I just love this passage. I love it. I love it, but I think if you're like me, when you come to this passage, you have there's a trouble. There's a bother to you when you read this passage. There's a problem. And it's this. There's no problems in this passage. There are none. Like when I read scripture, when I try and understand what what the spirit wants to do and what the what the message is, it seems to always attack a problem. You know, you read Psalm 119, verse 105, the word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Yes, amen, that's wonderful. But that helps correct a serious problem, and that is that you and I walk in darkness apart from the voice of the Lord. We need the word. But as you read these 11 verses, everything works out, everything is perfect. There's no failures, there's no faults, there's it all works perfectly. I mean, just just look at this. I mean, everything is awesome about this passage. Jesus sends two disciples on an errand. They're not named and they obey Jesus perfectly. That hasn't happened yet in the Gospels. The disciples don't often get things right, but they get it right. Jesus knew everything that would happen. Prophecy is fulfilled. Ancient prophecies, hundreds of years old prophecies are fulfilled. They come and set Jesus up on this colt, just like He said, just as the prophecies foretold. And then the crowds around Jesus worship Him. They line the road, the equivalent of a red carpet, up the hill into Jerusalem, up the mountain to the mountain. And as they're going, they're pronouncing Jesus' true identity, the Son of David. They're saying, Hosanna in the highest, Lord, save us, as they're going into Jerusalem. It's the crowds who are doing this. It's not just one or two people. The whole city is stirred up, asking the question, who is this? And the crowds are affirming and giving the right answer. The prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. If most of the world had this information of Jesus and had this commitment to Jesus and this knowledge of him, things would be going well. If the whole world ended at this point, I mean, it just seems like that could happen. All that Jesus has labored for, everything is mounted to this moment where he comes upon the capital city and everything's going well. I mean, the world could end here. But we know this is a little bit too good to be true, isn't it? There's something about this passage hidden, lurking underneath all these details. It is a little too good to be true. Not that these verses are false or misleading, but it's that these praises are popular praises. This faith that's displayed is popular faith. It's not faith that endures because we know that this very crowd, four days after this day where Jesus came into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, four days after this day, they were not shouting Hosanna or blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. What were they shouting about this? Jesus crucified. So there is a trouble, it's just lurking, it's hidden. It's seen, and that trouble is something everybody has a trouble with. We like to make champions who represent us in our worldly desires, our worldly aspirations. We like for our representatives to be those who take up our causes. And some of our causes are very good and noble. We see the society ilks and ills of this world. And we say someone needs to do something about that. Someone needs to fix the political corruption. Someone needs to fix the hurt in the homes. Someone needs to fix the economy. Someone needs to fix the wickedness in our rulers. Someone needs to do all that. And then here you have this Jesus who's very capable. Someone who takes up that mantle of leadership. You want someone who will affirm and massage and compliment all of your religious accomplishments so far. You want someone to purify all the problems in the church and in the temple. And here comes Jesus, and the people latch onto Jesus. And Jesus says, yes and amen, you are right to identify the problems. I'm going right up that hill. I'm paraphrasing, and forgive me if you think I'm inserting words here, I'm just imagining. But I'm going right up that hill, I'm going into that holy city, and I'm going to wipe out all the evil. I'm going to decimate all the corruption. I'm going to take it all to task. And you know where I'm starting? You know what the problem is? It's actually you, worshiper. It's you, sinner. That's where I'm going first. You wanna see all the world healed? You wanna see everything transformed? You wanna see everything beautiful and glorious? Guess what Jesus says is first in his sights. Your heart. He is coming to lay down his life to forgive sinners. And a lot of people like their kings until it comes to that point, until their kings say, you know what? I'm not here to do your agenda. I'm here to do my agenda. I'm here to do God's agenda. Now, that's the problem, but I do think we ought to focus on the good things that this passage brings up. We'll come to that problem. As the verses and chapters of Matthew unfold for us. But there are many good things about this passage, and really the main thing about this passage is just what's on the surface here, what's obvious about it, is that Jesus comes into Jerusalem gloriously and gently. That's the main thing. I don't have an outline for you. I don't have an outline for you, so you just gotta stay close, focus in. I've preached this sermon a lot, and so I'm going more with a lot of thoughts coming in