A Journey Towards Our Destiny:
The Jerusalem Road
Matthew 21:1-11
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As we begin our journey with Jesus towards Easter and the Resurrection, we’ll be taking two roads that Jesus journeyed upon as He approached His destiny, a destiny that was decided before time and the foundations of the earth. They are the roads that led Him not only to His death, but also to His resurrection.
Today we’ll be following Jesus’s journey towards Jerusalem, hence, part of our message title, “The Jerusalem Road.”
Last week, the stars of Hollywood came out in force at the 96th Academy Awards, or what many call, “The Oscars.” It’s the time when all the stars make their grand entrances on the Red Carpet. But they don’t come in old VW vans wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Instead, they come in chauffeur driven limousines dressed to the nines.
Now, given an opportunity to make a entrance, most would choose the grander style over that of mediocrity or poverty. We would choose the blazing white stallion over the small grey donkey. And it was such a grand entrance the disciples were hoping that Jesus would make into Jerusalem.
They were hoping Jesus would make a grand and glorious entrance on a blazing white stallion, sort of like the Lone Ranger, with a cloud of dust and hearty “Hi O Silver.” They were hoping Jesus would come into Jerusalem and kick out the bad guys, which in this case were the Romans.
That’s the Jesus they wanted, and that’s the type of Jesus most of us want today. But Jesus entered Jerusalem differently, and on a road that isn’t easily followed. In fact, it’s a road that not many, if any, would choose for themselves. It’s a road that leads to the Father’s will and our destiny, which means that it’s a road that leads to death. (And while it sounds morbid, it isn’t, and we’ll get to this in just a second.)
Jesus knew all of this and said the same to His disciples.
“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life.” (Matthew 20:18-19 NIV)
Yet even knowing this, and the immeasurable amount of pain and suffering He would endure, Jesus still went. There was a deep determination on Jesus’s part to travel upon this road to Jerusalem and to His death. We see this in Luke’s account.
“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.” (Luke 9:51 NKJV)
In the same way we need to set our faces and determine within our hearts to follow this road that leads not only to our death, that is, death to our wants, desires, and self-centeredness, but also a road that leads to our own personal resurrection, especially knowing we are now new creations in Christ Jesus, and a road that will lead to eternal life in heaven once this life is over. Therefore, it’s a road worth traveling.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, it was the time of the Jewish feast of Passover, one of the three feasts God commanded for the Jews to celebrate in Jerusalem where they would bring their sacrifices to the Temple. It was the celebration of thanksgiving of God’s mighty hand in delivering the Jews from their Egyptian bondage.
By this time, the people had heard of Jesus; heard of His great wisdom and how He had put to shame the religious leaders. They also heard of His healings and miracles. They heard how he fed five thousand with just a few fishes and a couple loaves of bread, and how He raised Lazarus from the dead. So, they lined the streets crying out, “Hosanna to the son of David,” which can be translated, “Messiah, save us now.”
But what the people wanted was diametrically opposed to what the Lord was doing. Jesus didn’t enter that day to set up His kingdom; rather it was to die to save the people, not from Roman oppression, but from their captivity to sin and death.
And so, the Jerusalem Road for Jesus was the beginning of the end of His earthly life. And although it led to the Cross and His death, it was also a road that would lead to His resurrection and heaven with Him sitting at the right hand of the Father.
And when we take this Jerusalem Road, it will not only lead to our deaths, that is, death to self, but also physical death, as we see martyrdom on the rise, but it will also lead to our resurrection and a brand-new life with God in heaven as our eternal destiny.
So, let’s look at this road Jesus took.
Read Matthew 21:1-11
There are four things I see about this road that we need to understand as we take our own journey of faith towards God’s will, and our own journey towards Jerusalem to fulfill our destiny.
1. It’s a Road of Humility
When we think of Jesus as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, we immediately think of Him coming in power and glory, in dazzling white garments and riding on a white horse as we see in Revelation when He returns. But that is not how He entered Jerusalem that day.
Instead of grandeur, Jesus chose humility. He didn’t come riding on a great white stallion; instead, He rode on the colt of a donkey, and it wasn’t even His, it was borrowed.
“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.’” (Matthew 21:4-5 NKJV)
This procession reflects the life that Jesus lived. Jesus didn’t come into this world wealthy, but in poverty. He didn’t enter in grandeur, but in meekness, and His life wasn’t one of fame and fortune, rather it was a life lived in humility. In fact, Jesus always spoke about His kingdom being of servant hood, not rulership.
