Matthew 21:1-17

Discussion Questions

• What part of Holy Week means the most to you? What do you do to prepare for Easter?
• Which statements below describe your heart today and why?
  – The multitudes misunderstood the approach of Jesus
  – The disciples were emboldened but still confused by the approach of Jesus
  – The religious leaders wanted to shut down the approach of Jesus
  – The Romans simply ignored the approach of Jesus
• What’s the next step of obedience for you in your walk with Jesus? Is it repentance? Surrender? Trust? Something else? And how do you distinguish between them?
• Jesus was gut-punched on the road to Jerusalem because He knew what was going to happen to Him, and why. How do you feel about His sacrifice for us, and how should we respond?

Transcript

So, why do Christians celebrate Palm Sunday? What’s with all the palm waving and the coats flying and the people dancing and singing and all of that? And why was that first Palm Sunday called the Triumphal Entry of Jesus? It’s true that multitudes celebrated the approach of Jesus, but many of them misunderstood Jesus, just as they do even in our own day and time. Some were clearly expecting a political liberator, and they were soon disappointed. Jesus doesn’t fit neatly into any political system. Most of the religious leaders on the ground got angry and conspired against Jesus. And yet, throughout history, millions have come to believe that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing that day. And, in the events of the week that followed, He actually directed all of that. So, what are we to make of this person, Jesus of Nazareth? We have some extra copies of the Bible, if you would like to study along today and have something in your hand to be able to read the words yourself. Just raise your hand up real high; someone will be glad to drop a Bible off at your chair, your seat as well.

Up on the screen you see the notes and quotes are available by taking a snap of that, following the link on that QR code up on the screen there. And that’ll take you to where we’re going to be for the next few minutes together. I want to thank the folks from Harare, Zimbabwe, which is the capital city of Zimbabwe. I didn’t know that, had to look that up. But evidently, some folks from Harare joined us last week, some folks from Auckland, New Zealand, also. We had folks from Emporia, Kansas and Sequim, Washington. Anybody heard a Sequim before? Oh, good. Awesome. Maybe friends of yours, I don’t know. But that’s great. And greetings to all of those folks and hope they’re able to be with us again this week as we take a look at “Jesus, Prophet, Priest and King” in the Palm Sunday text from Matthew, Chapter 21.

This particular story that you’re familiar with, I would think most of you are, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem in the week preceding, what we call Holy Week or Passion Week. The events that we’ll be looking at over the next week ourselves and celebrate, of course, His resurrection next Sunday. But today we do call Palm Sunday. Sometimes it’s called Triumphal Entry. As I said earlier, it’s in all four gospels. You can see that up on the screen as well. And then we will be taking a look at the Matthew account which is in chapter 21. And I’m going to look at verses 1 through 17. I think that is going to take in all of what I’d like to say this morning as we think of Jesus and consider who He is, why He came and what roles He actually fulfilled and performed in this one particular day that we call Palm Sunday.

Pray with me, if you will, before we read the text: Our Father, as we’ve gathered to worship You today, we are aware that we all stand in need of Your grace, Your mercy, and Your forgiveness. And those aren’t just religious words to us. We need grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Thank You for putting those on offer in the person and work of Jesus. And on this Palm Sunday, we turn our hearts to You and pray that You will set our voices free to sing aloud. Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! Come now, Lord, speak to us through Your Word. Give us a clearer vision of Your truth, a greater faith in Your power, and a more confident assurance of Your love for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen and amen.

Before I read the text, I want you to know this week and next week will be my 25th time doing Palm Sunday and an Easter message. And I love it. I’m like the hobbits in Tolkien’s storylines. They liked to have books filled with things that they already knew, set out fair and square with no contradictions, and I cannot get enough of Palm Sunday and the Easter story as well. So, like the hobbits, let us approach, this particular story today to be reminded of the truths that never fade. To have them set out fair and square before us, considering what they actually claim, not just the sort of the myth and legendary kind of stuff that we hear and that’s attached to it and in a lot of different ways in our culture. But what actually happened there in space/time history and what does it signify? Why is it important? And today, I think we’re going to see how Jesus, indeed, on that first Palm Sunday, went public in a in a bold way that He had not done. There’s a prophetic aspect to it, a paradoxical aspect to it and a very powerful aspect to it.

