Jesus The Nazarene

Sermon Summary:

Palm Sunday invites us into a profound paradox: a King who enters His capital city on a donkey rather than a warhorse, choosing humility over earthly power. This sermon explores how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills centuries of prophecy, from Genesis through Zechariah, as He makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We’re challenged to examine our own expectations of how God’s kingdom should advance—do we seek divine power to accomplish our agendas, or do we embrace the way of the cross? The crowds cried ‘Hosanna, save us!’ hoping for deliverance from Roman oppression, but Jesus came to save us from something far more dangerous: our own sin and brokenness. His entire life—from birth in a humble stable to death between two thieves—demonstrates that God’s kingdom operates by completely different principles than worldly kingdoms. We learn there’s a crucial difference between those willing to die for Jesus and those willing to kill for Jesus. This Palm Sunday reminds us that while Christ came in humility, He will one day return in glory as the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings. Until then, we’re called to follow His example of humble service, trusting that His way of sacrificial love is more powerful than any earthly force.

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Sermon Points:

HISTORY – The story of the Royal Entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is significant due to its connection to Salvation History. This event is a fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. (Zechariah 9:9; Isaiah 62:11)

HUMANITY – Jesus Christ is Jesus the Nazarene! He was fully human!

HUMILITY – Jesus established the Kingdom of God on earth. However, His Kingdom was not launched with a display of earthly power! His Kingdom began in humility.

HONOR – Jesus Christ is to be honored as the Son of David, Son of Man, and Son of God! And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. -Jesus (Matthew 24:30-31)

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORDS OF LORDS. -Revelation 19:11-16

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene!

Key Takeaways:

• Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem fulfills salvation history and Messianic prophecy from Genesis, Zechariah, Isaiah, and other Old Testament books
• The full humanity of Jesus is essential to Christian theology—the incarnation is crucial for our salvation
• Jesus’ entire life was marked by humility: born in a stable in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, son of a carpenter, with nowhere to lay His head
• The kingdom of God is not advanced through earthly power or coercion, but through humility and service
• There is a significant difference between those willing to die for Jesus and those willing to kill for Jesus
• The crowds wanted Jesus to save them from Roman oppression, but He came to save all humanity from sin and eternal death
• While Jesus came humbly on a donkey, He will return as the victorious King riding on the clouds with power and glory
• Christians should not be impressed by earthly displays of power, as God is unimpressed by human achievements

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Scripture References:

• Matthew 21:1-11 (Primary text—Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem)
• Genesis 49:8-12 (Jacob’s prophecy about Judah and the coming king)
• Zechariah 9:9 (Prophecy of the king coming on a donkey)
• Isaiah 7:14 (Virgin birth prophecy)
• Micah 5:2 (Bethlehem birthplace prophecy)
• Matthew 24:30-31 (Jesus’ prediction of His return)
• Revelation 5:1-6 (Vision of the Lion of Judah and the Lamb)
• Revelation 19:11-16 (Vision of Christ’s return as King of Kings)

Stories:

• Solomon riding into Jerusalem on David’s mule to become king (1 Kings)
• The wise men coming to Jerusalem asking “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?” causing the city to be stirred (Matthew 2)
• Roman generals returning to Rome via the Via Sacra, riding white horses with armies and plunder, receiving accolades
• Jesus interrupting funerals by raising the dead
• The apostle John’s vision in Revelation of the Lion of Judah and the Lamb that was slain
• Charles Gabriel writing 7,000 songs including “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” while reflecting on Jesus the Nazarene

Sermon Transcript

This morning when we got here at 7:30, they were here this morning. So just let you know they’ve been here for a while and so grateful for them leading us in worship today. Well, welcome to this Palm Sunday service. We are glad you’re here for this time of worship together. I told the folks said 8:30, this is my 42nd Palm Sunday sermon.

And I remember when I was in seminary of one of my colleagues asked one of our preaching professors, so after a number of years, what should you preach at Easter?

