In the sermon 'Your King, Sitting on a Donkey,' Scott Brown explores the passage from Matthew 21:1-11, focusing on Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The narrative highlights the fulfillment of prophecy as Jesus enters the city on a donkey, symbolizing humility and the unique nature of His kingdom. Unlike earthly kings who assert power through force, Jesus demonstrates a kingdom where the first shall be last, and exaltation follows humiliation. This entry marks the beginning of Jesus' final week, emphasizing His role as a suffering servant who bears humanity's sins. The sermon contrasts Jesus' humble approach with human expectations of grandeur, noting that His kingship encompasses the roles of prophet, priest, and king. The sermon encourages believers to consider the true nature of Jesus' kingdom, characterized by humility, service, and a reversal of worldly values. As the city of Jerusalem becomes electrified by His presence, the sermon challenges listeners to reflect on their understanding of God's kingdom and the call to embrace humility and service.

Scripture text this morning is Matthew 21 verses 1 through 11. Now when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out saying, Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, Who is this? So the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Lord, come before you this morning. We ask that you would draw near, Father, even as you came into Jerusalem to fulfill the work that had been laid out for you, Father.

We ask that we would hear your words, that we would hear your desire for us, that we would see you more clearly, that we would see you and rejoice that you are the Messiah that came and opened blinds, that opened deaf ears. Father, we ask that we would hear from heaven this morning, that you would open our ears and open our eyes to see who you are in a more clear way. Father, we thank you for your word and we pray that you would bless Scott as he brings it to us. In Jesus' name. As J.I.

Packer said in his book, Knowing God, there's nothing more improving to the mind than the knowledge of God. And here in this passage we get more of a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, of his King, of his kingship. And my prayer all week in considering this passage has really come from, as I read it, my admiration, my worship of God deepens. And I'm praying that that will happen to us as we look at this King who is such a good King. And here, your King is riding on a donkey.

He's not the king that you thought he was, or at least he wasn't the king that the Jews thought he was. But in this passage our Lord continues to teach his disciples what kind of king he is and what kind of kingdom he's establishing. And he's really continuing to illustrate this whole principle that he's been communicating to his disciples, the first shall be last and the last first. That's been a theme for quite some time. Now, the disciples have broken and are making, broken from these last previous scenes where the Lord is saying the first shall be last, and now making their way to Jerusalem and the Lord continues to say things that really underline that principle, that the Kingdom of Heaven is different than the Kingdom of Man.

And in the Kingdom of Heaven, it's the tax collector and the prostitute that enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It's not the rich man or the religious man at all. It's the child. It's the first shall be last. That's the Kingdom of Heaven.

And so at the end of Matthew 20, our Lord has been explaining the first shall be last and the last shall be first, just to say that His kingdom just doesn't work like the earthly kingdoms. And so this is all on the heels of a mother of a couple of the disciples wanting their sons to be great. And now the Lord is going to actually illustrate greatness in his own kingdom. And in Christ's kingdom, and let me say too, in your life and in my life, exaltation comes after humiliation. That's a principle that you see all over Scripture.

You see it in the life of Christ. You see it in the life of Christ, you see it in the life of the believer as well. And you see the Apostle saying that he who humbles himself will be exalted. But humiliation always precedes exaltation in the kingdom of heaven. That's even true with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our elder brother who goes before us.

Now an earthly king comes into cities, you know, leading armies. But in God's kingdom here, the king comes in on a donkey. The king is shamed for his people. The king dies for his people. The king is mocked for his people.

And so that's what this triumphal entry says, that this kingdom of Jesus is so different. And what a comfort that is to think of that. We're alive in a world where the ethic of the worldly kings is always assaulting us. And we're tempted to think wrongly about what a good kingdom is. And so we're shown our Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom.

So this day here that's recorded marks Jesus' entry into Jerusalem as king. Now, with this first verse in chapter 21, is a marker of the Lord's final week on the earth. He is moving toward the cross. This day marks the beginning of the most significant week in all of world history. And it defines why he came.

To come and humble himself, to be scourged, to be mocked, and for all of the sin of the world to be laid upon his head. And this is why he came. So he's disclosing here the nature of his Messiahship. He's not a political ruler, but he's a humble and he's a suffering servant who bears the weaknesses of his people, and he rules over their hearts, and he reveals himself, who he really is. Now, this whole chapter though, at the same time, we have to recognize it as a whole because he's recognized as king as the son of David, but he also comes into the temple as the priest in the next scene and he speaks to the people as a prophet.

