← Back to sermon library

You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of John, as we work our way through John's 
gospel in our morning worship. We find ourselves at the triumphal 
entry of our Lord into the city of Jerusalem. That's John 12, 
verses 12 to 19. But I want to read beginning 
in verse 1. We'll read to verse 26, and then our examination, 
as I said, will be verses 12 to 19. The beginning in John 
12 at verse 1. Then six days before the Passover, 
Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, 
whom he had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, 
and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the 
table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very 
costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped 
his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with 
the fragrance of the oil. But one of his disciples, Judas 
Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him, said, Why was this 
fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared 
for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money 
box and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, 
let her alone. She has kept this for the day 
of my burial. For the poor you have with you 
always, but me you do not have always. Now a great many of the 
Jews knew that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus' 
sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom he had 
raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted 
to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him, many 
of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. The next day, a great 
multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus 
was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went 
out to meet him and cried out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes 
in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. Then Jesus, when 
he had found a young donkey, sat on it, as it is written, 
Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting 
on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand 
these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they 
remembered that these things were written about him and that 
they had done these things to him. Therefore the people who 
were with him, when he called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised 
him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also 
met him, because they heard that he had done this sign. The Pharisees 
therefore said among themselves, You see that you are accomplishing 
nothing. Look, the world has gone after him. Now there were 
certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 
Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, 
and asked him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came 
and told Andrew. And in turn, Andrew and Philip 
told Jesus. But Jesus answered them saying, 
the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most 
assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the 
ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much 
grain. He who loves his life will lose 
it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for 
eternal life. If anyone serves me, let him 
follow me. And where I am, there my servant 
will be also. If anyone serves me, him my father 
will honor. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for this beautiful 
day. We thank you for the Lord's house and the Lord's people on 
the Lord's day. When we gather together corporately 
to worship you, we know that this is what we were created 
for. We know that this is your intention in redemption. It's 
to cause us to see you as you are, as revealed in Holy Scripture, 
to approach you with that fear and that reverence and that joy 
that is consistent with the people of God. And we pray that as we 
come to the Father through the Son and the power of the Holy 
Spirit, God would be all in all in this place. We ask that you 
would encourage and strengthen our hearts and give us a fresh 
view of the glory of Jesus Christ as set forth here in John's Gospel. 
We pray that you would encourage the people of God, that you would 
cause us to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our blessed 
Lord. As well, for those who've come here this morning dead in 
their trespasses and sins, we pray that today would be the 
day of salvation, that you would awaken them, that you would show 
them their need for the Savior and show them Christ and all 
of his offices to save. And God, please guide us now 
by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Forgive us 
for all of our sin and cleanse us in that precious blood of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his most blessed 
name that we pray. Amen. Well, as we come to this 
particular passage of scripture, it's recorded in all four of 
the gospel accounts. So in Matthew, Mark, and Luke 
and John, We have this triumphal entry. We have this time when 
Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem and we see the response 
of the great multitude. The religious leaders despise 
him. They loathe him. They abhor him. They hate him. 
They want to silence him and destroy his ministry. The multitudes 
here respond in a manner that is consistent with the coming 
of a king. And so when we look at the anointing 
at Bethany, we see that Mary anoints Jesus, consistent with 
his office as a king, and she does so in light of his coming 
burial. Well, the same sort of thing 
is here in the triumphal entry. The things that the people say, 
the actions that the people engage in, the psalm that is applied 
and the prophet that is applied indicate that the one who enters 
into Jerusalem at that time is in fact God's king. He is, in 
fact, the Messiah. He is the one who has come to 
save his people from their sins. So I want to look just at the 
two particular breakdowns or major sections in this part. First, the triumphal entry of 
the king in verses 12 to 15. And then, secondly, the mixed 
reaction of the people in verses 16 to 19. As is often the case 
in the life and ministry of Jesus, some believe, some are strengthened, 
some are blessed, others get upset, others are indifferent. 
It's never the case that Christ leaves man unchanged. They're 
either more conformed to his image, or they run from Him even 
further. And if you are one who has run 
from Him further, may God Most High today bring the knowledge 
of Jesus Christ savingly to your heart, that you may understand 
that this one who rode on this donkey into Jerusalem in His 
first coming, came to accomplish his mission, not by assuming 
a throne in that first coming, but by going to the cross. It 
was that, the means by which he would save his people from 
their sins. Even the disciples, according to verse 16, missed 
that at his first coming. And we'll see that when we look 
at this mixed reaction. But with reference to the triumphal 
entry of the king, there's three parts here. First, the report. 
Verse 12. Second, the response in verse 
13. And then the entrance proper 
in verses 14 and 15. Notice the report. Verse 12 tells 
us the next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast. The 
next day follows the day after the anointing at Bethany. That 
occurred on a Saturday night. So this is the Sunday that begins 
the Passion Week. The rest of the gospel narrative 
in John is going to be focused on that particular week. Jesus 
comes to die ultimately on the Friday. He's resurrected again 
on the third day. And then we have that epilogue 
at the end of John's gospel. The feast was the Passover in 
Jerusalem. There's three Passovers mentioned 
in the book of John. This one is the significant one. 
and it's significant for a variety of reasons. First, it underscores 
that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Remember at the beginning of 
his public ministry, John the Baptist lays eyes on him and 
says, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the 
world. That statement does not occur in a vacuum. That statement 
isn't out of left field. That statement is consistent 
with the Levitical priesthood, with the sacrificial system, 
with the book of Leviticus, and Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and 
Exodus. It is consistent with what we find in the Old Testament 
in terms of man's approach to a holy God. He needs to come 
through a blood sacrifice. Without the shedding of blood, 
there is no remission. Now, all of those sacrifices 
in the Old Covenant were typological. They prefigured or pointed forward 
to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So 
it's appropriate that the Lord Jesus dies at that Passover feast. The Apostle calls Him, Christ, 
our Passover sacrifice in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7. And I think theologically 
John is indicating that what we have in Jesus is a new exodus. 
