[Matt's Messages] "King Jesus"

“King Jesus”
Certain of Jesus:  The Gospel of Luke
January 9, 2011
Luke 19:28-44

Last week, Jesus told a parable about a man of noble birth who went off to a distant country to become a king.

And the main point of that parable was for us to be ready for Jesus’ return by investing our lives in His kingdom until He comes with His kingdom.  There will be accountability, so we need to be busy taking risks for the kingdom.

And a secondary point of that parable was that there were some people who didn’t want that nobleman to be their king, and they experienced his judgment upon his return.  They were killed right in front of him.  Because they did not want him as king.

Our last point last week was “Want Jesus As Your King.”

Well, in the very next verse, our first verse today, verse 28.

Jesus demonstrates that He is the King.

“King Jesus”

Jesus is a king, the king, and king like no one else.

King Jesus.

This next section is what we often call “The Triumphal Entry.”

It is when Jesus came riding into Jerusalem as King Jesus.

Luke has only used the word “king” twice so far in his gospel.

But now, starting in Luke 19, he will use the word king 9 more times in quick succession.

Jesus is entering Jerusalem as King Jesus.

And everyone is going to have to deal with it.

This entry of King Jesus into Jerusalem is something new, something different.

It’s a change in Jesus’ method of operation.

Up till now, Jesus has not staged anything.  He hasn’t done any presentations.  No big demonstrations.

No, “Watch this!”  No, “Gather around, here I go!”

No, up till this time, Jesus has been almost unwilling to be public, even though His was a very public ministry.

He was often telling people to keep quiet about Him!

And He moved away from publicity.

But that changes right here, right now. 

Right here, right now, Jesus strides right up onto centerstage and refuses to get down.

The tensions between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders have reached a boiling point.

And Jesus–instead of backing down and heading north and letting things just settle down some–Jesus marches into town and sets up shop at the temple.

Jesus orchestrates the triumphal entry and then forces the issue with the powers-that-be.

This is new.

And it was the beginning of the end (which we know was the really the beginning of everything!).

King Jesus.
Jesus is King

#1. CONTROLLING HIS DESTINY.

I’ve read this passage many many times, but what jumped out at me this time was how prepared Jesus was and how much He had prepared.

V.28 reminds us that Jesus was headed towards Jerusalem.  This is on purpose.  Ever  since chapter 9, Jesus has been on an intentional mission to reach Jerusalem and do whatever He must do there. V.28

“After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives [that’s going to be an important place for us to see], he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'’”

Now, why all of this detail?

I used to think that it was to show Jesus’ omniscience.  Oooh.  He knew that there would be a donkey colt there. And He knew that that they might ask why it is being taken. Oooh!  He knew.

Maybe.

Maybe that’s part of what’s going on here.

But this week, as I was reading it, it struck me that Luke is showing us how in charge Jesus is over His situation.

Jesus is intentional.  He is doing things on purpose.  He is making the preparations and making sure that the preparations are prepared.

Jesus is in control of His destiny. V.32

“Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them [just as he had told them], ‘Why are you untying the colt?’  They replied, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

And that was good enough for them.

King Jesus.  Controlling His Destiny.

Now, why is that important?

It’s important because Jesus didn’t end up dead by mistake or bad choices or because of someone else’s choices against Him.  Not ultimately.

Ultimately, Jesus died because Jesus chose it.

Jesus chose this path.

The path to Jerusalem.

The path through Bethphage and Bethany.  The path that had this colt on it.

An untamed, never ridden colt.

Jesus chose that.

Here we see King Jesus controlling His destiny.

Kent Hughes put it this way:

“We must keep ever before us that on the day Christ rode humbly into Jerusalem, the Jerusalem then dominated by Roman pomp and splendor, he was absolutely in control. He was in control the entire length of the Passion Week. The wheel of history did not crush him as Albert Schweitzer argued in The Quest for the Historical Jesus –Jesus was turning the wheel.”

Here we see King Jesus controlling His destiny.

And here’s why that’s important to us.

It should INCREASE MY FAITH.

Because it reminds me that Jesus is in control.

If Jesus could control his own personal destiny–which was full of so much evil and suffering, then Jesus can easily be in control of my personal destiny.

And that should help me to trust Him with it.

Do things seem out of control in your life right now?

This whole world often seems out of control to me.

How about you?

What are you going through right now that just seems out of control?

Let this little colt in verse 32 bring you encouragement and build your faith.

“Just as he had told them.”

Jesus is in control.

Do you need to hear that this morning?

I do.

Jesus is in control.

Do you believe that?

“I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!”

King Jesus is in control.

He chose that donkey and He chose to ride it into battle.  Into Jerusalem.

And He did that for you and me.  V.35

“They brought [the donkey colt] to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. [And we know from the other gospels that they began to wave palm branches–this is the Royal Treatment!]  When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:  ‘Blessed is the [here it is!] king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’”

King Jesus is coming to town.

Now, we know why He did it on a donkey.

For two reasons.

One was to fulfill prophecy. In Zechariah 9:9, it says, “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus was intentionally fulfilling scripture.

And more than that, He was showing that He is a King but one unlike any other.

This is both “in your face” kingship and “humble and gentle” kingship at the same time.

No one could say, “Well, we didn’t know that He was claiming to be king!”  But He comes “gentle and riding a donkey” not on the back of tank or Air Force One.

This is King Jesus but a King like no other.

And His disciple know it.  And they praise God that the King has come bringing the blessings and miracles of the Kingdom with Him.