here, but there is an outline. Just stick with me. The main thing is that Jesus comes into Jerusalem humbly, or you could say gently and gloriously. And this is important because you need such a king as this. You need a savior like this. One who comes to you gloriously and gently. One who comes to you closely, but yes, resplendently as well. The one who comes transcendent and near. Jesus comes gloriously. By the way, you should know this when you read this passage about Jesus coming into Jerusalem. This was not a unique event to the Jewish people. Many times in their history, I'll give you a few of them, had their kings, had their awesome champions ascended the hill of Jerusalem to come in and fix things. Going all the way back to King David. You remember the story of King David? His own son, Absalom, raised a conspiracy against him. David had to leave with his family, but then David came back to Jerusalem to take back the throne. You remember, it was David's son, Solomon, who was appointed to be king in Jerusalem, appointed to be king for the people. But Solomon's brother, Now I'm dropping his name in my head, Adonijah, sorry, Adonijah, Solomon's brother, Adonijah usurped him, stole the kingdom in a moment. And you know what David did for Solomon? He said, Solomon, I want you to march upon the kingdom that I'm giving and passing down to you. Here is my donkey. And I want you to cross the Kidron Valley on this donkey and go up into the kingdom and Jerusalem shall be yours. By the way, that's the very path that Jesus took in this passage. But then it's not just Solomon. A few generations later, King Jehu was king in Israel. He had to march on Samaria. And when he marched on Samaria in the northern territory, he drove out Jezebel and all the family and household of Ahab. It keeps going in the time in between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Judas Maccabeus of the priestly family. drove out the wicked and pagan Greeks who were oppressing the Jews in Jerusalem, and he drove them out. You're not going to find this in the Old Testament, it's in an extra-biblical book called Maccabees. when he did, but it's a true story. When he drove out the Greeks, he marched into Jerusalem to rededicate the city and rededicate the temple. This is where Hanukkah comes from, to rededicate the temple. And all the people lined up and threw down the robes and waved palm trees at Judas Maccabeus. As he came in and the glorious thing about these marches on Jerusalem for the kings was that what was it doing? It was showing that that these kings were driving out the corruption, the imposters, the phony leadership. They were securing the kingdom and safety to God's people. And so here the people are thinking Jesus is another one of these kings. He's just like that. And there is a sense that Jesus is like that. He is going to drive out the corruption. He's going to fix the phoniness. He's going to take away and dismantle the leadership and prove its worthlessness. And he's going to do it in a very different way than all these previous kings had done. He's going to do it by laying down his own life and dying and rising again. It's a glorious march. It's glorious in that it fulfills scripture, but it's also a very gentle march. We see this, why? Because he's just on a donkey, he's not on a war horse. He's just on a donkey going up, people throwing down their clothes, waving palm branches. It's a chorus, not of a hired choir, but of traveling Galileans and traveling pilgrims. It's very it's a very humble moment. But it is glorious, right, I mean, I think I think when I was considering this passage, I remembered the Proverbs Proverbs 30 verse. 29 through 31, remember what the right of Proverbs says, it says three things are stately, three things are royal in their tread, four things that are royal in their stride. The lion, which is mightiest among beasts, and it does not turn back for many. The strutting rooster. The he goat. Right? I personally, these things are great to look at. I don't know if I would, you know, celebrate them as stately, but hey, you know. But here's the last one. And a king against whom there is no rising up. Right? That's just a majestic thing, isn't it? You think about a king, a royal king, a regal king, one who has a great reign, one whose people's allegiance is with him, one who has an army around them that can't be defeated. That is Jesus, by the way. And and also, by the way, that really is what happens every time we gather on the Lord's Day together. Every time we meet together, Jesus says that he's where right here among us in the midst of his people. This is the camp of the Lord, the military of the Lord. Yes, sure. He has his angels that fight for him. But yes, we are the church on mission, surrounded by angels and heavenly hosts with Jesus right in the midst of us. There is nothing more stately, nothing more regal, nothing more royal to look upon. and all the earth, then what happens in the local church on Sunday morning? It takes faith to believe that it takes a Christian to see it, but that's why we walk by faith and not by sight. So anyway, Jesus comes in, this is a glorious and gentle coming of the Lord. Let's remember four things that I'd like to convey to you. Now, one, the first thing, just as we move through this passage, I want you to remember that unnamed service to Jesus is the highest honor. It's the highest honor in life. This passage says a lot about discipleship. Look at it. Two disciples, Jesus