Jesus Takes a Necessary Ride!

Palm Sunday, 4/9/17
Matthew 21:1-11


Jesus Takes a Necessary Ride!
I. Necessary from his perspective
II. Necessary from our perspective


Do you know what kinetophilia is? It’s the love of movement. I learned this word from a British ecologist who claims that our world loves movement. For example, she cites the fact that the sandwich her sister-in-law ordered while in the hospital actually travelled 200 miles that day to get to her for her lunch. That sandwich could have easily been made right there in the hospital, but for some reason—most likely an economic reason—it wasn’t. As an ecologist, she was horrified over the waste of time and energy to deliver that sandwich, all at the expense of the environment. In her mind, that sandwich’s journey was completely unnecessary.

Our Palm Sunday thoughts also center on a journey—the journey of our Lord and Savior to Jerusalem and on to Calvary’s cross and then to his empty Easter tomb. As eternally monumental as that journey was, we can’t help but wonder just how important his ride into Jerusalem on a donkey was. Did this most important week in his work of being our Savior really have to begin this way? Did it really have to happen this way? Or, was this another case of kinetophilia, just a love of movement?

Make no mistake about it. This ride into Jerusalem on a donkey was absolutely necessary. Our text this morning makes that perfectly clear. Jesus takes a necessary ride. May the Holy Spirit be with us and lead us on our spiritual journey as we see why this Palm Sunday ride was so necessary.

Part I.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday, he knew exactly what was ahead of him. In fact, he told his disciples what he would be facing. Weeks earlier “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Mt. 16:21). He knew that he would be put on trial before the Jews and before Pilate. He knew that they would charge him with claiming to be the king of the Jews. When they asked him if he were a king, he knew that he would reply, “Yes.” So, why not enter Jerusalem like one? If Jesus were going to substantiate his claim to be the King of the Jews, shouldn’t he have chosen a proud horse to ride on? By riding in on a donkey, wasn’t he giving his enemies more reasons to discredit him?

Quite the contrary. In fact, his ride on a donkey was absolutely necessary for Jesus to be the King of the Jews, the King of heaven and earth, the world’s Savior from sin. This ride on a donkey was necessary from his perspective to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. Without a doubt, this was the greatest week of fulfillment in the history of the world. More prophecies from the Old Testament were fulfilled in the eight days from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday than in any other timeframe in history. God’s first promise of a Savior to the recently sinful Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden looked forward to this week—the week we call Holy Week. And Jesus fulfilled every one of those prophecies without a hitch.

It began with this ride into Jerusalem. Jesus couldn’t have ridden into Jerusalem on a horse and still have been our Savior. He couldn’t have walked into Jerusalem that day and still have been our Savior. He had to ride on a donkey just as God foretold through his prophet Zechariah nearly 500 years before it took place. Matthew quotes those words of Zechariah for us, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” There it is in black and white. This ride into Jerusalem was necessary from Jesus’ perspective.

He did it because that was his Father’s will. It was his Father’s will that Jesus not make a powerful entrance into Jerusalem like some military hero. Had he done so, it would have served only to stoke the misconceptions about him. Instead, the Father wanted his entrance into Jerusalem to be in keeping with his humility, a humility that would end with his death on the cross. And regarding his Father’s will, Jesus rendered no objections, not here, not later, not ever. It was always, “Thy will be done.”

This ride on a donkey was not insignificant. It was absolutely necessary. Jesus takes a necessary ride—necessary from his perspective.

Nearly fifteen years ago, Zed Al-Refai became the first Arab to successfully climb the Matterhorn in Switzerland. He did so after four unsuccessful attempts. Although the Matterhorn isn’t the world’s highest mountain, it’s one of the world’s most dangerous and deadly. When asked why he made the fifth attempt on such a dangerous climb, Al-Refai replied, “I felt this was something I had to do.”

If Jesus had been asked, “Why did you ride into Jerusalem on a donkey?” he would have replied in much the same way. It was something he had to do. This wasn’t due to some inner compulsion. This was something absolutely necessary for him to be our Savior from sin. Let me explain why. God laid out the plan of salvation. He sent Jesus to carry out that plan. Jesus left none of it undone—not even this little detail about riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Do you realize the confidence that gives us? Jesus wasn’t a sloppy Savior. He paid attention to the details because he knew that our forgiveness and eternal future were on the line. He knew all the times we fail to keep God’s commands for our lives. He’s sharply aware of all the times we knowingly bent and obliterated God’s rules. So he kept them for us—right down to riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Riding on a donkey was necessary for him. Any other way of entering Jerusalem would have meant a ride into hell for us. Jesus takes a necessary ride!

Part II.

He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and what a reception he received! The crowd went wild!

But imagine if the opposite had happened. Imagine him riding into Jerusalem and no one noticing. Imagine the crowd of people there in Jerusalem celebrating the Passover paying no attention to this Jesus of Nazareth. Imagine no one shouting that Jesus is the promised Savior.

It could have happened that way. Jesus could have gone to Calvary’s cross without anyone there in Jerusalem claiming that he was the promised Savior.

But it didn’t happen that way. In fact, crowds of people recognized that this humble prophet from Nazareth riding on a donkey was indeed the promised Savior of the world. With their shouts of praise they were proclaiming him to be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

How could they know that? Simply on the basis of God’s word. From God’s word they knew the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. They knew he would perform miracles of healing, making the deaf hear and the mute speak. Some even knew that he would suffer and die, as the aged Simeon knew.

These people knew Jesus was the Savior because they witnessed him fulfill what God’s word said the Savior would do. They heard him preach and teach like they had never heard before. They watched him perform miracles like they had never seen before. Some even heard the Father’s testimony from heaven proclaiming him to be his Son in whom he was well pleased.

And now, as he rode into Jerusalem, they recognized him. They shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” They called him the Son of David. Jesus was a blood descendant of King David. But so were other Jews. By using this title for him, however, they were proclaiming that Jesus was the descendant of David that God had promised, the One who would rule eternally. That’s the promise of the Savior. King David knew it. These people in the crowd knew it as well.

They also shouted, “Hosanna!” That’s a Hebrew word. It’s both a word of praise and a prayer. It means, “save.” With this word they were praising Jesus as the One who would save them. As such, there’s no greater word of praise ever spoken. They were proclaiming that Jesus was the One God had sent to save them from sin, death and hell.

But it’s also a word of prayer. They were praying to Jesus to save them. They were expressing their desire for Jesus to finish the work he had come to do. Little did they know that he would do that very thing on a cross nearby in just five days. There he would cry out, “It is finished!” Their prayers would be answered by the death of Jesus. On that Palm Sunday, this crowd of people—many of them coming from Galilee where Jesus had done most of his preaching and performed most of his miracles—would recognize Jesus as their Savior.

And by God’s grace, so do we! Do you realize how blessed you are that you know the blessed events of this Hoy Week for your eternal soul? God the Holy Spirit, working through word and sacrament, has brought you to faith in Jesus as the Savior whom these people proclaimed him to be. You didn’t come to that faith on your own. It’s God’s gift to you. Do you realize how blessed you are?

If so, then determine now to thank him properly. Determine now how you’re going to spend Holy Week. What do his life, his death, his resurrection mean to you? He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey because that was absolutely necessary for you. He went to Calvary’s cross because that was absolutely necessary for you. And he rose again three days later because that was absolutely necessary for you. How will that affect your attitudes, your words, your actions this Holy Week?

Jesus took a necessary ride for you. Ponder it! Believe it! Live it! Amen.