Matthew chapter 21, verse 5. Just one little
verse, that means a short sermon, amen? Get back
there to that food. Hey, but the good news is,
is even if I go long, it's okay, because most
of it's in a crock pot, plugged in on warm, so
it'll be hot whenever we get back there. Matthew
chapter 21, verse 5. Most of you have probably
noticed. The palms that Miss Angeline has brought
and put out for us, we thank you for that, and
always for the flowers you put out for us. If
you did not know, this is Palm Sunday. This was
when Jesus came into town not long before he
would be crucified. He came into town with celebration.
There were a lot of people rejoicing, but not
everybody. There were some that were not so happy
to see Jesus coming into town and getting the
reception. that he was getting, and that's what
we see in Matthew chapter 21. We're not going
to dig into all the details of it today. If you're
not familiar with what occurred on that day,
I would encourage you this week to read Matthew
21. We'll talk about some of it, but there's
a lot more to consider and to think about. It's
really beautiful to read those words, but that'll
be good homework for you. But we're just going
to look at one little verse today, Matthew chapter
21. Verse 5. We'll read it, then we'll pray.
Tell daughter Zion, look, your king is coming
to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. Let's
pray. God, we come to you today, and I thank
you that we can come into your house. I thank
you, dear Lord, that you are good to us. I thank
you that you are gracious and that you are patient
with us. I thank you, God, that you are gentle
with us, dear Lord. We thank you for Jesus Christ,
for being who he was. And I pray, dear Lord,
that today, that through your word, we would
see the gentleness of Jesus, God. That perhaps
there are some in this room today, dear Lord,
that need to feel that gentleness in their life,
that compassion in their life today. God, I pray.
that you free us from the worries and the distractions
and the stresses and the pains and the heartaches
of this life today, and that in these few minutes,
your Holy Spirit would speak to us, dear Lord.
God, there are no good words I can say if they
do not come from you, so I pray, God, that it
is your Spirit that speaks through me and to
each one of us today, that we would hear, that
we would grow in you, dear Lord, that we would
trust in you, and that we would find joy in you
this day. And I ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. The scene has been set for Jesus. He had
come and he had accomplished almost all of what
he had come to do. He had come for a purpose.
He had come to bring salvation to all who would
trust in him. And he had spent three years or
so, give or take, doing the work of God, preaching
and teaching. about the Word of God, trying to
point them to what God's Word really meant, what
it stood for, and he wanted them to know that
ultimately he was going to be the one that they
would have to follow if they wanted to find salvation.
And Jesus had imparted this onto his disciples,
and he had been teaching and preaching them,
but the time had come for Jesus to complete his
mission. And Jesus would complete that mission.
By giving his life on the cross. But before that
occurred, Jesus came into town that day. He came
into town as he had many times before. But there
as he came into town that day, he had a very
warm welcome from a large group of people. And
as Jesus rode into town, they began to take off
their coats, and they began to gather up palm
branches, and they began to place them in the
middle of the street. And here come Jesus Christ,
the King of kings, Lord of lords, riding right
down the middle of the street. Now this was all
prophesied. The verse that I just read for you,
it calls us back to Isaiah chapter 62 and Zechariah
chapter 9 where God's word said that the Messiah
was going to come, the king was going to come,
and he was going to come in an unexpected way.
At least what you would think when you think
of a king coming into town. And I was thinking
as I was studying. What do you expect a king
to come into town on? What do you expect the
most powerful man on the planet to come into
town? And I was thinking, well, what do kings
and world leaders in our world today drive? I
wanted to show you a few things to give you an
idea. Here's the first one right here. Anybody
ever seen this car before? This is what the Emperor
of Japan rides in. This is what's called a Toyota
Century. You've probably never heard of a Toyota
Century. It's a very rare car. They don't make
very many of them. They started making them in
1967, and it was relatively unchanged until just
the last few years. But this is the newer model
of it. Of course, it's got all the bells and
whistles and all of the luxuries. The next car...
is the car that is driven by the Prime Minister
of India. This is a Mercedes Maybach. You may
have heard of a Maybach before, or maybe not.