The Exodus in the Old Covenant was the deliverance by God out 
of Egyptian bondage. The Exodus in the New Covenant 
is deliverance by God through the blood of Jesus Christ from 
the bondage of sin, the bondage of Satan, the bondage of death. 
So those theological themes are replete here in John's Gospel, 
and they find their terminus ultimately in this Feast of Passover. So of course, there's a great 
multitude assembled for that particular event. And then notice, 
according to verse 12, when they heard that Jesus was coming to 
Jerusalem. So Jesus had announced to his 
disciples, and it was knowledge at this point, probably that 
spread far and wide beyond his immediate disciple group, that 
he was going to Jerusalem to die. He mentions that three times 
in Matthew's gospel. Matthew 16, Matthew 17, Matthew 
20, he announces to the disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, 
he must be tried at the hands of wicked men, he must be crucified, 
and he must be raised again. Well, in John's Gospel, we know 
that the religious leaders want to kill him, according to John 
5. We know that the religious leaders want to kill him, according 
to John 7. We know that the religious leaders 
want to kill him, according to John 8 and John 10. Those were 
the informal expressions of their hatred for him, and they want 
to destroy him. And then in John 11, we have 
the formal judicial decision of the Sanhedrin to execute him, 
to put him to death. And so the crowds now know that 
Jesus is coming into Jerusalem. And the way that they respond 
to that particular event is a fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. Notice 
with reference to the response in verse 13, their activity and 
their cry. Notice the activity according 
to verse 13a, it says, they took branches of palm trees and went 
out to meet him. This idea of going out to meet 
him shows their expectancy. Going out to meet him shows that 
they recognized in him somebody that did signs that were consistent 
with the Messiah sent by God. It shows their respect and their 
honor and their deference to him, the fact that they go out 
to meet him. that they carry palm branches 
indicates something of his triumph. This is why we call it the triumphal 
entry. We know, though the disciples 
according to verse 16 did not know, we know that it's a triumphal 
entry because he accomplishes all that the Father had given 
him to do. He comes to die. He comes to 
be raised again. He comes to ascend on high to 
the right hand of God Almighty. But at this vantage point, they 
didn't understand that. They didn't see the significance 
of that, but they saw him as a worker of signs and of miracles. 
They saw him as one who raised Lazarus from the dead. They understood 
the prophets and the significance of an Isaiah 35, which spoke 
of the days of Messiah, when he would heal people. when He 
would restore sight, when He would give hearing to the deaf, 
when He would raise the dead. They saw this and they understand 
this, so they take these palm branches out to meet the Lord 
Most High as He enters into the city. Now this idea of palm branches, 
as I said, underscores victory. One commentator makes the observation, 
So the branches of palm trees were given as praise, signifying 
victory, because our Lord was to conquer death by dying, and 
to triumph over the devil, the prince of death, by the victory 
of the cross. They were used at the time of 
Judas Maccabeus, after the defeat of Antiochus Epiphanes, and what's 
called the rededication, or the feast of dedication, in terms 
of the temple. We know that that's celebrated 
here in John 10, specifically at verse 22. So palm branches 
fared significantly to underscore the triumph of God Almighty over 
His enemies. You see this in the book of Revelation 
in chapter 7, verses 9 and 10. It says, After these things I 
looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number. of 
all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before 
the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with 
palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 
saying, this is victory, this is triumph, this is conquest. They say, salvation belongs to 
our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. They don't wave 
the palm branches before themselves and ascribe praise to themselves 
for their good decision-making. They don't praise themselves 
with the palm branches saying how wise we were or how good 
we were or how better we were. No, the ascription of praise 
in that revelation scene is that salvation belongs to our God 
who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. It's the same way we 
understand these palm branches here. It is an expression of 
the victory of the Messiah to do and accomplish all that the 
Father had given him to do. Again, they may be acting better 
than they know, they may be ascribing praise in a way better than they 
know, but John the theologian has compiled his narrative for 
us, the reader, to understand the theological significance. 
And on the heels of that activity, going out to meet him, waving 
palm branches before him, notice their crying. Notice their ascription 
of praise to him. And they reach into the psalter 
to do this. So verse 13, they took branches 
of palm trees and went out to meet him. and cried out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord, the King of Israel. So this word Hosanna 
is found there in Psalm 118. And the word simply came to be 
used as a shout of praise. It literally means help or save, 
I pray. That's how it functions in Psalm 
118. So the people, the great multitude, understanding who 
Jesus is, again, perhaps not the way that we do post-Nicaea 
and post-Reformation, nevertheless saw in him the marks of divinity, 
the marks of glory, the marks of kingship, the marks of messiahship. And so they cry out to him, Hosanna. But then notice as well, in terms 
of the invocation of the psalm, Psalm 118, 25 and 26, our brother 
read it at the outset of worship, says, Save now, I pray, O Lord. O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the 
house of the Lord. So that's the quotation. That's 
the citation. That's what's on the mouths of 
these people as they ascribe praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. Go back to Psalm 118. Psalm 118 
is very instructive for us, specifically in terms of its citation in the 
New Testament. Psalm 118 is a most glorious 
psalm. And we need to reflect upon it 
as we work our way through this triumphal entry scene. Basically, the psalm starts off 
with a call to magnify the Lord in verses 1 to 4. And then the 
psalmist highlights his own experience as one of the people of God in 
verses 5 to 18. And then he turns to petition. 
