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Abel, would you please remain 
standing for the reading of 

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God's Word? 
This morning I'll be reading 

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from two different passages, one
from the Old Testament, followed

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by one from the Gospel of 
Matthew. 

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I begin by reading the prophet 
Zechariah, Chapter 9, beginning 

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with verse 9. 
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of 

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Zion, shout aloud. 
O daughter of Jerusalem, behold,

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your King is coming to you 
righteous and having salvation. 

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Is he humble and mounted on a 
donkey? 

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On a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from 

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Ephraim and the War Horse from 
Jerusalem. 

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The battle bows shall be cut 
off, and he shall speak peace to

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the nations. 
His rules should be from sea to 

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sea and from the river to the 
ends of the earth. 

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As for you also, because of the 
blood of my covenant with you, I

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will set your prisoners free 
from the waterless pit. 

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Return to your stronghold, O 
prisoners of hope. 

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Today I declare that I will 
restore to you double. 

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For I've bent Judah as my bow. 
I've made Ephraim its arrow. 

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I will stir up your son's, O 
Zion, against your sons, O 

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Greece, and wield you like a 
warrior's sword. 

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Now the Gospel of Matthew 
chapter 21 beginning with verse 

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one. 
And when they drew new to 

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Jerusalem and came to Bethpage, 
the Mount of Olives. 

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Then Jesus sent 2 disciples 
saying to them, go into the 

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village in front of you and 
immediately you will find a 

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donkey tied and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them to me.

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If anyone says anything to you, 
you'll say the Lord needs them 

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and he'll send them at once. 
This took place to fulfill what 

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was spoken by the prophet saying
say to the daughter of Zion, 

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behold, your king is coming to 
you humble and mounted on a 

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donkey, on a colt, the fold of a
beast of burden. 

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This is the word of Lord. 
You may be seated. 

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The story of the death and 
resurrection of Jesus Christ is 

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not a myth. 
It's not a folk tale, it's not a

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work of fiction. 
It is history. 

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In fact, the death and 
resurrection of Jesus Christ is 

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the turning point of all of 
history. 

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And in the Bible, the Gospels 
record the eyewitness accounts 

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of the people who were there. 
Gospel of Luke begins this way. 

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This is Luke 1 verse one. 
Luke tells us in as much as many

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have undertaken to compile a 
narrative of the things that 

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have been accomplished among us,
just as those who from the 

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beginning were eyewitnesses and 
ministers of the Word have 

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delivered them to us. 
It seemed good to me also, 

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having followed all things 
closely for some Thai past, to 

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write an orderly account. 
Luke tells us that everything 

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he's written in the Gospel of 
Luke and an Acts is an orderly 

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account of eyewitness testimony.
It can be trusted because every 

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event actually happened. 
People were there and they saw 

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it with their own eyes, and they
gave reports that were recorded 

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down for you and for me. 
The Gospel of John ends like 

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this. 
John 21, verse 24, Speaking of 

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himself, John says this is the 
disciple who is bearing witness 

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about these things and who has 
written about these things and 

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we know that his testimony is 
true. 

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What that means for us as we 
enter into yet another Holy Week

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and we rehearse and we retell 
the story of the Passion of our 

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Savior Jesus Christ once more, 
it is essential that we remember

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that everything we proclaim 
actually happened. 

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This is the true story of Jesus 
Christ, his life, his death, and

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his resurrection. 
And there were witnesses, people

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who were actually there, who saw
it with their own eyes. 

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Can you imagine what it must 
have been like? 

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Can you imagine what it must 
have been like to have been 

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there that day nearly 2000 years
ago at the first triumphal entry

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when Jesus came into Jerusalem? 
Can you imagine what it must 

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have been like to have waved a 
palm branch in your hand? 

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To have strained your eyes just 
to get a glimpse of this man 

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that you've heard has done 
miracles and healed the sick? 

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To see him riding on a donkey 
and hear the people cry out. 

