Philip Yancey wrote a book titled “The Jesus I Never Knew.” In it he confesses that he didn’t know the real Jesus. His Jesus was blonde haired and blue eyed and moved about on a flannel board. He grew up learning about how lovely and friendly Jesus was. And then as an adult he took it upon himself to learn all he could about Jesus. It was then, that he learned that the Jesus he had grown up with was superficial, incomplete, stunted, undeveloped, underdeveloped, and much too small, too sterile and too one dimensional.
Observing this very thing Kevin DeYoung blogged, “There's the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms. There's the Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart who is for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money. There's the Therapist Jesus—who helps us cope with life's problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves. There's Starbucks Jesus—who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid, and goes to film festivals…There's Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes run faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls…There's Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that "all you need is love…" There's Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat…There's Boyfriend Jesus—who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love…”
I fear that the Jesus so many people have become comfortable with or adopted is not the real Jesus of the bible? And so for the next four weeks we’re going to meet the real Jesus. And to help us do this I’ve secured the help of four of Jesus’ most trusted friends, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We’re going to consult with one of them each week during this series to learn what they can teach us about the Jesus they knew.
I have to tell you right at the kick off that it’s difficult to share what each gospel writer thought of Jesus in just one sermon. After all, each one wrote a book on this topic. And so each of these messages will not be exhaustive or final but will present one big idea of who each of the gospel writers understood Jesus to be. And the way we get to that big idea is by asking each of Jesus’ friends the following question. “If you could tell this church one thing about the Jesus you knew, what would you want us to know?”
We begin with one of Jesus’ most well known disciples and friends – Matthew reading from Matthew 21.1-11.
“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage (BETH-fu-jee) on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
The word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
This passage is all about Matthew saying, “If I could tell you one thing about the Jesus I knew it would be that Jesus is definitely the Messiah.”
Messiah is a Hebrew term that means “the Anointed One”. The Greek equivalent is Christos or the Christ. Kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil as a sign that they had been chosen by God for a special task. However, when the phrase “anointed One” or “the Lord’s anointed” is used in the Scripture it almost always refers to a king.
Now the scriptures also tell of God’s plan to send a great King to Israel who would one day rule the world. Genesis 49.10 says it this way, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” The prophet Zechariah says it this way, “The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” (14.9)
This king would establish God’s rule throughout the earth.
Some extreme Jewish groups like the Essenes and Zealots were looking for a Messiah who would be a conquering King and Warrior. They were looking for someone who would defy and defeat Rome and turn the nation of Israel into a worldwide kingdom led by God.
But scripture reveals a more complete picture of the kingly Messiah including the one in our text from the prophet Zechariah who said, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
Characteristic of Matthew is the phrase in 21.4 where he says, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:” This phrase is a thread that runs throughout the entire book of Matthew. And every time he uses it, he links Jesus with the fulfillment of a prophecy regarding the coming Messiah. He uses it in the opening pages of his book when he wrote, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1.20-23)
Matthew is convinced that Jesus is the Messiah because he fulfills all the Messianic prophecies in the scripture. Now, someone might respond, “Yeah, but couldn’t Jesus have made the prophecies self fulfilling like in our text of Matthew 21 when he rode into town on the donkey? Sure he could. And I’m sure there were some images like that that he used to his advantage to emphasize that he saw himself to be this Messiah.
However, there were many prophecies that could not be self fulfilled. For example, the prophecy that he would be born in Bethlehem and at the exact time that Daniel prophesied about hundreds of years earlier. Nor could he have fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 72.5, 8-11 about kings traveling from the east bearing gifts for a great king that had been born King of the Jews. And of course, he couldn’t have self fulfilled the manner of his death or his resurrection.
More than anything else Matthew wanted his Jewish audience to know that he knew
beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.
Just take a look at the rest of our text for today beginning in 21.7. “They brought the
donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
In Matthew 21 the crowds are shouting Hosanna to the Son of David!” These words come from Psalm 118 which is a prayer that addresses the Messiah. When they responded like this they were acknowledging that Jesus was the long awaited for Messiah who would usher in God’s reign. In essence they were saying, “Blessed is the Messiah, who exercises God’s power and authority on earth and at the same time is present in the highest heaven.” (pg. 63, New Testament Commentary.)
Matthew knew Jesus as the Messiah. And just as that had some implications for those in the first century it has some implications for us today as well.
Since Jesus is the Messiah who has ushered in God’s kingdom everyone is confronted
with a two part decision. First, like the three wise men or the crowds lining the Mount of Olives, there is personally acknowledging Jesus as the ruler of the world and your life. It is to acknowledge that Jesus is not equal to some other god or religious philosophy, but far superior. And to acknowledge him as your Lord and Savior.
But that’s not all. Along with the first decision there is the decision to submit to Jesus’ authority as the Messiah which means striving to live in total obedience to his will revealed in the scripture. That is one pledges to strive to live according to God’s rule and Torah contained in the bible and not some watered down version of it.
There is a nurse on a pediatric ward of a hospital who always lets the children listen to their own heart beat with her stethoscope. She loves seeing the response when they hear their heart for the first time. For many of them their eyes light up with wonder. But the response she remembers the most came from four year old David. She placed the stethoscope in his ears and put the disk over his heart and said, “Listen.” "What do you suppose that is?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to figure out what could be causing the sound in his chest. After a moment of thinking his face lit up and he said, “I know. "Is that Jesus knocking?"
Is it possible that the beating in your chest could possibly be Jesus knocking on the door of your heart inviting you to acknowledge him as the ultimate authority in your life and to live like it?
Maybe the Holy Spirit is convicting some Christ followers for becoming complacent and wants you to step it up when it comes to living like a disciple. If so, I encourage you to get right with the Christ by seeking his forgiveness and renewing your commitment to living for him by taking time in prayer during the singing of the closing song.
Maybe someone is here who needs to accept what Matthew said and profess Jesus as the Messiah and commit their lives to living for him for the first time. I want you to know before you do, that you don’t have to go it alone. Each and every one of us are here to help you grow as a disciple. We’ll do it together. If you’re ready to step out in faith to acknowledge Jesus as the ultimate authority in your life and start a life of living for him I would love for you to come forward during the singing of the last song and kneel at the prayer railing cupping your hands. Doing so will be a sign to me to lead you in a prayer of acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. And if there is anyone here today who is has not made the vows of membership but would like to do so in response to the word, then please come and stand here in the middle during the singing of the last verse and we’ll receive you into membership before the benediction.