And our professor said, why don’t you try the resurrection? It’s a really good story. And so I kind of feel that way about Palm Sunday. It’s actually a really good story. But you know, we are, we’ve begun this journey where we are focusing on the whole concept of flourishing and what does it mean to flourish.

And for us, we’ve chosen to look at this as flourishing together. It’s a multi year journey. If you’re new to our church, we’ve just begun, it’s at least three years for us and we focused this first year on what it means to be rooted in Christ. And I would just tell you if you’re interested in the research that’s being done in the Global Flourishing Study. April 30th is the scheduled press conference where the researchers from the Global Flourishing Study are going to be releasing their first set of research papers from that study.

The Gallup Organization is hosting it at their main headquarters in Washington D.C. but it’ll be available online and I’m looking forward to hearing what they’ve discovered after a little over a year of research. And we are being informed by this study and I’m grateful for these scholars that are invested in it. And here at our church, each season of the year we are focusing on a different theme. And we’re in the Linton Easter season and our theme this year is the real Story. And we’re using Matthew as our guide.

And today is Palm Sunday. It’s a very significant day on our calendar as Christians. And so tonight we’re going to come back for worship tonight, actually for a podcast, a live broadcast of our podcast at 5:00 and or tell me more podcasts. Some of you may be familiar, some of you may not know that Katie and Luke and I have this podcast every Monday, but we’re going to do a live version of it tonight. You’re all invited back.

We’re going to have a lot of fun together, be an interactive time for you if you’re here in the audience. And we’re looking forward to having some conversation about some fun things. But then we’ll also talk some about Palm Sunday. And then afterwards, we’ll have a fellowship time and we’ll begin our Holy Week together. I believe it was Athanasius, the church father in the 4th century, who coined this phrase, Holy Week.

And ever since then, Christians have been using it to describe this week on our calendar. Today Marks the beginning of it. And so I have written for you a devotional guide. It’s called the Real Story, and they’re available in our welcome centers today. This printed copy, you can get one of those.

You can access it online@fbca.org easter and it’s just a daily guide. There’s a passage of scripture that we will read every day out of the life of Jesus. This week. There’s a harmony of the Gospels on the back page. So if you want to consult other gospels beside Matthew just to have a more holistic take on what happened each day of the week, as best we can tell in this final earthly life of Jesus, then there’s a devotional thought that I’ll share with you every day.

So let’s invite you into that journey that the Lord would draw you in to this final week in the earthly ministry and life of Jesus. So with that said, let’s look at today’s text. It’s found in Matthew’s Gospel. If you have your copy of the New Testament, Matthew 21, we’re going to begin in verse one. I’ve entitled the message Jesus the Nazarene.

And I’d like for us to look at that text. So if you would look at your copy of it, I invite you to stand with me as we honor the Lord Jesus in the reading of the gospel. If you’re able.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go to the village ahead of you, and at once you’ll find a donkey tied there with her coat by her. Untiee them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them and he will send them right away. This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Say to daughter Zion, see your king comes to you gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, who is this? And the crowds answered, this is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. Thank you. You may be seated.

And so this week Marks the climactic end to the earthly ministry of Jesus. For the last three and a half years, he has been engaged in a public ministry. And now we come to the final week in his life as recorded in all four gospels. And we’re letting Matthew guide us this year. So what is Palm Sunday about?

What happens at Palm Sunday and why is it so important to us? Well, here’s what I’d like to do this morning. I want to offer you four words today just to remember as we reflect on the meaning of Palm Sunday. The first word is history. The story of the royal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem is significant due to its connection to salvation history.

This event is actually the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. If you consulted the book of Zechariah, a passage out of Isaiah, it actually pointed to this very event. So when we read this story of the royal entry of Jesus on what’s called Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, this is not just some random event that just happened in the life of Jesus. It’s actually connected to a much larger story which we would call the real story. And the whole life of Jesus is connected to this salvation history and the prophecies in the Old Testament being fulfilled in him.