He turns to request. He calls upon the God of heaven 
and earth. And that's in verses 19 to 21. Notice in 19, open to me the 
gates of righteousness. I will go through them and I 
will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord 
through which the righteous shall enter. Now, if you want to keep 
your finger there and turn back again in the Psalter to Psalm 
15. Psalm 15. This has been a perennial question 
in the minds of the people of God throughout redemptive history. How do we approach God? How do 
we get into the presence of God? How do we meet our Creator? In 
the light of sin and in light of the fall, that is a burning 
issue. If you're not a Christian believer 
here this morning, you can't just wander into the presence 
of God. I'm not suggesting God doesn't know who you are. I'm 
not suggesting that God isn't sovereign over your life. But 
in terms of communion with God, in terms of fellowship with God, 
in terms of having happiness in the presence of God, you can't 
do that. So has it ever arisen in your 
mind, how do I do that? How do I enjoy what God made 
me for? God didn't make you for your 
job. God didn't make you for your wife. God didn't make you 
for your husband. I mean, all those secondarily, but God made 
you for communion with Him. What is the chief end of man? 
Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. 
That doesn't mean there's no secondary ends. That doesn't 
mean being a husband or a wife or anything like that is somehow 
unimportant. The chief end of man is to glorify 
God and to enjoy Him forever. So how do you get into His presence? 
Again, this is a burning question in the hearts of the people all 
throughout history. Look at Psalm 15, verse 1 of 
Psalm of David. Who may abide in your tabernacle? 
Who may dwell in your holy hill? And then a description follows. 
Spoiler alert, that description isn't of you. It isn't saying, 
here's how you become perfect and enter into the presence of 
God. That description is of the Lord Jesus Christ. That description 
involves the imputed righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. But 
again, the idea, how does sinful man enter in to the presence 
of God. How do we abide in His tabernacle? How do we dwell in His holy hill? 
Turn over to Psalm 24, same sort of an emphasis, specifically 
at verse 3. Who may ascend into the hill 
of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy 
place? And then follows a description, 
again, spoiler alert, that ain't you and it ain't me. It's the 
Lord Jesus Christ who brings us into the presence of God. 
So going back to Psalm 118, notice the emphasis in terms of petition. He knows God experientially, 
he knows God practically, but he also knows that God has promised 
to send one, to send a Messiah, to send a ruler, to send a king, 
to send one to redeem his people from their sins. And so when 
he asks the question in verse 19, or he gives the petition 
in verse 19, open to me the gate of righteousness, I will go through 
them and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord 
through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise you for 
you have answered me and have become my salvation. Notice the 
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 
This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be 
glad in it. Here's our text. Save now, I 
pray, O Lord. O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord. So he's praising Yahweh, he demands 
praise for Yahweh, but he recognizes that one's going to come in the 
name of Yahweh to rescue and save his people from their sins. He is going to be the deliverer. 
He's going to open the gates of righteousness and provide 
access to the very mountain and hill of our God. He is the one 
by which or through whom which we ascend into the presence of 
God Almighty. Now again, whether all that multitude 
in Jerusalem understood perfectly well that this is applicable 
to our Lord Jesus, nevertheless, this is where they go to praise 
the Lord Jesus. Let's continue in the psalm. 
Notice in verse 20, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the 
Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is 
the Lord and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with 
cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise 
you. You are my God, I will exalt you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, 
for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. So going back 
to our passage in John's gospel, in John chapter 12, we see the 
application of Psalm 118 to Jesus Christ. He is the opener of the 
gates of righteousness, such that sinners through his blood 
may ascend the very mountain of God most high. To enjoy that 
communion, to enjoy that fellowship, to know something of the nearness 
of God as our good. Now back to the text, look at 
how they praise Christ. It says, Hosanna, again, save 
Lord, I pray. Blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord. What's been one of the emphases 
throughout John's gospel in terms of Jesus' identity and authority? He comes in the name of the Lord. 
He is the sent one from the Father. The Father is the sender, the 
Son is the sent one. He emphasizes this in many, many 
places. If you haven't got the recollection 
of that, then I would suggest perhaps you haven't been listening, 
because I've been emphasizing that over and over and over again. 
The question of Jesus' identity, the question of Jesus' authority, 
is oftentimes met by Jesus with the simple answer, that the Father 
sent me. So they praise him as being the 
one who comes in the name of the Lord. the one who has the 
same nature as the Father. He's the eternally begotten Son 
of the Father. He was the one sent by the Father 
into the world. And then notice in our passage, 
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of 
Israel. the Messiah of God would function 
as the King of Israel. That shouldn't surprise us. Go 
back to John 6 for just a moment, and I think this goes to helping 
us understand why even the disciples initially were a bit confused 
by the kingship of our Lord at this time. Notice in John chapter 
6, specifically, at verses 14 and 15. So Jesus feeds the 5,000, 
and in 614, we read, then those men, when they had seen the sign 
that Jesus did, said, this is truly the prophet who is to come 
into the world. Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were 
about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed 
again to the mountain by himself alone. It wasn't that he wasn't 
a king. It wasn't that he was the king 
that they were looking for at that time. They wanted the subjugation 
of the Roman Empire. They wanted a chicken in every 
pot. They wanted bread at every meal. They wanted geopolitical 
prestige. They wanted a king that would 
bring down the Roman government and that would bring prestige 
to them geopolitically. That's why Jesus evades this 
attempt to take him and seize him and to make him a king. It 
wasn't the time. And the nature of his kingship 
was not that sort of a thing in his first coming. They're 
looking for overwhelming force top-down imposed upon the nations. That's going to happen, to be 
sure. That's going to happen connected 
with his second coming. There's going to be a top-down 
imposition of God all over this earth. But in the first coming, 
it wasn't that way. And that's the significance of 
the passage as we move through it. The parallel in Matthew tells 
us they not only ascribe to him that he's king of Israel, they 
also call him son of David, Matthew 21.9. That's a royal title. Matthew 
begins his gospel by linking Jesus to Abraham and to David. 