You don't... really see them around it's a very
rare car and for good reason they are quite expensive
it's a mercedes which is already nice enough
and then it it goes to the next level they take
it to 11. it's got a massive v12 twin turbo engine
it's got all the bells and whistles and everything
you could possibly imagine The next one on the
list, you might recognize this. This is the car
that the President of the United States rides
in. Now, I'll just say it's a Cadillac because
it is a Cadillac, but not really. It's not really...
like any other Cadillac there is and it's actually
sitting on the on a truck frame on a big truck
frame and it's got these pieces and parts that
that kind of are Cadillac but kind of aren't
stuck on the side of it to make it look like
a Cadillac and it's got everything you could
possibly imagine it's bomb proof and rocket resistant
and it's got its own air supply inside it's got
a blood bank in there with the president's blood.
And there's two of these that go everywhere the
president goes, wherever he goes in the world.
And this is a lap of luxury that our president
rides in. Y 'all will like this next one. This
next car here is one of the many cars of the
Sultan of Brunei. You say, I don't know where
Brunei is. Well, look it up after church. He
has Quite the car collection the Sultan of Brunei
does. This right here is a Rolls Royce Silver
Spirit. Of course, it's all plated in gold, 24
karat gold. It is the ultimate status symbol
of wealth and power. Let's check out this next
one. The next one is the car of the King of England,
the Royal... And I know what some of you are
probably thinking. You're probably saying, well,
that kind of looks like a grandma car. And you're
right. It is a grandma car because it actually
was designed by the Queen of England when she
was still alive. And everything in it is made
for... Let's just say an older person. The floorboards
are super flat with all the mechanical stuff
running far under the car so there are no humps.
The roof is raised really high so she can get
in and out and not bump her head. She even got
a special compartment she could tuck her purse
away in so she wouldn't have to have it sitting
on the floor anywhere. Big windows all the way
around, front and back, even over part of the
roof so that she can be seen by everyone. Next
car on the list. This one's a little different.
This is the presidential car of the president
of Chile. Now, you may say, well, this don't
look very extravagant. And maybe it's not, but
this has been the presidential car since 1970.
It is a 1966 Ford Galaxy 500 XL. And this is
what the president of Chile is ridden around
in. Now, this is quite the collection of cars.
These are the types of vehicles that the most
powerful people in the world drive. They are
the fastest. They are the most extravagant. They
are made to give this symbol of power, this symbol
of wealth. They are made so that everyone can
see them and know their power and their strength
and know that they are the leader, that everyone
can watch them and stand on the sides of the
roads as they drive by in these beautiful cars.
extravagant and powerful cars, and these are
the types of vehicles that the most powerful
people in the world drive. Here we see in our
story today that Jesus Christ, the King of kings,
the Lord of lords, did not come into Jerusalem
that day on anything extravagant at all. You
know, Jesus, he could have snapped his fingers,
and any of those cars that you saw on that screen,
Jesus could have had them, boom, appear right
there in Jerusalem that day. Can you imagine
if Jesus would have come down the road in that
gold car? Man, people would have, they wouldn't
have known what was going on. Their mind would
have been blown. They would have said, what is
that chariot that he's riding in? Where are the
horses at? And you say, they're under the hood.
They say, how did you get horses under the hood?
People wouldn't have known what was going on.
But Jesus Christ, there's something that is beautiful
about Jesus. It's far more beautiful than gold
adorning our wheels, and it's far more beautiful
than horsepower. It's far more beautiful than
the finest leathers from the finest places in
the world. It's far more beautiful than all that.
The beauty of Jesus Christ is in his humility.
