God bless you, brothers and sisters. How wonderful is it to be in the house of the Lord! Welcome to all those who are visiting us today. This is the house of the Lord where we come to celebrate Him and where we come to rejoice in His presence together with others whose hearts are willing. Today is a very special day. It’s a very beautiful day, as you can see, and people around the world are celebrating today, regardless of whether they actually believe it or not. Everyone knows why today is a special day, and of course it is as our sister was saying at the beginning. It is a very special day for us and I want to talk a little about what makes this day so special; the event that the Lord Jesus experienced on this date.

This is a story that we find in all four of the Gospels, and we're going to read it from Luke 19: 28. The verses are listed here so you can read them if you don't have a Bible. Let's read the passage of “The Triumphal Entry.” The scripture says, “After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” say, “The Lord needs it.”’ Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They replied, ‘The Lord needs it.’ They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’ ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”

There are several different details in each of the Gospels, but we get the idea of ​​what is going on here. Jesus comes from another town and is heading towards Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, there is a hill, so to speak, before the entrance. So Jesus is there and his disciples are with him including a lot of other people from the previous town he was in. They were with Jesus because before this in John 11, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and many of those people who saw that miracle were following Jesus.

Because it was the eve of Passover that day, there were crowds of people arriving in the city. And it says that before reaching the hill, Jesus stopped and sent for the donkey so that he could arrive at that moment. It wasn’t that Jesus wasn’t able to walk. It wasn’t that Jesus couldn't ride in on a horse or come in another way. It was necessary for Jesus to enter on the donkey because it fulfilled a prophecy in the book of Zechariah where it says that the Messiah was going to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

It says in the book of Zechariah, "Your king comes, humble and riding on a donkey." So, it was necessary for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Now, it's interesting because none of those who were there realized it at that moment. In another one of the gospels it says that the disciples realized that this prophecy was fulfilled only after Jesus ascended into heaven. In other words, they weren’t shouting and praising Jesus because they saw him and said, "Wow, this is the fulfillment of the prophecy." No, they didn't realize it at that moment. But something did happen at that moment, an excitement took over them. Jesus needed to enter on that donkey because during those times, if someone entered the city on a horse, it was for a completely different reason. That was how the commanders who came back from war were greeted by the people. And do you know how the people greeted them? With palm branches, right? And they received the commander because they had been victorious in war and had not been defeated. They had triumphed and that was the reception the people gave them by waiving their palm branches.

And do you know what I like about this? It's because Jesus has that same kind of a reception and the Bible calls it “The Triumphal Entry.” They were celebrating his triumph at that moment because He already knew what He was going to do. But Jesus didn't enter with warriors or on a horse. He didn't enter with weapons. Instead, he entered on a donkey with farmers and fishermen. The people who were there around him took off their cloaks and threw them on the ground, they cut branches from the trees. To give that ovation to the king they were shouting, “Hosanna!” as if he were a commander who had just won a war. But what was happening at that moment in Israel? The people were going through a difficult time. They were under political and military oppression. They were under Roman rule at that time, and they were looking for a Messiah who was going to free them from oppression. So they were waiting and perhaps it was difficult for them. They had certain expectations about what Jesus was going to do. But we know it didn't happen that way. Jesus didn't do what they expected. But church, what Jesus did this week is more than I expected. And that's what I want to title today's sermon: “It was more than I expected.”

People have certain expectations about what they want or think Jesus can do. We have certain expectations about the church, about pastors, about Christians and those expectations often fall short. And that's why faith falters, right? Because there were people at that time, there were pastors who said that these same people who were praising the Lord at that moment, on Friday were shouting, "Crucify him!" Why? Because their expectations had turned into disappointment. Because Jesus didn't do what they thought he was going to do or what they wanted him to do. But Jesus came to do something greater; He had something better, something higher, something deeper, and something more important to do. We have to understand that because many times in our lives, people around us are going to fail. We think that our parents, the church, and people around us should act in a certain way, but they don’t. But if our hope is placed in Christ, He will never disappoint us!

But let's see what Jesus is going to do. Before this, Jesus never accepted any messianic title during his ministry. When people asked him, "Are you the Messiah?" he always steered clear of that conversation. He never came out and said, "Yes, I am," never until that moment. He wasn't going around saying, "I am the Christ, I am the Messiah!" But at that moment when the Pharisees told him, "Stop them from speaking, listen to what they're saying," He said, "Leave them alone, let them continue." That day was completely different because He knew why he was going into the city. He wasn't delaying His journey. He wasn’t trembling with fear, saying, "No, I don't want to go to the city, I don’t want to face what awaits me." No, he was eager to go because he was willing to die on the cross for you and me. He knew what waited for him and he was willing to go to save us.

