00:21:01
Speaker
You see, no matter how many times the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or the enemies tried to trip up Jesus, they could not. His wisdom was too great. His his power was too strong, right? Even here in the Passion Week, as Jesus would ultimately go to the cross to experience the most gruesome death no man in this world has ever experienced, and then to die, to be buried, and only be raised again three days later, nothing can keep this man down.
00:21:30
Speaker
He claims victory, an absolute victory. Nothing can overcome That's why, know, in John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, right?
00:21:43
Speaker
you go on to verse 17, what does it say? For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him, right? And then in 1 John 5, 4, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that, and this is the victory that has overcome the world. What is it?
00:22:04
Speaker
Our faith. Our faith. And who Christ is as our king, as he proclaims. 2 Corinthians 2.14, but thanks be to God who in who in Christ always leads us in what?
00:22:18
Speaker
Triumphal procession. And through us spreads the fragrance of knowledge of him everywhere.
Biblical Coherence and Prophecy
00:22:26
Speaker
This is our king. This is the new identity. This is the hope that we now have.
00:22:31
Speaker
This is why, so again, when you read verse five here in Matthew 21 or in the other accounts with the Zechariah 9-9 prophecy, this is why this is such a big deal. You know, so often, I don't know about you guys, but every year Easter rolls around, every year there's a Palm Sunday, When we think about the triumphal entry, we always want to acknowledge that it's good, but there's so much power that takes place in this moment.
00:22:58
Speaker
that we often overla we often overlook, that we disregard. Because if anyone who is in Christ today, you have now been set free from your sin and your and your past forevermore because of this reality right here. Jesus coming to fulfill the role as our Messiah as was promised from of old.
00:23:21
Speaker
It's absolutely beautiful.
00:23:25
Speaker
So it is through this command that Jesus is humbly yet profoundly making a public statement regarding his identity as he enters Jerusalem to complete the mission he was commissioned to do by his father. The time had finally come for the people to see who he actually was, the long-awaited Messiah.
00:23:42
Speaker
The second thing that we're going to see here, though, i'm gonna try get to get through these next few points a little bit quicker, is the promise the promises are kept and faith is sustained because of Jesus' fulfillment of Zechariah 9.9.
00:23:55
Speaker
If y'all remember, from the very beginning of time, God has set forth a redemptive plan for mankind because of the sin that entered into the world through Adam and Y'all remember that back in Genesis chapter 3, where Satan deceives Eve and Adam and they fall into sin and their eyes have been opened to the reality of their wickedness, right? And and ah of the of the evil of the world.
00:24:16
Speaker
But also in that same chapter of chapter three, we see the first picture of the gospel displayed. Y'all remember what this is called? Have y'all ever heard this term? It's the Proto-Evangelium. Say that five times fast.
00:24:28
Speaker
Proto-Evangelium. This is the first original promise of God of Eve's offspring prevailing over the serpent's offspring. Okay?
00:24:40
Speaker
This is the first picture of the gospel in the Old Testament. From the very beginning, God knew that there would be a that his redemptive plan will be fulfilled through his son Jesus. This is not plan B. This is not plan C. This has always been plan a And so we see that Genesis chapter 3, how in this moment, Jesus is fulfilling God's original promise to to prevail over the serpent's offspring. And this is also the fulfillment of all the covenants, as we've already previously mentioned. The Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the priestly covenant, the Davidic covenant, and now with Jesus instituting the new covenant.
00:25:22
Speaker
Guys, this is an absolutely incredible moment of promises being fulfilled and promises being kept by our God from the very beginning when he first created the world and everything in it.
00:25:38
Speaker
Everything has come to this point. Now, ultimately, it comes to the climax, to the crucifixion and the death, burial, and resurrection. But I don't want us to lose sight of what Jesus is actually proclaiming and doing here. Are y'all with me?
00:25:54
Speaker
This is absolutely incredible. And just to kind of help, um I'm just going to kind of blow your minds a little more. i don't want to spend too much time on this. I know I've shared this photo with several of you guys in the past, but if you't want to put that photo up, when we think about God's promises being kept, I want us to look at this for a second.
00:26:12
Speaker
This is the Bible cross-reference chart that I've came across. A man, I forgot who put it together, but it is absolutely beautiful. This right here demonstrates every single cross-reference in the Old and New Testament in the Bible. and Whether it's Old Testament references to Old Testament references, New Testament references to New Testament references, or Old Testament to New Testament.
00:26:35
Speaker
This shows the internal coherence and consistency of the scriptures. When you think about the Bible, when you think about the truth of God compared to all the other false truth that's out there with the deception that's going on, look at this and tell me that there is no other book out there that is as accredited as this.
