Cheering Jesus But Missing the Point

Mark 11:1-11 July 25, 2021 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis The crowd on Palm Sunday was close to understanding Jesus' identity but fundamentally wrong because they wanted a political deliverer on their terms rather than the God-man King who came to save them from sin through his sacrificial death.

Series

—

Type

Expository

Tone

pastoralpropheticdidactic

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalcanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

42 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #21

"Offers concrete examples of areas commonly withheld from Christ's kingship — friendships, romantic life, parenting, family relationships, money — and asks whether Jesus is king over all or just some areas."

Doctrinal loci· 8 surfaced

Christology · 27 Soteriology · 13 Sanctification · 7 Hamartiology · 2 Theology Proper · 2 Ecclesiology · 1 Ethics / Moral Theology · 1 Pastoral Theology · 1

Bible citations· 11

Illustrations· 4

personal story · unit #1 — Personal story about accidentally contacting the wrong Derek — had the right name in the phone but the wrong number, leading to confusion and fear. Functions as extended setup for the sermon's central problem: having the name 'Jesus' but the wrong understanding of his identity.
personal story · unit #9 — Contrasts Sugarloaf Mountain (a hill) with North Franklin Peak (a real mountain) to set up the coming analogy about the hidden depth of Christ's glory.
analogy · unit #10 — Uses the Mariana Trench analogy to argue that Jesus' glory and majesty are not just quantitatively greater than other rulers but qualitatively different — hidden in depth but infinite.
personal story · unit #36 — Personal story about a college friend whose life revolved around climbing — losing relationships, grades, and opportunities because everything orbited climbing. Sets up the contrast between functional idolatry and life-defining faith.

Theological claims· 7

Many people — even church attenders — may be enthusiastic about a version of Jesus that is not the real Jesus, and this passage exists to correct that misunderstanding. unit #4
Jesus is not merely a great man but the God-man — his foreknowledge and sovereign control reveal a fundamentally different category of being. unit #6
Jesus is not in the same category as other great historical figures; he is in an entirely different category altogether. unit #8
Jesus is a king in a greater, truer sense than the crowd understood — he exercises total authority over every sphere of existence, visible and invisible. unit #17
Jesus uniquely combines limitless power with servanthood and humility, and his kingdom has outlasted Rome and every empire that has opposed him — proving his kingship succeeds through humility, not force. unit #19
The crowd's desire for Jesus to serve their agenda mirrors the original sin — the desire to rule instead of being ruled by God — and reveals that they need total redemption from sin, not just political deliverance. unit #26
Jesus came to bring a salvation far greater than the crowd imagined — freedom from sin and death, victory over death itself, and an eternal kingdom that can never be shaken. unit #28

Quotations· 5

"There is not one square inch of the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is over all, does not cry, 'Mine.'" — Abraham Kuyper (unit #11)

"There is not one square inch of the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is over all, does not cry, 'Mine.'" — Abraham Kuyper (unit #17)

"Yet we know His kingdom, Jesus' kingdom, was established while the glory that was Rome disappeared into oblivion. We know that Jesus would outlast all the kingdoms of this world and break in pieces every man-centered kingdom which sets itself against it." — Ferguson (unit #19)

"Think for a moment what Mark's record would convey to those who read it first, the Christians in Rome. No doubt many of the Roman Christians had seen generals enter Rome in triumph to receive the accolades of victory. How stark the contrast between Roman glory and Jesus' humility must have seemed. How mighty and powerful the sword and political power by contrast with King Jesus." — Ferguson (unit #19)

"Jesus had come to take his throne, but had committed himself to begin his reign from a cross." — Sinclair Ferguson (unit #28)

Read it

Full transcript

36,836 characters 42 units ~41 min reading time Listen instead →

0 · Opening prayer asking God to open eyes and ears to see Jesus' identity clearly in the triumphal entry passage

Now join me in prayer as we open the Word. Father, we do pray that you would open our eyes and open our ears. God, thank you for the gift of the Bible. Thank you for the gift of you communicating with us to help us see what we do not see. I pray that especially today, as we look at the coming of your Son into Jerusalem and the proclamation of his identity, it would be clear and compelling in the gathered body. In Jesus' name, amen. Excuse my voice if I'm a little scratchy today.

1 · Personal story about accidentally contacting the wrong Derek — had the right name in the phone but the wrong number, leading to confusion and fear

Well, I want to tell you about something that happened to me this week that was, to put it mildly, unusual. I was trying to get in touch with a pastor in our family of churches named Derek. And so I needed to get in touch with Derek, and so Derek and I exchanged a few emails, and eventually we settled on a time to try to, you know, one of us would call the other. And I couldn't make that time. So I sent him an email saying I'm not going to be able to make it. He called me, and so I thought, oh man, well, I should try to call him back. So I tried to call him back the next day. He called me again, and I emailed him again saying, hey man, I'm really sorry about all this. You know, what about this time? Until the next day, he called me while I was in a meeting 3 times in a row. Like, called, and then I said, can't answer. Called again, can't answer. Called again, And I thought, man, what is— man, this guy's a little aggressive. You know, like, seems like a good brother in the Lord, but this guy's a little intense here. And then I get a text from Derek that says, what do you think you're doing? Who is this? In language that I can't repeat in church. He was not happy to be contacted by me. And I thought, is this like a weird— joke? Like, is this— you know, I know this Pastor Derek, he seems like a nice guy. I've never known him to use this kind of language, but like, okay, you know. And I began to think, I don't actually think this is the real Derek. And the problem was I thought, I don't know any other Dereks. Like, his number is in my phone. And so I go back and say, hey man, wrong number, wrong number. And he replies and says, nobody has this number. How did you get this number? What is going on? And I thought, oh no, like this guy's, this is a cartel guy. This is like, this is one of those like secret lines that they use and they've tracked my phone and they know where I am and I wanna pull one of those, you know, Mission Impossible, like take the phone, throw it out on the freeway, let it get run over and like just run for the hills. I mean, I'm thinking this guy, this guy is, so then I finally remember, oh, oh, I know how I have this guy's number. So I'd say, hey look, A few weeks ago, I was walking around the neighborhood and you were doing the little numbers on the street, you know, and you said, hey, do you want me to do some numbers for you? And I said, oh man, I've always wanted— like, we need some of those. It'll help people find our house. But he asked me, like, what, you know, what symbol do you want? And I thought immediately, I'd love a Dallas Cowboys star. I mean, that'd be appropriate. And then I thought immediately, my wife's going to hate that. And so I told him, Here's the deal, let me talk to my wife, we'll try to come to some consensus of what the logo in front of our house is gonna be, and then I forgot about it. But I had this guy's number, so I text him back and say, hey look, this is what's going on, here's how I know you, like, sorry about all this, and he goes, like, he says something like, okay, cool, bro, and I thought, okay, whew, and then I get a second text from him a minute later, lies, all lies. And I'm like, okay, okay, like this really is not good. So I like blocked his number, and if he is here, Derek, I'm sorry. I really wanna publicly apologize and say that I didn't, you know, and I took the number out of my phone, I'm never gonna call it again, and please don't kidnap me.

