[0:00] Matthew chapter 21. I'll read the first 11 verses. This is the word of God.
[0:11] Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives,! Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her.
[0:27] Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them, and he will send them at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.
[0:51] The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
[1:02] Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David!
[1:15] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, Who is this?
[1:26] And the crowd said, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. Next Sunday, we will gather, Lord willing, to remember and to celebrate and to rejoice in the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
[1:46] We are one week away from that day. And in the life of Christ that we have recorded for us in the gospel accounts, There was much that happened between this Sunday and that coming Sunday.
[2:02] Much that happened in that week that culminated in his resurrection. Beginning on the Sunday before he rose from the grave. This Sunday.
[2:13] Down through church history. This Sunday has been called Palm Sunday. It's the day on which Jesus came into Jerusalem. What we just read of. His triumphal entry into the city.
[2:25] Riding on that donkey. And as we just heard read. The crowds that came to him. Or that came with him into the city. They were cutting branches. Which would have been palm branches.
[2:37] And they were laying them on the road before him. So Jesus came into the city on that day. Jerusalem with joyful shouts of praise. But by the end of the week.
[2:50] He would be met with angry shouts of death. He was nailed to the cross of wood. Suffering and dying in our place for our sins. Buried in the tomb.
[3:02] And on Sunday. Raised from the dead. We look forward to his resurrection. As we will hear it preached on next Sunday. Let's consider though today.
[3:14] This Palm Sunday. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And in particular. Let's consider the joyful proclamation. That the crowd was making.
[3:25] As Jesus was riding into the city. We heard it read. Just now from Matthew 21. They cried out. Blessed is he who comes. In the name of the Lord.
[3:37] So this morning. We're going to consider three places. Three different places. In God's word. That this joyful proclamation. Is made. Beginning with this account here.
[3:49] In Matthew 21. Now this entrance. Into Jerusalem. It's the culmination. Of the three year ministry. Of Jesus. And we've seen that ministry up close.
[4:01] And in great detail. In the gospel according to Mark. Pastor John has been preaching. Through that book. The last couple of years. All through his ministry. What has Jesus been doing?
[4:12] He's been preaching. And teaching. About the kingdom of God. That he has brought. It has arrived. With him. Indeed. He's the king of that kingdom.
[4:23] And he's proclaiming the good news. About himself. That he came to save. Sinners. And as he's been preaching. He's also been performing. Signs and wonders. He's been healing the sick.
[4:36] Miraculously feeding the multitudes. Casting out demons. Giving sight to the blind. Enabling the deaf to hear. And the mute to speak. The lame to walk. And raising the dead.
[4:48] Back to life. He's been doing this. All over Israel. And now he's come to Jerusalem. Now that journey. To Jerusalem itself.
[4:59] Was well documented. In the gospel accounts. Luke especially. Draws our attention. To that journey. Luke speaks of Jesus.
[5:10] When he was in the very far. Northern region of Galilee. Setting his face. Toward Jerusalem. Resolving. To go to Jerusalem.
[5:21] And then starting his journey. South. Towards it. The gospel writers. Don't let us forget. Where Jesus. Is going. Even as he stops.
[5:32] Along the way. To continue to teach. And to preach. And to perform miracles. All the while. We are reminded. Yes. But he's going. To Jerusalem.
[5:43] Now Jesus wasn't. Alone. In that journey. Thousands. Of faithful Israelites. Were journeying. Towards Jerusalem. As well. At this time. Jerusalem. The annual celebration.
[5:57] Of Passover. Was approaching. And every year. Jews from all over Israel. Would come. And they would gather. In Jerusalem. To celebrate.
[6:07] Passover. That annual. Festival. Which was held. In remembrance. Of the exodus. From Egypt. The first century. Roman Jewish. Historian. Josephus.
[6:18] Estimated. That the population. Of Jerusalem. Would explode. Around festivals. Such as Passover. Saying as many as. Three million. Jewish pilgrims.
[6:29] Would flood. Into the city. And again. They'd come from. All over Israel. So when we find. Jesus. Entering into Jerusalem. Here in Matthew 21.
