The sermon, based on Mark 11:1-11, discusses Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and its significance. The speaker emphasizes that Jesus fulfills multiple Old Testament prophecies: He is the promised prophet from Deuteronomy 18, the Lion of the tribe of Judah from Genesis 49, and the true king from the line of David as indicated in 1 Kings 1. Jesus' entry on a colt parallels the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 and His anointing in Mark 14 fulfills the requirements for a Davidic king. The sermon also highlights Psalm 118, where the cries of 'Hosanna' affirm Jesus as the Messiah. Moreover, Ezekiel 10 and 11 are referenced to illustrate Jesus as the true glory of God returning to the temple. The speaker calls believers to recognize Jesus as the true prophet, king, and Messiah, and to respond with faith, hope, and obedience.

Let's turn our Bibles together to the Gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11 will be beginning in verse 1 this morning. We'll read all the way through verse 11.

I'll ask you now to stand as we hear now the Word of God. Hear now the word of the Lord. As they approached Jerusalem at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He, that is Jesus, sent two of His disciples. And He said to them, go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one yet has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

If anyone says to you, why are you doing this? You say, the Lord has need of it, and immediately He will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street, and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, What are you doing untying the colt? They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and he sat on it.

And many spread their coats in the road. Others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David, Hosanna, in the highest. Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple.

And after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the 12, since it was already late. May God bless the reading of His Word. Amen. You may be seated. I want you to use your imagination this morning for just a moment.

Suppose for a moment that you are living in rural Jerusalem. You're a Gentile. You do not understand all of the strange ways and customs of your Jewish neighbors. But just days before, a man showed up. And he came riding through your little village, coats strewn about on the ground, leafy branches making a type of carpet for this man to ride along as he and his disciples approached Jerusalem.

And the Jewish men in front of him and the Jewish men behind him are all shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. And as the scene ends, you're still standing at your door scratching your head. That was strange. What was that all about? And as you stand pondering, a little Jewish shepherd boy walks by, guiding his sheep along.

And you call out to him, and you ask him, young man, did you see that processional? What on earth just happened there? Now, we need you to imagine that little Jewish boy looking at you and perhaps a smile begins to tug at his face. And with a glint in his eyes he tells you, oh, let me tell you a story from long ago. And by the end of that story, as you sit on your front porch with that little shepherd boy, you yourself are headed up to Jerusalem with wild hope and excitement.

You're running up to Jerusalem with the longing that you might get to meet the hope of Israel. That you might just get to see Once more the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the long expected prophet, the promised Messiah, the glory of the one true and living God returned. You are racing towards Jerusalem that you might see what the true king of kings has come to do. Can you imagine that with me? Beloved, this passage in Mark 11 won't make much sense to you at all.

You won't understand why we call this passage the triumphal entry unless you hear that little shepherd boy's story starting from Genesis and spanning all the way to Malachi. So that's what I'm going to do with you this morning. That's my plan. I'm going to tell you this little shepherd boy story by holding up for you prophecy after prophecy and Israelite history found in the Old Testament so that when you read these verses again in Mark chapter 11 you will know exactly who Jesus is and exactly what Jesus has come to do And you'll know exactly what Mark wants you to realize as you read this section of the narrative. And if you do, if you realize what Mark wants you to realize, you get it?

Oh, by His grace, you will run to this Almighty Jesus, full of hope, full of faith, singing a song of triumph, because the true King has come, and the true King has won. So I want to begin there. Let us begin. Let me retell to you what that little shepherd boy would have told you if he'd come up to you that day. Let me begin by telling you the story of the prophet who was to come.

The prophet who was to come. Turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 18. I'm going to warn you, this is a fun kind of warning. We're going to be all over the place in our Bibles this morning. So if you have a scripture journal, keep that open to Mark 11, because we're going to keep coming back to Mark 11.

That's our text this morning. But this story spans from Genesis all the way to Malachi. We've got some flipping to do, don't we? So We're going to start in Deuteronomy chapter 18. Deuteronomy chapter 18.

Don't worry, we'll go back to Genesis. It's not going to start there. Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse 15. As you turn there, I want to remind you what's going on in this passage. The people of Israel had been wandering in the wilderness as a result of their sin and their rebellion against God.

They had refused to enter the promised land. You remember this. But now finally, it is time to enter the promised land in triumph. And so Moses prepares the people. Moses is going to die, but the people would not be left without a prophet to lead them.