2 · Pivots from the Derek illustration to the text, establishing the sermon's controlling tension: the crowd thinks they know Jesus but they are fundamentally wrong despite being close

So, I was in that moment close to being kidnapped but not right. The guy's name was Derek, sure. I had his number, sure. Not right at all. And in a strange way, that is exactly what's happening with the crowd in this passage today. They are close. They think they know who Jesus is. They're really close in being able to grasp his identity, but they are not right.

3 · Exposes the narrative arc of Mark's Gospel: the Palm Sunday crowd disperses immediately after the procession, and by Friday another crowd calls for Jesus' crucifixion

And in fact, you see that, that there's a contrast in the Gospel of Mark between this and the events that unfold. In fact, by the end of this passage, the people that are whooping and hollering and singing and throwing things in front of Jesus and proclaiming him as king, they— verse 7, it says, 'He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple,' and that's it. The crowd disperses, right? It's not as though these are committed followers of Jesus that are like, 'Hey, with you till the end, Jesus.' No, they participate in the big ceremony and they're like, 'Okay, cool. We'll see what he does.' Do something. All right, we'll see you later. And with that, they disperse. And in fact, by the end of the week— this is Palm Sunday in the text— by the end of the week, we all know what happens on Good Friday. Jesus is delivered over and crucified. And by the end of the week, another crowd shouts for his crucifixion.

4 · States the sermon's diagnostic claim and pastoral aim: some in the room may not know the real Jesus despite thinking they do, and the passage will unveil who Jesus truly is to provoke deeper worship and allegiance

What's clear is that these people are close, but they're not right. They think they know who Jesus is. They're even enthusiastic about who they think Jesus is, but they don't know who Jesus is. And yet the text also reveals who Jesus really is. The key question today is, is Jesus as you know him the real Jesus? Or perhaps put another way, are you calling the right number? Just 'cause it says Jesus, and you're reaching out doesn't mean it's the right one. So my goal today is— is perhaps a little strange— is to convince some of you that perhaps you don't know the real Jesus. Maybe you're even here because you're here to celebrate Jesus. You've grown up in church, you know a lot about Jesus, but you may not know the real Jesus. And I think we all need to, to go with that kind of trembling and trepidation. Do I know the real Jesus? Do I have the right number in my phone? And for those of us that do know the real Jesus, what I think this passage does, it helps us see him as he is, and in that way calls for praise and allegiance far higher than we have offered.

5 · Exposits the donkey requisition scene, arguing that Jesus' authority to command the donkey's seizure under the title 'the Lord' reveals him as more than just a great man — though that's all the crowd perceives

So, 3 sections today. The first one is a great man, a great man. Now, before the triumphal entry, there's this strange story about the donkey, and I could spend a lot more time on this, but I just want to point out one thing about this that's critical. I want to focus on what Jesus asked them to do and the justification for doing it. So Jesus basically tells these people, hey, what he tells them to do would appear by all accounts to be thievery, right? Like, it sounds super sketch. He's like, alright, there's a donkey, there's a young colt, I know where it is, go over there, take it. If anybody tries to stop you, your answer is, the Lord has need of it. Right? That wouldn't work with any of us if somebody drove off in our car today, right? The security team sees somebody wandering out in the cars trying, you know, 'Oh, a blue Mazda. Great. You tried— oh, hey, the keys are in the ignition.' They're going to be, 'Hey, what are you doing?' 'Oh, the Lord needs it.' You know, like, that's not going to work. That's what Jesus is telling them to do. How can he ask them to do this? Now, that phrase 'the Lord' is interesting. The phrase is very broad. The phrase 'the Lord' can mean everything from 'the king' all the way to just 'a great man.' So, in the Gospels, you see a Gentile, a military man, and a synagogue ruler, and the crowds, they call him at different points 'Lord,' but it's a sign of respect. It's a sign of, 'This is a man unlike other men. This is a man a cut above other men, whether by wealth, or reputation, or ability.' But they don't grasp just how great that divide is. They see Jesus as a great man, but not Jesus as who he— Jesus as he really is.

6 · Asserts that Jesus' foreknowledge and sovereign control over the donkey scene reveals him not as a great man among men but as the God-man — a fundamentally different category of being

And this strange story of the donkey actually reinforces something about Jesus that everyone around them does not see. Jesus, don't overlook this, the details here are remarkable that Jesus knows exactly what he's doing and this is all under his authority and control. It never tells you, like, how does Jesus know that there's a donkey in this spot that's never been ridden by another person, the colt of a donkey, and that people will willingly let it go? How could he possibly know that? Because of who the Gospel of Mark reveals him to be. Jesus is not getting kind of battered around by the cultural currents around him. He's not even just responding kind of nimbly to what's going on around him. He has a mission. His steps are planned out. He is not just another great man. Gospel of Mark reveals to us he is the God-man. He is a different category of human altogether.

7 · Cites Colossians 1 to establish the cosmic and ontological supremacy of Christ — preexistent, creator, sustainer, the one in whom all the fullness of God dwells

Colossians 1 says this. We peek behind the curtain and see the unveiled glory of Christ in Colossians 1. And Paul says this of him: He is the image of the invisible God. —meaning flesh and blood walking around—he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Not meaning that he's born, but, but is preeminent over all creation. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

8 · Reiterates that Jesus is ontologically distinct — not merely superior within the category of great humans, but in an entirely different category

What I mean here is that the nature of Jesus of Nazareth is unlike the nature of any other human being. He is not in a category of big movers and shakers like Caesar and Genghis Khan and whoever else. He is in another category altogether.