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Hosanna, hosanna. 
Can you imagine what it must 

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have been like for the disciples
gathered in the upper room as 

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Jesus took bread and wine and 
said, This is my body, this is 

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my blood given for you? 
Can you imagine what it must 

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have been like to hear those 
words, be completely stunned by 

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them? 
Can you imagine what it must 

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have been like to have been with
the crowds that day as people 

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yelled out Crucify Him, crucify 
him, give us Barabbas? 

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Can you imagine what it must 
have been like to have been 

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there when, in the middle of the
afternoon, the sky turned black 

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and Jesus hung there on a cross,
straining to breathe? 

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Can you imagine what it must 
have been like to have seen the 

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risen Jesus, to have put your 
fingers and the wounds in his 

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hands, put your hand in his 
side? 

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There were witnesses, people who
are actually there. 

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And this Holy Week it is our 
prayer that we will see Jesus 

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for who he truly is through 
their eyes. 

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And as we begin this Palm 
Sunday, we're going to begin in 

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an unlikely place, not through 
the eyes of the disciples for 

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the those who are there that 
Passion Week, but we're going to

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begin 500 years before the birth
of Jesus with the prophet 

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Zechariah. 
And through his prophetic eyes, 

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as he set his hope on the coming
Messiah, we will see what it 

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means for us to hope in Christ 
today, this morning. 

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I want to look at that in three 
ways. 

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The first is this. 
I want you to know that Christ 

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has come for our salvation. 
I want you to look with me at 

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Zechariah 99. 
You can find it in your bulletin

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or also invite you to open your 
Bible. 

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If you don't have a Bible this 
morning, please take the Blue 

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Pew Bible in front of you. 
That's our gift to you, 

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Zechariah 99. 
You'll find it as the second to 

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last book of the Old Testament. 
Zechariah writes this. 

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Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of 
Zion. 

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Shout aloud, oh daughter of 
Jerusalem. 

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Now before we get into 
Zechariah's prophecy of the 

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becoming Messiah, we must first 
get our bearings on who 

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Zechariah actually was and why 
he wrote this book in the 1st 

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place. 
Zechariah is one of the 12 minor

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prophets. 
That's the last 12 books of the 

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Bible, and as I told you, it's 
actually the second to last 

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book. 
The book of Zechariah was 

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written beginning in 520 BC. 
That is over half a millennia 

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before the birth of Jesus. 
And yet Zechariah's prophecy of 

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the coming Messiah is vivid and 
it's specific. 

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He's not speaking in 
generalities, but he's giving a 

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very vivid description of the 
coming Messiah, what he is like,

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and what he will come to do. 
Zechariah refers to him first in

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chapter 3. 
He calls him the branch. 

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If you have your Bible open, you
can turn back to Zechariah 3, 

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verse 8. 
Zechariah first describes the 

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Messiah this way. 
He says here now, O Joshua, the 

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high priest, you and your 
friends who sit before you, for 

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they are men who are a sign, 
Behold, I will bring my servant 

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the branch. 
You may notice in your Bible the

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word branch is capitalized as if
to say it's a title. 

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You know, I might be thinking, 
well, to describe the Messiah as

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the branch seems like a strange 
title to give him. 

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But what Zechariah is doing, 
he's tapping into a title that's

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already been given by the 
prophets to describe the coming 

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Savior King. 
This is Jeremiah 23 verse 5. 

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Jeremiah says, behold, the days 
are coming, declares the Lord, 

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when I will raise up for David a
righteous branch, and he shall 

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reign as king and deal wisely. 
He shall execute justice and 

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righteousness in the land and 
the days Judah will be saved and

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Israel will dwell securely. 
And in this the name by which he

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will be called the Lord our 
righteousness. 

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What Jeremiah is telling us is 
that a king is coming, a 

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long-awaited savior king, a king
who will bring salvation and 

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righteousness. 
And he calls him the branch 

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because he is of the royal 
family tree of King David, this 

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long-awaited savior king from 
David's royal line. 

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Throughout the Bible, he's 
called the Messiah. 

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The word Messiah means anointed 
one in Hebrew. 

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In Greek, the word Messiah is 
the word Christ. 

