Palm Sunday 2026

Palm Sunday is not a soft-focus moment. It’s a public declaration that forces a decision about who Jesus is and what we think we need most. We open Matthew 21:1–11 and follow Jesus into Jerusalem, where the city is stirred, the crowds shout “Hosanna,” and the King arrives in a way almost nobody expects: humble, calm, and completely in control.

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Transcript

Opening Prayer And Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 0:21

You give it to us. So this morning we just say thank you so much for loving us. God, we thank you for the hearts that have been changed, for the testimonies. God, for the hearts that were stirred. Just the con with confession that just says, We just need you. God, we want to be like you. We want to love you. We want to serve you. So, Father, make that for all of us our prayer this morning. It's in your holy name. And everybody said, Amen. Many may be seated. Amen.

Prayer For Baptisms And Witness

Reading Matthew’s Palm Sunday Account

Prophecy Fulfilled By A Humble King

When Praise Misunderstands Jesus

Responding With Surrender And Obedience

Giving As Worship And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_01 1:04

Well, if you have your Bibles with you, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 21. Matthew 21. And as we enter what is commonly referred to as Holy Week, we're going to be taking a three-part journey to the empty tomb. Today, of course, Palm Sunday, we consider our Misunderstood King. Then on Good Friday, we'll be worshiping right here again, this time joined by our friends at Second Baptist Church. If you've been here with us on Good Friday in the past, it'll feel familiar to you. We're going to sing, we're going to hear the word and have a time of repentance and then taking the Lord's table together in a very special way that night. On Easter morning, if you're so inclined, we will be with Pastor David at Second Baptist for a sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. Does anyone get up that early? 6.30 a.m. If you want to join us, I'll be there. I think Mick will be there. He's ignoring the question, but I'll be there. I know Mick will be there. Then, of course, here at 9 a.m. on Easter morning, we have our pancake Palooza, which is a big breakfast. It's a time of fun, uh, especially for the kids. Uh, it's it's fun for you old people who are just big kids at heart, which is most of you. Uh then, of course, here we have our Easter worship at 10.45. Uh, I'm looking forward to this week. Uh, we're all going to be exhausted next week, but this week is a big celebration. All the details for all of this, it's in the bulletin. Uh, it's online. We have cardstock type invitations uh in the back. You might have received one when you came in that you can use to invite people and uh to invite people to the events. Um, just so make sure you grab some on the way out. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll go to his word. Our God, we we come before you this morning with humbled hearts, seeing four souls committing themselves to you through baptism. Lord, I pray that that stirs our hearts and puts fire in our emotion for you. Today we remember the day your son entered Jerusalem riding not in earthly splendor, but in meekness and mercy. You're the God who keeps every promise, the one who sent the king that we needed, not the one that we would have chosen. And so we praise you that Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many. Lord, strengthen your church, make us a people marked by humility, repentance, and bold witness. As Jesus entered the city, so send us into our communities, not with pride or self-reliance, but with the message of salvation. Let our lives declare that Jesus is Lord. Use us to point others to the King who still saves sinners and welcomes all who come to Him by faith. And Lord, as we open up your word, give us ears to hear, remove distractions, soften resistance, soften hard hearts, and may your truth take root deeply within us. And we pray all this in the name of our King, King Jesus. Amen. Matthew 21. I'm gonna read verses one through eleven. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethpage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt 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 them 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 colt, the full of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey in the cold and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David, 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. This is God's word. Well, Palm Sunday confronts us with this incredible tension. One that is, I think it's as real today as it was this day, this moment in Jerusalem. The world was so wrapped up in its own stuff that it didn't see the forever king for who he is and what he was going to accomplish. Sadly, I think that is still very much the reality today. Israel was waiting for a king, one who would overthrow Rome, restore national strength, and reign in visible power. But Jesus enters Jerusalem not on a war horse, but on a donkey, not with force, but with humility. And this is not the king that they expected. And if we're honest, it's not always the king we naturally desire. But Jesus is the king that every man, woman, and child desperately needs. That's the reality of this day. I'm not against pomfrons or celebrating our king's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but we need to consider the crushing irony in this crowd and how the irony still exists today, and even how our own hearts are inclined to the same reaction. And so that's my goal for us this morning with the text is that we we might understand it in context of Jesus' ministry, but also uh as one of the first three big steps to the empty tomb, culminating, of course, on Easter morning. So let's jump right into this. Let's