"Hosanna to the King!"

Take it, to appreciate Kelly Bliss helping out this morning on the piano and looking forward to good service together with you today. I came in the church building this morning, fully expecting to see nobody but my wife and Kelly, and turned on the lights in the back of the auditorium and I just saw about 65, the backs of 65 heads.

Well, they're paper heads anyway. So if you have Facebook, you can go on the church Facebook site and you can see the congregation that I get to preach to this morning. I wish I could take the camera and pan the auditorium, but I can't do that.

It's pretty much stationary halfway back. So anyway, thank you for joining us this morning and I trust that today's service will be a blessing to you. A couple of announcements to share before we get into the service itself.

Again, through this month of the stay-at-home order, we'll be doing a Facebook Live session every day at noon and thinking about expanding that to be able to use it on the website. But if I do that, I have to do that right in here in the auditorium.

So I'm still thinking about that. But anyway, if you can, catch that on Facebook at noon every day, Monday through Friday. Now this week on Thursday night, we'll be having a Maundy Thursday service. So there won't be a Wednesday evening service, but there will be a service at seven o 'clock this Thursday for a Maundy Thursday service.

And what I'd like to do in that service is include the Lord's Supper for us as a congregation. Now that may seem really odd and strange and it definitely will be. The Bible says when we come together, let's do this and fellowship around the Lord's table, remember his death until he comes, and so forth.

We read those instructions in 1 Corinthians. And we cannot come together physically, but we can come together virtually. And we can do that and share the elements all together at the same time in a very unique way.

So I've ordered and we've received a bunch of little cups that look like this. I know you can't really see it, but this little cup is fully sealed and sanitized and everything else. But on the top, there's a seal.

You remove that seal and it has the bread. And then there's a second seal and you remove that and the juice is available. So what we can do for that Thursday night communion, the Lord's table service, is get those cups to you.

We can distribute them to your homes and we can do this in a way that will honor the six-foot rule, if you will. You let me know how many of those you would like for your family. And of course, this is for baptized believers only, understand that.

But you let me know how many you need. You can send by Facebook or text message. You can call that number in, send me an email with your family name and number, and then we'll distribute those to you sometime on Thursday.

And then Thursday night at the appropriate time, and here's the caveat, here's the condition, everybody is to do this at the same time. We do it together as a congregation. So I would lead in that at a particular time in that Maundy Thursday service, and then we can enjoy the Lord's table together.

So that's Thursday evening. Also on Thursday, when we come and drop those supplies off for the Lord's table, I also would plan to bring a Resurrection Sunday booklet. Given those out the last few years to just something to meditate on, on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, would be a blessing to you as well.

Christ the King Over the Coronavirus

To begin our worship service this morning, you realize our focus, our attention the last several weeks has been on the Corona virus. Do you know what Corona means? It struck me this morning. We've been talking about that and thinking about the Corona virus for the last couple of months, and really intensely for the last few weeks.

It's been on our mind, it's been the focus of our attention. The word Corona means crown. It's like this COVID -19 is the crown virus. Well, let's take the crown off the virus and put it where it belongs today.

This is Palm Sunday. It's a day of recognizing that Jesus is the King, and to Him belongs that crown. So as we begin our service this morning, Psalm 47 verses 6 and 7, encourage us, sing praises to God, sing praises, sing praises to our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth, sing praises with the psalm. So I'd like to start this morning with the hymn, All glory, laud, and honor. All glory, laud, and honor to thee, Redeemer King, to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel, thou David's royal son, who in the Lord's name comest the King and blessed one. The company of angels are praising thee on high, and mortal men and all things created make reply.

The people of the Hebrews with palms before thee went, our praise and prayer and anthems before thee we present. To thee before thy passion they sang their hymns of praise. To thee now high exalted our melody we raise.

Thou didst accept their praises, accept the prayers we bring, who in all good delightest, thou good and gracious King. Our Father and our God, we're so grateful today that you are the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

You are the King of all the earth, you are the God of all creation. And though while there are plenty of would-be kings and rulers of the world, we come before you today and bow before you, the King.