Why do you think that is? Because he's the promised Messiah 
who hails from the seed of David to function as the King of Kings 
and Lord of Lords. As I've mentioned on many occasion, 
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are theologians. They want us 
to understand the theology and significance behind these historical 
events. And then with reference to the 
significance of this song, we've kind of seen just a brief outline 
in terms of the major heads. But Psalm 118 is linked to Psalms 
113 to 118. It's a grouping called Hallel, 
and those Hallel Psalms are sung after the Passover feast. It's 
quite intriguing. And when you see, for instance, 
in Matthew 26 and verse 30, after the inauguration, the giving 
of the Lord's Supper, it says, and then they sang a hymn. That 
wasn't Isaac Watts. It was the Psalms of David. It 
was Psalms 113 to 118. That's the Hallel. That's what 
they sang with reference to Passover. Now, if you think about that 
particular Psalm, and you think about what we read, I know it's 
been a long time ago, but let me just remind you, there's a 
statement by the ruler, by the king, by the Messiah, there in 
Psalm 118. You can turn back there. Psalm 
118, remember they sing this after Passover. Jesus and his 
disciples sing this after they inaugurate, or after he inaugurates 
the new covenant. in his blood with the Lord's 
Supper. Notice Psalm 118 verse 27. God is the Lord and he has 
given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords 
to the horns of the altar. Bind the sacrifice with cords 
to the horns of the altar. One man by the name of Malcolm 
Watts, he says, the Psalms sung after the meal, Psalms 115 to 
118 specifically, speak generally of the Lord's exaltation. But 
in particular, they concentrate on his call to faith. Actually, 
I'm sorry, it is 115 to 118, not 113. But in particular, they 
concentrate on his call to faith, Psalm 115, his applied salvation, 
Psalm 116, the extension of his gospel and mercy to the Gentiles, 
Psalm 117, and finally, his opening of the gates of the everlasting 
kingdom to all who believe in his name, Psalm 118. He says, 
at the end of the Psalms, knowing the dark night that lay before 
him, how deeply moving it must have been to hear the Lord sing, 
bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. That's a pretty perceptive statement, 
brethren, and one that was probably not lost on the disciples, as 
he had announced several times that he must go, that he must 
die, that he must give his life a ransom for many. Psalm 118 
is hugely messianic. Psalm 118 is massively messianic. Psalm 118 is in the mouths of 
this great multitude, responding to this man who does signs, and 
they bless him and affirm him as the one who comes in the name 
of Yahweh, the one who functions as the King of Israel, the one 
who is the fulfillment, as the Son of David. The people gathered 
are recognized in Jesus, the one who would open the gates 
of righteousness, as the one who comes in the name of the 
Lord. The apostles will further identify him as the stone which 
the builders rejected. Do you know when they did that? 
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke? After the triumphal entry. After 
the multitude praises him, after the multitude shouts Hosanna, 
after the multitude affirms that he is the one who comes in the 
name of the Lord, he is the king of Israel, and he is the son 
of David, guess who doesn't take that tact? Guess who doesn't 
take that position? It's the religious leadership. 
It's these monstrous wretches that despise and loathe him, 
and that's why Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us he's the stone 
which the builders rejected. He is the one that was despised. He is the one that functions 
as the chief cornerstone. This is a messianic moment where 
the people of God are supposed to appreciate how all of the 
promises of God are yea and amen in Him, right down to Psalm 118, 
and that expectation on the part of the psalmist in terms of the 
coming of the one in the name of the Lord. And then that brings 
us to the entrance. Now brethren, I'm gonna ask you, 
I know this has been a little bit more theological in nature, 
but I hope you're getting encouraged by it. You can give me a little 
smile or something. This is great stuff, not original 
to me. I had a good week in the study 
in terms of reading stuff on this. It was a blessing. But 
in the synoptic, so Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we have Jesus 
come into the city, and then the people respond. Here, the 
people's response is followed up by Jesus' entrance. That doesn't 
mean there's a contradiction, doesn't mean there's different 
accounts. It means there's a different theological emphasis that John 
wants to communicate. John dispenses with Jesus asking 
for a donkey. John dispenses with Jesus fetching 
the donkey or getting the donkey from his disciples. That's not 
what's important. What's important is that Jesus 
is on the donkey. So we've got this response, or 
we've got this praise to the Lord. They come out of the city 
to meet Him. They wave these palm branches 
at Him. And then they cry, Hosanna, blessed 
is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel, 
the Son of David. So this would be the perfect 
time for Jesus to deny that He's the Messiah, right? This would 
be the perfect time for Jesus to say, you guys got this wrong. I'm not him. That's just not, 
that's not, you missed it. I did some amazing things to 
be sure, but I'm not the Psalm 118 man. I'm not the Psalm 15, 
the Psalm 24 man. I'm not the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin. This would be the perfect place. 
But you know what John wants to show us? That Jesus confirms 
their expectation. that Jesus affirms it, that Jesus 
acknowledges it, that Jesus says, yes, you're absolutely right. I am the Psalm 118 man. I am 
the one who comes in the name of the Lord. I am the king of 
Israel and I am the son of David. So they've already engaged in 
their activity, they've come out to meet him, they've ascribed 
Psalm 118 to him. Now notice what the text says 
concerning Jesus. Verse 14, then Jesus, when he 
had found a young donkey, sat on it as it is written. Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold 
your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. What is that 
but confirmation that what they're expressing by way of coming out, 
palm branches, and ascription of praise based on Psalm 118 
is true. He doesn't get onto the back of that donkey because 
he's a weary man that needs transportation. He gets onto the back of the 
donkey to confirm the prophecy in Zechariah 9, 9. He gets onto 
the donkey to confirm that he is the one who comes in the name 
of the Lord. He is the king of Israel and he is the son of David. 