immediately sends on an errand, a simple errand to go find two donkeys, a mother donkey and her colt. And by the way, this looks a lot like theft to me as I'm reading this. Jesus is going to the village ahead. You see donkeys tied up, untie them. And if anyone asks, say the Lord has need of them. We don't know who these disciples were. I think these disciples were James and John and that they were unnamed. And that they were sent on an errand because just a few days before this, they were asking Jesus if they could stand next to him on the right and left in glory. And I think this passage is one of those that says, can you be content with unnamed errand boy service in the kingdom? These disciples do. They do what Jesus says, and everything works out according to what Jesus says. It proves the omniscient, the perfect knowledge of Jesus. They do exactly what he says. And who knows the owner of these donkeys? Whoever this owner was, man or woman, seems to be one by the very simple explanation, the Lord needs them. People, I think this is just a great reminder to us. You know, when you are serving Christ and people ask you, why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you doing the things you do? It looks so weird. The things that you participate in, the church, the people you love, the gifts you lay down, the offerings that you make, the places you go, the commands that you follow. You don't need to explain yourself. All you got to say is, hey, this was what the Lord has commanded. We go where the Lord commands. You go where the Lord commands. As he commands, just because he commands. Because why? He's the king. He's the king of your heart. He's the king of your life. He's the king of your time. He's the king. People don't need big and long explanations. Just that Jesus is king and you love him and you want to be in his service. You know, I love this passage. It just says it talks about discipleship. This is a great honor. They're just serving the Lord, doing this, running what seems like a simple errand. But if you look at it, You've got to see that this simple thing that they do. It results in it results in obedience, it results in a witness that testifies to the lordship of Jesus that will never die, actually, you know, them saying them doing exactly what Jesus says, proves and and shows the world the testimony that Jesus Christ is the king and it will forever. It's written right here in Scripture. This simple loving obedience, right? It's just, hey, they went and found a donkey. No big deal, right? We can all go and find something. We can all do something like that. But it becomes a big deal because look at what it amounts to. The big picture unfolds for us. This is not just an errand. It's more than that. It's the fulfillment of prophecy. It's the work of God. It's the work of redemption that's been being worked out by God since the beginning of time. And you never know. You never know what service to God is going to bring. That's why Paul would reassure the church that your labors for the Lord are not done in vain. The prayers that you pray, the conversations that you have, the giving that you do, all of that, none of that is done in vain. You don't know how, how far that's going to explode or expand. It may just seem like a little mustard seed, but you remember what the mustard seed turns into. One small act of obedience to Christ can change so many things, can do so many things. We have to remember that God is a generous God, that God is a rewarding God, an abundant God. He can take that obedience that we might think is not much, that's small, maybe even pitiful, pitiful even in the eyes of man. But God could turn it into, who knows, people coming to the Lord, someone being saved. And, you know, just think about that. One soul that gets saved because you serve, or because God works through your service, I should say that, because you've helped finance a missionary project, because you've put in some work, you've put in some labor, because you've taught a child, one soul, just think about this, one soul that is saved will outlast every kingdom of this world. Do you know that? Never despise the day of small service. Never despise the day of small obedience. Never despise the day of little generosity, a yes to Jesus. God doesn't operate with our math. He has eternal math in mind. Don't forget that. Don't forget that unnamed service is just awesome. It's awesome. These disciples weren't named, but who cares? Only that Jesus would be named king. The next thing I want you to see. I am getting my notes mixed up here. Maybe I do need an outline. Oh, here it is. Yeah, just humbly serve, give recognition and glory to God. All right. Jesus is king. He's worthy of our every act of obedience. The next thing I want you to see, this is just in the matter of these prophecies and the word being fulfilled. I want you to remember this. Never forget this, that every word of the Lord proves true. Your Bibles are true from first to last. This is a wonderful passage that declares this. Do you know that in the Old Testament, the Matthew chapter 21, this is the New Testament, the first book of the New Testament. In the Old Testament, there are hundreds of prophecies about the Savior. who would come on behalf of God to rescue sinners. Prophecies that were very detailed, hundreds of them. Prophecies that told when Jesus would be born. Prophecies that told who he would be born to. Prophecies that would tell where he would be born, where he would