V.37 “The whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:  ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’”

What does that last phrase remind you of?

I have never seen that before.  Never.

Doesn’t that sound like Luke 2?  We just got done with the Christmas season.

With the angel army singing, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

That’s Luke 2:14.  Here is Luke 19:28

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  The King has come!

King Jesus.

Jesus is king.

#2.  DESERVING ALL PRAISE.

The Pharisees don’t like this one bit.

And they’re might be scared that the Romans won’t like it either and decide to get out the riot police.  V.39

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’”

This is completely inappropriate and dangerous.  Tell them to stop!

“Okay, yeah, cut it out, guys.  You’re right.  That’s too much. I’m a good teacher, but you shouldn’t be saying ‘King Jesus’ and ‘Glory in the highest’ and all that. Sorry, sorry!”

Is that what He does?  V.40

“‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’”

I love that.

Can you imagine?

Jesus says that if the disciples at this moment stopped praising Jesus and praising God for Jesus then the inanimate stones right there would start crying out, “Praise King Jesus!” themselves!

“If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

No, I’ll not tell them to shut up.

I say, “Cry out!”

Or the stones will.

Jesus deserves all praise.

It’s appropriate.

It’s right.

It’s the right thing to do to worship Jesus.

This should lead me to WORSHIP JESUS.

He deserves it.

How are you doing at praising Jesus so far in 2011?

Have you set aside any time this year to just simply praise Jesus for Who He is and What He has done?

We’ve done it here, together.  Have you done it as a family?

Have you done it on your own?

I think that sometimes we are ashamed to worship Jesus publically.

We are sometimes ashamed to praise Jesus with our mouths, with our voices, with a loud whoop and a holler.

We can cheer on the Steelers and lose our voices yelling at the screen (or the ref, right?), but we don’t even raise our voices to praise Jesus.

But Jesus is “all that.”

He is all that and more.

Jesus deserves our praise.

And if we don’t do it, the rocks are going to cry out.

Number Three.

King Jesus.

Jesus is King #3. WEEPING OVER SIN.

Jesus is a king like no one else.

He knows that this praise is temporary and limited.

This city is actually rejecting Him.  This nation is actually rejecting Jesus.

Some are praising Him now, but the city, the whole, the nation, they are rejecting Him.

And He knows it.  And he weeps.  V.41

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you–but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.’”

There are only a few times in Scripture where Jesus is described as weeping.

But they are powerful moments.

Can you imagine?

Jesus on the donkey, riding into town, the people praising Him....and Him crying?

And why is He crying?

He is lamenting their decision to reject Him.

He is lamenting their willful ignorance of His true identity.

“If you had only known...”  That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have known, but they chose not to know, and they will pay for it.

Now that knowledge is hidden from them and they will experience God’s judgment.

The judgment of verse 43 and 44 happened just as He said in just in 40 years.

In the year 70 AD, the Romans built an embankment and encircled them and dashed them to the ground within the walls of Jerusalem.  It was a terrible slaughter and a judgment for having rejected their Messiah.

They had not recognized the time of God’s visitation, the time of God’s coming to you in King Jesus.

And Jesus doesn’t take that in stride.

He weeps over it.

He weeps over sin.

Remember Luke 13:34-35?

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’"

And He doesn’t mean this day.

He means when that proclamation of blessing comes again when He returns again as triumphant king.

Jesus weeps over sin.

And that should cause me to REPENT OF MY SIN.

If sin does this to our loving Savior...

If sin does this to the one Who deserves all worship...

If sin does this to the one Who is in control of our destinies, then I should forsake sin and repent.

Do you feel the same way?

When I envision our Savior’s tears, they lead me to think about how I caused those tears and to want to break away from them.

Are you caught in a life dominating sin right now?

Turn away from it.  Forsake it.

Repent.

Jesus will help you.

He wants to gather you like a hen gathers her chicks near to Him.

He’ll help you to run away from that sin and live for righteousness.

Turn to Him.

Turn away from sin and turn to Jesus.

If you have never become a forgiven follower of Jesus Christ, I want to invite you right now to turn to Jesus.

Jesus wept over those who rejected Him.

He knew that they should have received Him.  The stones know that everyone should receive Him and bring Him praise!

You don’t have to reject Him.

You can turn from your sins and trust in Jesus right now.
           
Recognize Him as “God’s coming to you” and trust Him as your Lord and Savior.

Your Rescuer.

And Your King.


Messages So Far In this Series:

Certain of Jesus
The Back-Story of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Jesus - A Very Special Child
Preparing the Way for Jesus
Jesus Is the Son of God
Jesus in Galilee
Jesus and the Sinners
Jesus Brings Real Joy and Rest
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part One
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Two
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Three
Jesus' Followers Are Different: Part Four
Amazing Jesus
Disappointed with Jesus
Loving Jesus Much
Jesus' Real Family
Jesus Is Lord
Who Is Jesus?
Following Jesus
Sent By Jesus
Q&A With Jesus
Sitting at Jesus' Feet
Jesus Teaches Us to Pray 
Jesus Is Stronger Than Satan
More Blessed Than Jesus' Mom
Jesus and the Judgment to Come
Being Real with Jesus
Jesus and Our Stuff
Be Ready for Jesus' Return
Jesus and Tragedies
Set Free By Jesus
Jesus and the Surprising Kingdom
Jesus and Jerusalem
Jesus at the Party
The Cost of Following Jesus
Jesus and the Lost: Part One
Jesus and the Lost: Part Two
Jesus and the Lost: Part Three
Jesus on Money
Sneering at Jesus
Jesus and the Great Chasm
Jesus Said to His Disciples...
Thanking Jesus
Jesus and the Coming Kingdom
Jesus Says, "Keep Praying"
The Proud, the Humble, and Jesus
Jesus Does the Impossible
Why Did Jesus Come?
Investing for Jesus in 2011

