Sermon One

Introduction

First they heard the noise of the crowd, the cheering and shouting. As they drew closer they could hear what everyone was saying: "The King is coming! The King is coming! The King is coming!"

More curious than ever, they pressed forward to see what was happening. Some people were tearing off their coats and throwing them in the road. Others were scrambling up trees to pull down the branches. Children lined the city streets, waving their victory branches and singing, "Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" Then they saw the king himself—a man on a donkey, the symbol of royal authority, coming in peace. Grabbing the nearest elbow, they pointed to the gentle rider and demanded, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus" (Matthew 21:1-11).

That is what happened on the first Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem "gentle and riding on a donkey." But something else happened that day as well. While Jesus was making his triumphal entry, the priests were praising God at the Temple. It was the first day of the week, and according to the ancient rabbis, the priests were reciting Psalm 24:

Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
The Lord Almighty—
he is the King of glory (Psalm 24:7-10).

So the people in the streets and the priests at the temple were asking the same question: "Who is this King?" The people said it was Jesus. The priests said it was the Lord ...

Philip Ryken is president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.

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