No Holding Back| Luke 19:28-40 | Jonathan Huang | March 29, 2026

Preaching Passage: Luke 19:28-40 (ESV)

Ethnos Church of Houston, Texas

Welcome to Ethnos Church: A Church for the Nations

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Good morning. Our scripture reading today comes from the book of Luke, chapter 19, verses 28 to 40. If you're using one of our black Bibles available to you from our church, you can turn to page 825. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem, when he drew near to Bethphage in Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two disciples, saying, Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? You shall say this the Lord has need of it. So those who were sent away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, Why are you untying the colt? And they said, The Lord has need of it. And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near, already on the way to Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out. This is the word of the Lord. Please be seated.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Thanks, Daniel. Good morning, everyone. It's good to see you all. Exciting to follow up with what happened yesterday at the park just next door and get back into the Word, which is what we do week after week. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord, for the privilege of being a church together that gathers through thick and thin. No matter what, we pray that we would continue as a body of Christ to lift up the name of Jesus and worship him boldly. No matter what. No matter whatever opposition comes our way, no matter however we may feel discouraged, Jesus, we worship you this morning. Would you fill us with hope and joy and encouragement from your word in Jesus' name? Amen. Today is Palm Sunday for those of you who don't know. It's on the Christian calendar where we celebrate this whole week leading up to the events of Jesus' death, which is celebrated by Christians on what's known as Good Friday. That is followed by Resurrection Sunday, otherwise known as Easter Sunday. Next Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Now, in honor of this being Palm Sunday, we're going to be taking a look at a passage that specifically tells us the events that happen during Jesus' final days as he makes his way to Jerusalem. And how I want to start us off is to bring to mind something that's relatively fresh in our collective memories. Now, last Sunday, you'll remember that this is our second annual egg hunt we put on yesterday. One of the things we tried to tweak for this year was to advertise a little bit better. And so that we did. One of the things we did was to put out 30 yard signs out in the community. We did our best to just get the word out to people, and as they drive by, they can see the signs, and it was great. And so last week when I was driving to school on the way here to set up, just we just like we do every Sunday, I noticed that there are four of our signs completely missing from the corner over there at Shannon Valley in Whittington, right there. And I'm just like, what happened? And so I quickly walk over to some of these other signs over here. Those signs are still fine. Great. I grab another sign from over there where there's kind of a cul-de-sac. I'm like, let's take this take this sign, replace the one on this side. On the school side, it'd be a little bit safer. It's on school property. And come to find out uh the day after, I was at the park just trying to measure the uh gate size, um, and some more signs were taken down, including the one I put up last Sunday. Like, it's gone. Uh we came on Thursday for Family Game Night, some of you were there, and afterwards, Alex texts me. He found some signs in the trash can in the park. So I go and recover some of those, try to get those put up as well later on. And and boy, it's just it really started bothering me, started to baffle me. Why would anyone want to take these signs? Why would anyone want to stop what we're doing or just keep this community from hearing about what we're doing? And I can make some educated guesses. Because whoever took our signs obviously had no problems with the kids' soccer league that are still up. If you if you drive by, you can still see these soccer signs from some of them were nearby our signs, but they're still up. And I imagine that some of them might be bothered by the fact that the sign said Ethnos Church egg hunt. Maybe, maybe not. It's just a guess. Uh I actually drove by yesterday, I was trying to take out some of the signs. I realized there was a there's an egg hunt. Daniel, I don't know if you know knew this, but it seemed like there's an egg hunt at the same time, 1015, by the Sherwood, not Sherwood, that's our neighborhood, Ashford Women's Club or something like that. It may have been the same day, 1015, maybe. For for whatever reason, at least on our end, there may be other reasons. My point is that someone or some people in the neighborhood just wasn't really happy with the fact that our church is putting on an egg con. At least it seems like it. And they didn't want it to be well advertised. Now, hear me out. I'm not trying to say that our church is being overtly persecuted. This is nothing like what Christians in North Korea or Yemen have to experience every day. Not at all. But I do think that this is the first time that our church