Sermon Notes for April 5, 2009

Palm Sunday

“Watching God’s Sovereign Plan

Unfold On Palm Sunday”

Luke 19:28-44

Introduction

The LAST WEEK In the Life of Jesus.
It was Passover week.
the most holy of all Jewish holidays; a day to remember the deliverance of the Jews from Egypt
a time when Jewish pilgrims would come from all over Israel and the world for this special event
a city of 20,000 would grow into some 200,000 people
It would be the last week in the life of Jesus.
this day would be Sunday –Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey
Monday He would cleanse the Temple of the moneychangers
Tuesday He would confront the Jewish leaders
Wednesday He would apparently rest
Thursday would be the Passover and His arrest
Friday – would be the trials of Jesus, His crucifixion and His burial
Saturday – He would be in the grave
Sunday He would rise from the grave
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LAST WEEK In The Life Of Jesus.
How did the events of Passover week transpire?
Did Jesus expect them to happen?
Or was He “surprised” at the how everything happened?

I. The PREPARATION of Jesus

The PERSPECTIVE Of Jesus.

Vs. 28 – “After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”

You can ask yourself… Did Jesus know what was going on? And,did Jesus know what was going to happen to Him?

a. or was He simply taken off by the crowd and then later killed by the
Jews?

was it like Dr. Albert Schweitzer said in his book Quest For The Historical Jesus – “What am I doing on this Cross?”

You can look in the Bible, which CLEARLY shows that Jesus knew EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON.
Jesus would fulfill prophecy

Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout,
Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous
and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the
foal of a donkey.”

1. look how “specific” the prophecy was

a. “your King comes to you”

b. “righteous and having salvation”

c. “gentle and riding on a donkey”

d. on a “colt,” the foal of a donkey

2. this event was prophesied some 500 years before the birth of
Jesus Christ!

Jesus would fulfill the law

Exodus 12:3 – “Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household.”

1. the Old Testament taught that the Passover lamb was to be
presented on the 10th day of the month of Nisan for sacrifice

a. THE DAY THAT JESUS RODE INTO
JERUSALEM WAS THE 10TH DAY OF THE
MONTH OF NISAN!

b. thus, Jesus was clearly “presenting” Himself as the
Passover Lamb

2. Jesus would “celebrate” the Passover on the 14th day of the
month
Numbers 9:1b-3 - He said, "Have the Israelites celebrate the
Passover at the appointed time. Celebrate it at the appointed
time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in
accordance with all its rules and regulations."

3. thus, Jesus would

a. present Himself on the 10th of Nisan

b. and then celebrate Passover on the 14th day of Nisan

1. either He “knew” exactly what He was doing

2. or it was an incredible coincidence!

II. The PLAN OF Jesus.

A. Jesus Would Force The Issue.

1. Notice throughout the gospels when Jesus said that it was “NOT His time.”

a. John 2:4 – the wedding at Cana – “Dear woman, why do you involve
me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not yet come.’”

b. John 7:30 – the religious leaders tried to take Him – “At this they tried
to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His time had not
yet come.”

2. But notice also what the Scriptures said as Jesus prepared Himself for the cross -
IT IS THE TIME!

a. John 13:1 – at Passover – “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus
knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the
Father.”

b. John 17:1 – Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer – “After Jesus said this, he
looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Father the time has come. Glorify
your Son, that your Son may glorify you.’”

c. Luke 19:28 – our text today - “After Jesus had said this, He went on
ahead, going up to Jerusalem.”

B. Jesus Would Force The Issue With The Religious Leaders.

Look at what Jesus had been doing before His entry into Jerusalem:

a. feeding the 5,000

b. healing two blind men

c. healing a man of leprosy

d. raising Lazarus from the dead

2. As a result, the crowds were treating Jesus “like a rock star.”

3. His entrance into Jerusalem was His way of “forcing the issue” or “throwing
down the gauntlet.”

a. He would come out into full view

b. He would appear as if He were a conquering King

c. He would receive the praise of the people

This event of Jesus would send the Jewish leaders “over the edge.”
William Barclay – “It is a breath taking thing to think of a man with a price on his head, an outlaw, deliberately riding into a city in such a way that every eye was fixed upon Him.”
Leon Morris – “There is an audacity about this whole procedure.”
This was a sovereign act by a sovereign God to do His sovereign will.

a. “it was the time”

how else do you account for the fact that Jesus, THE LAMB OF GOD, would “coincidentally” be crucified at PASSOVER! GIVE GOD SOME CREDIT HERE!
Kent Hughes – “What we see here on Jesus’ part is careful premeditation. He was carefully coordinating everything. The day and hour had been selected in eternity past. The timing was precise. The mode of His entry, a previously unridden donkey, was carefully chosen. Never before had Jesus done anything to promote a public demonstration. In fact, He had repeatedly withdrawn from the crowds if there was any hint of such a thing. But now He invited attention, even though that meant courting danger.”