[6:39] There's this great crowd. That's been with him. Traveling with him. Likely coming along. A very well established. Road. From Jericho. To Jerusalem.
[6:51] It's these people. Who are rejoicing. As he's arriving. At the city. It's the crowd. That's been following. With Jesus. That's singing his praises.
[7:01] The people of Jerusalem. Heard them coming. They heard the great commotion. Of joy. And Matthew tells us. The whole city. Was stirred up. And they asked. Who is this? They want to know.
[7:12] What's all of this. Singing. And rejoicing. About. Who's at the center. Of all of this attention. It's like when. One of our high school teams. Returns to town.
[7:23] After say. Winning sectionals. With a whole parade. Of emergency vehicles. With their sirens blaring. If you aren't in the loop. You'll wonder. What's all that commotion about?
[7:35] Maybe it's just me. But I didn't grow up. With that kind of ritual. And so the first time. In Bremen. That I heard those sirens. I thought something tragic. Has happened. There are all of these vehicles.
[7:47] If you don't know. You might be alarmed. But then you quickly realize. No. There's nothing wrong. That's the sound of celebration. The town is brimming with excitement. As the victorious team arrives.
[7:59] Well. We see the same here. The city of Jerusalem. Is brimming with excitement. As Jesus arrives. And they are treating him. As one who has been victorious.
[8:11] As well. Listen again. To what they are saying. Verse 9. Hosanna. To the son of David. Blessed is he. Who comes.
[8:21] In the name of the Lord. Hosanna. In the highest. Hosanna means. Save us. That the crowd. See the arrival. Of Jesus.
[8:32] As him. Bringing salvation. Salvation. From the oppressive Romans. Who are ruling over them. And they call Jesus. The son of David.
[8:44] Meaning. This is the king. This is the one. Who was to come. From the line of David. Long promised. In the Old Testament. They were saying.
[8:54] Jesus. Is this king. And so they called him. Blessed. You know. There are many occasions. In Matthew's gospel account. Where Jesus.
[9:05] Calls other people. Blessed. Of course. Most famously. In the sermon. On the mount. He begins with the beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. For theirs. Is the kingdom of heaven.
[9:16] Blessed are those who mourn. For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek. For they shall inherit the earth. He gives nine total blessings. In his opening words. Of that sermon.
[9:27] Then later. In Matthew 11. 6. He said. Blessed is the one. Who is not offended. By me. In Matthew 13. He tells the disciples. That they are blessed.
[9:38] For what they see. And hear from him. And again. In Matthew 16. Jesus blesses Peter. For rightly identifying him. As the Christ.
[9:49] So many times. That Jesus. Blesses others. Well now. The situation is reversed. And for the first time. Here in Matthew 21. It is other people.
[10:00] Who are blessing. Jesus. The crowds are making. That very clear statement. This is our long. Awaited. King. This is the promised.
[10:10] Savior. From the line of David. The greatest of kings. In Israel's history. Now the prophets. Had foretold. Of a king. Who would come. Great David's.
[10:22] Greater son. He would deliver his people. From their foes. He would reign. In righteousness. And justice. He would bring. Everlasting. Peace.
[10:33] And the crowds. As they came. Into Jerusalem. We're sure. This is our king. Who's arrived. To do all of that. Now. This is that son of David.
[10:43] He's come to save us. So they cried out. Hosanna. Blessed is he. Save us. You are going to save us. It's a victorious cry.
[10:54] It's a cry of praise. This is the one. Salvation. Is here. Because the king. Is here. Now. These words.
[11:05] That the crowd. Was applying to Jesus. These words. That they were. Saying about. Jesus. This proclamation. Wasn't just.
[11:15] Made up. By the crowd. In the moment. This wasn't some kind of. Spontaneous chant. That just broke out. It wasn't as though. Somebody said. You know. These would be fitting words. To say. That I just. Thought of now.
[11:26] Now. These words. Were hundreds. Of years old. These words. Were rich. With meaning. And they were drawn. From a psalm. In the old testament. Psalm 118.
[11:39] So this brings us. To the second place. That we find. This shout of praise. Blessed is he. Who comes. In the name. Of the Lord. And it's found. In psalm 118.