So, let’s take a look at Matthew 21, verses one through 17, as Jesus approaches Jerusalem. He’s coming up from Jericho. Seventeen miles is the length of trip between Jericho and Jerusalem. But it’s quite an ascent because Jericho sits 1000ft below sea level and Jerusalem sits 2,500ft above sea level. Jerusalem is not the highest point in that region, but it’s still pretty high up there. So, 3,500ft above sea level in ascent over a 17-mile period. And I’ve been there six times. I’ve done it in a nice air-conditioned, cushy motor coach, and it was pretty easy. I think of Jesus and His disciples making this trek on foot, when I rode up in that motor coach and we weren’t sure the coach was going to make it. And when you finally do get to the top, they appropriately put on Chariots of Fire in the sound system. And you feel like you just made it, you know, that’s really good. So, they approached Jerusalem and they’d come to Bethphage, which is next to the Mount of Olives.

And Jesus said to the disciples, “Go into the village opposite you,” likely Bethany, we’re not 100% sure, but likely that, and “Immediately you’ll find a donkey tied there and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, gentle, and mounted upon a donkey, even upon a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” That’s right out of Zechariah 9:9. Matthew, formerly known as Levi, quotes the Old Testament almost 100 times in his gospel, Matthew’s gospel. He’s really connecting the dots between Old Testament prophecy and Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He actually uses the word “fulfill” over and over and over again. So, we know that as a Jewish man who knows the Jewish Old Testament scriptures, he really wants us to see how Jesus is indeed all of the prophecies fulfilled.

He is. He is exactly what God said He would be. And this is fascinating to me. We don’t consider it this much, but He sends two disciples. We don’t know which ones. It could be James and John, could be Peter and Andrew, who knows? But He sends them off to get this donkey and the colt and to bring them. “And if anybody says anything,” the Lord says, “Tell them the Lord has need of them,” as if you could go to, you know, down to Brentwood there to one of the car dealerships or Cool Springs, one of the really nice car dealerships, and say, “I want to take that Range Rover right there.” Wait a minute. You can’t just take it. “No, no, the Lord has need of it, you know?” And then you drive off as if that’s all it takes to get that. Now, by the way, this is the first time we read anywhere in any of the four gospels of Jesus doing anything other than walking. It’s first time He rides anything at all… horses, donkeys, whatever. It’s the only time. And it’s pretty fascinating that He chose to do that on this colt, this little donkey thing here like this. Making a very public statement, connecting Himself to the prophet Zechariah, who 500-plus years before the time of Jesus, prophesied that Messiah, God’s King, would come into Jerusalem. Like this.

Verse six: “The disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them.” I wish verse six was my resumé. “And Jim went and did exactly what Jesus told him to do.” You probably, if you stop and think about it, you probably wish that was your resumé too. But let’s face it, you are sitting next to somebody who does not have that resumé, and they are sitting next to you. And we are all in this together, and we are stumbling forward to follow our Savior and our Lord. And I’m so glad He speaks clearly with that kind of detail and says, “Go to that village. Do that. You’re going to find that there.” Is this one of those kind of moments that He had the prophetic thing, or did He set this up in advance? I’ve got no clue. Either way, it’s amazing. And He comes back and makes this awesome public statement in front of everybody. Verse seven: “[They] brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He [Jesus] sat. And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road.”

And this is much like they would welcome a royal, an approaching royal, who’s coming in peace. They would want to make the roads smooth. No potholes. So, this is their T-dot going out, filling in the potholes and making sure that the road look was really smooth for the approaching dignitary. I used to live three blocks from here, and there was going to be a presidential debate at Belmont University. I remember how we got a free new sidewalk out of that whole thing, because our sidewalk was not straight. It wasn’t smooth, and I thought that was amazing. And Belmont University used to have all these different events there. I remember they also had one of those things where there were the people that were sort of mystics and could kind of read people’s minds and all that sort of thing. And they were putting signs up everywhere about that. It was at Belmont University at this certain hall, and I kept thinking every time I saw it, “It’s nuts. Why can’t these mystics just read their minds? Why do they need signs to get over there? You shouldn’t need that if you’re really legitimately able to do that thing.”