III. The PRESENTATION of Jesus.

In Order To “Push The Envelope,” His Plan Was To Ride Into Jerusalem, Thus Showing His Reign Over The City.

Vs. 29-34 - As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, He sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'" Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it."

He would ride into the city on a foal; or the foal of a donkey.
In Jesus’ day, it was customary for Kings to ride into the city
during times of war, Kings would ride proudly into the city on a horse
in times of peace, Kings would often ride into the city on a donkey

B. Jesus Would Usher In His Reign By Riding Into Jerusalem On A
Donkey.

Jesus communicated that He was a King.
Jesus communicated that He was a King who came in peace.
By choosing a donkey to ride into Jerusalem on, there is also a lesson from the donkey for us as believers.
He CHOOSES US; we don’t choose Him

1. Was there “anything” that made this donkey “special”?

2. Did the donkey “approach” Jesus to offer its help?

He CHOOSES those who have “never been ridden,” “never been used”

1. who have no idea what they are being called to do

2. who have no training or understanding at all

c. IT WAS NOT ABOUT THE DONKEY HE CHOSE . . . it WAS
ABOUT JESUS!

Corrie Ten Boom was a famous Christian whose testimony of suffering
in Nazi concentration camps and God’s grace through it all touched
millions of lives. One time in a press conference following a ceremony
in which Corrie Ten Boom was given an honorary degree, one of the
reporters asked her if it was difficult remaining humble while hearing so
much acclaim. She replied immediately, “Young man, when Jesus
Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a
donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing
garments in the road and singing praises, do you think that for one
moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was
for him?” She continued, “If I can be the donkey on which Jesus
Christ rides in His glory, I give Him all the praise and all the honor.”

IV. The PERSPECTIVE of Jesus.

The HUMILITY of Jesus.

Vs. 35-36 – “They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.”

Before you get all caught up in this outpouring of love toward Jesus, let’s look at what REALLY happened.
the obvious

1. after the donkey was found and brought to Jesus, the disciples
created a saddle with their clothes and PUT Jesus on the
donkey

2. then they laid their clothes along the way

a. rolling out the “red carpet”

b. symbolic of submission to a ruler. “We place ourselves
at your feet, even to walk over if necessary.”

3. the other gospels say that the people put palm branches along
the way

a. palm branches were often put on graves to symbolize
eternity

b. some 100 years earlier, Judas Maccabaeus drove the
inhabiting Syrians out of Jerusalem

1. the crowds received him into the city waving
palm branches

2. the coins that were minted at that time had palm
branches imprinted on them

4. then the people along the began to praise God for Jesus and
His ministry

the less obvious

1. Jesus’ ride was a “rental”

a. it was NOT a horse, but a donkey

b. it wasn’t even His donkey

c. Pastor David Dykes – A donkey isn’t a thoroughbred
horse, it’s a plain, ugly animal. A horse is a
magnificent animal; it has a coat that shines in the sun,
beautiful large eyes, and a flowing mane that ripples in
the breeze. It has long graceful legs that shorten up the
miles of a journey. Take a look at a donkey on the other
hand. Nobody would ever call a donkey beautiful.
They have floppy ears that are too large and their
hair looks disheveled. They make a braying sound
that always makes us laugh. In Jesus’ day, horses were
the Ferraris – donkeys were the pickup trucks.

2. the parade was reactive

a. the parade was not planned, but extemporaneous

b. if a king were to plan a parade, it would take weeks to
plan with all kinds of “pomp and circumstance”

c. illustrations:

1. when President Bill Clinton came to my
hometown of Clarksdale, MS a few years ago

a. it took months to prepare

b. at a cost of 8 million dollars!

