Matt. 21:1-11 (NKJV)
¹ Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. ³And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." 
⁴All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

        ⁵"Tell the daughter of Zion, 
        "Behold, your King is coming to you, 
        Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, 
        A colt, the foal of a donkey."'(Zech. 9:9, NKJV, 520-480 BC) 

⁶So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. ⁸And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

        "Hosanna to the Son of David! 
        "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! (Ps. 118:26, NKJV, 1000 BC)
        "Hosanna in the highest!" 

¹⁰And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" 
¹¹So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee." 
(AMP) | (NIV) | (NLT) | (KJV) | (NASB)

These are the words that greeted our Lord as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem.

He was entering the city to the cries of praise and honor. How ironic it is that less than a week later, He would exit the gates of this same city with a cross on His back instead of a crown on His brow. Instead of cries of honor and praise, He would hear curses and scorn.
How quickly things can change.

I suppose that is why I can never read this story without sensing the awful shallowness of this scene. For I know that the same crowd that loved Him one day would despise Him just a few days later.
The same crowd which cried “Hosanna!” would also demand “Away with Him!”
The same crowd who shouted “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” would 
shout “Give us Barabbas!” in just a short time.
The same group who sang “Hosanna in the highest!” would chant “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” not 
many days later. (Matt. 27:32-44, NKJV)

And yet for one brief moment in time, Jesus was exalted publicly as a king. For one day, at least, He was treated royally, as He deserves.

We know that Christ had a very short reign as King in Jerusalem. That is a tragic fact of history. What is equally tragic is that we sometimes allow Him only the same short reign in our hearts today.

I see more in this story than just a historical account. I also see a parable of many modern lives. 
For there are people today who exalt Jesus quickly but desert Him just as easily.
What the crowd did that week in Jerusalem is precisely what is still happening all too often today.

I. THEY LISTENED TO HIM FOR A DAY
I believe for that one day’s time, the people would have listened to anything Jesus said and would have done anything He told them to do.
If He had told them to take up arms, they would have fought the Legions of Rome.
If He had told them to give Him their money, they would have surrendered their wealth.
If He had told them to walk through the fire, they would have willingly entered the furnace.

We see that willingness to listen and submit illustrated in the incident recorded in verses 1–7. Jesus told two of His disciples to go into Bethphage and bring a donkey and a colt that they would find there for Him to ride. It was easier to bring the colt by bringing it’s mother too. Verse 7 -  “set Him on them” - refers to the clothes, not the animals.

His disciples must have wondered if this would be appropriate. Wouldn’t they get in trouble, maybe even be thrown into jail if they were caught taking the animals? Jesus immediately assured them, “If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” 

The disciples went and found the animals just where Jesus told them they would. And sure enough, some men who were standing there said, “Why are you untying the colt?” (Luke 19:33, NKJV). The disciples simply said, “The Lord needs it.” (Luke 19:34, NKJV). And with that, the people let them go. (Mark 11:6, NKJV).

There was no argument, no demand to see identification, and no angry protests of, “Stop! Thief!” All that was needed was to know that it was Jesus who wanted the colt, and the owners gladly obliged.

There were actually two groups who showed their willingness to hear and obey Jesus that day. We have just seen how the owners of the colt yielded with no objection when they heard it was for Jesus. But we may overlook how well the two disciples listened to the Master that day.

Did you notice that they didn’t object when Jesus told them to go?
Did you notice that they didn’t apologize for what they were doing when they were questioned?

Many times I’ve seen people make apologies and excuses for doing what God told them to do. If it were some of us, we might have told the owners of the colt, “Now this wasn’t my idea. I didn’t think we should have done it this way to begin with, but I’m just following orders.”

That wasn’t what the disciples did. They simply did what Jesus told them to do and made no apologies or excuses for it. They said, “Jesus sent us.” End of argument.

People listened to Jesus that day. From intimate friends to total strangers, they listened.

But how quickly that all changed. How quickly their ears became deaf, their minds became closed, and their hearts became hard.

By Thursday of that week, Jesus could scarcely find anyone in the entire city who would listen to Him. By then, no one dared lift a finger, much less take up arms. People would not have given Jesus the time of day, much less their money. They wouldn’t have crossed the street for Him, much less walked through the fire.

How tragic, we say, how could they have done that?! But it’s just as tragic today when a Christian becomes so calloused or so distracted and preoccupied that he or she stops listening to what God has to say.

I’ve seen Christians who were once so excited about their new relationship with God that they couldn’t hear enough of His Word. And then, for any number of reasons, they get caught up in other things and become neglectful of God and His Word.

Maybe something happens in their life that they don’t understand and no one can explain.
Or maybe they see a fellow believer do something ...
Or maybe they just fall prey to discouragement ...

For whatever reason, they drift away and stop listening. Sometimes, these folks become the hardest and coldest of all people.

