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Matthew 21:1-11 (Triumphal Entry; Palm Sunday)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called “Lead Me to the Cross.” The past ten weeks we have been following Jesus’ last days to the cross. The last two weeks we looked at Jesus’ sufferings and death on the cross. These are weighty passages of Scripture, tinged with tragedy, soaked with sadness.

But today we jump back to the Sunday before Jesus went to the cross. You’ve heard of throwback Thursday or flashback Friday. Well, today we flashback to Palm Sunday, and the contrast is striking. Instead of grief and sadness, there is excitement in the air! The mood is festive, joyful, and celebratory! And it makes you wonder? What happened? What happened between Palm Sunday and Good Friday to bring about such a change of events?

As we shall see from today’s passage, a lot of it had to do with expectations. Jesus had one plan for what he would do when he got to Jerusalem, but the crowds had a very different plan. And anytime your plan is different from God’s plan, you will find yourself asking the same question: “What happened?” (Read Matthew 21:6-9 and pray.)

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So, what are your plans in life? What do you plan to do? What do you hope to accomplish? Have you talked to God about it? Someone once said, “If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans!”

I don’t know what your plans are, but I do know that God has a plan for your life. And I know that if you follow God’s plan, your life will be so much better. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God’s plan might not always make sense to you while it is happening, but his plan is always best. His plan is always right. And his plan usually looks quite different from your plan.

God’s plan and the people’s plan were different that first Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. And that is why when we flashback to Palm Sunday from the cross, we find ourselves asking, “What happened? What happened between Palm Sunday and Good Friday?”

I. God’s plan (1-5)

Let’s take a look at God’s plan first. Jesus was following God’s plan for this day, and God’s plan was for Jesus to enter Jerusalem as a king, but not the kind of king the people were expecting.

   A. Jesus enters Jerusalem in gentleness and peace (1-3)
      – 1 Kings 1:38-40

And so, on Palm Sunday Jesus enters Jerusalem in gentleness and peace. Look at verses 1-3 with me:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” (Matthew 21:1-3)

When it comes to God’s plan for Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, let me give you a hint. It’s all about the donkey. It’s true! When they get close to Jerusalem, what does Jesus do? He sends two of his disciples ahead of him to get a donkey.

Now whether Jesus just knew supernaturally that this donkey would be there or whether he had prearranged with the owners, it doesn’t matter. The donkey is essential to God’s plan here, so Jesus sends the disciples off to get it. He tells them, “You will find a mother donkey together with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me.” He even tells them what to say if someone tries to stop them. “The Lord needs them.” Jesus needed the donkey and her colt. Why? Because the donkey was a necessary part of God’s plan.

Now you might be wondering at this point, what’s so important about a donkey? Well, notice where Jesus is standing when he sends the disciples off to get the donkey. They are at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Bethphage is close to Bethany where Jesus worked his greatest miracle yet, the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. This miracle had many people wondering if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And the Mount of Olives is an important geographical marker when it comes to Messianic prophecy. In the Old Testament book of Zechariah, one of the identifiers of the Messiah is that he comes from the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4-9). Now that prophecy refers more to his second coming than his first, but at that time they didn’t know there were going to be two separate comings of Jesus.

Up to this point Jesus has been hiding the fact that he is the Messiah from the people, but now he will make his identity known. He is the Messiah who has come giving sight to the blind and raising the dead. He is the king who has come to his people, but he is not the kind of king the people are expecting. They are expecting a conquering king who will deliver them from the Roman Empire.

So, what does the donkey have to do with it? When a king rode into a city on a donkey, that was a symbol of gentleness and peace. For example, when Solomon became king, he rode a mule to his anointing (1 Kings 1:38-40). A conquering king would ride into the city on a war horse, but a king who came in peace rode a donkey or mule. Jesus presents himself to the people as Messiah, but a different type of Messiah than what they were expecting. He has not come to make war but to make peace. And so, he chose the donkey.

   B. Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy (4-5)
      – Zechariah 9:9; Genesis 49:10-11

Jesus also chose the donkey to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. Look at verses 4-5:

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” (Matthew 21:4-5)

Matthew quotes from Zechariah 9:9 here, a prophecy which foretold that the Messiah would come to Jerusalem gentle and riding on a donkey. This is remarkable! God’s plan for the donkey stretched all the way back to the Old Testament book of Zechariah. Of course, it goes back even further than that. There are images of the donkey in Messianic prophecies as far back as the book of Genesis (see Genesis 49:10-11). God’s plan was to use the donkey all along. Like we said earlier, when it comes to God’s plan for Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, it’s all about the donkey.

II. The people’s plan (6-11)

Well, that was God’s plan. How about the people’s plan?

   A. The people welcome Jesus as their King (6-8)
      – 2 Kings 9:13

Well first of all, notice the people welcome Jesus as their king. Look at verses 6-8:

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. (Matthew 21:6-8)

The disciples do exactly as Jesus instructed. They get the donkey and the colt, they place their cloaks on the animals, and Jesus rides the colt, the young donkey that had never been ridden before, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Zechariah. The disciples knew what they were doing when they put Jesus on the donkey at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives entering Jerusalem. They were presenting Jesus as their king, and the crowd welcomed Jesus as their king.

