The King of Kings Has Come to Us!
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 21:1-9
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared December 15, 2022)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 21, as we focus on one of the greatest wonders of Christianity. Today's Scripture took place on the day that we call Palm Sunday. It was the day of the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And it was a very important moment in the mission of our Lord. It was important enough to be recorded in all four Gospels, here in Matthew 21, but also in Mark 11, Luke 19, and in John 12. (1)
*By this time, Jesus was less than a week away from the cross. And one of the most important things to know about this Scripture is that when Jesus Christ went into Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, He was firmly committed to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem to receive praise from His adoring fans. Jesus rode into the city with His heart firmly fixed on the cross. Luke 9:51 says: "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
*As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He was determined to die for us, and His enemies were making their final plans. In John 11, the Lord had already raised Lazarus from the dead, -- not after he had been dead 4 seconds, or 4 minutes, but after Lazarus had been dead for 4 days! It was an astounding miracle of God! And that was the final straw for the chief priests and Pharisees who hated the Lord. These wicked men had wanted to kill Jesus for months, but after Lazarus was raised, they made Christ's death a matter of official policy.
*John 11:47-54 tells us that:
47. . . the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
48. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''
49. And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
50. nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''
51. Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
52. and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
53. Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death.
54. Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
*When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, He knew that He was riding into the jaws of death. But Jesus did that out of His love for His Heavenly Father, and for us. William Barclay explained: "Never in the world's history has there been such a display of magnificently deliberate courage as the Triumphal Entry. We must remember that Jesus was an outlaw and that the authorities were determined to kill him. All prudence would have warned him to turn back for Galilee or the desert places.
*If he was to enter Jerusalem at all, all caution would have demanded that he enter secretly and go into hiding. But he came in such a way as to focus every eye upon himself. It was an act of the most superlative courage. . . And it was an act of the most superlative love, for it was love's last appeal before the end. (2)
*With this background in mind, let's read Matthew 21:1-9, and see what the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem means for us today.
MESSAGE:
*Jesus Christ came down that road 2,000 years ago. Church: Aren't you glad? Yes! -- Of course. But one of the greatest wonders of Christianity is that Jesus has come here too. By His Holy Spirit, Jesus is here today, just as surely as He rode into Jerusalem long ago. The King has come for you, and He wants to come to you.
*Peter Marshall was one of the great preachers of the 20th century. One of the things special about him was his gift to make people aware of the presence of Jesus Christ. One of Dr. Marshall's best-known sermons was called, "The King Is in the Audience." He preached it every year on the anniversary of going to the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. And Dr. Marshall would say, "The King is in the audience, walking these aisles or sitting beside you. You may whisper your own prayer to the King now."
*Heart-searching silence would follow. One woman said, "We seemed actually to feel Christ beside us, to hear the rustling of His robes." Christians: We should often feel the presence of the Lord in our lives, because by His Holy Spirit, He is here with us now. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and He is always with us as believers. (3)
*What does the Lord's coming on Palm Sunday tell us about His coming to us?
1. FIRST: HE COMES WITH THE GREATEST HUMILITY.
*In today's Scripture we see that Jesus actually humbled Himself enough to need help from people like us. We see this truth in vs. vs. 1-3, where the Bible says:
1. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2. saying 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.
3. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them.''
*Some scholars think this must have been a pre-arranged plan between Jesus and the owners. And that's possible, but it's not necessarily true. The Lord could have given them advanced knowledge through His Holy Spirit, an angel, or a dream. Also remember from Matthew 17 that Jesus knew there would be a silver coin in the mouth of the first fish Peter caught. So, it's no stretch that Jesus knew the colt would be right where he needed to be at the right time.
*But Jesus made an astonishing statement in vs. 3. He told His disciples to tell the owners, 'The Lord has need of them.'" The Lord needs them? God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it, the One who couldn't possibly need anything, needed those animals?
*Yes -- through His sovereign humility, the Lord chose to need that donkey. And through His amazing grace, Jesus has chosen to need us too. Jesus Christ could have flown into Jerusalem by Himself, or ridden into the city on the wings of angels. But He chose to need that colt. He chose to need that young donkey. And down through the ages, God has chosen to use little things to make a big difference.