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It's why Jesus is often called 
Jesus Christ. 

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When we say Jesus Christ, we're 
not giving his first and last 

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name. 
No, the word Christ is a title. 

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It means Messiah. 
Every time we say the words 

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Jesus Christ, we are declaring a
statement of faith that Jesus is

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the Messiah, the long-awaited 
Savior, King from the royal line

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of King David. 
He is the branch. 

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He is the one to bring 
righteousness and salvation and 

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to rescue His people. 
And that is exactly who 

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Zechariah is talking about in 
Zechariah 99. 

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It's why he begins by saying, 
rejoice, praise the Lord, your 

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king is coming, look with me. 
At the end of verse 9, he says, 

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behold, your king is coming to 
you righteous and having 

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salvation as he humble and 
mounted on a donkey, on a colt, 

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the foal of a donkey. 
Zechariah is promising that the 

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Messiah will come. 
Now, it's hard for us as 21st 

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century Western Christians to 
fully appreciate the role that 

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hope played in the life of God's
people in the Old Testament. 

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That hope begins as early as the
book of Genesis. 

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Hope that a Savior king would 
come to rescue them. 

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In Genesis 3 verse 15, as God 
brings a curse because of the 

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sin of Adam and Eve in their 
fall, he also makes a promise. 

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God says, I will put enmity 
between you and the woman, and 

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between your offspring and her 
offspring, and he shall bruise 

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your head and you shall bruise 
his heel. 

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As early as the 3rd chapter of 
the Bible, we're given a promise

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of this long-awaited Messiah in 
Genesis. 

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He is the snake crusher, the one
who will come to defeat Satan 

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once and for all. 
And as the pages of Scripture 

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unfold, we learn that the snake 
crusher is going to come from 

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David's royal family tree. 
Second Samuel 7 verse 12, When 

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your days are fulfilled and you 
lie down with your father's, I 

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will raise up your offspring 
after you, who shall come from 

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your body, and I will establish 
his Kingdom, and he shall build 

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a house for my name, and I will 
establish the throne of his 

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Kingdom forever. 
And God's people would wait, and

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they would wait, and they would 
wait with hope that a king would

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come from David's line, that 
would come for the rescue as the

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prophets begin to promise that's
king would come. 

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For the prophet. 
Isaiah called him a light. 

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Isaiah 9 verse 2. 
The people who walked in 

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darkness have seen a great 
light, and those who dwelt in a 

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land of deep darkness, on them 
has light shone. 

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This messianic hope for a savior
king to be the light of the 

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world. 
It's one of the dominant themes 

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of the Bible. 
People longed and they waited, 

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and they hoped that God would 
keep his promise, that Messiah 

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would come for their rescue. 
And so it is all of that hope 

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that people gathered nearly 2000
years ago, the Mount of Olives, 

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to get a glimpse of Jesus. 
Would you now please turn to 

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Matthew 21? 
You can find it as the first 

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book of the New Testament. 
You'll find it there in your 

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bulletin. 
Matthew tells us that the crowds

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gathered, but he doesn't tell 
us. 

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But we know to be true. 
As they gathered with hope, 

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longing, messianic hope, they 
had heard of this man Jesus who 

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could heal the sick, who spoke 
with authority, who had done 

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signs and wonders. 
They're beginning to hope that 

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maybe this is the Messiah. 
Maybe God has finally kept his 

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promise. 
Maybe all of our hopes have been

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realized in this man Jesus, and 
they've come to get a glimpse of

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him, to see him. 
We're told that Jesus tells two 

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of his disciples to go and get a
donkey for reading for this for 

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the first time. 
You think that's a strange thing

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to tell his disciples to do? 
Even stranger, that Jesus knows 

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there will there will be a 
donkey waiting for him. 

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That's going to be fine for him 
to take it and use it as his 

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own. 
Why? 

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Well, Matthew tells us why verse
four, that this took place to 

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fulfill what was spoken by the 
prophet. 

