Scripture referenced 23 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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John 12 primary passage for the triumphal entry, especially the palm branches detail
1 Then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 So they made him a supper there. Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him.
3 Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.
4 Then Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of his disciples, who would betray him, said,
5 “Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, used to steal what was put into it.
7 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial.
8 For you always have the poor with you, but you don’t always have me.”
9 A large crowd therefore of the Jews learned that he was there, and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests conspired to put Lazarus to death also,
11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.
12 On the next day a great multitude had come to the feast. When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 they took the branches of the palm trees, and went out to meet him, and cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus, having found a young donkey, sat on it. As it is written,
15 “Don’t be afraid, daughter of Zion. Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about him, and that they had done these things to him.
17 The multitude therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, was testifying about it.
18 For this cause also the multitude went and met him, because they heard that he had done this sign.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “See how you accomplish nothing. Behold, the world has gone after him.”
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those that went up to worship at the feast.
21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn, Andrew came with Philip, and they told Jesus.
23 Jesus answered them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
24 Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25 He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
26 If anyone serves me, let him follow me. Where I am, there will my servant also be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
27 “Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this time?’ But for this cause I came to this time.
28 Father, glorify your name!” Then there came a voice out of the sky, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
29 The multitude therefore, who stood by and heard it, said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30 Jesus answered, “This voice hasn’t come for my sake, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the prince of this world will be cast out.
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
33 But he said this, signifying by what kind of death he should die.
34 The multitude answered him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ remains forever. How do you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’ Who is this Son of Man?”
35 Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you. He who walks in the darkness doesn’t know where he is going.
36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become children of light.” Jesus said these things, and he departed and hid himself from them.
37 But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again,
40 “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory, and spoke of him.
42 Nevertheless even of the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they didn’t confess it, so that they wouldn’t be put out of the synagogue,
43 for they loved men’s praise more than God’s praise.
44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me.
45 He who sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.
47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke, the same will judge him in the last day.
49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”
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Keep this verse
Matthew 21:1-5
Jesus sending disciples for the donkey and colt, approaching Jerusalem
1 When they came near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go into the village that is opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them, and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your King comes to you, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
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Matthew 21:10-11
city stirred asking who Jesus is, crowd says prophet from Nazareth
10 When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
11 The multitudes said, “This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
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Matthew 21:12-13
Jesus cleansing the temple, driving out sellers and buyers
12 Jesus entered into the temple of God, and drove out all of those who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the money changers’ tables and the seats of those who sold the doves.
13 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!”
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Matthew 21:14-16
blind and lame healed, children shouting Hosanna, chief priests indignant
14 The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children who were crying in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the son of David!” they were indignant,
16 and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Did you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing babies you have perfected praise?’”
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Matthew 21:18-19
next morning Jesus finds the fig tree with no fruit and curses it
18 Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.
19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
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Mark 11:1-7
disciples sent for the colt, bystanders questioning them
1 When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
2 and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him, and bring him.
3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.”
4 They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him.
5 Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?”
6 They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
7 They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it.
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Mark 11:11
Jesus enters temple, looks around, leaves for Bethany with the twelve
11 Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
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Mark 11:12-14
fig tree cursed on the next day leaving Bethany
12 The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry.
13 Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 Jesus told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and his disciples heard it.
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Luke 19:29-35
disciples sent for the colt, owner asks why they untie it
29 When he came near to Bethsphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,
30 saying, “Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, which no man had ever sat upon. Untie it, and bring it.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say to him: ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.
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Luke 19:36-38
cloaks spread on road, crowd praises God for miracles, peace in heaven
36 As he went, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
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Luke 19:39-40
Pharisees tell Jesus to rebuke disciples, Jesus says stones would cry out
39 Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 He answered them, “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out.”
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Luke 19:41-44
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, foretells siege and destruction
41 When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, “If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.
43 For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
44 and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
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Zechariah 9:9
prophecy fulfilled by Jesus riding a donkey, humble king coming to Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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Psalm 100:4
enter his gates with thanksgiving, go into his courts with praise
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name.
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Revelation 22:17
let anyone who is thirsty come and drink freely from the water of life
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
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Psalm 8:1-2
Jesus quotes it to the chief priests: from mouths of infants you have prepared praise
1 Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens!
2 From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.
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Jeremiah 8:13
no grapes on vine, no figs on fig tree, leaf withers, used as prophetic backdrop to fig tree cursing
13 “‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh. No grapes will be on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fade. The things that I have given them will pass away from them.’”
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Hosea 9:10
Israel found like grapes in wilderness, forefathers like early fruit on fig tree, then went to Baal Peor
10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.