He comes as prophet, priest, and king here in this chapter. And so this text before us is the recording of what we call Palm Sunday. Now, here are a couple things about this text. First of all, it's all narrative. There's nothing didactic in it.

Secondly, it occurs in all four of the Gospels. Now, there are only two stories in the Gospels that are in all four Gospels. You know what they are? Well, this is one of them. There's only one other that is recorded in all four Gospels.

And I think that's significant. Every Gospel writer believed it was critical that this would be included into the testimony. And it's the feeding of the 5, 000 and the triumphal entry, the only two that are in all four gospels. Now recognize something else about the structure of the gospels that should help us understand how critical the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are. Now, we're in chapter 21 of Matthew, right?

From 21 to the end of 28 is the last week of Jesus' life. Fully 25% of Matthew's Gospel is dedicated to one single week, this week that is launched in its description in verse 1. In Mark, Mark spends one third of his gospel on the final week of Jesus. Even though the disciples have walked with Jesus for three years, one fourth is dedicated. Luke dedicates one fifth of his Gospel.

But what portion does the Apostle John dedicate to this last week? Fully one-half of his Gospel. So this is such a significant event that not only do all the Gospel writers record it, but it comprises such a significant amount of the Gospels itself. There are actually 89 chapters in the four Gospels. 39 of them record this last week.

And so this just should help us to understand the central importance of the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That He has come as a suffering servant to have the sins of the world keep upon him so that he might suffer for our sins, that he might die, and that he might be resurrected on the last day. So much of the gospel testimony is about this one segment in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so here, during these last seven days of Jesus' life, he's proving what a different kind of kingdom he is establishing. He comes lowly on a donkey.

It's interesting that people exalt him at first, And then he is mocked and tried and killed. And then his father exalts him and resurrects him from the dead and seats him on his right hand. Because the first shall be last and the last shall be first. This is such a different kind of kingdom. In the kingdom of the world, the first will be first and the last will be last.

But the Lord Jesus Christ's kingdom gathers up the worthless of this world, the very last, and he makes them his sons and daughters. He takes the very chief of sinners and makes him an apostle. He takes the dregs of this world and he makes them heirs of a kingdom. This is the kingdom of your Savior. You might just consider yourself how great you are, how great you think you are.

My guess is that we understand how broken we are, at least to some degree. But I think we should just so revel in the mercies of such a good king and how he has a kingdom that is so full of mercy that would receive such as we are. As the apostle Paul said of those in Corinth who had done so many despicable things, such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were cleansed. And so this is the kind of kingdom. Now, how do kingdoms enter cities?

I mean, how would Julius Caesar have entered Jerusalem? Or if Napoleon had been alive, how would he have entered? Or how would George Bush or Barack Obama enter the city? Probably, at least the way that we have seen them behave, they enter cities with significant resources and even fire power, not this king. Well, guess what?

This king doesn't need it. And so he does not enter that way. You might think, how should Jesus have entered this city? What would have been the most appropriate way? Like, if you were to design his entry, knowing what you know about him, what would you have done?

I think I know what I would have done. I would have had multitudes of angels. I would have had the seas parting. I would have had the ground opening up, closing up. I would have rivers of living water.

I would have a sea of glass. I would have such a display. Well, it's a good thing that I'm not the king of this kingdom, because we see the wisdom of His own coming. So different than the way that we might do it, because He is such a good King. Here's what this entry is, among other things.

It is at least the humiliation of the Son of God, that He might be exalted, that He might take many sons to glory. So as he's poor, making many rich, we see here in verse 1 how this final week begins. Now when they drew near Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus sent his two disciples. And if you have an outline before you, you'll see the way this final week begins.

Jesus stopped short of Jerusalem at Bethphage or Bethany. Mary and Martha live here. They had a house there that was a place of refuge and rest for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead and He's near the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem is two miles away.

The Mount of Olives is critical. He's here now in the Mount of Olives. He'll return there in just a short period of time and pray. And then he says that he will come back on the Mount of Olives when he comes again. So all of these historical markers are in the crossroads here of this passage.

The Lord Jesus is on a 3, 500 foot ascent up to this place. He's come from the lowlands below sea level and is now headed up to Jerusalem, the city set on a hill. It's interesting, If you go back to Deuteronomy 34, you'll notice that Moses takes a very, very similar journey up a significant elevation to that place. We've seen particularly in the first few chapters of Matthew how the Lord Jesus is really following Moses. He's doing so many of the things that Moses does because he is a prophet like Moses.