The people would not be left without the word of God among them as they enter the promised land in triumph. And so Moses promises in Deuteronomy 18 verse 15 look there with me. Here's what he promises them The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me From among you from your countrymen and you shall listen to him The Lord God was to raise up for Israel a prophet like Moses from among them, from their own countrymen, and what were they to do? They were to listen to Him. And God did just that, right?

He raised up many lesser prophets in Israel. But there was the great prophet, the ultimate prophet that was to come. God through Moses had promised that the people would not be left without the Word of God among them. And what do we know? And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And we have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father full of grace and truth. The Lord God had promised to raise up a great prophet, the greatest prophet, and what were the Israelites to do when that prophet was realized? Look at verse 15 again. They were to listen to Him. See that phrase in the middle of verse 15?

They shall listen to Him. Does that sound familiar? What did God the Father say? Just two chapters earlier in Mark's Gospel when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, listen to Him. This is My beloved Son.

Listen to Him. Jesus Christ is the promised prophet. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this prophecy in Deuteronomy 18 where the people were going to enter in triumph into the promised land. And Moses promises a prophet is to come. You must listen to him.

But the question in the minds of the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18, and I think no doubt The question on the minds of those in Jesus' day in Mark 11 would be this. How can we be sure that someone who claims to be a prophet really is a true prophet? How can we be sure that this prophet to come will really be God in the flesh, the Word made flesh. How does a prophet prove himself? Well look down in verse 22 of Deuteronomy 18.

God through Moses told them, here's how you'll know whether a prophet is true or false. Verse 22. When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of Him. What the supposed prophet says will either confirm or deny.

It will either confirm Him as a true prophet, or it will make Him out to be a false prophet, and you ought not listen to him. What does Jesus say in verses 2 through 6 of our passage in Mark chapter 11? He says in Mark chapter 11, verse 2, to His disciples, Go into the village, and immediately as you enter it, you'll find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, why are you doing this?

You just say, the Lord has need of it, and immediately he will send it back here. Jesus says this is how it will go. Here is how it will go about. And what happens? Look at verse 4 in Mark.

They went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, what are you doing untying the cult? They spoke to them, look at the text, just as Jesus had told them and they gave them permission, just as Jesus had told them. Confirmation. Jesus is the great and true prophet, the ultimate fulfillment of the promise and prophecy in Deuteronomy 18.15.

And you must listen to him. You must listen to him. In the way you read your Bibles, you must listen to Jesus. You must pick up the Holy Scriptures and ask yourself, what here has my Lord told me to believe? What here, what command has my Lord, my God told me to obey?

What am I to do as a result of this, God's almighty perfect, all 66 books revelation to me. He has spoken. You must listen to Him. Are you listening to Jesus? The long expected prophesied prophet calls you to repent and believe in his gospel and to follow him in obedience in his word.

You must listen to Him. And you must listen to Him, not just because He's the true prophet. He's not just the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18, you know. That's just the tip of the iceberg. That's just the beginning of the sermon.

He's also not just the prophet. He's also the king of the world. He's the king of kings. This is really this first part there, the true prophet. This is just the beginning of the little shepherd boy's story.

I want you to think as he's telling you this story with fire in his eyes, the little shepherd boy goes on to tell you that Jesus is the true prophet, yes, but Jesus is also the true king. Jesus is the true king. I want you to turn with me to Genesis now. Genesis 49. Genesis 49.

Won't you look in verse 8? Genesis 49. Verse 8. This passage is found at the end of Jacob's life. Jacob has come to Egypt and he's been reunited to his son Joseph.

And so now here at the end of Jacob's life, at the end of Israel's life, Jacob blesses his sons. Well, he also curses some of them too. But when we get to Judah, here is the prophecy that Jacob pronounces on his son Judah and all of his offspring. Listen to this, Genesis 49 beginning in verse 8. Judah, your brothers shall praise you.

Your hands shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up?

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine. He washes his garments in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes. Now, there is absolutely so much there that a brother could spend months in that passage. But do you see the obvious?

The offspring of Judah, his brothers will praise him. The father's sons, the people of Israel shall bow down to him the the offspring of Judah it says is like a what like a lion you know that's the king of all the beasts, the lion. We all know the song, who is the king of the jungle? The lion. From Judah is coming a king, a mighty lion, and the ruler's staff shall not depart from him, Jacob says.

To him shall be the obedience of the peoples. That's authority language. This is the kind of language that's reserved for a very, very great king. Not just any king. The greatest king.