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Which prophet? 
Well, the very prophet we're 

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reading this morning, the 
prophet Zechariah Matthew then 

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quotes him in verse 5, say to 
the daughter of Zion, behold, 

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your king is coming to you 
humble and mounted on a donkey 

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on a colt, the full of a beast 
of burden. 

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Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a 
donkey as a fulfillment of 

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Zechariah's prophecy that the 
Savior King, the Messiah, would 

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come. 
So all of the people who were 

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gathered that day put their 
hopes on him. 

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Later in Matthew 21, he tells us
they be at the end to cry out 

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hosanna, which means save us. 
They waved palm branches in 

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their hand, which is a symbol of
victory, and they're laid their 

229
00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:39,600
cloaks at his feet to honor him 
as king, royalty, victory, 

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00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:46,600
salvation, three things that 
belong to long-awaited Savior, 

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King, the Messiah. 
They put all of their hopes on 

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him. 
And yet John tells us in his 

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gospel, the very words that we 
read together this morning, that

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the disciples didn't understand 
it at first. 

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They even with all of their 
hopes, imagining Jesus to be the

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Messiah, they didn't understand 
why, because they thought the 

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Messiah would come with an army.
They thought the Messiah would 

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come for their liberation, to 
free them, not from sin and 

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00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,200
death, from a very real 
oppression. 

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The Roman occupation that they 
lived under. 

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They expected a human king to 
rebuild a human Kingdom. 

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They did not yet fully see that 
this was no mere human king, but

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he was fully God and fully man, 
the very Son of God, and that 

244
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the Messiah came to establish 
the Kingdom over every Kingdom 

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once and for all. 
So it's a second thing that we 

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00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:07,000
see here in the triumphal entry.
And as we look back on 

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Zechariah's prophecy, not only 
has Christ come for our 

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salvation, but he's come for our
peace. 

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This long-awaited Savior king 
came not with an army, but on a 

250
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:26,760
donkey. 
This donkey that Jesus rode in 

251
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:31,560
on was not just a very specific 
fulfillment of prophecy, but it 

252
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,600
tells us just what kind of 
Savior King He is, what He came 

253
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,720
to do. 
He came not with a sword in His 

254
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:45,640
first, but to lay His life down 
for you and for me. 

255
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We see this in Zechariah's 
prophecy. 

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Now Matthew only looks back at 
verse 9. 

257
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I think Matthew would have known
that anyone familiar with the 

258
00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,560
prophets and the promises of the
long-awaited Messiah would have 

259
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,160
known all of Zechariah's 
prophecy. 

260
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:07,400
And he continues after verse 9 
into verse 10, once you look 

261
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,520
with me, His prophecy of the 
Messiah continues. 

262
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,600
I will cut off the chariot from 
Ephraim and the War Horse from 

263
00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,360
Jerusalem. 
The battle bow shall be cut off,

264
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,880
and He shall speak peace to the 
nation's. 

265
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,720
His rules will be from sea to 
sea and from the river to the 

266
00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,840
ends of the earth. 
Now, all of these things should 

267
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,880
be familiar for anyone waiting 
and hoping in the coming Savior 

268
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,160
King that He would speak peace 
to the nations, that His rule 

269
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,560
would be from sea to sea. 
What they were hoping and what 

270
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,240
they were waiting for is for a 
king to come and rescue them and

271
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,640
give them peace. 
And just like we see in our 

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00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,240
broken and fractured world 
today, the way that we 

273
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,600
accomplish peace as human beings
throughout our history is 

274
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:59,640
through war. 
We fight war, we wage battle in 

275
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,960
order to get peace. 
That's our own story as 

276
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,800
Americans, so many who've died 
before us in order that we could

277
00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:11,760
enjoy peace. 
It's always been that way. 

278
00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,640
So they expected that this 
Savior king would wage war, 

279
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,240
would fight a battle, would come
leading an army. 

280
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,440
But notice what it says here in 
Zechariah 910. 

281
00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,760
It says I will cut off the 
chariot from Ephraim, the War 

282
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:33,600
Horse from Jerusalem. 
The battle bow shall be cut off,

283
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:36,600
and he shall speak peace to the 
nations. 

