WEBVTT 00:00:03.250 --> 00:00:09.349 Now we turn to the Word of God. We are kind of 00:00:09.349 --> 00:00:13.130 started at last Sunday taking a brief break from 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:18.089 Ecclesiastes as we're in this time that is celebrated, 00:00:18.870 --> 00:00:21.410 this time of remembering that Jesus went to the 00:00:21.410 --> 00:00:24.730 cross for us, this time of remembering the resurrection, 00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:28.969 right? And so to help us see this, We're going 00:00:28.969 --> 00:00:32.590 to go to a very applicable passage, a very appropriate 00:00:32.590 --> 00:00:36.270 passage for today on this, a day that's commonly 00:00:36.270 --> 00:00:39.609 called Palm Sunday, a day when we think about 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:42.689 the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:46.950 And so our scripture this morning is Zechariah 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:53.439 chapter 9, verses 9 and 10. Now I realize It's 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:56.380 been a long time since this church, to my knowledge, 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.100 was in Zechariah, and it may have been a long 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:02.799 time since you yourself were in this book. And 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.980 so Zechariah is one of the minor prophets. It's 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:08.819 the second to the last book of the Old Testament 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:12.959 in the English Bible. And it is a remarkable 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:16.540 book for many, many reasons, one of those being 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:21.140 that as you study Zechariah, as you read it, 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:26.859 You see Christ everywhere. You really do. And 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:30.180 we're going to see this today within our reading. 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:35.040 And so Zachariah chapter nine, verses nine through 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:40.739 10, please listen. Rejoice greatly, O daughter 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:44.900 of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.819 Behold, your King is coming to you. Righteous 00:01:49.819 --> 00:01:54.000 and having salvation is he. Humble and mounted 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.500 on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.760 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.799 war horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:09.219 be cut off and he shall speak peace to the nations. 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:13.919 His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:18.669 river to the ends of the earth. The grass withers 00:02:18.669 --> 00:02:21.250 and the flower fades, but God's word stands forever. 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:27.289 Let us pray. Father, how we do thank you for 00:02:27.289 --> 00:02:31.789 your word, how we thank you for the book of Zechariah. 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.689 I thank you that as we look at this, we see Jesus 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:39.389 Christ. Would you help us with this to understand 00:02:39.389 --> 00:02:43.569 and apply what is here? These things we ask in 00:02:43.569 --> 00:02:51.500 the name of Christ. Amen. This week, I was reading 00:02:51.500 --> 00:02:54.479 an article that began in an interesting way. 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:57.400 What I'm going to tell you, it almost sounds 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:01.560 like a bad joke, or like a riddle, but the article 00:03:01.560 --> 00:03:04.960 started in this way. It said, what do donkeys, 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.699 30 pieces of silver, a shepherd, and crucifixion 00:03:09.699 --> 00:03:14.099 have in common? Now, Christians, and Christians 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:16.740 especially this time of year, that's pretty easy 00:03:16.740 --> 00:03:20.289 to answer, isn't it? All of those things have 00:03:20.289 --> 00:03:22.710 in common, of course they have Jesus in common, 00:03:23.250 --> 00:03:25.969 and specifically the final week of Jesus's earthly 00:03:25.969 --> 00:03:32.590 ministry in common. But what might not be as 00:03:32.590 --> 00:03:36.430 obvious or apparent is that all of those four 00:03:36.430 --> 00:03:38.830 things, the donkeys and the silver and the shepherd 00:03:38.830 --> 00:03:42.530 and the crucifixion, they all can be found in 00:03:42.530 --> 00:03:46.520 the book of Zechariah. Zachariah is a remarkable 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:50.060 book for this way that it is the most referenced 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:53.639 Old Testament book during what is commonly called 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:57.800 Passion Week. During the final week of Jesus's 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:02.039 earthly ministry, we see Zachariah over and over 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:05.280 and over again. And what this tells us is that 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:09.099 the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is 00:04:09.099 --> 00:04:13.530 no accident. It doesn't happen by chance. No, 00:04:13.590 --> 00:04:17.810 it was God's eternal plan prophesied centuries 00:04:17.810 --> 00:04:23.250 before it ever happened. If you don't hear anything 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:27.310 else today, I want you to hear this. It was always 00:04:27.310 --> 00:04:31.629 God's plan to send the King of Kings to shed 00:04:31.629 --> 00:04:36.910 His blood for all who would believe in Him. And 00:04:36.910 --> 00:04:39.269 so what do we see in the triumphal entry? Jesus 00:04:39.269 --> 00:04:42.870 enters Jerusalem as the prophesied King. and 00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:47.810 his ride reveals his humility. His reign promises 00:04:47.810 --> 00:04:52.769 peace, and his people are to respond with praise. 