And we pray that on this Lord's day our attention would be focused on our King, our great King and High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be all the glory, praise, and honor. We pray in Jesus' name.

On that triumphal entry, the crowd sang out loud hosannas. And when they did, they were quoting from Psalm 118. I'd like to read a portion of that psalm this morning. It's Psalm 118 verses 14 through 29.

The psalmist writes, the Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord exalts.

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord. O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords up to the horns of the altar. You are my God and I will give thanks to you.

You are my God, I will extol you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forth. Next, I'd like to share the hymn, Hark the Glad Sound, the Savior Comes. It may not be that familiar to you, but enjoy the text as Kelly plays in the background.

Hark the glad sound, the Savior comes. Hark the glad sound, the Savior comes, the Savior promised long. Let every heart prepare a throne and every voice a song. He comes the prisoners to release in Satan's bondage held.

The gates of brass before him burst, the iron fetters yield. He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure, and with the treasures of his grace to enrich the humble poor. Our glad Hosannas, Prince of Peace, thy welcome shall proclaim, and heaven's eternal arches ring with thy beloved name.

Prayer for Missionaries, the Bereaved, and Those Affected by COVID-19

Well, as we pray together this morning, some prayer requests to share with you. Our missionary this week are as the Baccarat serving in the Philippines, and as we've been mentioning for the last few weeks, our missionaries, all of our missionaries, are under the same kind of restrictions and limitations as we are.

It doesn't matter where they are in the world, it seems. This is an interestingly global event that is being handled pretty consistently around the world. So pray for the Baccarats while they're in a limited ministry.

Pray that they would be able to accomplish much during this shelter-in-place order. They have many projects that they want to be able to get done while they don't have all of the other responsibilities on their plate at this time, so I want to pray for them.

And then we also want to pray for the Carl family. Remember that family as they gather together tomorrow for a private graveside service reflecting upon the death of George this past week. Thank the Lord for giving safe travels to that family, to many of the family coming from a distance away.

So pray for them tomorrow as they gather. The Lord would give comfort, encouragement to their hearts, and then some have to travel back a great distance as well, and pray that they have journeying mercies as they go.

Then also send out to the church family this morning a prayer request for, I'll just give the initials, J .H., who is suspected has the COVID -19 virus. He has some of the symptoms, many of the symptoms has ruled out the flu and is awaiting the results of the COVID -19 test, so pray for him.

Pray for God to give grace to him and his in his living situation. There are many people who live around him and in close proximity, so if he does have that COVID -19 virus, pray that it does not spread to others in the home.

And then we want to pray for our community. You surely have seen the news or heard the news this past week. One local business in Dixon has closed for at least the duration of this virus time. Halo, one of the largest employers in the community has had to cut back on their employees, let some go, some furloughed, some reduced hours, and some in our congregation work there and have had that kind of reduction, so we want to pray for them and pray for the survival of the businesses of our community, especially all the businesses, but think especially these small businesses who really need ongoing support.

So let's look to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Again, our Father, we are grateful that this is a day that you have made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it. There's all kinds of things that could occupy our minds and cause us to be discouraged and distressed, to be perplexed, confused, fearful, fraught with anxiety, but this is the day that you have made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it.

We can rejoice because the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and our Lord Jesus is the ruler even over all things in this day. We thank you for that confidence that we can have today.

Father, we do praise you that you are our God, you are our Father, and you have called upon us, you bid us to come to you as Father, and so, our Father, so we come, and we pray today that your kingdom would come, that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, and may your name be hallowed.

May it be evident and clear that you are at work in this troubled, troubled world. We come to you confessing our sins to you, Father. We confess to you that we are so prone to wander in our thoughts away from you.

We are prone to be filled with anxiety and fear, uncertainty, the confusion that surrounds us these days, the conflict within our own government and between governments of this world is distressing, and all of these things can cause us to be anything but confident and trustful and dependent upon you, our God.