Read More

Matt's Messages - King Jesus

“King Jesus”
March 19, 2006
Mark 11:1-12:12

We are beginning the last major section of the Gospel of Mark–which takes place in and around the holy city of Jerusalem. According to the other gospels, Jesus has been to Jerusalem before, but Mark has not recorded any of those other visits. This is THE visit to Jerusalem as far as Mark is concerned. Jesus has been “on the way” to Jerusalem for several chapters, and now He has arrived.

And He confronts His fate head on.

One third of the entire Gospel of Mark is devoted to this last week of Jesus’ ministry. Many have remarked rightly that “the gospels are ‘passion stories’ with long introductions.” Everything has been leading up to this.

The last 10 chapters have been leading up to the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem and the confrontation He is going to have with the Jewish Religious Leaders.

This confrontation is not an accident. This confrontation is a deliberate choice of Jesus. Jesus has been deliberately heading for Jerusalem. He has deliberately set His face towards His fate.

And now, on what we call “Palm Sunday”, Jesus deliberately makes His entrance in a dramatic fashion.

Now, Jesus is no longer concerned with keeping His identity a secret. No longer is He telling people “shhhh.”

Now, Jesus is staging a dramatic entrance that signals that He is the King. “King Jesus.” Mark chapter 11, verse 1.

But first, let’s pray. [prayer]

Verse 1.

“As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.”

King Jesus sends two of His followers on a mission. He has requisitioned a donkey colt. He knows exactly where it will be. We don’t know how. Probably this is meant to show His sovereign knowledge. And He has an answer in case there are any questions about this kingly requisition. V.3

“If anyone asks you, 'Why are you doing this?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.'’” The “Lord” needs it. Another nod towards his Kingship. V.4

“They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, [just like He said] some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing, untying that colt?’ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.”

“When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. [The first and only time in the gospels we are shown Jesus riding.] Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna!’ [Save!] ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!’ ‘Hosanna in the highest!’”

What is Jesus saying by riding in like this?

According to the other gospels, Zechariah 9:9 predicted this very moment.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus is presenting Himself to Jerusalem as the Messiah.

This is King Jesus! The King of Israel has come.

And some recognize Him as King–probably not many Jerusalemites, more likely Galileans who were pilgrims coming into the city for the big Passover festival. But some did recognize Him as King Jesus. Jesus Messiah. Jesus the Christ.

And where did King Jesus go when He came into Jerusalem?

He went straight for the temple. V.11

“Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”

What?!

That was anticlimactic, wasn’t it? Here Jesus rides into town fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. He is hailed as the Messiah by some of the common people.

He goes to the temple, looks around, and then goes back to Bethany.

That’s it?!

Sometimes we call this event, “The Triumphal Entry.”

But it sure didn’t end with a triumphant bang!

The key to understanding this, I think, is to think a little about how Jesus looked around at the temple.

Do you think that Jesus looked around like a tourist? Being wowed by Herod’s big architecture? Probably not.

Do you think that Jesus looked around like a spy? Scouting out the territory before starting the invasion? That’s probably a little more like it, but not quite right.

I think that Jesus in v.11 “looked around at everything” like a King! Like the owner of the temple, not just a visitor.

He was surveying what was happening on His property.

The Heavenly King has just marched into town and is now inspecting what should be His earthly headquarters. Which should have been being carefully managed by His dutiful followers.

But the King has found something drastically different. A temple that is all corrupt.

And King Jesus intends to do something about it the next day. V.12

“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. [Now, don’t think that the subject has changed. Jesus is heading into town on Monday to do something dramatic about the state of the temple that He saw Sunday night. And this part of the story is a symbolic demonstration of what Jesus is planning to do. V.13] Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it.”

Now, remember, this is not a random story. Jesus is going somewhere with this. And you need to know that the fig tree was a regular symbol in the Old Testament for the people of Israel. Jesus saw that a fig tree was in full leaf (a little ahead of its season), and where there are leaves there should be figs (even if these would have been a little premature and chewy).

But this fig tree was deceptive. It looked healthy and fruitful ahead of its time, but it was really barren. It was really worthless.

It looked lively, but it was actually full of death.

Now, remember where King Jesus is headed. V.15

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, ‘Is it not written: ‘'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'’ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”

Does this temple look like a healthy fig tree in full leaf?

Sure! It’s bustling with people. There are all kinds of people everywhere. The Court of the Gentiles (the outer court) had become something of a sacrificial shopping center and financial exchange. And the merchants of Jerusalem had begun to use it as a short-cut for getting merchandise from one end of town to the other.

This place was hopping. And the Jewish leaders were making a bundle for themselves and for the temple business along the way. It was a “win-win” for everyone.

And it was a total perversion of God’s intent for the temple!

What should have been a house of prayer for all nations (Isa 56:7) had become a den of robbers (Jer 7:11). The court of Gentiles should have been a quiet place of devotion to God for those who are being attracted to God by the covenant community.

Instead, it had become a commercial nightmare that had corrupted God’s holy intention for the temple.

And King Jesus was now here to say so.