But Jesus comes in, He knows the Old Testament Scripture. He fulfills the Old Testament Scripture here, and most of the multitude are spreading garments as if He’s an approaching king. So, He understands prophecy, and He understands that the Lord’s Messiah would be a king – the king that Israel needed. And so, He comes in like that, the multitudes going before Him. Verse nine: “And those who followed after Him were crying out, saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David.’” That’s a messianic title, by the way. Don’t just hear that through Western ears. Matthew is literally, with his Jewish mindset, telling us the people saw Jesus as Messiah that day coming into the city. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” and “Hosanna in the highest.” This is right out of Scripture. They would have known this is about Messiah. And so, they yelled as they threw their palm branches, they’re waving those and throwing their coats to smooth out the road, so that when He comes into this city, He can come in without having to go through a bunch of potholes and all of that.

“And when He entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred.” The last time that happened was, Matthew, Chapter 2, when Jesus was born and all the city was stirred because the wisemen came to King Herod in the palace and said, “Where is He who is to be born king of the Jews?” And Herod was the king of the Jews, and when that eastern despot got all panicky, he killed people. That’s what he did, including his own family members. And we’re told in Matthew two, that the entire city was stirred, all Jerusalem with them. And it’s an interesting bookend to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the beginning of His life here on this planet as He walked the Earth. And now here, He’s stirring things up. The question is, will He stir you up? Will He stir me up today? I hope He does, but in a good way. Because disruptions can be negative, but disruptions can be positive as well. So, He stirred them up and they’re all saying, “Who is this?” Matthew and Mark and Luke and John all want to ask that question. They want us to answer that question as to who is this Jesus? Who is He? Why is He significant? Why are we still talking about Him 2000 years later? Really important. “The multitudes were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’” So that’s what the multitudes were saying. People were pressing in. This is, by the way, the time of the feast. This is like rush hour.

If Jerusalem had a normal population of 250,000 or so, as some people estimate, it’s now probably a million and a half because of the feast. I mean, there are campfires everywhere. There are people camping out all along the hillside all along the way. And every house, every hotel, every room is full. And so, the streets are jammed with people. And there’s lots of buzz about Jesus right now. He goes into the city, in verse 12. He entered the temple and He “cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.” And this is an interesting detail. Who were selling doves? Wow, that’s live body detail. What does Matthew want us to know? The dove was the sacrificial animal of the poor. And along the court of Gentiles, those of you who’ve been over there and seen the ruins, you see the sort of colonnade, the street that is literally lined with all of these little portico booths. And they had made a complete commercial enterprise out of the temple there. Not only would they sell you a dove, but if you had brought your own dove in, thinking it was going to be acceptable as a sacrifice, they at the booth of Annas the high priest and Caiaphas, they had the authority to say, “No, your animal is not clean. You’ll have to get another one. Oh, and by the way, we have one for sale right here.”

Not only that, but they also exchanged money and charged interest every time they exchanged money. If you brought in Roman coins, you would have to use the Jewish shekel to be able to buy that animal. So, they would first exchange your money. So, it’s called money changers and then they would charge you on top of that a fee for the exchange and then a fee for the purchase. You’re going to make it over and over again. They’re just commercializing the whole place. And this does not sit well with Jesus at all that they’re taking advantage of the poor especially. “And He said to them, ‘It is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer;’ but you are making it a robber’s den.’” Here He is quoting kind of a mashup from Isaiah and Jeremiah, but He’s literally calling them out. He is a priest who is cleaning house and He’s really upset. And then verse 14 summarizes what He does. “And the blind in the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.”

