Matthew 21:1-14
Jesus Christ spent the last week of His life doing his Father’s business, cleansing the Temple, and teaching. All in the span of seven days, Christ will go from exaltation to coronation, from vilification to crucifixion, and finally from resurrection to glorification. It is the most remarkable week in divine and human history since the creation itself.
The events of that first Palm Sunday mark the beginning of the Passover, and the week of passion for Jesus.
I. The Coronation – Matthew 21:1-6
When Jesus is Who we want Him to be.
A. The Preparation was with Purpose.
B. The Prophecy was Fulfilled - Zechariah 9:9
A king came riding upon a horse when he was bent on war; he came riding upon a donkey when he was coming in peace.
“Hosanna!” – an Aramaic term that means “Save us now!”
C. The Praise was irrepressible! - Luke 19:40
II. The Crowd – Matthew 21:8-11
Jesus would be both acclaimed and condemned by the same people.
The Jewish people had prepared their own agenda for their Messiah.
The inner despair of our frustrated expectations can cause us to give up on Jesus, quit praising him, and live self-seeking lives.
III. The Call to Commitment - Matthew 16:24-25
When Jesus says what we don’t want Him to say.
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
The time for miracles is over. The time for commitment is now.
The road to Christlikeness often leads to a cross.
IV. The Condemnation - Matthew 27:22-23
When Jesus is NOT Who we want Him to be.
V. The Cross - John 12:32
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)
The Cross was His Destiny – For Us.
