Welcome To Gospel Explorations

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Hello everyone, this is Mark Davis, and I want to welcome you into the Gospel Explorations. So we're how we have to live in this present age. Let's jump into today's episode. Hello friends, and welcome back to the Gospel Explorations Podcast, where we're coming together to walk through the scriptures and look carefully at the life and words of Jesus and then ask ourselves what they reveal about the gospel in our own lives.

Why Matthew 21 Matters

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So today we're looking at Matthew chapter 21 as we've been working through Matthew's gospel, and we enter into probably one of the most significant sections of the entire gospel, because at this point, Jesus is now entering Jerusalem, and we're coming to the beginning of his final week before the cross. For the majority of Jesus' ministry thus far, he's really avoided unnecessary publicity. At different moments, even we've seen him tell people not to spread the news about what he had done. He had withdrawn from the crowds, and he even refused to allow popular enthusiasm to determine his mission. But now everything begins to change. Jesus does not slip quietly into Jerusalem. He enters publicly, deliberately, symbolically, and unmistakably. What Matthew wants us to understand is that Jesus is presenting himself as Israel's king. Notice at the beginning of Matthew 21, starting in verse 1. And when they drew nigh into Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage under the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say unto you, ye shall say the Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them. So we see Jesus sending two of his disciples on a very specific assignment. They're supposed to go into the village where they would find a donkey and a colt and bring them to him. And then he tells them, If any one asks you what you're doing, just tell them the Lord has need of them.

Prophecy Fulfilled On Purpose

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Now this is important, and Matthew tells us because this was done to fulfill the prophecy. See, in Zechariah 9 9, it was said, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt and the foal of an ass. And so these words here are giving us really the first important picture in this passage, and that is Jesus is coming as the promised king. None of what happens here is accidental. Jesus knows exactly what he is doing. This donkey is not just transportation, the timing here is not simply coincidence, and this public procession is not something that simply gets out of control. This is Jesus deliberately fulfilling the scriptures. For centuries, Israel had waited for God's promised king. The prophets had spoken of him, the people had longed for him, and literally, generation after generation had asked when God's Messiah would finally come. And now Matthew essentially says, Look, your king is coming. Jesus is not just a teacher coming into Jerusalem, he's not merely a miracle worker or a prophet from Galilee. He is the promised Messiah. Your king has arrived. And there is something particularly powerful about the timing of this moment. You see, Jesus knows what awaits him in Jerusalem. He already told his disciples. He knows that he is going to be betrayed and that he will be condemned. He knows that he will be mocked and scourged and ultimately crucified. And yet he goes. Jesus doesn't turn away from Jerusalem, he rides toward it. This tells us that the cross is not an accident. Jesus is not a helpless victim, caught in circumstances beyond his control. He is moving intentionally toward the very purpose for which he came. And every step that Jesus takes towards Jerusalem is a step towards Calvary.

The Humble King On A Donkey

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Notice what else is said about this king. It says that he cometh unto them meek. You see, Jesus is the promised king, but he does not enter Jerusalem the way that earthly rulers normally would have entered conquered cities. Jesus does not arrive on a war horse or surrounded by soldiers. There's no chariots, no swords, no military display. He comes riding on a donkey. And that's because Jesus is the humble king. Now think about that contrast. He is king, and yet he is meek. He possesses all authority, and yet he comes in humility. He's the creator of the world, and yet he borrows an animal on which to ride. And there's something else that's beautiful in those words, the Lord hath need of them. The Lord. And yet he has need. It's the eternal Son of God entered fully into human life. He knew hunger and thirst, exhaustion and rejection. And now the Lord of creation rides into Jerusalem on a borrowed cult. This is humility, not weakness. Jesus could have summoned angels. He could have displayed an overwhelming power. He could have forced Jerusalem to bow. But instead he comes in peace, inviting people to receive him. And this falls in line with everything that we've already seen in Matthew. Jesus said, Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. The king who calls us to himself is humble. The king who tells us that greatness is found in serving is a servant himself. And in fact, in our previous episode, we saw Jesus say that the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give his life a ransom for many. And now we see him doing that very thing. He's entering Jerusalem where he will give his life. The king is riding toward his throne, but his throne will first be a cross.

Palm Branches And Rising Expectations

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Imagine, if you will, the atmosphere as Jesus approaches Jerusalem. It's Passover season. The city is filled with people. Religious expectations are high, and suddenly the crowd begins to recognize what is happening. Matthew tells us that a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from trees and straw them in the way. You see, spreading garments on the road was an act of honor and loyalty. The branches were associated with celebration and victory. And so the crowd signifies that something significant is happening. And then they begin to shout, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And this reminds us that Jesus is our saving king. You see, the word Hosanna originally carried the idea of save now. It was a cry for deliverance. The people are essentially shouting to Jesus, Save us, save us, son of David. And they're directing their cry toward Jesus. Even the language that they're using is unmistakably messianic. They're identifying him with God's promise and that a descendant of David would reign. They even quote from Psalm 118, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. The crowd recognizes that Jesus is connected to God's promised salvation. And yet there's a tragic irony here. They're asking Jesus to save them, and he has come to do exactly that. But he will save them in a way many of them did not expect.