grow up, where he would be on the run from the political authorities of his day. Prophecies that would say what kind of miracles he would work. Prophecies that would say what kind of teachings he would offer. Prophecies that would say what kind of struggle he would go through in life. Prophecies that would say he would come into Jerusalem like this, humble and on the fall of a donkey. Prophecies that said he would be betrayed by one of his own friends. Prophecies that said that he would be tried. Prophecies that said he would be scourged and suffered and pierced and wounded and striped, ribboned out in his flesh, pierced without any bones breaking. Prophecies that said he would thirst on the cross, prophecies that said he would die, prophecies that said he would rise again. Prophecies that said his kingdom would never end. You know how many all prophecies that said while he was on the cross, while he was dying, people would gamble over his clothes. I mean, it's it's it's so detailed, the Old Testament when it comes to the prophecies of Christ. You know how many of those prophecies came true? All of them, except one, which is that he's coming back, right? That is gonna come true, right? We're just waiting on that day, that's our blessed hope. And we can definitely believe in that one, because why? All the other ones have been fulfilled, right? That's what we're waiting on. But every word has proven true. And this prophecy, this Zechariah prophecy, it's actually two prophecies smushed together, but they tell exactly what would happen when Jesus came to the king, came into the capital city. These are two prophecies smushed together. One is from Isaiah 62. And I'll actually read some of these portions out to you guys. Isaiah 62. A wonderful passage. This is the part where it says, say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, right? Isaiah 62, verses 10 through 12. Here we are. Go through. Go through the gates, prepare the way for the people, build up, build up the highway cleared of stones, lift up a signal over the peoples. Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth. Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your salvation comes. Behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him, and they shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And you shall be sought out a city not forsaken. So the very first line in the prophecy in Matthew 21 5, say to the daughter of Zion, this is what's going on in the minds as Jesus is going up the hill, right? He's ascending the Mount of Jerusalem to go in through the city gates. What is it? That this is the Lord coming with nothing less than salvation. Salvation means eternal life. with God through the forgiveness of sins. But then the next part is this Zechariah prophecy, Zechariah chapters eight through nine. Zechariah has been proclaiming that God himself will turn and return to Zion as king to bring peace, prosperity, freedom. And relief from poverty and oppression. God himself says, I will save you. And Matthew so quotes it here, behold your king, he is coming to you humble and mounted on a donkey. And it's this image or this real thing that Jesus is riding on a donkey that makes Matthew see, oh yes, he is the Zechariah prophecy fulfilled. This is the king who is God himself, God in the flesh coming to Jerusalem, but he's Not coming like all the other kings come into their cities. He's not coming like a pagan warlord. He's coming humbly and gently, and this proves it proves that Jesus is truly. With the fulfillment of this prophecy, God come to the capital city. In the flesh. There's one more passage of scripture that is fulfilled, and it is further on down when the crowds spread their cloaks out. Jesus is riding on the colt in verse seven. I don't want you to be confused. It says they brought out the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks and he sat on them. I think it's funny. People want to debate about this. Well, which donkey did he sit on? Did he sit on both donkeys? Right. No, he didn't sit on both donkeys. It means he sat on the cloaks. He rode on the foal. The mother donkey was there to guide, you know, as part of training for the younger donkey. But most of the crowd, it says, most of the crowd spreads their cloaks on the roads. The other cut branches from the trees, spread them on the roads. And the crowds that go before him, verse 9, shouting Hosanna to the son of David. Hosanna means Lord save or save now, Lord. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to the son of David. This is a very interesting thing, because this passage, the feeling of it, is very different than the Gospel as it's come up until about this point. Remember in the Gospel as it's teaching about Jesus and as He's doing miracles, there's this hint, there's this feeling of hiddenness and secrecy. You know this, right? Because when Jesus heals some people, He sends them away, and He tells them what? He says, Don't tell anyone about me, right? He's in Galilee. He's away from the major metropolis of Jerusalem. Sure, there's crowds of people, but everything in his ministry is a bit more hidden from the world. Well, now all bets are off. His ministry is outed. Everything is public. He's the son of David. The crowds are shouting it. The city is stirred. Everything from here on out, nothing is secret, nothing is hidden in obscurity. All things are, like as Paul said, done, not or not done in a corner, they're public, public, public. Everything he does, he enters Jerusalem publicly, he goes into the temple publicly, he cleanses the temple publicly, he goes to trial publicly, he teaches publicly, he's crucified, tortured publicly, and dies publicly. Everything is wide open, broad daylight, no hiddenness in terms of Jesus' ministry in these days. And here, The crowds are saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. All secrecy is out. There is only the proclamation that this is Jesus, the Messiah. Psalm 118 was one of the Passover songs that the Jews would sing. It's a great song. It's all about the steadfast love of the Lord that endures forever. It's all about the salvation of God. But in the middle of it, in the middle of the psalm, God is praised for being the savior of his people. Hosanna, they say. