The King's Entrance

We have seen in Matthew now 3 times when Jesus has predicted his death, in Matthew 16, 17, and 20. He has told his disciples each time that the Son of Man would have to go to Jerusalem to die. Each time with slightly different detail, yet each time the main point was there.

By this time, the disciples would have needed to be deliberately disbelieving or ignoring Jesus’ words to miss what the purpose of this Jerusalem visit was truly about.

We know that this visit was also a Passover visit. As one of the main feasts of the Jews, it was at least expected, on paper, that they would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem for this feast. And Jesus did, while this is the only trip recorded in Matthew, John tells us of multiple trips made throughout the 3 years of ministry.

But in Matthew, we are reserved this one single account, and it is an important one. Because while it is a Passover like thousands before had been celebrated, this time the Passover would be truly fulfilled for the first time.

This time, it would not just be many lambs killed, but the Lamb of God killed.

So begins our journey to the end of Matthew now, as the Lion’s share of the rest of the book all falls in one week. Comparing other texts, we find that our story most likely happens on the Sunday of the Passover week, and exactly one week later, Jesus will have already been arrested, tried, beaten, crucified, buried, and risen again.

Over 1/4 of all the material in the four Gospel records is given to covering this week. And that is no wonder, because this is going to be the most important week in Human history. Since the creation and fall of mankind, everything has been looking forward to this week and its deliverance. There have been promises of deliverance, there have been small and large deliverances as signs and reminders, but this would be the ultimate one.

Everything begins to change here in Matthew 21. The scenery, the location, the focus, the kind of teaching, the interactions, the openness with which Jesus’ reveals himself. Everything changes because now it is time. And it starts right here with the Triumphal entry.

Read Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem marks the beginning of the end of his earthly ministry. What unfolds shows who he truly is, and divides his followers from his enemies.

1. Nearing the End of the Journey - Vs. 1

Jesus and the disciples had been slowly making their way down to Jerusalem since Matthew 16 when they came down the mountain from the Transfiguration. They travelled back into Galilee, into Judea to the west of the Jordan, where they would take an easterly route down through Jericho into Jerusalem. In Matthew, most of what we have seen there was teaching. John tells us that on the way is when Jesus stops to raise Lazarus in Bethany.

And Bethany was very near Bethphage, which is where we start our journey today.

Bethphage isn’t on a map today, but it probably was a couple miles to the east of the Gates of Jerusalem, on the slopes of the mount of Olives.

The interesting thing about Bethphage, however, is that even though it was not part of Jersualem, on special occasions, it actually was.

In the Talmud, we read that during the feast of the Passover, the legal boundaries of Jerusalem actually expanded to allow more people to be present in the city for the pilgrimage.

Moderate estimates tell us that the population of Jerusalem probably swelled from 30,000 people to 150,000 during this week, so you can imagine why the little city needed to expand.

But there is more about their entrance point that is significant. There are many references in Scripture to the coming of the Lord and the Glory of the Lord in the east of Jersualem.

Zechariah 14:4 ESV

On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.

Ezekiel 11:23 ESV

And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.

Ezekiel 43:1–2 ESV

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.

Yes, while it is not an entire fulfillment, this entrance into the East side of Jerusalem up over the Mount of Olives points us to the bigger work that has always been taking place behind the scenes. Jesus is coming as King now, in this story, humble and lowly, but one day he will come bright and shining and glorious.

We know from the last chapter that Jesus, at this time, had a great crowd following Him. This would have been, in large part, the fanfare and awe of Jesus, but at the same time, it would have been just the entourage to get involved in if you were making the pilgrimage journey to Jerusalem.

These were probably all Galileans, like Jesus and His Disciples. And the interesting thing is that Galileans were almost like Foreigners in Jerusalem. It was quite a journey, and it wasn’t normally made for regular commerce by common men - usually just for the feasts. This was a big and exciting time for anyone.

We can pause here and consider, from the human level, what Jesus may have been thinking about. He had been coming here since he was a boy. Do you remember the story in Luke 2, about how Jesus and His Parents came to Jerusalem for the Passover, and when they did, He wound up in the temple for 3 days answering questions of the religious leaders there?

That was one of many trips. One of many times with the excitement and the crowds. But again, this would be the last, this would be the beginning of the end.

This would be the last passover that these Disciples would celebrate with less than its full meaning in mind. This journey would change everything for them, even more than the last three years of following had so far.

