"Shouting for the Son of David" [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“Shouting for the Son of David”
Following Jesus - The Gospel of Matthew
July 14, 2019 :: Matthew 20:29-21:17

Our series in the Gospel of Matthew is called “Following Jesus,” and this is our 54th message in this series. We’ve been studying Matthew since December of 2017. Of course, we’ve taken a number of breaks along the way. But we’ve been carefully studying this theological biography of the most extraordinary and compelling Person Who has ever lived.

Matthew tells us and shows us Who Jesus really is.

And that compels us to follow Him.

We are nearing the end of the book. There’s quite a bit left (8 big chapters), but we’ve reached the extended last section of Matthew that is often called the “Passion Narrative” or “The Story of Holy Week.”

This is something Christians often emphasize in the Spring to go along with the church holidays (Palm Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, Easter). But we can study it any time because it’s always applicable and always relevant.

So for the next few months, we’re going to be studying together Jesus’ crucial week.

Quite literally. Because He was crucified that week.

Today’s passage has a lot of shouting in it.

In the three short stories about Jesus that we’re about to read, several groups shout at Jesus. In fact, they’re shouting for Jesus.

They are not mad at Him.

They want something from Him or they are proclaiming who He is.

They are excited enough to shout.

When was the last time you shouted, and why was it?

Maybe a ball game?

Shouting from the stands or shouting at your TV?

Or maybe you were shouting at someone who was in danger. Afraid for a child who was heading out into the road.

Or maybe you wanted to get someone’s attention who was far away, across the street or across the yard, or across the lake.

When was the last time you shouted?

In all three of these short stories, the shouters use a particular name for Jesus, one His many appropriate titles.

Last week, Jesus was using His favorite title for Himself.

What was it? “The Son of Man.”

That mysterious, powerful figure from the Old Testament that will come and reign and rule in glory.

But Jesus said that He was actually a Suffering and Serving Son of Man which almost nobody was expecting.

Son of Man.

Soon, the title at the center of the discussion in Matthew will be “Son of God.” When we get to chapters 26 and 27, that’s the title that gets bandied back and forth there.

But this week, right here, the title being emphasized is “Son of David.”

These people are: “Shouting for the Son of David.”

What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of David?

By the way, this has been a major theme running through the Gospel of Matthew.

What is the very first thing that Matthew says in chapter 1, verse 1?

“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ [what?] the son of David...”

Matthew 1:1, Matthew 1:20, Matthew 9:27, Matthew 15:2

This title keeps coming up again and again.

What does it mean?

Well, it literally means that Jesus is a descendant of King David.

He is Great David’s Greater Son.

That’s going to be contested during this Crucial Week.

Wait til you see in chapter 22, how Jesus fights with the Pharisees about Psalm 110!

Jesus is Great David’s Greater Son, a direct descendant of King David.

But that title means more than just that He’s in the family.

It means that He is the heir of the throne and the great King Who was promised to Israel.

Jesus is the Messiah.

Not just the Son of Man, but the Son of David and the heir of all of the promises that were made to David and His royal dynasty.

That’s a big title. Those are big shoes to fill. Son of David.

Let’s see how Jesus fills them.

Because, as you might expect by now, Jesus likes to do the unexpected!

He is the Son of David, but not necessarily a Son of David like anyone ever thought there would be.

v.29 “As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’”

He’s almost to Jerusalem.

New Jericho (built near old one where Jesus’ ancestor Rahab had once lived, New Jericho) is about 15 miles from Jerusalem.

It’s at the bottom of the hill. To get to Jerusalem, you start climbing up 3,500 feet.

Up, up, up towards Jerusalem.

Towards His fatal week.

Matthew had just told us that Jesus expects to give His life as a ransom for many.

His disciples didn’t understand what that means, but we do looking back on it.

He certainly knew.

And He’s still going. Up, up, up towards Jerusalem.

And He’s got big crowd following Him.

That doesn’t mean that they are His followers.

They follow, but they don’t follow, if you follow me...

Crowds are fickle. But there are a lot of witnesses for what happens next.

Two blind guys (Mark tells us that one of them was named Bartimaeus) are sitting by the roadside.

Now what do they see coming down the road?

That’s a trick question. They don’t see anything.

And yet, they do. They see with their hearts that Jesus is the Son of David.

“Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

There are plenty of people who see Jesus with their own eyes and miss Who He really is. The Pharisees are like that. In chapter 23, Jesus is going to call them “blind guides” which is a really sick burn.

But these guys who are blind could be guides to the identity of Jesus.

“Lord! [Meaning King] Son of David! [Meaning Messiah] Have mercy on us!”

And look at that crowd. The crowd rebukes the blind men. I guess they were a nuisance. They were getting in the way, slowing things down.

But I love what these guys do. It says they “shouted all the louder.”

I almost titled this message, “All the Louder!”

“Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

What a great prayer!

That’s something you can pray any day.