[11:49] You can turn there. With me. In the old testament. Now psalm 118. Is a very. Particular psalm. It's the last.
[12:02] Of a. A special. Grouping of psalms. They're called. The. Hallel psalms. Now. Hallel. In Hebrew. Simply means. Praise. So this is the last. Of a small collection.
[12:13] Of praise. Psalms. From psalm 113. To psalm 118. Now these psalms. Actually came to be known. As the. Egyptian. Hallel.
[12:24] Because these psalms. In particular. Came to be recited. And sung. Right around the time. Of Passover. When the people of Israel. Would remember. Their deliverance. From where?
[12:35] From Egypt. So these psalms. Were called. The Egyptian. Hallel. Now in fact. These psalms. Came to be sung. At many of the. Significant festivals. For the Jewish people. At Passover.
[12:46] At the feast. Of tabernacles. At the feast. Of weeks. Even at Hanukkah. These six. Hallel. Psalms. Were recited. And sung. So the crowd.
[12:57] That was coming. With Jesus. Bringing him. Into Jerusalem. With a king's reception. At the start of Passover. They were proclaiming. Words that everyone knew. That everyone was going to be singing.
[13:09] Even that week. It would be like. Carolers. Singing a familiar. Christmas carol. Outside of your door. In December. These worshipers. Were singing. This familiar psalm.
[13:20] Outside the walls. Of Jerusalem. They were joyfully reciting. From Psalm 118. The. The Hallel Psalm. And it was a psalm. Of praise. For God's great deliverance.
[13:31] Of his people. So with. This great throng. Of worshipers. Coming into Jerusalem. With Jesus. Riding on the donkey. At the center of it all. With all of that. On our minds.
[13:42] Let me read now. From Psalm 118. Beginning in verse 10. And here the psalmist. Is recounting. How God was his help. When he was in distress. Because of his enemies.
[13:54] Verse 10. All nations surrounded me. In the name of the Lord. I cut them off. They surrounded me. Surrounded me on every side. In the name of the Lord.
[14:05] I cut them off. They surrounded me like bees. They went out like a fire. Among thorns. In the name of the Lord. I cut them off. I was pushed hard.
[14:16] So that I was falling. But the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength. And my song. He has become my salvation. Glad songs. Of salvation.
[14:28] Are in the tents. Of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord. Does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord. Exalts. The right hand of the Lord. Does valiantly. I shall not die.
[14:40] But I shall live. And recount. The deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me. Severely. But he has not given me. Over to death. Open to me.
[14:50] The gates of righteousness. That I may enter through them. And give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous. Shall enter through it. I thank you.
[15:01] That you have answered me. And have become my salvation. The stone. That the builders rejected. Has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous. In our eyes.
[15:12] This is the day. That the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. And be glad in it. Save us. We pray. Oh Lord. Oh Lord. We pray. Give us success. Blessed is he.
[15:24] Who comes. In the name of the Lord. We bless you. From the house. Of the Lord. The Lord is God. And he has made his light. To shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice.
[15:34] With cords. Up to the horns. Of the altar. You are my God. And I will give thanks. To you. You are my God. I will extol you. Oh give thanks.
[15:44] To the Lord. For he is good. For his steadfast love. Endures forever. So here is this psalm of praise. This psalm.
[15:54] Whose theme is salvation. The psalmist himself. He says. He'd been hard pressed. He'd been afflicted. His enemies had surrounded him. But with the Lord's help.
[16:06] He had prevailed. The Lord had delivered him. And so now he could sing. These glad songs. Of salvation. The psalmist could say.
[16:19] I shall not die. But I shall live. And what will I do. Now that God has delivered me. Well I will recount. The deeds. Of the Lord. So now.
[16:30] Triumphant. And victorious. Where is the psalmist going? Oh he is entering. Into Jerusalem. In many ways. This is reminiscent. Of a king.
[16:40] Returning from battle. In victory. We see that. Beginning in verse 19. The psalmist says. Open to me. The gates of righteousness. That I may enter through them.
[16:52] So do you hear how this is. Like a victory parade. That the psalmist is talking about. And with the joyful. Throng. The psalmist is entering. Into Jerusalem.