Save Now Versus True Redemption

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They want liberation, and Jesus has come to provide redemption. You see, they're thinking about Rome and Jesus is thinking about sin. They're focused on political oppression, and Jesus has come to deal with humanity's deepest bondage. They're crying for a king who will defeat Caesar, and Jesus had come to defeat sin and death. And that distinction is very important. It matters, because we can easily make the same mistake. We can want Jesus to save us from our circumstances without wanting him to save us from our sin. We can want him to change what is happening around us, but Jesus wants to transform what's happening in us. You see, we want relief, but he offers redemption. We often want our problem solved, but Jesus came to reconcile us to God. And sometimes, if we're honest, we become disappointed with Jesus because he refuses to become the kind of savior we had imagined. But Jesus does not exist to fulfill our expectations. And so the people shout, Hosanna, save us, and Jesus will. In less than a week, he will be hanging on a cross. The one riding into Jerusalem beneath the waving branches will soon walk out of Jerusalem carrying a crossbeam. The one that's receiving the praise will soon receive mockery. The one that they call the son of David will soon wear a crown of thorns. The king has come to save, but salvation will cost him his life.

Jerusalem Shaken By One Question

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And so Matthew tells us that when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved. That word carries the idea of being shaken or stirred. That is that Jesus' arrival created a disturbance throughout Jerusalem. And the people began asking, Who is this? And that may very well be the most important question in this entire passage. Who is this? The crowd answers, This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And while that answer is true, it is incomplete. He is Jesus and He is from Nazareth. He is a prophet, but he is so much more. He's the Messiah, the Son of David, the promised King. He's the Savior of the world. And ultimately, he is the Son of God. And that question still confronts every one of us. Who is Jesus? You know, it's possible to admire Jesus without truly knowing him, to sing about Jesus without ever surrendering to him, to celebrate Jesus publicly while resisting his authority personally. And there is a sobering reminder in this story. Some of the voices that shouted Hosanna would soon be the same voices crying, Crucify Him. You see, crowds can be enthusiastic without being transformed. Emotion is not the same thing as faith. Religious excitement is not discipleship. And Jesus does not simply want our applause, he wants our allegiance.

Applause Isn’t Allegiance

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And that's what makes this passage intensely personal. Because the question is not simply, would you have waved a branch that day? The question is have you received the king today? Because Jesus still comes to us as he came to Jerusalem, the rightful king in humility, offering salvation. And we must too decide what we will do with him. You see, some people want Jesus as Savior but not king. They want forgiveness but not authority. They want heaven but not to surrender. But the Jesus who saves is also the Jesus who rules. And you cannot separate the Savior from the King. And so maybe there is another question that we need to ask. What kind of king are you expecting Jesus to be? Sometimes we come to Jesus with an agenda that's already written. Lord, here's what I need for you to fix, or what I need you to change, or God, can you just do this thing? And when Jesus does something different, we become confused or disappointed. Jerusalem expected one kind of Messiah, yet Jesus came as another. His mission was infinitely greater than what they imagined. They wanted freedom from Rome, He came to provide freedom from sin. They wanted an earthly kingdom and he was establishing an eternal one. You see, sometimes God's salvation looks different from what we expect because God's purposes are larger than what we can see. So when you cannot understand what Jesus is doing, remember who he is. He is still the king, he is still good, he is still sovereign, and he is still working out his redemptive purposes.

The King Moving Toward Rejection

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Now there is one final image that I think is worth considering before we wrap up this passage, and that is that Jesus is riding toward a city that will ultimately reject him. He knows what's coming, he knows the cross that awaits him, and yet he still goes. And the question is, why? Because this is the very reason that he came. You see, the story of the triumphal entry is not ultimately a story about palm branches, it's a story about a king that's moving toward a cross. And the crowd cries, Save now. And Jesus answers that prayer by giving himself. Friend, this is the gospel. Our king has come. Our king has given himself, and he's conquered sin and death, and our king will come again. So perhaps for us today, the words of Zechariah are still the right words with which to end. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. Look at him, see the humble king, the promised king, the saving king, and receive him for who he truly is.

Next Steps And How To Connect

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Friend, thanks for joining me today on this episode of the Gospel Explorations. As we continue studying through Matthew's gospel, we've now entered this final week of Jesus' earthly ministry before the cross. These events will begin to move quickly, and every encounter will continue to reveal more clearly who Jesus is and why he came. So take time to go back and read through this passage again. Also, be sure to check out the show notes for some questions for further thought and discussion. And until next time, friends, race and peace. Thanks for listening. I hope that you've been both encouraged and challenged today. If you want to connect with us further, please be sure to check us out on the web at gospelexplorations.com. We look forward to having you join us again next time.