Well, good morning. Will you turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 21?
If you're using the paperback, yeah, the children are dismissed.
If you're using the paperback Pew Bible, it's page 916.
And we're going to work through a story this morning that is often called the triumphal entry,
but I think a better title might be the not-so-triumphal entry,
because as we'll see, it isn't really that triumphant at all.
It's actually a bit of a letdown.
We're in the middle of a series on the book of Matthew,
and I'm really grateful to continue with the series this morning.
Last week, Matt Sear led us through the rest of chapter 20, and today we're in chapter 21.
Let's do this. We'll start by reading the story, verses 1 through 11,
and then we'll go back and take a look at it more closely.
It says in 21, verse 1,
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 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 crowd said,
This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.
You know, it seems like in this country we're facing elections all the time.
As soon as we're done with one election cycle,
then we have a new election cycle coming on,
and with all those pesky radio and television election commercials.
And the question always is,
Who should we accept as our leader?
And the answer to that question depends on how we diagnose the problems.
Who we want to fix the problems depends on what we think the problems are.
And in this chapter, the question is,
Should we accept Jesus or not?
Is he going to be solving the problems that we think he should be solving?
The passage comes at a critical point in the book of Matthew.
The first 20 chapters of the book of Matthew,
from chapter 1 to chapter 20,
cover 33 years of time.
Jesus' miraculous birth,
his baptism,
his teaching,
and his parables,
and his miracles.
He has announced that he is going to be killed
and raised to life again.
And his disciples aren't so sure what they think about that,
but they're willing to go along with it.
And then he turns his face toward Jerusalem.
He's up in Galilee,
up in the north,
and he turns toward Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is the cultural and political
and religious capital of the nations.
And the Jewish leaders
who have been coming up to Galilee
to test him
and to resist him
and to try and
cause trouble for him
have come from Jerusalem.
And when Jesus says
that he's going to Jerusalem,
his disciples say,
What?
That's where the Jews are
who are trying to kill you.
We're going there.
And Jesus says,
We're going there.
Because his whole life
and his whole ministry
have been directed to this moment.
When he comes to Jerusalem
to accomplish the task
that the Father has for him.
And at this point,
once he arrives in Jerusalem,
Matthew begins to slow down
to get into more detail,
and he starts to cover
less time with more chapters.
At this point,
from chapter 21 to chapter 28,
from the time Jesus enters Jerusalem
until he rises from the dead,
it only covers one week of time.
Because this is the climax
of the book of Matthew.
And this is the climax, in fact,
of all of the Bible
and all of world history.
This is the point
upon which everything turns.
Every person, every kingdom,
every event that the world
has ever known,
this is Jesus in Jerusalem.
So let's look at this story.
It seems like a simple story at first,
but there's a lot going on here.
Look back at verse 1.
It says,
When they drew near to Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage,
to the Mount of Olives,
then Jesus sent two disciples.
See, they've made their way
down from Galilee.
It's been a long distance
over many, many days of walking.
He stopped along the way
to teach and to do some miracles.
And they've come
to the outskirts of Jerusalem
to a series of these small villages.
There in Bethphage,
nearby is Bethany,
where he raised Lazarus from the dead.
Jerusalem is up in the hill country,
and it's surrounded on three sides
by deep valleys.
And then on the other side
of those valleys are hills.
And on the east side of Jerusalem
is the Mount of Olives.
And up on the Mount of Olives
is this little village
that Jesus and his followers
were coming to
as they made their way
to Bethlehem.
As they come to the outskirts
of that little village,
Jesus tells his disciples,
okay, in verse 2,
okay, 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.
So he gives his disciples
some very specific instructions.
And he says in verse 3,
if anyone says anything to you,
you shall say the Lord needs them
and he will send them at once.
Here's our first little stop
where we think,
well, this is a little bit odd
because a donkey was worth
a lot of money.
This would be a little bit like
Jesus saying to one of his disciples,
go into Kenosha
and at the pick and save,
you will see a BMW parked there,
bring it to me.
And if the owner is there
standing by his car,
then you just simply say
to the owner,
Jesus needs this
and he'll hand you the keys.
And the disciples say,
well, a BMW costs,
you know, maybe $40,000.
And Jesus will be like,
that's okay,
he'll send it along.
So Matthew doesn't tell us
how this worked.