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. And it also is the passage that we get that dark prophecy, right? The stone that the builders have rejected has become the what? The cornerstone, that's the passage. So this song that everyone's singing there, they're singing it truthfully, perfectly, right? This is the cornerstone. This is the one who comes in salvation, bringing in salvation, the one who is the steadfast love of the Lord, enduring forever in the flesh. But right there, right next to everything they're saying, I'm not sure they know this one is going to be rejected, but he will be the cornerstone. for the everlasting temple and the everlasting kingdom. So all of this, all these passages are being applied to Jesus. But I want you to know this. So the first thing I said was that remember that humble service, unnamed service is a great honor. Remember that every word proves true. But I want you to remember this teaching, too, that popular faith doesn't always last. OK, you hear me? Popular faith doesn't always last. This is a very popular thing. The crowds are whooped up. There's great emotion. Everybody's excited. The consensus is that Jesus is the one. Everybody's excited. You know this. It doesn't last for more than three days. Four days later. They've already turned on him. People remember this is the trouble with this passage, though it's not seen right here, it takes a little bit longer to unfold. Jesus knows that this crowds Interest in him is fickle. Remember what John chapter 2 says as he cleansed the temple. It says, Jesus entrusted himself to no man. Why? Because he already knew what was in the heart of man. Jesus knows that in a few days these crowds will exchange their praises of Hosanna for condemning cries of crucify. They'll be mocking him. They won't be laying out their cloaks for him. They'll be stripping him of his robes, mocking him, pulling out his beard. He knows all that. People, you have to remember that popular faith doesn't always last. I mean, how many of us have been to the revivals, have been to the worship services, have been to the rallies, and it just is the overwhelming feeling that the spirit of the Lord is at work. I mean, just a few years ago, I think, there was a big Asbury College revivals and people are going to see the spirit work in this movement. It's not long after that you hear nothing of this. You even start to hear the murmurings of scandal in those leaders who were part of that revival. And you're like, what happened? Was that a true revival? What happened? Why does that feeling of revival seem to wane over time? And people believe me when I tell you this is one of my biggest prayer requests. I pray for revival all the time. I pray for revival in the church in America. I pray for revival in the town of Hebron, in the homes of our community. I pray for revival earnestly. But revivals can be a mixed bag of emotion and unbelief. just excitement. And we have to remember, and the big takeaway of this is that you have to resolve to name Jesus as your King whether or not the crowds follow Jesus. You understand? God might grant it in his special time, in his own way, in his own mercy. He might give it the time where, hey, it is a national consensus that we are Christian people. Wonderful. Amen. Great. I pray it to be so. But even still. God doesn't call us to have a popular faith. He calls you to have a personal faith and a public faith. Popular faith waxes and wanes as, you know, the weather goes. You need to know that Jesus is your King, whether or not other people believe He's your King, or He's their King. You need to know that Jesus is King on the days where it looks like everything's going right and the crowds are with Him. And you need to know that Jesus is the King when you're all alone, and you're being tempted and tried, and you're wondering whether or not your obedience to Him is truly worth it. You need to know that Jesus is your King whether or not the uncertainties of tomorrow are coming against you. You need to know that Jesus is your King when it hurts, when there's trouble, when you're being asked of Him to do something and you don't know what it's gonna cost. You need to remember, resolve in your heart. No matter which way the crowds go, You will follow and believe in Jesus. Do you hear me? Can you say amen? Jesus is king all the time. He is the king all the time. It doesn't matter what the people say about him. You resolve in your heart to say today, I will serve the Lord. I will choose the Lord. I may be the only one today. I pray for a brother. I pray not to be alone in it. But if you are, resolve. Jesus is still the King. Still your King. Popular faith doesn't always last. Finally, I want