2. Showing Another Sign - Vs. 2-5

At the end of verse 1, we see that when Jesus and His Disciples came into Bethphage, Jesus gets right to work. He is now in the legal limits of Jerusalem, and He has a plan. He knows what needs to happen next.

As we’ve seen all through the book, one of Matthew’s main highlights is the idea of “fulfillment.” Jesus “fulfills” so many prophecies, types, and images from the Old Covenant. To fulfill means to “bring to the intended end.” That is, there are many things that were very significant and important, but didn’t find their full significance or intention until Jesus showed us.

And here is one of those. A prophecy from Zechariah 9.

Matthew actually quotes from Two books here, from Isaiah and Zechariah. But the main part of the quote, about the coming King of Zion, is a prophecy of a ruler of Peace.

Zechariah 9:9–10 ESV

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. 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.

The Donkey, then, was to be a picture of this king coming in peace. Not in battle, at least not at this point. This King’s intention was not to bear a sword at this time, but to make peace.

Jesus’ entire ministry and teaching about the Kingdom of God had turned people’s perceptions upside down. People, many people, were looking for a warrior King to overthrow the puppet kings set up by Rome and deliver Israel into true freedom again. They were looking for someone of great military valor and political strength to champion them into vindication.

But all along, Jesus has been teaching about the blessedness of the meek and lowly, and even just within the last chapters, he has been telling us about the greatness of the weak and the little children.

He has taught us how rulership in His Kingdom is not won by pride or respect of persons, but on the basis of God’s gracious choice.

He has taught us how He, himself, came to be a servant, and now, he will show this crowd of followers and all the people on the way into Jerusalem just what he means by that.

He will fulfill this prophecy, because He is that Peaceful King. That peaceful King who, though one day will ride on a horse of war, for now will ride on a beast of burden, and will bear the burden of the sins of the world in just a few short days.

So he tells two disciples - go, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and her colt. bring them.

Now, as a kid when reading this story, my mind always went to the poor owner of this donkey. His donkey and her new Colt are just going to be taken by these random men, these Galileans?

But you see, its more than that. One way or another, Jesus had arranged this. Now its possible, since he had friends just a short walk away in Bethany with Mary Martha and Lazarus, that he used those connections to secure this Donkey.

But even if not, Jesus is showing His sovereignty.

And if someone asked what they were doing, the answer said it all. “The Lord has need of them.”

That may have been a code word that was arranged by Jesus since the people wouldn’t have recognized his disciples. But what a statement it is.

Jesus is sovereign over the things of this earth, and when he needs them to do His will, that is a good enough answer. When Jesus is at work, fulfilling His Father’s plan, nothing can get in the way. It’s really a microcosm of this whole visit.

You see, the arrest and the trial and the beatings and the crucifixion to come, from the Devil and the Leaders of Jersualem’s point of view, they were meant to stop Him. But little did they know that the trial and the whips and the nails and the cross were tools in the Hands of God in order to accomplish His eternal plan.

That’s how it works in Jesus’ soveriegnty.

He can use something so humble as a Foal of a Donkey to show His majestic rulership, and He can use something so gruesome and vile as a torturous executionary device to make Peace with God for all who will follow Him.

If that’s the case, don’t you think he can use even the unexpected and the undesirable parts of your life to work a greater weight of glory? Don’t you think, this Sovereign Peaceful King, who calms storms and multiplies food, can work all things together for Good for those who love Him, for those whom He calls?

He can, and He does. Because He is the King, the peaceful King, the Messiah-King.

3. Entering in Humble Majesty - Vs. 6-9

So the two disciples do what they are told, a note on obedience there. Since Jesus is sovereign and working the Divine plan, it makes only sense to obey his call and commands. They may seem strange to others at time, and may garner questions, but they are good.

So they bring the beasts, Matthew remembers two beasts while others mention just one. Its possible that the Foal was so young that the Mother necessarily had to come with it. It hadn’t been ridden before, according to other texts. And the poetic form of the prophecy tells us that it would be the foal that Jesus would ride on.

And the disciples place their cloaks over the beasts as a sort of saddle-pad, and Jesus sat on those cloaks.

And there is more to the cloaks.

The people also removed their cloaks, spreading them on the ground.

This was more than a sign of honor or a nice gesture, this was reminiscent of welcoming a King.

When Elishah had Jehu annointed King in Israel in the book of 2 Kings 9, we read a very similar tale.

