Road to Redemption - A Trip of Triumph - 2/03/08
Date: 2/03/08
Sermon Series: Road To Redemption
Sermon Title: A Trip of Triumph
Text: Matthew 21:1-9
” Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!””
Theme: This message will deal with the imagery present in this event and the application will deal with expectations versus reality. All of the people lining that road were looking for a king to free them from political (worldly) bondage. Jesus’ kingdom was about freeing us from spiritual bondage.
Introduce the Series
Introduction: A golfer who had been playing badly went to a psychiatrist who told him to relax by playing a round of golf without a ball. “Do everything you would normally do, but use an imaginary ball,” advised the psychiatrist.” The golfer tried it the next day. He stepped up on the first tee, imagined he got a 260-yard drive, made a fine approach shot to the green, then putted for a par.
The round went splendidly and as he approached the 18th hole, he met another golfer playing the same way–no ball. The other golfer had seen the same psychiatrist. They decided to play the last hole together and bet $10 on the outcome. The first golfer swung at his imaginary ball and announced that it had gone 280 yards right down the middle of the fairway. The second golfer matched his drive. The first fellow then took out his 5-iron and after swinging at his imaginary ball, he exclaimed, “Look at that shot! It went right over the pin and the reverse spin on it brought it right back into the hole! I win.” “No you don’t,” said the second golfer. “You hit my ball.”
Bits and Pieces, February, 1990, p. 16.
Transition: The story of the Triumphal entry is really a story about expectations. As Jesus and His entourage enter the king’s city, Jerusalem; every one of the players had different expectations about Jesus and what He would accomplish in the next few days.
If you would have been there that day 2000 years ago, whichever side of the fence that you found yourself on: Whether you detested the idea of Jesus’ royal processional into the city of kings, or lauded it as the beginning of a revolution that would bring all kinds of expectancies the one thing you would not have missed is that today - the King was entering the city.
This is one of only handful of events that is recorded in all four of he Gospel narratives. We will be talking about material that is found in all four of them so if you want to make a reference of the four places they are: Matt. 21:1ff; Mark 11:1ff; Luke 19:29ff; John 12:12ff.
We will examine this narrative through three different lenses.
1. The Coronation of THE King
a. This trip into Jerusalem was loaded with royal significance.
i. Jerusalem was the city of the kings.
1. Even before David wrested this city from the Jebusites and consolidated his rule over all of Israel Jerusalem has had special significance as the city of the king.
2. In Genesis 14 - After Abram rescued his nephew Lot from the five kings who had taken him captive he met an elusive figure, that we find out much later is a special pre-figure of Christ, out in the wilderness his name is Melchizedek. Abram offers his a tithe of all of the spoils of the battle and we know that he was both a priest and a king - the king of peace or in Hebrew – Shalom – He was the king of Jerusalem.
b. The elements of this journey have royal significance.
i. It is not an accident that the man who had walked all over Jerusalem on several occasions chose to ride for the first time this short two mile hike from Bethany to Jerusalem.
1. If you look back in 1 Kings ch. 1 you see that Solomon has been anointed king and David has him make a ceremonial parade on David’s mule to declare him king.
ii. The people carpeting the path of the new ruler are also not an uncommon theme.
1. In 2 Kings 9 Jehu is anointed king and the people lay their garments down in the ground in order to honor his entrance.
2. (There is also a scene that is related in the Maccabees where Simon enters Jerusalem to restore Jewish religious practices and kick out the heathens. His entrance is heralded by people laying out palm branches before him.)
iii. All of these historical events that lie in the background of what is happening here in Jerusalem on this day share a couple of important similarities.
1. There is a power that needs to be overcome. They are facing some kind of critical opposition to their rule that has to be dealt with.
a. Solomon vs. Adonijah (Absaloms little brother)
b. Jehu vs. Ahaziah and Jehoram (the last of Ahab’s regal power)
2. In each case the incoming anointed one has been chosen by God to rule.
2. The Character of THE King
a. The people of Jerusalem and the surrounding area were ready for a King that accomplished what a King was supposed to do. What they got was a king with a very different character.
i. A King who is LORD.
ii. One of the interesting things about this passage is that Jesus uses the term Lord (kurios) to refer to himself.
1. This designation is used 310 times in the 4 Gospels and Acts. Far and away it is used to refer to Jesus more than any other person. And yet Jesus only uses it 3 times in all of the gospel narratives to refer to himself.
2. It is really interesting that Jesus throughout His ministry has avoided the impulse of the crowds to crown Him king and in this one instance He not only accepts their acclamation but He also seems to set up a situation where the crowd’s intention is clearly displayed. This would have been an uncomfortable morning for the religious and civil authorities of the day.
iii. An eternal KING whom God has been bringing into this city for hundreds of years.
1. A connection of two OT scriptures is made here in Matt. 21:5 - Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden
a. This first section is a quote from Is. 62:11 The next verse in Is. says - “and they shall be called the Holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And you shall be called sought out and a city not forsaken.” This idea of redemption only makes good sense in the context of the way that salvation was provided through Jesus as Lord and savior on the cross.
2. The second part of the prophecy quoted comes from Zech. 9:9 – It goes on to say that the kingdom that is being set up by this king entering Jerusalem is going to be one of peace and one that will span the entire globe.
b. A king who weeps over Jerusalem.
i. In about forty years
3. The Credibility of THE King
a. The crowd craved a king, they had heard all about the miracles that Jesus had performed around the countryside. The story of the raising of Lazarus a couple of months before this has been of particular significance. These people are sick and tired of living under the boot heel of Rome. They hate having pagans in control of their king, of their economy and especially of their worship and Temple.
1. This highlights a couple of big problems with the crowd that was standing outside of Jerusalem that day and calling out Hosanna (salvation) in the highest. And Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
a. They were fickle this same crowd in 6 days will be calling for Jesus to be persecuted. There faith was no faith at all only a promise of future blessings for them.
b. There vision of this king who would stand up the world power of Rome was not too big it was too small.
b. The disciples didn’t understand the significance of the spiritual kingdom that Jesus had come to rule over. They were riding high with the expectation of shared power and glory. Their adrenalin was rushing at the thought of a confrontation where their leader, the guy who raised people from the dead and stilled the wind and the waves would be backed into a corner by either the religious hierarchy that was in place or the political and military machine of Rome.
i. The scripture in John plainly says they didn’t understand what was going on that day.
1. Peter’s readiness with the sword.
2. Thomas’ declaration of martyrdom.
c. And the religious leaders couldn’t stand it. They saw in Jesus kind of a triple threat. They saw Him as a threat to the stability of the uneasy political situation that had been a part of Palestine for all of their lives: A situation where they had a modicum of power and authority but tended to be unpopular with the people who saw them as Roman sympathizers. They saw Him as a threat to their religion, their power and even their very way of life.
d. The real question for us today is: What are we going to do about THE King who is coming?
i. Do we try to fit Him into a mold that is comfortable for us, place Him in a nook somewhere in our lives where He can have control over a portion that we decide He can control?
ii. Do we, like most of the world, pretend that He is not really the King, maybe just a historical figure who definitely had significance for His time but that time is long past?
iii. Or do we crown Him King and humbly acknowledge His power over single section of our lives?