That's why John phrases it the way that he does. Look at verse 
14. Then Jesus, when he had found 
a young donkey, sat on it as it is written. This had to happen. It had to be the case that Messiah 
would get on the back of this donkey and that he would ride 
into Jerusalem. So Christ is confirming the activity 
of the great multitude. Christ is showing His approbation 
or approval of what they've done. Christ is demonstrating absolutely, 
positively, clearly, in light of Old Covenant Scripture, that 
He is the man that we suspect Him to be. That He is the one 
that leads us in the gate liturgy into the very presence of God 
Most High. He is the one who opens to us 
the gates of righteousness. He is the one that brings us 
into fellowship and communion with God Almighty, as we were 
intended to have, but by our fall into sin, we forfeit. So 
notice the particular Psalm, verse 15. Fear not, daughter 
of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's 
coal. So the synoptics deal with the 
acquisition of the donkey. John goes right to the point. 
Jesus sat on the donkey. And the reason why Jesus sat 
on the donkey, according to John's narrative, is to confirm that 
what they were saying was absolutely positively true. And then when 
you investigate Zechariah chapter 9, specifically verses 9 and 
10, it tells us a great deal of what Messiah will accomplish 
when he comes. In terms of the fulfillment, 
we read, "'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of 
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to 
you! He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, 
a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" So we've got that in an abbreviated 
form here in verse 15. But notice it describes for us 
the nature of the king. Behold, your king is coming to 
you. Again, not to overplay my hand, 
but that's an emphasis throughout the gospel of John. He is the 
coming one from the father. Who are you? Where'd you get 
this authority? My father who sent me conferred 
it upon me. So this... Psalm, or rather this 
prophet affirms that. And then notice the function 
of the king. He is just and has salvation. When it says in the 
prophet, behold your king is coming to you, he is just and 
having salvation. What does that mean, having salvation, 
but to confer it upon the likes of us? To confer it upon needy 
people that have to be saved? He has salvation. Behold, salvation 
belongs to our God and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne, 
as they wave palm branches before that throne in Revelation 7, 
9, and 10. So the Lord Jesus Christ is just 
and He has salvation. And again, in this context, we 
see it in verse 16 specifically with the disciples. As far as 
salvation was, they were concerned, was subjugation of the Roman 
Empire. Overwhelming force of Messiah imposed from on high 
down upon their enemies. A time of prestige, a time of 
prosperity, a time of great joy and benefit. Which, brethren, 
those things aren't bad. We could be too super spiritual 
in the New Covenant. You know, you read the Psalms 
of praise unto God, they actually rejoice in abundance from the 
Lord. They actually rejoice in full 
barns. They actually rejoice in fresh 
milk. They actually rejoice in good 
food. They actually rejoice in temporal peace. They actually 
rejoice in those things. Then again, as Christians say, 
well, we can't really pray for that. Why not? We can't pray 
the Psalms today. We can't sing the Psalms today. 
We can't ascribe praise to God in the way that David does, and 
then thank Him for the various benefits that He confers upon 
us. That Psalm of Thanksgiving in Psalm 103, bless the Lord, 
O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. In case 
you didn't hear yourself, David, let me repeat it again. Bless 
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his 
holy name, and forget not one of his benefits. David then rehearses 
the benefits of God. Certainly forgiveness, I think 
it tops the list, certainly salvation in spiritual sense, but also 
that God has preserved his life. Also that God has benefited him 
and crowned him with loving kindness. See, brethren, that is not a 
bad thing. The prophets convey that reality. But then notice, he is triumphant 
and accomplishes all that the Father gives him to do. You don't 
get that there in that brief citation from Zechariah 9.9, 
but if you follow the train of thought into Zechariah 9.10, 
listen to what it says. "'I will cut off the chariot 
from Ephraim "'and the horse from Jerusalem. "'The battle 
bow shall be cut off. "'He shall speak peace to the 
nations. "'His dominion shall be from 
sea to sea "'and from the river to the ends of the earth.'" See, 
again, they're speaking probably better than they fully understood. 
They're speaking fully better than they realized. But for us 
as readers, Psalm 118, Jesus is the man. Zechariah 9, 9 and 
10, Jesus is the man. And triumphal entry is the beginning. He comes into Jerusalem, and 
then that frames our expectation for everything that happens in 
John's gospel. The upper room discourse, 13 
to 14, what does he do? He equips his disciples. He doesn't 
hide the fact from them that he's going to die, that he's 
going to physically be absent from them. John 17, he prays 
that high priestly prayer. Why do you think he does that? 
because that's typical function of a priest to commune with God 
before entering sacrifice. And then it explains to us the 
significance behind chapters 18 and 19, when he's arrested 
in Gethsemane, when he's brought or trodden before Pontius Pilate, 
and the whole issue is concerning kingship. Are you then a king? Pilate asks him. And what does 
Jesus say? You say rightly that I am a king. It explains to us the significance 
of Golgotha. Why does he go to the cross? 
Because there's salvation that he's bringing. He's just, he's 
lowly, this first coming isn't overwhelming force imposed from 
on high. It is rather the assumption of 
our humanity, the going into Jerusalem on a donkey, the suffering, 
the death, then the resurrection and exaltation to the right hand 
of the Father. This, along with the anointing 
at Bethany, prepares our hearts for the Passion Week that is 
to follow. The significance of it is glorious 
in terms of messianic expectation, in terms of what Christ affirms 
with reference to these actions on the part of these people. 
