This morning, because we are using a very large text we are not going to read it all together, rather I’m going to refer you to different pieces as we go through it. Generally, on Palm Sunday we concentrate solely on Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem, we see Him seated on the colt of a donkey as the crowds wave palm branches, place their coats on the road in front of Him and sing “Hosanna!” Today, we will make Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem the destination rather than the focus of our journey because that’s exactly how John treats it in his gospel. We won’t get to the Triumphal Entry until next week as we discuss Jesus’ ride to Jerusalem and rise from the Tomb, what I pray we see today is that the Triumphal Entry was not merely the beginning of Jesus’ march toward the cross, it was the direct outcome of His raising Lazarus from the dead, the Sanhedrin’s decision to cling to what they were accustomed to and Mary’s extravagant response to Jesus’ love. I pray that we can see through this passage that the presence of Christ creates tension that always leads to either denying or following Him.