It's in his gentleness. And Jesus could have
chosen anything in the world to ride into town
on that day. But of all the things he could have
chosen, he chose a donkey. Of all the things
he could have chosen, this was not the ride of
a king, not the Son of God, not the King of Kings,
not the Lord of Lords. Of all the things, he
couldn't just get just an old raggedy chariot
maybe? Of all the things that Jesus could have
chosen that day, He chose the lowliest thing
that he could. He chose a small donkey. And in
the scripture we read today, it says, Look, your
king is coming to you, gentle and mounted on
a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast
of burden. There was one word that stood out
to me as I was reading this week and studying
and looking at this passage. And we really see
this in Jesus all throughout his ministry. And
that is that Jesus is gentle. Now some of your
translations may differ there. Some may say humble
and some may say lowly and some may say weak
and some say gentle. And all of those words are
slightly different. But in the context of this
verse, they really all mean the same thing. we
see that there was something unique about Jesus
and something beautiful about Jesus. He wasn't
coming to be seen by everyone. He wasn't coming
to be some celebrity. He wasn't coming so that
everyone would bow before him and say, oh, there's
Jesus. He was coming humbly to give his life
on a cross so that our sins could be forgiven.
And that day Jesus came into town as he had spent
the last three years of his life. dealing with
people gently, with compassion and grace and
mercy and love. And that's still how Jesus deals
with us today. Jesus is still a gentle Savior
today. It's the gentleness of Jesus that we need
today because our lives are so full of sin. Our
lives are so full of evil. Our hearts are so
full of just this darkest, nastiest stuff that
there is. And we have done such horrible things
in our life. But I want to tell you today that
whatever your sin may be, That Jesus has died
on the cross. He wants to deal with you gently
today. That Jesus tells us through his word today
that we may be forgiven of our sins if we would
simply come to him. That Jesus has come to carry
our burden for us. And on that day, 2 ,000 years
ago, Jesus came into town on a donkey, a beast
of burden. He rode a beast of burden. And just
a few days later, Jesus would be the one who
would take the burden for you and I so that Jesus
could deal with us gently today. Our sins are
deserving of the wrath of God, of the eternal
punishment of God. But Jesus says, I want to
give you away. I want to deal with you gently.
I'll take the harshness of the wrath of God and
the punishment of God, and I will go to the cross
and give my life so that I can gently deal with
you and give you compassion and let you know
today that if you would just come to Jesus Christ,
your sins would be forgiven. That whatever is
in your heart, whatever you've done, that Jesus
Christ says those things can be wiped away and
it can be washed as white as snow. Today, Jesus
Christ wants to forgive your sins. He wants to
deal with you gently. He wants to take your burden
from you. Jesus was not a flashy and fancy Savior.
Not like the world leaders we see today. He was
a humble man with one mission, to do the will
of God. And he desired to do the will of God
because he loves you. He doesn't love us to stay
in our sin. He doesn't want us to continue on
our evil. He wants us to repent of that, to say,
Lord, I know I've done wrong. I know that I've
sinned, but I believe, Lord Jesus, that you took
my sin when you died on the cross and was raised
again by God. So would you forgive me, dear Lord?
I repent of my sins. Be my Lord and Savior, Lord
Jesus, I want to follow you. That's why Jesus
died on the cross. And so there is forgiveness
for us today. There is hope for us today. The
gentleness of Jesus Christ that was on exhibit
when Jesus came into town on that donkey all
those years ago is here before us today. Matthew
chapter 11 verses 28 and 29 says, Come to me
all you who are weary and burdened and I will
give you rest. All of you, take up my yoke and
learn from me, because I am gentle and humble
in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.
What a beautiful, beautiful invitation today.
That Jesus says, come to me, I am gentle and
humble, and if you come to me, you will find
rest for yourselves. We need rest today. Life
is tough. It is tough. Even on the best days,
life is tough. You are running in every different
direction with your spouse and with your kids
and with your church and with your job, and everything
is just full force. It's just nonstop. Good days,
bad days. The bad days, it just seems like they
never end, one thing after another. And there
are seasons of our life where we feel that we
cannot go on and we just need rest. And it can
only be found in Jesus Christ who invites us
and says to us, Come to me, I am gentle and humble,
and you will find rest in me. That invitation
is available to every single one of us today.