And that brings us to this mixed reaction. Notice the disciples. John includes himself here in 
verse 16. His disciples did not understand 
these things at first. Just, you know, have you seen 
that meme that shows a guy and he's kind of looking like that 
and the point goes right over his head? John says that. That's what happened. We didn't 
get it. We didn't get the point. We didn't 
get the significance of it. We didn't connect like we did 
later. What was the hermeneutical help 
for them? What brought in everything into 
sharp focus in terms of the coming and the doing and the dying of 
the Lord Jesus? It was His glorification. It was the culmination of His 
work as Messiah on behalf of His people. Notice in verse 16, 
His disciples did not understand these things at first. But when 
Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things 
were written about Him, and that they had done these things to 
Him. Oh yeah! That was Psalm 118. Oh yeah, that was Zechariah 9, 
9 and 10. Oh yeah, that's the significance 
behind it. The disciples probably shared 
the messianic expectation of the broader community. Subjugation 
of the Romans, temporal benefit, food in every belly. but it was 
the salvation aspect from sin that they recognize after his 
death, after his resurrection, after his exaltation on high. 
In other words, when he was glorified, this provided the hermeneutical 
key by which to understand the first coming of the Lord Jesus. 
Same thing with Paul. What taught him or corrected 
him on the road to Damascus according to Acts chapter nine? It was 
the Jesus event. You don't think Paul knew the 
Old Testament? You don't think Paul knew Psalm 
118? You don't think Paul knew Zechariah 9, 9 and 10? You don't 
think Jews today know those passages? They just missed their application 
to the Lord Jesus Christ. So when Jesus comes to Paul on 
that road to Damascus, this was the key that was necessary to 
open up for the apostle Paul the entire breadth of the Old 
Testament scriptures. Oh, that's right. Oh, that's it. Oh, when he stands 
in Pisidian Antioch and he preaches righteousness through faith in 
Jesus Christ, and he says that he can bring what Moses in the 
law never did, never could. It was the hermeneutical key 
that opened up, as it were, the Old Testament scriptures. And 
John the Apostle mentions that the same thing was true for him 
and for his fellows. At first, we didn't get it. I 
mean, they probably got caught up in the event, they probably 
got caught up in the rigmarole, they probably got caught up in 
the bit of frenzy that was going on in Jerusalem at that day, 
but the full significance of it, the application of Old Testament 
prophecy to our Lord Jesus, we didn't get it until He was glorified. And once they got it, what'd 
they do? They preached it. They expounded 
it. They wrote concerning it. They 
turned the world upside down, understanding that this one came 
in the name of Yahweh, this one who is the king of Israel, this 
one who is the son of David. They didn't just sit on that 
information. They didn't just say, oh, that's good for us. 
That's good for our wives. That's good for our kids. No, 
as I said, and as it was said of them, they turned the world 
upside down with reference to preaching this Christ, who was 
the promised fulfillment of all that the Old Testament prophets 
spoke. Notice the people, verses 17 and 18. This had a salutary 
effect upon them. This was a good thing for them. 
Notice, therefore, the people who were with him when he called 
Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. 
What does that mean? It means they said, we saw, we 
saw that Lazarus was dead. There were others raised from 
the dead, Jairus' daughter, but it was pretty quick. The widow 
at Nain's son, Luke 7, it was pretty quick. I mean, there was 
a procession to the funeral and Jesus touches him and raises 
him from the dead. Lazarus was the only one whose 
claim to fame was he actually began to stink. He actually began 
the decomposition process. He was actually in the tomb for 
a period of four days. And so these verse 17 people 
bore witness to him. They testified concerning him. 
They said, Yeah, he's the one that does the signs and that 
answers why their response according to verse 12 and 13. Verse 18 
makes that clear. Notice, for this reason, the 
people also met him because they heard that he had done this sign. 
Messianic expectation was high. You have a fellow called Jesus 
of Nazareth that happens to be doing messianic things. As far 
as they were concerned, the formula was fulfilled. Behold the one 
who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel, the 
Son of David. So you see this antithesis between 
the regular people in Jerusalem, I'm not saying all of them, there 
was a lot of regular people that despised and rejected him and 
held him in contempt also. But it's that leadership, it's 
that religious leadership, and that's where the narrative ends. 
And that also helps us as we enter into the Passion Week, 
because we might ask the question as we move out of the upper room 
discourse, we move from the high priestly prayer to Gethsemane, 
I mean, he just went with his disciples to pray there. And 
these barbarians come and arrest him while he's doing that? These 
wretches, these demons in men's bodies, they have the wherewithal 
to take a fellow who raised a man from the dead, who healed blind 
people, who restored the hearing to the deaf, who restored the 
ability to speak to the mute, they're gonna take him and hang 
him on a cross? Well, verse 19 sets the stage 
for that. We already know they hate him. 
We already know they want to terminate him. We already know 
they want to terminate Lazarus, because Lazarus is the living 
embodiment of the power of Christ in terms of resurrecting people 
from the dead. And that's where the narrative 
ends, at least at this point, and it sets the stage for what 
follows in terms of the announcement that the hour has arrived. So 
look at verse 19. It says, the Pharisees therefore 
said among themselves, You see that you are accomplishing nothing. 