There are some things that I want us to briefly discuss. It says, the people were saying, "Hosanna,” like what we were singing and reading at the beginning of the service. This is also found in Matthew 21:9, which I'll read to you here. “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” The people were shouting, “Hosanna,” which means, "Come and save us." Remember, they know what that word means because they are suffering from military and political oppression from Rome. And so, from the bottom of their hearts they are shouting, "Come and save us!" They see Jesus and shout, "Yes, save us, Jesus, save us." Church, how much does the world we live in today need to come to Jesus to be saved? How should we be? How should the world receive Christ today? With that same enthusiasm and fervor of the people shouting, “Come and save us, Lord! Come and save me!” Today, we live in a world full of slavery and oppression too. Not from our government like the Jews did, but from different things we already know.

During Jesus' ministry, He was despised and rejected by many people. Very often, the people only followed and worshipped Him to get something from Him. Most people rejected having any kind of personal commitment to Jesus; they were just looking to get something for themselves. And brother, today is no different. Today, people are still only looking to get something out of Jesus. Something material, something we can touch, something for you or something for me. Sadly, the church today continues that lie by telling people, "If you come to Jesus, you'll have your house, your car, your money, and whatever else you want." And that's all that people want from Jesus. I'm not saying you might not get some of those things, but many times people go to Jesus just to get them and they don’t want to have any personal commitment to Him. This still happens today. We're still looking for Jesus, but the truth is that throughout Jesus' ministry, He gave people what they needed, not necessarily what they wanted. He knows very well what we need. And what do we really need? One example we went over recently was when Jesus healed the paralytic. What did that man want? He wanted to be healed. He wanted to be able to walk! And what did Jesus say to him, He said, "Your sins are forgiven." Why did Jesus say that? Did that man need to walk? Of course he did! But what good would that do if he walked out the door and still went to hell; to enjoy life and then be lost. Jesus knew what that man really needed. He needed forgiveness. He needed peace in his heart. He needed to be reconciled to the Father. He needed to be forgiven and saved in his soul! That's what the man really needed. It’s the same with us. We don't need a car or a house or material things that are here one day and gone the next.

"This is what I have come to do for you: to set you free."

I want you to turn with me to Luke, chapter 4, verse 17. Jesus is in the temple and they hand him the scroll of the book of Isaiah. “And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." To whom? Who are the poor? Those who have no money? Was Jesus going to them? No, right? Last week we saw who the poor really are. The poor are those who need God. They are the poor in spirit. “Blessed are the poor.” And who has the Lord come to deliver the message of salvation to? It’s to the poor, to those who know they need it. Let's continue reading, “He has sent me to proclaim prosperity to the people.” Is that what it says there? “He has sent me to multiply offerings tenfold.” Is that what it says? Is that what man needs? No, it says, “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the captives and to give sight to the blind.” “To set the oppressed free and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” He has come to proclaim freedom for the captives and the oppressed! Amen! They were oppressed physically, militarily, and politically, but the Gospel is powerful! It has the power to free us from spiritual oppression and to liberate us from the bondage of sin, because all of us who come here were slaves of sin; that was our condition. We are oppressed and slaves to sin. But the Lord says, “This is what I have come to do for you: to set you free.”

I don't know why you have come here today. I don't know what you were looking for when you came to church today. But I tell you this: the Lord is powerful, and He comes to free you from sin, from slavery, and from the bondage that enslaves you in your heart. He can free you from the loneliness and the sadness in your heart and He promises to give you a peace in this life that nothing will be able to take away. No matter how much you work or how much money you have, you will never be able to take away the emptiness that’s in your heart. Those things won’t take away the sadness or the loneliness you feel or the impulse to do wrong and to stop sinning. Even if you say, "Lord, I don't want to. I want to serve you. I want to please you, but I can't stop doing this, Lord. What can I do?" there is a bondage here. But the Lord says, "I have come to proclaim in this hour that we are free. I have come to tell the world that you can be free."

