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March 28/29, 2015
Kenny Stokes | Matthew 21:1-17
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.—Matthew 21:1–17
My aim this this Palm Sunday weekend is that you see the glory of God in Christ Jesus. I want you to see Jesus as glorious—worthy of your faith, worship and love. So join with me, if you would, as we ask God for grace to see.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, grant that the eyes of our hearts would be opened as we look into your word. Remove the veil and the clouds. Heal our blindness. Grant that we see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Grant that we see your image in his face.
Open our hearts and minds to believe, and by believing we will see Jesus as he really is. And in seeing we will trust him and worship him to your glory and our joy, now and forevermore. Amen!
Introduction
As I said, the main issue that I see for us this Palm Sunday is the question of seeing Jesus Christ. Do you see him as he is revealed to be as the Messiah, the one who was to come, the Son of the living God, your Savior?
If you see him, you will love him, hope in him, value him, and worship him. If you see him, you will know that his humiliation and death are your salvation and life. If you don’t see him, you may sing a few “Hosanna!” songs this weekend, but like the religious leaders and mob who yelled, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday, you are blind. You need the miracle of sight to see him in faith. If you don’t see him, you don’t know the good he has come to bring to us.
I don’t mean physical seeing. Most who saw Jesus with physical eyes on Palm Sunday, didn’t see him with the eyes of faith. Spiritual seeing is a big deal. Seeing in faith is a big deal. It makes all the difference in the world, and it’s a miracle of grace granted by God.
Let me show you two of the reasons that I believe that seeing is the main issue for us today.
First, Luke’s gospel tells us that as Jesus approached the city before the Palm Sunday procession, he was sorrowful because the people couldn’t see—they were blind.
And when he [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”—Luke 19:41–44
Why is Jesus weeping for the people of the city? Because the people do not see. They do not know “the things that make for peace.” They do not know that this Jesus in their midst is the visitation of GOD. Sure, they physically see the man—the prophet Jesus—but they do not see him for who he is—the Messiah, Son of God. And because they do not see and believe, judgment and destruction are coming upon them. This is serious. I know that Jesus likewise weeps for some of you listening to my voice right now. Pray for sight to see him.
Second, I think seeing is the main issue for us today is because the prophesy in verse 5 is God’s gospel call to the peoples of the world. This Old Testament prophetic word is a word of the gospel. It’s good news. It’s a message of grace from God to us in Jesus Christ. What’s the message? God is inviting you, even commanding you, to see: “Behold [or Look] your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (v. 5).
We will spend more time on verse 5, but first let me get a little background.
As many of you know, one of the distinguishing traits of the Gospel of Matthew is Matthew’s frequent use of Old Testament scriptures which both foretold and foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah. Over and over again he inserts the formula like this, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet” (v. 5). Matthew writes as a Jew and a believer in Jesus. He wants to show his readers (which includes us) that Jesus is the Messiah so that his readers might spiritually see and believe in him.
Matthew wants us to know that nothing is an accident with Jesus Christ. Everything in Jesus’ life is intentional and fulfills the Old Testament scriptures according to the plan and purpose of God. In the text we read, the narrative is punctuated four times with Old Testament scriptures revealing Jesus as the Christ.
This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”—Matthew 21:4–5
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”—Matthew 21:9
He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”—Matthew 21:13
. . . and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”—Matthew 21:16
I would love to unpack all four of these Old Testament pointers to Jesus Christ right now, but for the sake of time, let’s focus on first one in verse 5. In the time that remains, we will first overview the triumphal entry and then focus on the prophecy of verse 5.
Matthew 21 begins with Jesus and the disciples setting out for Jerusalem. Since it was the Passover season, they were not alone. Thousands of people were also journeying to the City of Zion. As Jesus neared the city, he gave specific instructions to two of his disciples. They were to go to the village ahead, where they would find a specific donkey and a colt and bring them to Jesus (vv. 2–3). That Jesus intends to ride a donkey is in explicit fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” —Matthew 21:4–5
The disciples put their coats on the donkey like a saddle, and Jesus mounted the donkey and sat on their garments as he rode into Jerusalem. As he came, the crowd reacted likewise. “Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road” (v. 8).