And so he's made this climb And the disciples have been walking with him for three years and now just in a few days it will all be over. Now let me give you a little bit of a timeline here of what's happening here in verse 1. Friday is the arrival at Bethany. Saturday is Mary's anointing of Jesus. Sunday is the triumphal entry.

Monday is the cleansing of the temple and the return to Bethany. Tuesday You find the disciples' questions about the fig tree, which we'll read about soon in our exposition. And then Thursday is the preparation, I'm sorry, Wednesday, back in Bethany where Judas arranges for his betrayal. Thursday, preparation for Passover. Friday, after midnight, betrayal, arrest, trial, crucifixion, the sealing of the tomb.

And then finally, on resurrection day, the stone is rolled away. And so the Lord here is coming into the city at the beginning of this very dramatic last days of his life. And he's coming into the city. And he's coming to assess the city. And he will go into the temple to cleanse the temple.

He will find himself on the road, and he will be hungry, and he's looking for food. And he goes to a fig tree, and there's no fruit. The Lord Jesus is looking for fruit, and there is no fruit. And so the fig tree must die as a parallel to those who do not bear fruit as the Jews were not bearing fruit in keeping with their profession, bearing witness that there was no life in them at all. So here the Lord is coming in to the city.

It occurs on the fourth day of Passover. Exodus 12 says that this is the day that the Lamb is brought into the house. Significant, I think. And the scene here is one of a great crowd. Normally, Jerusalem has about 70, 000 people.

Now with the feasts, there are about a quarter of a million people in the town. So there's lots of traffic and lots of activity. And then the arrangements are made in verses 2 through 4, And there's a declaration that the prophecies have been fulfilled. So in verse 2 we read, and saying to them, go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me.

And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." Now here we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ has choreographed every single step of what is happening here in this narrative and the Matthew says that there were two animals here involved the mother and the cult and whether they whether the Lord was writing both of them, which he probably did, alternatively, when you read the other Gospel accounts, it seems that that's quite possible. Mark speaks about a cult and Matthew about a donkey. So here this is an unwritten, untrained donkey that is being ridden into the city. You know, how hard is it to do that?

You know, a donkey is pressed into service and now there's this unwritten creature. And here the Lord again, He demonstrates His power over nature. He demonstrates His power not only over the weather, but also over animals, over animate objects, over inanimate objects, over kings, over individuals, over the heavens, over absolutely everything. And here the Lord is able to get on an animal that has never been ridden before, and he comes into the city. Is it harder to do that than to bring 500 tanks into a city?

It's probably a lot easier to get 500 tanks into a city than to miraculously command an animal like this. And he's, I think, saying, you know, no one is taking his life. He's giving his life as a ransom for many. Under his sovereign power, he's ruling all things in order to do his own will. And he's demonstrating here his sovereign control not only over the animals, but over the owners of the animals, who will say certain things to people at certain times, according to his divine plan.

The owners of the animal will say something that they were not in control of saying. They were speaking the words that God gave them to say because he was controlling their mouths to say what they would say in the moment when someone was walking away with their resources. So it's a time of miracle here. And we find here that the disciples obey. They're told to go into the city and then they obey.

Verse 3, and if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them. The Lord has need of them." You know, it's interesting. This phrase comes back to my mind, has come back to my mind many times. Many years ago, I led a men's retreat here in North Carolina with our previous church. And in the afternoon we planned some physical activities.

And we had these launchers. We were going to launch objects into the air, but we needed something to catch them with. And so we realized that we had forgotten to bring blankets. So someone said, let's go to the administration and ask blankets. And my father was standing there, and the man said, what should we tell them?

And my father said, tell them the Lord has needed them. And I think of that all the time, dad. I really do. It's a strange thing. But here, out of this mind popped a phrase of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And here, what we find is the Lord had need of this animal. No one would understand why At all. And the prophecy is fulfilled. And the kind of king, the kind of messiah he is, is revealed. Verse 4.

All this was done, All this was done, not randomly, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold your king coming to you lowly, sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." Now, you know, when a modern ruler comes into a city, the message generally is stay away. I'm behind bulletproof glass. If it was 100 or 200 years ago, the king would be on a mighty stallion. No one would ever want to come near it. But not this king.

This is the King who bids you to come near. And he comes lowly, sitting on a donkey. And of course this is a fulfillment of prophecy, Zechariah chapter 9. Please open your Bibles to Zechariah chapter 9. And the whole context in Zechariah 9 is God is destroying the pride of the proud and the pride of the nations, Tyre, the pride of the Philistines.