He doesn't tell us
if this was a miracle
and Jesus knew
that the donkeys would be there
and he's miraculously
causing the guy
to just give up
not only one donkey
but two
just simply by being asked for it
or if Jesus had set this up
in advance somehow
and arranged this in advance.
We're just not told by that
but we know that Jesus
is being very specific
about what he has in mind here.
The point is
that Jesus is not just tired
and he's walking along
and oh, there's a donkey
by the side of the road.
I think I'll just hop on that
for a little while.
He's doing something
very intentional here.
There are these animals
and he is causing his disciples
to go and get them.
Now another reason
that this is unusual
is because this is the only time
in the entire book of Matthew
or any of the gospels
where Jesus rides on an animal.
He walked everywhere
or if he was up
at the Sea of Galilee
he rode a boat.
In fact, he had walked
from Galilee
to these villages
outside of Jerusalem
100 miles
all the way down there
and now he only has
one mile to go.
So if he has already
walked 100 miles
why does he need a donkey
for just that last mile?
That seems strange.
And in fact,
it's even stranger than that
because we're so familiar
with this story
that we don't often
think about this
but everyone else
would have been walking
into Jerusalem.
In fact,
there was a Jewish tradition
that if you were a pilgrim
coming to Jerusalem
for one of the feast days
you were supposed to walk
and not ride on an animal.
So all of the rest
of the crowd,
all of these pilgrims
coming from different parts
of Israel
would have been coming
to Jerusalem
and they all would have
been walking
and here would be Jesus
the only one
sitting on a donkey
riding into the city.
Talk about drawing
attention to yourself.
And then,
as his disciples had said,
Jerusalem was not
the safest place for him.
Jerusalem was where
everyone was looking
for him to try and kill him.
So instead of Jesus
and his disciples
just sort of blending
in with the crowd,
pulling their hood
over their face
and sort of keeping
their heads down
and going into the city
that way,
instead Jesus props
himself up on a donkey.
He's the only one
and here he comes.
Talk about conspicuous.
He's intentionally
drawing people's focus
to himself.
Now in verse 4,
Matthew tells us
that Jesus is doing
this as a symbol
to make a claim
about himself
in fulfillment
of Old Testament prophecy.
He doesn't ride
a donkey
because he's tired
of walking.
He rides a donkey
because he is making
a claim about himself
through the symbolism
that most Jews
who knew their Bibles
would have instantly
recognized.
And we may not know
the significance
of riding a donkey
into Jerusalem,
so Matthew helps us
out a little bit
and in verse 5,
he quotes from the
Old Testament prophecy
that Jesus is triggering here.
He says in verse 5,
Say to the daughter
of Zion,
Behold,
your king is coming
to you humble
and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,
full of a beast of burden.
That comes from
the book of Zechariah,
chapter 9,
verse 9.
And Matthew says
in verse 4
that this was to fulfill
fulfill what had been said
by the prophet.
The prophet Zechariah
had predicted
that Jerusalem's king
would come into Jerusalem
riding on a donkey
and now Jesus is riding
into town on a donkey
to fulfill that prediction,
to realize what Zechariah
had foretold
some 500 years before.
Would you turn in your Bibles
to Zechariah 9, 9?
Why don't you hold your finger
in Matthew 21?
It's only a few pages back.
You've got to go back
into the Old Testament
before Matthew,
then through Malachi,
just a short book,
and into the book of Zechariah.
So Matthew,
and then go back to Malachi,
and then go back to Zechariah.
Zechariah 9, verse 9.
Let's look at that.
When New Testament authors
like Matthew
quote from Old Testament prophets
like Zechariah,
they usually have in mind
more than just that verse.
They usually have in mind
more than just that one statement.
Usually,
they have in mind
the entire context
of the Old Testament prophet.
When they cite
an Old Testament prophecy,
people like Matthew
are connecting
the two passages together.
They're connecting Matthew 21
and Zechariah 9, 9,
and they're inviting us
to go back to Zechariah 9
and to look at
the entire passage there
and all the ideas
that are back there
in Zechariah 9.
And then,
they invite us
to import
all of those ideas
from that Old Testament passage
back into the book of Matthew.
Think about something
like a hyperlink.
Think about when you're
on a webpage
and you see a sentence
underlined
and you know that
that's a hyperlink
on the internet.
It's not just that hyperlink
that's in view.