*Max Lucado pointed this fact out, when he wrote, "That guy who gave Jesus the donkey on Palm Sunday is just one of the long line of folks who gave little things to a big God. Scripture has quite a gallery of donkey-givers. In fact, Heaven may have a shrine to honor God's uncommon use of the common. It's a place you won't want to miss. Stroll through and see Rahab's rope, David's sling, and Samson's jawbone. Wrap your hand around Moses' staff which split the sea and smote the rock to bring forth rivers of water." (4)
*Church: I also think of the widow's mite, and the little boy's lunch that Jesus miraculously multiplied to feed over 5,000 men, plus women and children. God used them all. And now He wants to use us. Little things in God's Hand can make a big difference: An invitation to church, a heart-felt prayer for a friend in need, a word of encouragement for a wounded heart, even a small offering can make a giant difference forever.
*Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of greatest authors of the 20th century. In 1970, he was awarded Nobel Prize for literature. But decades earlier, after serving in the Soviet Army during World War II, Solzhenitsyn spent 8 years in a Siberian prison. He was arrested for writing critical remarks about their Communist dictator Joseph Stalin, even though the criticisms were in a letter to a friend.
*Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to hard labor in one of the camps where millions died from cold, disease, malnutrition, and executions. During that time, his parents died, and his wife divorced him. Once, Alexander got so discouraged that he thought about suicide. He was outdoors, on a backbreaking work detail. And he had reached a point where he no longer cared whether he lived or died.
*Alexander felt no purpose in fighting on. His life would make no difference. So, he laid down his shovel, and walked slowly over to a crude worksite bench. He knew that at any moment a guard would order him up. And when he failed to respond, the guard would beat him to death, -- probably with his own shovel. Solzhenitsyn had seen it happen many times before.
*But as he sat waiting, he felt a presence. Alexander lifted his eyes, and saw an old man sitting next to him. The old man took a stick, and drew a cross in the sand at Solzhenitzyn's feet. As Alexander stared at that rough outline, his whole perspective shifted. In that moment, he realized that the hope of all mankind was in the power of the cross, and that through its power, anything was possible. Alexander got up, and went back to work, not knowing that his writings on truth and freedom would one day, touch millions. (5)
*It was just a small gesture from an old man in a prison camp. But God used that old Christian, and God used that little cross in the dirt to make a giant difference in our world. Now, God can use us too. Through His great humility, God has chosen to need us.
*What does the Lord's coming on Palm Sunday tell us?
2. JESUS COMES WITH THE GREATEST HUMILITY, AND HE COMES AS THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
*One of our favorite Christmas prophecies about Jesus is Isaiah 9:6-7. There the prophet wrote:
6. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
*Jesus Christ is the promised Prince of Peace, and He demonstrated this in a remarkable way on Palm Sunday. Matthew helps us understand in vs. 4-5 where he wrote, All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "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.'"
*The fact that Jesus rode into the city on a donkey colt had great significance. William Barclay explained the scene for us and said: "At such a time Jerusalem and the villages around it were crowded. On one occasion a census was taken and there must have been as many as 2,700,000 people at that Passover Feast. In this situation it was obviously impossible for Jesus to speak to the crowd. His voice could not have reached that vast assembly of people, so He did something that all could see: He came riding upon a donkey's colt.
*Now that was two things. First, it was a deliberate claim to be the Messiah. We know this, because by riding that donkey, Jesus intentionally fulfilled the 500-year-old prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. There the Word of God says, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey."
*There is no doubt at all that Jesus was claiming to be the promised Messiah. But second, it was a claim to be a particular kind of Messiah. We must not misunderstand this picture. With us the donkey is a lowly animal, but in Old Testament days, donkeys were considered to be noble animals. In 2 Samuel 19:26, Mephibosheth the royal prince came to David riding upon a donkey.
*Donkeys were considered to be noble animals. They were also considered to be a symbol of royal peace. The point was that when a king was coming to fight, he came riding on a war horse, but when he came in peace, he rode on a donkey. (2)
*This action of Jesus was a sure sign that He was coming as the Prince of Peace. That's why Luke 19:37-38 tells us that as Jesus "was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!''
*Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace! And He can give us heavenly peace: Peace with the Father above, forgiveness, and a total pardon for our sins! As Paul said in Colossians 1:19-20, "For it pleased the Father that in Him (in Jesus) all the fullness should dwell, And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made PEACE through the blood of His cross."