The King of all kings. Jacob here is prophesying from Judah will come the King of Kings, the Lion of Lions, the lion of the tribe of Judah. And the peoples will obey him. That's authority. And he'll come on a foal, on a donkey, on a colt.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? Does that sound familiar to you? Read verse 7 of Mark 11 again. Read verse 7 of Mark 11 again. Read verse 7 of Mark 11 again.

They brought the colt. They brought the colt. It could be translated foal or donkey. All these words refer to the same thing. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it and he sat on it.

What does Jesus do? Jesus rides into Jerusalem. Beloved Jesus is that promised lion, the promised king. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy way back in Genesis 49 that said the lion of the tribe of Judah, he would come riding on a donkey and he'll wash his garments in what? Wine.

His robes in the blood of grapes. Are you reading Mark? You reading this? This should be amazing to you. Friends, beloved, Jesus enters Jerusalem and He gives His body on a cross.

He sheds His blood. The lion becomes the Lamb. The King comes not to be served, but to serve. How? By giving His life as a ransom for many so that sinners would be washed in His blood, sanctified by His work, justified in His resurrection.

And in that moment on the cross, Jesus the King won the world to Himself. Shiloh came. His name was Jesus and He ascended to the right hand of the Father on high, according to Ephesians 1. And He's been given a kingdom and a dominion and an authority over all of heaven and all of earth. And the Father has put all things in subjection under His feet.

And He will have the obedience of all the people. Will you this day stand against Him? Do you not know that if you forsake Christ, that one day, dear friend who knows not Christ, you will wish that rocks could crush you. You would wish that you could have a lead weight tied around your neck and be plunged into the ocean and the bottom of the crushing sea, rather than face this King Jesus in His white-hot righteousness and wrath. You need to hear the invitation, friends.

The true prophet, the true king has come. He was crucified for the sins of the world, for the sins of His people. He was crucified for your sin, Christian. And He's risen. He's risen indeed.

And he is reigning as the true King and you know what he will not tolerate unholiness. He will not be mocked which is really bad news for you if you're a sinner this morning bathing in a pool of unholiness that's just oozing out of your pores. But the King of righteousness is also the King of love. And He went to that cross for the propitiation of sin. The fine, the penalty, the wrath that was due your sin.

Christ bore, Christ drank the cup for all those who would repent and turn away from their sins and trust in His finished work. This is really good news that the King has come and that there is forgiveness and new life found in Him alone. So I urge you as Psalm 2 urges you, kiss the Son, lest ye perish. For the Lion of the tribe of Judah is risen, He is reigning, and He will return. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy.

It's an almighty prophecy. It's an almighty fulfillment. But there's more to the story. Genesis 49 is just the beginning when it comes to understanding that Jesus is the promised King. You really need to realize that when you read verses 1 through 8 in Mark chapter 11, that to the Jew, to the one who knew their Old Testament, to the one who'd been praying for the fulfillment of prophecy after prophecy after prophecy in the Old Testament, was longing for the hope of Israel, longing for the coming King.

You need to realize that for that person, Mark 11, 1-8 would have been like dynamite to their souls. This prophetic fulfillment is like dynamite to any Jew who had eyes to see it. As one brother says, this passage is the match that is struck in a bunker full of fumes. This is the shove that rolls the boulder called unbelief down the mountain of truth. Everything that was foretold of the coming King, everything that was foretold of the promised King of Israel, it's coming to pass here in Mark chapter 11.

We've seen that Jesus is fulfilling the line of the tribe of Judah prophecy in Genesis 49. But it's not just Judah's line that's at play here. It's the Davidic line inside Judah's line that's also at play. It's The Davidic line. I want to show you that.

Turn with me to 1 Kings chapter 1. 1 Kings chapter 1. 1 Kings chapter 1, we'll look at verse 33 in chapter 1. 1 Kings 1, 33. Okay, so David has declared himself, David has declared that his son Solomon is going to be king.

Right? From his line there's coming a king. And this was the demonstration of the Davidic kingship passing down from David to his son. You got that? Here is how the king of Israel was to be marked out as the next king in the Davidic line.

First Kings, chapter one, 33. The king said to them, Take with you the servants of your Lord, And have my son Solomon ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon. Let Zidok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there as king over Israel and blow the trumpet and say long live King Solomon. Then you shall come up after him. And he shall come and sit on my throne and be king in my place.

For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." Right on my own mule, down to Gihon. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah." How are you going to know if this appointed king is the true appointed king? How do you know he's supposed to be the ruler over Judah and Israel? How do you know who the true king of Israel is to be? The descendant of David will ride on a donkey and be brought to Giham.