Look, the world has gone after him. It's always good when you 
get a bit of self-awareness on the part of your enemy, isn't 
it? They know they're losers. They know that everything they're 
trying to do is being neutralized. They know that they cannot stop 
the progress of God's kingdom. Gamaliel recognized this at the 
time of the apostles. Remember when Gamaliel says, 
you know, if these guys aren't of God, they're gonna fizzle 
out. But if they are of God, then that puts you in a very 
awkward situation of fighting against God. Ding, ding, ding, 
give Gamaliel a prize because he is spot on there. These fools 
understood that every step they took, every breath they took 
in their opposition to Jesus Christ, it was a failure. Remember 
when we go through Revelation 12 at certain times of the year, 
usually at the incarnation season in December, I preached that 
passage several times. What's one of the recurring themes 
there in Revelation 12? It's the defeat of the devil. 
Everything that loser tries to do to stop up the progress of 
the kingdom, he loses, everything. There's four instances in Revelation 
12 where the devil is defeated. That's what's happening here. 
They're speaking among themselves. We're accomplishing nothing. 
For all our attempts to silence him, for all of our attempts 
to derail him, for all of our attempts to get people to stop 
following him, look at what they say. The world is coming after 
him now. Now that world could be expressed 
in two ways or explained in two ways. One, the great multitude 
of earth's wealth. The fact that a great multitude 
meets Jesus as he enters into the city and they wave palm branches 
at him at the time of the Passover feast. We're not talking about 
five people. We're not talking about a little tiny church. We're 
not talking just about a handful or collection of people. Jerusalem 
was a major city. It was a big city. And at the 
feast time, what was commanded in the Old Testament? You had 
to appear in Jerusalem. So the city is thronged with 
people. And a great multitude of those people actually come 
out and wave palm branches before the Lord and apply Psalm 118 
and see Zechariah 9 played out before their eyes. So the Pharisees 
are at least smart enough and self-aware enough to say, you 
know, we're really not accomplishing anything because the world is 
coming out after him. So it could be the great multitude 
that come, but it also, I think, in John's gospel refers to the 
Gentiles. This is an emphasis by John throughout 
the gospel narrative. And in fact, intriguingly, on 
the heels of this statement in verse 19, look, Look, the world 
has gone after him. I don't think it's accidental 
that in verse 20, in other words, certain Greeks among those who 
came to worship at the feast. Why does he say that? Well, because 
it was a historical fact, but it also illustrates for us who 
the world is. It's not just Israel. It's not 
just that tiny nation. It's the nations of the earth. 
Remember the Hallel Psalms? Psalm 117, the smallest psalm 
in the entirety of this altar. What's it about? It's about Gentile 
inclusion in the covenant promises of God. So the Pharisees, they 
stumble onto truth. The wrath of man does praise 
God most high, and that's what's happening here. They reflect 
upon their miserable failure. You see that you are accomplishing 
nothing. Look, the world has gone after 
him. And I think that there's two 
passages that we ought to couple with this. The fact that they're 
miserable losers. Well, three, I've already mentioned 
Revelation 12, but Jesus' declaration in Matthew 16. I will build my 
church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
That's axiomatic. Any of you take geometry when 
you were youngsters? Many of you youngsters might 
be taking geometry. You know what an axiom is? It's 
a fact by which you prove everything else. It's axiomatic. That's 
a phrase. It means it's a settled thing. 
It's not going anywhere. You will never have a time when 
2 plus 2 doesn't equal 4. No matter what big brother might 
try to communicate, it always makes 4. That's just the way 
it is, right? This is axiomatic. I will build 
my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
Brethren, we ought not to fear. We ought not to be afraid. We 
ought not to run and hide. We ought not to think or throw 
up our hands and say, the Muslims are going to win. The communists 
are going to win. Everybody's going to win. I will 
build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
it. One other passage in the life and the experience of the 
Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy. Where's Paul in 2 Timothy? He's 
on a golf course because that's what retired apostles got. No, 
he wasn't on a golf course because that's not what retired apostles 
got. Paul was in a prison. And Paul knew that he was going 
to die. He's in prison, a first imprisonment in the prison epistles. Philippians, he knows he's in 
prison. He knows the possibility is there that he could die. But 
I think there's a confident expectation on his part that he's probably 
not going to die. Second Timothy, he knows he's going to die. That's 
just it. He's not going to get out. There's 
not going to be any commutation of his sentence. There's not 
going to be any, OK, well, here's some cab fare. You can get back 
to your life and do your thing. Here's what he says. Remember 
that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the 
dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as 
an evildoer, even to the point of chains, but the word of God 
is not chained. Therefore, I endure all things 
for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation 
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul may be in 
chains, but the word of God is not chained. The people of God 
may be oppressed. The people of God may be persecuted. 
The people of God may be victimized. But the church of God cannot 
be stopped. Take a cue from these morons 
in John's gospel. We're accomplishing nothing. 
And if we've been paying attention up to this point, they're trying. They're trying hard. John 5, 
they want to kill him for Sabbath breaking and making himself equal 
with God. John 7, Jesus affirms that they 
want to kill him. John 8, they demonstrate it by 
taking up stones to throw at him. John 10, same thing. They take up stones to throw 
at him. Every step of the way, they fail. Huh, why do you think 
that is? Because God Most High cannot 
be thwarted. God Most High cannot be stopped. 
The one who comes in the name of the Lord will accomplish the 
purpose for which he comes. When Judah comes out or Sally's 
out, all 3,000 of them to arrest Samson and hand him over to the 
Philistines. What do we do? Oh no, the kingdom 
of God is gonna stop? That's God's plan and purpose 
to get Samson near Philistines so he can kill them. The Lord 
Most High will frustrate and thwart all of the machinations 
of evil men. These Pharisees were bound and 
determined. The Sanhedrin, they've already 
convened chapter 11. The judicial decree has been 
executed. We're going to kill him. How 
does the passage end in John 11? They had given a warning 
to everybody in Jerusalem to rat Jesus out. They sick the 
surveillance state upon the Lord Jesus and yet none of this works. God most high is victorious. God most high accomplishes his 
purpose. Jesus will go to that cross. 
