Live in Christ’s Victory
Victorious King
Sunday, April 2 nd Street

Matthew 21:1-11; John 12:12-19
Introduction

Victorious King of a Different Kingdom

I. Who Is This?
v.10 – “And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is
this?’ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Each step of this trip is planned by Jesus. He knows that he is headed to the cross.
Jesus in the past has rejected the idea of being a king:
“Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him
king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” John 6:15
but now it is different. He sends his disciples to a village, and they will find a donkey
and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.
v.3,4 – “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord needs them,” and he
will send them at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying
“Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble
And mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
Jesus riding the donkey into Jerusalem may be a symbol of His kingship as the son of
David. (1 Kings 1:33 – David has Solomon ride a donkey to make a public declaration
that Solomon is the heir to the throne!)
2 Kings 9:13 – The prophet declares to Jehu that God has appointed him the next king,
when Jehu comes out, the people want to know what the prophet said…Jehu tells them
and they take off their cloaks and threw them on the ground, blew the trumpets, and
declared ‘Jehu is king.’
The crowd is shouting: Psalm 118 a messianic psalm and v.25,26 are specific to this:

“Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

II. Victorious King of a Different Kingdom
I appreciate the honesty of John in his description of that day. John 12:16 says, “His
disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then
they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done by
Him.”

The authority and power of Christ’s kingdom are drawn from a source outside of this
world—from God, our heavenly Father. Christ’s authority is not of human origin but
divine.
Christ’s kingdom is unlike any on this earth: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of
eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17).
Other kingdoms are rooted in the realm of this world, but Christ’s is unique. His kingship
is spiritual. It comes down to us from heaven and gives life to the world.

III. Conclusion
Think of it…without the resurrection there is no story about the triumphal entry of Jesus.
Without the resurrection no story would be told about Jesus. Life would have just moved
on.
But because Jesus rose from the dead…the story has been told and IS TRUE!