Does that sound familiar? Perhaps you're beginning to see why the little shepherd boy would have fire in his eyes as he tells you this story. If not, look at Mark 11, verse 1. As they approached Jerusalem at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples. I want to show you a map here so you get the whole flow of the argument.

Here's what's going on in Mark 11. The red path is the path that Jesus and his disciples have taken up to this point. And in verse 1, they're approaching Jerusalem. You see there at the far left, there's Jerusalem. They're getting near the Mount of Olives, Mark chapter 11 tells us.

And there's a crossroad. The blue line goes up to Bethphage and the red line goes down to Bethany. Jesus sends his disciples into Bethphage to get the cult, to get the donkey. And then where do they go? Where do they go after they get the cult mark 11 verse 11 it tells us look in verse 11 Jesus enters into Jerusalem Jerusalem Do you know what is in Jerusalem?

The River Gihon That mean anything to you Gihon is in Jerusalem look at that get first Kings chapter 1 verse 33. First Kings chapter 1 verse 33. The true Davidic King, the true son of David, will ride on a colt, ride on a mule, and be brought down to where? Gihon. And now here is Jesus on a colt being brought down to Gihon entering into Jerusalem.

You can't make this stuff up! This is perfect, absolute, prophetic fulfillment. Jesus is the true King. Jesus is the promised King of David. He is the one promised in Psalm 110, where David says that the promised King to come from his line will be one of his offspring, but will also be his own Lord.

Will be my son, but also my Lord. How's that possible? If God comes, and here is Jesus Christ the Lord, God in the flesh, riding on a donkey, demonstrating that he is the appointed and anointed King of Kings Lord over all I find that incredible I'm this I'm just surprised and get a single amen to that still even after a guilt trip you know no amens we'll try again I don't want you to miss this part. Look again at 1 Kings 1. Look at verse 34.

Look at verse 34 there. The king was to be placed on a mule and then what in verse 34? He was to be anointed. You see that? Placed on a mule, anointed.

Placed on a colt, then anointed. Well this is incredible. Jesus comes into Jerusalem on a cult in chapter 11, just like first Kings said he would. Then, three chapters later in Mark 14, what happens to Jesus? A woman comes up to Jesus with costly perfume, breaks the vial open and does what with it?

Pours it over his head and what does Jesus say? She anointed me. She anointed me. The true king was to come in a cult to be anointed as he goes down to Jerusalem, as he goes down to Gihom. Brothers and sisters, here is the prophesied son of David and David's Lord.

Here is the King who has truly come from the line of David. Here is the promised line of the tribe of Judah. He came on a donkey. He was anointed. What more proof do you need?

Well, If you want more, there's more. Jesus the true anointed king comes on a donkey with coats and palm branches under him. Do you see that detail in the text with coats and palm branches under him. Look in verse 8 if you haven't seen that, Mark 11, verse 8. Many spread their coats in the road.

Others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. All of this is simply reinforcing what we've already discovered. This is the Old Testament equivalent, the Jewish equivalent of Hollywood's red carpet. Right, they roll out the red carpet. This is the Old Testament equivalent of that.

You know, I think Mark is being just extremely obvious. He's just trying to like show you all these things to make it very obvious. This Jesus, this is the real deal. This is Him. All of you who've been hoping, all of you have been waiting, this is the true King.

This is the promised, long expected prophet. This is the Messiah. This is the glory of God. If you needed proof that this was an Old Testament red carpet, you could go to 2 Kings 9-13. We won't turn there, but in 2 Kings 9-13, you see a king be placed over the people, and the first thing you do when they announce Him as King is they throw their garments down and the King walks over them.

This is a common way to appoint an anoint for the King, the true King. And now here is Jesus riding into Jerusalem on his way to Gihon on a colt on the red carpet. Mark cannot be any clearer. Jesus is the true King. But the shepherd boy, He's licking his lips when he's talking to you because he's not done yet.

He doesn't want you to forget about the end of the Old Testament. We've been in the beginning of the Old Testament. Let's go to the end of the Old Testament. Don't forget about Zechariah chapter 9. Let's go to Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9.

Zechariah is at the end of the Old Testament, right before the last book, second to last book. Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9. Let me read it for you. Zechariah 9, beginning in verse 9. Here's another prophecy.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King is coming to you. He is to you he is just and endowed with salvation humble and mounted on a what donkey even on a cult the full of a donkey beloved you see it do you not you see who Jesus is he's the King of Kings the promised King from Genesis all the way through Zechariah, and then even into Malachi. Malachi.