in our two or so year history has faced some pretty blatant opposition to what we're trying to do to get the church's mission moving forward. And I gotta be honest, it hasn't been easy for me. Um, we spent a good amount of money on these signs. Several of us took time out of our days to get out there into the community and place them down in places that were strategic, and we thought it would be a great idea. And so to know that someone or some people in the community were actively trying to push back and oppose what we're trying to do in this community was honestly discouraging. It was discouraging. But God is good. God is good. And what others may intend as evil against us, God can take and change it and work it out for our good and for his glory. Amen? And so this morning, what I want to do is not wallow in discouragement. What I want to do is to bring some encouragement through this passage as we celebrate Palm Sunday, in light of the opposition we've recently faced as a church. Alright? And so I want to do this as we walk through this passage this morning is to ask the question: how can we as followers of Christ, how can we as followers of Christ, you and me, continue to worship him boldly, even in the face of opposition? So I want to invite you to turn with me in your in your Bibles to the book of Luke. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, third biography of Jesus, so to speak. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament, chapter 19, we'll be going over the story of Jesus' path towards Jerusalem, starting in verse 28. Luke chapter 19, starting in verse 28. Again, the question I want to ask us is this: how can we as followers of Christ continue to worship Jesus boldly in the face of opposition? The first answer I see is this. Don't let fear hold you back from declaring who Jesus is to a watching world. Don't let fear hold you back from declaring who Jesus is to a watching world. Just for some context, we know that since Luke chapter 9, Jesus has been on a long journey. We've got a map up on the screen, with his disciples from around the area of the Sea of Galilee. That's where he spent most of his ministry time on earth, right around the Sea of Galilee, but he's made a decisive effort to journey his way down south towards Jerusalem. And on the way there, Luke recounts a variety of stories where he's healing people of sicknesses, casting out demons, he's teaching, he's rebuking, he's confronting people along the path. But one of the things he's crystal clear about is exactly why he's heading to Jerusalem. He makes, he, he, he, he does not hide the fact that he's on the way to Jerusalem for a purpose. Luke records that Jesus says this, see, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man, that's Jesus referring to himself, by the prophets, that's the Old Testament prophets, will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked, and shamefully treated, and spit upon, and after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise. Look down there with me. Verse 28 says this. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivit, he sent two of the disciples, saying, Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you untying it? You shall say this the Lord has need of it. I just want to stop here for a moment. To orient a bit, orient you a bit, the Mount of Olives is just east of the ancient city of Jerusalem. And if you have a there's a picture here, it's actually one of three peaks in a larger mountain. It runs north and south for a distance of just over two miles. This is a modern picture of what the Mount of Olives looks like. And it's the middle of three peaks, you'll see that, or three summits. And its name comes from the fact that from ancient times there were there were olive groves that grow on this mount. And so he's coming down from the northeast from the city of Jericho, and the Bible says that Jesus makes his way to two specific villages, or at least near them, one named Bethany, the other named Bethphage, both of which are located on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. You'll go to the next slide. You'll kind of see his pathway, Bethany, Bethphage, kind of east of the Mount of Olives, on the way towards Jerusalem. Now, it's not exactly clear which village Jesus sends his two disciples to, but what I want you to notice here is simply that Jesus knew exactly what was happening. Like he knew exactly, he kind of tells the story kind of plays out in a way where Jesus is like, this is what's gonna happen, this is who you're gonna see, who's gonna say something new, this is what you're gonna say. It's like he's got everything planned out. Like he knows when they get to the village, they're gonna find a cult. The colt's gonna be tied there. Colt is just a young donkey. And he knows that when they're untying it, someone's gonna confront them and say, Why are you doing this? And he knows exactly what to say, what the disciples are supposed to say to this, these owners. And he knows that the owners are gonna let them take the donkey. Like it's amazing. And I love what one commentator says about all this. It's telling us that Jesus is demonstrating that he is in control over all the events that are tied to his impending death. Like he's in control, he's in control. No one else but him is fully in control of moving the story forward. He knows exactly what he's