284
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,200
In other words, the Messiah is 
going to come and bring peace in

285
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:46,880
a way that you would least 
expect, not with Chariots, not 

286
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,560
with war horses, not with a 
battle bow. 

287
00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,160
And in fact, later in 
Zechariah's prophecy, he says, 

288
00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,040
actually now God's people will 
become his chariot. 

289
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,760
God's people will become his 
arrow. 

290
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:09,960
He's come to fight our battles, 
to establish his Kingdom, but 

291
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,800
not through war. 
But he will make peace through 

292
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:19,600
the blood of his own body on the
cross. 

293
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:26,080
Jesus rode into Jerusalem that 
day with palm branches of 

294
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:30,720
victory amongst the hopes and 
expectations that he would lead 

295
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:37,880
them into battle, and instead he
came to lay his life down. 

296
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:50,400
He came to be arrested, to be 
beaten, to be scourged, and to 

297
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:55,200
be nailed to a cross in order to
die in our place. 

298
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:00,960
He came to fight a battle far 
greater than any human 

299
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,640
oppression, but he came to set 
us free from sin and death. 

300
00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:13,000
He came to establish no earthly 
Kingdom, but to establish the 

301
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:19,560
Kingdom of God so that he might 
be seated on the throne as King 

302
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:24,760
of Kings and Lord of Lords, all 
of this bringing peace. 

303
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,360
And this is no kind of just 
earthly peace. 

304
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,840
It's not simply the absence of 
war or the absence of 

305
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,720
oppression, but peace. 
In the Bible, the kind of peace 

306
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,880
spoken of here in Zechariah 910 
is Shalom. 

307
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,720
It's the word that's used, not 
the absence of war, but the 

308
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:51,880
presence of God. 
And where he reigns and rules, 

309
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:58,200
his people flourish. 
They have the fullness of peace 

310
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,960
in his presence. 
And Jesus established this peace

311
00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:11,400
through the cross. 
Not just peace for God's people 

312
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:17,000
over their enemies and over evil
in the kingdoms of darkness on 

313
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:23,720
this earth, but a peace far 
greater and far deeper that 

314
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:27,960
every one of us needs. 
You see, people could not have 

315
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,760
imagined his disciples, could 
have never understood that of 

316
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:37,040
all the enemies they faced, 
their greatest enemy lied 

317
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,680
within. 
Apostle Paul tells us New 

318
00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:47,880
Testament that because of our 
sin, we are enemies of God, the 

319
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,720
true battle that lies before us.
Yes, of course it's all around 

320
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:53,680
us and it will be till Christ 
returns. 

321
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,600
But there are wars around us 
because there is a war inside of

322
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:01,600
us. 
We are not at peace with God. 

323
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,480
And everyone who has sinned, 
everyone who's turned their back

324
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,880
on God, everyone who's said I 
will disobey him and I will 

325
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:13,880
follow my own way, has committed
treason against the King and his

326
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,480
Kingdom. 
We are not at peace with God 

327
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:22,120
because of sin, and yet Jesus 
came for our peace. 

328
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:29,320
He came to make peace between US
and God, to reconcile us to our 

329
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:33,200
Father, that we who once enemies
might now be called sons and 

330
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,920
daughters. 
The apostle Paul put it this 

331
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,360
way. 
Ephesians 2 verse 12. 

332
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:42,120
Remember that you were at that 
time separated from Christ, 

333
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,600
alienated from the Commonwealth 
of Israel and strangers, the 

334
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:54,320
covenant of promise, having no 
hope because we and our sin are 

335
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,480
enemies of God. 
We are hopeless strangers to the

336
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,600
promises of God that we are 
talking about even this morning.

337
00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:08,160
But Paul doesn't stop there. 
Verse 13 But now, but now in 

338
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,040
Christ Jesus, you who were once 
far off have been brought near 

339
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:18,280
by the blood of Christ, for He 
Himself is our peace. 