[17:02] The gates of the city. Are being opened. Wide to him. The gates of righteousness. He is entering through them. Coming into Jerusalem. Having conquered his enemies. And this was a great.
[17:15] And seemingly. Unexpected. Turn of events. Because you see. The psalmist. Had been underestimated. The psalmist. Had been thought little of. He had been.
[17:26] Written off. By others. But now. They were proven. Wrong. Because what does verse 22 say? The stone. That the builders. Rejected. Has become.
[17:37] The cornerstone. So the psalmist. He's describing himself. As this stone. He's the one who was. Scorned. And ridiculed. He was. Cast aside.
[17:48] The builders. Determined. This stone. No use. For this one. No. No good. For the foundation. Of this building. We don't. Want to use. This stone. And yet.
[17:59] Now. We're seeing. The psalmist. Has been delivered. And he's now coming. Triumphantly. Into Jerusalem. So the stone. That the builders. Had rejected. It turned out. To be.
[18:09] Then used. As the very. Cornerstone. Of the building. The most important. Stone. Of all. In the foundation. It was. The great reversal. It was the ultimate.
[18:21] Underdog. Story. Now. This verse. Could have been applied. To many. Faithful servants. Of God. Down through the ages. There were many. Who were. Counted out. And yet.
[18:31] God. Used them. In astounding. Ways. To the praise. Of his glory. Joseph. He was rejected. By his brothers. But God. Delivered him. God.
[18:42] Put him. Into a position. Of great power. In Egypt. And through Joseph. His brothers. Were then delivered. Moses. Was too. In a sense. Rejected.
[18:53] By Israel. Remember. When he went. To break up. That fight. Between two. Israelite men. And the one. Said to him. Who made you. A prince. And a judge. Over us.
[19:04] Well that seems. To be something. Of the prevailing. View. Of the people. As they looked. Upon Moses. They opposed him. They didn't. Perhaps. Like him much. Maybe they saw him. As something.
[19:14] Of a traitor. Because he was raised. In Pharaoh's household. And yet. What did God do? Well he used. Moses. To ultimately. Deliver Israel. From slavery. In Egypt.
[19:25] Even David. He was overlooked. He was written off. By his own family. When Samuel. Came to anoint him. He wasn't even there. Because they thought.
[19:35] Surely. David's not the one. Who's going to be chosen. To be king. And of course. David was rejected. By Saul. Later. But God.
[19:46] Delivered David. And he. Used him. Mightily. To deliver Israel. From its enemies. Well. A future king. From David's line.
[19:56] Would come. And in the same way. As those faithful servants. Of God. Who went before him. He would be rejected. And then he would be used. By God. In a mighty way.
[20:07] In a saving way. And the next verse. Reminds us. That this is indeed. All of God. The rejected stone. Which became the capstone. He's not a.
[20:17] Self-made man. As the psalmist says. Beginning in verse 23. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous. In our eyes. This is the day.
[20:27] That the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. And be glad in it. Salvation has now come. And the people are rejoicing. In their king. Because he comes.
[20:38] In the name of the Lord. He comes as. The Lord's representative. The one who has. The Lord's favor. Upon him. So they say. Blessed.
[20:49] Is he. Those words were found. On the lips. Of the worshipers. Entering into Jerusalem. In Psalm 118. And we saw now.
[20:59] They're found. On the lips. Of the. Worshippers. Entering into Jerusalem. With Jesus. In Matthew 21. But that worship. And adoration. It wouldn't last long.
[21:11] That excitement. And building. Anticipation. That Jesus would be. The conquering king. From Psalm 118. Well that would dissolve.
[21:22] In the course of a week. Less than a week. By Friday. Jesus would not be. Riding on a donkey. With palm branches. Laid before him. Like a. Leafy green.
[21:33] Red carpet. No. He would be. Carrying. A cross. With a crown of thorns. Upon his head. Rejected by men. Rejected by Jerusalem. Entering into its gates.
[21:46] On Sunday. Like a beloved king. But then walking back. Out of its gates. On Friday. Like an outcast. Criminal. Would be treated. And Jesus.