doing. He's working things out exactly the way he wants. Verse 32. So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owner said to them, Why are you untying the colt? They said, The Lord has need of it. They brought it to Jesus, throwed, throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it, and as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. Okay, so what's happening here? Like I mentioned before, Jesus has four biographers in the New Testament. One of his other biographers named Matthew was actually a disciple of Jesus during this time. Luke wasn't a direct disciple. Um, in the book of Matthew, that he he explains why Jesus thought it was so important to ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, like a specific, a specific method of transportation. And it's because in Matthew chapter 21, he tells us that all of this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, quote, this is an Old Testament prophecy. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, mounted on a what? A donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. This is Matthew quoting the Old Testament written hundreds of years before Jesus sat on that donkey. And the point is that Jesus had this prophecy in mind hundreds of years before, as he decided exactly what he was doing, riding into Jerusalem on this donkey. He was signaling to the watching world that yes, this is the one. I am the one who you've been waiting for, the long-awaited Messiah. And the disciples clearly see this implication of Jesus riding on a donkey, and that's why we see them spreading out their cloaks on the road. The Apostle John recounts that people were also taking branches of palm trees, why it's called Palm Sunday, to meet Jesus. And Mark and Matthew tell us these branches are spread out on the road so Jesus could walk on them as well. So cloaks, palm branches were all on the road. And in doing so, it's important that Jesus' disciples were giving him the red carpet treatment, treating Jesus as they would, a king and a dignitary. Verse 37. As he was drawing near, already on the way down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. John specifically mentions that the people who had been with Jesus when he raised Lazarus up from the dead, well, they continue to bear witness about Jesus and what he did. And the reason, John says, why their crowd was there on that day as Jesus rode this donkey towards Jerusalem was because he heard what Jesus had done specifically to Lazarus. And the point I want to make at this point is that praise is the proper response when we witness something praiseworthy. Praise is the proper response when we witness something praiseworthy. It sounds like common sense, but we might forget the fact. Up to this point in time, Jesus again and again has shown himself to be the object of praise. I mean, he's cast out demons with just a word of rebuke. He's healed people of their diseases with just the touch of his hands, while on the Sea of Galilee, he's calmed the winds and the waves. He's walked on the waters. He even allowed Peter to walk on the water with him. He's able to turn water into wine and feed thousands with just five loaves of bread and two fish. He makes the blind see the lame walk. And he's even able to heal people, forgive people of their sins. And so it's only fitting at this point that the disciples offer these loud shouts of rejoicing and praise to God for all they've seen and heard. This is no ordinary man riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. But then look at what happens in verse 39. Verse 39 tells us that some of the Pharisees in the crowd, these are Jewish religious leaders, some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, saying to Jesus, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. Now these religious leaders, they had a different perspective of Jesus. They did not accept him as the coming Messiah. They were concerned about what was going on, and they stood there in the crowd ready to oppose what was happening. The crowd was to them crossing a line because they were publicly calling out to Jesus that he was the king who comes in the name of the Lord. That was too much for them. It was too messianic. Like, calm them down, Jesus. And so they were trying to tell Jesus to stop them from saying what they were saying. And I love the way Jesus responds. He doesn't just concede to these Pharisees and say, Oh, you're right. Like they're going a little overboard. Let me just stop this party right now. He knew that his disciples were exactly right about what they were saying. The Pharisees were wrong. And so that's why Jesus came back in verse 40 is so in your face. Verse 40, he says this, I tell you, if these were silent, these disciples were silent, the very stones would cry out. One commentator points out that in an ardent refusal to stop the messianic confession of his followers, Jesus says that if they seized creation would cry out. All of creation would cry out. Because they see what the Pharisees don't see. In other words, like unlike these blind religious leaders who reject Jesus as the Messiah, even nature itself knows that Jesus indeed is King of kings and Lord of Lords. And what I want you to see here, church, is how the disciples continued to praise despite the opposition. These disciples were willing to be publicly identified with Jesus. They were