You're supposed to
click that link
and you go to
an entire webpage
and that webpage
is supposed to inform
what you're reading
on the first one.
Think about this example.
Let's say that it's
in mid-December
and my friend
is really being
anti-Christmas
and so I say to him,
look,
don't be a Scrooge.
Well,
I'm obviously alluding
to the character Scrooge
in Charles Dickens
A Christmas Character.
But then,
why don't I just say
to my friend,
don't be grumpy?
Isn't it just
the same thing
to say to someone,
don't be grumpy
as it is to say to them,
don't be a Scrooge?
It's not the same thing,
not at all
because when I call him Scrooge,
I'm making a connection
to Charles Dickens'
Christmas Carol
and I'm importing
all of the associations
from that book
all at once
and directing them
at my friend.
I'm calling my friend
a miserly,
isolated man
who doesn't care
about people in need.
I'm calling him
a man who doesn't
just ignore Christmas
but he hates it
and ruins it
for everyone else
around him.
I'm saying that my friend
has fundamental flaws
and blind spots.
And I'm referring
to my friend
as someone
who everyone else
fears and avoids
because of his sour attitude.
When I call myself,
when I call my friend Scrooge,
I'm importing
all of those associations
from Charles Dickens'
Christmas Carol
in that one statement.
It's actually
very efficient communication.
When Matthew quotes
from Zechariah 9.9,
it's like a link
on a webpage
and it's like Matthew
is saying,
I'm not just bringing this here
for your convenience,
I'm inviting you
to go back to Zechariah
and check that out.
So let's do that.
Let's look at Zechariah 9.
Zechariah was a prophet
in the time
after the exile.
God had punished
his people
by sending them
into a foreign land
and when he had
brought them back
from exile,
even though it was
a time of temporary restoration,
it was a time
that was very difficult.
The Persian Empire
who ruled them
was incredibly unstable.
Emperors kept dying,
they kept dying in battle
and every time
an emperor would die,
these little revolts
and rebellions
would rise up
and the Persian Empire
would send their military there
and stamp out the revolt
and kill people
and burn down a city.
The land of Israel
was now a Persian province
called Yehud,
which is where we get
the word Jew from.
It was a much smaller territory
than Israel had been
before the exile.
It was only about
50 square miles.
There were only about
50,000 people
that lived
in the entire province.
The temple
that had symbolized
God's presence
and sort of the headquarters
of his power
on earth
was in ruins.
There was no more priesthood.
The relationship
with God
had been fractured.
There was poverty
and social problems.
The people
were beginning
to return
to their old sins.
They were marrying
non-believers
outside of the community.
The leaders
were oppressive
and corrupt.
False prophets
were rising.
Everyone was marked
by incredible immorality.
They were abusing
the poor
and taking advantage
of those people
in need.
And this was supposed
to be the restoration
from exile.
And so everyone
is sitting around
thinking,
what hope is there
for us?
What hope is there
for the future?
What could God's plan
possibly be
moving forward?
We are the people
of God,
but we are mired
as the nobody
subjects
of the mighty
Persian Empire
just out of the way
and just crumbling
and decay.
What hope
could God
possibly have
for his people
in the future?
And then Zechariah
comes along
and he announces
that the coming
kingdom of God
is yet in the future.
That God
is in charge
of the world
and he calls
his people
to repentance
and into relationship
with himself
and someday
he is coming
to defeat
the enemies
of his people
and to rule
over a peaceful
earth everywhere
and he is going
to set everything
right.
And this was the
message of Zechariah.
And throughout
the book of Zechariah
there is a focus
on Jerusalem.
In chapter 1
he says
God is going
to restore
Jerusalem.
In chapter 2
he says
God is going
to restore
Jerusalem.
In chapter 4
in Zechariah
he says
God is going
to rebuild
the temple
and that is going
to be a symbol
of his relationship
with you.
In chapter 6
he says
God is going
to rebuild
the temple
and in chapter 8
he says
God is going
to dwell
in Jerusalem
and someday
all the peoples
of the earth
will be pilgrims
to Jerusalem
and they will
come to worship
God in Jerusalem
because the temple
is the place
of God's special
presence and power
unlike anywhere
else on earth.
It's his headquarters.
And so the Old Testament
prophets state
that at the end
of time
God is going
to again
take up residence
in Jerusalem
and all the peoples
of the earth
will come there
to worship him.