[21:58] On that Sunday. That he came into Jerusalem. Riding on the donkey. Jesus knew. This would all happen. Just as it had been foretold.
[22:09] Just as it had been planned. He knew. His people. Would ultimately. Reject their king. That they would reject him. In fact.
[22:20] He predicted it. The very next day. After the triumphal entry. On Monday. He quoted. From none other than. Psalm 118.
[22:30] Verses 22 and 23. And he clearly applied. Those verses to himself. So we read in Matthew 21. Beginning in verse 42. Jesus said to them.
[22:42] Have you never read. In the scriptures. The stone. That the builders rejected. Has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. And it is marvelous.
[22:53] In our eyes. So you see. Jesus. Riding into Jerusalem. On that day before. On Palm Sunday. Jesus knew. Despite all of the pomp.
[23:03] And circumstance. Despite all of the joyous celebration. Jesus knew. He'd be rejected by Jerusalem. By the end of the week. So two chapters later.
[23:14] In Matthew 23. We read of Jesus. Not rejoicing over Jerusalem. As we might expect. Jerusalem had just rejoiced over him. But no. He is now weeping.
[23:25] Over Jerusalem. In Matthew 23. You can turn over. To that chapter. Here we see Jesus. Lamenting over Jerusalem. And this is the third place.
[23:37] That we find that proclamation. Though it is not now. Made in joy. But he says. Blessed is he who comes. In the name of the Lord. I'll read verses 37 to 39.
[23:50] This is the Lord Jesus speaking. Oh Jerusalem. Jerusalem. The city that kills the prophets. And stones those who are sent to it.
[24:02] How often would I have gathered your children together. As a hen gathers her brood under her wings. And you were not willing. See your house is left desolate to you.
[24:15] For I tell you. You will not see me again. Until you say. Blessed is he who comes. In the name of the Lord. In Matthew 21.
[24:26] As Jesus enters into Jerusalem. The joyful proclamation of Psalm 118. Where is it found? On the lips of the worshipers. But here in Matthew 23.
[24:38] We find that Jesus is now speaking those words. About the people of Jerusalem yet again. But he's not rejoicing in this moment. He's doing just the opposite. He's weeping.
[24:50] At their rejection of him. He would have received them. As a mother hen. Gathers her little chicks. But the people of Jerusalem. Symbolizing all of the people of Israel.
[25:03] Would not receive him. They treated him like they had treated the prophets. They treated him like others who had come before him. Prophets that had even spoken about him.
[25:15] Those prophets the nation had rejected. Like Jeremiah. They had even killed other leaders. Like Zechariah the priest. And so Jesus also would be treated by them.
[25:27] In this way. Rejected. And crucified. And it's only a matter of days. Before that would happen. Now verse 39 is kind of interesting.
[25:38] What does Jesus mean? When he says. For I tell you. You will not see me again. Until you say. Blessed is he who comes.
[25:49] In the name of the Lord. A natural first thought would be. Didn't they all just say that about Jesus? Didn't that already happen? Didn't Jerusalem just joyfully proclaim.
[26:02] That blessing on Jesus? Did we somehow miss something here? What is Jesus saying? Well if you turn back to Matthew 21.
[26:13] We see that the welcome wasn't as universally joyful as we might think. Jesus wasn't received by all in the city. Again it was actually those arriving with Jesus.
[26:26] Who were proclaiming his praise. It was the pilgrim travelers who were saying. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
[26:37] Hosanna in the highest. It's verse 10. That tells us about the response from the actual people of Jerusalem. The whole city was stirred up saying.
[26:48] Who is this? So there was some confusion. There was some questioning. More than that. The religious leaders. They were stirred up. But they were stirred up with hatred and anger.
[27:00] They were stirred up all the more with their evil desire to kill him. So yes there were praises. But they were certainly mixed with skepticism and uncertainty.
[27:13] And what's more than that. Hostility at his arrival. The gates of Jerusalem perhaps were swung wide open to him. But the hearts of the people were not swung wide open as you might expect.
[27:29] Indeed in only a matter of days. The religious leaders would turn the hearts of the people. They would turn their hearts against him. And they would just as Psalm 118 says.