00:26:56
Speaker
There are over 63,000 cross-references in the Bible fulfilling God's redemptive plans.
Crowd's Recognition and Betrayal
00:27:10
Speaker
Let that sink in for a second.
00:27:14
Speaker
The world is telling us that the Bible is a lie. The world is telling us that only certain parts of scripture is true while others is false. Let me tell you something. The entire word of God is internally consistent from Genesis to Revelation.
00:27:30
Speaker
You cannot take one aspect of the Bible and then take out the other. It's all the same. This is the God whom we serve. he specifically put his word together so that way we can know him and know the intricacies of his promises and how he will keep them and fulfill them.
00:27:51
Speaker
This is absolutely a beautiful picture, right? And so, just to kind of give you a little bit more, on the bottom of that chart, it's every single chapter of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. The the one in the middle, that's obviously Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the book, right?
00:28:07
Speaker
So, but this is an absolute picture, or an absolutely incredible thing. But let me tell you this. of this of you know We look at this cross-reference graph.
00:28:18
Speaker
Of these 63,000 cross-references, you know how many ah messianic promises or prophecies there are in Scripture? Over 300. Over 300 Messianic prophecies are found in Scripture. More than 90 of the Old Testament prophecies are specifically quoted by New Testament writers regarding the Messiah, while more than 100 Messianic prophecies predicted the specific aspects of Jesus' ministry.
00:28:44
Speaker
Again, when you think about the validity and the inerrancy, when I say inerrancy, just the complete truth of God's Word, the accuracy of God's Word, it's hard to deny it when you look at this.
00:28:56
Speaker
So again, when Jesus is telling his disciples to go and to get these two donkeys so that way he can ride into Jerusalem to fulfill Zechariah 9.9, tell me that, tell me I'm wrong. Like, tell me Jesus is wrong. You what mean? Like, how can you deny that
00:29:18
Speaker
This is absolutely incredible when you stop and think about the inner coherency, as I've already mentioned, in the fulfillment of the scriptures through the life of ministry of Jesus.
Genuine Faith and Evangelism
00:29:26
Speaker
This is what we can have confidence in The third thing I want us to see here, though, is praise, is that the praise is proclaimed, right? So now we're kind of shifting from the messianic prophecy side of it to the reaction of the crowd found in fountain verses 6 through 9.
00:29:41
Speaker
So as the disciples went did as Jesus had directed them, they brought the donkey and the colt, put on their cloaks, and he sat on them. Get this, verse 8, most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and the others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
00:29:55
Speaker
Now let me explain something to you the significance of these two things and what the crowd just did. Jesus just proclaimed, or Jesus just boldly proclaimed who he was out of Zechariah 9-9, right? By fulfilling riding in on a colt.
00:30:09
Speaker
This is how the crowd responds. They acknowledge it. Because in first century Palestine, most people possess minimal clothing, but their cloak being the most essential garment.
00:30:20
Speaker
So for them to take their garment and lay it out on the road, that's them as Jesus is coming in humbly on a donkey, that's them saying, you're my king. What I have is yours.
00:30:32
Speaker
And so not only is Jesus fulfilling this prophecy, but the people are acknowledging it.
00:30:38
Speaker
And so not only just the the cloak covering the ground as a sense of of submission to the king, but rather the palm branches are also so symbolic in weight.
00:30:48
Speaker
Jewish tradition invested ah and invested the palm tree with religious meaning, right? Using its branches in the Feast of Tabernacles in a period before the New Testament.
00:31:00
Speaker
um This is also... Something that is a symbol of national triumph and victory. So for them to not only lay their cloak down, but also to wave the palm branches, they're proclaiming victory.
00:31:12
Speaker
That's why they're saying, Hosanna, save us. Save us, bring salvation.
00:31:20
Speaker
So there they're getting in on this and they are acknowledging Jesus. they are they're they're Finally, everything seems to be coming together for them. And they're acknowledging Jesus as king.
00:31:34
Speaker
But this is the sobering reality of it all, right? and as we've already mentioned, is that the same people who are laying down their cloaks, the same people waving palm branches, are the same people who would again, eventually a few days later, yell crucify him.
00:31:48
Speaker
So as we read through this, I want us to really consider just a few questions. How likely are you to turn out like one of those individuals in the crowd?
00:31:59
Speaker
How likely are you to do that today? i want us to honestly consider that. are Have you truly trusted Jesus as Lord? Have you truly surrendered to his Lordship?
00:32:10
Speaker
Are you ready to follow him to the end of your days, no matter how hard the cost, no matter how big of a price? Because a lot of these people, they thought they were. They thought they were ready to receive Jesus. They put down their cloaks. They were waving palm branches.