9 · Contrasts Sugarloaf Mountain (a hill) with North Franklin Peak (a real mountain) to set up the coming analogy about the hidden depth of Christ's glory

Look, when I was living out in D.C. where I married my wife, they have a, what they call a mountain, but it's like a hill. It's called Sugarloaf Mountain, and it's affectionately known as Sugar Lump Mountain, 'cause it's just like a few hundred feet high. It's just very flat there. There's, you know, gentle inclines, and it's just this little gentle rolling hill that you go up, and it's like, oh, we climbed the mountain. And so I remember people telling me, we're gonna climb the mountain, and I'm like, okay. They're like, oh, we'll do it real quick on the way after work. And I'm like, what? Like, there's no way you jump onto the Franklins and get to North Franklin Peak and then back after work? Like, where's our gear? And everybody's, this guy's in flip-flops, like, hey, here we go. And then we're walking up the mountain, and I'm looking around, and we get to the top in like 45 minutes, and I'm looking around, and they're like, oh, isn't this a great view? And I'm like, from El Paso, and I'm like, what is wrong with you people? Like, this is a hill. This is a small hill, right? 'Cause North Franklin Peak, if you've climbed it, about 7,000 feet high, right?

10 · Uses the Mariana Trench analogy to argue that Jesus' glory and majesty are not just quantitatively greater than other rulers but qualitatively different — hidden in depth but infinite

Now, here is what we often do with Jesus. We say, 'No, no, no, no. Jesus is not just like the other men who are like hills. He's much taller. You know, he's a lot taller, but he's still kind of the same thing.' No, he's not. Instead of thinking that way, I want you to think in a different way. Think about the Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench, in contrast to the Franklin Peak, is 36,000 feet deep. Feet deep. How many Franklin Mountains can you fit all the way down to the bottom? It is 5 times longer than the Grand Canyon. And the reason we don't think of it as one of the great wonders of the world is because we can't see it. The depth is there, but it is hidden. So it is with Christ. We're tempted to think, 'Okay, well, this ruler's here and this ruler's here,' 'cause Jesus is certainly bigger than all the other rulers. His depth, his majesty, his glory is hidden, but it is endless. 'The firstborn of all creation, the image of the invisible God. In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.'

11 · Applies the theological claim about Jesus' identity by asking the listener to examine whether they relate to Jesus as merely a great man or as the God-man who redefines all reality

Listen, if that is the truth, then it changes everything. It means that Jesus is not just a great man; he is the God-man whose entrance into the world redefines all of human history. He is the God-man. Second— well, actually, before I move on, let me just ask you this: Is Jesus to you what he is in reality? Is Jesus just a great man that you follow and seek to emulate sometimes, or is he someone whose very existence redefines everything for you?

12 · Sets the scene of the triumphal entry and notes that Jesus, who has veiled his identity throughout Mark, now publicly embraces the title and role of Israel's king

Second point then: a king. Now, you have to imagine the scene here. Jesus is traveling up to Jerusalem for the Passover festival among throngs of pilgrims headed to Jerusalem. And word quickly begins to spread through the crowd that Jesus of Nazareth is with us. Now, the people in this crowd were from these surrounding outlying areas. Perhaps they'd heard Jesus. Perhaps they'd heard from somebody who'd heard Jesus teach. Perhaps they saw him work a miracle or they were one of the of the people fed by the multiplication of the loaves, or perhaps they or someone they know had been healed. Or at least, at the very least, everybody has a story. Or my cousin or my second cousin encountered Jesus and this is what happened. And so the enthusiasm begins to grow. Not only are we on our way to the festival, Jesus of Nazareth, the healer, the teacher, he is here among us. And the word travels ahead into Jerusalem and people begin to kind of peek their heads out. Oh, Jesus of Nazareth is He's coming, and notice what Jesus does. Jesus has been, in a sense, in the book of Mark, hiding his identity, veiling his identity, so that people did not understand who he is, or not think that he is somebody that he's not. But here, he embraces the kingship of Israel.

13 · Exposits the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 and the crowd's royal response from 2 Kings 9, showing that Jesus publicly claims kingship and the crowd publicly acknowledges it

Now, this is why the colt is so important. Jesus, by obtaining the colt, is fulfilling a prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. 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.' Jesus, who in a sense has been veiling himself, finally comes right out and says it: 'I am the King of Israel.' This symbol is consciously taken on, and he approaches Jerusalem with the symbol of kingship, and the crowd responds in kind. The crowd responds with this response that was used in 2 Kings 9 of Jehu. So, what we read in 2 Kings 9 is that, 'In haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, 'Jehu is king!'' So, the crowd is— Jesus is saying, 'I'm the King,' and the crowd is saying, 'You are the King, and we're going to respond.' The placement of cloaks was basically saying, 'We're going to submit ourselves to you as king.' The waving of palm branches was joy over what would hope to be the kingdom of shalom, the kingdom of peace that he would usher in.

14 · Notes the irony that the disciples likely congratulated themselves for the crowd's recognition of Jesus' kingship, yet by week's end the crowd drifts away and Jesus is crucified — revealing that the recognition was shallow

So far, so good, right? These people get it. By all accounts, Jesus walking down, his disciples walking down would think, 'These people, they all get it. They all finally understand who Jesus is.' 'Thank you, like us, we're the smart ones. We saw it a long time ago. Yeah, we saw this. We got in early on this, man.' Of course, you don't know their stupidity over the last number of chapters, but they're probably congratulating themselves thinking, 'Yeah, this is it now. Everyone's saying this is the king. Here he is.' And yet, by the end of the week, he is still dead. By the end of this glorious processional, people are drifting away.

