PALM SUNDAY – MATTHEW 211-13
Illustration. A little boy had been attending Sunday school for many years. He had the same teacher for all of that time. She used to finish every lesson by saying ‘and the moral of the story is…’ One day he moved up into the senior Sunday school. His mom asked him about the new Sunday school teacher. The little boy said ‘she is great and she has got no morals at all.’
Familiar words can sometimes become common place and lose their impact but they do not have to. I sometimes feel that for us as Christians the familiar incidents in the life of Jesus have lost some of their meaning for us and impact on us. So this morning I want us to turn again to the entry of Christ into Jerusalem and to look afresh at what that meant and means for us today. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. Within a week he will have been betrayed by the kiss of a friend, denied by another friend, tried on false charges, found guilty and crucified on a cross between two thieves. He will be buried in a borrowed tomb and three days later will rise from the dead. So this morning we begin another Holy Week by turning our eyes and our hearts towards Jerusalem and the entry of Christ into that city.
Up to this point in Jesus’ public life and ministry he had quietly slipped in and out of places. Whenever a crowd gathered around him and wanted to proclaim him king he quietly slipped away again. We often read of him telling people not to reveal who he was or what he had done for them. But this time when he enters Jerusalem it would be different. So this morning I want us to look at what happens when Jesus comes to Jerusalem. I think there are four things that happen:
THE RESPONSE IS OBEDIENCE
THE RESPONSE IS WORSHIP
THE RESPONSE IS CURIOSITY
THE RESPONSE IS CLEANSING
THE RESPONSE IS OPPOSITION
THE RESPONSE IS OBEDIENCE
Look at the first three verses of chapter 21. Jesus gives a command to his disciples that they are to go to the village ahead and there they will find a donkey tied up with its foal. They are to untie them and bring them to Jesus. He even gives them instructions as to what they are to say if they are challenged about their actions. Matthew does not record for us that they were challenged but we know from Luke’s gospel that they were and they say exactly what Jesus had instructed them to say. The two disciples obey their instructions. They did not query them, they did not ask for an explanation or a reason for their instructions. They never asked, as many do, what is in it for me? They simply obeyed. Look at verse 6 – this is a powerful statement. ‘They did as instructed.’ There is obedience friends. You see obedience is a sign of true discipleship and the sign of a right relationship with Christ. Obedience is how they showed that they loved Christ. John in his gospel chapter 14 and verse 15 records Jesus saying to his disciples ‘If you love me you will obey my commands.’ So right at the very beginning of this holy week, this last week of Christ’s life – there is obedience. There is the obedience of the disciples to go as instructed to get the donkey for Christ to ride into Jerusalem but there is also the obedience of Christ to the will of the Father and to the fulfilment of the Scriptures.
Look for a moment at verses 4 and 5. Matthew says that this was to fulfil the prophetic word of God spoken through Zechariah (9 verse 9). Jesus was obeying his Father’s will and word by sending for the donkey. Why a donkey? Surely as a king he would want to ride on a grand white horse. At the time of Christ a king rode on a horse when he came to bring war but he rode a donkey when he came in peace. Jesus obeyed his Father’s Word – the King of kings , the messiah would come riding on a donkey because he came to bring peace – peace between God and mankind.
You see it was a deliberate act of Christ to enter Jerusalem this way. It was in fact an enacted parable. For those with eyes to see, ears to hear and minds to remember they would understand the significance of what was happening before them. The very fact that Jesus came riding on a donkey accompanied by the shouts of the people – was a public proclamation of his kingship and messiahship. So when Jesus comes to Jerusalem – the response is Obedience.
THE RESPONSE IS WORSHIP
The disciples arrive back with the donkey and its foal. They place their cloaks on the foal. Mark tells us in his gospel that this animal had never been ridden before. Amazing isn’t it. An unbroken foal is going to be the means of carrying the Messiah King into Jerusalem. In the midst of singing ecstatic crowd Jesus rides an unbroken colt. Fulfilling the proclamation that he is Lord of all creation. Well Matthew tells us that the crowd soon gather around and before Jesus and they begin to throw their cloaks on the ground before him. They cut down palm branches and throw those down before him. These were the traditional means of honouring a victorious king. They accompany their actions with cries of ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.’ They worship before him. They proclaim him as king and as saviour. You see ‘Hosanna’ means ‘save’. It was originally a cry for salvation. Over time the Jews changed it’s meaning to one of acclamation and praise. But I think we should remember and keep in our minds the original meaning also. Here they are worshiping Jesus – crying hosanna in praise before him and how ironic crying ‘save us’ at the same time.