*Then Romans 10:15 says, "'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"' And Romans 5:1 explains to Christians that "having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
*Jesus is the Prince of Peace! And our Risen Savior is the only one who can give us peace with God. But the only way Jesus could give us this peace was by dying on the cross for our sins. We can have His peace today, because Jesus came to take our place. We were guilty, but Jesus was willing to take our punishment and die on the cross for us.
*William Ezell saw a picture of the cross in an amazing story from the Civil War. A company of Confederate soldiers known as "Bushwackers" was captured by Union soldiers. They were immediately sentenced to be shot, because they were guerilla fighters and not in uniform.
*One of those Confederate soldiers was a young man named Willy Lear. But there was an amazing young soldier among the Union troops that day. He went to his commanding officer, and pleaded for the life of Willy Lear.
*"Won't you let me take his place?" the Union soldier asked. "I know him well. He has a large family who needs him badly. My parents are dead, and I have few friends. No one will miss me. Please let me take his punishment!"
*The officer hesitated, but finally gave his consent. So, the young Union soldier pulled that condemned father to the side, and took his place on the death line. The stone that marks the Union soldier's grave contains these words of appreciation from the man whose life he saved: "Sacred to the memory of Willy Lear. He took my place." (6)
*Has anyone ever died for you? -- The answer is Yes! Jesus Christ took our death, so that we could have God's gift of eternal life, by placing our trust in Him. Jesus took our place so that we could have His peace forever!
*What does the Lord's coming on Palm Sunday tell us about His coming to us?
3. JESUS COMES AS THE PRINCE OF PEACE, AND HE COMES DESERVING OUR FAITHFUL SERVICE.
*The Lord wants us to obey Him just as we see the disciples obey in vs. 6-7: "So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them."
[1] GOD DESERVES OUR FAITHFUL SERVICE! THIS MEANS WE SHOULD GO WHERE THE LORD TELLS US TO GO.
*Back in vs. 1-3,
1. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2. saying 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.
3. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them.''
*Jesus told them to go, and they went. Where does the Lord want you to go? I don’t know, but He will let you know. And wherever the Lord tells us to go, is exactly where we need to go! Jesus might send us to Bastrop or Brazil. But He's more likely to send us someplace close, like the hospital or a nursing home. Jesus might send us across the street or across the room. But know this for sure: The Lord wants to send us, -- so get ready to go.
[2] GO WHERE THE LORD TELLS US TO GO. AND DO WHAT THE LORD TELLS US TO DO.
*Again in vs. 2-3, Jesus told His two disciples:
2. . . "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.
3. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them.''
*That was a most unusual request from the Lord. Kind of risky. You know what they did to horse thieves in the old west don't you? --That's right. They hung them.
*One of our young church members got a new Camaro, and don't you know she was excited about that car. They got it down in Alexandria. What if her mom had told her: "Go down to Southern Chevrolet. Find one of their new Camaros that's never been driven before. Then crank it up and bring it back here to me. And if they ask you about it, just tell them that we need it."
*That's exactly what Jesus told those two disciples to do. And it may have felt awkward for them. It may even have been risky. But in vs. 6-7, they obeyed the Lord's command, and great things happened: Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled. Jesus got to demonstrate His great desire for peace with us. People were led to worship the Lord, and our God was glorified.
*All of these great things happened because those two disciples did what the Lord told them to do. And there is no telling how many more great things will happen when we do the same.
*What does the Lord's coming on Palm Sunday tell us about His coming to us?
4. JESUS COMES TO US DESERVING OUR FAITHFUL SERVICE, AND HE COMES WORTHY OF OUR HEARTFELT WORSHIP.
*Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship! This is a great lesson for us from vs. 8-9, where:
8. . . A very great multitude spread their garments on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9. Then 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!' Hosanna in the highest!''
*The palm branches they spread on the road were used to give great honor to a victorious warrior or king. "Hosanna" means, "Save us! -- Oh save us!"
*William Barclay explained that "the words the people used to greet Jesus are a quotation from Psalm 118:25-26. That psalm had to be in the minds of the people. They were part of the first memory work every Jewish boy had to do. They were often sung at great acts of praise and thanksgiving in the Temple. And they were an important part of the Passover ritual.