00:32:24
Speaker
They were sitting in the pews of the church. But when a time came for them to actually follow Jesus and to remain faithful, they wavered. Rather than remain faithful, they said crucify him.
00:32:39
Speaker
He's not the guy who's coming to restore Israel like we thought. he was He came in victorious, but he's not going to do what he said he's going to do. He's just like all the other false prophets that came before him.
Spiritual Vigilance and Protection
00:32:51
Speaker
But are we... are we Are we ready to follow Jesus as he truthfully, boldly proclaims who he is? The fourth and last thing is the perception challenged, right? So we see that the crowd responds to him in an overwhelmingly fat or like overwhelmingly fashioned manner where he comes in on this donkey. they're waving they're playing their're They're laying their garments down. They're waving the palm branches.
00:33:17
Speaker
But yet, among that same crowd, there are people who are still questioning. Did y'all catch that there in verses 10 and 11? It
00:33:26
Speaker
says that when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up.
00:33:31
Speaker
Okay, that's a big deal. Jerusalem was not a small city. i mean, obviously there's been rumors going around about Jesus and his ministry and all the miracles that he's been performing. But for him to come in and for the whole city to be stirred up, it's a big deal. Saying, who is this?
00:33:47
Speaker
And the crowd said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
00:33:57
Speaker
And so for us, this is the challenge. For us as believers who truly trust in Jesus, there are those who are sitting among us, there are those who are in our community right now either believe they confess that Jesus is Lord and see Him as as a Savior, or they openly deny Him and they're confused.
00:34:17
Speaker
For us, it's how are we going to choose to demonstrate that to them? If you're truly ready to follow Jesus and you truly want to believe that He is King and Lord of your life,
00:34:32
Speaker
There needs to be a response to it. We are not called to sit in our flesh who we once were, right? As Paul talks about, for anyone who's in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.
00:34:49
Speaker
If we continue to dwell in who we once were before Christ, have we truly surrendered? Because there are men and women out there. There are people out there who are who desire to know truth and who desire to come to salvation.
00:35:04
Speaker
But yet we as the people, we are commissioned to go and to share this good news. So how are we going to do that? we going actually fulfill that? Are we going to be like the example that we see here where the crowd, the outer lookers are like, wait, why is all this happening? Who is this Jesus? Are we going to be the ones saying, hey, I know who that is.
00:35:23
Speaker
that's That's Jesus. That's the Son of God. That's our Messiah. That's who I put my faith, my hope and trust in. He's the one who changed me from the inside out. He's the one who brought me from death to life. He's the one who rescued me from my addiction, from from my struggle of depression and anxiety and and all these doubts. Like, that's him. That's Jesus. Let me tell you about him.
00:35:45
Speaker
Is that what we're going to do? Or are we just going to sit back and like, it's a great question. Let him answer that.
00:35:55
Speaker
This is a sobering reality because many of us, we fall into that category if we're not careful. Myself included. There's times where I fall short. There's times where I don't follow Christ the way need to.
00:36:09
Speaker
But yeah, it's passages like this and there's day in there's weeks like this every year that come up where we should be humbly just reminded of the sovereignty of God and how we as believers are called to a higher calling and how we must not forget what Jesus did and what Jesus has commanded of us to do as his followers.
00:36:29
Speaker
Because if Jesus was...
00:36:33
Speaker
Let me just say it this way. For Jesus to step down off his throne to come into this broken world to fulfill the Father's commission on his life.
00:36:44
Speaker
we And if we say that we believe in that don't follow after it, that's a dangerous place to be.
00:37:02
Speaker
So here's the reality, right? I'm just going to wrap up with this because I know our time is up. Though we celebrate the triumphal entry and victory on this side of the cross, for those who believe, many still walk as the enemy of the cross of Christ.
00:37:16
Speaker
Paul says it this way Philippians 3, verses 17 through 19. says, brothers join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us For many of whom, as I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, walk as the enemy of the cross of Christ.
00:37:34
Speaker
Their end is destruction, their God is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. With minds set on earthly things.
00:37:46
Speaker
So what are we going to do about it as believers? Are we going to take advantage of the opportunity that we have now to proclaim the truth of who God is and who Jesus says he is, who he's proclaiming to be to that broken and and dying generation out there?
00:37:59
Speaker
Or are we just going to sit back and sit idle on our hands?
00:38:05
Speaker
Because again, as I've mentioned previously, our world is full of deception right now. And if we don't believe that, you're just you're you're just not opening your eyes.
00:38:17
Speaker
If you believe that the world is not being deceived, then you need to open your eyes to the reality of the truth what's going on. Whether it's social media, news, whether it's peer groups, whether it's, I mean, all these scam calls that are going around right now.