[27:40] Reject Jesus. The builders would reject this stone. No good. They would say. This stone is defective. This stone is blasphemous.
[27:52] This stone is not worthy of being the cornerstone. This stone is only worthy of being crushed. And so Jesus would weep over Jerusalem.
[28:03] Because they would not receive the only Savior. They would only reject him. And instead of heaping blessing upon him. They would hurl their insults at him.
[28:16] As they marched him back out of that city. To put him to death on the cross. Now here in Matthew 23. Jesus knows full well.
[28:27] All of this. He knows this will all come to pass. Just as the scriptures say. Just as it was planned. Before the foundation of the world. Salvation would come.
[28:38] Through his death. And Jesus very much has his death in mind. As he weeps over the city. But he also has his resurrection. He also has his future return.
[28:51] On his mind as well. Because he says. He's going to come again. He will return to the city of Jerusalem. He will return in similar fashion.
[29:01] As Palm Sunday. Triumphant. Victorious. With the praise of the people. Accompanying him. And we see that day pictured for us.
[29:14] In perhaps an unexpected place. Going actually backwards in our Bibles. From the New Testament to the Old. From Matthew to Zechariah.
[29:24] Turn over with me to Zechariah chapter 14. One of the minor prophets. But one of the longer ones. So. We can find it. 14 chapters.
[29:40] You just have to go back a few. Zechariah 14. Now here we don't find. That Palm Sunday proclamation. We don't find. Blessed is he who comes.
[29:52] In the name of the Lord. But. We sure do find. Lots of hints. To those words. Lots of. Lots of. Similar sounding language.
[30:02] As we read. Of the promised return. Of King Jesus. And I'll begin reading. In verse 4. Of Zechariah 14. On that day.
[30:13] His feet. Shall stand. On the Mount of Olives. That lives. Before Jerusalem. On the east. And the Mount of Olives. Shall be split in two. From east to west.
[30:24] By a very wide valley. So that one half of the Mount. Shall move northward. And the other half. Southward. And you shall flee. To the valley of my mountains. For the valley of the mountains.
[30:35] Shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee. As you fled from the earthquake. In the days of Uzziah. King of Judah. Then the Lord my God. Will come. And all the holy ones.
[30:46] With him. On that day. There shall be no light. Cold or frost. And there shall be a unique day. Which is known to the Lord. Neither day nor night. But at evening time.
[30:58] There shall be light. On that day. Living waters. Shall flow from Jerusalem. Half of them. To the eastern sea. And half of them. To the western sea. It shall continue in summer.
[31:09] As in winter. And the Lord will be king. Over all the earth. On that day. The Lord will be one. And his name. One. One. So Zechariah.
[31:21] For us here. In this chapter. Speaks of this. Coming day of the Lord. A day on which. The Lord will come to judge his enemies. And to save his people. He's going to execute justice.
[31:34] In the land. This is Jesus. This is the triumphant king. Who died. And rose again. And ascended into heaven. Here we see him.
[31:45] Making his return. Descending. Back to the earth. This is he who comes. In the name of the Lord. And where does he plant his feet? On the Mount of Olives.
[31:57] The very place. That he started his final journey. Into Jerusalem. Back in Matthew 21. He started from the Mount of Olives. And he's coming back to that mount.
[32:09] Zechariah says. On the Mount of Olives. The same mount. Is where he will plant his feet. In victory. All of those who oppose him. All of those who reject him.
[32:21] They will be struck down. And all who welcome him. All who receive him. We will worship him. The king. And what does Zechariah 14. Tell us about Jerusalem.
[32:33] The place that Jesus entered. In Matthew 21. Oh Jerusalem will be this city. That will have living waters. Flowing out of it. That's what Zechariah 14 says.
[32:44] That sounds a whole lot like. Revelation 22. Where we read this description of. Not present day Jerusalem. In Israel. But the new Jerusalem. And the new creation.
[32:55] Which came down out of heaven. Like a beautiful bride. In that new Jerusalem. Revelation 22. Tells us. That the river of the water of life. Bright as crystal.
[33:06] Will flow. From the throne of God. That is a day that will come. And on that day. Jesus will come. Just as Zechariah 14. 5 says.