Note too please that it is the disciples who began this worship. They put their cloaks over the donkey. They go before Jesus and lead him into the city of Jerusalem. You see if the disciples of Jesus do not praise him, if they do not lead people in the worship of him who will? Just in case you miss the point let me spell it our for you – if the disciples of Christ today do not lead the worship of Christ who will? If the church of Christ does not proclaim his kingship and messiahship who will? The disciples led the way and the crowd soon gathered and joined in.
They proclaimed him king. They proclaimed him as of the line of David – the messiah. They exulted him and praised him on his journey. Yet we know that a few days later they will not be praising him but crying ‘crucify him, crucify him.’ Isn’t it amazing the fickleness of the human heart? The people who praised him curse and spit upon him and cry for his death – all within a matter of days. The disciples who led the praise and the procession will have deserted him, denied him and hide away from the public eye. One of those twelve men who laid their garments on the colt will have betrayed him and another denied ever being associated with him. How fickle the human heart.
Yet when Jesus comes to Jerusalem the response is worship. But learn a lesson – not everyone who sings the praise of Christ will be a follower of Christ when the crowd goes a different direction. Not even those who seem to be close to Christ remain faithful when the crowd turn against him. But then Jesus said the tares and the wheat grow together and at the harvest they will be separated. So let me ask you this morning, you who have worshiped Christ here today: come Good Friday – will crucify be on your lips? Or will praise still be ringing from your heart?
THE RESPONSE IS CURIOSITY
Look at verse 10. They ask ‘who is this?’ There are some in the crowd and they are singing his praise, they are joining in with the rest but it is out of curiosity. They now want to know ‘Who really is this who comes to Jerusalem in such a manner?’ ‘Who is this man who stirs up such a commotion?’ You know the word used there for ‘stirred’ is the exact same word used to describe an earthquake. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem literally shook the earth. His presence shook the foundations of the city. He stirred up the people. He certainly stirred up the religious and political leaders. When Jesus comes to town he shakes things up and rouses curiosity. Nothing has changed. There are people who come today to church out of curiosity. There are people even in here this morning and if you were asked you could not give a satisfactory answer why you come week after week – but you know something brings you back. There is something attractive and curious about Jesus, about his people and about being with his people when they are worshipping him. Many asked ‘Who is this?’ Well the answer they get is only partially true. Look at verse 11 – read. He was from Nazareth but he was not a prophet. Jesus never claimed to be anything other than the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. So when you are asked ‘Who is He?’ make sure and give the right answer. When Jesus asked Peter ‘who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ So when Jesus comes to Jerusaelm curiosity is the response of many. You see the singing of Christ’s praise attracts a crowd but without teaching and instruction from the Word of God these people remain ignorant of who Jesus is and why he came. The crowd remained ignorant of who He was and why He came. You see praise was not enough to explain the gospel.
THE RESPONSE IS CLEANSING
Turn with me to verses 12 and 13. When Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem he comes riding on a donkey. The donkey is a sign of a king who has come in peace. He goes straight to the Temple and he commits a violent act. He has come in peace and yet here he is overturning tables and whipping people out of the Temple. Is there not a contradiction here? No, let me explain. Jesus goes right to the heart of the Jewish faith. He goes to the temple, to the very place where the presence of God with his people is said to reside – in the Holy of Holies. He goes to the place set apart from everyday use for the worship of God and what does he find? He finds a den of thieves, a place full of iniquity and in his righteous anger he cleanses the temple. You see when Christ comes into the temple there can be no other gods. When Christ comes into the temple it is to be a place of prayer, of communion with God the Father. That and that alone is to be the priority and the purpose. The pursuit of personal gain, the exploitation of vulnerable people and the misuse of the things of God he will overturn and cleanse from the temple.
So when Christ comes into my temple – into my life – he comes to cleanse. He comes to cleanse me of my sin. He comes to cleanse me of personal ambition, passions and gods that take me away from God my father. He comes to overturn and drive out my money tables, all the places where I exchange the things of God for the lesser things of this world. He comes to cleanse and drive out all that would rob me of the place of prayer and communion with God. When Jesus comes to the Temple the response is cleansing – by him.