To His disciples, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4 NIV)
Not only did the disciples not understand, neither do we. None of the disciples understood Jesus’s purpose. Even on the last night He spent with them they were arguing as to who would be the greatest.?
They didn’t understand this road of humility Jesus was walking, and by all appearances, neither do we. We need to get off the white stallion of pride and self-achievement and get on the small grey donkey of humility. We need to put away thoughts of grandeur much as Jesus did.
Of Jesus the Apostle Paul says, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8 NIV)
It’s this kind of humility that God not only sees, but exalts. This is seen in Jesus’s story of the Pharisee and the Publican. They had both gone to the temple to pray. The Pharisee went in congratulating himself on his works and his giving, and how he wasn’t like all the others who were obvious sinners like the Publican he came in with.
This is how we often come to God, prideful in who we are and what we’ve done.
The Publican, on the other hand, entered the temple staying as far back as he could, probably hugging the back wall. With his head lowered he beat his chest asking God to be merciful to such a great sinner as himself. And it was this humble repentance that Jesus said justified him before God, not the Pharisee, and it’s with such humility that the Lord dwells.
“I live in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.” (Isaiah 57:15 NLT)
The Lord is saying that not only does He dwell in the high and holy place, that is, heaven, and all of its glory, but He also dwells in the lowliest of all places, which is in the heart of those who are humble.
And so, the first thing we see about this road to Jerusalem is that it’s a road of humility. Next, we see that it’s a road that leads to the fulfillment of our destiny.
2. It’s a Road of Fulfillment
Jesus’s entrance upon the colt of a donkey didn’t happen by chance, it was the direct fulfillment of God’s divine plan. About 550 years earlier God had not only planned the Messiah’s entrance, but also chose the mode of transportation.
“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.” (Zechariah 9:9 NKJV)
This is what Matthew references in verse 4, saying, “All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.” This is just one of the many prophecies that we see in the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah that are fulfilled in Jesus. There are over 300 in all, and the mathematical odds of just one person fulfilling them are mind-boggling.
Peter Stoner, a mathematician, figured out the odds that one person could fulfill just eight of these prophecies, in which this prophecy in Zechariah is listed. And the number he came up with is 10 to the 17th power or 100 quadrillion.
Now, to help us understand that figure, Stoner gives us a real life illustration. He said that the odds would be like filling the entire state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars, with only one of them marked. And the odds of one person fulfilling these eight prophecies would be like putting a blindfolded man down wherever he wished and on his first try pick up that marked silver dollar.
Jesus’s life was to fulfill God’s divine plan of redemption, that is, to save us, and so Jesus walked Jerusalem’s Road for our salvation, knowing full well it meant His death.
The question God would have for us is are we fulfilling His plan for our lives? Jesus traveled this road knowing full well it would lead to His death, but also that it would lead to a better life for us. Jesus died so that we could not only have eternal life, but life more abundantly, a life that fulfills His calling.
Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16 NKJV)
Now, after telling us that we have been saved by faith through God’s wonderful grace, and not by any works we perform, the Apostle Paul said, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)
Part of God’s fulfillment for us is the giving of the Holy Spirit as well. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead, guide, and show us the way to walk upon this Jerusalem Road. And not only will the Holy Spirit help us fulfill God’s calling, but when disappointment and discouragement sets in, He will be there as our Comforter, giving comfort and aid in our time of need.
Therefore, Jerusalem’s Road is a road of fulfillment that we must be willing to follow so that we can fulfill God’s plan, purpose, and will for our lives. Or we could say to fulfill our destiny.
The third thing we see about this road to Jerusalem is that it is a road of obedience.
3. It’s a Road of Obedience
Jesus’s life was one of obedience.
Jesus said, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work … For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (John. 4:34; 6:38 NKJV)
This obedience is seen in Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said to the Father, “Not as I will, but as You will.”
And while the disciple’s obeyed Jesus when He said to go get both a donkey and her colt, can you imagine what was going through their minds?
Notice something else, the disciples obeyed Jesus without question. Matthew said, “So the disciplesc went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.” (Matthew 21:6-7 NKJV)
But God’s ways are not our own. Therefore, who are we to question them. The Lord said as much through the prophet Isaiah. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)
And so, God may tell us to go and do something that may not make a whole lot of sense, but if we obey, then we find that God had a plan all along.
