This is a sermon on Matthew 21:1–11 preached on 4.2.23 at Redeemer Church (listenable here).

This morning, we celebrate as a part of the large crowd that gathered there in Matthew 21, but what exactly is it that we celebrate on Palm Sunday? It isn’t the resurrection because that hasn’t happened yet. It isn’t Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross so what is the good news of Palm Sunday? On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the presence of the king with his people.

In Matthew 21, Jesus is surrounded by people, like us, offering praise, and these people are not disinterested observers. They want something from Jesus. They are expectant. Isn’t this the way it works any time you go out to see someone famous? You usually want something from them, whether an autograph or a high-five, eye contact, a picture, something. Palm Sunday is similar.

In fact, people’s desires repeatedly show up in the series of stories leading up to Matthew 21. If you have your Bible open, look back to chapter 19, starting at verse 16. Here, a rich young man approaches Jesus and asks him about eternal life. Jesus says, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” You could say that more casually, “If you want to enter into life …” The rich young man approached Jesus with a desire, and Jesus did not scold him or scoff.

In the middle of chapter 20, the mother of James and John comes to Jesus and asks if her sons can sit next to Jesus in his kingdom. Might be easy to write that off as a presumptuous desire, but Jesus doesn’t criticize the woman for coming to him with her desires.

At the end of chapter 20, the crowd is getting large, and over the crowd you hear the cry, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Jesus stops and says, “What do you want me to do for you?” He asks the question, “What do you want?”

What do you want from the Lord this morning? You see, the Lord is present with us this morning, too, and his call is the same. God is present with us just as truly now as he was with them in Matthew 21. He is not present in the same way, but God is no less real in the Holy Spirit than he is in the incarnate Son.

If we’re not careful we will fall into thinking that God was with his people when Jesus rode down the streets of Jerusalem, but now we have to wait for God’s presence to return. That is not the situation. We do indeed wait for Jesus to return, but we do not wait as an abandoned people.

So the question to ask ourselves this morning is do we live as though God is present with us? When you leave Cornerstone Coworking this morning, will you drive home and go about your Sunday and Monday as though God is with you?

As we turn to Matthew 21, let’s continue from the vantage point we adopted as we walked along the sidewalk.

The King Has Come

Our passage opens,

Matt 21:1–3 – 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. 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.”

Now, before we read the next words, notice how Matthew interrupts the story to frame what happens with a quote from the prophets. He wants to frame the story we just enacted on Lawrenceville Highway with words from Zechariah.

What sort of story have you told yourself about what we are doing this morning? As you were walking down the sidewalk, or as you were standing on the street corner waiting for the service to start, what were you thinking this day is about?

Listen to how Matthew frames this day for us:

Matthew 21:4–5 – 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.’”

When I say the words “your king is coming to you” I wince a little because I realize how distant the idea of kingship is from our world. Our affections and hopes are not closely tied to an earthly king. Father, Son, Spirit, Brother, Friend — many of these words resonate with us more immediately.

But “king” is important throughout Matthew. Remember, it was right there in chapter 2 when the magi showed up looking for “one who was born king of the Jews,” and it will be important in the coming chapters as well.

In fact, the way Matthew develops his picture of Jesus as king helps stir our affections and love for the particular type of king that Jesus is. Remember that on Palm Sunday Zechariah’s coming king is also Isaiah’s Suffering Servant.

Palm Sunday is framed with Zechariah’s king quote, but this king did not consider glory something to be clutched and clung to. When at this point we speak of Jesus as king, we cannot help but see flashes of chapter 27. So, as you envision Jesus riding on a donkey and palm branches waving, let these cut scenes flash before your eyes.

Humble and Riding upon Reproach

Matthew 27:11, just six chapters later, says,

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Verse 29 of chapter 27 says,

“And they twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

What was folly to the Roman soldiers, we praise as the power and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:23–24).

Verse 37 says,

And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

The chief priests with the scribes and elders said (Matt 27:42),

He saved others; he can’t save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him!

He didn’t dodge death, but allowed himself to be swallowed by it, like Jonah and the fish.