And so when we get
to Zechariah chapter 9
this is all
in the background.
Look what it says
in Zechariah chapter 9.
In verses 1 through 8
God the mighty warrior
is coming to make war
on his enemies
and he marches
from north to south
down the coastland
of the Mediterranean Sea
laying waste
to his enemies.
He starts in verse 1
with Hadrach
and Damascus.
Do you see that?
Zechariah 9.1
The oracle
of the word
of the Lord
is against the land
of Hadrach
and Damascus
for the Lord
has an eye
on mankind
and on all
the tribes
of Israel.
Just like an ancient
ruler or even
a modern day one
for that matter
has his eye
on his subjects
looking for
whoever might
be opposed to him
or any rebellion
that might be
starting up.
The Lord
has his eye
on all mankind.
He rules over
the entire earth.
He is everywhere
and he knows
everything
and he has
total control
of everything
not just of Israel
but on all mankind.
And he starts
up in Syria
up in Damascus.
He starts
in the north
in Syria
the ancient
enemies of Israel
and he begins
to work against them
and to defeat them.
And then in verse 2
he moves south
down to Tyre
and Sidon.
Tyre and Sidon
were major enemies
of Israel as well.
They had a reputation
of being so powerful
and so wealthy.
Look what it says
in verse 2.
Tyre and Sidon
though they are
very wise
they were cultured
and significant
and intelligent.
Not only that
but they were
well fortified.
Look at verse 3.
Tyre has built
herself a rampart.
Tyre was well known
because they had
a fortress
in the ocean
and it was
so difficult
to attack
that fortress
in the middle
of the ocean
that one time
Nebuchadnezzar
with the mighty
Babylonian army
came to attack Tyre
and he put it
under siege
for 13 years
and then he limped home.
He was unable
to conquer them
so they became
very proud.
They thought
they were invulnerable
to attack.
And not only that
look at the rest
of verse 3.
They have heaped up
silver like dust
and find gold
like the mud
of the streets.
Not only are they
well fortified
but they are wealthy.
But look what it says
in verse 4.
Behold the Lord
will strip Tyre
of her possessions
and strike down
her power on the sea
and she shall be
devoured by fire.
Think about some
of the enemies
of God.
Think about some
of the enemies
in our own world
who are opposed
to God
and to Christ.
Institutions
in our own culture
governments
all across the world
who are well
resourced
intelligent
we sometimes
wonder
is there any hope
against institutions
like that?
There is.
He moves
from Tyre
after demolishing
Tyre
down to verse 5
in Ashkelon
and Gaza
and Ekron
these are the cities
of the Philistines
ancient enemies
of Israel.
He says Ashkelon
will be afraid
and Gaza
will writhe
in anguish
and Ekron
also
because its hopes
are confounded.
Look at verse 8.
Then I will encamp
at my temple
my house
as a guard
so that none
shall march
to and fro
no oppressor
shall again
march over them
for now I see
with my own eyes.
So God
is coming
as the warrior
from Aram
and Syria
to Tyre
and Sidon
to the Philistines
and then he comes
to encamp
at Jerusalem
at his temple
that is his place
those are his people
and he
is the powerful God.
His eyes
are on Jerusalem
and he will
cleanse it
and he will
protect it
and he is going
to make sure
that nothing
is ever the same
again.
And then he says
in verse 9
rejoice greatly
O daughter of Zion
now it is time
for celebration
rejoice
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.
God is going
to establish
his rule
on earth
through this
special messianic king.
Zion
is another name
for the temple mount
that is the symbol
of God's presence
and power.
He says
that this king
in verse 9
is going
to be humble
but humble
doesn't mean
wimpy.
Humble means
dependent
upon God
that the king
is going
to be victorious
because he
because God
has his back
and he's mounted
on a donkey
which at first glance
that seems a little
odd because maybe
we would like him
to be mounted
on a mighty stallion
maybe a war horse
that would be
much more impressive
than a donkey.
But there's a long
tradition in the Bible
that a donkey
means royalty.
In Genesis 49
a donkey
was a part
of the blessing
of Judah
who was in
the messianic line.
David rode
into Jerusalem
on a donkey.
Solomon rode
on a donkey
when he was going
to be made king.
A donkey
in the ancient world
symbolized wealth
and royalty
and respect.
And here comes
the king
of Zion
after God
has laid waste
to his enemies
riding into Jerusalem
on a donkey.
