Palm Sunday 2026

Palm Sunday reveals that while the crowd rightly recognized Jesus as King, they misunderstood His mission. They expected a political Savior who would overthrow Rome, but Jesus came as a humble King riding on a colt to deal with a far greater problem—sin. When He didn’t meet their expectations, many turned away. In the same way, we can be tempted to follow a version of Jesus that fits our desires rather than submitting to who He truly is. The call of this passage is to trust and follow the real Jesus—our sacrificial Savior and risen King—who offers not just what we want, but what we need most. 

Transcript

Palm Sunday And A Hard Question

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, I'm gonna begin. Uh if you have your Bibles, go with me to Matthew chapter 21. I'll be honest, I have a uh opening um scripture or uh opening line and illustration that I'm I was super excited to share with you. It's funny and drives home the point, but how can I do that in this moment? So we're just jumping in. That all right? Today, as I've said many times, we've recognized this Palm Sunday commemorating Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the crowd hails him as king as he rides into the royal city. The Jewish people at this point had been waiting for the Old Testament promises of a coming Messiah, a messianic king who would save God's people, restoring once and for all the throne of their beloved King David. And so they hear of Jesus, and maybe some of them have met him and they think this could be him. We think this is the Messiah, the king of the Jews. But here's what's so disheartening that was Sunday. But by the end of the week, these people who were shouting out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Some of those very people likely were crying out with the crowds, crucify him, crucify him, and crucify him. And the reason for that is that this crowd on Palm, that first Palm Sunday, had a very different view of who the king of the Jews would be and his mission. The question I want to pose to you this morning is do you have an accurate view of Jesus? Are you following the real Jesus or who you think Jesus should be? Do you want a Jesus who is wants to follow your agenda? Or do you want the Jesus whose agenda you should follow? Look at verse 1. Now, when they, this is Jesus and his disciples, drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, and 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. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples they stop here by this little village called Beth Page. So Jesus instructs his disciples, think of this. He says, I want you to go on into the city, to the village, and you're gonna see a donkey in her cult. And here's what I want you to do. I want you just to untie it and take it. And if anybody says it, the owner comes out, says something to you, what in the world are you doing? Here's what I want you to tell them. The Lord needs it. I mean, think about this. This is not even in the first century a regular thing. Imagine this morning if you went out after uh Matt, you go out after service today and you see somebody trying to hot wire your beautiful truck, and you threaten to call the police and you ask them, what in the world do you think you're doing? That's my truck, and they say, Oh, it's okay. The Lord needs it. I mean, really, that's what's going on here. You think about that? Sometimes the Lord will ask you to do things you do not understand. And by the way, if the Lord you think the Lord is telling you to do that today, you might want to make sure that's the Lord. The question is this morning is why does Jesus at this moment need a donkey or colt? Would you not expect a king to ride in on a white horse to this royal procession? Well, look at verse 4, and Jesus tells us this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you. This is a messianic prophecy. Humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the full of a beast of burden. The disciples went and did as Jesus directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put them on their cloaks, and he sat on them. So this is a prophecy. This is Jesus fulfilling a prophecy found in Zechariah 9, verse 9. Let me read that for you. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey. On a colt, the foal of a donkey. This is paradoxical. Behold, your king is coming. Riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Jesus here is fulfilling yet another prophecy that he is the Messiah, the king. And what a humble king he is. Look at verse 8. Most of the crowds spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees. John's gospel tells us those were palm branches. They 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 listen, the crowd said, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. What is the deal with the cloaks and palm branches here? Well, the scattering of cloaks in Jesus' path echoes the way that kings entered royal cities. Let me just give you a biblical example in 2 Kings chapter 9. You don't have to turn there. Elisha