It’s a prayer for help. It’s prayer for aid. It’s prayer for salvation and rescue. It’s pray for healing.

And it’s directed to the right Person.

Look what Jesus does. V.32

“Jesus stopped and called them. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ he asked. [I love that. I’m sure He already knows. But He wants them to say it. They don’t want money. They Him to be the Son of David. They want Him to be the Messiah for them. To do what Isaiah 35:5 said the Messiah would do. He would heal the eyes of the blind.] ‘Lord,’ they answered, ‘we want our sight.’ [And now see this. Verse 34.] Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

And they really followed Him.

They weren’t just part of the crowd. They were disciples.

Here’s what’s worth shouting about:

#1. THE SON OF DAVID IS FULL OF MERCY.

They cry out for mercy, and what do they get?

They get mercy!

Verse 34 says that Jesus had compassion.

Matthew has told us this about Jesus again and again.

Matthew 9:35, Matthew 14:14, Matthew 15:32.

Remember that word for compassion comes for the word for “guts?”

That Jesus hurt in His guts over their plight.

He had his guts wrenched in pity and sympathy.

And because He is the Son of David, He had the power to do something about it!

He touched their eyes. Imagine what that felt like.

And then, they could see.

Because He is the Son of David.

Jesus keeps doing this again and again the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 9:27. Matthew 11:5, Matthew 12:22, Matthew 15:30, and soon Matthew 21:14. He gives sight to the blind. Guess what that means?

Jesus is the Son of David.

I think that’s worth shouting about.

And He’s full of mercy and compassion.

And that’s good news for our prayer lives, right?

These guys are a model for us of persistent prayer.

They know Who Jesus is and they ask Him to do Messiah things in their lives.

Now, there’s no promise that He will answer every single prayer with a “Yes” or at least not right away.

But He’s full of mercy. He’s full of compassion.

You don’t have to manipulate Him into mercy.

You just have to ask in faith.

And that’s especially true for spiritual eyesight.

If you call out to Jesus to have your spiritual eyes opened, you will find that He is rich with mercy.

“Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on us!”

Now, the last time Jesus healed two blind guys in the Gospel of Matthew, the next thing He did was tell them to keep it a secret.

“Don’t tell anyone.”

But we’ve reached that Crucial Week when the secret is now out.

Jesus is no longer clandestine.

Jesus now reveals Himself.

“It’s Messiah time!”

Jesus goes public.

In the most public way. Chapter 21, verse 1.

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.’”

Clearly, Jesus has a plan.

I don’t know if this is supernatural foreknowledge or if He’s secretly arranged this in advance in more natural ways, but Jesus is clearly in charge, and He’s ready to carry the title, “Lord.” “Tell him that Lord needs them. He’s requisitioning these animals.”

Because Jesus is going to ride into town.

This is the big reveal!

Here comes the Son of David.

Riding on a mighty warhorse!

Wait, what? He’s going to ride into town on what?

The symbol of peace?

Couldn’t He have found a big and more impressive ride?

A little donkey colt?

With its Momma?

That’s Airforce One?

Matthew knows why He did it. Because of Matthew’s favorite word, “fulfill.” v.4

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet [Zechariah 9:9]: ‘Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'’”

Yes, He’s the Son of David. But He’s a Son of David like nobody was expecting, but they should have been.

He comes in meek. That’s what that word “gentle” means in verse 5.

He comes in lowly and humble and taking the second place.

Everything we’ve been talking about the last 3 messages.

The First and the Last Theology.

Jesus is taking the Last.

He’s taking the lower.

He’s coming in like the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

Not like the Glorious Son of Man in Daniel 7.

He is both, but right here, He comes in, not just full of mercy, but full of meekness.

And that’s worth shouting about.

Verse 6.

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them [the cloaks]. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest!’”

How many people do think lived in Jerusalem at that time?

Scholars believe it was about 70,000 people.

But what happens to State College on a Game Day?

What happens to Jerusalem at Passover?

Historians believe that Jerusalem swelled to about 250,000 people at Passover.

A very large crowd is laying down their cloaks and spreading out palm branches.

This is Sunday, by the way. We call it Palm Sunday or the Triumphal Entry.

They are rolling out the Red Carpet, or the Green Carpet, actually.

And they are shouting.

“Save Us!” “Hosanna!” “[He will] Save Us!” Which is another way of saying, Praise Him! Praise this One!

“‘Hosanna to the Son of David!' ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' ‘Hosanna in the highest!'"

They’re quoting from Psalm 118: We looked at that more closely back on Palm Sunday 2018.

They don’t care that He’s on a baby donkey.

They care that He’s the Son of David.

#2. THE SON OF DAVID IS THE ARRIVING KING.

Here’s what’s amazing:

Jesus doesn’t stop them.

Think about it.

Jesus just accepts this adulation.

Jesus just receives everything they are shouting at Him.

He doesn’t shut them down.

He doesn’t redirect.

He doesn’t point to someone else.

Jesus rides in and receives all of these shouted praises!

