Palm Sunday by William Hemmerling

Message: Jesus, The King
Scriptures: Luke 19:29-44
This message was offered Palm Sunday, 3/25/18 at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota Florida.

Jesus enters Jerusalem a king
King Solomon entered Jerusalem the same way when he claimed his father’s throne. King David’s throne. The prophecy of the promised Messiah-King was well known

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King
He’d been offered a crown before but now he was finally accepting it.

• The devil offered Jesus a crown 3 years earlier if he’d bow down and worship. Jesus refused to worship anyone but the Lord God his Father
• Jesus taught and fed a crowd of over 5000. They wanted to crown him king on the spot. Jesus withdrew to a mountain by himself instead. It wasn’t time.
• Now it’s time. His crown will be a crown of thorns.

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King
Not on a proud Arabian stallion. Not on a mighty, Roman war chariot, but on a donkey, a young donkey, a colt. An animal so small it had never been ridden. An animal so small it probably struggled up the hill to Jerusalem under his weight, so small Jesus’ legs were probably dangling, almost touching the ground, laughable.

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King on a donkey, a colt, and it’s borrowed.

• He borrowed the donkey like he borrowed a boy’s lunch to feed the 5000
• Like he borrowed the boat so he could preach to the pressing crowd by the sea of Galilee
• Like he’ll borrow an upper room to have the last supper and borrow a grave for his dead, tortured body
• Even in death, Jesus has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20)

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King
King of Kings, Lord of Lords and the king of vulnerability, the ruler of humility, the monarch of meekness. Meekness is not a doormat. Neither is humility. It is power under authority.

Through Jesus, all things came into being. He is the Word of God spoken in Creation. (John 1) Yet he laid aside his infinite power placing it under the authority of the Father to be one of us, one with us, so we could be one with him.

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King
A weeping king. These are not quiet tears. Luke describes it as convulsive sobbing. Jesus knows what’s coming-

• The blessings and praise turning to cursing and “Crucify Him!”
• The waving hands turning into fists of punishment
• The cloaks on the road turning to grave clothes on his corpse

Jesus is a weeping king
He doesn’t weep for himself. He weeps for Jerusalem. He weeps for us.

Jerusalem will be destroyed in less than 40 years and so many other cities down through time. He sees the

• Starvation- people resorting to eating their leather belts and sandals
• People taken into slavery
• Bloodshed and tortured cries at the hands of oppressors
• People barely escaping to a new land

Jesus is a weeping king because so many do not recognize their time of visitation from God. Instead of running to Jesus, rejoicing with palms, shouting with excitement like little children…

• They complain about the disruption
• They label Jesus dangerous, a pretender
• They cling to their earthly power and position

Jesus enters Jerusalem a King
He also enters this place, this moment. How will you welcome him?

• With cursing or a confession of faith
• With contempt or excitement and rejoicing
• By crucifying him by clinging to your earthly power and position
• or by rejoicing and welcoming him, by crowning him King of your heart

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Palm Sunday Prayer by Lisa Degrenia
Blessed Are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe.
In Jesus, you rule and reign,
Not as a tyrant, but as a humble servant
Riding on a borrowed donkey
Washing feet
Suffering from injustice

Open our hearts with this truth
Take your throne

Open our lips with shouts of praise
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!

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I’m excited to now offer mp3’s of my Sunday messages. A huge thank you to Sean and my brothers and sisters at Trinity United Methodist Church, Sarasota for all their help in making this possible. If you’re ever in Sarasota, please drop by for worship Sundays at 9am or 10:30am, or join us live on our Facebook page at 9am Sundays, or drop by during the week for a chat or small group. You and those you love are always welcome.

sermon © 2017 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia
Contact Lisa for posting and publication considerations.