15 · Argues that at least some of the Palm Sunday crowd either dispersed or actively turned against Jesus by Friday, revealing that their initial enthusiasm was rooted in a false understanding of Jesus' kingship

Now, we don't know. Some controversy over the crowd here shouting 'Hosanna' and the crowd on Good Friday shouting 'Crucify him.' But what does seem apparent is that there could be, very well probably is, some overlap. Or at the very least, some of the people that are shouting 'Hosanna' were nowhere to be found at the end when Jesus was being crucified. Perhaps some even who shouted 'Hosanna' also shouted for his crucifixion pocketing the money offered by the Jewish rulers, thinking, 'Well, Jesus' stock does not seem to be doing well now. Might as well make a quick $100. You'll give me $100 to say crucify him? Sure.' What does it reveal about the crowd? What it reveals is that the crowd thought they knew who Jesus was, but they did not.

16 · Exposits the crowd's expectations: they wanted a king who would bring political freedom and prosperity, but when Jesus was arrested and crucified, their paradigm collapsed because a king should not be under anyone's authority

Once Jesus was arrested, this would have created a massive paradigm explosion for them, because they would think, how could he, if he's the king of Israel, be arrested? How could he be under someone's authority? How could a king deliver himself over to be tortured? How could a king sink so low to be humiliated on the cross, right? They were willing in this moment to follow Jesus if it meant peace and prosperity and freedom from Rome, but they were not willing to follow him on the road to the cross. Once it was apparent he would wear a crown of thorns and not a crown of gold, they were out.

17 · Asserts that Jesus is a truer and better king than the crowd understood — he rules over every sphere of existence, including demons, sickness, death, and all earthly authorities

And yet, what is revealed here is a truer and better king than has ever lived in human history. Right? In Mark, we've seen Jesus rule and reign over every sphere of life. It's like Mark's just going from sphere to sphere saying, 'Yep, demons, total authority over there.' Sickness, total authority over there. Death, total authority over that. Other rulers, total authority over them. Every single realm in which he could rule, he does rule. Colossians 1 again says, 'For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him.' As theologian Abraham Kuyper once said, 'There is not one square inch of the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is over all, does not cry, 'Mine.'' He is the King in a greater, truer sense than these people even know.

18 · Exposits the countercultural nature of Jesus' kingship — he chooses the donkey not out of necessity but out of deliberate humility, rejecting the image of warrior-king in favor of servant-king

He could with a word, as He says on the cross, call forth a legion of angels and wipe Rome from the face of the earth. And yet, His kingship is revealed in this entrance in a countercultural, surprising, extraordinary way. He chooses not to enter Jerusalem on a war horse, but on a colt. He chooses over the image of warrior, humble servant king, echoing King David. Jesus, listen, I want to be really clear about this. Growing up, I always thought Jesus rode the donkey because a burro was the best he could do, right? It's like, listen, man, if you can afford a Mustang, great. If you can afford a nice horse, great. Jesus, he was poor, and so he had the little burro, right? And it's like sweet, and there's little Precious Moments figurines of it, and it's like, oh, pobrecito Jesus, all he could do was the burro and everything, you know. No. Jesus could ride a wave of angels into this city and chooses the image of humility and servanthood.

19 · Asserts the paradox of Jesus' kingship — limitless power exercised in humility — and argues that Jesus has proven his kingship by outlasting Rome and every empire that has opposed him

Who else, church, what other king is like this? That their power is limitless and yet it is exercised and expressed in servanthood and humility. There could be great men with no humility. There could be humble men with no greatness. Jesus has both. The greatest of all and servant of all. Ferguson comments this way: 'Think for a moment what Mark's record would convey to those who read it first, the Christians in Rome. No doubt many of the Roman Christians had seen generals enter Rome in triumph to receive the accolades of victory.' How stark the contrast between Roman glory and Jesus' humility must have seemed. How mighty and powerful the sword and political power by contrast with King Jesus. And then Ferguson points something out that I think is just utterly, just like the icing on the cake. He says this, yet we know His kingdom, Jesus' kingdom, was established while the glory that was Rome disappeared into oblivion. We know that Jesus would outlast all the kingdoms of this world and break in pieces every man-centered kingdom which sets itself against it. Just ask yourself, did he succeed? Has his kingship not been proven out? Has he not outlasted the great empires of the world and any force that chooses to oppose him, even in his humility and servanthood? No, actually, through it is how he continues to conquer.

20 · Applies the doctrine of Christ's kingship by asking whether listeners treat Jesus as a partial king over select areas or as the King over every area of life

So here's my question: Is Jesus a king to you, or is he the King over every area of your life? We all, brothers and sisters, we all have areas in our life over which We do not want Christ to cry, 'Mine.' Right? We all have areas in which, 'Okay, you know what? I'll do this. I'll show up at church. Are you good with that?' Jesus says, 'The King? No.' Look, our offering of our lives to Jesus should be commensurate with his kingship. Is he a partial king? Is he a limited king? Does he bring a kingdom that is impotent and kind of like, 'Oh, well, you know, all he can do is this, so, well, all I'll give you is 2 hours on Sunday, Jesus.' No. His kingdom that he will usher in is eternal, an eternal kingdom full of life and peace and shalom, and his just rule is our good. So in light of that, we say every area is on the table.

21 · Offers concrete examples of areas commonly withheld from Christ's kingship — friendships, romantic life, parenting, family relationships, money — and asks whether Jesus is king over all or just some areas

Maybe for you it's like, 'Yeah, you know what? I'll let Jesus tell me how to live.' my friendship life, but not my romantic life. Or I'll tell Jesus, yeah, you know what, I'm gonna submit my parenting to you, Jesus, just don't talk about my relationship with my parents. No, you don't get into that, Jesus, that's between me and them, right? Or Jesus, you know what, I'll give this and this and this to you, but don't you dare talk about my money. That's my money, right? Is Jesus a king or the king is the question.

22 · Exposits the crowd's shout of 'Hosanna' as a request for salvation and a celebration of God's deliverance, setting up the crowd's expectations of what Jesus' salvation would look like

Third. A Savior. Verse 9 says, 'And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of— the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!'' Now, often the crowd, as they made their way to Jerusalem, would sing the Psalms of Ascent or other songs that they knew, and so it seems as though Jesus, you know, proceeding Jerusalem, chose the song that everybody was going to sing for them. The crowd sings this particular song, and the word 'Hosanna' literally means 'save us' or 'please save us' or 'save, I pray,' meaning it's a Godward request for salvation and a rejoicing in God's providing salvation to his people.