consider this first big step here. And I'm just calling this the yes and amen. Verse 4 says, 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, mounted on a donkey, on a coal, the foal of a beast of burden. So Jesus did not just stumble into Jerusalem. He sovereignly arranges and engineers his entrance. He sends his disciples ahead with very precise instructions, demonstrating that even in this humility, he is in control. This is not a passive moment. This is a purposeful act of obedience on the side of Jesus. He is fulfilling the will of his father step by step. All of the events of this entire week, including the crucifixion, are in his control. Jesus is not a victim. Jesus is the Savior. And so this scene is filled with this royal imagery, and the cloaks are laid down and branches spread out and a procession all around him. But the king is marked by humility. He's riding on a donkey, which is signifying to the ancient world peace, not conquest. He's declaring that his mission is not to overthrow the earthly powers, but to conquer Satan's sin and death. And he humbles himself to accomplish the will of God. You see, from the opening pages of Scripture, Jesus stands as the fulfillment of God's redemptive promises. All of the promises to Adam have been fulfilled in Jesus. In Genesis 3, the promise of the serpent crushing seed points forward to Jesus Christ, who would defeat the serpent at the cross. All of the promises to Abraham are fulfilled in Jesus. The covenant with Abraham, its fulfillment is he is the true offspring. Jesus is the true offspring through whom all nations are going to be blessed. The promises to Isaac and Jacob are carried forward in him, not just as a continuation of a physical lineage, but as the fulfillment of a spiritual people, those who are united in Christ by faith. We are family in Christ. Somebody. You can take your physical blood relatives and then take your family in Christ, and you are more related in Christ to them than you are even to your own family. Friends, I'm not everyone's cup of tea. Believe it or not, some people don't like me. But here's the thing: you're stuck with me forever. Somebody. And we saw some of that start with Solomon. But Jesus fulfills it perfectly because he is the greater Davidic king. He builds the true temple, not with stones, but with his people. And he doesn't reign temporarily but eternally. And he sits on the throne, not in Jerusalem, but at the right hand of God, right now. You see, the covenant promises of a secure kingdom, a faithful ruler, an unending reign is fully realized because he is the righteous king whose throne will never pass away. Jesus is king. And Jesus fulfills the prophets. Every promise of God, the Bible tells us, finds its yes in him. Jesus is the greater prophet like Moses. And he perfectly reveals God's word. He is the true and final high priest. He does not offer repeat sacrifices, but gives himself once and for all. He is the promised king in the line of David. His kingdom is eternal and unshakable. All the structures of Israel's life, the law, the sacrificial system, the temple, we're all shadows pointing forward to the greater reality that is Jesus Christ. You see, in Jesus, all these shadows give way to substance as he embodies and fulfills everything that they anticipated. Matthew makes it clear that this moment is the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy, that Israel's king would be humble and mounted on a donkey. You see, this king is faithful, not only in obedience, but in fulfillment. You see, this is not a disconnected event in history. This is not just the start of holy week. This is the unfolding of God's eternal redemptive plan that began in Genesis 1:1. What God spoke centuries before is now coming to pass in exact detail. He doesn't just represent God's promises. He is God, God's promises. His faithfulness assures us that God's word is trustworthy, his purposes are certain, his salvation is secure. See, the prophetic promises of a coming redeemer are just fulfilled in Jesus with stunning clarity. The virgin born Emmanuel, the child who is mighty God, the Prince of Peace, suffering servant of Isaiah 53. He bears the sin of his people, he's pierced for their transgressions, he brings healing through his wounds. The Psalms anticipate his suffering, his exaltation, his betrayal, his crucifixion, his resurrection. These are not vague parallels. These are precise fulfillments that demonstrate the unity and the divine authorship of the Holy Bible, of the Word of God. Jesus fulfills the great promises of a coming new covenant and a restored people. Jeremiah spoke of a covenant where God's law is written on the heart and sins are remembered no more. Ezekiel says, we will get a new heart and the indwelling of the Spirit. These promises are secured through the atoning death of Jesus Christ. He inaugurates the kingdom of God, he gathers a people from every nation, and guarantees the final restoration of all things. Friends, when we baptize people here, we see Jesus gathering men and women to himself, don't we? We see the fulfillment of prophecy. Now I'm not saying, hey, I'm a prophet, I'm simply saying we're seeing it real time. We are seeing the prophecies of God where Jesus will call men and women to himself. Every promise of God, the Bible says, finds its yes and amen through him. God's plan of redemption reaches its glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Second, look at verse 8. Here's the issue here. He was the misunderstood king. Most of the crowds spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. This is a declaration that recognizes his kingship and pleads for salvation. But their understanding, the understanding of the crowd, is incomplete. They want deliverance, but they they envision it in very political and immediate terms. They celebrate him as king, but they don't yet grasp the nature