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Joel 1:7
vine made a waste, fig tree made a stump, branches stripped
7 He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.
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Micah 7:1-6
woe, no summer fruit, no upright person, enemies in one's own household
1 Misery is mine! Indeed, I am like one who gathers the summer fruits, as gleanings of the vineyard: There is no cluster of grapes to eat. My soul desires to eat the early fig.
2 The godly man has perished out of the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net.
3 Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil desire of his soul. Thus they conspire together.
4 The best of them is like a brier. The most upright is worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even your visitation, has come; now is the time of their confusion.
5 Don’t trust in a neighbor. Don’t put confidence in a friend. With the woman lying in your embrace, be careful of the words of your mouth!
6 For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.
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Micah 7:7-8
as for me I will watch for the Lord, though I fall I will rise, Lord is my light
7 But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
8 Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, Yahweh will be a light to me.
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Micah 7:7
closing benediction: I look to the Lord for help, wait confidently for God to save me
7 But as for me, I will look to Yahweh. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This Palm Sunday message worked through the triumphal entry accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, tracing three symbols that show up across the story: the donkey Jesus chose to ride, the palm branches the crowd chose to wave, and the fig tree Jesus cursed the following morning. Together, those symbols open up the distance between what the crowd wanted from Jesus and what He actually came to do.
What was said
The preacher opened by noting that all four gospels describe the triumphal entry, but it is John alone who names the branches as palm branches, which is why that detail carries the Sunday. Rather than leaning on John as usual, the message moved through Matthew, Mark, and Luke side by side, letting the small differences between them come into view. Mark adds that the colt had never been ridden. Luke adds that the owners were right there when the disciples untied it. Matthew notes that a second animal, the mother, came along, which makes practical sense for a young, unbroken animal carrying its first rider.
Jesus riding a foal of a donkey was not a spontaneous moment. It fulfilled a prophecy from Zechariah that had been on the record for hundreds of years: your king comes to you, humble, mounted on a donkey. That word humble is the one the preacher pressed on. A king arriving on a war horse would have meant something entirely different. Jesus chose the donkey, and the choice was deliberate.
The palm branches meant something very specific to the people waving them. After the Maccabean revolt around 135 BC, palm branches appeared on coins as a symbol of national liberation and military victory. The crowd shouting Hosanna was not simply singing a hymn. Hosanna means, in its Hebrew root, something close to "save us now," and they meant it politically. They were calling for a deliverer who would do what the Maccabees had done, break the back of foreign occupation and restore the kingdom of David.
That gap between what the crowd expected and what Jesus came to do runs under the whole scene. Luke records that as Jesus looked down on Jerusalem, He wept over it, not in grief for one person the way He had wept at Lazarus' tomb, but in grief over an entire city that had not recognized the moment of its visitation. He spoke plainly about the siege that would come, the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and He connected it directly to the city's failure to see what was in front of it.
The Pharisees appear in Luke's account asking Jesus to rebuke His disciples for the praise they were giving Him. His answer was that if the disciples stopped, the stones would cry out. That exchange pointed to something the chief priests and scribes repeated in Matthew after Jesus healed the blind and the lame in the temple: they were indignant. They saw the miracles, heard the children shouting, and their response was offense. Jesus answered them by quoting Psalm 8, placing himself directly in the position the psalm assigns to God.
The fig tree cursed the next morning carried its own meaning. Several prophetic texts in Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, and Micah use the fig tree as a picture of Israel, fruitful in promise but sometimes barren in reality. The preacher cited the conclusion from a harmony of the gospels commentary that Jesus cursing the tree was emblematic of the judgment that would fall on Jerusalem in 70 AD. Leaves were present, the outward form of religion was in place, but there was no fruit.
The message closed with Micah 7, which had been woven through the final section. The prophet surveys a world of corruption, broken trust, and violence, and then makes a turn: "as for me, I will watch for the Lord." The preacher held that turn up as the alternative to both the crowd's misplaced nationalism and the religious leaders' indignant rejection. Do not rejoice over me, enemy of mine. Though I fall, I will rise. Though I live in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- The preacher described the crowd shouting 'Hosanna' as a cry meaning 'save us now,' with the people expecting a military deliverer rather than a savior of the world. Where in your own life do you find yourself expecting God to work in a specific way, and how do you respond when He doesn't?
- The palm branch was a nationalistic symbol tied to the Maccabean revolt, representing military victory and political pride. The preacher asked what symbols we hold up as Christians today. What symbols or causes do you think the church sometimes rallies around that may not reflect what Jesus actually chose for Himself?
and 3 more questions in the guide
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