He's holding up these great nations and telling how he's going to humiliate them. But someone different will rule. And that's the context. And In verse 9, you read this, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your King is coming to you. Now, just these first phrases I think are so helpful to understand your Savior, who He is. Of course, He is someone to rejoice in, but we can rejoice in him because of his humility, because of his accessibility. We can come boldly into the throne room of grace. Why?

Because he's a faithful high priest. Because he understands our weaknesses. Because He too humbled Himself, and He understands our need for mercy and our weakness. And He says, your King is coming to you. He comes to you.

The kings of the earth don't come to you, they say you come to me. But this king comes to you and he calls you by name. And he opens your heart and He actually takes out your heart of stone and He puts a heart of flesh in it. He comes to you and He opens your eyes and He gives you a heart to believe. He shows you how good He is.

Do you remember what that was like when He started showing you how good He was? And maybe it was just a phrase of Scripture, and your eyes opened. He showed you. He came to you. He came to you and snatched you out of the raging waters, as David says in the Psalms.

He comes to you and he rescues you and he takes you to heaven. This is the King that comes. He's such a good King. You can rejoice. Rejoice, O daughter of Zion.

Shout, he came to me. And he says, he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. And then, if you skip down to the end of verse 10, his dominion shall be from sea to sea. Verse 11, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. In verse 12, I will restore double to you.

He will save you, verse 16, and they shall be like a crown of jewels. For how great is its goodness, how great its beauty, Grain shall make the young man thrive, and new wine the young man." So this is the reason for the rejoicing. He comes to you, and he calls to you, and says, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden." We see an image of this in the book of Genesis in Genesis 49 verses 9 through 12 where the prophecy of Judah, Judah is a lion's wealth from the prey my son you have gone up he bows down he lies down as a lion and as a lion who shall rouse him. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the people, Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes with the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk." This is just a description of the beauty of the work of the Son of God in the soul of man, binding the donkey to the vine, The source of life.

This is your King. You know, there are dozens of fulfilled prophecies in this last week of Jesus' life. It was tempting to go through all these prophecies. We're not going to do that today. But there are so many prophecies.

It's interesting, when John quotes this in his gospel, he inserts the words, fear not. Fear not, daughter of Zion. I'm very grateful for that. The Apostle John, I think, so well understood the fears of the heart of the people of God. He says, fear not, fear not, daughter of Zion.

I sought the Lord and he heard me, He delivered me from all my fears. This is what the Lord does in His kingship, in His kingdom. And He does it with such humility. So He is a humble ruler. He's so humble, his disciples don't even have a saddle.

They have to take their clothes and put their clothes on the donkey as a saddle. Have you ever had to do things like that? You know, sort of give by because you didn't have resources. You just had to do with what you had and you didn't have what everybody else had. But you had what God had given you and somehow that fulfilled what was necessary.

And that's what the disciples did. His very own disciples had nothing. They had left everything and followed him. And their king had nothing. Their king had to have a borrowed boat.

Their king had to have a borrowed donkey. Their king had to have a borrowed saddle. Their king had to have a borrowed boat. Their king had to have a borrowed donkey. Their king had to have a borrowed saddle.

Their king had to have a borrowed tomb. Because their kingdom, his kingdom was not of this world. And so the king comes to his people, behold Your King is coming to you. Those are some of the most wonderful words in the Bible. Behold, your King is coming to you.

Here's how different this king is. First of all, he comes to you while other people demand that you come to them. He is so different. Secondly, He is a servant king who rules. He makes himself nothing.

He transforms into a servant of his people. Three, he's a humble king who associates with the lowly. In Calvin's commentary on this text, he says this, I think summarizing this so beautifully, he belongs to the common people, not royalty. You know, he comes in with such humble transportation, you know, people get very, you know, very particular about their transportation. I know some of you have sold automobiles and you understand how particular and how self-serving people are when it comes to the buying of automobiles.

Because they want to be in the right kind of vehicle that says the right kind of thing about them. You know, It's always interesting, you know, if you see a red sports car, a guy with funny hair and a gold chain, you know what's going on. Here's a man in midlife crisis. He's trying to say something to the world. On the other hand, if you see a minivan and there are crayons, you know, melted in the fabric and there's crumbs everywhere, You know what kind of person you're dealing with, don't you?

