The message was brought by Rev. Tim Powers on 3/29/26.
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Look at what this says. Behold the King. He is a promised King and we can call on Him. He came to us. He is a personal King. None of us can get an audience with the President, but we can call on Jesus anytime. No priest is needed. We can go directly to Him. This access was opened up through the cross. He came to us to suffer for us. Salvation is righteous and just. No one else could do this for us. In medieval times only a king could pardon. This is Jesus for us. We were in the grasp of sin and only HE could pardon us through the shedding of His blood. His purpose wasn’t to take over the world, not at this time. He came lowly, riding on a donkey. Not a steed–the king’s horse. When a king came in peace, it was on a donkey.
Matthew 21:1-7 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
Matthew is the only writer to mention two donkeys. This is not a contradiction. Their availability was a miracle. Mark, Luke, and John mention the little donkey had never been ridden. In those times an animal that was set apart could have had no labor put upon it–no yokes on it and carried no burdens. This colt was special. It fulfills the prophecy above. Jesus had supernatural control over all creation. It had never been ridden. The crowd was noisy. Yet, the colt didn’t revolt. He fulfilled his purpose and lifted up Jesus. Our purpose? It too is to lift up Jesus. How? By the way we live. We don’t lift ourselves up. We lift up Jesus!
It was common to protect a king from the dust of the ground when he arrived. The people laid down palm branches as well as clothing to do this for Jesus. What are we to do? Lay it down for Him. Our life–lay it down. Can we not give up more time for Jesus? When we give to Him, He will bless us. Palm branches represented peace; this wasn’t political. It was the heart. Peace is not through strength. That’s what they thought Jesus was doing. Coming in strength to tear down the political system of Rome over them. I’m glad He brought peace and signified it by coming in peace to bring us all we’ll ever need. Even then many didn’t want Him. His name is still trying to be snuffed out. It won’t happen.
We see what wanting power over others does. That’s what’s going on today. The powerful want more power. They want to control what we do. The Jews begged for salvation from Rome; Jesus saves from sin. Do people really know Jesus? I’m not talking about head knowledge. History agrees with the fact that Jesus existed and was crucified. Still, the people didn’t “know” Him. Jesus came with and for the salvation of the world. All anyone has to do is cry out to Him.
As the people did that Palm Sunday, we should be giving Jesus glory and praise. The city was moved. The world today could be moved if we praised Him more. Jesus–give Him praise! He’s still the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 