you to hear this. I want you to hear this, and it comes from this question. As Jesus goes into Jerusalem, Matthew tells us that the city was stirred. That's really almost a euphemism. It literally means the city was seismic, that the city had quaking and shaking and people were stirred up with this question. It's a very important question. Who is this? They ask. Who is this? Who is this that that three word question, most important question there is, who is Jesus Christ? If you're here this morning and you don't know who Jesus is. I really hope that you'll never rest until you do, until you can answer that question sufficiently. The thing I want you to know is. Is and remember, is that. It's a sufficient answer how A sufficient answer to this question is what is required for you to make it into heaven. I don't mean that you just simply give a lip service. Obviously, there's got to be a principle of life and a heart and a heart change that accompanies that profession. But do you know who Jesus is? Do you truly know who he is? And just take the answer that the crowds give. The crowds give a correct answer. It says almost everything we need to know about Him. That Jesus is the Prophet. The Prophet. This became the term, the title that some in the church gave to Jesus to show that He, in fact, was the Savior. It almost became synonymous with Savior. This is what Peter said. This is what Stephen said when he was about to be stoned to death. This is what Deuteronomy 18 says that Jesus is that the Lord will raise up a prophet who will be greater than Moses and every word he says will be true. Deuteronomy 18. Listen to him. This is the one who leads God's people, the chosen servant of God. Look at what it says. He is the prophet Jesus. That's his name. The name of the Messiah, the son of David, the righteous branch of Jesse, the offspring of the woman, the Lord's anointed. This is Jesus, the mercy shower, the justice doer, the kindness giver. This is his name. Jesus means. The Lord saves because he will save his people from his sins, that's his name. Look, you even have his home here. Jesus, the prophet Jesus from Nazareth. What was Nazareth? What does that tell you about Jesus? Nazareth is just a small town. It's a Hebron. It's it's a. It's a sharp town. It's a mardella. It's a blip on the map. What does that say about Jesus? That he came to associate with regular folk. People. He was a real man of men, just like the prophet said he would be. Nothing special to look at or celebrate. He knows his sheep. He was of the people, in the people, among the people, knowing their needs, meeting their needs, loving them, being among them. This is who he is. And then you also have his ministry here. He's the prophet Jesus of Galilee. Right, Galilee. Why does that have to do with his ministry? Because Galilee, as it was always spoken, Galilee was a place of darkness. It was Galilee of the Gentiles, Galilee of the problems, Galilee of the place where the light needs to shine. He is the one who lived in Galilee. who worked among the sick and the poor and the demon-possessed. He calmed the seas, walked on water. We know his ministry, it was all there. He fed the multitudes in the wilderness. On the way to Jerusalem, he stopped and raised Lazarus from the dead. All the Galileans are there shouting, Hosanna in the highest. You know, this is a great title, The Prophet Jesus. of Nazareth in Galilee. What's the title you give to Jesus? Who is Jesus to you? Who is He? Who is He? All of what I just said proves true in Scripture. But do you know Him as who He has said He is and who He has shown Himself to be? by His word and by His deeds, that He is the Savior, He is the King, He is Lord of all because He died for you, forgiving your sins, and He rose from the dead to give you eternal life? Can you answer succinctly who is Jesus? Not hymning and hauling over what the world speculates Him to be like or what some system of belief thinks of Jesus, no, you, you. In a moment, someone says, who is Jesus? Can you say it plainly? Can you say it plainly? Someone says, who is Jesus? Someone says, why do you think you'll be in heaven? And really, that's the same question. You can just simply say this. Because Jesus died for me. That's it. Simple answers, simple truth, simple, concise statements about your Lord that you know in your heart and that you walk by. What a reassuring thing to have the truth and the identity of Jesus ready and on your lips because it is filling up your heart. He is the king. He is my king. Say that. This passage really, as I bring this to a close, is that Jesus is the King. He is the Savior King. This is always important to remember. He is the Savior King. And people, you could try and rail against that, you could fight against that all you want. You could try and say, yeah, well, he's the king of some things, but when it comes to my life, there's things I want to do, there's priorities I want to take. Listen, he's the king, or you reject him. But no matter what, he's always going to be the king. Whether or not you bow to him, he is the king. Why is he king? Because he died, and he was buried, and then he was risen from the dead. And now, he is Lord of all. He says to his disciples, all authority in heaven and on earth is mine. You look around the world and you think there's some people with, there's some hotshots with some big authority. There's some people whose voices really count. There's some people who have a lot of money, a lot of resources, a