And then he concludes
look what he says
in verse 10
I will cut off
the chariot
from Ephraim
and the war horse
from Jerusalem
and the battle bow
shall be cut off.
He is going
to destroy
the weapons
he is going
to bring peace.
Look what he says
in verse 10
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.
And in chapter 14
at the end of the book
God announces
that he will be king
over all the earth
and Jerusalem
will be safe
and secure
and everyone
who survives
in all the nations
will go up
to Jerusalem
to worship
the king
the God
of hosts.
So let's go back
to Matthew chapter 21
can flip back
to where you've got
your finger
all that is in the background
and all that is being
triggered
by Jesus
getting on a donkey.
Matthew
has imported
by relating
this story
and Jesus
has imported
by climbing
on that donkey
all that Zechariah
had prophesied
about this coming king
the victory of God
over his enemies
and the restoration
of his people
and interestingly
in Matthew
the next thing
that Jesus
is going to do
is go into the temple
and cleanse it.
Fascinating.
He is playing out
the script
that Zechariah
had predicted.
When Jesus
climbs on that donkey
and rides into Jerusalem
in the full sight
of everyone
he says
I am the king
that was foretold
in the book of Zechariah.
Before this
Jesus had always
kept his identity
a secret.
Remember that?
He healed a leper
and after he healed
the leper
he's like
don't tell anyone.
He healed two blind men
he said
make sure no one
knows about this
I don't want anyone
to know who I am.
It says later
that Jesus healed
many people
and he told them all
don't tell people
who I am
I'm not ready
for that yet.
When the disciples
went up on the
Mount of Transfiguration
and they saw
Jesus glorified
and the voice
from heaven
Jesus said
to his disciples
don't tell anyone
about this
not yet.
But now
on the outskirts
of Jerusalem
he climbs
on a donkey
and he makes
a statement
in full view
of everyone
in full view
of the city
of Jerusalem
I am the king
I am the one
that the Old Testament
people of God
were waiting for
to transform
and restore them
I am the king
who will do battle
with the enemies
of God's people
and vanquish them
I am the king
who demands
your worship
and allegiance
I am the king
of all the earth
over all nations
and all peoples
I am the son
of David
the Messiah
that is his intention
in climbing
on a donkey
so now
in verses 6
through 11
in Matthew 21
Jesus enters
Jerusalem
and what we are
going to see
is two different
reactions to him
from the people
it says in verse 6
the disciples
brought the young
colt and its mother
they put their
clothes on them
there was no saddle
they put their
clothes on the donkey
and Jesus sat
on the young colt
that had never
been ridden before
the mother was
probably there
to give comfort
because it is
a busy crowded
place
and the donkey
was probably nervous
the colt was nervous
and as Jesus
begins to go
into Jerusalem
we see the first
of two responses
first of all
is the crowd
of people
who were entering
Jerusalem
with Jesus
they had probably
come also
from Galilee
they were entering
Jerusalem
with Jesus
they were fellow
pilgrims of his
and they knew
Jesus already
they had heard
of him
and there were
people walking
in front of Jesus
and people walking
behind Jesus
as he makes
his way
into Jerusalem
and they begin
an extravagant
celebration
they're pulling
their clothes off
and throwing them
on the road
they're cutting
down palm branches
and laying them
like a red carpet
for the king
and as they go along
in this procession
into Jerusalem
these people
from Galilee
are shouting
Hosanna
to the son of David
blessed is he
who comes
in the name
of the Lord
Hosanna
in the highest
the phrase
son of David
is a clear
messianic reference
and the rest
of what they say
comes from
Psalm 118
which is a
messianic psalm
about the king
leading pilgrims
into Jerusalem
so they aren't
just calling
Jesus a king
they're calling
him the king
this is the
Messiah
that they have
been waiting
for
foretold
by the prophets
their response
isn't done yet
we'll come back
to them
but in the meantime
we go to
group number
two
that's the
Galileans
we'll go to
the people
of Jerusalem
group number
two
in verse
ten
and it says
when he
entered
Jerusalem
the whole
city
was stirred
up
stirred up
isn't a
fantastic
translation
because what