of his kingdom. Because within days, these people were going to abandon him. Some of them may even be shouting not praise but rejection. But the faithful king remains steadfast even when he's misunderstood. Jesus doesn't adjust his mission to meet their expectations, does he? Jesus is not going to change what he does to meet your expectations, is he? So this moment exposes the danger of shallow praise without really truly submitting to the Lordship of Christ. I mean, the world has changed, hasn't it? Who in here says that every now and then? Oh, the world's different. I know some of you old people do that are my age, because it's different. Pearl Jam does not belong on the oldie station. It's like 30 years old. The world has changed, but the human heart remains the same. In much the same way, the world reshapes Jesus into a figure who serves cultural or political ideologies. Jesus can be cast as a revolutionary or a moral teacher or a symbol for a cause. He's embraced, Jesus will be embraced by our world insofar as he advances human priorities. But Jesus did not come to take sides in earthly power struggles. He came to conquer Satan, sin, and death, and to save sinners. When the world praises Jesus on its own terms, it's not the Jesus of the Bible that is being celebrated. It's a little manageable Jesus of their own making. And we see this every year around this time of year. History Channel, Discovery Channel, all other like them will do documentary after documentary about a secular, historical, domesticated Jesus that likely died. Maybe we don't know. He was buried for sure, but he never rose again because we found a grave somewhere that someone thinks is his. But here's a secret. Jesus is not buried anywhere. Because Jesus is alive. And so we need to be careful that we don't try to domesticate Jesus. We don't need to make Jesus safe. We don't need to make Jesus manageable. We don't need to make Jesus agreeable. We just need to preach Jesus and Him crucified. Because that's what saves people. Jesus is not a mascot. He is not the leader of a cause. Jesus is king. Don't make Jesus into an idol that you take down from the shelf only when it suits whatever need comes around or when your position is threatened. Jesus is king. Jesus revolutionized history. But Jesus did not come to lead a revolution. Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost. And perhaps the greatest challenge today is that people in places just like this want a savior, but not a Lord. We want to be saved. But we don't want anyone to tell us what to do. I've had people say to me over my ministry, and this has been said to me dozens of times, some people just don't take Jesus as seriously as you do. Oh, I know. But I want you to take Jesus as seriously as he took you. If Jesus is your Savior, he is also your Lord. We cannot expect grace without repentance. We cannot expect blessing without obedience. Jesus is not your personal fulfillment coach. Jesus is not our tether to a bygone era where people were different. Jesus is king. Jesus demands full surrender of those who claim to be his. We must not wrap Jesus up in religious language and strip away his authority over our lives. The Palm Sunday, they wanted relief from oppression, but they didn't see their bondage, their slavery to sin. And today some may approach Jesus, he's my solution to my anxiety, or he helps me with success. He makes me better at relationships, but maybe not as the crucified Savior who calls them to die to themselves. Friends, will you wake up tomorrow morning saying Lord help me die to myself? Will you wake up tomorrow morning and say Lord may I pick up my cross today and follow you? Sometimes when Jesus doesn't meet our expectations we just move on. But Jesus not come to him Jesus did not come primarily to improve our our circumstances he might and for many people he does he came first to redeem our souls through his suffering friends it is very and this crowd proves it it's very possible to be near to Jesus to praise Jesus and completely misunderstand Jesus or not know Jesus at all why do men and women stay blind to their own need of Jesus self-awareness self-awareness is a big part of that or lack thereof when it comes to our desperate need before God sometimes we create categories of goodness and niceness especially in the church I'm nice I'm not as mean as that person sitting right next to me so I'm good I I I'm I I'm dressed better than the preacher today so I'm fine this guy doesn't even wear a tie because they don't fit my neck I have a Shrek size head stop judging me but the problem is we start doing that goodness based upon our own standard not God's standard mostly we believe that the world is full of pretty good people but the apostle Paul said the world has one category children of wrath Ephesians 2 we were by nature children of wrath like the rest of humanity but even while we were dead in our rebellion and sin God has made us alive together with Christ so we might say things well I'm not as bad as this person or we or I would never do something like that. We're still creating categories we're making sure people know that although we're imperfect we're not as bad as this other sinner over here. But when we minimize the reality of our own spiritual deadness we minimize the work of what the work that Jesus has done for us. Jesus did not die to make you into a nice acceptable church person. Jesus died to save you from the wrath of God due to your sin. Now that change from the inside out can make you into one of those things but that's not primarily why he's here if we want to feel the full weight of the love of God for us we need to first feel the total weight of our spiritual deadness we were all from birth children of wrath. And that's why to be saved means that Jesus is not just our savior he's our Lord God creates us. God created us therefore we are accountable to God it's