He was fulfilling Malachi chapter 3, verses 1-3.

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. [John the Baptist] Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.”

He caused quite a stir, didn’t He?

Some scholars estimate that the Court of the Gentiles in Jesus’ time could have accommodated about 75,000 people on a busy day.

Jesus brought all of that to a halt on Monday of Passion Week.

And while He did, He taught the crowds, and they were amazed at His teachings.

And this scared the Jewish Religious Leaders stiff. V.18 again.

“The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”

They have not recognized and received their King. Instead, they hope to kill Him. V.19 “When evening came, they went out of the city.”

Now, remember the fig tree? That story isn’t over yet. What do you think Mark is saying that Jesus was symbolizing by cursing the fig tree?

He is predicting the judgment due Israel for the sinful mismanagement of her leaders.

V.20 “In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’”

Just like He said. The fig tree looked healthy like the temple did. But it was deceptive and was barren and unfruitful. And basically dead.

And Jesus brought judgment upon it, as He will upon the temple and the leaders of Israel.

This is the last miracle in the Gospel of Mark except for the Resurrection.

And it is a miracle, not of healing, but of destruction and judgment.

Failure to receive Jesus as rightful King will result in destruction.

Total destruction: “Withered from the roots.”

But that does not have to be our fate. Jesus calls us to believe. V.22

“‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’”

Jesus answers Peter’s comment about the fig tree with a call to faith: “Have faith in God.”

Don’t trust yourself. Don’t trust the temple thieves. Don’t put your trust where it will be disappointed.

Put your trust in God.

Point #1 this morning. KING JESUS TEACHES US TO TRUST IN PRAYER.

I don’t mean trust in your prayer. I mean while praying TRUST.

King Jesus calls us to believe.

He says something really exaggerated to make His point.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”

Now, I don’t think that we are to literally command mountains to fly into the sea. I can’t see how that would be praying along the lines of God’s will as we’re told elsewhere to pray.

But Jesus uses the tossing of “this mountain” which might be the towering Mount of Olives as an illustration of how powerful our prayer answering God is.

But He answers prayers of faith not prayers of unbelief.

King Jesus teaches us to trust while praying. V.24

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Now, this can be taken out of its New Testament context and made into a kind of twisting God’s arm to do something for us if we can muster up enough faith.

But that’s presumption and idolatry, not faith.

However, we can’t explain away this passage so that it loses its prophetic force.

Jesus is saying that when we pray in faith, we need to be thankful in advance for God’s powerful, wise, and good answer in His perfect timing.

We need to pray in faith that God is going to answer our prayers.

I just came off of a week long intensive doctoral study of the theology of prayer.

And this was one of the things we talked about.

You can fall into a ditch on either side of this teaching.

One ditch is the ditch of unbelief. “Oh, I don’t think that Jesus really means that we should believe that we have received it.” That’s just presumption.

But it’s what He said. And it’s what John says in 1 John 5.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.”

We need to be serious about believing when we pray.

Do you pray with faith?

But the opposite ditch is possible, too. That’s the ditch of presumption. Thinking that if we just work up enough faith then God will have to do what we have asked.

But that makes God a “genie in a bottle” and not the Sovereign Lord of the universe (who loves to answer prayer).

So we must learn to pray according “to God’s will” and put our full faith and trust in Him as we do.

Do you pray with faith? What are you praying for right now with faith?

King Jesus teaches us to trust while praying.

#2. KING JESUS EXPECTS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS.

While praying. V.25

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Forgiveness is tied to effectiveness in prayer.

Our forgiveness is tied to our being forgiving.

It is tied that way at the end of the “Lord’s Prayer” as well.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12-15)

Our forgiveness is tied to our being forgiving.

I think that’s because, fundamentally, our forgiveness is supposed to change us and make us forgiving people.

Paul says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

And relationally, we can’t consider ourselves forgiven unless we have been released enough to release others in forgiveness.

My prayer class last week went into this, as well. My professor says this, “We are commanded to forgive. Harboring an unforgiving spirit is sin. And God does not hear those who cherish sin (Ps 66:18). It all goes back to the relationship between prayer and obedience. If we obey, we grow to know the mind of God and we will begin to pray according to his will. Such prayers are answered. But if we do not forgive, we do not obey and we grow distant from God. We will thus have trouble knowing his will and praying according to it” (The God Who Hears by W. Bingham Hunter, pg.148).

Is there someone you are bitter towards?

Someone you haven’t forgiven?

Someone who has sinned against you and you are harboring animosity towards them?

King Jesus expects you to forgive.

That doesn’t always mean that the relationship can go back to being what it was.

It sometimes doesn’t even mean that the relationship can be reconciled, if the other person isn’t repentant.

But it does mean that you can release bitterness in your heart and release the debt that person owes you in your heart. It means that you can forgive them and be ready to reconcile.

And your prayers will be answered.

King Jesus expects us to forgive others. Because He has forgiven us!

And because He is King.

The Jewish Religious Leaders weren’t so sure that He was the King. They were not convinced of His authority. V.27

“They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts [He’s back again, looking for trouble], the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him [These folks make up the Sanhedrin, the guys in charge and they come looking for trouble, too. V.28] ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you authority to do this?’ [That was quite a demonstration you did yesterday in the temple. Where is your authorization? Remember, the authority of Jesus has been a big issue throughout the Gospel of Mark. And Jesus, as usual, answers a question with a question. V.29] Jesus replied, ‘I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism–was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!’”