We confess that tendency to turn from you and to turn ourselves, our thoughts inward, and to be filled with fear and anxiety. Forgive us of this, forgive us our lack of faith. Father, we have, many have certainly expressed our distress in untoward ways.

We have, we have been unkind to others around us. We have been selfish in our thoughts and in our actions. Forgive us our selfishness. So, Father, we come praying that you would forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness, and we pray that confidently that you will do so because so have you promised.

We pray today for people in need. We think of our missionary families and the struggles that they are facing through the limitations placed upon them and through the uncertainty of the future for them as well.

We pray for the Bacharachs today and through this week. Just give them grace and wisdom in the use of their time and grant them good success in all that they plan and intend to do. Father, we pray for the Carl family that you would give comfort to their hearts in the loss of George, and thank you that he is with you, and he is free from this troubled world right now, and what rejoicing that is for him and even for those in his family who can see exactly what he has spared from enduring and dealing with.

Nevertheless, they sorrow, and I pray that you would give comfort to their sorrowing hearts. We pray, Father, for J .H. We pray that you would heal his body, that if he does have this virus, it would clear up quickly.

Pray that you'd protect those around him. We pray, Father, for people in our congregation and in our community affected by the job losses and the cuts in pay, and Father, we pray that you would provide and supply the needs.

Thank you that you have promised to meet the needs of your children, and none of those in need are unnoticed by you. I pray for these companies and businesses in our community that they would survive and ultimately thrive once again.

We pray, Father, that you would protect our bodies from illness, and you would protect our hearts from restlessness and anxiety, and you would protect our minds from being filled with fretful speculation and a wasteful obsession that just constantly is mulling over the challenges and the uncertainties of this day.

We pray for those in authority over us, lawmakers and political leaders. Father, our hearts are grieved when we see the conflict there, and we pray that you would so work powerfully to try to defeat those who are doing good, give wisdom to those in responsibility over us.

Again, Father, we pray that truth would triumph. We pray that righteousness would reign. We pray that justice would prevail. We pray that your kingdom would come, that your will would be done, and this we ask in Jesus' name.

The Triumphal Entry in Matthew 21

Before we look at the scriptures together this morning, one other triumphal entry hymn is the song, Ride On, Ride On in Majesty. Ride on, ride on in majesty, Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry, O Savior meek, pursue thy road with palms and scattered garments strode.

Ride on, ride on in majesty, and lowly pomp ride on to die. O Christ, thy triumphs now begin o 'er captive death and conquered sin. Ride on, ride on in majesty, the angel squadrons of the sky look down with sad and wondering eyes to see the approaching sacrifice.

Ride on, ride on in majesty, thy last and fiercest strife is nigh. The father on his sapphire throne expects his own anointed son. Ride on, ride on in majesty, and lowly pomp ride on to die. Bow thy meek head to mortal pain, then take, O God, thy power and reign.

The message this morning is on the Palm Sunday text, the triumphal entry. It's Matthew 21. I want to read verses 1 through 17. If you have a copy of scripture before you, follow along as I read. Matthew 21 verse 1 says, Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her.

Untie them and bring them to me. 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 prophets, 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.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, Who is this?

And the crowd said, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did and the children crying out in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant, and they said to him, Do you hear what these are saying?

And Jesus said to them, Yes. Have you never read out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies, you have prepared praise? And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. And his blessing to the reading of his word, brief prayer.

And so our father, I pray that as Jesus is recognized as king in this passage, we would recognize him today. This we pray in Jesus name. When Queen Victoria was crowned as queen in 1838, the coronation ceremony was quite a significant event.

It was marked by pomp and luxury, the company of great number of dignitaries, all to celebrate her coronation. We read that she wore a crown encrusted with giant rubies and sapphires surrounding a 309 carat diamond.

She was carrying a scepter, walking with a scepter and was capped with an even larger diamond cut from the star of Africa and weighed over 516 carats. Well, that's usually what we think of when we think of a royal procession, pomp, dignity, dignitaries, a great deal of displays of wealth and luxury and so forth.