23 · Explains the crowd's socio-political context and their hope that Jesus would be a political savior who would overthrow Rome, restore Israel's monarchy, and bring economic prosperity

And so this is something that the people singing this would have immediately thought, 'I really hope Jesus is the king,' because we really need him to bring the kingdom. They were marching into Jerusalem under the eye of Roman occupation. Their rulers in Israel were propped up puppet kings that were corrupt and perverse. Their economy had been devastated through unjust taxation. And so what they wanted, what they hoped for, what they saw in Jesus was a Savior who could bring a kingdom that would drive out the Romans, take the throne, give everybody a lower tax burden, lots of good crops, lots of good life, establish that kingdom. That's what they wanted.

24 · Points out that the crowd's song is not fully directed at Jesus but at the kingdom they hope he will bring — a kingdom of their own making, not God's

And you can actually see it according to one of the commentators I read. Wessel points out that the song of the crowd is not actually directed at Jesus fully. It's directed at what they hope Jesus will bring them. Look at verse 11. 10. Verse 9, 'Rejoices, and he who comes in the name of the Lord.' Verse 10 says, 'Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David.' This is a request for salvation, but a request for a kingdom of their own making, a kingdom in their own mind.

25 · Exposits the crowd's fundamental error: they wanted Jesus to save them according to their own vision of salvation (political, economic), but Jesus saw their deeper need for salvation from sin, hell, and judgment

And this is why the crowd, for all of its spectacle and all of its shouting and all of its singing, gets close but is wrong. They all wanted Jesus to save, but they all had very particular ideas of what his salvation would look like. Only Jesus, the King of all, actually sees the type of salvation that they need, right? Jesus sees in the crowd, even in his disciples, people who will shout his praise and then turn away. Jesus sees, even in this march, their deep need for salvation from sin and hell and judgment, right? Because what this crowd is doing is what we all do, which is to say, listen, I'm happy to worship you, God, unless, as long as you give me what I really want. In that way, God becomes a kind of a way station on the way to our ultimate kingdom.

26 · Asserts that the crowd's desire for Jesus to fulfill their agenda mirrors the original sin in the garden — the desire to rule instead of being ruled by God — and that this is why they need total redemption, not just political deliverance

What we want is, 'I want to get married. I want this. I want to have kids. I want this life. I want this income. I want to have this. I want this level of health. I want all of these things, and can you do this for me, Jesus?' Man, in so many ways we're just like the crowd. But Jesus sees that that's the heart of the problem. What sin does, as we saw in the garden, sin takes the good kingdom that God offers and says, 'No, the thing I don't like about it is that you get to rule.' What about me? What if I get to rule? Right? That's the essence of sin is saying, 'I want to rebel against God's just and good rule so that I can pursue what I sinfully want.' And in that comes judgment. In that comes death. And in that Jesus sees the reason, the core reason of their need for salvation. They do not just need a Band-Aid. They need utter redemption, utter propitiation, utter reconciliation with God the Father.

27 · Exposits Jesus' entry into the temple as symbolic foreshadowing of his role as the sacrificial Lamb — the King who will lay down his life to secure salvation far deeper than the crowd imagined

And this, Jesus knows exactly what they need, 'cause look at verse 11. Where does Jesus go? He enters as King, and where does the King go? Verse 11. And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. The temple. At the end of this week, the Lamb of God will be brought, probably by the very same road, and it will be delivered to the temple prepared for sacrifice to be made for the sins of the people for another year. Jesus as the King proceeds into the temple And he could not say in more strong language, more strong symbolism, 'I am the King who also comes as the Lamb. I will— I can do anything in the universe, and what I choose to do is to lay my life down for my people as a lamb, for their salvation, a deeper, truer, better salvation than they even thought to ask for.'

28 · Contrasts the crowd's limited expectations with the reality of Jesus' mission — he came to bring freedom from sin and death, not just Rome; to shed his own blood, not Roman blood; to defeat death, not just earthly rulers; to establish an eternal kingdom, not just a political state

See, the people wanted political freedom, but Jesus came to be freedom, to bring freedom in every sense from sin and death and hell. The people wanted Jesus to shed Roman blood for them. Jesus would shed his own blood for them. The people wanted Jesus to emerge victorious over Rome and their rulers. Jesus came to emerge victorious over even death itself. And the people wanted a limited, political, geographic, nation-state kingdom, but Jesus came to establish an ever-expanding, eternal, and heavenly kingdom that will never be destroyed and can never be shaken. This is what Jesus came to do. Sinclair Ferguson again says, 'Jesus had come to take his throne, but had committed himself to begin his reign from a cross.

29 · Applies the doctrine of salvation by asking whether the listener sees Jesus as a savior of specific situations or as the Savior who addresses the totality of their need

So do you hope Jesus will be a Savior of some area of your life? Do you have a real specific thing that you're asking Jesus to do? Or do you see that your need goes deeper, that our need goes deeper? It's not just for this situation or that situation or this thing or that thing. It's all of it. We need salvation in the broadest sense of the word and deepest sense of the the word. Do you see Jesus as that kind of Savior?

30 · Returns to the Derek illustration and pivots to application, arguing that the passage functions like adding a last name to Jesus — giving us enough specificity to know whether we're relating to the real Jesus or a mistaken version

Now, very briefly, I want to suggest some implications for our lives. Going back to my conversation with Derek, my new friend there, I realized where I went wrong. It was when I pulled out my contacts to call Derek, and there were two Dereks, actually, in my phone. One just said Derek, the other one said Derek last name Overstreet, right? And so I thought Derek's fine. When what I should have thought was more detail is probably better, right? Like it's more specific. So the last name would have gotten me on the right track, right? If I could stretch that metaphor for a second, Stay with me here. Many of us are here in some sense because we're interested in following Jesus. But sometimes the Jesus in our mind, sometimes the Jesus we even pray to, is not the real Jesus. And this passage, in a sense, adds a last name to Jesus so that we know, yeah, the Jesus that I'm relating to, that is Jesus.

