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March 26 & 29, 2026 – Kenny Thomas

PALM SUNDAY: The Courageous King

Main text: Matthew 21:1-11 and Zechariah 9:9-10 (ESV)

Zechariah 9:9-10 (ESV)

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!,Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Matthew 21:1-11(ESV)

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.

3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus has all authority

Riding a donkey signified peace

John 12:16 (ESV)

His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Jesus proclaims Himself King

Jesus is courageous

Who do you say Jesus is?

Matthew 21:10-11 (ESV)

10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Do you understand that Jesus came to save you?

They shouted, “Hosanna!” which means “Save now!”

John 3:17 (NLT)

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus showed us how to live with courage

• You will do the right thing regardless of the consequences.
• You will feel fear but do it anyway.
• You will not stop at failure.
• You will risk being criticized.
• You will pursue purpose over comfort.

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