One more place in the Old Testament before we move on to the next point. Malachi 3-1. Just turn one book over. Malachi 3-1. Just a few pages over.

God says, behold, I am going to send my messenger. That was John the Baptist, by the way. He will clear the way before me, and The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple and the messenger of the covenant and whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Well we know from Mark chapter 1, Mark makes it really really clear, he quotes Malachi 3.1 at the beginning of Mark's gospel and says John the Baptist was the messenger. John the Baptist came to clear the way and the Lord was to come afterwards and where will the Lord, this promised prophet and king this promised Messiah where will he come according to Malachi he will come to his temple to the temple and again where does Jesus say where does Jesus go as soon as he gets into Jerusalem?

Mark 11, verse 11, Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple. It's almost as if God wrote this book. Wow. From Genesis to Malachi, and I had a hard time paring these down. Prophecy after prophecy, and now in Mark chapter 11, the fulfillment of each of them.

He's the true and promised King of Kings and Lord of Lords but is that all? Is he just the true prophet? Is he just the true King? Is that it? The shepherd boy says not even close.

Jesus is also the true Messiah. Jesus is also the true Messiah. Look back in Mark chapter 11. I want you to look at verses 9 and 10. Look at verses 9 and 10.

What do you see there in Mark's Gospel? Twice. You see that word twice. I'm going to ask you to say it. What do you see twice?

Verse 9 and 10. Okay. Starts with an H, ends with Anna. Hosanna. Sorry.

Hosanna. Hosanna. You see it twice. Okay? Book ended.

And blessed. Hosanna in verse 9. And then again, Hosanna in the highest in verse 10. And in between, you see something in all caps. It means it's from the Old Testament.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. You know where all of that's from? All of that is from Psalm 118. Psalm 118. Go ahead and turn there with me.

Psalm 118. Psalm 118. If you're a fan of hearing Bibles turn, you'd love this sermon. Just Love this sermon. I like that sound.

Psalm 118. I want you to look in verse 25. If you were to look in the original Hebrew, this was cool, I learned this this week, as I was reading Psalm 118, I was looking at the Hebrew, and That word Hosanna that we find in Mark 11 is a combination of words that we find right directly from Psalm 118 in verse 25 Where we where we read oh Lord do save we beseech you We beg you. We cry out to you. Lord, please save us.

That's Hosanna. The Hebrews, reading or singing this Psalm would have been singing Hosanna in a Hebrew accent, which I'm not going to be able to provide for you. They would have been reading and saying, Hosanna, We beseech you Lord, save us, please. And you think about this entire psalm, this entire psalm is a psalm that is written, the psalm is just crying out to God to send a Messiah. Crying out to God that he would send the promised one to save his people.

This is no question what this psalm is about. This psalm is a messianic psalm, a psalm declaring, God, we need you to send the Messiah. Why do you think Mark then is including this section at the end of this narrative? He's making it extremely clear. This psalm was all about God, please send the one to redeem us send the promised one to take care of our sins to rescue us from our bondage and Mark says here he is here he is this is the promised Messiah If you were to look at verse 20, if you needed more proof that this was a Messianic Psalm, if you were to look in verse 22, you see that verse in verse 22?

Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2 quotes this Psalm in those verses, just right above verse 25 where we say that's where Hosanna comes from. Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2 quotes verse 22 in his epistle. Do you know why he quotes it? He says explicitly you are to understand Psalm 118 as referring to Christ. Christ was the stone of stumbling.

Christ was the stone which the builders rejected. He is the cornerstone. What is Psalm 118 all about? The promised King, the promised Messiah, the promised Christ. And now here we have in Mark, Mark saying, He is here.

He has come to save His people from their sins. To those who cry out to Him by faith, He has come to secure, to secure salvation by the blood of His cross. Children this morning. Children. Five-year-olds.

Children. Many of you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ. But this morning, you may. This morning, you may sing with your parents. I hoped in Christ and my chains fell off.

My heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed Thee. Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, my Messiah, would die for me? This King went to the cross for you little ones. He calls to you little ones, come to me.

Come to me. Stop Trying to earn your way to rightness with God. That's rebellion. Know that you are a sinner. Know that you need the mighty Messiah and Savior Jesus.

And come to the Savior who is Hosanna in the highest. Trust Him. And He will always live up to His name. He will always live up to His name, Hosanna. He will save you indeed.