31 · Summarizes the sermon's three theological claims as a kind of corrective taxonomy — Jesus is the God-man, the King of all, and the Savior who offers total salvation, not just a good guy, a demanding authority figure, or a problem-solver

And what does this passage say? This is not just Jesus, a good guy, it's Jesus, The God-man, eternal, preexistent before everything, made everything with the word of his power, right? That Jesus, okay? It's not just Jesus, the guy who asked me to give my Sundays to him. No, it's Jesus, the King of all. Not just Jesus, the guy I'm hoping will save my marriage, but Jesus who offers complete and total salvation, right? We need the last name, as it were. Of Jesus.

32 · Personal testimony about relating to Jesus as king but not savior, resulting in burdensome legalism and hopelessness

So, here's a couple implications. First, sometimes we can see Jesus as a king but not a Savior. Sometimes we can begin to see Jesus as just a guy making a lot of rules that we have to follow, and that, honestly, for a lot of my early childhood and even my teen years, that's how I related to Jesus. Like, he's a guy that has a lot of rules, and the more rules I keep, the more points I earn, and the more points I earn, I can cash them in for prayer. You know, you need a big thing, like I need to find my sock, cash in 20 prayer points, right? I need a big thing, like I need a girlfriend, Jesus is like, you're gonna need a lot more than that, right? So this is, I mean, honestly, like if I'm brutally honest, that's the way I often related to God in my teens. I saw him as king, but not as Savior. And I could tell because of this. When I sinned, I was utterly burdened and hopeless. 'Cause I thought I gotta stop failing. I gotta be good. And all along, Jesus was far better than I knew. And through the church and through other means, God revealed himself to me progressively as a Savior, not just a King. That when I go to him in prayer, he's not adding up my points, he's saying, 'It's paid with my blood. Son, talk to me.' That's a much better Jesus. If you don't know that Jesus, friend, today I want to encourage you, he is not just a king, he is your Savior. Don't just try to be good, try to be utterly despairing of your own righteousness and fall on Jesus, and he'll be there. He will be there.

33 · Offers a diagnostic test for whether one knows Jesus as Savior: the consistent and persistent presence of joy

And one kind of quick test you can tell if you believe in Jesus as Savior, as a Christian, is there will be the consistent and persistent presence of joy in your life. If you often lack joy, if your faith and Bible reading and prayer are often marked by, 'Ugh, okay,' you know, I don't think you know him as Savior yet, or fully. Because if you did, you'd be like the guys Jesus heals and they go away walking, leaping, praising God, saying, 'Man, I was paralyzed and I can walk. I was dead and I got called out of that tomb,' right? That produces something in us. When you know Jesus as Savior.

34 · Applies the doctrine of kingship by diagnosing the opposite error — seeing Jesus as Savior but not King, resulting in delayed obedience or compartmentalized faith

Second, it's also possible to know Jesus as Savior but not as King. This is where sometimes you could be glad that Jesus has saved you, glad that, you know, he's out there and he's secured your future, glad you're not going to hell, woo! You know, but then when it comes to living your life under the kingship of Jesus, it's like, well, well, like Chuck was talking about last week, right, when he's, you know, 19, he's thinking, 'Well, give me a decade and then I'll really turn my life over to you as king. I'm having too much fun,' right? This is how we can think. That's when you begin to see Jesus as a Savior but not a King. And the two go together, right? Jesus bought us back to the kingdom of God with his blood. And if we believe that, if your heart truly is transformed by that, there's something in you that goes, 'Man, here's my life. Take it. What do you want?' Where are we going? You're like the demoniac guy that when Jesus is leaving on the boat, he begs Jesus that he might go with him. That's a guy that got Jesus as his Savior, and it spilled over into Jesus as his King.

35 · Offers a second diagnostic test for whether one knows Jesus as King: year-over-year growth in submitting new areas of life to his rule

So here's my question: Is there an increasing, year over year, placing of your life under the kingship of Jesus? Or put another way. Do you let Jesus to tell— do you let Jesus tell you what to do in more and more areas of your life every year? That's what this calls for.

36 · Personal story about a college friend whose life revolved around climbing — losing relationships, grades, and opportunities because everything orbited climbing

Third, a person but not the person, right? And I just want to say, I grew up going to church. I always thought Jesus was important, but there is important and then there's life-changing, right? I remember this one guy in college was a climber and he loved to climb at Waco Tanks, and so As I got to know him, started to form a little bit of a friendship with him, he would be like, like, I'd be like, hey man, do you want to meet for study group? We got a big test coming up. He'd be like, oh man, yeah, I'll meet Thursday, man. I can't meet, I gotta meet Friday. He's like, oh bro, I can't meet Friday. You know? And I'm like, well, what do you— and he was always like busy. And it's like, oh, I can't do that Wednesday. I can't do the— and then finally one day I was like, what about all next weekend? And he's like, yeah, I'm busy. And so finally I asked him, hey man, what are you doing? Like, You're always busy. And he's like, oh man, I'm climbing, bro. And so I found out he would like go out to Waco Friday and like just camp there for like 2 days and then like show up like Monday morning. And that was his life. He just climbed, right? Everything revolved around climbing. He was dating a girl, she broke up with him. Why? Because of the climbing, right? He got poor grades. Why? Because of the climbing. He kept missing a study. And I remember thinking, man, this guy's crazy. His whole life is revolving around this one thing.

37 · Contrasts the functional idolatry of the climber with the life-reorienting power of knowing Jesus truly — Jesus is the one thing worth building your life around because he gives life rather than taking it

As one thing, and here's the sad part, that's never going to give him what he's really longing for. But if we know Jesus as life-defining God-man, King and Savior, it really does reorient our whole life. It becomes the thing around which everything else orbits. And here's the thing, it's worth it. It's finally a thing that gives life instead of takes it, that will go on and on, that will last eternally. The thing every human heart is longing for.