Jesus will die in our place. Jesus will be raised again and 
Jesus will ascend on high, lead captivity captive and give gifts 
to men. That's the way we read scripture, 
brethren. We read it with the confident expectation that everything 
God has promised will indeed occur. It will indeed be fulfilled. We take the hermeneutical principle 
of Paul in 2 Corinthians, that Jesus is the yea and amen of 
all of the promises of God. It cannot be frustrated, it cannot 
be thwarted, it cannot be stopped. He will build his church and 
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. That is an 
encouraging way to end the exposition. Just a couple of applications, 
then we move, or we close. The obedience of the Son of the 
Father. Why does He do what He does? Because He's obeying the 
Father. You see that reference to the act of obedience of the 
Son to the Father throughout John's gospel. How many times 
does He say, all that the Father gives me, or all that the Father 
commands I do? Remember that scene in John 4? 
He says, my meat, my food is to do the will of Him who sent 
me. Again, that's not us being described in Psalm 15 and Psalm 
24, it's Jesus being described. None of us, even as redeemed 
men and women, don't usually say, you know, my food, my sustenance, 
is to do the will of Him who sent me. Until there's, you know, 
a taco there, then that's my food, right? Until there's some 
sort of diversion there, then that's my food. Christ's active 
obedience to every jot and tootle of the law of God, we need that, 
our lives depend upon it. But His passive obedience, this 
entry into Jerusalem, knowing full well what awaits Him, knowing 
that cup of God's holy wrath, knowing that fury, knowing that 
penalty, knowing that need for the satisfaction of divine justice, 
and nevertheless, He continues to go forward. We ought to rejoice 
in the obedience of our Savior on our behalf. As well, the confirmation 
of the crowd by the Son. He doesn't deflect this. He doesn't 
tell them, no, I'm not the man. By sitting on that donkey and 
riding into Jerusalem, he affirms and confirms that he is the Psalm 
118 man. He is the Zechariah 9, 9 and 
10 man. And then in terms of Zechariah 
9, the lowliness associated with his coming. He's lowly and riding 
on a donkey. What do you think that this messianic 
expectation would have been for those who thought the subjugation 
of the Romans, the temporal benefit of the people of Israel, the 
physical prosperity of this geopolitical body? You'd come in on a stallion. He'd have come in, you know, 
like bandoleros wrapped around him, guns blazing. That would 
be the expectation that obtained at that particular time. Not 
that a donkey isn't significant in the Bible. It's not that donkeys 
are bad. It's not that donkeys aren't 
utilized. It's not that donkeys are somehow, 
you know, horrible things. But in terms of a battle animal, 
you probably would take the stallion over the donkey. I mean, just 
for speed and dexterity and ability to wield your weaponry and all 
that sort of thing. So he comes on a donkey. What does that show? 
The first coming of the Savior. He's a man of sorrows. He's acquainted 
with grief. Not a top-down imposition of 
the kingdom of God, but rather him assuming our humanity living 
for us, dying for us, and being raised again for us. The purpose 
associated with His coming wasn't the subjugation of the Roman 
Empire, wasn't a donkey in every pot, wasn't a chicken in every 
pot. It was having salvation. So that's where the Jews missed 
it. That's where they still miss 
it. They're waiting in vain for Messiah. Messiah has come. Messiah is exalted at the right 
hand of the Father. Messiah will come again in glory 
to judge the living and the dead. Make peace with Messiah. Believe 
on him. Turn from your wretched sins. 
Flee to the one in whom alone there is salvation. That was 
the purpose associated with his first coming. It's the salvation 
of his people from their sins. The beneficiaries associated 
with his coming. Again, the Pharisees don't realize 
how perfectly biblical they are when they say, look, the world 
has gone after him. Zechariah 9, 10. He shall speak 
peace to the nations, not just to one, but to the nations, plural. 
And the glory associated ultimately with his second coming, his dominion 
shall be from sea to sea. His dominion will be comprehensive. It will be all pervasive. It 
will usher in a time of eternal blessing and bliss for all those 
who by grace have taken refuge in Him through faith. Good place 
to end. If you have not believed on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, today is the day of salvation. Now is the 
acceptable time. Don't say, well, I'm going to 
wait and see how things play out to see if it's actually true 
or not. It's true. Absolutely, positively true. 
I encourage you to take a New Testament and look at the fulfillment 
passages. Look at every time the evangelist 
Matthew says, and it was fulfilled, and it was fulfilled, and it 
was fulfilled. Well, you think this was lucky? 
You think this was happenstance? You think it just kind of fits? 
Jesus is, in fact, the yea and amen of all the promises of God. And that being the case, he is 
the one who has salvation. So coming to him in faith will 
bring that salvation. It will bring forgiveness. and 
it will bring a righteousness by which you can enter in to 
the presence of God Most High. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the beauty 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. As the bride says, he is altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000. And we rejoice in him. We rejoice 
in his work, this entry into Jerusalem, knowing full well 
what he would accomplish on behalf of his people. We thank you and 
praise you for the saving interest that you have given to us. And 
we pray that wherever this gospel is proclaimed, many from every 
tribe and tongue and people and nation would come to you through 
the sun and know the joy of the Lord as their strength. And we 
pray this in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close our service by singing 
hymn 564. 564 in your hymn book. We'll stand 
as we sing this praise unto God together. 564. you is The Lord bless you and keep you. 
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for your grace. Thank 
you that you go with us now and you bring us that peace that 
does surpass all understanding. Bring us together tonight that 
we may worship and glorify you. Watch over us and keep us by 
your grace and for your glory. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, amen. You may be seated for a brief 
time of meditation.