Palm Sunday and Two Kings: Jesus and Solomon
(Matthew 21:1-11; Psalm 2:1-12)
1. It was Palm Sunday but because of a sore throat, 5 year old Sammy stayed home from church with a babysitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Sammy inquired as to what they were for. 'People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by,' his father responded. 'Wouldn't you just know it?' Sammy complained, 'the one Sunday I don't go and Jesus shows up.' [funny-jokes.com]
2. The coming Messiah was to be a King. Messiah or Christ mean, “the anointed one,” meaning the anointed king. Kings were anointed with oil, but a king would come Who would be above all kings, exalt Israel, and rule the world. He would also be the Savior.
3. The events of Palm Sunday predict both the Kingly rule of Jesus, and His being presented as our sacrifice to save us from our sins.
4. His kingship, however, is prefigured by another king, King Solomon. Psalm 2 likely links Jesus and King Solomon, as do Jesus’ own words.
Main Idea: By comparing and contrasting Jesus and Solomon, Jesus’ glory shines more brightly.
I. King Solomon Was Israel’s GREATEST King to Date – Measured by Power, Riches, and Land Ruled.
A. Solomon was Israel’s greatest king, when it comes to WORLDLY greatness.
I Kings 4:21-34, passim:
Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
… Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen…
…God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east … he was wiser than all other men… And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
I Kings 10:14 (CSB): The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons…
I Kings 11:3-4a, He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God…
B. But Jesus is GREATER as the ultimate in godliness, but He will also rule the ENTIRE world.
1. Jesus made what might seem to be an audacious claim in Matthew 12.
Matthew 12:42, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”
2. Jesus has and will eclipse Solomon in all good ways, but Solomon certainly eclipses Jesus when it comes to sin and failings.
II. Contrast: Jesus Came HUMBLY the First Time, but Will Return Majestically to Reign.
A. Palm Sunday was the day when the Passover SHEEP or goat was selected.
B. Palm Sunday was the day when Jesus’ followers recognized His KINGSHIP.
C. He came riding on a donkey, HUMBLY.
What a contrast to the extravagant, over the top King Solomon.
D. Why was a prophesy about the Feast of Tabernacles somewhat fulfilled on Passover INSTEAD?
Psalm 118:22-27, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
The term, “Save us we pray” is a translation of the Hebrew word for Hosanna. H.C. Leupold comments: “In Hebrew, the key word is Hosanna (hoshi’-ah-na’), which became a prominent factor in the celebration of the festival of Tabernacles, where especially on the seventh day, which was called the ‘Great Hosanna,’ palm branches, called lulab, were waved, and these branches, too, were called Hosannas” (Exposition of the Psalms, p. 819).
III. Comparison: What Was Spoken in HYPERBOLE about Solomon Will Be True LITERALLY about Jesus (Psalm 2).
A. This was great EXAGGERATION in describing Solomon, less literal.
B. This is MORE literally true of Jesus (but still poetry).
Isaac Watts wrote, “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun, Doth his successive journeys run;
His Kingdom stretch from shore to shore, Till moons shall wax and wane no more.”