38 · Direct address to parents about the goal of kids' ministry — that children would know Jesus as both Savior and King, avoiding both legalism and permissiveness

So let me just say briefly, 'cause we're opening the kids' ministry, one quick note to parents. Parents, I really think for all of us as parents, this has to be our goal, that our kids grow up knowing Jesus as Savior and as Lord. If our kids end the week with only Jesus as King and us telling them, you didn't do enough again, They're not seeing who Jesus really is. They need him as Savior. But similarly, if your kids, you know, they always hear about Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you, but you never ask them to change anything in their lives, they're not really living with Jesus as King or as Savior either. And this is our heart, this is our heart with the new kids ministry wing opening. Our heart is that the real Jesus would be unveiled through the pages of Scripture for decades to come in our church. And that happens here on Sunday, that happens much more even in our homes.

39 · Personal story about discovering his wife's hidden talents after 13 years of marriage — not that she changed, but that he finally saw who she always was

So let me just end by saying this: when we see Jesus for who he really is, he is far better than we imagined. One quick example is my wife. So I've been married to Jen for almost 13 years. Is that right, babe? 13? Yeah, 13 this fall. I love her, I'm in love with her, she's very capable, she's awesome, but when she got asked to start helping with the kids' ministry project and the design stuff, I came home one day, she had all these drawings done of sketches of what the rooms are gonna look like, and I looked at the sketches and I looked at her and I looked back at them and I said, 'Did you do these?' And she was like, 'Well, yeah.' And I looked at her, and I was like, I didn't know you could draw. Like, you can draw? And she's like, well, yeah. And I'm like, why hasn't this come up before? She's like, I don't know, it's just never come up. Like, I just draw, you know. And I'm looking, and I'm like, I didn't know you could do interior design. And she's like, well, it's never come up. And here's the thing. It wasn't like she acquired some crazy new skill It was just that I finally saw who she had always been. And it made me think, 'Man, I've been living with this girl for 13 years. I didn't know the half of how cool she is.'

40 · Synthesizes the marriage illustration into a doxological charge: growing in knowledge of Jesus should be a regular experience of discovering how much better he is than we knew — not a different Jesus, but the same Jesus seen more truly

When we grow more and more in understanding of Jesus, that should be a regular experience for us. It's not like, 'Oh, I— now it's a different Jesus,' but more, 'Oh, I knew you were king, but I didn't know you were that good.' I knew you were a Savior, but I didn't know you were that great. This is the effect that it should have on our hearts. So let's stand and we'll end with singing to the Lord.

41 · Closing prayer interceding for two groups — those who need to see Jesus truly for the first time and place their lives under his lordship, and those who know Jesus but have grown accustomed to him and need fresh wonder at his greatness

Let's pray. Father, I do pray for these two categories today. I pray for, first, people who may be just wrestling with the Jesus that they've had in their mind is not mapping onto the Jesus of Mark 11. And I pray that you would unveil your Son, unveil yourself to them, God, that they might either place their lives under the lordship of Jesus Christ and trust in Jesus as Savior. I pray that they would do that, God. And I pray for those of us who perhaps know Jesus as Savior and know Jesus as King, but we get used to it. God, may we not get used to it. May we have the regular experience of, 'Man, I did not know how good Jesus was. I didn't know how big of a Savior he actually is.' Lord, I pray that that would be the pattern of our life, that we would see the greatness of our Savior, And our response be to lay everything down at his feet yet again. In your name we pray, amen.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Jun 20, 2021

Mission and Movement

What Jesus began in his earthly ministry, he continues through the ministry of the local church by declaring and demonstrating the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:1-3

Jul 4, 2021

Design, Divorce, Direction

Lifelong covenantal marriage between a man and a woman is designed by God to display the story of Christ and the church, and Jesus calls His disciples to pursue this design with humility, grace, and resolve.

Mark 10:1-12

Jul 11, 2021

Searching for Greatness in All the Wrong Places

The world pursues greatness by climbing up to be served, but Jesus reveals true greatness is found in descending to serve others, a paradigm made possible only by first being served by Christ who gave his life as a ransom for us.

Mark 10:32-45

July 25 · This sermon

Cheering Jesus But Missing the Point

The crowd on Palm Sunday was close to understanding Jesus' identity but fundamentally wrong because they wanted a political deliverer on their terms rather than the God-man King who came to save them from sin through his sacrificial death.

Mark 11:1-11

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

When you read Mark 11:1-11, what specific actions and words does the crowd use to show their understanding of who Jesus is? What do those ac…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we meet the real Jesus — not the version the crowd imagined, but the God-man King whose authority spans every realm, whose kingdom outlasts every empire, and whose sacrifice redeems us from sin itself.

Prayer

Father, Give Us Eyes to See the Real Jesus

Father, we come before you this week with hearts that need correction. We praise you that Jesus is not merely a great teacher or a political…

Family table

The Jesus You're Actually Following

This prompt invites your family to think about whether they know the real Jesus or a version shaped by what they want from him. The sermon s…

Couples

The Jesus You Actually Need

What version of Jesus have you been cheering for—the one you want him to be, or the God-man who came to save you from sin? What did the serm…

Memorize

Colossians 1:15-16

This verse establishes Jesus' true identity as the God-man and the sovereign King over all creation—the reality the Palm Sunday crowd missed when they tried to reduce him to a political savior. Memorizing this corrects the sermon's central problem: knowing *who Jesus actually is* rather than the version shaped by our own desires.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

When you read Mark 11:1-11, what specific actions and words does the crowd use to show their understanding of who Jesus is? What do those actions tell us about what they expected from him?

Mark 11:9-10

→ How do you think the crowd's expectations were shaped by their circumstances — living under Roman occupation — versus by who Jesus actually claimed to be?
The sermon emphasizes that Jesus is not in the same category as other great historical figures — he is the God-man. What does Colossians 1:15-20 reveal about Jesus that the Palm Sunday crowd may have missed or misunderstood?

Colossians 1:15-20
Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9, which describes a humble, servant king — not a military conqueror on a warhorse. What does this choice reveal about the kind of kingdom Jesus came to establish, and how might that have disappointed the crowd's expectations?

Zechariah 9:9

→ Where in your own life do you find yourself wanting Jesus to be king in some areas but not others — wanting his blessing without his authority?
The sermon describes the crowd's desire for Jesus to serve their political agenda as a mirror of the original sin — the desire to rule instead of being ruled by God. What does that connection reveal about what the crowd — and what we — actually need from Jesus?