You know exactly who it is. And here, the Lord comes into the city in a completely different way than a modern king would. Do you know what the beast is? Maybe if you follow the president and his entourage, you know what the beast is. It's actually a vehicle.

And it says something. It says something. And so here the Lord is coming in on a donkey. How do you think you would have had him come into town. I told you how I would have had him come into town.

He's not a political king either. He's not coming in to destroy the Romans, which is what everyone hoped he would do. That he would somehow take down the political powers he he does not concern himself Directly in that way when he comes he's not coming in to correct the political perspectives He's not he's not nuancing the latest news items that have hit. He's coming to destroy the works of the devil wherever his works might be found. In the government, in the home, wherever.

That's his purpose. Because that's the heart of the matter. That's the only thing that will change politics. That's the only thing that will change a home. And that's the only thing that will change the church.

It comes from inside out. His kingdom is not of this world and he is not conquering through the normal means of destruction. What he does though, instead of coming in and killing his enemies at this time, he comes and he dies for them. His kingship is so contrary. He dies for his enemies.

How different is that? Now, there will be a day when he will destroy all of his enemies at his judgment, and he's waiting for that day. So he comes in, and he does cleanse the church. He drives out. He drives out the evil from the temple, and he speaks about their hypocrisy, but he comes in humility.

And then the disciples obey, verses 6 and 7, they are obedient disciples. Luke says that when they went to get the donkeys, or the donkey, they ended up with two, that the owners said, what are you doing? And they said, here's what we're doing. And they said, okay. And they left with the donkeys.

And then the people rejoice in the king in verses 8 through 11. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. You know, all the songs we sang this morning were so consistent with verse 8 and the enthusiasm, the excitement was there in the crowd. You know, Lazarus had recently been raised from the dead and the branches, you know, and the clothes being laid on the ground so his feet don't touch the dirt, you know, are a sign of honor.

It's like laying out the red carpet. It was just a common way of welcoming a king. And then in verse 9, the multitudes are going before those who followed. So there's crowds on each side of the Lord Jesus and his disciples. And they're saying, Hosanna to the son of David.

Hosanna means save now. It's really a mixing of two things. It's a mixing of adoration and supplication. And what were they thinking? Were they thinking about personal salvation?

Probably some of them were. But if we read on in the story, we recognize that the voices of the crowds changed. They changed from Hosanna to crucify him. So I would just suggest that some in that crowd were genuinely saying from their hearts, save me, save me Lord now. Some were not thinking of personal salvation.

They were thinking of political domination. They wanted a kingdom. They wanted prosperity. They wanted to be on top. They had the self-driven of this world take their self-drivenness into religion.

And so they continue to be self-driven, wanting an earthly kingdom. That's where their hope is. They want to overcome Roman oppression. On the other hand, they're saying this phrase from Psalm 118, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. My idea was that the crowd was mixed, mixed with those who were saying, save me from Rome, and the others, save me from my sins.

It was a mixed crowd. Psalm 118, which we've read this morning, I would just encourage you to read it again this afternoon when you go home. It's such a helpful and wonderful, wonderful thing. Now Luke says that the people were crying out like this and the Pharisees started calling out to Jesus telling him to rebuke them. And the Pharisees said, teacher, shut up.

That's what he's saying. That's what they're saying to him. And the Lord said, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones should immediately cry out. They wanted a political king. They were not worshiping the true king.

People have their idea of God and they celebrate that, but they'll find themselves realizing that they did not know the true king and his kingdom. And they did not understand. Says Luke in verse 1944, they did not understand because God had blinded their eyes so that they would not understand They wanted him to rally the military, not come and seek and save the lost. They wanted him on a stallion, not a donkey. And they ended up choosing Barabbas the warrior.

That was their kind of king, fit their kind of kingdom. Because they did not understand his kind of kingdom. And so in verse 10, and when he came into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? So this is a really dramatic moment. He's coming to the city and he says the whole city is moved.

It was so dramatic. There's such significance to this. Remember, if you go to Matthew chapter 2, verses 1 through 3, Do you remember what happened there? The whole city was troubled. Where is the king of the Jews?

Now the city is moved. Herod was fearful, terrified, And the whole city was troubled as a result, right along with Herod himself. Why? For out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. So the whole city is electrified.

They were moved, but Jesus, when he came into the city, he wept. He wept over the city. Matthew doesn't show us this. The other Gospel writers tell us what happens at this point that Matthew doesn't. And that is he weeps for Jerusalem at this point.