For example, as the story begins, John the Baptist is sent by the Lord as the forerunner for the Messiah. He is in the spirit of Elijah. He’s the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. And then Matthew shares the story with us that Jesus was born of a virgin, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 7. But not only that, that actually connects to the original prophecy in the Old Testament, which is found in Genesis 3, where God speaks this prophetic word about the seed of the woman, which was somewhat mysterious at the time and not everyone knew how to take that to try to understand it.

But that ultimately finds fulfillment all these years later in the birth of Jesus. Jesus birthplace Bethlehem is a fulfillment of prophecy from the book of Micah. John the Baptist. Jesus and John the Baptist meet as adults and the public ministry of Jesus is launched as he is anointed by the Spirit, baptized And God pronounces a blessing on him. And then as you read through the Gospels, there are, particularly Matthew’s Gospel, there are just multiple places where messianic prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus because Jesus’ entire life connected to salvation history, and he lives in Nazareth that’s connected to prophetic material.

In the Old Testament, Jesus was a light to the Gentiles. Nazareth was known as a community connected to the Gentiles. And the power and the force of the will of God is on display in the ministry of Jesus, breaking through the brokenness of humanity, giving us a glimpse of the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. And now the king has entered Jerusalem on this fatethful day. He’s not the first king to ride into town like this, Solomon.

If you remember, if you remember the story of first Kings, he actually rode into Jerusalem on David’s mule and becomes the new king. But this is a fulfillment of prophecy that is found in Zechariah, found in Isaiah. As a matter of fact, if you go all the way back to the book of Genesis, this prophecy was given by Jacob to his son Judah. And Jesus is of the tribe of Judah. So even his entry into Jerusalem is a fulfillment from that prophecy.

Let me just read this to you from Genesis 49, where Jacob was blessing his son Judah. And he says, judah, your brothers will praise you. And your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah.

You return from the prey, my son. Like a lion, he crouches and lies down like a lioness. Who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah. There’s a message about the kingly nature of this L nor the ruler staff from between his feet until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the nations shall be his.

He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washed his garments and wine his robes and the blood of grapes. So in Genesis 49, Jacob speaks this prophetic word over his son Judah that ultimately is going to find fulfillment in the very person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Nazarene. So Jesus story is connected to salvation history. The second word I’d offer to you this morning is humanity.

Jesus Christ is Jesus the Nazarene, and he is fully human. So I realize that’s somewhat obvious, but y’all know one of my spiritual gifts is stating the obvious. So let me just state the obvious. This morning, Jesus was a human being. And that’s incredibly important to us.

He was when the people that were there in Jerusalem, you know, there’s all kinds of things happening this week in Jerusalem. This is s the feast of the Passover. So there are Jews from all over the world in Jerusalem. Some of them have all kinds of expectations. Some of them know a little bit about Jesus, some of them have been traveling with Jesus.

So there’s all kind of questions about Jesus, who he is, what he’s about to do. But notice not everybody really knows who he is. So if you still have your Bibles open. In verse 10 of Matthew 21, some of the people said, who is this? The text is all of Jerusalem was stirred.

It reminds you of Matthew chapter two, when the wise men showed up in Jerusalem and said, where is he who’s been born King of the Jews? It says Matthew said all of the city of Jerusalem was stirred. They were disturbed by that news. Well, that’s what’s happened here. And if you look at verse 11, some folks in the crowd said we’re not really sure but.

But here’s what we do know. This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. In other words, another evidence to us that Jesus Christ is a human being. He is fully human. Matthew 1 Matthew gives the account of the birth of Jesus.

He gives us his pedigree because he comes from the tribe of Judah. He is the son of Abraham, he’the son of David, but he’s also a son of Mary. He was born as a baby on planet earth. And then if you remember the story as a baby Jesus, life was in peril. Herod had decided to kill all of those babies that were born within a certain time period in Bethlehem.