2. On December 4, 1977, in Bangui, Capital of
the Central African Empire, the world press
witnessed the coronation of his Imperial
Majesty, Bokassa I. The price tag for that one
event, designed and choreographed by French
designer Olivier Brice, was $25 million. At
10:10 a.m. that morning, the blare of trumpets
and the roll of drums announced the approach of
His Majesty. The procession began with eight of
Bokassa’s twenty-nine official children
parading down the royal carpet to their seats.
They were followed by Jean Bedel Bokassa II,
heir to the throne, dressed in a white admiral’s
uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red
pillow to the left of the throne. Catherine
followed, the favorite of Bokassa’s nine wives.
She was wearing a $73,000 gown made in
Paris, strewn with pearls she had picked out
herself. The Emperor had arrived in a gold
eagle-bedecked imperial coach drawn by six
matched Anglo-Norman horses. He wore a
thirty-two-pound robe decorated with 785,000
strewn pearls and gold embroidery. On his
brow he wore a gold crown of laurel wreaths,
like those worn by Roman consuls of old, a
symbol of the favor of the gods. As the “Sacred
March” came to a conclusion, Bokassa seated
himself in his $2.5 million eagle throne, took
his gold laurel wreath off, and, as Napoleon 173
years before had done, took his $2.5 million
crown, which was topped with an 80-carat
diamond, and placed it upon his head.

3. At her coronation in 1838, Queen Victoria of
England wore a crown encrusted with giant
rubies and sapphires surrounding a 309-carat
diamond. Her scepter was capped with an even
larger diamond, cut from the Star of Africa and
weighing 516 ½ carats.

4. Julius Caesar entered Rome after a successful
campaign. He was carried on a golden chariot
pulled by 40 elephants.

3. the crowd was rowdy

Vs. 37-39 - When He came near the place where the road goes
down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began
joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they
had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the
Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

a. it was Sunday and the crowd was full of praise

b. please realize “who” would be in this crowd
1. some of the 5,000 whom Jesus had fed

2. the two blind men who “saw” a parade for the
first time

3. Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead,
as Lazarus’ home, Bethany, was only about a
mile from Jerusalem

4. and all of the people who had “heard” about
these miracles

c. they all must have wondered: Is this our Messiah? Will
this be the one that returns Israel as a world power?

The HONOR of Jesus.
The anger of the religious leaders.

Vs. 39 – “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

the religious leaders were “appalled” at the praise that was being directed at Jesus
the religious leaders didn’t believe in using physical force to stop the cheers of the people
and they didn’t want to call upon the Romans to stop this, so they appealed to Jesus Himself to quiet His own disciples
The answer of Jesus.

Vs. 40 – “I tell you,” He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

a. DESPITE the fact that the parade was thrown together

b. DESPITE the eventual empty praise of the crowd

c. JESUS ACCEPTED THEIR PRAISE!

d. in fact, Jesus told the leaders that if the people didn’t praise Him, the
rocks of the earth would do so instead

1. this statement of Jesus revealed that He knew EXACTLY who
He was

2. for Jesus knew His impact on creation itself

a. look at Romans 8:19-22 – “The creation waits in
eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its
own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom
of the children of God. We know that the whole
creation has been groaning as in the pains of
childbirth right up to the present time.”

b. Do you realize that Jesus is the Lord of all creation?

1. look at Colossians 1:16 – “All things were
created by Him and for Him.”

2. look at how Jesus “ruled” over creation

a. Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered.

b. He spoke to the winds and they were
silent.

c. He walked on water.

d. He rode on a donkey that had never been
ridden.

e. look at what happened after Jesus Christ
died on the cross

Matthew 27:51 – “At that moment the
curtain of the Temple was torn in two
from top to bottom. The earth shook and
the rocks split.”

1. so, in some sense, the rocks “did”
speak

2. how could the earth keep silent
when their creator died?

IV. The PAIN of Jesus.

A. The WAILING of Jesus.

1. We have clearly seen what was SPIRITUALLY happening as Jesus entered
Jerusalem.

a. He was “offering” Himself as the Passover Lamb

b. He was “causing” the religious leaders to respond

2. However, look at what was PHYSICALLY happening as Jesus entered
Jerusalem.

a. He had come from Bethany, about one mile outside of Jerusalem

He had been welcomed and praised by His disciples and others who had seen and heard of His miracles
He was placed upon a donkey on the Mount of Olives

1. the Mount gave the clearest panoramic view of the city of
Jerusalem

2. He could see the Temple, one of the true wonders of the world

3. He could see the people lined up on each side of the road

4. He could see the gates of Jerusalem

3. We must also see what EMOTIONALLY happened as well.

a. verse41says that as Jesus took all of this in, He began to weep

Vs. 41 – “As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept
over it.”

1. the New Testament gives two accounts of Jesus weeping in
Scripture