He is the Son of David!

These praises are not over the top.

They are not inappropriate.

They are appropriate!

“‘Hosanna to the Son of David!' ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' ‘Hosanna in the highest!'"

What’s the application of that?

For our lives today?

Jesus is Lord.

We should be bowing down to Him.

We should be laying out the Green Carpet for Him.

So many of our personal problems would be solved simply by submitting to Jesus as Lord.

I see a lot of people who say they are followers of Christ, but they don’t live like He is their King.

If we really believe that Jesus is the arriving King, then we will organize our lives around Him.

We will cry out to Him for mercy.

We will follow His example in meekness.

And we will recognize His lordship over every single area of our lives.

We’ll hand over very every single of our lives just like those donkeys. "The Lord needs them.”

He’s the King.

What area of your life is dangling out there un-submitted to Jesus’ lordship?

He can have all of this, but I don’t really want Him telling me what to do with this.

Jesus is the Son of David.

And He is the arriving king.

He’s coming back.

And next time, it won’t be on a donkey.

Submit yourself to Him.

Yoke yourself to Him.

He’s gentle and meek. He gives rest to your soul.

But He calls the shots.

The Son of David is the Arriving King.

And that’s worth shouting about.

Because not everybody has gotten the message. V.10

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

Some people have not yet gotten the memo.

Notice how Matthew has brought us back to the identity of Jesus once again.

Matthew says, “Keep your eye on the ball.”

There’s 250,000 people in town asking around, “Who is this?”

And He’s popular at this point, but all they’re sure of is that He’s a prophet.

Well, that’s right, but He’s so much more. And He’s going to show them. Verse 12.

By the way, most scholars believe that verse 12 happens on Monday of Jesus’ Crucial Week. V.12

“Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'’”

It doesn’t say it, but I think Jesus was shouting there.

This is the second time He’s done this sort of thing. The first time was early in His ministry according to the Gospel of John.

Now here He is again flipping over tables.

Imagine if I just went over here and flipped over this table.

Jesus is not just merciful.
He’s not just meek.
He’s also mad.

He is righteously angry about what these people are doing in His temple.

These folks had set up a market in the Court of Gentiles. It wasn’t supposed to be there.

This was a place of prayer for the nations, but they had turned into to a shopping center.

They were probably also cheating people, right there, in the temple.

By the way, Jesus is going to spend a lot of time in the temple this Crucial Week.

Here He is protesting their profiteering crowding out the place of prayer.

Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 as He does it.

This is both a cleansing and cursing. (Language borrowed from Grant Osborne.)

He is cleansing the temple of its corruption.

But He is also predicting the overthrow of the temple in the judgment to come.

He’s got more to say about that which we will read as the week unfolds.

Here’s what’s worth shouting about.

#3. THE SON OF DAVID DESERVES PURE WORSHIP.

Where is the temple now?

We are the temple now, right?

The question now is what is going on in our hearts?

Our hearts should be a house of prayer.

What have we made them into?

I have never noticed in my life what happened next. Matthew 21:14 blew me away this week when I studied it. Look at verse 14.

“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”

Did you ever see that before?

This is what a house of prayer should look like!

Jesus is not out of control. He’s flipping tables, but He’s not flipping out.

“The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”

That’s the sequel to the cleansing of the temple.

Jesus doesn’t get thrown out, Jesus starts healing people and acting like the Son of David should!

And a children’s choir sprouts up.

The kids see what Jesus is doing, and they start shouting the same thing that they heard everybody shouting out on the road on Sunday.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

They know what’s up!

And the chief priests and teachers of the Law hate it. V.15

“But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant. ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked him.”

Notice what they are the most upset about.

Are they mad about the tables and the trade? Probably.

Are they mad about the healing of the blind and the lame in the temple?

Were those sorts of people supposed to be in there?

They are so indignant that Jesus is getting praised as the Son of David.

Keep your eye on the ball.

“Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked [Jesus].” v.16

“‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read, [Psalm 8, verse 2] ‘'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?’ [Mic drop.] And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.”

That’s quite a statement, Jesus made there.

He’s saying that the children are right.

That the Old Testament said that they should do that.

The Old Testament said that they should praise God.

That they are right to shout like that.

But notice what that means about Who Jesus is.

Who are the children supposed to praise in Psalm 8?

God.

And Who is Jesus applying that to in Matthew 21?

Himself.

Jesus is claiming to be God.

He’s not just the Son of David.

He is the Son of God.

It is right for the children to praise Him like this.

And if it’s right for the children, how much more for everybody else?!

The Son of David deserves pure worship!

Not just admiration.

Not just respect.

But worship.

Pure worship.

We need to repent of anything in our hearts that doesn’t belong, like a cash register in the Court of Gentiles.

And we need to give Jesus our whole hearts.

Because He is the Son of David.

Full of Mercy.
Arriving as King.
Deserving of Pure Worship.

I think that’s worth shouting about.