willingly, willingly open to declare what they believed about Jesus, his kingship, and how he was the long-awaited Messiah. And they did this over against the fears they had of the onlooking on the Pharisees that were all around. They probably knew that they didn't like what they were doing. They did this over against the fears of taking some risks and getting in trouble politically, offending people for what they were saying. They didn't let fear keep them from crying out what they knew in their hearts to be true. And so, church, as we experience oppositions like we did this past week, but even oppositions as we move forward, don't let fear hold us back from continuing to declare who Jesus is to a watching world. And I just want to remind you of some of the different ways that Jesus has shown himself to be mighty. Just like we read here, these disciples were rejoicing and praising God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. I just want to remind you of all the mighty works that we've seen in our midst since we started as a church in 2024. You guys remember? It was just last year, last egg hunt, that the Lord brought someone named Luna and her kids with her stroller to her egg hunt. You guys remember that? She comes from a Catholic background. There were still some things that were a little unclear to her about what being a true Christian meant. And God used some of you to help her, to walk with her through those months, those weeks and months, as she was kind of discerning what it means to be a Christian, who Jesus is, what he's done for us. And she's over the years she's been with us, has come to embrace Jesus as her Lord and Savior under the banner of the true gospel. And she would tell you herself what an enormous change she's experienced since last year, since the egg hunt. The way she's become a lot less anxious, a lot more emotionally stable, a lot more dependent on Jesus for her day-to-day needs. Guys, I think about Will in our midst. How he came to us from a Facebook ad. Facebook ad, right? And how the Lord has completely turned his life around. When he first moved to Houston, he was in a pretty low place in his life. And he would tell you himself how the emotional state of his heart was reflected out into his physical experience of the world. Like his he was so dark in his soul that his eyesight was literally seeing things that should be bright as darkness, right? And as he came into our community, and as he experienced the warmth and love of this church, and as he experienced the answered prayers of God's people here, the Lord brought light into his life. Physically, spiritually, emotionally. And by God's grace, he's helping us with our social media as well. Amen. Joy, hope, and peace flooded into Will's life by God's grace. What a mighty work he's done. Our Cuban friends, Romney and Diana. It's amazing the story there, but I won't go into the details of Anita and meeting them. Ben, Nita sharing the gospel with them, them coming to faith in Christ. There's a friend, a Japanese friend named Natsumi who's come to faith in Christ from just some of you faithfully meeting with her and sharing with her and doing life with her and walking with her. Fred has been leading scores of prisoners to faith in Christ in his prison ministry. Lives are being changed. Hearts are being touched. These are mighty works of God we need to celebrate.

unknown 26:07

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 26:11

So, church, here's what I want you to take away from this scene as Jesus is riding on his donkey down the Mount of Olives on his way to Jerusalem. There is no doubt in my mind Jesus knew exactly what was happening to him. And yet he had no fear. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem for one purpose and one purpose alone, to seek and to save the lost, to serve and to not be served. To lay down his life as a ransom for many. And no doubt, as he sat on that cult, Jesus displayed a kind of resolve that we should emulate in the face of opposition. The crowd in this moment welcomed him. But he was soon to face a different crowd who was ready to mock him, ready to persecute him, ready to beat him up, ready to publicly humiliate him through crucifixion. And so what I'm trying to say here in this scene is that Jesus and his disciples show us what we need to do in the face of opposition by the grace and help of the Lord Jesus Christ. We continue to praise and push through our fears in face of opposition. And we don't hold back from declaring what Jesus has done among us and done in this world. Remember, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. And so whether it's stolen lawn signs or something else that comes up down the line. Whatever opposition we may face in the future as a church, as we move forward on this mission together, for the sake of the gospel, consider Jesus as he's riding into the city on his donkey to his future execution and the opposition and hostility Jesus would have to go through. Hebrews 12 says this consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary and fainthearted. Whatever opposition we face compales in comparison to what he had to go through. And so let's consider the cross and all the hostility and shame that Jesus went through on our behalf? Let's not grow weary or faint-hearted. Amen. Pray that God would strengthen our resolve as a church to be a light in this