So, the Jewish religious leaders were there. Not only were they not doing what they should be doing, praying, they were doing what they should not be doing. Preying on the poor. Jesus turns over their tables. Drives them out. There’s coins flying everywhere, birds flapping their wings, sheep and goats going everywhere. And He’s just as upset as He could be. And He utters what we read in verse 13, “You’ve made it a robber’s den, and it’s supposed to be a house of prayer.” And then Jesus, in verse 14, restores it to what it should be. And He’s healing the blind and the lame in the temple, and He goes on, and the chief priests and the scribes, in verse 15, saw Him, and I almost I can’t quite understand how somebody gets this dark. When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that Jesus had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David, what did the chief priests and scribes do say? Oh, look at all the people getting healed! Isn’t that a good thing? Oh, look at all the people praying. Isn’t that a good thing? No. They became indignant.

Oh, man. So now they’re mad that what’s supposed to be happening is happening. And they’re mad that what they were doing, which they should not have been doing, has been shut down. They’re infuriated. And they said to Jesus, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, yes. That’s what He can do. Let’s just take up an offering and go home. I mean that right there. Yes, I do hear, as a matter of fact, what they’re saying and doing. Yes. Oh, no. Good. And then He goes: “Have you never read…” Which is to put them to shame. These guys have all the seminary degrees in Old Testament. Have you not read? It’s like you missed 101, class one. That’s right out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes. “Thou hast prepared praise for Thyself.” The children, somehow or other, got what they could not get. And then verse 17, Matthew is just kind of wrapping up the day. “And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, [That’s not a person, that’s a town] and lodged there.” It’s about two miles outside of Jerusalem. This is such a great event. I love all this.

Our English Bibles. And you can, check me out on this later if you’d like to, but our English Bibles do, divide the four New Testament Gospels into 89 chapters. Four of them, are that cover the first 30 years of Jesus earthly life. Now, the birth narratives are in Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2. But we don’t know much more about those first 30 years of Jesus’ life. There’s been a lot of speculation about it, of course. Of course there would be. He is the most interesting person that has ever lived. Of course there’s speculation about Him. Is it all true? I know it’s probably not. Speculation is just that: speculation. But we can do some good history here. Why? Because we have some eyewitness testimony preserved here. We have people who can, at the time of these writings, interview eyewitnesses like Luke does as well. So, the emphasis in the Gospels is on the public ministry of Jesus, because 85 of the 89 chapters are on the last three-and-a-half years of Jesus’ life in 29 of those 85 chapters.

Zoom in on this week, Palm Sunday, and all that happens in Holy Week, all the way through to the next Sunday and the glorious resurrection of Jesus. So, we’re going to have the cleansing of the temple, the teachings of Jesus, the healings of Jesus that we just read about. We’re going to have the Last Supper, the betrayal, the arrest, the interrogation trials, the torture, the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus. You want to read ahead John, Chapter 20 next week. Okay, I agree, and I think a lot of us do around here with the English writer, good friend and personal friend of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, who once said this the Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man. And the dogma is the drama. All right, so what we’re claiming as true the facts that are presented in the gospels and in the New Testament, that’s what we’re saying is really dramatic. The content, what’s stated, and claimed to be true, is so amazing. It should capture us. It should never be a mere form; it’s always a mind-blowing thing.

And if it has gone still in my heart or in your heart, it’s because we’ve stopped speaking. We’ve stopped hearing what the Lord might have been saying. We always asked for questions of Bible passages. Our preaching prep team. We do this all the time. What does God reveal about Himself in this text? How’s humanity’s need for redemption exposed? In what ways are Jesus in the gospel foreshadowed or reflected in this passage? And what faith response is this text asking for? Any Bible study you’re doing, you can take those same four questions and use them. This will be posted online if you would like to have those four questions for your Bible study. But what does this Palm Sunday text reveal about God? How does it show what we are really like? We human beings? What does Palm Sunday show us about Jesus Himself and the Gospel itself and why Jesus came to Earth at all? And why did they approach Jerusalem that day? What did He come to do? And let’s make sure that we get to asking the question today, how should we respond to Jesus in faith today?

