“Triumphant” – North Port Campus

“Triumphant”
Luke 19: 28-48
Series: “Triumphant”
Pastor Robbie Rutherford
New Day Christian Church, North Port FL
April 13, 2025

Introduction

Today we will be in Luke 19. This passage records what is commonly known as the “Triumphal Entry” where we get “Palm Sunday”.

These are the final days before Jesus’s death and there is much excitement around him. However, the people are confused about who he really is. There is a lot of confusion in our culture about who Jesus is, so today, I want us all to wrestle with this question.

Am I following the “real” Jesus, or just the version I want him to be?

To answer this question, we will examine three scenes that help us identify the real Jesus.

Scripture:

A. The Humble King.

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.” Jesus sends two of his disciples to retrieve this unridden Donkey from the nearby city.

500 years earlier It was prophesied that the King would come riding on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

Jesus is fulfilling this prophecy.

35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” [b]“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest 

In this time Horses were a sign of power and strength, and a king on a horse was a sign that he came to wage war.

Donkeys were viewed as humble, the animal of a commoner, they were associated with peace.

Up until this point Jesus had not allowed his followers to publicly display who he was. For the first time, he allows a public demonstration on his behalf.

Why Did Jesus allow all the fanfare?

1. He did it to fulfill prophecy and present Himself as Israel’s king.
2. It also forced the religious leaders to act immediately.

39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Jesus accepts their worship. And essentially says silencing the crowd, will not derail Gods purpose. All of creation proclaims his lordship.

B. The Compassionate Savior.

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it  

42 “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” 

Jesus wept because he could see the future.

In A.D. 70, Rome would destroy the temple.

John 1:10-11 
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  

Jesus moaned with compassion because the people did not acknowledge that God had come to visit them.

They could have been spared if their hearts weren’t so hard.

C. The Angry Judge.

The next day Jesus went to the temple.

45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’[c]; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’[d]” 47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.  

When Jesus saw all this dishonesty and deceit He was outraged!

The events of his entry and the scene in the temple caused the crowd to hang on his words.

The celebration didn’t last, the religious leaders would persuade the masses, and their hearts would become hardened toward Jesus.

But Jesus was not the victim of circumstances. He was in control.

John 10:18 “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” 

This was always the plan; Jesus wasn’t Just traveling to Jerusalem; He was traveling to the cross.

The people wanted a king.

But instead of taking power, He came to surrender his life.

Instead of conquering Rome, He came to conquer sin.

Instead of bringing military victory, He came to bring peace between God, and man

He wasn’t the King they expected but he was the King they needed.

Application:

You don’t want to get to the end of our life and realize you missed who Jesus really is.

Followers of the real Jesus

1. Humbly Worship Even When Their Expectations Aren’t Met.

When hopes were high the crowd sang his praises.

But when they realized, he wasn’t going to meet their expectations they turned away.

37 the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen 

They praised Jesus for what they had seen him do.

The greatest proof of Jesus love isn’t our circumstances, it’s the cross.

2. Have Compassion for the Lost?

Jesus saw the city in the distance, and he wept.

Judgment is coming for those who reject Jesus.

When you look at the lost people around you does it break your heart?

Do you grieve for those who reject him, or do you criticize from a distance?

3. Passionately Hate their Sin?

When Jesus entered the temple, he was angry at what he saw, so he drove out those corrupting it.

The Bible describes the Christians as temples for the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies. 

Sin has no place in the life of a believer.

We need to confront the sin in our own lives with the same intensity Jesus did in the temple.

Passionately hate your sin and allow Jesus to cleanse your heart.

Conclusion:

Jesus didn’t come to meet our expectations. He came to save us from sin and offered a path to eternal life through faith in him.

That’s why he went to the cross…So…What will you do with Jesus?

If you have not bowed at the feet of Jesus the King, will you today?