But in today's text, this text that's the basis for calling today Palm Sunday, it describes the procession of another king, the king, the king of kings, in fact. But there is none of that splendor and there aren't really any dignitaries there to welcome this king and to crown him.

On the surface, that may seem a strange way to welcome a king, but it is exactly the way Jesus would have it. Doesn't bother him in the least bit. In fact, this is exactly what he's anticipated all along.

Now, years ago, there was a radio or television show broadcast called You Were There. And the whole premise of that broadcast was to take some event in history and do it in the sense that you were there and you put yourself in the middle of that place in history.

I want you to put yourself in this place today. Put yourself on that road from Bethphagia to Jerusalem as Jesus comes mounted on the back of that donkey. I want you to put yourself there and see that as you extol Jesus and you shout your hosannas, that Jesus in the first place anticipates this all along.

Isn't that clear from these first seven verses, how Jesus fully expects what is coming? We see this expectation or anticipation of your hosannas in the way that Jesus orchestrates the events. In verses one through three, he leaves this little village of Bethphagia.

It's less than a mile east of Jerusalem. And in verses one and two, he purposely sends the disciples on this mission. He tells them to go into that village and he tells them what they're going to see.

He sends them on this mission and as he sends them, he clearly knows the circumstances that they're going to come across when they arrive. He tells them go in this village in front of you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her.

You're going to see this. And he says if somebody asks you about this and wonders what in the world you're doing, then here's what you're to say. So he gives them careful instructions. He tells them what to look for in terms of the donkey and the colt that's tied there.

He tells them what to do with the donkey and the colt to unloose them and bring them to him. And he tells them how to respond if somebody were to object to what they're doing. And notice what he says.

And I think that in itself is significant, isn't it? He says if anybody objects, then say to them, look at what he says, say to them, the Lord needs them. The Lord needs them. Now, when Jesus was approached by people in the crowd and they wanted to ask him a question, people would often refer to him as rabbi or master.

But Jesus here refers to himself. He is referring to himself and acknowledging and communicating that he is the sovereign one who is actually orchestrating these events. The Lord has need of them. And so on they go.

So Jesus anticipates your hosannas by actually orchestrating the events that are going to bring about those hosannas. But there's more behind this anticipation. There's actually something that fuels the anticipation.

And what fuels it is what we read about in verses four and five. It's an ancient proclamation from God himself through the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah nine, verse nine, the prophet said this. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. And here's what Zechariah said. And part of this is quoted here in Matthew. Zechariah said, he said, rejoice greatly. Behold, your king is coming unto you. He is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon a donkey upon the colt, the fold of a donkey.

Notice what Zechariah adds here. The king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation. He's having salvation. He's bringing salvation. So the bringer of salvation is the king. The king who is here coming is the bringer of salvation.

And so this prophecy that was given over 500 years earlier, this prophecy fueled the anticipation of the coming king who would with him bring salvation. Jesus, the king, anticipates your hosanna as he orchestrates the events and as he fulfills this prophetic proclamation from half a millennium earlier.

And in verses six and seven, as the disciples have come together and brought the donkey and then respond to this situation, their participation in the events actually heightens the anticipation. Look what they do.

In the first place, they did exactly what they were told to do. The disciples went, in verse six, the disciples went and did as Jesus directed them. So they did what they were told when they were confronted about the taking of these animals.

They didn't cower and say, oh, maybe we shouldn't do this after. I know he told us to do this, but shouldn't we really do this? I mean, what if these guys, you know, dah, dah, dah. No, they did exactly what Jesus told them to do.

And then having brought these animals to Jesus, verse seven says, they brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks and he sat on them. Actually, another one of the gospel writers tell us that the disciples made sure that he got on the animal.

Itself. In other words, what these disciples did to heighten the anticipation of your Hosanna was they elevated Jesus to this place of prominence. Oh yeah. You know, you and I read this and was a place of prominence.