He will rescue you from your sin. He will make you His own forever. Jesus is the true prophet. Jesus is the true King. Jesus is the true Messiah.

He's the true prophet. You must listen to Him. He's the true King, you must submit to Him. He is the true Messiah, you must believe upon Him. And lastly, Jesus is the true glory.

Jesus is the true Glory. One more place to go in your Bibles this morning. Ezekiel chapter 10. Ezekiel chapter 10. Ezekiel comes right before Daniel.

Ezekiel chapter 10, right after Lamentations. Ezekiel 10, I want you to look in verse 18. And this would have perhaps been the last thing that the shepherd boy would have told you. Before, you couldn't stand it anymore and you jumped out of your socks to chase after this God man riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. He would have brought you to Ezekiel chapter 10.

And in verse 18, we Read this. Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the chair of them. Now why'd that happen? Jerusalem and Judah, they were corrupt, And God's glory departed from the temple, and where did it go? The glory departed from the temple, where did it go?

Go down to chapter 11, verse 23. Chapter 11, verse 23. The glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain, which is east of the city." That's the Mount of Olives. That's the Mount of Olives. Where does Jesus begin his triumphal entry?

The Mount of Olives. The glory of God departed the temple and ascended to the Mount of Olives in Ezekiel 10 and 11. And now here in Mark 11 is the radiance of God's glory. The Word made flesh. Jesus Christ Himself, the radiance of the glory of God comes from the Mount of Olives and in verse 11 goes where?

End of verse 11, into the temple. That's it? Jesus is the true glory. Jesus is the glory of God. Jesus is God.

And it's so obvious in this text. Christian, what does this do for you? Do you understand why we call this moment in the life of Christ, who is coming to this temple of sacrifice to die as the final sacrifice. Do you understand why we call this his triumphal entry as he enters into the place of his death? Has it ever been confusing to you?

Here's the answer. You don't want to know why we call this the triumphal entry, if it hasn't been obvious already? Because in his death, he won the world. Because in His resurrection, He secured your justification. Because in His coming in Mark 11, the promise is absolutely sure and absolutely certain that every knee will bow And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over all to the glory of God the Father.

He will have the obedience of all the peoples. That is victory. That is triumph. King Jesus has come and King Jesus has won. Beloved, you and I, we feel, we feel, it's palpable, especially this week, the sin and the darkness in this world.

We see and we read and we hear the headlines. And the temptation for me, and I think for you, is to sometimes be tempted to despair. The temptation is to give up as we see, is to give up hope as we see the effects of sin all around us. You see men of stature and esteem falling and failing. You see unbelief all around you.

You see abomination in our own nation celebrated. You see men and women giving themselves over to the flesh. And I think perhaps despair seems like it's the only route you can take. Is there any triumph? Is there any victory?

Beloved, hear this. Yes. Walk out of here this morning, no longer despairing. Walk out of here knowing that the true king came. The king fought and on the cross the king won.

The dragon has been vanquished of his power. He said it is finished. He said it is accomplished. Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has come. His coming was the opposite of defeat.

His coming was the coming of triumph. He's the promised one from God. And you know what God has said about the promise of the prophet, king, and Messiah? He would restore all things. God cannot lie.

And this is the fulfillment of that promise. So this day as you consider the failings of men, as you consider the darkness that sometimes seems to be even winning the day, you need to strike up a song for the King of Kings. Strike up a song for the King of Glory, the Light of the World, who is in the business of obliterating the darkness. You need to strike up a song for the One who has won, who has won the world. You need to strike up a song for the one who has won, who has won the world.

You need to strike up a song for your God, your Redeemer, your King. Like this, like this kind of song. I know that my Redeemer lives. Gloria, hallelujah! What comfort this assurance gives.

Glory, hallelujah! Shout on, pray on, we're gaining ground. Glory hallelujah. The dead's alive, The lost is found. Glory hallelujah.

He lives to crush the powers of hell. Glory hallelujah. He lives within my heart to dwell. Glory hallelujah. He lives my hungry soul to feed.

Glory hallelujah. He lives to help in time of need. Glory hallelujah. He lives all glory to his name. Glory hallelujah.

He lives my Savior, still the same. Glory hallelujah. He lives triumphant from the grave. He lives eternally to save. He lives to heal and make me whole.

He lives to guard my troubled soul. He lives and grants me daily breath. He lives and he shall conquer death. Shout on, pray on. We're gaining ground.

Glory, hallelujah. The dead's alive and the lost is found. Glory! Hallelujah! Let's pray.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Amen. Musicians, if you would come.