This message was preached by Chris B at Word of Grace Church on April 14th, 2019. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to
Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
My wife Jenn and I went to a political rally where emotions were running high. We way we knew that is because whenever an African American man came on the stage, the whole crowd go crazy and start weeping thinking it was Obama. This scenario illustrated a troubling reality. They were putting their hope into a potential kingdom that would not last. There is an eternal kingdom and an eternal king and we have hope in that kingdom.
Q1. What were the crowds doing right?
1. Recognizing Jesus as the King of Israel. They read the prophecy from Zephaniah correctly.
2. They were celebrating him – That is the right response. They should be celebrating. They were
greeting him from quoting Psalm 118:26. This psalm describes a procession into Jerusalem after a great deliverance. That is incredible
3. They were submitting to Him: They took their cloaks off and placed them down. I pray my heart would look like that. Those are the things we should also be doing
Q2. What is left to take issue with?
The palm branches were a sign of Israel’s national force. Jesus is not merely the King of my nation – he is the King of all! They were welcoming him in a political and military way. “Hosanna” is a literal translation of the word “Save us”
Q3. What kind of salvation were they seeking?
They were eternal people, greeting an eternal being asking for a temporal salvation. More often than we like, that’s no as well. We want Him to save us from uncomfortable circumstances. Are they calling out for freedom from oppression of Rome or oppression of sin? Are they asking for a release from shame before men or their shame before God?
Q4. What kind of a salvation do we seek?
He came to seek and save the lost. He did not come to bring cozy life on earth.
Hab 3:17-19 - 17
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Can we affirm this statement? Is the Lord enough for us? Are we putting our hope in this life or the life to come?
Q5. So what do we do?
1 Pet 1:13 - 13 says "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming."
Set our hope fully – moment by moment – that Jesus is coming and that He is King forever!
Let's pray!
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.
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