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:56.649 Let's look at the ride first. And the way in 00:04:56.649 --> 00:05:00.870 which I want us to see this is, yes, to go over 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:03.970 Zechariah 9, 9, and 10, but I do want us to see 00:05:03.970 --> 00:05:07.470 the triumphal entry as it's explained by the 00:05:07.470 --> 00:05:10.170 New Testament. And the triumphal entry is such 00:05:10.170 --> 00:05:13.470 an important episode that it is mentioned in 00:05:13.470 --> 00:05:17.430 all four Gospels. I'm not going to read the episode 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:20.029 in all four Gospels, but I will take you to one 00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:26.529 of them, to Matthew's version, Matthew 21, one 00:05:26.529 --> 00:05:36.269 through 11. Now, when they drew near to Jerusalem, 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:39.740 and came to Bethpage to the Mount of Olives. 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.720 Then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, 00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:46.480 go into the village in front of you and immediately 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.079 you'll find a donkey tied and a colt with her. 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:55.420 Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says 00:05:55.420 --> 00:05:57.980 anything to you, you will say the Lord needs 00:05:57.980 --> 00:06:01.519 them and he will send them at once. This took 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.420 place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:09.220 saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, behold your 00:06:09.220 --> 00:06:13.079 King is coming to you. Have you heard that before? 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.699 Humble and mounted on a donkey on a colt the 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:21.339 full of a beast of burden. The disciples went 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:24.160 and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:27.699 the donkey and the colt and put on them their 00:06:27.699 --> 00:06:31.439 cloaks and he sat on them. Most of the crowd 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:33.680 spread their cloaks on the road and others cut 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.560 branches from the trees and spread them on the 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.819 road. And the crowds that went before him and 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:42.240 that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.519 son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:49.000 name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:51.319 when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:54.519 stirred up saying, who is this? And the crowd 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:59.040 said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:04.040 of Galilee. And so this is the experience, this 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:08.379 is the episode that we remember. But isn't it 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:12.100 so crucial and important that we see this predicted 00:07:12.100 --> 00:07:15.779 hundreds of years before the event? That's what 00:07:15.779 --> 00:07:19.139 Zechariah shows us. And so let us think for a 00:07:19.139 --> 00:07:22.339 second, what would Zechariah's prophecy have 00:07:22.339 --> 00:07:27.579 meant to the people of the prophet's day? We 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:31.209 know many things about Zechariah. And we certainly 00:07:31.209 --> 00:07:34.769 know the timing of Zechariah. Zechariah is called 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:39.829 a post -exilic book. And what that means is after 00:07:39.829 --> 00:07:45.910 the exile, we know of Israel's history from the 00:07:45.910 --> 00:07:50.089 Bible. And we know that there was a time of kings. 00:07:50.730 --> 00:07:53.629 There was David, there was Solomon, and then 00:07:53.629 --> 00:07:56.079 what happened? There was a splitting up of the 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:58.980 kingdom into the northern kingdom of Israel and 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:02.300 the southern kingdom of Judah, right? And we 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:05.060 know that in each of those kingdoms in the north 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:08.660 there were 20 kings. And scripture describes 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:12.459 none of them in a good way. In the southern kingdom, 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.699 we actually have about eight good kings. The 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.480 Bible describes them as good. That's still not 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:23.959 even 50%, right? And so what would it have meant 00:08:24.139 --> 00:08:27.680 for the people of Zechariah's day after the exile, 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:31.860 after Babylon comes in and takes over Jerusalem. 00:08:32.179 --> 00:08:34.940 And then the people are allowed to go back home. 