*On top of that, this was considered to be the conqueror's psalm. There is no doubt that when the people sang this psalm they were looking on Jesus as God's Anointed One, the Messiah, the Deliverer, the One who was to come. And there is no doubt that they were looking on him as the Conqueror. To them it would be only a matter of time until the trumpets rang out and the call to arms sounded, and the Jewish nation swept to its long delayed victory over Rome and the world." (2)
*Most of them did not understand. They did not understand our desperate need for a suffering Messiah. They did not understand our need for the cross. They did not understand the need for Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So, they were crying out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" But later that week, many of these same people would be crying out, "Crucify Him! -- Crucify Him!"
*Most of those people were not truly worshiping God. But one of God's greatest goals for us today is that we would have true, heartfelt worship for Jesus Christ.
*Now today we won't do any of the outward things the worshipers did in the Scripture. We won't spread our clothes on the road. We won't cut palm branches to wave and spread in the road. We won't cry out with a loud voice: "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" We won't do any of those outward things, but we can worship the King just as much as those true worshipers did that day.
*This is great news! And it's important to know, because people tend to focus on the external parts of worship. We see this truth in John 4. There Jesus revealed Himself and His gift of eternal life to a very sinful Samaritan woman. As soon as she realized there was something special about Jesus, she asked Him about the proper place of worship. Was it on the mountain where the Samaritans worshipped or in Jerusalem of the Jews?
*She was focusing on the external parts of worship. But in John 4, Jesus said:
21. . . "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
23. . . The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.''
*Aren't you glad we don't have to go to a certain mountain or city to worship the Lord? God wants us to know that worship is not about the external things. It's about what's going on in our hearts.
*There in John 4, Jesus used my favorite word for worship. It also must also be God's favorite word for worship in the New Testament, because He used it 60 times! The word picture is an affectionate dog licking his master's hand. But understand, it's not so much about the licking. It's about the affection. Most any dog would lick your hand if you just got through eating a piece of bacon. Real worship is humbling ourselves before God, and exalting Him in our hearts.
*But one of the best parts of worship is the joyful affection we have for God. He is our loving Master who takes good care of us, so we love Him too, and we are happy to be with Him!
*Worship is not about the external things. It's about our hearts, so we don't have to do any of the things the worshipers did on the road to Jerusalem. But we can worship the King just as much as they did that day. -- And we should, because Jesus Christ is worthy of our worship. When we are on top of the world, and when we are in the darkest valley, Jesus is worthy of our worship.
CONCLUSION:
*Church: The King of Kings has come to us. As Peter Marshall would say, "The King is in the audience, – walking these aisles or sitting beside you." As Christians, Jesus is even living in us, so let's worship the Lord with all our hearts. Let's serve Him with gladness, go where He wants us to go, do what He wants us to do. And if you have never trusted in the Lord, call on King Jesus to save you now, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Good Resource: GotQuestions.org: What is the significance of the triumphal entry? - https://www.gotquestions.org/triumphal-entry.html
(2) BARCLAY'S DAILY BIBLE STUDY SERIES - NEW TESTAMENT by William Barclay - Revised Edition - Copyright 1975 - First published by the Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland - The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA - "A King's Welcome - John 12:12-19"
-https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/william-barclay/a-kings-welcome-john-1212-19-7786
-https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/william-barclay/a-kings-welcome-john-1212-19-continued-7787
(3) A MAN CALLED PETER - "The Story of Peter Marshall" by Catherine Marshall - McGraw Hill Book Company, Inc. -New York, London, Toronto - Copyright 1951 - pp. 132-133
(4) Adapted from Max Lucado, AND THE ANGELS WERE SILENT - "The Guy with the Donkey," pp. 55-56 - Source: Sermons.com email 03/14/2002
(5) Sources:
-Charles Colson, "Loving God" - Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1983 - Sermons.com sermon "The Majesty and the Misery" - Dynamic Preaching series "The Vision-Drive Life, No. 4" - Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19; Luke 4:21-32
-"Oh Me of Little Faith," by Johnny Dean - Sermonillustrations.com email 08/112002
-Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other Stories
(6) "Preaching" - March-April 2000 - page 34