It’s a special comfort to know that Jesus has gone before us through the dark veil that we all have to pass through. I spoke with my Maw Maw about this on the last night that I held her hand, but we’ll come back that story in a bit.

For now, let’s note with gratitude that we offer our hosannas all the more this morning knowing how Jesus will depart the city later this week. It’s important to remember that this coming week is not a loss. Jesus rode into this week on purpose.

The Cry of the Crowds

Listen to the cries of the crowd as Matthew continues,

Matthew 21:6–9 – 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. 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! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

The crowds wanted Jesus to make Jerusalem a place that would flourish like the prophets talked about. Maybe this was it, and so they yelled “Hosanna!”

We say hosanna every week, but most people aren’t as familiar with where this word comes from. In our reading from Psalm 118, verse 25 has the Hebrew phrase הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא, which means “Please save!” Listen to the similarity, הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא and Hosanna; הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא, Hosanna. The point is this: the crowds offered praise with an expression that means, “Please save us.”

By that time, hosanna had developed into a simple expression of praise, but recognizing the Hebrew expression behind the word highlights that the crowds were expectant. They came to him with their desires that morning. They wanted a Messiah to set them free from the consequences of sin, from the Romans who occupied the land and taxed them.

So let’s address a sort of elephant in the room on Palm Sunday. Jesus didn’t throw the Romans out of Jerusalem that day. So how did he save? Is there any aspect of salvation closely tied to Palm Sunday?

The Gospel of God with Us

There are so many ways to talk about salvation. I tried to speak about all of them one time in a catechism class and I said so many words and read so many passages that no one remembered anything! I’m not going to do that this morning. There is a special gospel for Palm Sunday. It’s the gospel of God with us.

That’s what Matthew was so eager to say, isn’t it? Look back up at verse 5: “Behold, your king is coming to you …” In the opening story of the whole Gospel we were told that Jesus is the true Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt 1:23). In chapter 4, Jesus preached, “The kingdom of heaven has drawn near.” How had the kingdom drawn near? The king had come.

If there is only one point this morning it is this: God’s presence — whether in the incarnate Son of Matthew 21 or the Holy Spirit that dwells in and among his church — God’s presence is salvation for those who will cry out to him. What do you need to cry out to him for this morning?

Remember how in Exodus 17 they asked the question, “Is God among us or not?” Moses cried out to the LORD because he knew God was there, even back in Exodus. But we believe that in light of Jesus’s triumphal entry into the world, coupled with the outpouring of the Spirit that followed, God has drawn near in a new way. Jesus said,

Matt 12:28 – If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

The Lord is here this morning in the Spirit of Christ. Even now, the Spirit of Christ saves normal, every day people who cry out to him.

We Believe in the Holy Spirit

In Matthew 28, Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives and say, “Look, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is why we are right to celebrate Palm Sunday as though the king has come and is currently present. No one read the end of Matthew’s Gospel — I am with you always — to mean Jesus stayed on earth forever. It’s a statement about the reality of God’s presence within the church through his Holy Spirit.

In just a few minutes we are going to confess together that we believe things to be true that we cannot see. We will says, “We believe in the Holy Spirit,” and I want to bear witness this morning to one way in which that line of the creed is precious.

God’s presence makes all the difference in our experience of this world. How many testimonies could we offer to this truth?

When I was growing up in church, we would occasionally have “testimony services,” where the preacher would walk around with the microphone and people would share their experiences of God’s kindness and presence. I want to share a testimony this morning.

Maw Maw’s Experience of “God with Us”

The Holy Spirit walked with me for years to prepare me for my grandmother’s death. For years, when we would leave their house, I would cry because I knew the end was drawing near. At that time, I thought for sure that those bouts of grief were preparation. He was letting me grieve slowly because when she passed I had a job to do.

After preaching my Maw Maw’s funeral, I was about to step off the stage, and from the front row my Paw Paw called out, “Tell them about the gift!”

We saw the Lord draw so near to Maw Maw during those final weeks. I prayed when she was sick that the Lord would hold her, and she said one time, “Brian, I felt it! I felt as though someone put their arms around me, and I looked to see who was there!” Before the skeptic rises too tall, let me remind you that we believe in the Holy Spirit.

