INTRODUCTION:

  A. THE LONE RANGER'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
    It was Palm Sunday and Jesus was coming into Jerusalem.  He was riding on a blazing white
    stallion and kicking up a cloud of dust as he rode along. He was looking for trouble.  The
    people that he passed on his way were in awe of such a beautiful animal but they were even
    more awestruck by the man who was riding it.  As Jesus passed by, you could hear the
    people say, "Who was that masked man?"

    There were bad guys on the loose and Jesus had a job to do.  As he rode into Jerusalem he
    quickly sized up the situation and formed a plan to capture the ring leader of the trouble
    makers, his name was Diablo or Satan.  There was a short scuffle and Jesus won handily
    over Diablo.  He hog-tied the devil and threw him in jail.

    As a large crowd of people gathered to see what the commotion was all about, Jesus mounted
    his horse and pulled on the reigns.  The stallion stood on its hind legs, nayed loudly, and pawed
    the air with its front legs.  When it stood as tall as it could stand, Jesus leaned forward in the
    saddle. Holding the reigns with one hand while lifting his white hat in the air with the other, He
    shouted with a loud voice, "Hi ho Stallion, and away!"  As Jesus road off into the sunset, you
    could hear the William Tell Overture in the background.  Du du dunt. Du du dunt.
    Du du dunt dunt dunt.

    Of course that is not how it happened, but that is how most of us would have done it if we
    were Jesus.  Notice how the Jesus of the Bible did it.

  B. THE TEXT:
    Matthew 21:1-11
    1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount
        of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
    2  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.
    3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say,  The Lord hath need of them; and straightway
        he will send them.
    4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
    5  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.
    6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
    7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
    8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches
        from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
    9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son
        of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
    10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
    11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

  C. THE LONE SAVIOR'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
    1. The Jesus of the gospels did not come to be The Lone Ranger but to be the Lone Savior.
    2. Neither is there salvation in any other (Acts 4:12).
    3. In His life were exhibited two reoccurring purposes.
        a. To do the will of the Heavenly Father.
        b. To fulfill the Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah's first coming.
    4. With these two purposes He set His face to go to Jerusalem.
    5. Luke 9:51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that
        He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

I. THE SAVIOR CAME IN HUMILITY
(Matthew 21:1-3)

  A.  THERE WERE HUMBLE PROVISIONS MADE FOR HIS ENTRY
    1.  They were provisions which showed His kingdom was not of this world.
    2.  There were no soldiers bearing arms and shouting His entry.
    3.  There were no trumpets sounded before Him.
    4.  There was no chariot for Him to ride in.
    5.  Such things as these were not a part of His life and ministry.

  B. THESE WILL BE FAR OUTDONE AT HIS SECOND COMING
    1.  At His Second Coming the last trumpet shall sound.
    2.  At His Second Coming the angels will be His attendants.
    3.  At His Second Coming the clouds will be rolled back as a scroll.
    4. At His Second Coming He WILL be riding on a white horse! (Rev.19:11)
    5.  But in this public appearance, He walked the road of HUMILITY.
 
  C. JESUS ROAD IN ON A DONKEY
    1.  Donkeys were the burden bearers of the common people.
    2.  Horses were used only by great men, and for war.
    3.  According to Ps. 18:10, He could have ridden on a Cherub and flown upon the wind.
    4.  Though His name is Immanuel, God with us, in his state of humiliation, he rode upon a
        donkey.
    5.  Not only did he ride in on a donkey, it was a borrowed donkey.
    6.  When Jesus came to Jerusalem, He came in humility!
 
  D. ARE YOU WILLING TO WALK THIS ROAD WITH JESUS?
    1.  On the last night with His disciples in the upper room, just hours before His death, some
        of them argued over which of them would be the greatest in His kingdom.
    2.  They did not understand the road of humility which Jesus was walking on.
        Luke 22:24-27 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be
        considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship
        over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.' 26 "But not
        so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger,
        and he who governs as he who serves. 27 "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or
        he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
    3.  As I stated, they did not understand this road of humility.
    4.  And by all appearances neither do we.
    5.  We love to have the blessings of God, but do we want to walk with Jesus in humility?
    6.  Do we really want to be conformed to the image of Christ?
    7.  What would Jesus do?  Well, what DID Jesus do?
    8.  He walked in humility.