Jerusalem continued to be oppressed by the Romans, but everyone who believes in Jesus Christ can be free in their heart. And that is why the Word says Christ came to be in our lives. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" the people shouted. "Hosanna in the highest!" is a song the people sang that's found in Psalm 118. It’s a plea directed to heaven. A plea directed to Jesus, but that heaven may also hear it. "Come and save us, Hosanna in the highest! Hear us is heaven, please hear us! Look at the condition we're in and hear us in heaven. Hosanna in the highest! Look how we cry out. We need to be saved. We are oppressed. We are desperate. Save us, God, save us!" And here we see this prophet, the one who comes to set us free. “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!” It's a cry from the heart that rises to heaven. They don't say it meekly or timidly. They shout it! And I love it because they had been waiting so long for that moment. They clapped their hands. They cut branches and they laid out their cloaks. In a time of considerable oppression, people saw hope and raised their voices in joy. It was an expression of joy that their salvation was coming!

I want us to really understand this part; it's important. The people had problems but they were joyful when Jesus came. Do you understand that? They were joyful because they saw their Savior and had hope. Unlike us sometimes when we say, "I'm like this, so I can't praise,” or, “I'm sad so how can you expect me to praise?” That's hypocrisy, right? These people had real and serious problems and they said, "Here comes my salvation. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Here comes my salvation!" And that's why I surrender today. That’s why I cast my cloak to the ground. That’s why I cast down all that I am and surrender. Lord, you are the King. Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna to the King who is coming. He is going to save me! Oh, let us walk with Him today. Let us walk with Him, for our salvation is coming! I may not see it yet. I may not see the warriors yet, but I know that my salvation is coming. I know that in just a moment that my salvation will come. I want to tell you that His salvation is already here. What is it that silences us? We were singing it earlier, “I will not be silent.” Because, what is it that silences us? What is it that closes our mouths? It's when we try to evade problems or say, "I'm not going to. I'm going to pretend I don’t have any problems and be indifferent to them."But whoever has known Christ says, "There is my salvation." Salvation only comes from Him.

"The Word of the Lord says that in your moment of anguish, when you think you can't go on, to praise and glorify the Lord for He is your salvation."

Look up Psalm 42, verse 11. “Why should I be troubled? Why should I be anxious?” If you read the Psalm that comes before this one, you will see that the writer is going through a very hard and difficult time and has many problems. It's not that nothing is happening, but he says, "Why should I be troubled? Why should I be anxious? In God I will put my hope and I will still praise Him. He is my Savior and my God.” He is telling us to take refuge in the Lord, to seek help in the Lord's presence. “The one who is afflicted should call for the elders to pray for him.” The Word of the Lord says that in your moment of anguish, when you think you can't go on, to praise and glorify the Lord for He is your salvation. He is your salvation, but only for those who have believed that He is their salvation.

I'm going to give you an interesting fact: most of the people who were in Jerusalem at that time of the Passover did not go to receive Jesus. Those who were there were mostly the ones who came with Jesus and some who were just around. But most of the people were in the temple, because it was Passover time, they were there and they didn't go out to receive Him. This is called the triumphal entry and yes, He entered and triumphed by giving His life for us, but He entered humbly. He entered meekly and He entered as a servant. When the people were raising their palm branches and throwing their cloaks, it looked like Jesus was coming as a king. The Lord is king, or those who surrender to him. The people were shouting, "Hosanna, Hosanna, save me!" But you know what? Even in the crowd not everyone was shouting, "Hosanna to the Most High!" There were some who were saying, "Be quiet!" Not everyone who was there were throwing their cloaks at the Lord to proclaim Him King.

" …He is King to those who surrender; He is the Savior for those who recognize Him as their Lord and Savior."

Because He is King to those who surrender; He is the Savior for those who recognize Him as their Lord and Savior. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the whole Earth is His and everything in it belongs to Him! But He will only reign in the heart that lets Him in. He entered Jerusalem and most of the people in the town were still going about their own business and preparing for the Passover. They didn’t recognize the Savior. Is it possible that in our time that we are still more concerned with our own affairs, or even with the things that are done in the church, than with the Lord Jesus Himself?

I have shared this with you many times before because that's my testimony of having grown up in the church. Many of us, as our sister mentioned at the beginning, are going to pack our bags today and go buy groceries at the market and do things like that. But you know, the problem is that from the moment we woke up this morning, that’s all we’ve been thinking about and not about what the Lord could do. Many other people were busy, putting up decorations here and there, rehearsing music, preparing classes, and doing all kinds of things and the Lord says, "Hey, here I am, here I am!" And the people just went on preparing the goats and lambs to make the Passover sacrifice. And there is the Lord Jesus with only a small group of people. We can’t forget how important this day is and what it means.

