"Jesus Saves! (Matthew 21:1-11; Palm Sunday)

"Jesus Saves!"

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

April 17, 2011 ~ Palm Sunday

Christy to read Matthew 21:1-11 (NIV), ¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away." ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ "Say to Daughter Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'" ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest heaven!" ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" ¹¹ The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

Christy to pray

Today, we enter into Holy Week on this Palm Sunday when we celebrate the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entering Jerusalem; entering His destiny as the perfect Passover Lamb who takes the sins of the world away so that we, through faith, can be reconciled to God. On this day nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus entered into Jerusalem with the clamoring crowds praising God for His arrival. What happened on this first day of Holy Week? THE CROWDS DECLARED "JESUS SAVES!" ON PALM SUNDAY.

Listen to Matthew 21:9 "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' 'Hosanna in the highest heaven!'"

The word Hosanna is a Hebrew word and I have it printed in your sermon notes in Hebrew. הוֹשִׁיעָה = Hosanna means "Save now" or "Please save" and we see it used throughout the Old Testament. Let's look at Psalm 118:25-26, "LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you." Using this Scripture, the Jewish people are declaring that the King of the Jews, the Messiah, the Son of King David, has arrived into Jerusalem during the Triumphal Entry. They are declaring that God is going to save them through the person of Jesus of Nazareth. We are here on Palm Sunday to declare this same belief: Jesus saves! Do you believe Jesus saves?

**Watch video

What happened on the fifth day of Holy Week—the day we call Good Friday?

THE CROWDS SHOUTED "CRUCIFY JESUS!" ON GOOD FRIDAY.

Listen to this epic story unfold in Matthew 27:22-23, "'What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?' Pilate asked. They all answered, 'Crucify him!' 'Why? What crime has he committed?' asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, 'Crucify him!"

What would cause these people to change their opinion of Jesus Christ in five days? Why did Jesus go from hero to zero in such a short amount of time?

The people declared Hosanna (please save us now) at the Triumphal entry on Palm Sunday because they thought God had sent a political messiah who would rescue them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. On Palm Sunday, the clamoring crowds gladly welcomed the earthly savior because they thought He was going to change their circumstances. And then something happened! In five days time, these same crowds turned their back on Jesus Christ—the man they declared to be God's agent of salvation—and cried out "Crucify him!" Why? Because Jesus would not meet their expectations—they wanted Him to rescue them from the struggles of this life. But Jesus Christ did not come as a political savior from the Roman Empire; He did not come to give humanity a self-help plan for how to have a better tomorrow today. Jesus said, "May God's will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!" He did not say, "May the will of the people be done on earth as they want it!"

Do you get upset with God or turn your back on God when He doesn't meet your expectations in this life?

Here's the deep truth that I pray will sink deep into our hearts today and transform our lives for eternity: JESUS DID NOT COME TO SAVE US FROM THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS LIFE, BUT FROM OUR SIN THAT ETERNALLY SEPARATES US FROM GOD!

There is a third scene in the Holy Week narrative that demonstrates this point very clearly. Listen to the scene from Luke 23:39-43, "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'"

The corrupt officials of the world systems heard the bankrupt cries of the people. Humanity, because of the very sin Jesus came to save us from, turned collective back on the Son of God who came to save us for eternity. Jesus of Nazareth was nailed to the Cross next to two criminals who, unlike Jesus, deserved the death penalty. We too must be crucified with Christ!

Do you know that before you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, you are a criminal who justly deserves the death penalty?

God's Word teaches each of us this truth in Romans 6:22-23, "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

One criminal knew that he justly deserved death for his life choices, unlike Jesus who had done nothing wrong. He did not deny his need to be crucified, instead he humbled himself in front of Jesus as he faced the wages of his sin—death—and Jesus promised him, "Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise."

The other criminal though was filled with worldly pride and demanded life today. He felt entitled to being saved and denied the wages of his sin—he demanded it of Jesus to prove He was the Messiah by changing his circumstances.

Maybe you find yourself thinking, "I have never done anything that deserves death. This surely doesn't apply to me. I don't deserve death for the things I have done in my life. I am a good person. Isn't that enough in today's modern world?"

This contrast between the two criminals and their response to Jesus is obvious, but how it manifests itself in today's world is more subtle.

**Watch human video

The Bible teaches us that we have a choice and it's the choice that these two criminals had 2000 years ago when they found themselves facing the death penalty for their sins. It's the choice of how I should respond to Jesus Christ when faced with the reality of sin in my life.

Romans 5:17-19, "For if, by the trespass of the one man [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

You and I were both born into sin and we each trace our lineage all the way back to the original sinner Adam. This is the one man by which death reigned. From that very first sin we became a people separated from God who are dead in our sins. And there is nothing we can do to remove the stain of sin that separates us from God!

But there is good news and that is why we are here to proclaim, "Jesus Saves!": the Bible is God's love letter to us saying that He has seen our separation and He knows we cannot fix this on our own, no matter how good we are; that's not enough! God took on flesh and dwelt among us; the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to do it for us by taking the sin that separates us from God and paying the consequence of sin, which is death!

Jesus didn't enter Jerusalem on Triumphal Entry to save the people from the oppression of the Roman Empire, but from the oppression of sin and death! Jesus died on the Cross to save us from death!

Do you believe that Jesus saves by taking the sin that eternally separates you from God onto Himself on the Cross? Do you believe this applies to you today two thousand years later? Can you afford not to believe?

RESPONSE: Which criminal are you? Will you be with Jesus in paradise? Please turn your sermon notes over and you will see a sticky note. God requires of us to humbly declare our faith in Jesus Christ and to honestly confess our sin to God. We are sinners by human birth, God knows that about you and he still loves you! Do you know this about yourself?

Write on the sticky note a confession of your sin and then when you are ready walk it forward and stick your note to the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ bought you at a price! He saved you with the shedding of His blood to pay for your sins on the Cross! Place your sin on the Cross as a demonstration of your personal faith in Jesus Christ. As you do so, confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and your personal Savior and you will receive the forgiveness of sins that brings eternal salvation.

If you would like someone to pray with you the pastors and elders are available to you up front, but you can also invite a friend to pray with you at the prayer stairs. Let us respond together.