And he cries out for his people Israel because their hearts had hardened. He says, if only you had known the things which make for peace, but now they have been hidden from your eyes. The city is electrified. Jesus Christ is weeping. And he's getting ready to go into the temple and cleanse the temple.

Let me give you some applications. The applications I want to give this morning really kind of sort themselves in two categories. The first category is the category of considering ourselves. And the second category is considering the king. Let's begin with the first category.

Considering ourselves. The people did not recognize him because he was bringing something they weren't looking for. He was bringing salvation for their souls. He was bringing them humiliation. He was bringing them repentance.

They wanted personal power, personal success. They wanted personal dominance. So in reality, those who were crying out, Hosanna to the son of David, while they were using religious language, they really were worshipping their own selves. They were worshipping their own kind of domination that they wanted. They were really in it because they wanted to be dominant.

And in their desire for domination, they could not relate with the king who rides in on a donkey. And so, beware of the rose-colored glasses, of the danger of being outwardly passionate. Sometimes they're the furthest from God. They're enamored, they use all the right words, they're in the right crowd, they've got their WWJD bracelets on, they're having their devotions, and they read their Bibles and they're always looking for their success, they're always looking for their self exaltation. They're not looking for the king who comes in on a donkey, who is humbled before he's exalted, whose life is characterized by repentance.

Martin Luther said that repentance is the fundamental principle of the Christian life. It sums up everything that Christianity represents. It's the abandonment of self, not the exalting of self. But in this prosperity gospel environment, everybody wants to know what's in it for me. How can I get it?

If you want to write popular articles, all you have to say is, here are the five ways you can achieve this great thing. That's all you have to do. We know people who do it. They're very effective. They say really interesting, helpful, powerful things in it.

But you know what? That's how you, that's what people are interested in. They want to know what's in it for them. Not so much what is in it for their king. Not so much how they might humble themselves.

So beware of misunderstanding the gospel. These people were believing a false gospel. They wanted personal power, not humiliation. They did not understand a suffering servant. They could only relate to a conquering king.

This is how people become religious but unsaved. They do not believe the whole gospel. And the gospel is that the king dies. The gospel is that the king is humiliated. The gospel is that the king is scorned so that the people will be saved.

So we created Jesus in our own making. There's really no difference in the Jews who wanted a political savior in our tendency to just want however much or whatever part of Christianity will make it successful, but please don't let it take me to humiliation or rejection or belittlement or a cross or loss of all my resources. And please don't make me like the disciples who left everything and follow. And please don't make me like Jesus, whose disciples only have their clothes as a saddle and only have a donkey as their transportation. Don't make me ride in that kind of transportation more.

There's no difference in that. And the false gospel, the prosperity gospel, the self-exalting gospel. People often, They like the death of Christ, but not the death to themselves that sanctification requires. And then Consider your king. Consider your king.

Your omnipotent, omnipotent messiah. He knows everything. He puts all the words in all the people's mouths all the time for his own glory. He knows everything about you. He knows, he knows everyone.

Nothing escapes his notice. He controls everything. Notice. He controls everything. He rules the donkeys, just as he rules the nations, just as he rules the winds and the waves, just as he rules absolutely everything.

And not only is he omniscient and omnipotent, He is also humble. He is your lowly, suffering servant. He became your servant. He served you by dying for you. He served you by pouring out His Spirit upon you.

He served you by coming to you and giving you a new heart. He served you by taking your dead corpse and making it alive. He served you by relieving you of your burdens, by mending you in your brokenness. And so here, this is his great Gospel, that the Lord Jesus Christ came from God, He suffered death on a cross, and He took all of the sins of repentant sinners upon Himself so that they could rejoice and sing Psalm 118 with all of their hearts. So that the first would be last, and the last would be first.

And so he is the prophet, the priest, and the king who offers himself as a sacrifice. And he comes in lowly on a donkey, lowly in order to bear your sins so that you might be exalted. Does your heart love him? Do you praise him in your heart like the words of Psalm 118 would show you how to do? This is the most important question you'll ever answer.

And this is the question that the Lord Jesus Christ answers when He comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Would you pray with me? Oh Lord, we're amazed at your humiliation, how you've suffered and died for our sins, that your grace so free would release us in bondage of our own sins and continue, Lord, to pour out Your grace upon us in the midst of our days before You in our heavenly journey. Oh Lord, I thank You for sending Your Son. I thank You for sending Him on a donkey and not the ways of man.

I thank you