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:37.659 And then here you have Zechariah saying, there's 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:40.419 going to be this great king. He's coming to you 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:43.759 and he is righteous and he has salvation. Can 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.679 you imagine hearing that after all of Israel 00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:51.139 and Judah's tumultuous history and then learning 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:54.620 there's going to be this great king? who is completely 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:59.139 righteous and he brings salvation. This would 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:04.860 have been very impactful for in Zechariah's day 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:09.340 Jerusalem had no king. After the time of exile 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:12.080 when the people get to move back home they don't 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.379 have a king. There is a governor for a time but 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:18.500 they don't have a king and yet they still have 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:22.379 enemies. If you're familiar with the book of 00:09:22.379 --> 00:09:26.759 Nehemiah. You see this very well. Nehemiah is 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:30.200 commissioned to go back home and to rebuild the 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:32.980 walls. He gets to Jerusalem and he sees that 00:09:32.980 --> 00:09:36.639 his city is in shambles, right? And so they begin 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.000 to build the wall, but they have enemies all 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:44.200 around them, right? The text in Nehemiah even 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:47.340 shows it's as if they have a hammer in one hand. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:50.299 and a sword in the other, they're fighting off 00:09:50.299 --> 00:09:53.679 their enemies. And so even though the people 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.860 of Judah are allowed to be back home, they are 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:01.419 not free. They're facing opposition from everywhere. 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:05.779 And so now, what are they being promised? This 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:13.220 incredible king. And he would be everything that 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:16.860 the previous kings were not. But how does this 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:23.169 king come to us as we read this. It says, humble 00:10:23.169 --> 00:10:28.149 and mounted on a donkey, right? That's an interesting 00:10:28.149 --> 00:10:30.570 picture there because we know from scripture 00:10:30.570 --> 00:10:34.350 and we know from history that in the time of 00:10:34.350 --> 00:10:37.669 the judges and in the time of David and Solomon, 00:10:37.750 --> 00:10:41.470 it was common for kings to ride on donkeys. You 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:44.080 can see that with both David and Solomon. But 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:47.460 after the time of Solomon, it's as if the kings 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:51.000 trade in their donkeys for a faster, more powerful 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.080 ride. At the time of Solomon, they begin to ride 00:10:54.080 --> 00:10:59.759 more horses. And so this king, it's like he's 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:02.620 going back to the time of David. He's going back 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:04.399 to the time of Solomon. He's going back to the 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:07.919 time of the judges. No, this king is coming with 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:11.620 humility. And he doesn't just ride a donkey. 00:11:13.039 --> 00:11:17.759 No, what does the text actually say? On a colt, 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:24.279 the foal of a donkey. If you read Mark's version 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.620 and Luke's version, you realize something about 00:11:26.620 --> 00:11:29.759 this donkey here. It's the offspring of donkey, 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:34.840 but it is an unridden donkey. It probably has 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.919 never been ridden before. That's what it says. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:41.559 It's an untrained donkey, right? This is the 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:45.100 kind of ride for this kind of a king what's going 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:50.519 why right? Why not ride on a beautiful stallion 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:56.399 or some a powerful horse? Because Jesus is the 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:01.919 humble King Jesus is the mightiest King in history 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:06.399 and yet also the one with the most humility I 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:09.299 like how second Corinthians 8 9 puts this for 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:14.659 us For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:19.179 that though he was rich, he became poor, so that 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:23.840 you by his poverty might become rich. And so 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:28.039 humility and peace and righteousness, these are 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:31.100 the characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:36.320 And it all happens exactly as the prophet said 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:39.559 it would. And so what does this mean for you 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:44.240 and I? Why is this important to see that Zechariah 