Just one moment of rest in Jesus Christ is enough
to give us the strength to go for a long time.
Those bad days come one after another after another,
but man, the beauty and the joy and the peace
that comes when we humble ourselves before God
and say, God, I cannot do it. I do not have the
strength. I cannot go on any further. Just that
moment in the presence of God, just one moment
where we feel God's presence, just one moment
where we know the love of Jesus Christ, just
one moment changes our day and changes our week.
Perhaps some of you need that moment today. Even
those who have walked with Christ for a long
time, there are seasons and times in our life
where we just need that moment. Just, God, don't...
Don't forget about me. God, let me know that
you care. Let me know that you love me. God,
I just need some gentleness in the midst of the
harshness that I feel in this world. And if we
just seek Jesus today, just one moment in his
presence, just one moment of his peace, just
one moment of his gentleness gives us the strength
to carry on. Listen to this scripture from Psalm
chapter 18, verse 35. This is David speaking
here. He says, You have also given me the shield
of your salvation. Your right hand has held me
up. Your gentleness has made me great. Isn't
that an interesting use of the words? And all
of the ways that God was with David and blessed
David and the greatness of David that David exhibited.
What does David say here? He says, your gentleness
has made me great. It was the gentleness of God
in dealing with David. It was the gentleness
of God that David experienced. It was the gentleness
of God that gave David the strength in the midst
of his difficult situations. And David says,
it's your gentleness, God, that has made me great.
So perhaps today we need to feel the gentleness
of God, and there is no greater example of the
gentleness of God than that of Jesus Christ.
All those years ago, Jesus came into the town
of Jerusalem to complete his mission. And there
were a large group of people there, and they
were celebrating who Jesus was. They were praising
him, and they were lining the road with palm
branches and with their coats, and they were
rejoicing in the Savior that was prophesied,
the Savior who had come. But not everybody. There
were some that day, and they had seen the same
things as everyone else. They had heard the same
things as everyone else, and they weren't happy
to see Jesus come into town. If you go back and
read in John's account of the triumphal entry,
just a little bit before that, we see a beautiful
miracle of Jesus. We see a miracle where Jesus
raises a man from the dead, a friend of Jesus.
Lazarus had died. Jesus got word. A few days
later, Jesus made his way to the family. Of course,
everybody was mourning. And Jesus goes to the
tomb where Lazarus was buried. And Jesus says,
come on up out of there, Lazarus. And Lazarus
is raised from death to life. Now, obviously,
this caused quite a stir. Word was getting around.
There was a big commotion. And a lot of people
were coming to Jesus. Now, a lot had already
come to him. They had already seen and heard
Jesus do a lot of things. But this is pretty
phenomenal. When you hear of a dead man being
raised, and people were beginning to flock to
Jesus even more and more, and probably some of
these that heard this story were part of those
who were laying those palm branches down. And
while one group had heard of the greatness and
the gentleness and the grace and the power of
Jesus Christ and were celebrating it, there was
another group that had heard the same things,
and do you know what their response was? It's
baffling what their response was. All of these
Pharisees and the chief priests and all of these
leaders, it says in Scripture, the first thing
they say is, look at all these people that are
flocking to Jesus because of what happened to
Lazarus. And do you know what their solution
to the problem is? They said, we must kill Lazarus.
And you know what their second solution to the
problem was? And we must kill Jesus. They had
seen and experienced the power of Jesus Christ.
They had heard the preaching and the teaching
of Jesus. They had seen Jesus bring a dead man
back to life. And instead of listening to Jesus
and to following Jesus and to accepting his compassion
and his gentleness and his love, their solution
to the problem was let's kill Lazarus and kill
Jesus. And so today we have a decision before
us. Through the words of Scripture, maybe you're
familiar with it, maybe you've read the Bible
a lot, maybe you haven't read it much, but if
you haven't, I want to tell you the truth of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is that
God loves you today, and that we are sinners,
and that we are doomed apart. From Jesus Christ.
That there is no way for our sin to be forgiven.