lot of people that follow him. You might be looking around yourself and think there's some things I got to get done. There's some things that that God understands. If I don't obey him and do my thing, he'd understand that. No, let me just tell you, you are puny. The rulers, the people of this world are puny, a drop in the bucket. It's what Christ commands because he is the king of all that counts. It's his voice, it's his leadership, his influence. And here's the thing. The reason I want you to not miss this is because if this passage is true, I believe it is, you should too. If this passage is true, it doesn't just tell us that Jesus is king because he came to Jerusalem. It tells us what kind of king he is. Remember what it says. Salvation is coming to you. And it says your king is coming to you. How humble and mounted on a donkey. This means something. So your king, the one who the prophets foretold, the one who is powerful in all knowing he is a humble king. The prophets told you what this king, who this king would be, and they told you, scripture tells you, I tell you now what this king is like. Your king, Jesus, is both glorious, remember, and gentle, he's glorious and gentle, he is tender, he is humble. He is so gentle. On the one hand, he transcends us, he holds nations in his hands. He's perfect in holiness and majesty. Think about that. He's perfect in holiness and majesty, holding nations in his hand. But then look at what it says. He comes to who? He comes to you humble. He comes to you. Shedding his eternal rights to be near to you and to take your heart near to God. I'll read exactly what I preached to you a few years ago. You got to remember this about your King Jesus. He is so kind to walk with you, to protect you, to provide for you, to bless you. He is so caring to hear your prayers, to hold up your burdens. You can bring them each one to him one by one. He is so compassionate for you, even in your sins, that He brings you more than just the food and the clothing and the day and the shelter you need for your day. He brings you forgiveness and a new life and a new start, a second chance, a new rule to live by. He is so thoughtful. He is so pure. You can't find fault in Him. You can't accuse Him. He is so low that you can know His heart. He's so unafraid of associating with sinners. He knows. He knows you can't outrun your sin. He knows you can't outrun your shame. He knows you can't outrun your regret, your rebellion, your failures. All of those things you cannot escape. But if you run to Him, you can have shelter from all of that stuff. You can be free of all of that stuff. He is so full of pity for you, so full of power to save you, so full of love to change you, so full of mercy to heal you. So willing to forgive, so ready to this passage, so ready to face evil on your behalf. So charitable, so friendly, so loving. If it's true that when he came to do that work of laying down his life and gentleness, he came in the manner of gentleness and humility, then just let it be known that even now, today, Jesus, your king comes to you and it's in tenderness that he seeks you this morning. I didn't say that very tenderly. In tenderness. He seeks you this morning. He does. With willingness and affections. And that is what saves. If you were the worst, most vile human who ever lived, you know, Jesus' tenderness can make you fit for his kingdom this very moment. That really is the testimony of every Christian who's ever lived. I don't think I've ever met anyone who said that. When they came to Christ. It was because. He threw him on the ground and pinned him down and sat on their chest. It was because. They fell on the ground. and wept for joy at the mercy and the tenderness and the offer of love that God gave when he put forth his son, Jesus. This is your king. He's the only one. The only one, whoever will be. A king so gentle and tender, he's the king eternal. So unlike the kings of this world. You know, he had no beauty or attractiveness that we should desire him, as the other prophets say, or as Isaiah says. He didn't wear the choice robes when he was on the earth. The robes he wore and the crown that was put on his head, other people put that on him just to mock him. Other kings pursue riches, honor, glory. And Jesus receives all those things truly because he pursued the cross. That's it. He shed his blood for your forgiveness, to forgive your sins. Other kings will always have their agendas. And just as I mentioned at the beginning, a lot of those other kings, you could name them Caesars this, Pompeys that, Czars this, Dynasties that. But here's the deal. If you pursue your own agendas, If you think that Christ must honor what your plans are, then you're no better than any one of those. And you won't last. You will fall and be grinded to dust, just like all those other kingdoms were. Just like all those other kings and all their plans. You have a plan that goes against God's will for your life? You have a plan that goes against God's commandments? you will not succeed. You may think you succeed, but you won't. It is only, only the glory of Jesus that is worth pursuing. And you can only do it in the strength that he gives when you submit to him and say, Jesus, you are my king. Is he your king? Name him as your king. Cry out to him now in truth, in personal trust. Hosanna to the son of David. Lord, save me. Save me now. I bless you. I bless you as the one. Who is the Lord and who comes in the name of the Lord. Amen.