So Joseph, Jesus earthly father, was warned in a dream by an angel. He needed to leave to rescue and protect Jesus. Think about how vulnerable Jesus was as a baby. Dependent upon his parents to take care of him. And so they took Jesus and fled Jerusalem and they went to Egypt.

And they stayed in Egypt for a season until the angel told Joseph it okay now to return to Israel, which they did. And when they returned to Israel, they moved to Nazareth. And he was the son of a carpenter. And so as the Gospels unfold, the humanity of Jesus is just on display. He walked through Israel.

Jesus attended weddings. Jesus went to funerals. I will say this as an aside. He had a tendency to interrupt funerals. Would John not agree?

If you raised the deceased from the dead, that interrupts a funeral. Jesus was prone to do that kind of thing, but he did attend funerals. He ate in People’s homes. He worshiped in the synagogue, he went to Jerusalem, he visited the temple. The Bible says he ate, he slept, he was a human.

Now, why does that matter? Well, it matters because our theology as Christians, our Christology, our soteriology, all depends on the Incarnation, the fact that the Word was made flesh. Our theology, our doctrine of God, our Christology, our doctrine of Christ, our soteriology, which is our doctrine of salvation as Christians. All of those doctrines are connected to the Incarnation, to the humanness of Jesus. That’s why the Word being made flesh is crucial to us, so that the Gospel can be holistic and profound and we can all be rescued by him.

And so who is he? Well, he is Jesus the Nazarene. Our third word for today, humility. It’s a word that shouldn’t surprise us if you know anything about Jesus. Jesus established the kingdom of God on earth.

However, his kingdom was not launched with a display of earthly power. His kingdom began in humility. That’s what Jesus chose to do. Notice when we read this text, Jesus is making his way into the capital city in the midst of Passover, but he doesn’t ride in on a white horse like a Roman general with an army. That’s not what he does.

You know, many of us have been to Rome, and in fact, some of us just got back from Rome from our tour of Rome. And whenever you go to Rome to the Roman forum, you will see what’s called the Via Sacra. That is where the Roman generals would return as conquering heroes, riding on a white horse, accompanied by an army, more often than not, bringing back slaves from their conquered foe, as well as all the treasures that they’ve plundered. And they ride into Rome to much accolade, and they would distribute the plunder, store it in one of the temples there, and receive just the beauty and the accolades of the Roman citizenry. So the people in the first century were very accustomed to those kind of parades and processionals.

People who of power were known to engage in that kind of activity. So when Jesus makes his way into Jerusalem, he’s not riding a white horse. He’s not accompanied by an army. That’s not what happened. We shouldn’t be surprised by that.

Jesus adopted a very different posture. So when you go back and read this text, what it tells us is he was received, was some kind of royal welcome. Folks took off their cloaks and they laid them on the path and the road that led into Jerusalem. Now, this may surprise you, but used to in the ancient world, they had to repair roads because they were full of potholes and all kinds of things. As big a stretch as that is for you to imagine, they actually had to work on these ancient roads.

And sometimes they weren’t always in the best shape. And so if some dignitary was visiting your community, your city, you might prepare the road for that person. So one of the symbols of surrender was to take your own cloak off and lay it in the path of the person of dignity. Now, the Jews also had a symbol of Jewish nationalism. Those were palm branches.

If you go back and look at the ancient coinage of Israel, you’ll find these palm branches on their coins. So these palm branches represented Israel’s hope as a nation known as Jewish nationalism. What does that tell me? What that tells me is there were some people who are anticipating Jesus to do something on their behalf in Jerusalem. They had nationalistic hopes.

It was more than just surrender, more than just acknowledging him as some special prophet. But there were those who thought Jesus was coming into Jerusalem to conquer. And in some ways, those palms represented those hopes. They thought Jesus was going to come in and drive the Romans out. They were tired of the Romans in Israel.