that word
stirred up
means
is
terrified
they were
terrified
they were
shaking
when they
saw Jesus
coming up
the hill
on the donkey
and all
the people
coming into
the city
with him
shouting
it's the
Messiah
it's the
son of
David
save us
they were
like oh
no
oh no
what's
happening
here
they were
shaking
and terrified
and they
said
who is
this
and then
the crowds
who were
entering
with Jesus
will go
back to
group number
one
then they
say this
is the
prophet
Jesus
from
Nazareth
of
Galilee
that's
an odd
thing
to say
it's odd
for two
reasons
first of all
they call
him a
prophet
which is
a bit
inadequate
given what
they were
just shouting
on the road
that's a
little bit
inadequate
and second
look what
they say
he's from
Nazareth
of Galilee
there was
tension
between the
people of
Jerusalem
and the
people of
Galilee
you know
in our
culture
it's this
way too
you know
I like to
listen to
country music
and you know
in country
music
there's all
these songs
about how
the city
is bad
the city
is dangerous
the country
is better
then the
people in
the city
think that
people in
the country
are weirdos
and that
they're
simpletons
and the
people in
LA and
in California
talk about
Nebraska
as flyover
country
so there's
this tension
between the
people in
the city
and the
people in
the country
right
even in
our own
culture
a little
bit
and that's
how it
was back
then
there was
tension
political
and cultural
tension
between the
people in
Jerusalem
who thought
they were
kind of
big stuff
and the
people of
Galilee
who were
kind of
in the
flyover
country
and so
when the
people of
Jerusalem
say
who is
this
who is
this
who's
coming
to our
city
then the
people of
Galilee
say
he's
from
Nazareth
he's
from Galilee
he's
one of
ours
we got
this
see
they're
claiming
him
they like
that
they like
the prestige
they like
that this
guy coming
into town
on a
donkey
he's
from
Galilee
we got
this
and so
this
triumphal
entry
is a
little
bit
of a
dud
because
Jesus
climbs
on this
donkey
and at
first
everyone's
saying
all the
right
things
they're
quoting
scripture
they're
saying
it's
the
Messiah
it's
the
Messiah
it's
the
Messiah
but
once
he
gets
into
the
city
then
one
group
says
I
like
the
sound
of
this
it
kind
of
terrifies
me
and the
other
group
is
sort of
claiming
him
in
some
sort
of
turf
war
and
then
the
story
ends
and
it's
just
kind
of
a
dud
it's
not
a
triumphal
entry
it's
a
not
so
triumphal
entry
interesting
so
the
story
revolves
when you
think about
the story
as a whole
it revolves
around one
key contrast
and that is
the contrast
between who
Jesus is
versus who
everybody wants
him to be
on the one
hand
Jesus makes a
clear claim
to be the king
foretold in
Zechariah
in that passage
he rules for a
conquering God
who defeats his
enemy and saves
his people in
victory
and he brings
peace
by trusting
in God's
plan
but then
on the other
hand
there are
these groups
of people
who have
two different
perspectives about
who he is
and what they
want from him
let's look at
those
first of all
the crowd
with Jesus
they shout
and cheer
and throw
their clothes
and then
but then
when they're
asked who
he is
they say
well
he's on
our team
they're
looking
only for
glory
maybe
they feel
marginalized
or they
don't have
the same
kind of
influence
that Jerusalem
has
they're
from that
flyover
country
and this
is their
chance
this is
their chance
to be
somebody
maybe Jesus
can raise
their status
raise their
political profile
kind of put
them on the
map a little
bit
but Jesus
is not
coming to
take sides
he's not
coming to
gather support
in local
politics
he hasn't
arrived in
Jerusalem
to settle
disputes
or to
raise up
one
particular
constituency
he is
coming to
Jerusalem
to die
on a
cross
he is
in
Jerusalem
for
suffering
and for
humiliation
there will
be a
crown
but it
will be
a crown
of thorns
there will
be
worshippers
but they
will be
soldiers
pretending
to bow
down to
him
to make
fun of
him
he will
accomplish
his goal
but that
is going
to be
his own
death
as a
sacrifice
and then
later
he will
come back
in victory
to vindicate
his people
and ruin
his enemies
forever
but that's
later
so this
first group
of people
the people
of Galilee
they want
him to be
king
but that's
for them
that's
so that
he can
solve
some of
the local
problems
that they
have
the other
group
is the
people
of Jerusalem
they don't
recognize
Jesus