She was so full of prayer and praise during those last three weeks with a broken hip in the hospital. My mom said she had never heard her mama pray out loud like that. The Spirit brought an unusual intimacy and companionship to her hospital room.

I held her hand there, and she told me how beautiful heaven was. She said she had been reading about it.

And now “the gift” Paw Paw cried out for me to tell. She was so happy to come home on January 3rd of this year. Paw Paw said, as they started into the tiny town of Clover, South Carolina, where they lived for over forty years, she said, “Now there’s my little town!”

They drove up the dirt road, and she saw their house and she said, “Oh, Clyde, it’s so beautiful.” They stopped on Hambright Road, and she just glowed to see her house again after 21 days in the hospital.

Paw Paw told me that he got her in the house, and when it came time to go to bed, he held her hands until they both fell asleep. She passed the next morning before Paw Paw woke up.

On the little calendar above their microwave, weeks later the date was still set to January the third, and Paw Paw had written, “Twenty-one days I have waited. Today, she came home to me. Tonight, she goes home to you. Amen!”

He wrote those words, and I tell this story to testify to how the presence of the Lord can transform our experience of this world, even death. May this banner fly over the week: The presence of the Lord brings hope and even joy to death and bereavement!

The Crowds Testify

I’m only forty-one years old, but I have lived long enough to recognize that death does not always go the way it did for Maw Maw. “God with us” is gospel for those who cry out to him, but for those who don’t, it’s judgment.

Look down at verse 10,

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The crowds offered their testimony. It was an incomplete answer. “Who is this?” Jerusalem asked. They said, “It’s Jesus the prophet!” And that’s true. That answer sets up the next several stories where Jesus performs prophetic acts and speaks prophetic words against those who did not cry out to him but against him.

Their testimony was true, there is a call here for us. What will you say when you hear people ask, “Who is this?” If we were to have a testimony service this morning, what would you say about how the presence of God is working in your life? You don’t have to have all the answers or even a complete answer. The call is to simply testify.

Maybe a hinderance to sharing your testimony is the idea that you are not yet “fixed.” You are still in need. You might think that if you are to speak to others about God’s presence in your life that means you have to fixed.

It’s ok to tell people the truth. God can be truly with you and working in you while you remain incomplete. What do you think I’m doing up here? I’m not yet fixed. Jesus was with the disciples for three years, and they were still a mess.

Don’t believe the lie that to testify to God’s presence you have to be perfect.

Cry Out and Testify

The enemy wants to keep you from sharing your testimony, and he wants to keep you quiet from crying out to the Lord for more grace. There’s good reason why Paul said pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). There is grace upon grace to be had from the fullness we have received in the Holy Spirit, but in God’s mysterious ways we have to ask for it.

Here’s some good news: When you recognize his presence and call out to him, God will greet you with grace.

Earlier in Matthew 14, the disciples thought they were dying in a storm on the sea. Jesus came to them, but he wasn’t riding a donkey this time; he walked on top of the stormy waters. The disciples cried out, and do you remember how he responded? He said, “Be encouraged. It’s me. Don’t be scared.”

Maybe fear is not your issue. Maybe you think that praying just won’t help. Pray anyway. Talk to him about your doubt. Pray anyway and say out loud, “I would talk to you about my problems, Jesus, but will you really help me?” Ask him that!

The only people Jesus responded to sharply are people who said, “You do what you do because you’re demon possessed.” He ate with sinners, and he let “doubting Thomas” touch his wounded side. Can you picture the Caravaggio painting? Jesus lead Thomas kindly to the confession, “My Lord and my God.”

“The king is here” is of no benefit to some, not because they are too weak, but because in their weakness they won’t cry out. They can’t believe he is that good. They clutch and strangle their imagination to such a point that it seems impossible that God could make water and mercy flow from the dry, dusty mess they live in.

Jesus rode into this week on purpose, for us. He is present with us, and his call to us is the same: “Come to me all who are weary and burdened down, and I will give you rest … It’s ok. It’s me. Don’t be scared.”

May we not shrink back from his gracious gaze! When others look to us and ask who he is, may we testify, however imperfectly, to his presence and kindness.

☩ In the name of the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit, amen. ☩