Genesis 3:5
If Jesus is truly the God-man and the eternal King over every visible and invisible sphere, what does it mean practically for you to offer your whole life to him — not just the parts that feel safe or convenient?

→ What is one specific area — relationships, money, family, work, ambitions — where you've been treating Jesus as a partial king rather than the King?
The crowd on Palm Sunday was close to understanding Jesus but fundamentally wrong about what he came to do. By the end of the week, many had dispersed or called for his death. What does this teach us about the danger of following a version of Jesus shaped by our own desires rather than by who he actually revealed himself to be?

Mark 11:1-11

→ How might you be shaped — without realizing it — by cultural expectations of who Jesus should be or what he should do for you?

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday Colossians 1:15-20

Paul doesn't describe Jesus as a talented rabbi or inspiring leader. He is 'the image of the invisible God' — the fullness of deity in bodily form, the one through whom and for whom all things exist. When the Palm Sunday crowd cheered Jesus, they were cheering someone far greater than they could see. Do we?

Tuesday Colossians 1:16

Thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities — Paul stacks up every seat of power in the cosmos and then says they were all created *through* and *for* Jesus. Rome thought it ruled the world. But Rome's authority was always derivative, always under his. The crowd wanted a king to overthrow one empire. Jesus is the King over every power that has ever existed.

Wednesday Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah announced a king coming on a donkey, not a war horse. Gentle, humble, yet righteous and victorious. The crowd on Palm Sunday was reading this prophecy but wanted a different ending — a cavalry charge, not a cross. Yet the humiliation became the victory. His kingdom has outlasted Rome, Napoleon, and every power that tried to crush it.

Thursday 2 Kings 9:13

When Jehu was anointed king, the people spread their cloaks on the ground in homage. The Palm Sunday crowd did the same for Jesus — but they were anointing him for a kingship he didn't come to deliver. We do the same whenever we follow Jesus for what we want him to give us rather than surrendering to what he calls us to become. Our agenda, not his kingdom.

Friday Colossians 1:15-20 (revisit)

The crowd wanted liberation from Rome. Jesus brought reconciliation with God through his blood, peace with the Father, and citizenship in a kingdom that will never fall. This week, ask yourself: Are you following the Jesus you've imagined, or the Jesus Paul describes — the one who died to free you from sin itself and rose to reign forever?

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Father, Give Us Eyes to See the Real Jesus

Father, we come before you this week with hearts that need correction. We praise you that Jesus is not merely a great teacher or a political figure, but the God-man — the exact image of your invisible nature, sustaining all things by the power of his word (Colossians 1:15-20). You have revealed him to us not as a king on our terms, but as the King whose kingdom operates by humility, sacrifice, and love.

We confess that like the crowd on Palm Sunday, we too often fashion Jesus into a version that serves our own desires and agendas. We cheer for him when he promises comfort, but hesitate when he calls us to surrender. We want a savior who will fix our circumstances without transforming our hearts. We withhold parts of our lives from his kingship — our relationships, our money, our ambitions — as if Jesus were a partial king rather than the King of all creation. Forgive us for this small vision of who you are and what you have done.

Thank you that Jesus came not to conquer Rome through the sword, but to conquer sin and death through his own sacrificial blood. Thank you that his kingdom outlasts every empire that has opposed it, and that his power is made perfect in weakness and humility. Thank you that he offers us not political deliverance but salvation — freedom from sin, victory over death, and a place in an eternal kingdom that can never be shaken.

Give us grace this week to know the real Jesus — the one revealed in Scripture, not the one we imagine. Grant us the courage to lay down our agendas at his feet and to offer him every corner of our lives — our work, our families, our resources, our dreams. Make us a people who recognize his total authority over every sphere of existence, and who joyfully submit to his rule. To you alone, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be all glory and honor forever.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

The Jesus You're Actually Following

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to think about whether they know the real Jesus or a version shaped by what they want from him. The sermon shows how the Palm Sunday crowd cheered Jesus but didn't understand who he really was. Listen for where your kids think Jesus should be doing what, and gently help them see the difference between the Jesus of the Bible and a Jesus made in their own image.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the crowd thought he was going to be their king and save them from the Romans. But Jesus had something bigger in mind — he came to save people from sin and death, not from an army. Here's my question for you: Is there something you wish Jesus would do for you that might not be what Jesus actually came to do? Like, what do you secretly hope Jesus will give you or fix for you?

works for ages 8+ — younger kids can listen and share with help; teens will engage the deeper question about what they're really asking Jesus to be

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

The Jesus You Actually Need

What version of Jesus have you been cheering for—the one you want him to be, or the God-man who came to save you from sin? What did the sermon surface for you about that difference?
Where in our marriage do we treat Jesus as a partial king rather than the King of everything—what areas are we reluctant to hand over to his authority together?
What is one specific way you need Jesus' actual kingship—not a political fix, but freedom from sin and death—and how can we pray for that in each other this week?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Colossians 1:15-16

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Why this verse: This verse establishes Jesus' true identity as the God-man and the sovereign King over all creation—the reality the Palm Sunday crowd missed when they tried to reduce him to a political savior. Memorizing this corrects the sermon's central problem: knowing *who Jesus actually is* rather than the version shaped by our own desires.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

Plan a visit →

Crawler & AI-search policy · view robots.txt and llms.txt

This sermon page is intentionally optimized for search engines and AI assistants. We've opted into being crawled by both. The crawler-config files at the domain root:

/robots.txt

User-agent: *
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /

User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /

User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /

User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://sermonsteward.com/sitemap.xml

/llms.txt

# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Mission and Movement (Acts 1:1-3, 2021-06-20)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/06/mission-and-movement)
- [Design, Divorce, Direction (Mark 10:1-12, 2021-07-04)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/07/design-divorce-direction)
- [Searching for Greatness in All the Wrong Places (Mark 10:32-45, 2021-07-11)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/07/searching-for-greatness-in-all-the-wrong-places)
- [Cheering Jesus But Missing the Point (Mark 11:1-11, 2021-07-25)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/07/cheering-jesus-but-missing-the-point)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

The page itself ships with Schema.org Article + Church markup, Open Graph + Twitter cards for share previews, and a canonical URL. Transcripts are server-rendered HTML — no JS dependency for the readable body.