I think it’s really important. Now imagine this parade of people that are following Jesus, if you will. I like to call them the formerlys and the used-to-be’s. You know, it’s just filled with people, this crowd of people that are the parade that are following Jesus. Who was there? Surely, it looked like a bunch of misfits and outsiders, maybe even, some folks like Zacchaeus, the formerly despised and hated chief tax collector, a formerly dead guy named Lazarus. The used-to-be blind Bartimaeus, the formerly demon-possessed Mary Magdalene. Hundreds if not thousands of used-to-be blind, lame, lepers, lost, deaf, demon possessed, helpless, despondent, broken-hearted people who had lost loved ones all in the crowd. And what did they see that day? Why did they start dancing and singing and shouting Hosanna? And was all of it right? All of it wrong? Did they get it all right? I think some of them had it right. The approach of Jesus on the first Palm Sunday was deliberate. It was dramatic, and it did demand a response. And I think it still does today. Some of the smallest details had been planned for quite a long time.

As we read in the text itself, from Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you, He is just and endowed with salvation.” Jesus’ name means God’s Salvation. Who else is endowed with salvation? More than a guy named Jesus? He’s humble, mounted on a donkey. Not a war horse, but a donkey. Now, back in their day, it’s true. Sometimes kings would come in on a donkey. So, there is great truth in the fact that Jesus did not say, go into the village over there and find me a black stallion dressed with all kinds of armor, and it’s got bows and arrows and everything hanging out of it for me to shoot at all the bad guys. He is not the Lone Ranger here, for you guys under 50. The Lone Ranger used to say, “Hi-ho, Silver!” and his horse would go up, and they need to ride off into go find the save the family. Whomever it might be. He’s not a Zorro. Somebody gets that. Yeah, He’s not that. But He is saying He’s a king coming in peace. So don’t miss that.

It’s a beast of burden. That’s true. But David rode a donkey. Judah rode a donkey. A lot of people over the history of the Old Testament rode donkeys. And if a king was coming to a city in peace or to bring peace or to make a peace deal, they did not come riding on a war stallion. They came riding on a donkey. So, Jesus is very publicly saying, “I am a king, I am the king, I am your King, Jerusalem. And I come to bring peace.” A lot of them wanted a political messiah. A lot of people today want a political messiah. They try to co-opt Jesus for their political cause. And this happens. Listen, I know you’re thinking of people from the other side of the aisle, but it happens on all sides of the aisle. Let me just say that, okay, so Jesus does not fit neatly into anybody’s political system. Let’s get that straight right here at The Village Chapel, because we’re asking the question, “Who is Jesus?” And we’re asking the question, “How should we respond to Jesus?” He is not your Gumby to bend. He’s not your Play-Doh statue to mess with. He comes as He comes, and we should look at who He is. And He came humble. That was His heart, not just because He was on a donkey. And I think it’s important that we note that most of the Jews were looking, like I say, for political Messiah to free them from Roman oppression. But here comes Jesus as a prophet revealing God. He’s God revealing.

And I’m just going to say, I’ll give you all three of these real quick. Jesus on Palm Sunday is as prophet. He’s God revealing as priest, He is God reconciling and He is King. He’s God reigning. This is a formula that has been used down through the church. He goes back to John Calvin and even before that actually. But you can find this threefold office of Jesus in a lot of different sermons. But here we see Jesus as prophet. We’re even reminded here because the folks here cry out to Jesus, and they’re wanting to know who He is. Verse 11, “…the multitudes were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus.’” They see him as a prophet. And of course, Matthew, with all of his wisdom about the Old Testament in verse five says, look how he connects with Zechariah 9, verse 9, very specific, which we put up on the screen there. So, Jesus comes as a prophet, and the prophet. Remember, the job of the prophets was to represent God to the people. And so, they would go out to the people and they would say, “Thus saith the Lord…” And you could tell if they were a true prophet, if whatever the Lord said, whatever they said, the Lord said, if they were predicting something in the future, if it actually came true.

If it did not come true, the instruction from the Old Testament was to stone that prophet to death, because they weren’t speaking the word of the Lord. They were pretending to let us not pretend to but let us say exactly what the Lord would have us to say about who Jesus is. He comes as prophet. He comes as priest. He comes as king. And as prophet, He represents the God who speaks, not the God that is a statue over there, or somebody’s shrine that has a face but can’t see, can’t open a mouth and speak, legs that can’t walk, hands that can’t do anything. No, no, no, no. This is a real God that speaks. Genesis 1, ten times it says, “…and God said” from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22. The Bible is about the God who speaks. So, Jesus comes as the prophet, who is God speaking to us. He offers us, yes, wisdom and guidance and instruction through His Word, but He also is the way, the truth, and the life. And He continues to point to Himself in His earthly ministry. Those of us who have studied Luke recently, Matthew, Mark and Luke, John, all of them during the course of this church’s lifetime, and we keep seeing Jesus accept and receive worship.

