In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

Today is Palm Sunday! Today we remember how our Savior and King rode into Jerusalem as the people praised him. May we praise him too! He was on the way to the cross and the empty tomb.

{28} After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. Jesus had just told the parable of the ten minas. He continued to move forward to Jerusalem, even though he knew what would happen there. Jesus had informed his disciples about it. In the preceding chapter, we read: (Luke 18:31-33) Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. {32} He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. {33} On the third day he will rise again." That's a very clear prediction! Jesus didn't beat around the bush. He didn't talk vaguely. He very pointedly said that he would be handed over to the Gentiles. They would mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. But he would not stay dead. On the third day he would rise again. Jesus predicted everything that was going to happen.

For our vantage point, it is rather difficult to see why the disciples didn't seem to know more than they did in Holy Week. Jesus' clear and precise predictions seemed to sail right over their heads. It's almost like they were daydreaming, or not even listening. I think the same thing when I read what some people write about that movie, "The Passion of the Christ." Christianity is such a major religion in the world, and yet very educated people have absolutely no idea what Christianity is really all about.

But you know, don't you? Surely, you know what happened in Jerusalem. You know what Jesus was talking about. You know why it happened too, don't you? Jesus was going to Jerusalem to save sinners.

Every single one of us stands before God as a sinner. Whether we realize or not, it's true. Whether we admit it or not, it's true. We are sinners. I am a sinner. You, my friend, are a sinner too. We have failed to love and trust in God enough. We have failed to love others as we should. We have done what God forbids. We have failed to do what God commands. Repent! It is not yet too late. Repent of your sins! You cannot earn heaven by works. Jesus is the only way to heaven. That's why he was riding into Jerusalem. He was riding into Jerusalem to save us.

{29} As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, {30} "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. {31} If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'" {32} Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. {33} As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" {34} They replied, "The Lord needs it." The first truth we notice when studying what the Bible has to say about Palm Sunday is that our King is humble. Just take a look at His transportation! They may not have had Air Force One. They may not have had armored limousines. But they had better transportation than donkeys! Yet this was the transportation our Lord would use when riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This had all been foretold quite clearly by the Lord through the Old Testament prophet Zechariah. The Messiah, the Savior, would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt. This revealed something of our Savior's character. Jesus was humble.

Notice how Jesus obtains this humble form of transportation. He sends His disciples to just go and get a donkey colt from the nearby village. Since Jesus knows all things, he knew that the colt was there. Since Jesus is true God, he could tell them to just say, "The Lord needs it."

"The Lord needs it." That was all He told the disciples to say. No further explanation was needed. "The Lord needs it." As true God, Jesus has the authority to do this whenever He wants to. He owns everything. He can commandeer whatever He wants whenever he wants it.

This is one of the very first lessons of Christian stewardship: God owns everything. We are just managers or stewards. Everything we have is on loan from God. He wants us to be good stewards, or faithful managers, of His possessions. He wants us to put him first. We are to give generous, first-fruit offerings to God. We are to provide for our families. We are to pay any taxes we owe to the government. And so on. But, we are only managers or stewards. From time to time, we tend to forget this. We might begin to think that we own our possessions. Like children, we might grab and hoard something and say, "This is mine!" But is it really? Can you take it with you when you die?

At any moment, Jesus could just walk into our homes and say, "I need this, and this and this." And he could take it, and it wouldn't be stealing! He owns it! We are only stewards! He can just say, "The Lord needs it" and take it. On Palm Sunday, He did this. He said, "The Lord needs it," and away went the donkey.

{35} They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. {36} As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. Cloaks were outer garments. Like spring jackets, cloaks kept people warm. But on this day these cloaks had a greater purpose than keeping people warm. Jesus was riding into town. He's the King! So, the people threw their cloaks on the colt as a saddle, and they spread their cloaks on the road before Him almost like rolling out the red carpet. They were proclaiming Jesus to be their King! These acts showed great respect and honor for Jesus. This took humility on the part of the people too.

Would you do this? Would you take your nice coat and throw it on the ground before Jesus? This is how we should act before our King! We should not walk around here as though we own the place! This is the house of God! We are welcome here. We belong here. We are invited. But let us show respect for our Lord and King! Let us be properly humble before our Lord and King.

Increasingly, we live in a generation that does not know its place. We live in a very coarse society. People say what they want and do what they want. Everybody acts like King and Queen. But, every once in a while it is good to remember that Jesus is the King, and I am not. We are not the most important people here! Jesus is! Roll out the red carpet for our Savior! Show him proper respect.

The other accounts tell us that people ran to cut palm branches and waved them as a sign of joy and celebration. This was a happy day! The King, our Savior, was riding into Jerusalem. Whether they knew it or not, this was the city where every sin would be paid for!

{37-38} When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: {38} "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" There were more than 12 disciples there. "The whole crowd of disciples" praised God "in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen." They expressed their faith. John mentions that they especially remembered the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus did many miracles. He could raise the dead, make the lame to run, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear.

They said, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord." These words come from Psalm 118. They were saying: here is the Messiah! He has come to save us! They were praising Jesus as the Savior and King who came in the Lord's name. They were saying that the Messiah had come! This would cause a problem, though.

{39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" They thought this was blasphemy! They called Jesus "teacher." They did not want anyone to say that Jesus was the Messiah, the long promised Savior. They wanted Jesus to rebuke these disciples. But he wasn't going to do it.

{40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." This was the day our Savior would be praised. There would not be much praise for the rest of this week. But on this day, our Savior would be praised. And if these disciples didn't do it, the very stones would cry out! There are times when worship should be solemn. This Thursday and Friday will be examples. And there are times when worship should be a joyful celebration of praise. Palm Sunday is one of those days. On this day, Jesus would be praised even if the stones had to do it.

There would be plenty of agony and suffering in coming days. Our perfect Savior went forward as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He had lived a perfect life. He would now proceed all the way to Golgotha, and offer the one sacrifice for sin. He would die in our place. And he would save us from sin.

Jesus had told his disciples: "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. {32} He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. {33} On the third day he will rise again." This is what holy week is all about! The suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Won't you join us in coming days? Join us to hear what Jesus did to win peace with God. Join us to remember what it cost Jesus to win free forgiveness of sin for all of us. Because he went all the way through this way of sorrows, through Gethsemane, Calvary's cross and the empty tomb, whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life! Believe in him. Praise him. Praise Jesus who came to save us. Amen.