[33:17] Then the Lord my God. Will come. And all the holy ones with him. Can you hear the hints. Of Psalm 118. In those words.
[33:28] Can you hear hints. Of that joyous proclamation. That the Jewish worshippers. Made on Palm Sunday. Blessed is he who comes. In the name of the Lord.
[33:39] And it's not just there. In Zechariah 14. That we hear these hints. Of Palm Sunday. But also in Zechariah 10. We hear another hint. Of Psalm 118. As Zechariah 10.
[33:51] 4 says. From him. Shall come. The cornerstone. Oh here is that. Fulfillment. Of Psalm 118.
[34:02] The stone that the builders rejected. Has become. The cornerstone. On that final day. Pictured here in Zechariah. King Jesus. Will receive from his people.
[34:13] The welcome that he deserves. His enemies will be defeated. His people will be saved. And they will cry. Blessed is he. Who comes. In the name of the Lord.
[34:26] Those words. On the lips. Of the Jewish worshippers. In Matthew 21. On the lips of Jesus. Jesus. In Matthew 23. And on the lips.
[34:37] Of us. As well. On that final day. When we will see him. As we welcome. His return. When indeed he comes. As the righteous.
[34:48] Victorious. King. That he is. That Palm Sunday. In Jerusalem. When the Lord Jesus. Rode into the city. On that donkey. The people rejoiced.
[34:59] Because they thought. That salvation. Of Zechariah 14. They thought. That salvation. Has come. But it didn't come. In the way that they expected.
[35:10] This was. Not the king. Who would conquer. The Romans. As they thought. This was. The king. Who would suffer. This was the suffering. Savior. Who would conquer.
[35:22] An even greater enemy. Sin and death. Salvation. Would only come. Through the death. And resurrection. Of this. Savior. King. And so.
[35:32] He didn't. Enter into the city. On that Palm Sunday. To take his. Rightful place. Upon his. Glorious throne. No. He entered in. To soon take.
[35:45] Our rightful place. Upon that. Hellish cross. He deserved. The glorious throne. With a crown of gems. Upon his head. But he took. The hellish cross.
[35:57] With a crown of thorns. Upon his head. Instead. And he did that. To accomplish. The plan. Of salvation. For us. His people. So unbeknownst.
[36:08] To the people. Of Jerusalem. That day. As the cries. Rang out. Blessed is he. Who comes. In the name. Of the Lord. He was coming. To do the last. Thing. That you'd expect.
[36:19] A king to do. He was coming. To be put to death. He was coming. To lay down. His life. He was coming. To be crucified. But now.
[36:29] As we look. To that final day. That future day. Pictured for us. In all of places. Zechariah 14. When we will cry out. Blessed is he. Who comes. In the name.
[36:40] Of the Lord. On that day. He will come. Again. And he will reign. Supreme. He told of that day. In Matthew 25. Verse 31. Saying.
[36:51] When the son of man. Comes in his glory. And all the angels. With him. Then. He will sit. On his glorious throne. And when he does.
[37:02] He will defeat. His every enemy. Even sin. And death. Themselves. And on that day. All of us in Christ. Will cry out. Blessed is he. Who comes.
[37:12] In the name. Of the Lord. Lord. We will shower him. With our praises.
[37:23] We will shower him. With our blessing. A blessing. And we will hear a blessing. In return. We will hear a blessing. On his lips. Yet again.
[37:35] And it's not a blessing. That's said through tears. But it's a blessing. That is said. In triumph. King Jesus. Will say to us. Who belong to him. Come. You who are blessed.
[37:46] By my father. Inherit the kingdom. Prepared for you. From the foundation. Of the world. Those words. On his lips. On that day.
[37:59] And here are the words. That should be. On our lips. On this very day. Come. Lord Jesus. Those are some of the last words.
[38:10] That we find in our Bibles. The very last chapter of Revelation. This joyful. Eager plea. Come. Lord Jesus. And you know.
[38:20] That cry is actually a response. Because Jesus has just said. Surely. I am coming soon. And we cry out. Come. Lord Jesus. That's our response.