Jesus is both answering and refusing to answer the question.

If they say John’s baptism was from God, then Jesus’ authority is from God because that’s what God said when John baptized Him. But if they won’t acknowledge that, then they won’t get an answer.

Of course, all they’re concerned about is their power. V.31

“They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men'....’ (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, ‘We don't know.’ Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.’”

Notice again how the fear of man will control you. Three times in these two chapters the leaders are shown to be scared of the people. Jesus never is.

And then Jesus teaches a parable that explicitly makes the point that this entire passage so far has been making. Chapter 12, verse 1.

“He then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. [Can you guess who the man is? Can you guess who the farmers are? V.2] At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.”

“‘He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, 'They will respect my son.' ‘But the tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. ‘What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

“Haven't you read this scripture: ‘'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?’ Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.”

God has a vineyard called “Israel” that was blessed with the Law. And He had put the Jews in charge of Israel like the tenants in Jesus’ story. “One would have expected that [they] would be extremely grateful and loyal to the one who has set them up in this way. But that isn’t the case.” (From “The King Comes Home” by Russell Muilenburg, unpublished sermon)

God sent prophets to call Israel to account. But they were mistreated: Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Amos, John the Baptist.

So, God sent His only Son to the vineyard.

To the holy city.
To the leafy fig tree.
To the busy temple.

But the tenants, Jesus predicts, said, “Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.”

The Cross of Friday is predicted on Tuesday right in the face of the Jewish Leaders.

And the result of the Cross?

‘What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

Judgement is coming. A storm is brewing.

The temple will be torn down.
The fig tree will be withered from the roots.
Destruction will come for those who do not recognize Jesus as the Rightful King.

And King Jesus will be the capstone.

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

#3 (and last). KING JESUS REQUIRES US TO SUBMIT TO HIS AUTHORITY.

He is King Jesus!

He is the Son of the Vineyard Owner.

He is the Messiah riding on the donkey.

He is the Lord of the Temple.

He is the One with Authority from Heaven.

He is King Jesus.

And we need to recognize that.

If you have not recognized Jesus as your King, you are in danger.

The Jewish Leaders thought they were in charge, but they were only stewards, only managers of Israel. And they had sinfully mismanaged Israel.

And when God sent His Son to collect the rent, they killed Him.

And there was Hell to pay.

If you have not recognized Jesus as your King, you are in danger.

He is inviting you right now to enjoy total amnesty.

He is inviting you right now to lay down your weapons and come out with your hands up before Him.

He is inviting you right now to surrender your life to His Lordship.

He invites you to submit to His Kingship.

King Jesus requires you to submit to His authority.

The most amazing thing in the world is that He laid down His life for you to surrender yours to Him.

The Cross is not just the last straw that brought judgment on those who rejected the Messiah.

The Cross is also the way that Messiah-killing people like you and me can be forgiven and reconciled to the Owner of the Vineyard and included in His people!

King Jesus requires you to submit to His authority.

But you get to do it by grace!

If you have not recognized Jesus as your King, you are in danger.

He is inviting you to surrender yourself today.

If you have recognized Jesus as your King, you need to live like it.

John the Baptist called that “produc[ing] fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

We need to live as if Jesus was our King (because He is).

So many Christians by name do not live as Christians by life-style.

There is a lack of Lordship of in their lives.

But King Jesus requires us to submit to His authority.

What He says goes.
What He wants is what we do.
What He puts in His Bible is what we believe.

If Jesus is really is our King, what changes need to be made to the way we live our lives?

Let’s make them.

Because He is King Jesus.

Read More

“Your King Comes To You” [Matt's Messages]

“Your King Comes To You”

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

Palm Sunday :: March 29, 2026

Matthew 21:1-11 & Zechariah 9:9

King Jesus has a plan to go public in a big way.

For three years, Jesus has been in the public eye, but He has been somewhat secretive about His full royal identity.

He has taught up and down the Judean and Galilean hillsides, with unmatched authority. He has done many miracles which were sign-posts of His divinity. He has clashed with the Jewish religious authorities.  

But He has also been, at times, somewhat “cagey” about Who He truly is. Not because He’s lying about Who He is, but because He wants people to figure it out for themselves, to not get or spread the wrong idea, and to wait for just the right moment to go public in the biggest way.

And that moment is right now.

Jesus has set His face like flint and led His disciples right up to Jerusalem as so many other Jews were gathering in that capitol city (often called “Zion” for the little mountain it’s seated on) for the coming feast of Passover–that yearly festival commemorating Israel’s rescue from Egypt. When God saved them from Pharaoh. Fifteen hundred years before, when the LORD killed all the firstborn of all their enemies but passed over all the firstborn of Israel whose doorways were marked by the blood of the lamb.

Jesus has a plan to go public this day in a big way.

This is clear by this little mission He sends these two disciples on. Look at 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’” (vv.1-3).

Interesting, huh?! I don’t know if this is His supernatural foreknowledge at work or if He has secretly prearranged this in a more natural way, but Jesus clearly has a plan that He is putting into action. These two guys are to go to the next village on their way up to Jerusalem, and there will be two donkeys. One will be female, a mother. And the other will be her male child, a colt. 

Mark and Luke tell us that the younger donkey had never been sat upon. Good thing his momma’s with him to calm him down. We don’t need a bucking bronco donkey for this event! 

But the Lord does “need” these two donkeys. He’s got to have them. He’s requisitioning them. He’s “the Lord,” and He needs them for what He is about to do.