Their necks were chafed by the Romans, and so they were hoping Jesus was going to come in with great power and conquer. However, the kingdom of God is not advanced that fashion, I would dare say. There are people today, there are Christians today, who have the same expectation of Jesus. They want the kingdom of God to be advanced through earthly power. There are those who have those tendencies, and they still want Jesus to be on their side and accomplish what they would like to be accomplished in his name.

So here’s what I’ve learned through the years. There’s a big difference between people who are willing to die for Jesus and people who are willing to kill for Jesus and trying to take Jesus and force him into your mold. This is exactly what they were doing. It’s not a new idea. Sometimes people think, well, this is a brand new thing.

It’s not a brand new thing. This has been around as long as humanity has been around the exertion of power. Believing you advance a cause through coercion. Well, the kingdom of God is not advanced that way. It will be consummated one day.

That’s different. But it’s not going to be advanced that way. It’s advanced through humility. Jesus is our example. Jesus makes his way into Jerusalem on a donkey, a symbol of peace and humility.

Why would I be surprised by that? His whole life is Marked by that. Think about It. Where was Jesus born? In a palace in Rome?

No, he was born in a cave, a stable in Bethlehem. I can tell you right now, no self respecting Roman could have found Bethlehem on a map in the first century. Not like it was some famous community for them. But guess what? It was famous to the Jews because it was a part of salvation history.

As a matter of fact, the Old Testament prophesied the Messiah be born there. And so he was born. And think about it, where did he grow up? Did he grow up in Jerusalem? In the capital?

Know, we grew up in Nazareth. And think about how people viewed Nazareth in the first century. Do y’all remember? Occasionally they would say, can anything good come from Nazareth? This town was way too far north.

It was too close to the Decapolis, these Gentile cities off to the east. The people in Nazareth spoke Greek, Many of them did. They plied their wares among all these Gentiles. And think about Jesus mom, his mom, she’s just an unknown maiden. We don’t know anything about Mary’s family.

We have this listing of the genealogy and the gospels, but no real word is really given about Mary’s family. We don’t know anything about her parents. We don’t know anything really except for Joseph’s lineage. And was Jesus born to some wealthy landowner, some influential man in the community? No.

Joseph was his earthly father. And he’s just a tradesman, a craftsman. Jesus entire life is Marked by humility. But once he became a grown man, did he assemble an army? No, he put together a group of disciples and a group of women who just traveled with him.

As a matter of fact, one time Jesus even said about himself, the Son of man has nowe to lay his head. So the entire life of Jesus is Marked by humility. We should be familiar with it as his children. The kingdom of God is advanced in a very different way than the kingdoms of this world. Not through coercion, not through.

Do you think, do you honestly think that any earthly power impresses God? I mean seriously, do you really think that? Do you think God sometimes sits around in heaven and scratches his head and says, man, these human beings high in the world, are they getting all this done? Do you think God’s confused? Do y’all think God understands artificial intelligence?

Do you think he could navigate the web? Do you think he understands algorithms? Come on y’all. God is unimpressed by all of that. So was Jesus.

Jesus could have led his kingdom that way. Chose not to. You want to know how humble Jesus is? This Sunday, this palm Sunday, he makes his way into Jerusalem on a donkey. You know how humble he is.

A few days later, he’s gonna be hanging on a cross like a common thief. That’s how humble Jesus is. You want to see a sign of humility? The Son of God suspended between two thieves, offering up his life for us. So who is he?

Well, he’s Jesus, the Nazarene. Well, one other word this morning. It’s the word honor. And I’m here to tell you, this morning, Jesus Christ is to be honored as the son of David, the Son of man, the Son of God. This crowd, it says.

Here’s what Matthew says. He says those who went out to see him and those who followed him. So in other words, there were people in Jerusalem who heard he was coming. Maybe they’d never seen him before. They’ve heard of this famous prophet.