[38:31] Because we long for him. We want to be with him. We want him to come. We want him to make all things right.
[38:42] We want him to sit on his glorious throne. And we want to gather around that throne. We want to worship him. We want to be satisfied in him. For all of eternity.
[38:53] Come Lord Jesus. Are those words. On your lips today. Do you long for his return. That day when Zechariah 14 says.
[39:04] The Lord will be king. Over all the earth. And all the earth will know it. On that day. The Lord will be one. And his name one.
[39:15] Meaning. No other rivals. Supreme. He will have first place. No other gods before him. He's the one true God. No other names above his.
[39:27] His name is the most glorious name of all. You see. Despite what the crowds thought. On Palm Sunday. That day. Pictured in Zechariah 14.
[39:39] Hadn't come yet. The joyful shouts of the crowd. Some 2,000 years ago. Those shouts were premature in this sense. Because this was not the arrival.
[39:51] Of the king in that full triumph. Not yet. No. This was the arrival of the suffering savior. And the cries in that city. Would quickly change their tune.
[40:01] They would change from. Glad cries of bless him. To vicious cries of crucify him. The plan of salvation. The plan of salvation. Seen in Psalm 118.
[40:12] Had not yet been fulfilled. Before Jesus could be that cornerstone. He had to be the stone that was rejected. He had to be the one who was arrested.
[40:24] Put on trial. Found to be guilty. Though he had done no wrong. Beaten. And mocked. And flogged.
[40:35] And insulted. And made to carry his cross as far as he could. And then to have his hands and his feet nailed to that cross. And to be lifted up to hang there for hours.
[40:46] Suffering. Suffering as he endured the pain of the cross. And the slow death that would bring. Suffering as his friends abandoned him. And most of all.
[41:00] Suffering as his father. Turned his face away. And he poured out on him. Not the blessing that he deserved. But the wrath that we deserve.
[41:12] The wrath and judgment for our sin. Not for the sin of Jesus. Jesus had no sin. Jesus was without sin. Jesus was perfect. Jesus is perfect. It was for the sins of all who would trust in him.
[41:28] That's where Jesus hung. Taking God's wrath. So that we could receive his blessing. So is Jesus your savior today? Have you put your trust in him?
[41:40] Have you looked to him for salvation? Recognizing that you are just as God says that you are in his word. You are a sinner. And you need a savior. You have turned from him.
[41:53] Living life on your own terms. Going your own way. That was all of us at one time. Sinners in need of a savior. The only savior. The savior that we had been rejecting.
[42:06] Do you see that you need that savior. Jesus Christ for your sins to be covered today. Do you see that you have no hope of eternal life without Jesus Christ?
[42:18] So cry out to him for salvation. Confess your sins to him. Turn from your sins. And turn to him. And believe that he died on the cross for your sins.
[42:31] And you will be forgiven. For all of us who are in Christ this morning. We say come to him. We say come Lord Jesus.
[42:43] If you are outside of Christ this morning. Do you know what Jesus says to you? Jesus says come to me. So in Christ we say come Lord Jesus.
[42:56] And outside of Christ Jesus though. He says in grace and mercy. Come to me. Come you who are heavy laden. And weary. And I will give you rest.
[43:07] Without Jesus we are weary. We are heavy laden with our sin. And we need him to give us rest.
[43:18] To give us salvation. Will you come to him today? So that you can then join with the chorus of voices on that final day.
[43:28] That rejoice when he does come again. What a savior that he is. Willing to save all who come to him. And able to save all who come to him.
[43:40] Because he took the punishment. He took the wrath. He bore the sins of his people on that cross. Indeed the stone. The savior. Jesus Christ.
[43:52] Had to be rejected. So that he might then become the cornerstone. So that one day. When he returns. We will welcome him with those glad cries.
[44:04] Blessed is he. Who comes. In the name of the Lord. For the one who comes. Is the Lord. He bears that very name.
[44:14] Jesus Christ. Is Lord. And we will greet him. When he returns. With the blessing. And the praise. And the honor. That only he deserves.
[44:28] Psalm 1846. The Lord lives. And blessed be my rock. And exalted. Be the God of my salvation. Amen.