First, they created a royal carpet of sorts by spreading their cloaks on the road before him. This custom went back to Old Testament times where the people would spread their cloaks on the ground before the approaching king. We read about it in 2 Kings 9:13: “They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, ‘Jehu is king!’” (2 Kings 9:13) Spreading your cloak on the ground before the king was a sign of submission to his authority, that you were acknowledging him as king. So, when the people take their cloaks and spread them on the ground before Jesus, they are welcoming him into Jerusalem as their king. They are submitting to his authority as king.

Others cut palm branches and spread them on the road. Palm branches were a sign of military victory, and so now we begin to understand what kind of king the people expected in Jesus. If Palm Sunday for Jesus was all about the donkey, for the people it was all about the palms. Once again, they were looking for a military king who would deliver them from the power of Rome.

   B. The people proclaim Jesus as Messiah (9)
      – Psalm 118:19-27

The people not only welcome Jesus as their king. They proclaim Jesus as Messiah. Look at verse 9:

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)

The crowd gets bigger as they approach Jerusalem, and now there are crowds of people ahead of Jesus as well as crowds of people following, and they are all shouting: “Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Hosanna was a cry of salvation. It literally means, “Save us!” So, the people were crying out, “Hosanna! Save us, Son of David!”

“Son of David” is a messianic title. The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of David. The Messiah would be a king who would take the throne of his father David and reign forever. So, when the people cried out, “Save us, Son of David,” they were proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” was a common greeting among pilgrims attending the feast at Jerusalem. But here the greeting takes on additional significance as the people proclaim Jesus as the Messiah who comes in the name of the Lord (see Psalm 118:19-27).

“Hosanna in the highest” takes this even further. When Jesus was born, the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest!” – that is, all the way up to heaven where God dwells. “Hosanna in the highest” indicates that the people believed that Jesus had come from God. God had sent them the promised Messiah, and the people received Jesus as such.

   C. The people identify Jesus as the Prophet (10-11)
      – Deuteronomy 18:15

The people welcome Jesus as their King. They proclaim him as Messiah. And thirdly they identify him as the Prophet. Look at verses 10-11:

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10-11)

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred. This is not the first time the city of Jerusalem has been stirred by the arrival of Jesus. It also happened at his birth. Earlier Matthew tells us how Magi from the east came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:2-3)

Well, now the whole city is stirred again. They see Jesus riding into the city on the donkey with the people laying their cloaks on the road before him and waving the palm branches and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and they ask, “Who is this?”

And the crowd answers: “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” Moses told the people of Israel in the Old Testament: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15) Jesus was the prophet like Moses in fulfillment of this prophecy. And so, when the people of Jerusalem ask, “Who is this?” the crowds identify him as the prophet.

III. What happened?!??!!???
      – John 3:16-17

On Palm Sunday the people welcomed Jesus as their King, they proclaimed him as Messiah, and they identified him as the Prophet. And on Good Friday they crucified him. So, what happened? God’s plan was different than the people’s plan.

The people wanted a political Savior who would come to Jerusalem and set them free from the power of Rome. God’s plan was to send a spiritual Savior who would come to Jerusalem and set them free from the power of sin.

Remember God’s plan on Palm Sunday was all about the donkey. Jesus came to Jerusalem not in war but in peace. Somehow the people missed that part. Even the disciples didn’t put these things together until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We are all familiar with John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). But John 3:17 is an important verse, too: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Jesus entered Jerusalem in gentleness and peace. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The people cried, “Hosanna! Lord save us!” They thought Jesus would save them from Rome. But Jesus answered their cries in a different way. Jesus answered their cries in a better way. He was coming to save them from sin. And so, even on Palm Sunday Jesus’ life and actions all said to the Father: “Lead me to the cross.”

CONCLUSION: So, back to our original question, do you have any plans? God has a plan. He had a plan for Jesus, and he has a plan for you. His plan is probably different than your plan, but I can guarantee you this. His plan is better than your plan as well.

The people’s plan for Jesus was to crown him as king right then and there. God’s plan was for Jesus to go to the cross. If Jesus had followed the people’s plan, he would never have gone to the cross, and you and I could never be saved.

God’s plan is different than your plan. It may not make sense to you at first. At certain points in your life, you may even look back and ask, “What happened?” But you need to trust God and follow it through. (He has a lot of experience with this!)

God is all-knowing, all-loving and all-wise. God’s plan is not only different than your plan. It’s better than your plan. Will you trust and follow him today?

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Prayer: Father in heaven, thank you for sending Jesus to us not on a war horse, but gentle and riding on a donkey – going to the cross to make peace between us and you, to provide forgiveness for our sins, to restore us to relationship with you, to be a true Savior, the type of Savior we needed, even if we might have been looking for a different type of Savior.

Lord Jesus, one day you will return, and you will not be on a donkey. You will be riding a mighty war horse, coming as conquering and ruling King to conquer all sin and evil in this world. You will sit on your father David’s throne, and you will reign in truth and righteousness and justice and mercy and peace forever. How we look forward to that day!

Lord, what happened between Palm Sunday and Good Friday? You came to be our Savior, and we are eternally grateful. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

© Ray Fowler

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