340
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:25,520
Jesus rode into Jerusalem not to
lead Chariots and war horses, 

341
00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:34,640
but he laid down his war bow, 
and he died on the cross, and he

342
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:43,080
shed his blood in order to make 
peace for us before God. 

343
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:52,600
It was our sin that nailed Him 
there, His death that we should 

344
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:58,960
have died and his blood that now
grants us peace. 

345
00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,720
The 3rd and final thing that 
Zechariah's prophecy teaches us 

346
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,160
that we see fulfilled the 
triumphal entry that Christ has 

347
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,520
come for the restoration of all 
of our hopes. 

348
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,680
Zechariah's prophecy continues 
Chapter 9 verse 11. 

349
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:20,240
He says, As for you also, 
because of the blood of my 

350
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,720
covenant with you, I will set 
your prisoners free from the 

351
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:29,600
waterless pit. 
Through the prophet Zechariah, 

352
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,640
God is remembering his covenant,
his promises to his people 

353
00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,080
Israel. 
A covenant that we are reminded 

354
00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:43,600
here is made in blood, kept in 
blood, the blood of bulls and 

355
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,840
goats that were sacrificed for 
the sins of the people of 

356
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:53,200
Israel. 
But here is Jesus now fulfilling

357
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:57,400
this prophecy, coming into 
Jerusalem, not to shed the blood

358
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:02,440
of bulls and goats, but his own 
blood in order to set us free. 

359
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:11,520
Free not from Roman occupation 
or human oppression, but free 

360
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:16,160
from the shackles of sin itself.
The Gospel of John, chapter 8. 

361
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,160
Jesus reminds us that everyone 
who practices sin is a slave to 

362
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:23,760
sin. 
And this morning, as you think 

363
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:29,360
about your own sin and 
temptations, those things that 

364
00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:32,760
seem to rear their ugly head in 
your life again and again and 

365
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:39,600
again, those parts of you and 
your heart, they're continually 

366
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:42,920
at war against God, even though 
you come this morning, just like

367
00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,800
me and praise his name. 
It doesn't take long to 

368
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,920
understand what Jesus is talking
about. 

369
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,320
We're slaves to sin. 
Though we strive as hard as we 

370
00:28:55,320 --> 00:29:00,560
can to withstand temptation, 
though I think genuinely so many

371
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:03,760
of us who follow Jesus long to 
be obedient. 

372
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,960
We're shackled to sin. 
We're enslaved by it. 

373
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,600
That's why sin so often like an 
addiction. 

374
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:20,960
As hard as we want to follow 
Jesus, we find ourselves again 

375
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,360
and again and again turning back
to our sin and giving into 

376
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:29,400
temptation. 
But notice again the promised 

377
00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,440
Zechariah gives us. 
Because of the blood of the 

378
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,920
covenant, God will set us free. 
Because of the blood of the 

379
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:44,200
covenant, because of the blood 
of Jesus, we have been set free.

380
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,720
When Jesus died on the cross, it
wasn't just our death that died,

381
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:54,400
but our sin died with him. 
And this is the glory of the 

382
00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:59,000
gospel that we proclaim this 
Holy Week again, that all those 

383
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,680
who trust in the blood of Jesus 
for their salvation have been 

384
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:08,840
set free from sin and death. 
Paul expands on this, the book 

385
00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:12,720
of Romans, Romans 6, this Don't 
you know that if you present 

386
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:16,200
yourself to be anyone, to be 
obedient slaves, you're slaves 

387
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:20,360
of the one who you obey, either 
of sin, which leads to death, or

388
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,480
of obedience, which leads to 
righteousness. 

389
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:30,320
But thanks be to God that you 
who want slaves of sin have 

390
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:34,640
become obedient from the heart 
to the standard of teaching to 

391
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:40,360
which you were committed, and 
have been set free from sin to 

392
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:45,080
become slaves of righteousness. 
What Paul says is because of the

393
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,520
blood of Jesus Christ, you now 
have been set free from sin, and

394
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,520
now your shackles have been 
opened, but now you are bound to

395
00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,720
Christ. 
It's an amazing image, isn't it,

396
00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,080
that our shackles to sin have 
been set free and now we are 

397
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:04,600
shackled to our Savior by His 
blood. 