community and to the city and to the world. Pray that we continue to keep faithfully gathering and lift high the name of Jesus, no matter what. So, how can followers like you and me of Christ continue to worship Jesus boldly in the face of opposition when we keep our eyes on Jesus? We don't lose heart. And we don't let fear hold us back from declaring who Jesus is to a watching world. And second, don't let short-sightedness hold you back from remembering how the story ends. Don't let short-sightedness hold you back from remembering how the story ends. So I want to just think a little bit more about what this image of Jesus riding in on a humble little donkey to Jerusalem tells us about him. And if you think about it, it's a little strange because when kings ride into cities like victoriously, you would imagine there'd be soldiers or just kind of he's coming with a whole bunch of people, like charging his way in, entering like a real dignitary, but he's alone. Like he's riding alone on a donkey, on a lowly donkey. And we know he's riding to his own death. It's a humbling scene, is my point. But do you guys know when the next time the Bible portrays Jesus riding on an animal, like what that whole scene is? It's found in the vision of the future given to the Apostle John in the book of Revelation. And this time, Jesus is portrayed in a completely different light. In Revelation 19, we see Jesus in all his majesty coming out of heaven, not on a donkey, but riding on a glorious white horse. The Bible tells us that his eyes are like a flame of fire. He's clothed in a robe dipped in blood. The name by which he's called is the word of God, and the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. One commentator explains that this army who arrives with Jesus coming out of heaven are likely the saints of Christ, the bride of Christ, who've washed their linen clothes white and pure in the blood of Jesus. Jesus is not alone in this scene. This vision that God gives to John is a vision of Jesus' second coming. And my point is that Jesus has completely flipped the script here. You see that? In Luke 19, Jesus rides on a young donkey, humble, by himself, into Jerusalem on his way to face his own execution. Revelation 19. He comes in riding on a white horse full of glory and awe out of heaven, mighty to save his own people. He's ready to judge with a kind of raw fierceness that's completely different from what we see in Luke 19. He's ready to judge the wickedness of this world and to make war against all who've opposed his rule and reign up until this time. And this contrast can't be any clearer between Luke 19 and Revelation 19. And it's as if God is reminding us as we read on Palm Sunday of Jesus riding on a humble donkey into Jerusalem, impending death on its way. This is not the end of the story. This isn't the end of the story. We know how the story ends. Revelation 7, 9 to 10 paints a picture of how one day people from all tribes and languages will be standing before the throne, before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. For those of us who are in Christ, we will find ourselves joining this heavenly crowd, just like those who crowded around Jesus on the day he rode down from Mount of Olives, crying out, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. The suffering that Jesus will ultimately go through, the suffering that is going to be culminating on Good Friday, is the same suffering that marks the history of the church as the gospel continues to spread around the world, between his first coming and his second coming. And you know, this time between Christ's first coming and his second coming is not just a time to sit back, relax, twiddle our thumbs, and wait for his return. It's not a time for us to simply chase after our wildest dreams and seek after the most comfortable way to live. Friends, we've got a job to do. I've heard it said that if Revelation 7.9 is true, if one day people from all tribes and languages and nations are actually going to be standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb, worshiping him in one voice, well then we've got to ask ourselves, who's still not in the room? Like who's still not in the room? Who's still not there yet? Ready to worship God around his throne, palm branches in their hand, saying salvation belongs to our God. Who has the Lamb of God spilled his blood for? Who still has yet to hear the good news that this Lamb has come into the world to take away our sins? Listen, there are about 3,100 unreached language groups still left in this world. 3,100 people groups who speak distinct languages, who still have yet to have a Bible in their own language, much less to hear what Jesus has done for them. And so at least we know that these groups are not in the room yet. And so what are we gonna do about it? What are we gonna do about it? How are they gonna call on someone they've never believed in? How are they gonna believe on someone they've never heard of? How are they gonna hear about someone like Jesus unless someone tells them, teaches them, explains to them the good news of Jesus? I think about a friend who I know who has given up a nice, probably well-paying job here in the states to move to a place heavily populated by Muslims in Southeast Asia. I think about how she and her friends are literally trying to start a business on a small little island, like completely