They’ve heard stories. Perhaps they go out to meet him. He’s already got a following with him. They descend the Mount of Olives. Jesus on a donkey, palm branches in front of him.

They are re hailing him as a hero. And they start crying out, son of David. Hosanna. Well, you know the word hosanna means save us. Now, once again, some of these were desperate people.

What were they wanting to be saved from? Most of them, the Romans, this earthly power that they felt like was impinging upon their ability to be the people of God. And they started crying out, save us, Son of David. A cry of desperation. What they didn’t realize what was about to happen is he was not just going to save them.

He was going to save all of us. Praise his name. When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he didn’t come just to save those Jews who were at that parade. He came to save every human being. And he didn’t come just to deliver us from the.

Come on, y’all. He came to deliver us from an eternity in hell. He came to deliver us from our own sinfulness. He came to deliver us from our brokenness. He came to deliver us from ourselves.

And so he saved all of us. Who is he? He’s the Son of God. So here’s what I tell you. The kingdom of God is not advanced by displays of earthly power.

But the kingdom of God will be consummated one day by an incredible display of power. And it will take place at the hands of this lion of Judah, this same Christ who rode humbly in Jerusalem one day on a donkey. When he returns, it won’t be very humble. That’s not where we’re headed. We’re headed to something really different.

As a matter of fact, let me just read to you this glimpse that John had in Revelation 5, speaking of the lion of Judah. He says, John, Revelation 5. I saw on the right hand of him who sat on the throne scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, who’s worthy to break the seals and open the scroll? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll, even look inside it.

I wept and I wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, do not weep. See the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has triumphed. He’s able to open the scroll in his seven seals. And then I saw a lamb, he says, looking as if it had been slain.

John said, I caught a glimpse of who he was. Jesus, later on this week is gonna be talking to his disciples, and he’s gonna let them know, One day I came into this town on a donkey, but I’m on return very differently. Matthew 24. Jesus said this. There will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.

And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Not on a donkey, but on the clouds of heaven. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they’ll gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. As a matter of fact, the apostle John was given a vision of what it’s going to be like when Jesus returns. He will not return humbly on a donkey.

He’s going to return as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Come on, y’all. That’s where we’re headed. That’s when our conquering Lord will return. Here’s what John says in John chapter 19.

He has this vision. He says, I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he Judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.

He’s dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on a white horse and dressed in fineiding on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winep press of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.

And on his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written. King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Yeah. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Humbly, he died on a cross for our sin. He was resurrected from the dead. And he now is enthroned in heaven.

In one day, when the time comes, while he allows us to continue this path of humility and service, one day he will consummate this kingdom and he will return as a victorious king. And so I agree with Charles Gabriel. Charles Gabriel wrote 7,000 songs in his lifetime. He wrote 41 Christmas cantatas. He wrote the tunes to numerous hymns that are familiar to you.

Like His Eyes are on the Sparrow. He wrote the hymn Send the Light. But one day in his office, he wrote this phrase. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. So do I.

How about you? You know why I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus and Nazarene? He took my sins and my sorrows and made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and he suffered and he died alone. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus and Nazarene.

And I wonder how he could love me. A sinner, condemned, unclean. Who is this man? He’s Jesus and Nazarene. But one day you will know him as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Hallelujah. Let’s pray together.

Father, we are grateful for this real story, the story of the Gospel, the good news of your kingdom. And today, on this Palm Sunday, we join our hearts, our voices with those crowds that day and say, hosanna, son of David, save us. But I hope we do it with greater understanding, deep reflection and theological truth that we realized that we needed to be saved from something much more dastardly than an earthly empire. And we thank you that you sent your son to save us so that we might all live forever. I pray, Lord, that everyone with the sound of my voice has experienced that gift of eternal life that is only found and your son and our Savior, Jesus and Nazarene.

And we pray in his name. Amen.