00:38:35
Speaker
Like there's there's just so much deception going on in the world that if we are not standing guard, we will be just like those in the crowd who one day we proclaim and profess Jesus and the next day we're gonna deny him and crucify him.
Eternal Hope and Relationship with Christ
00:38:50
Speaker
That's why Paul talks or explains to the people in Ephesus there in verse or in chapter 6 of Ephesians where he says, "...finally be strong in Lord in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you way you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Therefore, what does he say?
00:39:17
Speaker
Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm. The moment you feel like you are safe is the moment that Satan has claimed victory over your life.
00:39:33
Speaker
The moment we feel like that we have this life figured out as a believer is the moment that Satan has deceived Y'all remember what Satan's main tactic is? From the very beginning, deception.
00:39:45
Speaker
Deception. He wants you to think that you are in the right place when you're really not. So we have to be on guard always, being vigilant every single day so that way we can withstand the fiery arrows that are being shot or shot at us by Satan.
00:40:06
Speaker
But it's through passages like this with the triumphal entry that Jesus is reminding us of our identity and who we are in Christ and the power in which we walk in. So may walk in these things today. Because again, as Paul even talks about Philippians 3, just a a few verses later, verses 20 to 21 says, but our citizenship, for those of us who are in Christ, our citizenship is in heaven.
00:40:31
Speaker
From whom we wait as Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like the glorious body by the power that enables him to even subject all things to himself. That's who we are.
00:40:44
Speaker
We are in Christ.
00:40:47
Speaker
So as we go into this time of invitation and I'll have the the worship team come up, I want us to consider just a few questions. I want us to take a moment and I want you to examine your heart.
00:40:59
Speaker
Examine your heart. Have you truly welcomed Jesus into your life? Or do you merrily celebrate him superficially? Do you truly acknowledge Jesus as the fulfillment of all the Old Testament messianic prophecies as him being the true son of God, God incarnate, the word becoming flesh? Do you truly acknowledge that?
00:41:24
Speaker
Or do you just like the idea of it?
00:41:28
Speaker
This is a sobering thought, sobering reality. There's no better time than right now to really evaluate that in your own life. And I pray that that if you are yeah that if you were here today, you just like the idea of Jesus or that you openly reject Jesus, that you'll allow the word of God to soften your heart to the reality of how gracious loving and loving kind and compassionate, but yet how bold and how righteous and how holy Jesus actually is.
00:42:00
Speaker
And the promises that he has for you if you choose to accept it. Because the reality is for anyone who's in Christ, again, we are a new creation. We have a hope that is eternal. We don't have to fear this life. Even when you have the hard weeks, even when you have the dark days, we have a hope that brings us through those things.
00:42:19
Speaker
that is in Christ. It is all because of what Jesus ultimately will fulfill at the end of the Passion Week. Through his faithful obedience of coming to the point of death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, he conquers sin, evil, and death, and all unrighteousness, and delivers us into his kingdom forevermore, if you choose to accept it and receive the gift.
00:42:40
Speaker
So that's you today, i pray that you will just truly consider surrendering your life to Christ, that you'll take your cloak and lay it down You'll wave the prom the palm branches. That you'll be like David as the tabernacle came back.
00:42:53
Speaker
that just dance before the Lord. I said that at Baptist church. I'm sorry.
00:43:00
Speaker
But that we will just rejoice over that gift. So let pray for us. And if you need to come down, you can come down talk to me. Or you can do business with God right where you're at. Father God, we come before you. and Lord, we just thank you for the reality of your work.
00:43:13
Speaker
Lord, we thank you for the promises fulfilled. We thank you for Jesus being the Old Testament of fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. Lord, we are no longer awaiting for our Messiah to come, but he has come and he has declared victory over all evil, sin, and death and laying waste to Satan and his offspring.
00:43:34
Speaker
And Lord, he is now sitting at your right hand, just preparing a place for those who believe and confess in him. And Lord, he is waiting for the time to come back.
00:43:45
Speaker
Lord Jesus, you are returning and we are excited for your return. But I pray that while we have opportunity, while we have time today, Lord, that we will respond. that there's anyone in this building today who needs to respond to you in submission to you as Savior and Lord of their life, that they will do that this morning. Whether it's them coming down to the front or just doing business right where they're at, Father, I pray that you will just work in their hearts. And Lord, that there's anyone in this room right now who feels like they have just fallen astray and that they are unredeemable or that they cannot come back to you, I pray, Father, that you will work in their heart and allow them to realize that there is no sin too great that is that can keep them from the love of God.
00:44:26
Speaker
Father, you desire all to come to know you and make you known. And I pray that today, lives will be transformed. May you empower us as your people. May we walk faithfully together during these seasons.
00:44:47
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.