"The Christ Bearer"

Matthew 21 :1-11 “The Christ Bearer”

1. Matthew tells us that Jesus sends two of his disciples into the village of Bethphage to fetch a donkey and a colt. This is to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet Zechariah, “Look, your king is coming to you,” said the prophet, “humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9).

2. Jesus enters Jerusalem

• Zechariah had predicted 500 years earlier that A king would ride in Jerusalem on a donkey , Be full of joy, O people of Zion! Call out in a loud voice, O people of Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you. He is fair and good and has the power to save. He is not proud and sits on a donkey, on the son of a female donkey. (Zechariah 9:9 NLV).

• As Jesus enters They greet him as their king, shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (21:8-9).

3. It appears everyone is following Jesus today

• The disciples are told to get the donkeys vs 2 you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.

• The disciples do what they are told according to the text 6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them

• The Crowds even obeyed and worshipped spread their cloaks on the road. An act of royal homage (see 2Ki 9:13). Branches

• The crowds claimed he was Messiah 11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

4. The place is excited about Jesus so who in the story really follows Jesus? Is it the Disciples?

• They may stand with Jesus now, but in a matter of days one will betray him and another will deny him.

• There will be an argument as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom (20:20-28).

• Jesus talks about his death and they ignore the statement

5. Disciples are not real role models what about the crowd?

• They’re curious, but not committed. In fact, their loyalties can be bought and sold. They’re shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” today, but soon they will reject Jesus and call for his death (27:20-23).

• New Testament scholar Eugene Boring points out that the members of the crowd know the truth about Jesus but they cannot bring themselves to do the truth. They are like college students who make an A in a course on ethics ... but still flunk life.

6. The disciples aren’t real good role models, nor are the crowds, what about the religious leaders?

• They were corrupt, mean-spirited and jealous. They created a bogus trial for Jesus and They sent an innocent man to his death.

What about us do we really follow

• I do believe there are 95 % of ministers who are caring and committed But it’s the other 5 percent who’ve abused children, who fill the television screens asking for donations — many of which come from fixed-income viewers — and use those donations to pay for lawsuits, or sleek jets, mansions and a fleet of cars. These are the false shepherds whom someday God will strike down

7. The disciples, the crowds, the religious leaders are not good role models so is there anyone who is a role model in our story? Yes Yes it’s the donkey

• This animal can teach us a lot, because she is the creature who carries Christ into the world. The donkey was a Christ-bearer,

• WE can be the Christ bearer by Following Christ’s direction; being willing to go where he wants to go, not where we want to go.

• We Can be the Christ Bearer by Being obedient to the will of the One who holds the reins.

• We can be the Christ Bearer by being a Burden bearer instead of speaking ones opinion as though we are right we can hold the reign of our tongue and bear the negative –ness

• We can be the Christ bearer by not getting spooked by the crowds, the noises, the attention we become bold in Christ .

This means letting love be genuine, hating what is evil, holding fast to what is good. It involves rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, and persevering in prayer. To live in this way means that we are going to contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers, and even go so far as to bless those who persecute us (Romans 12:9-14). It means that when our whole city is “in turmoil,” as Jerusalem was on Palm Sunday, and the people around us ask “Who is this?” (21:10), we’ll be able to give them an answer that shows them the way to everlasting peace and salvation.

Sermon idea from Homiletics online