“What Jesus Done”
Matthew 21:1-11
April 5, 2020 YouTube
As we consider Jesus’s ride into
Jerusalem, we are going to look at three things Matthew records that Jesus
does. Our text begins on the tenth day
of the month – the day on the Jewish calendar when it is required that the sacrificial
lamb be set aside for the Passover.
We see first, Jesus declares His
Lordship.
When the time was right – we
regularly see in the Gospels that Jesus waits until the right time. Jesus is acting on a plan. There are no chance or random events
here. When they get to Bethphage at the
Mount of Olives – a Sabbath-day’s walk from Jerusalem, they stop and Jesus sends
two of His disciples, saying, “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. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord
needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
We’re not told if the owner of the
donkey and colt know Jesus. We’re just
told that Jesus sends two men and tells them to tell anyone who asks why they
are taking the donkey and colt – without asking – that the Lord needs them –
the Master needs them – it could be translated – and the person will let them
go.
It’s a fascinating question as to
whether the owner of the donkey and colt knew Jesus and/or believed in Him
savingly. Perhaps more interesting is
that when Jesus says He is Lord – when Jesus says He is Master – the bearer of
authority – the immediate response is obedience.
Now that another season of Lent has
ended, we would do well to ask ourselves if we would have heard Jesus’ words
and obeyed like the disciples and the person they encountered at the place
where the donkey and the colt were.
Jesus says, “If you love me, you
will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17, ESV).
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my
word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home
with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that
you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me” (John 14:23b-24, ESV).
Do we love Him? The Lord wants us to come and obey.
Will we be as obedient as the
disciples, and the owner, and the donkey and the colt? Do we love Him? Our Lord and Master.
Second, Jesus reveals that He is the
King of Israel.
“This
took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, ‘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.”’”
Zechariah
is prophesying at a time when it seems that all hope is lost – the Davidic
kingship has come to an end. God has
failed to keep His promise that there will always be a son of David on the
throne. The enemies of Israel are
winning – the end is certainly near.
And
Zechariah speaks the Word of the Lord, “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.
“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.
“As
for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners
free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today
I declare that I will restore to you double. For I have bent Judah as my bow; I
have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your
sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword” (Zechariah 9:9-13, ESV).
God
promises that Israel’s immediate enemies will be conquered by God and His King
– the King of Jerusalem, the Son of David – the line will continue – God has
not failed in His promises – and God will even send a final King – a Son of
David – righteous and also the salvation bearer for the people of God – and He
will make Himself known riding into Jerusalem in humility – and His Kingdom
will be from the Euphrates River and throughout the globe.
This
is Jesus – the King of Creation, the King of Salvation – Who rides into
Jerusalem in humility – distinctly different from any other king who has come
with pomp and circumstance, because He is also the fulfillment of the Sacrificial
Lamb – which the crowds would see later in the week.
This
is the King Who will crush all His enemies and all the enemies of His
Church. Yet, He is also the King who has
mercy and would not separate a weaning colt from her mother but brought them
along together so there would be no separation anxiety. Rather, they took part in announcing the True
and Eternal King to Israel – and to the Church.
And
so, we are a people, first and foremost, of a monarchy. Jesus fulfills the fulness of the prophecy of
Zechariah as the King of kings – the King we owe abject loyalty and obedience. We are the subjects of our King – the King
Who gave Himself to be crucified after having lived a perfect life under the
Law.
Our
King has come – and saved us. Let us
serve Him in hope and joy.
And
third, Jesus receives the cries of “Messiah” as accurate.
The
disciples bring the donkey and the colt to Jesus and they put their cloaks on
them – He didn’t own a saddle. And Jesus
sits on the donkey – the colt comes in tow.
And they set off on their six-and-a-half-mile journey to Jerusalem.
The
crowds come out to see what is happening – all along the road to
Jerusalem. They knew their Bibles – that
Jesus is fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah.
They know He is proclaiming Himself the rightful King of Israel. He is bringing together a procession to
announce His reign.
And
the people throw cloaks and palm branches on the ground to ease the feet of the
donkey and the colt. And they wave the
palm branches in the air, signifying rejoicing.
Part
of the Feast of Booths, which recalls God’s deliverance of the people of Israel
out of Egypt and their living in booths in the wilderness, is to wave palm
branches as a sign of rejoicing:
“And
you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm
trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice
before the LORD your God seven days” (Leviticus 23:40, ESV).
And,
in the Providence of God, the pagan world waved palms to welcome the returning,
victorious king from battle.
So,
in the waving of the palms, we see Jesus as the retuning, victorious King –
even before the Resurrection – and as the One Who brings rejoicing to His
people.
This
is a day of rejoicing, of recognizing Jesus as the Eternal King, and:
“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!’”
The
crowd cries out that Jesus is the Messiah – the Savior – the long-awaited
Deliverer for Israel. The word “Hosanna”
means, “Save us, Lord!” And it is said
in such a way that the speaker and the listener understand it to mean, “The
Lord saves us!”
And
the Lord Who saves us – the King Who saves us – is the Son of David – He is the
rightful heir to the throne of David. He
is the Savior Who is sent by the Lord.
He is the One Who saves His people to the uttermost. There is no further, or greater salvation
needed than the One that Jesus brings.
Jesus
brings salvation through His life, death, and resurrection that first Holy Week
in Jerusalem. And that Salvation is
being completed in us as we are being transformed into His Image – and it will
be completed when He returns in Glory to glorify His people. And that’s what we mean when we pray, “Thy
Kingdom come.”
We
ask Jesus to come again – the final time – to come – not to be slaughtered as
the Sacrificial Lamb for our salvation, but to come as the Judge of the world
and to bring His Kingdom in all its fullness to earth.
And
so, we have hope, because the Savior has come and He did everything He needed
to do in keeping the Law and in presenting Himself to become the Sacrificed
Lamb for all those who will ever believe throughout time and space.
But
not everyone understands and not everyone will believe:
“And
when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’
And the crowds said, ‘This is the
prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.’”
This
is the prophet. This is the One Who
speaks the Word of God because He is the Word of God.
This
is a time for us to rejoice – even as we wait on God and the doctors with
corona virus. Jesus begins the most
horrific week of His human life declaring that He is the Lord and Master. He visually shows that He is the rightful
King of Israel. And He receives the
rightful praise and acclamation as the Messiah – the Savior of everyone who
will ever believe in Him.
“Hosanna
to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna
in the highest!”
In
Revelation, we read:
“He who testifies to these things
says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with all. Amen” (Revelation 22:20-21, ESV).
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for
sending Jesus and for His Triumphal Entry on that first Palm Sunday, showing
Him to be Lord and Master, King and Savior.
Be with us today as we need to be separate from each other. Let us connect over the gifts of technology
that You have given us and help us to be filled with joy and hope as we remember
what Jesus did. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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