398
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:13,720
Same language that we see here, 
the prophet Zechariah 500 years 

399
00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,240
before. 
Notice what Zechariah then says 

400
00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:22,120
in verse 12. 
In light of being set free, He 

401
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,520
calls all God's people to 
return. 

402
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:27,920
Return to your stronghold, he 
says. 

403
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,120
Then notice the title he gives 
us. 

404
00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:36,160
O prisoners of hope, you are no 
longer a prisoner of sin. 

405
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:39,640
You are no longer a prisoner to 
oppression. 

406
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:42,920
You are no longer a prisoner to 
death. 

407
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,520
But you have now been set free, 
and now you have been imprisoned

408
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:53,000
by hope. 
Hope has bound itself to you, 

409
00:31:55,200 --> 00:32:01,640
and now this side of heaven. 
As we look back 2000 years ago 

410
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,280
on those events of Christ's 
passion through his death and 

411
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:10,640
resurrection, we find ourselves 
longing once more. 

412
00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:15,520
As we look back on his death and
resurrection, we are also look 

413
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:20,360
forward to his return. 
And just like the people who've 

414
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,800
gone before us in the Old 
Testament, we are still filled 

415
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:30,920
with messianic hope, longing, 
waiting for Christ to return, to

416
00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:36,560
make all things new. 
But just like them, if we're 

417
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:41,360
honest, hope is hard, isn't it? 
You know much of the story of 

418
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,560
the Old Testament. 
You see, often the people would 

419
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:48,280
become hopeless. 
And when they became hopeless, 

420
00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,920
they would once again turn to 
idols and other gods and go back

421
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:57,560
to their sin. 
Today we call it cynicism. 

422
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:03,320
It's the opposite of hope. 
Cynicism is borne by 

423
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:11,800
disappointment and doubt. 
Cynicism is a self protection, a

424
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:16,800
way of us to guard our hearts 
when we don't want to be let 

425
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:19,040
down. 
Have you ever felt that way? 

426
00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:25,320
That God has let you down, the 
more that we feel God has LED us

427
00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:29,600
down, that causes us to be 
cynical, hopeless. 

428
00:33:31,240 --> 00:33:33,760
If that describes you this 
morning, I want you to hear the 

429
00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:39,520
words the promise of Zechariah. 
Because of the blood of the 

430
00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:44,720
covenant, we've been set free 
and we are now prisoners of 

431
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,800
hope. 
So as we enter into this Holy 

432
00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:54,440
Week, set your hope on Jesus. 
He rode into Jerusalem on a 

433
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:59,680
donkey for you in order to die 
on a cross for you. 

434
00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:04,560
And the great hope that we have 
is that he did not stay dead. 

435
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:09,560
But on the third day he rose 
again to conquer sin and death. 

436
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:14,159
And one day he will come again. 
And when he comes, it won't be 

437
00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:19,560
humbly mounted on a donkey, but 
it will come in triumph on a 

438
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:25,880
White Horse. 
And John tells us that his name 

439
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:31,800
will be King of Kings and Lord 
of Lords, our long-awaited 

440
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:37,880
Savior, King the Messiah, the 
Christ who will come to make all

441
00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:38,960
things new. 
Let's pray. 

442
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,840
Father in Heaven, O Lord, as we 
come into Holy Week, we pray 

443
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:49,080
that we would abound in hope 
that you, Lord Jesus, even this 

444
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:53,639
morning, which set us free from 
the bondage of sin and death, 

445
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:57,360
and that we would be bound to 
hope this morning. 

446
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:05,680
May we walk into Monday of this 
Holy Week as prisoners of hope, 

447
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,160
longing and waiting, just like 
those who have come before us, 

448
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,040
for our Savior King to come 
again. 

449
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:15,840
It's in his name that we pray. 
Amen. 

450
00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:17,760
Let's stand and let's sing 
together.