The Gospel of John adds that the people in the crowds “took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’” (John 12:13).
The next verse tells us that the crowds that went before him and came behind him were shouting words from the Psalms.
Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!—Matthew 21:9
Even though the crowd shouted the right words of celebratory praise about Jesus, most didn’t spiritually see who he was.
And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds said, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”—Matthew 21:10–11
The crowds saw was that he was a prophet, but they didn’t see that he was more than a prophet. In five short days, on Good Friday, crows like this would shout, “Crucify him” and prefer the release of a murderer to the release of Jesus. Why? Because they didn’t see. They didn’t believe.
The Palm Sunday account is recorded in all four of the Gospels. In the parallel account in the Gospel of John, right after the prophetic quote from verse 5, John who was one of Jesus’ disciples, comments, “His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him” (John 12:16).
Even the disciples didn’t understand until after Jesus was crucified and rose from the death. Let’s pray for sight as we try to see the meaning of the prophetic words of verse 5.
The first phrase of the prophecy (“Say to the daughter of Zion”) seems to come most directly from Isaiah 62, and the rest comes from Zechariah 9. Both texts point to the future coming of the Messiah to bring God’s salvation to the peoples of the earth.
Turn to Isaiah 62. Let’s see the phrase in its larger context.
Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”—Isaiah 62:11
The “daughters of Zion” (v. 5) is a poetic reference used elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer not just to females but to all the people of Jerusalem.
The prophecy of Isaiah 62 commands that a message from God be proclaimed in all the earth—“to the ends of the earth.” The message is that the inauguration of God’s kingdom on earth has arrived. Salvation has come because the Messiah has come to save, bringing reward for his people and punishment for his enemies.
What are we to see about Jesus here? We are to see that he is the Messiah King in whom and through whom salvation of the whole world comes from God. This is intended to be news that is really, really good for God’s people.
Turn to Zechariah 9 because the rest of the prophecy cited in verse 5 comes from there. Let’s see this quote in its larger context.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.—Zechariah 9:9
What are we to see about Jesus here? What did the disciples see about Jesus here that they missed on Palm Sunday? I identified at least five things in Zechariah 9:9 that we are to see about Jesus the Messiah on Palm Sunday.
Behold, your king is coming to you . . .
Recall the prophecy we often read during the Christmas season:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder.—Isaiah 9:6
God the Father has exalted Jesus Christ his Son as Lord and as King. Jesus is now risen from the dead and seated at the ruling throne of the universe, having been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus’ kingship is not an optional thing. He is your king whether you see him or not.
Apart from grace, this is offensive. Right at the heart of our sinfulness is rebellion against God and hostility toward God. We want to be king over ourselves, thank you. We are like the adolescent who says, “I don’t need you, Dad,” but then turns around and asks, “Can I borrow $30 to go to the game?”
We are utterly dependent upon Christ’s sovereign rule and reign for our very lives and every good thing that we enjoy—and yet we delude ourselves about our own pseudo–sovereignty. And oh, how upset we can be when we don’t get our way. When we try to appoint ourselves king, this state of mind is hostile rebellion against God.
God is calling you to see that Jesus is your king. See him as King, as ultimate. Receive him. Willingly yield to him now. Embrace him now. He is coming for you—for your benefit—if you receive him. Lay down your rebellion and receive him by faith as your King coming for you.
There is a time coming when everyone—believers, unbelievers, angels, even Satan and demons—in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and King. That will be the day of promise for those who see him in faith and the day of punishment for those still in their rebellion. So see that Jesus is your King
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous . . .
Christ’s character accords with the moral character of God. King Jesus is righteous. He is divinely good.
What’s the opposite of a righteous king? An evil king with a wicked regime. The world has seen (and continues to see) plenty of evil rulers. Decade after decade the carnage and misery of their wicked reign piles up as witness to their depravity. For example, the suffering of the people of North Korea under the reign of Kim Jong–un, is reported to be on a par with the atrocities and murder that took place under Adolf Hitler. Not to mention the reign of ISIS as they have ‘liberated’ city after city in Iraq and Syria, annexing them into the Islamic State. Their kingdom expands by the killing of Christians and even fellow Muslims. They kidnap, rape, and kill thousands, and terrorize tens of thousands as their murderous regime stakes its claim upon the earth.