II. THEY LIFTED HIM UP FOR A DAY
On Palm Sunday, the crowds lifted Jesus up as high as they could with their words. By Friday, they were lifting Him up on a cross and mocking Him with their words. That’s quite a dramatic change in just a few day’s time!

On Sunday, no honor was too lofty for their King.
They took off their own garments and cut palm branches to line the road before Him like a carpet.
Bible historians tell us this was a common gesture to mark the arrival of a king into a city.
This was the ancient equivalent to our televised parades.
An honor like this was reserved solely for a conquering hero.

Also, the words they shouted that day had significance. One of the words they shouted was Hosanna. Literally translated, Hosanna means "God save."

We’re mistaken when we think it was a word for praise. It was actually a word for prayer. They were shouting, “Save us!”

But the type of salvation they wanted that day wasn’t of the spiritual variety, as you and I think of salvation. They wanted Jesus to save them from the tyranny of Rome.

They couldn’t get away from the idea that the Messiah would be a conquering soldier rather than a cleansing savior. They expected something out of Jesus that He failed to produce. They expected Him to be something that He failed to be.
Their expectations of Him were confused.

As the week wore on, Jesus failed to do what everybody was waiting for Him to do. 
Instead of recruiting an army, He discipled believers.
Instead of teaching war tactics, He expounded the Scriptures.
Instead of inciting a riot, He encouraged righteousness.
He wasn’t doing any of the things they expected a king to do, so they turned on Him just as fervently as they had turned to Him.

I’ve seen similar turnarounds in our day. I’ve seen people lift Jesus up for a short time and then drop Him with a thud. Mainly, that is still done by people whose expectations of Jesus are confused.

Where do they get these expectations? It could be their own wishful thinking or selfish desires. Maybe they have been misinformed by false teachers or Christians who didn’t know any better.

They may not be looking for a military general as those in Jerusalem were, but they are looking for something that Jesus simply is not. They are expecting someone who will honor every venture, provide for every want, protect from every hurt, open every door, strike every foe, or bless every desire.

They are expecting a cherry cheesecake existence, and when they get hit with sauerkraut, their whole concept of God is brought into question. Consequently, just as quickly as they once applauded Him, these fair-weather disciples now abandon Him.

I’ve seen it happen. You probably have, too.

III. THEY LOVED HIM FOR A DAY
What happened to all that “love” between Sunday and Friday? Can true love run cold that quickly?

I believe the crowd’s feeling of love that day for Jesus was more emotional than spiritual. The fact is, it’s easy to “love” someone when you expect that person to do something for you. That is a conditional love.

People loved Jesus that day because they expected Him to deliver them from their oppressors. When He didn’t meet their expectation, their love for Him died. Conditional love always dies quickly.

Why do almost half of all marriages end in divorce today? Why do most married couples who break up do so during the first five years of marriage?

It is because somewhere along the line, one of them (or perhaps both of them) never learned to say, “I love you, period.”

No conditions. No strings. No exceptions.
I love you, and I’ll continue to love you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.

Emotions can change from one day to the next. Feelings ebb like the ocean’s tide ...

That is one reason it doesn’t phase me in marriage counseling when I hear statement like: “Well, I just don’t love him (or her) anymore” or “I don’t feel the same way I used to about my partner.” 

I usually reply, “So what? You probably do things all the time that you don’t feel like doing. You don’t operate on the level of pure emotion in any other area of your life. Love is as much a matter of the will as it is a feeling.“

Who said you that you have to feel love before you can act upon it?
Hollywood says that. 
Soap operas say that. 
Romance novels say that.
But God doesn’t say that! And the Bible doesn’t say that!

If you commit yourself to love someone unconditionally, it doesn’t matter what you feel. If you are determined to love someone, your emotions will eventually come along for the ride. In other words, if you love even when you don’t feel it, you will eventually feel love because you did it!

And the same principle that governs the marriage relationship governs our relationship with God.

To love Him because of what you expect to get from Him is a shallow, conditional love. If you love Him only when you are on top and everything is going your way, you won’t love Him very long. If you love Him only when you feel like it, you won’t love Him when the feeling is gone.

Jesus deserves better than that.
He has loved us with an “everlasting love.”
He deserves the same from us in return.

Max Lucado wrote, “Jesus wears a sovereign crown but bears a father’s heart. He is the General who dies in place of the private, the King who suffers for the peasant, the Master who sacrifices Himself for the servant”.

For one day, at least, Jesus was treated as royalty deserves to be treated.
For at least one day of His earthly life, Jesus was King.
His subjects listened to Him for a day.
They lifted Him up for a day.
They loved Him for a day.

But Jesus doesn’t want to be King for a day. He wants to be King for a lifetime. He wants us to guard our hearts against anything that would sidetrack us or obstruct the way we hear Him.