I remember one time when I was the West Coast sales manager of a wire and cable firm. I had just gotten about a third of the Hughes Aircraft wire and cable bid, which would have meant several hundred thousand dollars a year in commission. I also lined up some really big wire deals. But as I was sitting looking at some major contracts the Lord said, “I got you out once the hard way.” Knowing God’s voice and what He meant, I shut it down.
That really didn’t make a lot of sense. I was just giving away over $200,000 in commissions, but several weeks later I saw that Hughes Aircraft had lost several of their major government contracts where the bulk of my wire and cable was going to be used, and several of the major bids got messed up by the home office, which would have cost me money. Later God made a way for me to attend seminary. And so truly I can say that God’s ways are not our ways.
The Jerusalem Road is one of obedience, and it calls for us to not only hear, but to obey the word of the Lord.
And so, the Jerusalem Road is one of humility, fulfillment, obedience, and finally it is a road of destiny.
4. It’s a Road of Destiny
Let’s start by looking at what waited for Jesus when He rode in.
“And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!’” (Matthew 21:8-9 NKJV)
The people were spreading out their clothes and palm branches on the road crying out, “Hosanna,” which means, “save now.” These were the words of Jesus’s destiny. For Jesus was destined to die, even from the foundation of the world.
Jesus’s destiny was to die so that God’s divine plan for our salvation could be fulfilled. But here’s what’s really ironic. Many of these same voices that cried out for His salvation, were soon crying out for His crucifixion. Not even Pontius Pilate could prevent this destiny as he tried to substitute Barabbas for Jesus.
Jesus’s destiny was to bring a new destiny back to humanity, a destiny lost back in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. And to do that, Jesus was not only destined to die, but He was also destined to rise from the dead, and not even Satan and all His forces could keep Jesus from His divine destiny.
What is destiny? Destiny is God’s purpose for our lives. It’s our appointed or ordained future. Destiny is what God has predetermined for us to be and to become.
It’s sad when I see those in the Bible who missed their destiny, like King Saul. God chose him to lead Israel. It was promised that the Spirit of the Lord would descend upon Him; that He would prophesy, and that he would be turned into another man and that God would give him another heart (1 Samuel 10:6, 9).
Saul started out right, living his destiny. But his pride and need for self-gratification got in the way, where he broke and compromised God’s Laws, and in the end missed God’s destiny. We heard this in his confession. Saul said, “God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams.” (1 Samuel 28:15 NKJV) In serving himself he ended up abandoning God.
But we must be careful not to compare our destinies with those in the Old Testament, because God through His Son, Jesus, has done a new thing, and at the cross He gathered up all our destinies in Jesus. Yes, we all have individual destinies given our gifts, talents, and callings, but we all have the same fixed and predetermined destiny.
The Apostle Paul said it so eloquently. “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.” (Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV)
Yes, our destinies have a lot to do with what God has called and allowed us to do in this life, but we also have the same destiny, and that is to get to know Jesus better, to walk blameless before Him, and to be a child of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our destinies, however, do not end with our life here on earth, rather they see us all the way into eternity. Maybe I can say it like this, our destiny is to live the cross life. In other words, our destiny is to die to self so that we can live for Christ.
The Apostle Paul said, “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NLT)
We cannot separate ourselves from our destiny, which is to die to self and become like Jesus Christ. Jesus traveled the Jerusalem Road. It was His destiny, and it’s also our destiny.
Conclusion
And while the Jerusalem Road is our destiny, it is also a choice we make to travel upon it. Jesus could have easily chosen not to travel it, and we have the same choice, but personally, the consequences of such a choice of disobedience scares me.
Today, if you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then you have the same choice. In fact, it’s the same choice the two thieves had as they hung next to Jesus on the cross. The first thief chose to mocked and ridiculed Jesus. The second thief, however, feared God and believed, and Jesus promised Him paradise.
What will your choice be? Will you continue to go the way of the world and have a different destiny than what God has planned for you, or will you choose to follow and obey, and have heaven and an eternity with God as your ultimate destiny?
Today are you traveling on your own road, or are you traveling down that Jerusalem Road? Today are you living God’s destiny or your own?
Next week we’ll look at Calvary’s Road and the journey God not only set Jesus upon, but all of us as well. And that is, it is a Journey Towards Redemption.