different from what she used to do in the States. She uses kind of the health field. She and her friends, her team, are trying to start a business. Land, cafe, event venue, have a staff totally different than what she used to do. So they can have a presence in a place that's dominated by Islamic law. They have a legitimate reason to be there. But more so that they can have the opportunity to live among and engage with an unreached language group, unreached people group have, who actually are virtually all Muslim, and it's said that they are very proud there are no churches, temples, or any other religions present among them. They're very proud of that. You think that's gonna be easy? You think Satan and his spiritual forces of evil are happy about what they're gonna do? You think they're gonna just let it happen? I can only imagine the kind of opposition that they have had up to this point, and that they will continue to have as they continue on this journey of moving onto this island and finally meeting and engaging with an unreached language group. And what this friend of mine and her life, what she's doing with her life, encourages me to do is to keep enduring whatever hardship, whatever challenges, whatever opposition comes my way, on the way to fulfilling Jesus' mission of making disciples of all nations. And I'll say this: I know that the vast majority of us in this room are never gonna do what this friend of mine is doing. And that's okay. That's okay. Some of you may, and I pray and I hope that the Lord would raise people like that to serve cross-culturally as missionaries, but the vast majority of us may never do that. We could still pray for people who do, give generously to support those who do. But no matter where Jesus calls us to be, where no matter where Jesus calls us to live, no matter where Jesus calls us to serve him, here's what I want to say. Church, may we never count it strange when we suffer hardships, when we suffer trials, opposition along the way of following Jesus and being his witnesses. Instead, as scripture teaches us, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good. Between his first and second comings, between the image of Jesus riding on a humble donkey into Jerusalem to his death, and the image of Jesus riding in from heaven on a white horse. Remember this. Glory with Jesus requires our willingness to suffer with him first. That's just the way it is. Between the first and second comings of Jesus, glory with him requires our willingness to suffer with him. Come what may first. So, church, I know what happened this past week with the signs dealing, the opposition we face is really only a small hardship in the big picture of things. My hope is that this experience would lead us to only depend on Jesus more deeply for the grace that only he can give for us to keep moving forward together. Amen. Come what may, whatever hardships, come what may. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And let's consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so we will not grow fear, uh we will not grow weary or lose heart. And if you're here today and you're not a Christian, maybe you're, let's say you were uh in the crowd that day as Jesus was riding on his way to Jerusalem. You're not necessarily opposed to Jesus like the Pharisees are. You're not necessarily either uh the disciples and cheering him on. You're just there. You've heard about Jesus? You're not exactly sure what's going on, but you're just curious, who is this Jesus? You've heard about him, but you're still on the fence. Here's what I want you to know Jesus rode that donkey on the way to Jerusalem to his death so that you wouldn't have to. So that you wouldn't have to. You see, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death. We're all sinners facing the exact same punishment before a holy and righteous God. Not just death in this life, but in the life to come, eternal hell. That's how seriously God takes sin. But Jesus willingly laid down his life for us so that he could take on the punishment of sin on himself that we deserve. Next week we'll be celebrating how Jesus rose again on the third day. And so, even today, Jesus is offering to any and all who be willing to turn away from a life of sin and turn to him to be Lord and Savior of their lives, not only the gift of eternal life, but the forgiveness of all your sins, past, present, and future, once and for all. And if that's something you want to do today, or at least learn more about it, talk to someone you came with, or come find me after service. I'd love to talk more with you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord. That the story of Jesus riding on a humble donkey into Jerusalem is not the end of the story. We know how the story ends. So keep us from being discouraged. Keep us from being shy, afraid, in the face of opposition. Make us bold witnesses for Christ to declare to the world who Jesus is and the mighty works that He's done on the cross and in our lives. Help us not to hold back, Lord. Help us not to hold back. May we worship you. As a church, as we gather Sunday after Sunday to worship you in this neighborhood. May we worship you as we declare your works to those who still have yet to decide to follow you. May we worship you boldly in the face of whatever opposition may come our way. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.