how many people in here who have small children who created those small children let those small children run the house it's 2 a.m and we're gonna set off some fireworks in the living room not a good parent's gonna be like get in bed or else my dad wouldn't even have said that to me next thing I would have known I would have turned 18 that's when I would have woken up but we approach God completely differently though don't we God I know you created me I know you're all but I'm gonna do whatever I want and that's that's the problem is our sin against God. But the good news is that God has given us a solution to the problem of sin. We create the problem God gives us a solution I mean the solution that we come up with is we're gonna earn it we're gonna make God happy with us but of course ultimately we will fail but God sends his son and Jesus lives a sinless life willingly goes to the cross in our place and there he's nailed outside of Jerusalem on the Roman wood and and he dies as a substitute for us and he's buried and then he rose again on the third day and God takes all of the awful weight of our sin and he he strikes it onto Jesus. And so what do we do with that information? God expects every one of us to respond in repentance and faith to turn from our sin and to believe in Jesus Christ. You see the gospel is not a religious word of encouragement to seemingly well people who want to add a little Jesus to their life. Some of you are so busy you're already thinking about what you've got to do this afternoon, tomorrow, the next day and the day after that Jesus is not an add-on to your already silly calendar Jesus is Lord Jesus has taken our sin. God expects us to respond to that with repentance and faith and that news is is not news that comes to those who want to add that little bit of Christianity but it it the the gospel is a message to the rebel heart do you have a rebel heart you say well I don't I I think I'm a religious person. Something happened to me in the past I think I don't know friends you can be antagonistic towards him you can be completely apathetic about him but in reality you're rebelling against him. And Jesus comes to us by the Bible and says do an about turn and believe in me. That's how we're included in the solution that God has provided belief in the good news of Jesus Christ. That's what defines a Christian John 316 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and then here's that believe in him part that whosoever believes in him you see there's a there's a but in there isn't there for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever that whosoever believes in him that's the turning point of that verse isn't it we don't just believe that Jesus existed or that he was a wonderful person. We believe that he that we've sinned against God that we deserve punishment and we believe that he has taken the wrath of God for us on the cross and that he rose again on the third day. You see the Bible promises salvation comes by believing that and that that faith will produce it will also be coupled with repentance it's a lifetime repentance where we turn away from our rebellion against God I don't think we bring an immediate end to our sinning but we don't live at peace with our sins ever again you see if God is ever going to count us righteous it's gonna be on someone else's record and that's Jesus. So we need to believe in him turn to him turn from our sin and be saved the last piece here then is what it looks like living as a kingdom citizen. And this is the point of application here and it's really a a question how should we respond to the king it's good to know how the crowd misunderstood what Jesus truly came to accomplish but the only question left for us is what is our response to the king? That we don't misunderstand the king. And this application is for the Christian for the citizen of the kingdom of God. Now when I say Christian I'm not saying a church member I'm not saying a board member or a person of prominence in the local church. I'm talking about someone who comes to a place or and I'm also not talking about someone who comes to a place like this infrequently and wears the badge Christian and says oh yes I'm a Christian because I'm a member somewhere somewhere it's not I think I'm talking about someone who has heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ has turned from their sin and placed their faith completely on Jesus Christ. That is what makes someone a Christian amen somebody that's the only thing that makes someone a Christian repentance and faith. Church membership is good. Baptism is wonderful it's commands taking part a in a place like this is is amazing but what makes us Christian is believing in Jesus Christ and our first and primary response to King Jesus Christian listen is humble submission Jesus doesn't enter our lives to be an advisor or to be an accessory but to be our sovereign Lord. You see it's very easy and and Palm Sunday proves this to be the crowd that offers praise with our lips but resists the rule of Jesus in our hearts you see true discipleship begins when we lay down our expectations when we lay down our demands when we lay down our preferences when we we our claims of authority and we bow before Jesus Christ that's the posture of repentance it's a recognition that God is God and we are not that kingdom comes not by our design but by his decree second we need to respond to the king with trusting faith you say oh Gulai I did that I trusted in Jesus are you trusting in Jesus present tense I don't think you can lose your salvation but you got to be saved we need to respond to him with trusting faith not just saving faith but an enduring trusting faith you see the crowds wanted that immediate deliverance but he came to accomplish a deeper salvation and so as Christians we we we trust not only in what he can do for us now but in who he is and what he's