In the Temple people who were supposed to be praising were buying and selling. Those who were supposed to be worshipping were cheating, lying and stealing from other worshippers. Could that happen today? Does it happen today? We are told our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and so let me ask you is it possible for these words of Christ to be applied to your temple this morning? Are you trading when you ought to be worshipping? I mean are you under the guise of worshipping actually bargaining with God? Trading His ways for worldly comfort and pleasure. Are you trading empty ritual and religious jargon for prayer and true intimacy? Hence the reason your praise on a Sunday so quickly turns to condemnation on a Monday. Jesus criticised and drove out those who desecrated the Temple. Let me ask you – Who desecrates your temple? Who is it that this morning Jesus would criticise and drive out of your Temple? What tables in your temple need overturned and cleansed?
When Jesus came to the Temple He wanted to find a place of prayer and communion with His Father. When He didn’t His righteous anger at the desecration led Him to cleanse the Temple and to drive out those who were being sinful. When He comes to our temple and finds desecration through sin why would we expect Him to allow things to remain so? Does His righteous anger burn this morning when He looks on your life? He will come and cleanse, overturn tables and drive out the moneychangers. Exchanging the things of God, eternal treasures, for temporal pleasures.
Remember the purpose of cleansing – to bring healing and restoration. When you cleanse a wound it is to remove that which would bring infection and to aid in healing and the return to wholeness. When Christ comes into my life to cleanse it is to do just that – to restore me to wholeness of life. It is not just to overturn tables – it has a purpose to make my temple a place of prayer and communion with the Father. As long as I have money changing tables in my temple my heart is not focused on God but on mammon. Key question is – will I be like the religious leaders annoyed and offended at Christ’s cleansing?
THE RESPONSE IS OPPOSITION
I know we didn’t read this verses this morning but look at verse 15 and verse 23. Opposition. When Jesus comes to town the response of some will be opposition. The religious leaders opposed Jesus. He threatened their status, their position and their authority. He threatened their legalism and power over the people. He threatened their understanding of God and their way of salvation. He quite literally turned their faith on its head. Friends when Jesus comes to town expect opposition. When he comes into your life expect opposition. I am always amazed that people look surprised that when they become a Christian that suddenly they face problems and obstacles. I sometimes want to say ‘what did you expect? It is not a magic wand to make life easier.’ Friends of course we are going to face opposition when Jesus comes into our lives. Satan will oppose us because he is losing another soul. Our sinful nature will oppose him because as Paul says ‘I do the things I don’t want to do, and do not the things I do want to do.’ Paul speaks of the battle of the flesh. Opposition may well come from family and friends who think suddenly everything is going to change. Opposition may even come from those within the church because your becoming a Christian points out to them their need of Christ also. Friends expect opposition when Jesus comes in.
John Stott used to ask new Christians to make their way to the front of the church as everyone was leaving – he said he wanted them to know and understand that from that moment forward they would be going against the flow of the crowd. How very true.
Conclusion
To finish let me say this to you all. When Jesus comes to town there will be obedience, worship, curiosity, cleansing and opposition. Everyone will have an opinion and a response. There will be those who are Critics – the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead, gone and forgotten. There are still those people around today, even within the church.
There will be those who will go with the crowd. When the crowd are praising Jesus they will praise but when the crowd turn and cry ‘crucify’ their voice will be heard there also. Some in the crowd will be curious and ask ‘Who is this Jesus?’ So we want to encourage them to keep coming so that they might find Jesus.
The Committed – there will be committed disciples. Disciples who are obedient, who lead the praise of Christ, who point and lead others to Christ and who will fail. Remember that. The disciples betrayed, denied and deserted Jesus but they repented and went on to bring him glory by evangelising the world. Friends if you are one of the committed disciples then be obedient, lead the singing of his praise, answer the curious and when you fall, as we all do, remember Simon Peter and Christ asking him – what? He didn’t ask Simon was he sorry for denying him – he knew Simon was, it was written all over his face. It was written all over Simon when he climbed out of the boat and ran to the shore to be at Jesus’ side. He asked Simon – ‘Do you love me?’ so when you fall follow simon – climb out of the boat and run to the side of Christ and when he asks ‘do you love me?’ Answer ‘yes you know I love you.’ And he will restore you and set you on the path again. Yes we need to repent and ask forgiveness – that is what you do when you run to Christ – that is what Simon did physically and we do spiritually – we run to Christ and seek his forgiveness, but his concern is our love for him. And we know we love him because he first loved us.
So familiar words. A familiar incident in the life of Jesus. I hope and pray that this will not be a familiar Holy Week and Easter but one which changes our lives because Jesus came to us and we would, could never be the same again.
Amen.