sends a servant to anoint Jehu, king over Israel. And let me read you 2 Kings 9:13. Then in haste every man took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed Jehu is king. This is the crowd proclaiming Jesus is king. Most of us have a coat closet full of multiple jackets. Like if you lost your jacket this week, you probably have another one that you could just put on. But in the first century, that was generally not the case. This cloak was very precious and was used for many different things, and most people had but one. We have a picture here of someone holding another in the highest regard. The crowd is making a clear statement in the high hopes that this is their king, anointed by God Himself. So they have it right, don't they? Jesus is king. But they have a misconception of what he came to do. And we know this because they're waving palm branches. Think about this. Palm branches were symbolic of Jewish nationalism and victory. Just a couple of centuries before, many of you know this story. Judas Maccabe arrived in Jerusalem after conquering the armies that had oppressed Israel. You remember this? As he entered the city, he too welcomed, the crowd welcomed him with the waving of palm branches. And now Israel is under the heavy hand of Rome. And what do they want? They want their independence. They want their own king, they want to be their own sovereign nation again. And so when Jesus comes in, here's what they're thinking: oh, he's bringing national victory. He's going to defeat Rome. We will again be a nation. So to add to the celebration, the crowds begin singing royal messianic hymns. They begin shouting in verse 9. Taken, these are words that are taken from Psalm 118. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Another prophecy fulfilled by Jesus. They recognize, in some sense, this is the king that we've been long awaiting. And they start shouting, Hosanna, which uh is the transliteration of the Hebrew word that means, oh, save us. And by welcoming Jesus as the Son of David, that the crowd makes this claim and this hope explicit. David, their great king, this is the new and better David, the one who had established David's throne forever. So you say, what's the issue? Where is the misconception? Because is Jesus their king? Indeed. He is their Messiah. So the answer is yes, they got it right, but we know that he came not to deliver them at this time from Rome, but to deliver them from their sin. See, the people of Israel here are willing to submit to Jesus and to honor him. But they want to submit on their terms, in as much as Jesus is serving their own agenda. Are you with me? Israel wants a king, but they want a warrior like David who will take out their Goliath. To be sure, Jesus in the end will come, and he will be a warrior. He'll come back as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and he will wipe out every enemy of God's people, and he will establish his kingdom, and he will uh abolish the devil himself, casting him into the lake of fire. But in this triumphal entry on this first Palm Sunday, he comes not to deal with Rome, but to deal with the greater problem, namely sin. He comes not just for Israel, and the Jews didn't like this, but that through Israel, all the peoples, you and I today, could be saved. So when the Israelites, this is my point, realize Jesus' purpose does not align with theirs, they reject him as king. Some of them end up, most of them want him dead. They cry again, end of the week, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Not blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. I heard one pastor say it like this on Palm Sunday. They were crying, hail him, hail him. And on Good Friday, they were crying out, nail him, nail him. When Jesus doesn't meet their demands, they're out. They have a wrong Jesus of their coming Messiah and his purposes. And beloved, this is so relevant to us today because many people in this culture, and dare I say, even in the church, have their own views of Jesus. They don't want the Jesus who asks them to forgive their enemies, but their own version of Jesus. They don't want the Jesus who asks them daily to take up their cross, but their own version of Jesus. Not the Jesus who tells them to walk in sexual purity, but their version of Jesus. The Jews were looking for a king that would overthrow the Roman Empire, and our culture has many misconceptions about Jesus and his mission just like them. And I'm gonna listen to me very carefully. Abby's gonna put up as I go through this some pictures. These are not meant to be sacrilegious or funny. These are, I want you to remember these, were visual people, okay? And I want you to remember these. I'm gonna give you some of the misconceptions people in America and Western culture have about Jesus. Some think he is self-help Jesus. They're not supposed to be funny. Those who want to self-help Jesus, you know what they're looking for? They're looking for a savior who will help them be better versions of themselves. You know what they want? They want a divine Dr. Phil.