II. HE CAME IN FULFILLMENT
(Matthew 21:4-5)

  A. GOD HAD A PLAN
    1.  Jesus entering into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey was not by chance.
    2.  He was fulfilling the divine plan of God.
    3.  Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
        Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding
        on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

  B. THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY PART OF GOD’S PLAN
    1.  This is just one of the many prophecies regarding Jesus' entrance, arrest, trial and crucifixion.
    2.  Jesus was to be Betrayed by a friend … Ps 41:9
    3.  Jesus was to be sold for 30 pieces of silver … Zech 11:12
    4.  Jesus was to  have false witnesses accuse Him … Ps 27:12
    5.  Jesus was to be silent when accused … Isaiah 53:7
    6.  He was to be struck and spit upon … Isaiah 50:6
    7.  He was to suffer in our place … Isaiah 53:4-5
    8.  He was to have his hands and feet pierced … Ps 22:16
    9.  He was to be mocked and insulted … Ps 22:16-18
    10.  He was to pray for His enemies … Ps 109:4
    11.  He was to have His side pierced … Zech 12:10
    12.  He was to have soldiers cast lots for His clothes … Ps 22:18
    13.  He was to have no broken bones… Ps 34:20

  C. HIS WHOLE LIFE WAS THE DIVINE PLAN OF GOD
    1.  It was God’s divine plan to redeem us from our sins.
    2.  All that Jesus went through was for the fulfillment of man's salvation.
    3.  He came to fulfill prophecy, which meant dieing on the cross for you.
    4.  He fulfilled every part.
    5.  How can you escape if you neglect so great salvation?

III. HE CAME IN SUBMISSION
(Matthew 21:6-8)

  A. JESUS CAME TO JERUSALEM IN SUBMISSION TO THE FATHER
    1.  Jesus' life was one of submission to the Father.
    2.  Jesus' first loyalty was to the Heavenly Father.
    3.  John 6:38 says: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will
        of Him who sent Me.
    4.  Later he prayed, "…Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me." (Matt 26:39)
    5.  Yet, He prayed in that same breath, "nevertheless, not my will, but yours."
    6.  When Jesus came into Jerusalem, He came in submission to the Father.

  B. THE CROWD SPREAD THEIR GARMENTS OUT UNDER HIM
    1.  When Jehu was proclaimed king, the captains put their garments under him, in token of
        their subjection to him and submission to his command.
    2.  Those that take Christ for their King must lay their all under his feet.
    3.  When Christ comes, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord
        to the glory of the Father.
    4.  These clothes were tokens of their hearts.

  C. THEY SPREAD THEIR GARMENTS TO MAKE HIM WELCOME
    1.  What have you done to make Christ welcome in your heart?
    2.  What have you done to make His grace welcome in your home?
    3.  They spread their garments in respect for Christ.
    4.  Some of you are probably worried that their clothes got messed up.
    5.  If an earthly belonging is that important to you, then you need to get rid of it.
    6.  If you’ve got something that’s too precious to honor Jesus with it, then you don’t need it.

  D.  HIS DISCIPLES OBEYED HIM
    1.  He had told two of His disciples to go and get the colt that He would ride into Jerusalem.
    2.  The disciples obeyed Him.
    3.  Is such obedience a part of your life?
    4.  Are we as willing to obey the words of Jesus?

IV. HE CAME WITH A DESTINY
(Matthew 21:8-11)

  A. CHRIST WAS MET WITH WORDS OF DESTINY
    1. The words the people cried out, "Hosanna" (save now) were words of destiny.
    2. Destiny is the setting apart of a special purpose. It speaks of the inevitable.
    3. There is a painting that depicts the manger in which Christ was born.
    4. In the background is a shadow of the cross.
    5. He was destined by God to die on the cross.

  B. CHRIST WAS MET WITH WORDS OF DESTINY SINCE BIRTH
    1. Luke 2:34 tells how Simeon blessed Him, and said to Mary His mother,
        "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in
        Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
    2. Revelation 13:8 speaks of  "… the Lamb slain from the foundation of
        the world."

  C. CHRIST UNDERSTOOD HIS DESTINY
    1. By decree of God's divine plan of salvation, Jesus' destiny was the cross.
    2. The people were shouting cries of joy, but they would soon turn to cries of anger.
    3. The cries of welcome would soon be cries of, "Crucify Him!"
    4. Not even Pontius Pilate could prevent this destiny.
    5. Pilate thought he would satisfy the people by offering Barabbas, but Jesus was
        destined by God to die.
    6. In John 18:36-37 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of
        this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but
        now My kingdom is not from here." 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king
        then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born,
        and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.
        Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

  D. CHRIST CAME WITH A NEW DESTINY FOR ALL MANKIND
    1. Jesus entered Jerusalem with a destiny that was all his own.
    2. He was destined to suffer and die.
    3. He was destined to rise again on the third day.
    4. But, He also entered Jerusalem with a new destiny for all of mankind.
    6. When He fulfilled His destiny, He opened up a new destiny for us.
    7. Today, there is a choice of two destinies set out before every man, woman, and child.
    8. There is a narrow gate and there is a broad gate. (Matt.7:13-14)
    9. There is a straight path and there is a crooked path.
    10. One leads to heaven and one leads to hell.
    11. Which one are you on?
    12. If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as savior, then you don't have eternal life and you
        are destined for an eternal Hell.
    13. But, you can change your destiny this morning by changing paths.
    14. John 14:6 Jesus said that He is the only way to the Father.
    15. You see, Jesus was not some masked stranger called the Lone Ranger, but He
            is the Lone Savior.
    16. There is no other way to eternal life!