The two disciples are to untie the two donkeys and bring them to Jesus because He’s going to ride them into town.

This is the big reveal! This is the moment when Jesus goes public in the biggest way. And He has carefully chosen His ride. 

And it’s not a mighty warhorse.

And it’s not a chariot.

And it’s not a tank or fighter jet or an aircraft carrier.

It’s a little donkey.

Why?

Well, it’s important to understand that kings did ride donkeys. Donkeys can be regal. They can be royal. 

Sometimes we get the idea that no king in his right mind would ever ride a donkey. But many kings did ride donkeys in those days, and there are several examples of donkey-riding kings in the Old Testament.

King David rode a mule (the offspring of a donkey), and he specifically put his son Solomon on his own mule to ride into town when Solomon assumed his position as the successor to the king (see 1 Kings 3:33, 38, 44).

But you did not ride a donkey into town if you were coming in war. You rode a donkey into town if you were coming in peace. You rode a donkey into town to mark–not your pretension and power and battle-readiness but–your gentleness and humility and peace.

And Jesus did it because He wanted to set off all of their alarm bells that He was the Messiah that they were waiting for. Jesus did this on purpose, and Matthew understood that. Matthew understood why Jesus was doing it this way. Look at verse 4.

“This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘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.'”

There’s our sermon title for today, “Your King Comes to You.”

Jesus was clearly claiming to be their king.

And He arranged for this donkey ride to ring that prophetic bell.

“See Who I am? I’m the king that was predicted in Zechariah chapter 9!”

Now, Matthew doesn’t quote the whole verse. Mark and Luke don’t quote Zechariah at all. Matthew and John both point out the obvious connections with Zechariah chapter 9.

If you have your finger there, let’s turn back and look at it real quick. Zechariah 9:9.

You understand that the whole Bible is hypertexted, right? Your whole Bible is tied together in an intricate web of interconnections. We’ve seen that in the Book of Hebrews as the author has made so many of his points from the Old Testament.

Matthew, the gospel-writer, loves the word “fulfill.” It’s almost His favorite word (after “Jesus”) because he loves to show how Jesus fulfills the promises and predictions and patterns of the Old Testament. 

Here, it’s the prophecy of Zechariah. I’ve never yet preached from Zechariah in three decades of preaching God’s Word. One of these days, we’ll study the whole thing together. 

And when we do, hold onto your hats, it’s a wild ride! You thought Daniel was wild and crazy? So is Zechariah! It’s like the Book of Revelation for the Old Testament.

And it’s full of Jesus! Zechariah was written about 500 years after King David and 500 years before King Jesus. Also somewhere between the timing of Daniel and the timing of Esther that we studied last year. 

I did a little dive into Zechariah this week, and it is wild. Interestingly, after the Psalms it’s probably the Old Testament book most referenced in the Passion Week narratives. Up there with Isaiah 53. 

I won’t try to explain all of Zechariah, but there are many prophecies in Zechariah that had not yet come to pass. And one of them is this prophecy in chapter 9 to the people of Jerusalem that their king would come to them, and this king appears to be the Jewish Messiah. The king of all kings. The king who is going to solve everything and fix everything. The king whose rule will “extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:10).

Look at Zechariah 9:9.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

For five hundred years, the Jewish people have read that prophecy and waited for its fulfillment. For five hundred years–years when the Jews were under the thumb of Persia and Greece and now Rome–they have read and re-read Zechariah and longed for it to come true.

And now Jesus is pulling this little stunt with the donkeys, and Matthew knows what is going down.

Now, notice that Matthew doesn’t quote the whole verse. If you toggle between the two passages, you’ll notice that Matthew leaves out some of the words from Zechariah 9:9. 

That’s not because he doesn’t believe the whole thing. He just doesn’t think he needs to quote the whole thing to get across his point. Matthew is counting on his readers to “double-click” (so to speak) on his quotation and go back and study the whole thing in context.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

One thing we immediately notice is the call to rejoice and shout. Matthew just includes that the Daughter of Zion should see her king coming. But the fuller passage in Zechariah says how Jerusalem should feel about it and react to it.

“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!”

Get loud!

Raise your voice!

Make some noise!

This is worth celebrating. Your king is here. Your king has come to you. That’s not something to yawn at. This is what you’ve been waiting for.

Was that part of the prophecy fulfilled on Palm Sunday?

Oh yes, it was. Turn back to Matthew 21. Look 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.

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!’” (vv.6-9).

They got loud. They could see what was happening. As Jesus sat on that little donkey with the makeshift saddle of his disciples’ cloaks, the people pretty quickly figured out what was going on and they rolled out the red carpet. Actually the green carpet!

They put their cloaks down to symbolize their submission and their honor to the coming king and then cut palm branches (hence Palm Sunday) to spread them on the road as a natural royal green carpet.

It says “a very large crowd.” Can you guess how many people? Conservative estimates are that Jerusalem had about 70,000 people living in it at that time. But this is Passover. And you know what happens to State College on game day? You know how it balloons? Scholars estimate that Jerusalem would balloon to at least 250,000 people during Passover. We don’t know how many saw Jesus coming, but it wasn’t just little crowd. It was huge.

“Hey! Look that’s Jesus, and look what He’s riding. He’s riding a little donkey. And there’s it’s momma. Hey! You know what this means? That’s Zechariah 9:9 right there. You know Who He’s saying He is? He’s saying that He’s the rightful king. He’s Great David’s Greatest Son. And here He comes!"