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:47.100 prophesied something that happens perfectly and 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:49.940 precisely? It's important because it means that 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:53.440 all of the promises that God promises to you 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:57.480 in Scripture will come true. Everything that 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:03.480 God promises will come to fruition. I don't know 00:13:03.480 --> 00:13:07.519 all of you, but I know most of you. And I know 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.899 what some of you are going through. And I know 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:14.340 how some of you greatly need to remember the 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:18.000 promises of God in Scripture. Maybe today you 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:22.980 need to be reminded of the promise of God's presence. 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:27.299 Well, remember that Jesus promised his disciples 00:13:27.299 --> 00:13:32.440 at the end of Matthew, I am with you always to 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:35.919 the end of the age. Maybe today you are needing 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:40.360 to be reminded how God answers prayer. Psalm 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:45.379 145, the Lord is near to all who call on him. 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:48.659 Maybe today you need to be reminded of the very 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:52.320 mercy of God, that God is slow to anger and abounding 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:55.580 in steadfast love. Maybe today you need to be 00:13:55.580 --> 00:13:58.379 reminded of God's protection of his children. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:03.779 Do not fear, for I am with you. I will strengthen 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:07.100 you. and I will help you and I will uphold you 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.919 with my righteous right hand. Maybe today you 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:12.840 need to be reminded of your eternal home, you 00:14:12.840 --> 00:14:16.659 who are united to Christ. Remember what Jesus 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:20.240 said to the thief on the cross. Today you will 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:24.100 be with me in paradise. There are so many promises 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:28.700 and God keeps all of them. And the scripture 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:33.179 says all of the promises of God. to find their 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:38.620 yes and amen in Jesus Christ. And so as we look 00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:42.059 at this and as we move into verse 10, keep that 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:45.740 in mind how God is so trustworthy and he will 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:48.279 not forget a single promise that he has made. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.340 And surely hearing something like this would 00:14:52.340 --> 00:14:55.480 have been encouraging to the people of Judah. 00:14:55.690 --> 00:14:57.850 who are still facing that constant threat of 00:14:57.850 --> 00:15:00.169 war. And yet with the constant threat of war, 00:15:00.230 --> 00:15:03.169 look at verse 10, what does God promise to do 00:15:03.169 --> 00:15:07.669 here through the prophet? I will cut off the 00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:11.210 chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem, 00:15:11.529 --> 00:15:15.929 and the battle bow shall be cut off. God is saying, 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:19.190 I will protect you, but these weapons of warfare, 00:15:19.190 --> 00:15:22.909 I will remove them. They are not needed. And 00:15:22.909 --> 00:15:25.759 I will give you total lasting peace. The text 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:29.120 there, as I read, mentions Ephraim and Jerusalem. 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:34.019 Ephraim is oftentimes used as a synonym for Israel. 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:36.899 And of course, Jerusalem was the capital of Judah. 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:41.799 So what is God promising here? A reunification 00:15:41.799 --> 00:15:45.200 of his people, right? That as Israel and Judah 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:47.840 were separated now, they will come together, 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:51.379 that all of God's people will be united. And 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:54.330 because you... believe in Jesus Christ, yes, 00:15:54.330 --> 00:15:58.110 you are God's people. You are God's children. 00:15:58.730 --> 00:16:02.990 And God promises peace, everlasting peace. So 00:16:02.990 --> 00:16:05.570 you see what's really happening in verse 10. 00:16:06.690 --> 00:16:10.909 As verse nine is reminding us of the first advent 00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:13.889 of Jesus, the first coming, what is verse 10 00:16:13.889 --> 00:16:19.350 reminding us of? That which is yet to come. The 00:16:19.350 --> 00:16:23.429 return of our Lord Jesus. And the return of our 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:26.669 Lord Jesus shows us something incredible here 00:16:26.669 --> 00:16:29.909 within this verse. He shall speak peace to the 00:16:29.909 --> 00:16:32.649 nations. Look at his rule though. It shall be 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:36.409 from sea to sea and from the river to the ends 00:16:36.409 --> 00:16:41.830 of the earth. King Jesus is surely the King of 00:16:41.830 --> 00:16:45.350 Kings and the Lord of Lords because his reign 00:16:45.350 --> 00:16:50.470 is forever and covers it all, right? But still 00:16:50.470 --> 00:16:53.909 you might think, well, How can a humble king 00:16:53.909 --> 00:16:57.470 riding on the foal of a donkey produce the kind 00:16:57.470 --> 00:17:03.409 of victory that God's people need? He's humble, 00:17:03.570 --> 00:17:06.369 doing away with the weapons of warfare. So how 00:17:06.369 --> 00:17:08.430 is this possible? Aren't those things needed? 