We keep seeing Jesus healing people, knowing what’s going on inside their hearts, forgiving, claiming the power to forgive sins. Something only God can do. He speaks. He is God revealing. Secondly, as a priest, Jesus is God reconciling. So, He comes not only to be the priest who cleanses of the temple like He does in this text, but also to become the Lamb of God, the ultimate Lamb of God, the final Lamb of God. We don’t need to do any more animal sacrifice. And all the animals said, “Whew!” Jesus is the final, the ultimate, the complete sacrifice. And He has paid the price in full for your sins, my sins; past, present and future. Somebody shout Amen! Yeah. That’s good. Yeah. There you go. That’s good. Jesus is also king, though, isn’t He? As He comes in, He’s king reigning. Matthew quotes Psalm 118, Zechariah 9. He talks about your King. He’s the Lord over everything. He controls human history. He restores true freedom under His righteous rule. So, if you are interested in hearing from God about anything in your life, Jesus as the prophet, Jesus is God speaking as the priest. Jesus is God reconciling and as the King, Jesus is God reigning.

Are you looking to hear from God or are you looking to be reconciled with God? Things set right between you and God? Are you looking for the wisdom of God in your life, and you want to know whether something’s right or wrong? You want to? There’s so many things you’re trying to figure it out, and you know you need a king because you can’t do it yourself. He is all that you need, as we sang earlier. Keller: “Jesus Christ came not to be served, but to die, to give His life. That sets Him apart from the founder of every other major religion. Their purpose was to live and be an example.” Please get this right. Jesus’ purpose was to die and be a sacrifice. Do you see the big difference there between Christianity and every other world religion that exists? Lewis entered the room of a bunch of intellectuals trying to debate that subject once, and they all turned to him and said, “Well, here’s a Christian. Let’s see what he says. What’s the difference between Christianity and every other religion? And he said, “Oh, that’s simple. [I’m paraphrasing.] Grace. Yeah. God doing for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

Palm Sunday was a fulfillment of prophecy, the public presentation of the king and a preview of the kingdom yet to come. There are eschatological ramifications for what happened that day as well. One day he will ride into view again, this time not on a donkey, but on a white horse to set the world right. That surely got me a Methodist Amen. At least I’m excited about that. I don’t know about you. Look at the way people responded. The multitude misunderstood the approach of Jesus. Disciples were emboldened but still confused. We know this from reading the rest of the account. They still when He’s arrested, they scatter like whipped puppies. The religious leaders wanted to shut down the approach of Jesus. Stop that. You see what they’re doing, you hear what they’re saying? And Jesus said, “Yeah, I do. Yes.” The Roman simply ignored the approach of Jesus. Now look at that screen for a second. Which of those best describes the disposition of your heart today? We need to take pastoral look at these passages when we study them. And that’s why we have that fourth question that we talked about earlier. What is the faith response that I should have toward this Jesus who chose to ride into Jerusalem and lay down His life for us?

What’s revealed here about Jesus is that He is the unmatched, unique combination of prophet, priest, and king. Nobody else is all three of those. Nobody else deserves to be all three of those. Nobody else can handle that kind of power, sovereignty and that kind of justice and deal with that power in a truthful way. He comes as a servant king, not to be served, but to serve. The drama is obvious. The real drama is found in the dogma, as Sayers said, though this was the return of the King, who had now come to lay down His life on the cross to offer salvation freely to you and to me. Who is Jesus? How should we respond to Jesus? Stott says, “Here is a King who conquers not by force of arms, but by the force of love.” Oh yeah. Luke tells us He was gut punched as He rode in that day. Luke, the Gentile, you know, the one Gentile author of a book in the Bible. And he says, Jesus convulsed with tears because He knew how Jerusalem was going to respond to Him and reject Him in terms of the religious authorities of that day.