And the crowd grows. It becomes a parade. Some ahead of him. Some behind him. Nobody worried about the Romans and what they think.

And everybody shouting!

“Hosanna!” That word literally means “Save!” or “Save us! or “He will save us!”

And it seems to have become a word that just is an exclamation of praise. Praise to the Son of David.

Praise “in the highest.” Meaning, the most praise? Or maybe, “Let the angels praise Him!”

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” That’s a quote from Psalm 118 which we double-clicked on a few years ago on another Palm Sunday. 

Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!

They shouted. They rejoiced.

And Jesus...took it.

One of the most amazing things about this, to me, is how Jesus doesn’t stop them. He doesn’t shut them down or try to re-direct them. He doesn’t point them to someone else. He just sits there on the little donkey, swaying back and forth, riding forth into Jerusalem while these people shout praises at Him!

Because He knows that they are right.

They are not over the top.

They are not inappropriate.

They are appropriate! 

Jesus is the King!

And He’s okay with everyone knowing it.

This is King Jesus’ plan to go public in a big way!

And it shook the city. I don’t know how many people were there for the triumphal entry, but soon everybody heard what had happened. Look at verse 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’” (vv.10-11).

“Who is this?” That’s the question! What do you think of their answer? 

It’s not bad, but it’s not enough is it?  Yes, Jesus is a prophet, but He is so much more. The crowds shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David” is much better. Because He wasn’t just a prophet. He was the coming king. 

“See, your king comes to you.”

What kind of a king is He?

Jesus is obviously a different kind of king than we are used to, and He was a different kind of king than they were used, too.

Let’s turn back to Zechariah 9 to see what it says this king would be like.

I see three adjectives. Two of which Matthew skipped over when he copied  verse 9 into his book.

The first one is:

#1. RIGHTEOUS.

“See, your king comes to you, righteous...”

What does that mean?

That means that He is right. “Righteous” means that this king does what is right and what is good. It means that he is just. He loves justice. He loves what is right. And He is characterized by this. He doesn’t just do the right thing sometimes, when it benefits Him. He does the right thing all the time and never anything but the right thing!

He never does the wrong thing. Can you imagine?

This is very different from the rulers that Israel had known. Even the greatest of them, kings like David and Solomon had massive failings in righteousness. They did not always do what is right. They did not always do what was good. They did not always do what was just.

And we see it today with those who rule over us. And in us when we have dominion over others. We fail to exercise righteousness.

But not this King! He is righteous.

King Solomon wrote a song about Him. Psalm 72. You might want to read it this afternoon.

I’m sure that on some level he wanted it to be true of himself, but he clearly failed to live up to it. Psalm 72 begins:

“Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.  He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (Psalm 72:1-8).

Wow! And if you look down at verse 10, you’ll see some very similar words to describe the King Zechariah expects to come.

He is righteous!

And that gives us a model to follow. We should be righteous, too, and as far as it depends upon us to work towards righteousness in our society. Do the right thing!

But it also gives us hope because we will so often fail to do the right thing. But there is One who will not fail to be righteous. And He has come...and He is coming again.

Now, that He is righteous is very important for the next adjective.

#2. SAVING.

“See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation...”

That’s how the old NIV puts it. Along with the ESV and the KJV. The NASB say, “endowed with salvation.” 

But some translations like the CSB and the updated NIV have “victorious.” “Your king comes to you, righteous and victorious...”

The idea is that this king has won a great battle to save His people. Or even perhaps has been saved in battle Himself. Perhaps the battle was not going His way, and then He won after all.

This might be one of the reasons why Matthew doesn’t include that line in his quotation because, on Palm Sunday, Jesus still had His greatest battle in front of Him. Not sure.

Either way, it’s true of Him. Jesus brings salvation! This king is a saving king. Saving His people from their greatest enemies.

Now, one of the reasons why the people got excited was because a bunch of them thought that the Messiah when He came was going to overthrow their Roman oppressors.

He was going to storm in and kick out Pontius Pilate and all of Caesar’s other cronies and send them packing back to Italy where they belonged. But that’s not the kind of king that came that day. He didn’t come in on a military mount. He came in on donkey. 

But He still came to save. He came to save His people from their greatest enemies. From sin, and self, and Satan. And to do that, He had to be righteous, and He had to be this next word:

#3. HUMBLE.

The old NIV has “gentle.”

The new NIV has “lowly” like the old KJV.

The ESV and CSB have “humble.”

Your king comes to you...humble.

The Hebrew word in Zechariah is “ani” which can mean “poor” or even “afflicted.”

It’s not the kind of word you might expect to describe a king!

Especially a king whose coming is good news.

Who gets excited about their “poor king” coming?

“Oh, our poor king.”

“Oh, here comes our ‘afflicted’ king.”

“Here comes our lowly king.”

“Here comes our gentle king.”

Who gets excited about gentle kings?!

Christians, that’s who. Because we know that down is the way up in God’s world. We know that suffering is the path to glory. We know that the one who wants to be first must be last and take the place of servant. We know that gentleness is true strength. That’s why we get excited about a king riding a little donkey.

Zechariah says, “See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

He’s the long-expected king, but He’s probably not like the king you expect. (Even though you should.)

This king is humble.

Have you ever read the book Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund? It came out about 6 years ago, and we gave a copy to everybody who was in the church at that time. I highly recommend it as a study of the heart of Jesus. 

He that’s who said He is at heart. When He invited us to Himself, He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29).

That’s the kind of king we really need.