King Jesus is a righteous king. The glory of God is his unfailing passion, and he will not waiver from what is good. He reigns for the glory of God and the good of his people. He is good and does what is good, and the character of his kingdom will be righteousness. As the other messianic prophesies predicted, he is righteous in his person and reign.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.—Isaiah 9:7
. . . but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.—Isaiah 11:4–5
So, we must see Jesus as righteous.
righteous and having salvation is he . . .
At his birth, he is named Jesus, which means, “the Lord is salvation” because “He shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Of this mission, John writes, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).
He saved us, not by killing others—like the evil rulers of this world— but by laying his life down for us. He saved us by substitution.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.—1 Peter 3:18
He offers up his life to satisfy God’s punishment for sinners, guarantees our forgiveness, and reconciles us to God. Condemned in our place, he died for us. And he bestows upon us his own righteousness so that we are declared righteous in him forever.
When he came, Christ didn’t come in to the world to slaughter the world, but to save it. So see him as your Savior.
humble and mounted on a donkey . . .
The NIV uses the word gentle here. Although Jesus is the Son of God, he comes in poverty and in weakness. He saves his people by his affliction, suffering, and death. And in his poverty, he makes his people rich through his sufferings and death—even death on a cross.
There is no sense of putting on airs with Jesus. No pretense. He owns everything, and yet he comes in poverty and saves us in weakness and death, triumphing over sin and Satan and death for our joy.
Humble doesn’t mean wimpy. Turn to Matthew 11, where Jesus describes himself in this way. Let’s be sure to get it right.
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”—Matthew 11:27–30
When our first two sons were about 2 ½ and 6 months old, we stressed to Michael, our first born, to be gentle because he had the power to do great harm to his little brother. Almost all the time, he was quite gentle. But one day we found that Michael had dragged his baby brother Elliot over directly underneath the window. Then, so that he could see out the window, Michael stood on Elliot like a step stool. This is was not gentle.
Jesus has all authority and power might over us, and yet he is gentle for the sake of loving his people. In his gentleness, a bruised reed he will not break. Children saw him as approachable to the point that they slipped past the disciples to sit on his lap.
I have spoke with trouble people who just do not believe how gentle Jesus is with broken, needy people. He invites you. Not the proud and arrogant, but you with his assurance that even though he is King, he himself is humble, gentle, and lowly in heart.
So, see him as humble, lowly, and gentle.
. . . mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
What is the significance of the donkey? First, in the Old Testament, several kings rode donkeys when not riding into war (Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). Second, there is a contrast intended between the donkey of Zechariah 9:9 and the weapons of war in next verse.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.—Zechariah 9:10
Because of this, we can say that this Messianic King who rides on the donkey comes in peace and brings peace. He cuts off the chariot and the warhorse from Israel and breaks the battle bow and arrow. He “shall speak peace to the nations” as he rules the whole earth.
Do you see that he comes in peace?
Conclusion
What are we to see when we look at Jesus this Palm Sunday? We are to see that Jesus is our king and receive him. We are to see him as righteous and trust his goodness. We are to see that he brings salvation and believe in him. We are to see that he is humble and lowly, and we are to come to him and rely upon his death for us. We are to see that he comes in his peace and receive that peace with God that overflows into peace with one another.
One final thought. Revelation 19 says that Jesus will come again a second time, and it will not be on a donkey. He will come on a white horse. He will come with the armies of heaven to judge in righteousness and make war and tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God. He will be called faithful and true. His garments will be dipped in the blood of the enemies of God.
If you see him as he really is this Palm Sunday weekend, you will rest under his Kingly reign, trust his righteousness and goodness, believe in his saving death for us, receive his welcome embrace, and live in his peace.
If you don’t see him, pray for eyes to see him. Now is the time of salvation. If you seek him, you will find him by his grace and power.
Benediction
Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.