00:17:10.529 --> 00:17:14.670 He does it through the cross. Jesus does not 00:17:14.670 --> 00:17:18.869 fight with instruments of war. No, Jesus is placed 00:17:18.869 --> 00:17:24.730 on the instrument. The text here when it says 00:17:24.730 --> 00:17:30.210 he brings salvation, it's quite literally being 00:17:30.210 --> 00:17:33.970 delivered, meaning that this king is delivered. 00:17:34.269 --> 00:17:38.029 How is this king delivered? Obviously, it's through 00:17:38.029 --> 00:17:41.269 the crucifixion. It's through the resurrection, 00:17:41.509 --> 00:17:47.549 right? That the death that he endured, the grave 00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:52.200 could not hold Jesus. And so he is... Vindicated 00:17:52.200 --> 00:17:55.079 in order that he truly would bring us salvation 00:17:55.079 --> 00:18:00.259 that we who believe in Jesus would also be saved 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:03.400 And so you might say okay. Well Jesus has the 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:08.099 victory. What is he victorious over? Here's where 00:18:08.099 --> 00:18:11.960 I want to take you to another scripture to Ephesians 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:15.400 chapter 6 10 through 13 to see the real enemy 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:19.660 that he is victorious over Ephesians 6 10 through 00:18:19.660 --> 00:18:27.920 13 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:31.039 strength of his might. Put on the whole armor 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.380 of God that you may be able to stand against 00:18:34.380 --> 00:18:37.319 the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle 00:18:37.319 --> 00:18:40.700 against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:44.900 against the authorities, against the cosmic powers 00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:47.880 over this present darkness, against the spiritual 00:18:47.880 --> 00:18:51.859 forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:55.319 take up the whole armor of God that you may be 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:59.740 able to withstand in the evil day and having 00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:06.680 done all to stand firm. The real enemy is sin. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.440 The real enemy is the devil. It is evil and Jesus 00:19:12.440 --> 00:19:15.740 conquers all. That's actually what the scriptures 00:19:15.740 --> 00:19:19.579 say. through Jesus Christ with his victory we 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:23.319 are more than conquerors as he will reign forever 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:26.940 so we will reign with him as his people and so 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:30.380 don't you see friends that Christ's crucifixion 00:19:30.380 --> 00:19:33.380 proclaims victory over sin and death in the grave 00:19:33.380 --> 00:19:36.799 and his second advent his second coming means 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.559 that all warfare will be gone forever and that 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:46.180 he will establish his eternal dominion just like 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:52.960 this text says, just like this text says. And 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.880 so knowing all of this, knowing how Jesus is 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:01.299 victorious and knowing how Jesus truly triumphantly 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:05.000 came into the city, what should our response 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:12.250 be to this? We'll look back at verse nine. to 00:20:12.250 --> 00:20:16.190 see that it is the citizen's responsibility to 00:20:16.190 --> 00:20:20.869 respond with praise. Rejoice greatly, it says. 00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:25.329 Shout aloud, it says. Rejoicing greatly, I don't 00:20:25.329 --> 00:20:27.549 know about you, but to me, it doesn't sound like 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:31.049 mild approval. It doesn't sound like a golf clap, 00:20:31.410 --> 00:20:36.109 yay Jesus. No, this is tremendous praise and 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:39.210 celebration of who Jesus is and what he does. 00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:42.549 The word shout aloud here. That's an interesting 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:47.569 word in Hebrew. Anybody remember the falling 00:20:47.569 --> 00:20:54.009 down of Jericho, the walls, right? The word used 00:20:54.009 --> 00:20:58.089 here in verse nine for shout aloud is the same 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:01.049 word used for when the Israelites surrounded 00:21:01.049 --> 00:21:05.430 Jericho and they shouted and the walls came tumbling 00:21:05.430 --> 00:21:08.930 down. And so friends, this is again, no mild 00:21:08.930 --> 00:21:14.660 approval. This is a shout of triumphant celebration. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.779 And all of these words here, this prophecy helps 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:23.339 us to see this, that we ought to offer to Christ 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:28.319 the praise befitting of the King of Kings and 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:32.500 the Lord of Lords. Why? Because he is righteous. 