And, praise God, that’s kind of king He really is.

So how do we apply this to our lives? Let me suggest three quick ways from these scriptures.

– RECEIVE YOUR KING!

Remember, the whole city was abuzz with the question, “Who is this?” And a bunch of them got it wrong. Some of them got partial credit with, “the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21:11). But a bunch of them decided, in the end, that Jesus wasn’t even worth listening to.

By the end of the week, the crowds weren’t shouting “Hosanna!” They were shouting “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” And they did.

This same week that they put down the branches, Jesus was betrayed,  mocked, flogged, and crucified. They put a crown of thorns on His head and whipped Him red. 

“Hail, King of the Jews!”

They didn’t receive their king. We must or else. Who do you think Jesus is? Is He righteous, and saving, and humble? 

Is He your king? Do you act like it? Do you lay down the Green Carpet for Him and do what your king says? I’m amazed at how often I see people claim Jesus is their king but act the exact opposite of Him. And the exact opposite of how our king tells us how to live. And I’m ashamed of how often that has been true of me.

Is He your king or isn’t He? Make up your mind. 

It says, “See, your king.” See Him! Recognize Him. Receive your king and rejoice that He has come.

– RAISE HIS PRAISE!

That’s the second application. The very thing that Zechariah told Jerusalem to do, we should, too.

Rejoice greatly! Shout!

What do you shout for?  We shout all the time when we are happy about things. Go to a sporting event. And you’ll hear people shouting all the time. One of these softball girls hits a dinger. Haley W. hits a dinger over the fence, whoo! We shout for joy.

We need to do that about our king! 

Let’s shout “Hosanna” together. We’ve sung it already. But we should shout it, too. Let’s do it this way. I want you to pick two numbers between 1 and 10. Okay? Like 2 and 7 and or 4 and 9. Can you do that? Got them? Now, I’m going to count to 11, and when I hit your numbers, I want you to shout “Hosanna!” which means, “He will save us!” “Praise the Savior!” And when we get to 11, we’re all going to show “Hosanna in the Highest!”

And I don’t want any mumbling, okay? You don’t have to shout as loud as you can, because we are inside. You don’t have to scream.

But this is our king. Righteous, saving, humble. Amen? Here we go:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10!  “Hosanna in the Highest!”

Raise His praise. And not just here on Sunday mornings in this room. Every single day be grateful this is your king. That He has come and is coming again.

“We will feast in the house of Zion.

We will sing with our hearts restored.

He has done great things, we will say together.

We will feast and weep no more.”

- Sandra McCracken

Come, Lord Jesus!

And last, but not least:

– REMEMBER HIS SACRIFICE.

Our righteous king brought us salvation by being humble.

That donkey ride was not just to get attention.

That donkey ride was not just ringing a bell of fulfillment.

That donkey ride was showing us how He was going to save His people.

He was going to be humble, gentle, lowly, poor, afflicted.

He was going to take the last place.

He was going to take the nails.

He was going to be pierced for our transgressions (see Isaiah 53:6). 

He was going to be crushed for our iniquities.

He was going to take our punishment.

And die.

And we are called to remember that every single day.

And especially this week.

In Zechariah chapter 12, there is another prophecy that the Apostle John recognized as all about Jesus (see John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7).

Through the prophet, the LORD says, “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zechariah 12:10).

This same king who came so gently on Sunday, would be pierced for us on Friday.

Our righteous king brought us salvation by being humble.

Remember His sacrifice for you and me. 

***

Previous Messages on Palm Sunday

“Blessed Is He Who Comes In the Name of the LORD!” - Psalm 118 - March 25, 2018

"The Son of the Sick King" - Psalm 41 - April 14, 2019

"Shouting for the Son of David" - Matthew20:29-21:17 - July 14, 2019

“For You” - Luke 22:14-20 - April 2, 2023

"The Hour Has Come" - John 12:12-26 - April 28, 2024

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

“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.

***

Previous Messages in This Series:
01. The Genealogy of Jesus
02. The Birth of Jesus Christ
03. The Search for Jesus Christ
04. The Baptism of Jesus
05. The Temptation of Jesus
06. Following Jesus
07. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount
08. The Good Life (Part One)
09. The Good Life (Part Two)
10. You Are The...
11. Jesus and the First 2/3 of the Bible
12. But I Tell You
13. But I Tell You (2)
14. But I Tell You (3)
15. In Secret
16. Choose Wisely
17. Seek First His Kingdom
18. Generous
19. These Words of Mine
20. When He Saw the Crowds
21. When He Came Down from the Mountainside
22. Follow Me
23. Our Greatest Problem
24. Who Does He Think He Is?
25. Special Agents
26. Sheep Among Wolves
27. What To Expect On Your Mission
28. Are You the One?
29. Come to Me
30. The King of Rest
31. So Thankful!
32. Overflow
33. This Wicked Generation
34. Get It?
35. What Is Really Going On Here?
36. Baptizing the Disciples
37. The Treasure of the Kingdom
38. Living the Last Beatitude
39. Five Loaves, Two Fish, and Jesus
40. It Is I.
41. Worthless Worship
42. Great Faith in a Great God
43. The Pharisees and Sadducees
44. The Question and the Promise
45. Take Up His Cross
46. Like the Sun
47. Seed-Sized Faith
48. These Little Ones
49. If Your Brother Sins Against You
50. The Lord of Marriage
51. Drop Everything
52. First and Last

53. The Suffering Serving Son of Man

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