already secured for us. Faith clings to Christ in triumph in trial believing that his ways are wiser and that our than ours and that his purposes are always good the path that Jesus leads us on is not always going to be rainbows and lollipops is it as yours the key is though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil why because he's with me even when the path leads through suffering we trust the king because he is he he was forsaken but he was also exalted thirdly we respond in joyful obedience Jesus said if you love me you will what mumble if you love me you will keep my commandments if you love me you will keep my commandments thank you you see obedience is not burdensome duty is it it is it is glad allegiance to a good and gracious king and where the Palm Sunday crowd celebrated briefly they also fell away quickly see the true believer endures in faithful obedience this means we align ourselves with the word of God we pursue holiness we love others we live as a citizen of his kingdom in a watching world you see our obedience doesn't earn his favor it flows from his favor to us and that joyful joy obedience is joyful here's the challenge today I think Paul had more joy in prison than most Christians do at church on any given Sunday morning we can't be joyfully obedient if we're angry all the time but I'll leave that for next week we also respond with bold witness see he entered Jerusalem he now reigns in glory he's worthy of proclamation and praise one way that I can tell if somebody knows Jesus is they won't stop talking about him with others one way to know if you are truly in Christ is you're telling other people about him. We don't keep this king to ourselves we declare him to others in calling them to repentance and faith. And we worship him not just in moments of celebration but in the ordinary boring rhythms of life and we recognize his worth in all things these cries of Hosanna were kind of fleeting but the our response must be a lifelong song that is steady and and and surrendered and centered on Jesus and then finally the response of the king is to follow him Jesus doesn't save us to leave us where he found us he doesn't save people to leave them unchanged he calls us all to a new life under his rule so to follow him is to confess him openly to begin walking in obedience to live as one who belongs to his kingdom it costs a lot but it's also a gracious call because the king who calls us is the one who gave himself for us and so to reject him I think is to remain in sin or the Bible says to remain in sin in judgment but to receive him is to find forgiveness new life and eternal hope and so I I'll I'll end this way we're gonna conclude our time well I don't want to forget that make sure you bid on the cheesecake because somebody went and bid early and expensive and now I can't afford it so get that cheesecake up because he said he'd give it to me. No he didn't say that um yeah I mean just in passing I want to thank everyone who who did this because this is a very special year because this is the first year we're doing a kids camp for the little ones which is an actual overnight camp for them. So pray for them but also pray for the people that are taking them. But bid bid high bid often out bid the person that is in front of you help us offset the cost of those that can and I say that because one central aspect of our following Jesus is our faithfulness to give to him what is already his. And so today we do that by ending our time in song and as we sing we're gonna have a time of offering as well a little bit different than we've done it in the past but this is to remind us that giving is not a moment of obligation it's a it's an act of worship. Everything that we possess our time our resources our lives have been entrusted to us by the grace of Christ. And so we respond not to earn his favor because we already have it in Christ and that giving is a visible confession that Jesus is our treasure. And the scripture teaches us that God loves a cheerful giver, one who does not give reluctantly or with compulsion but a heart that is actually shaped by the gospel. And there's there's several ways to give here at FBC many people and I'd love it if we all did this but many people give once a month because they budget it that's how we do it. We do it online we give once a month some give week to week we have offering boxes in the foyer in the back today I want to invite you to to give in a different way as we sing Mick's going to come up we're gonna sing our last song and as we're singing we put a couple of offering plates down here. And if you want to make an offering this way I I want to invite you just to come and and make an offering as we sing as an act of worship visible act of worship for you. But however you choose to give uh we want you to do so prayerfully as an act of worship to the Lord and and so we should give with thankful hearts. I'm gonna pray we're gonna sing our song and I I would ask that you give cheerfully back to God. But let's pray together Gracious Father we thank you for your abundant mercy and provision that every good and perfect gift comes from your hand and for those who would bring offerings Lord that you might bless it. And Lord for those who want to come and just pray at the altar that they would feel led to do so Lord I just pray that we as a church would see you high and lifted up that we would have a vision of you in the heavens glorified and that would change everything about us. That we would be so anxious to tell people about you that we just couldn't help ourselves and so Lord as we enter this holy week start a fire in our hearts put a burning in our bellies Lord for every single person here that we might be drawn closer to you that we might have a deeper desire for you that we would desire to tell more and more people about you for the sake of your kingdom we pray this in Jesus' name amen