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:35.980 Why? Because he brings salvation. Why? Because 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:40.390 Jesus was humble enough to take on flesh and 00:21:40.390 --> 00:21:43.769 to die a horrible death on the cross for you 00:21:43.769 --> 00:21:47.990 and for me. And so what does he do? Jesus, we 00:21:47.990 --> 00:21:51.150 can see as he goes to the cross, he meets his 00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:54.150 people in their need. Jesus is the suffering 00:21:54.150 --> 00:21:57.630 savior for a suffering people. Jesus arrives 00:21:57.630 --> 00:22:02.170 not on a red carpet, but on palm branches and 00:22:02.170 --> 00:22:04.869 borrowed cloaks. And the people, as we've already 00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:07.190 said, the people praise him in that episode, 00:22:07.269 --> 00:22:10.180 but They do that on like a Sunday by Friday. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:15.980 What are they shouting? Crucify him, right? Crucify 00:22:15.980 --> 00:22:19.099 him. Jesus had a great following, but nearly 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:23.099 all of the people leave him. They scatter. And 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:25.380 Jesus is crowned king, but he's crowned with 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:28.980 a crown of thorns. Ultimately, Jesus entered 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:35.299 Jerusalem to lay down his life. And friends, 00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:40.480 he did it for you. For you who believe in Jesus 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.240 Christ, He laid down His life. They did not take 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:47.859 it from Him, but He laid it down. And you remember, 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:50.759 as we have read from Matthew 21, what they were 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:54.480 singing as He was coming into the city, Hosanna 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:57.279 to the Son of David, Hosanna in the highest. 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:01.079 Well, that word, hosanna, is a wonderful word, 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:04.119 and it is a word of praise, but what's really 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:10.900 underneath it is this. O save us. Hosanna means, 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:15.079 O save us. We know this from places like Psalm 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:21.839 118, 25. Save us, we pray, O Lord. And so what 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:23.960 does Jesus save us from? We've already read from 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:26.559 Ephesians. We know that. And yet the people of 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.880 Jerusalem, what did they think Jesus was coming 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:35.150 to do? To be a great military leader. They greatly 00:23:35.150 --> 00:23:39.410 underestimate Jesus, don't they? They underestimate 00:23:39.410 --> 00:23:41.710 Him. He does something much more powerful than 00:23:41.710 --> 00:23:44.609 just being an ordinary King. He, as I said, is 00:23:44.609 --> 00:23:47.589 the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and 00:23:47.589 --> 00:23:52.349 He is King eternal. And a King who dies for sinners 00:23:52.349 --> 00:23:56.690 is worth every single triumph and shout. As Rick 00:23:56.690 --> 00:23:59.349 Phillips says up at Second Prez, a King like 00:23:59.349 --> 00:24:04.789 this is worth shouting over. And so, friends, 00:24:04.849 --> 00:24:07.369 I hope you see what King Jesus really does for 00:24:07.369 --> 00:24:13.789 us. He meets us where we are. Yahweh, seeing 00:24:13.789 --> 00:24:17.130 that we were kingless, He sends a king. Defenseless, 00:24:17.190 --> 00:24:21.089 He defends. In need of salvation, and He saves. 00:24:23.809 --> 00:24:28.589 As I begin to conclude, friends, if you have 00:24:28.589 --> 00:24:32.480 trouble seeing the connection, between the Old 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:36.539 Testament and the New Testament. Let me ask you, 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:41.339 what other king in the history of the world could 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:45.079 be described in this way? What other king could 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:49.839 be described like this? Their answer is there 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:52.779 is no other king who could be described like 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:57.539 this. And so the question then is, since Jesus, 00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:01.750 who fulfills this prophecy, Believes himself 00:25:01.750 --> 00:25:05.190 to be and knows himself to be the King that is 00:25:05.190 --> 00:25:10.289 written in Zechariah since he believes that Do 00:25:10.289 --> 00:25:14.549 you Do you believe that Jesus is the King of 00:25:14.549 --> 00:25:17.509 Kings and the Lord of Lords? Do you believe that 00:25:17.509 --> 00:25:21.910 Jesus is the King who came humbly with righteousness 00:25:21.910 --> 00:25:26.569 and having salvation? Friends I believe this 00:25:26.569 --> 00:25:32.579 text is abundantly clear again all four gospels, 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:36.039 triumphal entry, and we find it hundreds of years 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:39.920 before it happened. And so today, trust Jesus, 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:44.680 worship him, not as the crowds in Jesus' day, 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:49.200 but worship him always, because he will always 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.079 reign. Let us pray.