Matthew 21:1-11
March 29, 2026
“The more you learn, the less you know.” That statement is a paradox, meaning it is a true statement that at first appears to be contradictory. In the spring of 1987, I was the third generation from my family to enter the Army as a second lieutenant. My grandfather and my uncle on my mother’s side of the family both graduated from the same college I did and both entered the Army as second lieutenants. So when I went to my first assignment in Germany as a communications officer, I thought I already knew quite a bit about the Army. Having family members who served in the Army, I heard their stories; I took 3 years of German in college, so I was comfortable with the language; and having completed 8 months of communications officer schooling, I felt well prepared when I arrived at my unit in Germany. However, I quickly learned that I did not know as much as I thought I knew. I worked very closely with a man who had been in the Army for 20 years and he would often say to me, “Write this down, Lieutenant.” And in a short amount of time, I started filling a notebook with information about the Army that I didn’t know. In fact, every year it seemed like the more I learned about the Army and taking care of soldiers, the more I didn’t know about the Army. Therefore, this is where the phrase, “The more you learn, the less you know” is applied.
Christianity is also filled with paradoxes, and today, Palm Sunday, is a perfect example. On this day we remember how Jesus, an almighty king, rode to his death in Jerusalem, but as a humble king He commands our praise. Instead of walking into Jerusalem, as He had done dozens of times before, Jesus deliberately paused a couple of miles outside of the city and directed two of his disciples to get a donkey for him. It wasn’t that Jesus was tired and wanted to ride the last couple of miles. No, He was intent on fulfilling a prophecy that had been made over 400 years earlier in the book of Zechariah that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Jesus had a specific colt in mind, so he told His disciples exactly where they would find this animal and what they should say when the owner asked them where they are going with his donkey. When the two disciples arrived in town they found everything as Jesus had described. So the fact that Jesus knew these details demonstrates His ability to know all things.
The reason this is important is if Jesus knew that a donkey was waiting for him in the next town, then He certainly knows what’s down the road for you. You may not know how a medical test is going to turn out, but Jesus does. You may not know where you will be working when you finish college, but Jesus does. Understanding that Jesus knows all things should give us confidence to follow His directions.
The crowd that cheered Jesus as He entered Jerusalem had seen proof of this. Because of the miracles they had witnessed, the people in that crowd were convinced that Jesus was a powerful king worth following. So they shouted as Jesus entered the city, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Just before Jesus entered Jerusalem, He healed two blind men. Now this took place almost 2000 years ago and yet our modern medicine still cannot give someone their sight back. Doctors today can improve eyesight and maybe provide treatment that can heal temporary blindness, but we don’t hear of people who were blind routinely receiving the ability to see. However, if that miracle is not very impressive, then be impressed, as the crowds were, with how Jesus had raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. And Jesus did this simply by telling the dead man to come out of his tomb. So not only does Jesus know the future, He even has power over death – now that’s something that no earthly leader can ever claim.
Jesus is a great, almighty king since He has power over death, but here’s the paradox. This almighty king rode into Jerusalem to die. Why? Some of the words that the people spoke when Jesus entered Jerusalem give us the answer: “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” These words remind us of what the angels said when Jesus was born: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” But now on Palm Sunday the crowds said, “Glory in the highest,” but they also said, “peace in heaven.” Why? When Jesus was born, peace had come to earth. Now, with His approaching death, Jesus was going to bring peace to heaven. How? Like a king who surrenders to the enemy so that his army can go free, Jesus gave himself over to His Heavenly Father’s justice. On the cross Jesus suffered the punishment we deserve for our sins so that we will not be separated from God. Today there is heavenly peace between God and us. And this leads us to another paradox: Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, the King of kings, the Savior of the world, lived our life so He could die our death.
As the King of kings Jesus could have stopped His suffering at any moment. He could have come down from that cross in a heartbeat. But He didn’t, because His heart beat for you and me. He knew if He did not die, then we would have to spend an eternity in hell away from Him. That’s now what Jesus wants. He wants all of us to be in heaven with Him.
While Jesus died to forgive all people, not everyone will be saved. That’s because many people reject Jesus as their Savior. They think there are other ways to get to heaven, even on their own if they work hard enough. That’s what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought. That’s why they shouted at Jesus to rebuke His followers and tell them to stop proclaiming Him as their king. But as we heard in our “Call To Worship” this morning, Jesus said, “If I tell them to be silent, then the stones will cry out.”
While Jesus is a humble king, He still commands our praise. And that’s an additional paradox. Our second lesson from Philippians teaches us this truth. In this text, Paul is looking ahead to the day that Jesus returns to this earth and on that day he said, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Paul reminds us that if we do not willingly acknowledge Jesus now as our Lord and Savior, we will be forced to on Judgment Day when Jesus returns and if forced that confession will no longer save us from God’s eternal wrath.
But if Jesus came to serve us and save us, why do we, as Christians, talk so much about what we can do to serve Him? Well, since Jesus our king promised to take care of us and to give us everything we need in this life, how can we not sing His praises and serve Him out of thankfulness? Just look at how the crowds responded to Jesus on Palm Sunday. They praised Him with loud voices for all to hear. They cut down palm branches, they waved them, and put some on the ground in the path of the donkey. They even took off their cloaks and placed those on the grounds for the donkey to walk on. By the way, the cloaks the people laid down for the donkey to walk on were not rags, as these cloaks also doubled as blankets for many of the people. So these items would have cost quite a bit to replace, but that didn’t matter to these people. They wanted to give Jesus their very best.
Is that the kind of service we bring to Jesus our king? Are we eager to serve Jesus, not caring who sees us or hears us? Are we excited to bring others to this place to meet Jesus? Do we give Jesus our best in the way of our offerings? Many times people think that the Christian faith and our service to Jesus is all about rules. What you can and cannot do. What you must give to the church. But that is not what serving Jesus is all about. Christianity is not a religion that runs your life; it’s a religion that makes your life run more smoothly by keeping you plugged in to God’s promises. And there is no greater privilege than serving Jesus, because He is an almighty, humble king, who deserves our praise.
Palm Sunday clearly demonstrates what a great king Jesus is, but if you or someone you know is still not convinced, then come back here for worship this Thursday, and on Good Friday, and on Easter morning; because this week you will learn of the depths that Jesus went to serve us and to save us.