The Lord didn’t come to triumph in the way that the people thought, but to die on the cross for us and to give us salvation. But He gives that salvation only to those who see it and recognize it, and say, "Yes, Lord, I want it. Come and save me, come and save me!" If you don't need it, no, don't worry, you won’t get it. But to those who say, "Come and save me," salvation will come. Many of those who came with Jesus, as we read in Luke, came joyfully because of the excitement of the crowd and because the euphoria was contagious, they had seen Lazarus resurrected, and other miracles that Jesus had performed. But haven't we seen miracles too? Haven't we seen miracles in the house of the Lord, and even in our own homes? Others will say, "I've experienced terrible things in my life,” but haven't we also seen the Lord's miracles? The people were going through a terrible time, but they also saw the Lord's miracles, and then they said, "Oh, this amazing thing that's happening, this can help me, this is coming to save me." And I tell you, church, the dead have been raised here too! I've seen them. The Lord gave me life so I can tell you that just like Lazarus, there are dead people whom the Lord has raised from the tomb here. You may say that “This happened to me, or that happened to me,” Okay, come and tell Him, “Save me, Lord, come and save me! Lord, I need you!”

Back then, people cut branches and laid out their cloaks on the road. Today, people in our town still do that. Not the Christians, unfortunately, but some of the other religions. They walk around with their little branches in the street and put them on cars and on public transportation. Why? Because they are remembering the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem. So when the children see that happening and they ask, “Dad, why is that woman carrying a twig?” Say that it’s because it's Palm Sunday, the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. As our sister said at the beginning, what would the world be like if instead of handing out little palm branches, the church stood up to declare, "Jesus has entered." If people could see our church and say, "Wow, Jesus is there. Jesus has entered that church." If in every one of our homes and in each one of us when we walk down the street - even if we don't carry a palm twig. But as our brother said, we become those twigs.

If we could rise up, if we could lift our heads—but I understand, it's a time of oppression, a time of slavery. Who can lift their head when they are a slave? But church, the day of salvation has arrived! Today is the day when we can lift our heads and say, "I am free, Lord! Look at me out there, the Lord has set me free! I cried out one day, and my salvation has come into my life! It has come to my family!" Because I've heard that in other places there is oppression in families and homes. There is oppression in children and in marriages. There is oppression coming from people, the politicians, the military, and the prices. You have no idea what's coming between now and the end of the year. They’re going to spend what money they don't have right now, and say, “I'm going to go to the pawn shop next week to take advantage of that.” And people don't realize that in a couple of days, with things the way they are in the world, everything is going to continue to go up, up, and up. The economy is all anyone seems to care about. They’re going crazy watching their stocks go down because of the tariffs and it’s affecting all of us.

But what's in my heart, Christ didn't come to free us from economic slavery. I'm not going to tell you that the Lord will free you from that debt you have. No, that's nonsense. And it's not that it can't happen, but what good is it to be healed physically, like the Paralytic, and still go to hell? Lord, come and save my family. Lord, come and save my children. Lord, come and save me. My own mentality is bringing me down. My own thoughts torment me. Lord, deliver me from these feelings that dominate me and make me go one way one day and another way another day! Deliver me from going by what I’m feeling when I wake up. Today people say, "Oh, today I woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Let the Lord guide you. Even if you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, go with Him.

The people at that time threw off their cloaks, something they were wearing, as a symbol of surrendering. They surrendered before the Lord to honor Him. How much more does the church need to surrender before God today? How much more does each man need to surrender before the Lord to take away his sin. To surrender and let go of his pride. To let go of his own thoughts. To let go of, “It's what they did to me, It's what I believe, "It's what I think,” The King was passing by and people said, “This is my moment,” and they let go of themselves and said, “I surrender before you.”

How long has it been since that happened in your house? How long has it been since that happened to you? Someone was telling me, "Brother, before when the church floor was dirt, people would throw themselves down and cry, and now they don't, because surely the ceramic tiles are too cold, and that's why people don't cry, right? In the church, that's why people don't shed their tears in the church, because the ceramic tiles are too cold." But do you know what I told him? You know, it's a problem. There's no one who doesn't have five minutes of privacy in their life to close their eyes and dedicate a moment to the Lord. I'm not telling you that you have to be in the house all by yourself. Maybe you’re in the kitchen washing dishes or cleaning the bathroom. Wherever you are, you can kneel for a minute and say, "Lord, I surrender. I know you are my Savior and I need you."

Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey which was a symbol of nobility. Furthermore, we know there are 12 tribes of Israel. Did you know that the tribe of Issachar has a donkey as a symbol on its flag? And they are next to the tribe of Judah which has the lion as a symbol on its flag. That's why we sing the song, "The lion of the tribe of Judah." Jesus is from the tribe of Judah and the tribe next to them, positionally in the word, has a donkey for its symbol. Why? Because when people go to a camp or a competition, they call their group something like the Lions, the Tigers, the Dinosaurs, the Velociraptors or something like that. No one says, "We are the donkeys.” But Jesus rode in on a donkey to symbolize His humility. It was a symbol both of nobility and meekness. Jesus didn't come to reap glory. He didn't come as a military commander to say, "Let's do this." He came in obedience to his Father’s will. And what awaited Jesus that week was not something to say, "Oh, I want to get there." Maybe you and I would have turned the corner and gone the other way but Jesus, in obedience to the Father, quickened his pace. He knew he was obeying his Father and He knew what awaited Him at that moment.

It was the eve of the Passover celebration and in Exodus chapter 12, we read the story about how God brought His people of Israel out of Egypt. The Passover is celebrated on the 14th of Nisan and that's the feast that Jesus and all the Jews are going to celebrate during that week. That's why He was going to Jerusalem and having dinner with His disciples to celebrate the time when God brought Israel out of Egypt. We read in Exodus chapter 12 that before the sacrifice, on the 10th day of that month, they had to prepare the lamb. The Bible says it had to be a perfect lamb, one without blemish. They had to choose the lamb and care for it for four days and show it to the people so that they could see that it was perfect and without any defect. That day is today. The day the Lord entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan. That day the lamb was presented in the temple. The people were filling the temple with lambs for the sacrifice and Christ entered that day and presented Himself before everyone as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. And for four days He was questioned, He was tested. Even Pilate questioned Him. But He was not found guilty.

When He entered the city, He rode in on a donkey. Not because He couldn't walk, but to fulfill the prophecy as we discussed earlier. I like to think about the donkey. In another one of the Gospels, it says that the donkey Jesus rode on was with its mother. Some people say that the disciples brought both of them so the young donkey would be more at ease with its mother there. I like to imagine that when the donkey was walking, he was seeing the people shouting and praising and he was saying, "Wow, Mom, look! Look how people are receiving us! Wow, look! Look how they're applauding us! I'm doing so well! Look how I'm walking!" And I think that maybe his mother was saying to him, "Son, they're not applauding for you. They're not praising you. But they're praising the One you're carrying! They're praising Him. Son, those cheers aren't for you, but you're doing well. You're carrying Him on your shoulders." I like to think that that little donkey could be like the Church of God showing those characteristics of nobility and humility.

Someone very dear to me once said, "We are His hands, we are His feet, we are His mouth." It means that the applause and the things that happen to us aren’t only for our benefit. No, they're for Jesus, the King and Savior. Whatever we do for Him, that's what the Church should be seen as. Because on our shoulders shouldn’t be our pride, or our thoughts, or our desires. No, Christ is upon the Church. The Savior of the world is on our shoulders and in our hearts.

I want you to read with me in Luke 19:41. Jesus is still in that moment of excitement when the people are singing and shouting and praising Him. But the Word says that Jesus stops for a moment as He approaches Jerusalem and He wept over it. He said, "If only you knew on this day what would bring you peace. But that is now hidden from your eyes.” And in verse 44 it says, "They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Why? Because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you.

It’s a day of joy and the people were singing, but Jesus, who sees beyond, wept with sadness for all those people inside the temple. He wept for all those people listening to the Word and singing the hymns. He said, "How I wish you wouldn't miss this opportunity. How I wish you knew that today was the day I came to save you. How I wish you would listen to me and that your heart would receive it. That you would open the doors of your heart and realize that I have come to save you.” Church, don't miss the day of your visitation. That day is today!

Today if you are hearing the word, the writer of Hebrews says, “Do not harden your heart.” The day of salvation is today! He came to save you today and to set you free. He came to heal the sick, even a church that is sick from its evil thoughts, desires, and pain. He came to heal the children who have been damaged. He came to take away what the devil has been putting his hands on. He came to restore. That is what the Lord has come to do. And I believe that the Lord has come today to do that with His word. And each of us can say to Him, Lord, come and save me! He has come to do something greater, something, and more important than I ever expected. He came to save me, He came to save you.