I mean, how is this a place of prominence? Actually, this is reflective of Israel's second King. Well, I should say third King, Israel's third King. Remember David succeeded Saul as King and David was the King that God appointed.

And David was the King to whom God promised that he would always have a descendant, an heir upon his throne, that his kingdom, his throne would rule forever and ever. Well, when David was about to die and pass off the scene, it was time to appoint a successor to the throne.

And David appointed Solomon as his successor. And you can read this. If you have your, in your Bible, the first, in first Kings chapter one, verses 38 through 40, we read of how Solomon was, was announced to be the King in verse 38.

It says, and so Zadok, this is first Kings one, verse 38. So Zadok, the priest, Nathan, the prophet and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada and the Terethites and the Pelethites went down and they had Solomon ride on King David's mule.

And they brought him to Gihon. There Zadok, the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the trumpet and all the people said, long live King Solomon. And all the people went up after him playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy so that the earth was split by the noise.

This is a very similar thing that's happening a thousand years later at the coming of Jesus on this road into leading into Jerusalem. He's riding on the back of a donkey and the people are going to proclaim these loud hosannas and the whole earth is going to shake with it all.

This is a very similar procession, but the disciples, the disciples, as they participate in the events that Jesus has orchestrated, they heightened the anticipation of your hosanna. Well, in verses eight and 11, here comes Jesus on this donkey with his disciples.

And as one placed in the position of a King, the, the heir of the Davidic throne, Jesus accepts your hosannas. Verse eight and verse nine, talk about the crowds as most of the crowds spread their garments and so forth.

Who is this crowd? Who's making up this crowd? I think some of us preachers, and I have made the mistake myself in the past, have equated this crowd with a crowd several days later that is crying out, crucify him.

But the more I've thought about this and studied it over the years, I don't think it's the same crowd at all. This crowd is made up, first of all, of those who had followed him from Jericho. You look back a few verses in your Bible at chapter 20, verse 29, and it says, as they went out of Jericho, that is Jesus and his disciples, as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.

Now, Jericho isn't all that far from Jerusalem, and this crowd is following Jesus to Jerusalem. And this crowd was also made up of other people that they picked up along the way. And the gospel of John tells us, in John chapter 12, that others who were part of this crowd were those who had witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus from the tomb.

They heard that Jesus was coming. Word preceded him. Jesus is coming down the road. They ran out to meet him, and they make up this crowd. And this crowd, this crowd, as they gather together, offer their respect unto him as king.

And there you are. Remember, you are there. Are you there as one of the crowd who respect him as king? Jesus accepts this in verse 8. The way they show their respect for him as the king is their spreading of their cloaks on the road, and others who had cut branches from the trees and spread those on the road.

These are symbolic gestures on the part of the members of the crowd. The casting of their garments before him on the ground and having him ride over those garments as he goes was a way of expressing their submission to him as their sovereign, as their king.

And the taking of the palm branches and casting them down on the road, this was an action that was conducted by those recognizing our conqueror is here. They're honoring him as the conquering savior. They may not know all that's implied in that, but this is what their symbolic gestures communicate.

They're respecting him as their king, and he accepts that respect. A question for us today is, do you, do you, do I express submission to him as my sovereign? Do I honor him as my conquering savior? Am I looking to someone else to save me?

Oh, think of us, think of our hearts and our minds in this day of crisis. To whom are we looking to save us? Well, Jesus accepts this respect, these hosannas that come from people who respect him. In verse 9, they actually, what they're communicating in verse 9 is actually a declaration of him as king.

The crowds went before him and that followed him were shouting hosanna to the son of David. That title, son of David, was a title acknowledging one who was a rightful heir to the throne of David. They were praising him as a king, the king who rightfully has a rightful title to the throne of David, this throne that was to know no end.

And they're shouting of hosanna, or save now is a way that could be translated, is the offering of praise to him as the savior. Praising him as savior, praising him as king, but they're furthermore offering praise to him as the fulfillment of a promise made long ago.