you know
they say
you know
you get
so many
people
coming to
Jerusalem
for Passover
you get
so many
people
I don't
know
they don't
recognize
the claims
that he's
making
but the fact
that everyone
is proclaiming
Jesus as
the king
that's just
going to
cause trouble
that's going
to rock
the boat
that's going
to mess
up the
status quo
I mean
think about
it
things with
Rome
are sensitive
it's a
delicate
political
balance
you cause
too much
of a
too much
you stir
things up
too much
here come
the Roman
soldiers
they're going
to kill
some people
they're going
to throw
some people
in jail
they're going
to clamp
down on
the freedoms
of the people
in Jerusalem
there's this
uneasy balance
and the people
in Jerusalem
are like
oh great
we're calling
him a king
this is just
going to
upset the
status quo
I mean
things are
already bad
but they could
be a lot
worse
in our
relationship
with Rome
but the
problem
for these
people is
that Jesus
is coming
to rock
the boat
he's coming
to call
people into
a new
kingdom
the kingdom
of God
and that
is going
to require
on their
part
a new
allegiance
the people
in Jerusalem
need to
let go
of their
political
power
of their
political
structures
of the
influence
that they
have
of their
nice
neat
tidy
little
lives
they need
to let
go
of those
uneasy
alliances
that they
formed
and they
need to
join
the king
the irony
is
that Jesus
is their
true
victorious
messianic
king
coming
into
Jerusalem
and Rome
is their
oppressive
ruler
but they're
so afraid
that Jesus
is going
to get
them in
trouble
with Rome
they're like
you know
what
no
and so
the people
from Jerusalem
are ultimately
in just
just a couple
of days
are going
to kill
Jesus
in order
to avoid
all that
trouble
in the
book of
John
in chapter
19
Pilate
says
to the
chief
priest
shall I
crucify
your
king
and the
people
of
Jerusalem
say
we have
no
king
but
Caesar
so
Pilate
delivered
him
over
to them
to be
crucified
so here
I think
is the
main point
of the
story
accept
Jesus
as the
true
king
even
if he
may not
be what
you're
looking
for
what
do we
want
in a
king
someone
to solve
our
problems
someone
to lower
our
taxes
someone
to support
our
values
someone
to raise
our
status
or maybe
someone
to just
sort of
leave us
alone
or who
isn't going
to ask
very much
or is
going to
support
my life
as it
is right
now
or someone
is going
to let
me keep
what I
have
my pride
my
resources
but the
problem
is
we don't
always do
a very
good job
of knowing
what our
real needs
are
we have
bigger
problems
than high
taxes
and government
corruption
and terrorism
we need
something
a lot
more
significant
than that
the problem
is that
we
misdiagnose
what we
need
we search
for the
wrong
kind
of king
and then
we miss
God's
true king
instead
we need
to accept
Jesus
as the
true king
even though
he may
not be
what we
were
originally
looking
for
we need
our sins
forgiven
we need
freedom
from the
destructive
patterns
to which
we've
committed
ourselves
we know
if we're
honest
that our
own
hearts
are dark
and that
we need
transformation
we need
peace
with God
we need
hope
for the
future
we need
hope
that wherever
sin is not
ultimately
cured
that it
will be
destroyed
and Jesus
presents himself
to us
as God's
king
and so
here's the
call
of this
simple
story
to accept
God's
king
instead of
the one
that we
would make
for
ourselves
to repent
of our
sins
and to
repent
of our
old
allegiances
and to
let go
of our
own
kingdoms
so that
we can
join
his
behold
your king
is coming
to you
humble
and mounted
on a
donkey
he is
Christ
the king
amen
let's
pray
father
father we
stand on
this side
of the
cross
after you
had gone
to the
cross
and given
yourself over
to death
after you
had raised
victoriously
from the
grave
and seated
yourself at
the right
hand of the
father
interceding
for us
lord we
praise you
we praise
you as
our great
king
and we
look forward
to the
time you
come back
in the
future
to
defeat your
enemies
to destroy
sin once
and for
all
to reign
in peace
and justice
from sea
to sea
we pray
in the
meantime
before
between
the time
of your
humiliating
death
and your
future
victory
that we
would
follow you
with all
of our
hearts
and souls
we would
accept you
and that
this passage
would strengthen
our faith
in who you
are
and warn
us against
missing you
we accept
you as our
great king
and we
praise you
father son
and holy
spirit
amen