Lewis says: “There comes a moment [when we think about how we should respond, when we’re considering who God is, Lewis describes his growing children] the children who have been playing at burglars has suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (Man’s search for God!) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, [Lewis says] supposing He had found us!” In fact, that’s exactly what has happened in the Gospel. He has found you. He has found me. I wasn’t even looking for Him. Right? Most of the time through my day, I’m not even thinking about Him. Maybe you’re that way too. But I want to. I want to be practicing the presence of Jesus all the time. He is prophet, priest, and king. If I want to hear from God, if I want to be reconciled to God, and then right relationship with God, if I want God to be speaking wisdom into my life, to guide me, to lead me, to show me how I can love Him more, how I can serve others better, how I can be a part of this church in a better way. I want Jesus to be the One for us.

And I’ll close with this quote. Such beautiful quote. We’ve used it before here at The Village Chapel. It bears repeating. “In Jesus the promise is confirmed, the covenant is renewed, the prophecies are fulfilled, the law is vindicated, salvation is brought near, sacred history has reached its climax, the perfect sacrifice has been offered and accepted, the great priest over the household of God has taken his seat at God’s right hand, the Prophet, like Moses, has been raised up, the Son of David reigns, the kingdom of God has been inaugurated, the Son of Man has received dominion from the Ancient of Days, a servant of the Lord… has accomplished the divine purpose …and is now exalted and extolled and made very high.”

Hosanna! Oh yeah, and He came for you, and He came for me. There’s another week of activities. I don’t want to get too far ahead, but I surely did not want to miss the opportunity to at least give the spoiler alert that He is in charge of every movement of the next week. And certainly, as we’ve said so many times here at The Village Chapel, He is in charge of all outcomes. Take courage in that. Let’s pray.: Lord, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that it’s living and active, that it fills us with the knowledge of Jesus and His great love for us. I pray for all souls, all of us souls here today, no matter where we’re at. I pray, Lord, that You would bridge the gap, that You would call our name, that You would draw us to Yourself. Lord, I pray that our souls would respond, that we would turn to You in faith believing. Lord, that some who need to today, that are in this room or online watching us, would repent from their sin and turn to You. Surrender. Bow before You, King, great King of Heaven. Trust in You, prophet and priest, Jesus, that You are. We love You. We thank You for Your kindness and for the free gift You’ve offered to us in the salvation You’ve put on offer. I pray this in Your precious name. Amen and Amen.

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs:

“Come Thou Almighty King“ by Felice de Giardini, Tommy Bailey, Sarah Gehri, Nathan Mickle & Tom Yarbrough
“Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery“ by Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Michael Bleecker
“He Is“ by David Crowder, Hank Bentley, and Jeff Pardo
“Jesus Strong And Kind“ by Colin Buchanan, Jonny Robinson, Michael Farren, and Rich Thompson
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used with permission. CCLI License no. 2003690

Looking for our Hymns of the Week or resources to worship anytime? We’ve curated a playlist of hymns TVC Worship has led over the years on our YouTube Channel!

Call To Worship: Palm Sunday

Leader: Lift up your heads, o you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Congregation: Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Leader: Lift up your heads, o you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Congregation: Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.

All: Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Classic Prayer: Palm Sunday Prayer from St. Buryan Parish Church

Heavenly Father, we pray to You today for all the people for whom Christ came to save, for those healthy and well, those ill and in pain, those celebrating and those mourning, help us to see them all with Your eyes. Jesus our way and truth and life, help us to be Your servants in this time of extraordinary need, help us to hear Your voice in the people around us and to be good neighbors. Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Your name for our families and community, for our nation and our world. We trust in Your name that You will hear our prayers. Lord Jesus Christ, You humbled Yourself in taking the form of a servant, and in obedience died on the cross for our salvation. Give us the mind to follow You and to proclaim You as Lord and King to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

TVC Prayer Ministry

TVC Ministry: Home Groups & Small Groups
Vocation: Retail
TVC Mission Highlight: Room in the Inn
Praying for the Persecuted Church: Nepal

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