unknown 14:10

Come on.

The Gospel King Trades Places

Lion And Lamb Final Invitation

SPEAKER_00 14:11

Next, and I'm gonna step on some toes here. There's Patriot Jesus. This is what many of you have in mind when you think of Jesus. And I'm deadly serious. Like Israel in the first century, many Americans are looking for patriot Jesus. They say, Jesus, I want you to fulfill my political agenda. Some of you are, most of you I would say, are looking for Republican Jesus. And some of you perhaps Democrat Jesus, but can I submit to you today? Jesus is not a Democrat. And you Republicans are going, yeah. And he's not a stinking Republican either. He's king, he's got his own kingdom. You laugh, but some of you are mad at me. Number three, there's Bellhop Jesus. This is the version of Jesus where we treat him like a cosmic vending machine, expecting him to be at our beck and call. And it's like we put in money in a vending machine, we press the button, and we ought to get. We get really mad when it gets the candy bar gets stuck. Come on, somebody. That's Jesus trying to help you not get that sugar in your body, right? But it's like this in church. It's like we pay our tithes and we say our prayers and we go to church, and so we better get what we're praying for. Jesus, I did my stuff, you owe me. Oh, friend, he owes you nothing. Nothing. Then there's temperatic Jesus. This is the version of Jesus where he exists simply to make your life comfortable, your best life now. Not the Jesus who said you'll go through tribulation in this world, not the Jesus who said you'll be hated for my namesake, but the Jesus who will just make me comfortable. Isn't that what many preachers are selling today? Is it any shock that those churches are filling up to the brim? Who doesn't want that, Jesus, right? Finally, there's Lifeline Jesus. This is a version of Jesus where people who normally want nothing to do with him, when their marriage is in trouble, when their finances are hurting, when they lose their job, all of a sudden they're in church. Jesus help me. Remember 9-11 tragedy that happened? You remember right after that, the churches were absolutely they were standing room only in New York? Are you kidding me? Sorry, Dave. My New York friends back here. But what happened when the shock wore off and people began processing that better? Where are they now? Where are they now? I mean, Jesus does help us in very practical situations. But do you know the people who they only call upon him when they need help? So those are just some of the misconceptions we have of Jesus. And Abby, you can put that title slide back up. Here's what I want you to know. Those are not the real Jesus. But the real Jesus is infinitely, infinitely better than any version of him that you could conjure up in your mind. Let me ask you this. If Jesus came to simply make your life better and to deliver you from earthly problems, what would you do about your guilt and shame? What would you do about facing God's wrath as a sinner in the end? See, in the end, self-help Jesus or any other version of him I mentioned would mean nothing. It would be worthless and soon forgotten. Jesus didn't come for those reasons. He came to deal with your greatest problem, friend. Sin. Tim Keller pointed out another reason that Jesus rode in on a donkey. This is rich. What would happen to any king that went into battle on a donkey? What would happen? Slaughtered. It would be better to be on foot, would it not, than a donkey? This is a picture of how Jesus' week would end. He was going into Jerusalem to be slaughtered. Here's what Keller says about sin. He says, sin, listen to this is so good. Sin is the servant putting himself in place of the king. That's what sin is. Sin is the servant, you and I putting ourselves in the place of the king. Isn't that what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden? They weren't content with serving God Himself. They said, Oh, we know better. We're going to disobey you. They put themselves in the place of the king. So let me say it again. Sin is the servant putting himself in the place of the king. But listen to this: here's the gospel. The gospel is the king putting himself in the place of the servant. That's what he came to do. It was you, it was me deserving to hang on that cross. It was you, it was me deserving the faith, the wrath of God. The servant. It was our job. But the king came. The king came to take our place. To put himself on a cross in a place of we servants. The real Jesus is infinitely greater than any of those silly versions that I mentioned. He didn't come to be self-help Jesus to make a better version of you. He came to make us new creations in Christ. He didn't come as patriot Jesus to further our political agenda. He came as king to invite us into an all-new kingdom in which the very gates of hell shall not prevail against. He didn't come as bellhop Jesus to fulfill your every little earthly desire. He came to give you eternal life. He didn't come as Temperpedic Jesus to make our lives and the world simply more comfortable. He came so that through carrying our crosses we would further his mission and be conformed into his image. When he returns, this is the good news. We will spend eternity in a world that's more comfortable than we've ever been in our lives, more comfortable than we could ever imagine, more glorious than we could ever dream. Hallelujah. And he didn't come as lifeline Jesus to only show up when you're just a little bit in trouble. No, he does help. Us in practical situations. He didn't come as that kind of lifeline Jesus primarily. He came to rescue you, though, yes, from sin, death, and hell itself. He's infinitely better than any other version of Jesus that you could conjure up in your mind. And this Jesus who came as a sacrificial lamb, a humble servant, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey to be slaughtered. He will come back, as I've mentioned many times, as a roaring lion and judge of the wicked to abolish evil, the devil himself, casting him into the lake of fire. He'll renew the earth, establish his kingdom, and those who are in him shall forever be with the Lord. All of eternity, when we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. That Jesus, that Jesus, the one who gave his life for you, the one that offers you freedom from sin and forgiveness of sin. The one that became your substitute. The one who is all powerful and all glorious. The one who is both the sacrificial lamb and the roaring lion. The one who is fully man, fully God. That's the Jesus who beckons you to come to him today. And I hope you want him way more than any of those other versions of Jesus. That's a Jesus worth following. Jesus will transform your life in this life and the life to come. May we treasure the King who on the first Palm Sunday rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to save his people from their sins. And may we long for his second royal procession, in which he will leave heaven again, come to earth, and bring us ultimate salvation.