Journey of Faith: Embracing Passion Week's Significance

The triumphal entry of Christ into the city of Jerusalem is mentioned in all four gospels, so it's a very important event. I want to encourage you maybe to go to Mark 11, Luke 19, John 12, and maybe use that during your devotionals this week, your quiet times, to look at all the things that Christ went through for us. As I read the passage that Rick read to us this morning, Matthew chapter 21, I came up with some P words. The whole message, each point, starts with a P. The first thing I saw was presence. [00:09:32]

Jesus always had his face set towards Jerusalem. He knew that Jerusalem would be the place where he would be going for the very last time. Matthew Henry writes, "He had said to his disciples more than once, behold we go up to Jerusalem and there the son of man must be betrayed." Do you know Jesus mentioned this many times to his disciples in Matthew 16:21, Matthew 20:18, Mark 10:33, Luke 9:51, Luke 9:53, Luke 18:31? [00:10:33]

Jesus is omniscient. He knows all things. He knew where to tell his disciples to go and that they would find a donkey and a colt tied up. Secondly, Jesus sends two disciples. Companionship in the Bible is an important topic. Thirdly, we discover that Jesus had a need. How often do we think of the needs of Jesus? So allow me to build on these thoughts. First of all, Jesus is all-knowing. He said to his disciples, going to a neighboring village. [00:16:09]

Jesus sends them out two by two. That's an important idea. Do you know the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, it says two are better than one. We need to understand that two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor. For if one falls, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? [00:18:08]

The entrance of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on this particular day, this your day, was in fulfillment of Bible prophecy. There are two Bible prophecies that scholars believe that specifically tie in with Jesus's grand entrance. The first is found in Isaiah chapter 62 and verse 11, where it says, "Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world, saying to the daughters of Zion, the daughters of Zion, surely your salvation is coming." [00:20:16]

If you and I were going to write the story of Christ's grand entry into Jerusalem, we would have pomp and circumstance. We'd have a white stallion, and we'd have an army following him into the city to proclaim himself as a king. But Jesus came on a donkey. It is said that when kings entered into a city on a donkey, it meant that they were coming in peace and not for war. Jesus is the great peacemaker. [00:22:14]

The two disciples were prompt. When Jesus gave them a task to accomplish, they were quick to obey his commandments. Isn't that wonderful? How often do we as parents say to our children, "I want you to do this and this and this." And when they immediately do this and this and this, we rejoice as parents, right? Because they were prompt in their obedience. But when you tell your child, "Please do this and this and this." [00:24:44]

The disciples obeyed Jesus's command. They did exactly what he told them to do. The word disciple carries with the idea of being under a master, a teacher, or a mentor. These two disciples were followers of Jesus Christ. He was their master. They listened and they obeyed. The Eastern Bible dictionary says this, "A disciple of Christ is one who believes his doctrine, rests on his sacrifice, imbibes his spirit, and imitates his example." [00:25:39]

The praise of the crowd is seen in their sacrifice. They laid their clothes on the back of the animal. They laid their clothes out on the roads. They waved palm branches and they cried out, "Hosana," which means "Save us O Lord, save us O Lord, save us O Lord." They cried, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Do you know praise has been defined like this in a Bible dictionary? [00:28:07]

The grand entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem, the people fully understood that he was the prophet, the prophets spoken about in Deuteronomy 18, that Moses said, "A greater person than I shall come." Jesus, the savior, the deliverer, the prophet that would come into the world. The grand entrance of Jesus was not a random moment. It was not just an incident in his life. It was a grand design. [00:34:35]

We briefly touched this morning a little bit about obedience. We talked about how important it is that every follower of Christ obey their master. When you see a commandment in the scripture, are you quick to obey? Are you like the disciples who went and did as Jesus commanded them? And we talked about praise life. Do you take the time to praise the Lord, not just with songs but with your heart? [00:36:32]

Through a relationship with Jesus Christ, you and I become children of God. Do you know there's nothing like being able to look up to heaven and say, "Aba father." God becomes our father. And finally, just as the multitude in Jerusalem proclaimed who Jesus was, you and I are called to proclaim who Jesus is to our city, Spirit Lake. Please do not neglect this town. If God has you living here, you're on mission. [00:37:58]