The crowd heard Jesus was coming to Jerusalem and went to meet him with palm branches, hailing him as king. Jesus rode into the city on a donkey as prophesied. His disciples did not understand at first but later remembered the prophecies about him. The crowd bore witness to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, and came to see the sign. The Pharisees saw the crowds following Jesus and were growing frustrated in their efforts to discredit him.

2. TRIUMPHAL ENTRY – JOHN 12:12-19 ESV
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming
to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him,
crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the
King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is
written,
15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”
16 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. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of
the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason
why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So
the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the
world has gone after him.”

3. WHY SO FAMOUS?
1. The people needed a royal figure to restore their pride and hope
2. Jesus cuts the figure of a humble King riding into the capitol city –
according to Hebrew prophecy (Zechariah in particular – Great
Shepherd)
3. His reputation as a miracle-worker (especially the miracle of raising
Lazarus) preceded Him and people wanted to see Him (He had been
spending nights in Bethany where Lazarus, Mary, and Martha lived).
According to Mark, he had also just healed blind Bartimaeus
4. The area was teeming with pilgrims coming for Pesach (Passover)
5. The attempts of His opponents to defame and discredit Him had failed
(Jesus was purposely provoking them)
6. In short, Jesus EARNED His acclaim and He knew it

4. POPULAR JESUS (LYRICS FROM “WICKED”)
When I see depressing creatures
With unprepossessing features
I remind them on their own behalf
To think of celebrated heads of state or
Specially great communicators
Did they have brains or knowledge?
Don't make me laugh!
They were popular! Please -
It's all about popular!
It's not about aptitude
It's the way you're viewed
So it's very shrewd to be very, very popular

5. SOCIAL POWER AND INFLUENCE
What are the problems with popularity?
• Polarizing?
• Who does it attract?
• Lasting?
• Distracting?
• Expectations?

6. JESUS DEFIES EXPECTATIONS
Rides in to town through the Eastern Gate (Golden Gate) in
triumph and does… NOTHING! (Mark says He went to the
Temple and then back to Bethany that night)
Later in the week, He cleanses the Temple but does not
challenge Rome. In fact, in Mark 12, He declares “Render
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the
things that are God’s” (the people didn’t want a religious
reformer – they want a political / apocalyptic victory).
How do we deal with the Lord when He does not fulfill our
expectations or “take our counsel”?