But Jesus Christ loved you so much that he gave
his life on a cross so that you could be forgiven.
And God raised him from the dead once and for
all. And through Jesus Christ our sins can be
forgiven. And through Jesus Christ death will
not have the final say over us if we would just
seek him. That is the truth and the beauty of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. And there is so much
more beauty to be had when you read and see the
Gentiles. of Jesus through Scripture. And so
today we come and we're aware of who Jesus is.
We're aware of the beauty of Jesus. We're aware
of the gentleness of Jesus. We're aware at least
of the one miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from
the dead. And so we know who Jesus is today.
And so the question to you is how will you respond
today? Will you be one who knowing who Jesus
is, who is like those who greeted him and welcomed
him into Jerusalem and said, Jesus, come on in.
Are we those today that hear the gospel of Jesus
Christ and hear of the gentleness of Jesus Christ
and say, Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. Would you
forgive me? Would you come on in, dear Lord?
I welcome you. I pave the way for you to come
and to change my life and to change my heart.
Or will we be those standing to the side who
know full well who Jesus is, who've seen the
work of Jesus Christ and have heard the word
of Jesus Christ and desire to get rid of him?
Which group will you be today? Maybe your whole
life you've been in that group and you've heard
about Jesus and you've heard about Jesus, but
you've never welcomed Him in. You've watched
Him walk by. You've watched Him pass by. You
don't want to listen to Him. You don't want to
have anything to do with Him. But maybe today
for the first time the Holy Spirit is working
on you and you know that you are doomed to an
eternity in hell apart from Jesus Christ if you
don't repent of your sin. And I pray that today
that each one of us in this room would be those
who would welcome Jesus Christ in. That we would
lay down the palm branches of our heart and say,
Lord Jesus, we rejoice in you today. The gentleness
of Jesus Christ is a beautiful thing. Let us
experience that today and let us be gentle with
those that we encounter. Let's pray. God, we
thank you for your good word. Dear Lord, we thank
you for the humility and the gentleness of who
Jesus is, dear Lord. We live in a world where
we find beauty and wealth and extravagance and
power and showing that off, dear Lord, and we
see that. We've seen it for centuries, dear Lord,
and all the kings and the presidents and the
rulers and the leaders that have come before.
But, dear Lord, that's what makes Jesus unique.
God, we thank you for the humility and the gentleness
of Jesus. That, dear Lord, he didn't come for
himself. For us. He humbled himself dear Lord
to obedience. Obedience that led to death on
a cross dear Lord. He suffered and he bled and
died. And he did that God. For each one of us.
So God I pray today that if there is one in this
room that is struggling. That is struggling with
just the pains and the stresses of life. That
I pray this morning dear Lord that they would
find the gentleness. of Jesus Christ. I pray,
God, that they would just seek you in this moment,
God, that they would have just a moment of reprieve
from their sufferings, God. That in this moment,
you let them know you love them and you care
for them and you're there for them, dear Lord.
Just let them feel your grace this morning, dear
Lord. That we would be those just as David, that
we would profess today that, God, that is your
gentleness that has made us great. God, maybe
there is one in this room today and they do not
know who Jesus Christ is. Maybe they know about
him. Maybe they've heard about him. But maybe
they have never trusted in Jesus Christ. Maybe
they've never asked him to be their Lord and
Savior. Maybe they've never asked to be forgiven
of their sins, God. Maybe they've avoided him
for years, turned a blind eye to the miracles
for years, dear Lord. But I pray today that they
would find the gentleness of Jesus Christ, God.
That we would lay down the palm branches of our
hearts, God. That we would confess our sins to
you, dear Lord. That we would repent of our sins
and that we would seek to have the humility and
the gentleness of Jesus. That we would accept
it and feel it and live that example to those
we encounter. God, I thank you for each one that's
here today. I pray that you'd bless them, dear
Lord. If there's one that's got something going
on, I pray that as we sing in these next few
moments, dear Lord. that your Holy Spirit will
work on. I pray that they would respond to you.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.