When they say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest, they are actually quoting from Psalm 118 verses 25 and 26, that psalm that we read earlier. They're declaring that their king has come.

Now that declaration is certainly an incomplete declaration. Nobody in that crowd who was extolling him as the savior understood from what they would be saved and how he would become their savior, what he would do to be their savior.

When they were extolling him as king, they, few if any, really recognized the nature of his kingdom and the nature of his reign. But at least they had the insight to see who he was, that he was much more than just a man.

He was the fulfillment of this Old Testament promise. Now there's a day coming that will be the ultimate fulfillment of that which is seen in a kernel, if you will, on Palm Sunday. We read of it in Revelation chapter 7 verses 9 and 10.

Looking yet into the future, John writes, and after this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. Now remember on Palm Sunday, those who were shouting hosanna, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, and hosanna to the son of David, they were all of one nation.

These were all Jewish people who were looking at Jesus as their Messiah. But the day is coming when you will be there if you are in Christ Jesus. And it doesn't matter what your nationality, it doesn't matter what your ethnicity, or the color of your skin, or the language of your birth.

There will be people there from every nation, from all tribes and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God.

Hosanna! Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb. Jesus accepts this, and he accepts your hosanna when you exalt him to the position of King. Again, in our text in Matthew, the people do this though incompletely, though not fully understanding everything they were saying and all that was implied in it.

In verses 10 and 11, the city of Jerusalem is stirred up. They hear the ground shaking, they hear the cries out there on the road making its way toward them and coming in their direction, and everybody is stirred up.

The whole city is stirred up. The word stirred up is an interesting word. It communicates the idea of extreme anxiety. It's the Greek word from which we get our word, seismology. You know, like the seismologists who measure the shaking of the earth tell us how big of an earthquake is on the Richter scale.

The whole city is extremely anxious. Who is this? What's going on? They want to know, and the people respond in verse 10 by telling that this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth. So here, these imperfect people subtly affirm him as the king.

They don't say this one is the king, but look at what they do. Look at what they do here. In the first place, they overcome their prejudices because you remember there's this long-standing prejudice against anything from Nazareth.

Jesus encountered that early on in the beginning of his earthly ministry. Can anything good come out of Nazareth was the question. Implication is if Jesus is from Nazareth, there's no way in the world he could be the Messiah.

But these people are fully ready to affirm that this is Jesus, the prophet. And in that statement, they are communicating that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise or the prophecy of Moses hundreds and hundreds of years ago when Moses said there's going to come a prophet like unto me someday.

And they're saying that this one, Jesus, is the prophet. He is from Nazareth. They overcame these prejudices and acted upon what they understood that this one whom they've just declared to be the son of David, the king, is also the prophet.

They are exalting him to the rightful place of our prophet, our king, and when they say save now, even our priest. And Jesus accepts it all. He accepts it all. But then as this scene moves and transitions into the city of Jerusalem, Jesus then acts upon your hosannas.

And he does so, I think, partially to test the sincerity of those hosannas. Let me explain what I mean. What he's doing in verses 12 and 13 is he is displaying Jesus is communicating the primary realm of his reign, the primary realm of his reign.

Let me explain. When these people were crying out, hosanna, save now, son of David, that recognizing him as the king. But what was their, what was their understanding of him as a king? What kind of salvation were they expecting him to bring?

Most would have thought of him as a political ruler, as a military conqueror, as one who was going to save them from the dominion of Rome. That was the thought of their salvation for many. And a military conqueror was their notion of him as a king.

But look at what Jesus does. Jesus entered the temple and he drove out all who sold and bought in the temple. And he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.

He didn't go to the Roman, to the Roman praetoriate. He didn't go to the Roman guard. He didn't go to the Roman enclave and seek to overthrow that. He didn't call for a mob with weapons to come and overthrow the Roman, the Roman soldiers that were in the city of Jerusalem.

He went to the temple and he overthrew the tables of the money changers and he drove out those who were buying and selling in the temple. And he said to them, listen to what he says, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of rob.