The King's Entrance

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 29th of March, 2026 - Palm Sunday.  If all went well, a recording of the service may be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams for the older services or https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch3115/streams for later services.]

On what would be His last visit to Jerusalem, Jesus was greeted by a cheering throng.  We call this His Triumphal Entry, and at first it indeed seemed to be a celebration of triumph.  Of course, we know how events played out that week - and the weeks that followed - and we can see that the true triumph was not even close to what the people thought they were celebrating.  They came out and lined the street that Jesus was entering on, waving palm branches and laying their cloaks on the roadway so that the marchers wouldn’t kick up too much dust.  And they shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest”.

"Hosanna" is a Hebrew exclamation meaning "save us" or "please deliver us," acting as both a desperate plea for help and a shout of joyous praise.  The expression is derived from Psalm 118:25, which includes "Save us, we pray", and symbolizes recognition of the Messiah.  It is not simply a joyous cheer like "hooray," but rather a cry to God for salvation, particularly in the context of the Messiah.  Often used in Christian worship, this phrase means calling for salvation from the highest heaven and praising God with the highest praise.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds shouted "Hosanna!", believing he was the promised King who would free them from tyranny and oppression.  And indeed, Jesus did free us – not from the Roman occupation, but from the tyranny of death and the oppression of sin.

This Triumphal Entry was such an important event, then and now, that all four Gospel writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – all included it in their accounts.  The Apostles Matthew and John both entered the city along with Jesus and His other disciples and followers.  Please listen and follow along to how Matthew recorded the events of that day in the 21st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 17, and I’ll be reading from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”

4 All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,

‘Look, your King is coming to you,

humble, and sitting on a donkey,

and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

10 When He entered Jerusalem, the entire city was moved, saying, “Who is He?”

11 The crowds said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

12 Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who sold and bought in the temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’”

14 The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely displeased 16 and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read,

‘Out of the mouth of children and infants

You have perfected praise’?”

17 And He left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and He lodged there.

--Matthew 21:1-17 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus came to earth at Your bidding, to carry out Your plan for the salvation of mankind.  Even while knowing exactly what lay ahead, how He would suffer and die, Jesus entered Jerusalem that last time, to the cheers of the crowd that would soon turn on Him.  Thank You for sending Your Messiah not as a conquering hero, but as a humble servant.  Thank You for caring so much about Your fallen creation that You would shower us with Your mercy and grace.  Father, sometimes we forget just what all this means to us, what Jesus did for us.  We admit that we are not very obedient servants ourselves, failing to follow the example Jesus set.  Please forgive us our failures, Father.  Please help us be more righteous and obedient in our daily walk.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand our message today.  This we humbly pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A cute cartoon shows a fourth-grade boy standing toe-to-toe and nose-to-nose with his teacher. Behind them we see a blackboard covered with math problems the boy hasn't finished. With rare perception the boy says, "I'm not an underachiever - you're an overexpecter!"

In Jesus' day, the Jewish people had been wrongly led to believe that the Messiah would come as a great military leader who would defeat the Romans and free them from taxes and tyranny.  Jesus was nothing like what they expected.  Even His grand entrance into Jerusalem was on the back of a donkey, not a prancing white charger.

But Jesus was certainly not an underachiever.  The people were overexpecters.  They just had their expectations confused, with the wrong priorities.  They read what they wanted to see from the words of the old prophets, not what God intended for them to learn and understand.  And because Jesus did not meet their expectations, they refused to believe in Him, to accept Him as the Christ.  But you know, in the end, they did exactly as God planned, so that Jesus could defeat death and that our sin could be forgiven.

Looking back at our scripture reading, in verse 16, in response to the Pharisees’ indignant question, Jesus responded with a line of their scripture, “Out of the mouth of children and infants You have perfected praise.”  This is based on the 2nd verse of the 8th Psalm of David.  One translation I found puts it like this: “Even little babies shall praise Him!”

The Pharisees were complaining that the people were praising Jesus, even noting His lineage to the house of King David.  And He replied, “Yes, they are, and even the little babies lift their praise.”  This fits very nicely to a comment Jesus made a little earlier to this that the Apostle Luke captured.  Please listen to Luke’s telling of the event as Jesus and the gang approach Jerusalem, from the 19th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 37 through 40…

37 When He was coming near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with loud voices for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying:

‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40 He answered them, “I tell you, if these should be silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

--Luke 19:37-40 (MEV)

Even the little babies will praise Him, and the stones will cry out their praise.  It wouldn’t matter what the Pharisees might do.  Not even the Romans in all their military might could stop them. If the people were silenced and the children made quiet, still the very stones would cry out “Hosanna”!  For the King has come!

Some people just have to make an entrance.  You’ve seen it.  Especially among some celebrities and politicians.  They have to make a big, splashy entrance so that everyone will notice.  They want to be seen.  They crave the spotlight.  When foreign rulers come to visit, the media all make a big show of it.

Now when Jesus entered Jerusalem that day, His followers and the people certainly made a huge spectacle of it.  But not Jesus.  He could have proudly rode in, sitting on a fine horse, surrounded by the faithful, leading an army of followers, smiling and waving to the crowds.  But no - here came the King, riding on a lowly donkey.  And this was not just a king, but the King – the King that Isaiah prophesied, the King of kings!

Even though knowing His fate, our King chose to enter the Holy City in the same manner that He lived: humbly.  While the people around Him all made a big show of it, to the displeasure of the Pharisees, Jesus remained humble.  Yes, He went into the Temple and drove out the sellers and moneychangers.  And Yes, He stood up to the Pharisees.  But to the people, to us, He showed humility.  He showed us how to live by how He lived.

Let us be more humble in our day-to-day activities, remembering that the meek shall inherit the earth.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who set the example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for allowing Your Son to be praised and cheered as He entered Jerusalem.  He and You both knew how the people’s attitude would drastically change in just a few days, but at least for now they welcomed Him.  Thank You for letting us understand the true nature of our Lord’s triumphal entry.  Jesus did not come as some powerful military leader, yet He triumphed over sin and conquered death, our greatest enemies.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son for our sake.  Father, we know that too often we act and react without giving thought to how You would view it.  Sometimes we know we’re doing wrong in Your sight but we continue anyway.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  And forgive us when we hesitate to forgive others and show mercy.  And please help us do a better job of sharing our Lord Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and Jesus’ sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your word, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You knew exactly where Your disciples should look to find Your ride into Jerusalem, and You knew the owner would allow them to take the donkey and her colt for Your use.  And You knew what the next seven days held for You, Your disciples, and all believers even today.  Humiliation, pain, death, and resurrection awaited You.  Yet You went through it all for us, so that our sin could be forgiven and that we might receive everlasting life.  But Lord, we don’t always think about what we can do to show how much we understand and appreciate Your sacrifice.  You left us as Your church, Your body here on earth to continue what You started, but we struggle to do as You commanded.  Please forgive us our weaknesses and failures, Lord.  Please strengthen us to carry out the mission You gave us.  Help us reach out to the non-believing world, sharing the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Help us, guide us in our attempts to bring the lost to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.