https://www.bible.com/events/49419788
Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus
Encounter The Cross Part 3
Victory comes through suffering and sacrifice not strength and striving
Today we will look at “the road to the cross” as we take a closer look at what we call Palm Sunday or the triumphal entry.
Jesus surprises us.
Consider the triumphal entry when they thought they were welcoming a mighty warrior king, but instead they were ushering the suffering savior to death on a cross.
Matthew 21:1-11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
As they question, “Who is this?”:
Adam will tell you, It is the seed of the woman that shall bruise the serpent’s head. (Genesis 3:14-15)
Ask Abraham, he will tell you, It is “Melchizedek King of Salem,” King of Peace. (Genesis 14:18)
Jacob will tell you, He is Shiloh of the tribe of Judah. (Genesis 49:10)
Isaiah will tell you, “Immanuel,” “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6)
Jeremiah will tell you, The Branch of David, “the Lord our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah 23:6)
Daniel will tell you, He is the Messiah. (Daniel 9:26)
Hosea will tell you, He is “the Lord God of hosts; the Lord is His memorial.” (Hosea 12:5)
John the Baptist will tell you, He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
The great Jehovah has proclaimed from His throne, “This is My beloved Son.” (Matthew 3:17)
We, His disciples, declare, This is Jesus, the Messiah, the Prince of life, the Redeemer of the world.
And the prince of the powers of darkness acknowledges Him, saying, “I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.” (Mark 1:24)
Zechariah 9:9-12
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
We don’t expect that sequence of three words to describe a king:
righteous…victorious…lowly
The tragedy of this event was the fickleness of the people. At this point they are acclaiming the Lord Jesus as the long expected Messiah – within a few days they were crying for His death!
Luke 19:41-44
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Paul Wallace
He came in peace to give the people peace. They preferred salvation from taxation to salvation of their souls – and so in a few days they would prefer Barabbas to be freed instead of Jesus. Jesus could see that this was their mindset, and so in the midst of this praise, with people waving the palm branches like a national flag, Jesus wept.”
WHAT WE THINK WILL SAVE US CAN’T,
WHAT WE NEVER IMAGINED COULD, WILL.