2 Kings 9:13 (ESV)

Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.”

The Cloaks covered the hard back of the Donkey. The cloaks covered the bare dusty streets. The cloaks made the way more beautiful. The cloaks showed submission and honor. The cloaks showed reverence and offering.

But the cloaks said “he is King.”

And as they went on, and ran out of cloaks, they cut down tree branches and spread them on the road to continue the fanfare.

The branches were a common celebratory and patriotic device. They were symbolic in several of the feasts. They were used in parades of victory at times of war.

All these things were pointing to the exaltation and celebration of Jesus. Did they fully understand who Jesus was? Did they fully understand his mission yet? Most of them did not. His teaching about his death was only to His disciples. But they knew something was different.

And He let them go on, not just with actions, but with words.

They were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David”

This is the saying that we remember each year on Palm Sunday. And it is a Royal saying.

The word “Hosanna” means “Save us now” or simply, “Save now.”

And when used in conjunction with the title of Son of David, it is a Royal Blessing. In the Psalms sometimes we read, “God Save the King.”

These people were at once, crying out that Jesus was King, and they were both at this point crying out for Him to save them, but they were also crying out for His purpose to be saved, for His work to be sustained.

This was nothing short of a parade for a King.

And they kept speaking.

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

This comes right out of Psalm 118.

Psalm 118 is not a random Psalm, here, either. Because Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel Psalms. Psalm 113-118 were always sung by the Jews around the feast times, especially around Passover.

So the people were used to singing this, but this time, the words had new meaning to them. They applied, this time, to Jesus. He was the one who came in the Name of the Lord.

To them, at least, Jesus had come in the power and authority and might and with the mission of the Lord God Himself.

And Jesus let them say all of this.

Now, what is remarkable, what is fascinating, is that up until recently in Matthew, Jesus would have hushed these kinds of cries. He would have quieted these kinds of exaltations.

We could go many places, but just a couple.

In Matthew 8, when Jesus healed the man with leprosy, what did he say?

Matthew 8:4 ESV

And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Again, in Matthew 9 when he healed two blind men, this was his command.

Matthew 9:30–31 ESV

And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

But do you remember just the last chapter, when Jesus again healed two blind men?

Matthew 20:30–31 ESV

And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

This time, Jesus didn’t quiet them, he healed them. In front of a great crowd following Him, who all heard their cries that Jesus was the Son of David, he healed them and didn’t quiet them.

You see, Jesus’ time had come. The time of secrecy was over. Before, it would have been to early. He wouldn’t have sufficiently done the work that His Father sent Him to do. Had he stirred the anger of the religious leaders much more earlier, it would not have been his time or his hour.

But now, the secret is out. The time has come. Jesus is going into Jerusalem, to face off with the very ones who were Holding Israel sway in their Religious Politics, and he is going to Set his true people free.

Those who will follow will be redeemed.

4. Stirring an Entire City - Vs. 10

When Jesus comes into Jerusalem, the reaction is remarkable.

“The whole city was stirred up.”

Now, does that sound like anything familiar to you?

Again, this is the only Jersualem trip from Jesus that Matthew records. And he does this, I believe, on purpose to make certain emphases. This was the main trip.

But do you remember another story in Matthew where a whole city was stirred?

Matthew 2:1–4 ESV

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

You see, over 30 years previous, another entourage came into Jerusalem with loud shouts.

Their question?

Where is the new King. Where is the new-born King of the Jews.

Herod and the whole city were stirred and troubled over this question.

And now, now it has come full circle. Because this time, the entourage joyfully trots in next to a man on a young Foal, with cloaks for a saddle and branches for a road covering, and they say, “this is the King! He is here!”

When the wise-men came, Herod asked his chief priests, where the Christ was to be born.

This time, the entourage answers the question, “The Messiah is Here! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The people were stirred up, “who is this?”

They had probably heard the cries. “Hosanna to the Highest! Hosanna to the Son of David!”

The people of Jerusalem understood that the crowd was saying, “this is the Kign! This is the Messiah!”

But they wanted to know, who is this? You see, Jesus wasn’t a resident of Jerusalem. He was a Galilean.

He wasn’t a Roman appointed ruler to overthrow Herod, but He was the Son of David.

In fact, that is right where Matthew began over 20 chapters ago, wasn’t it?

Matthew 1:1 ESV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew’s whole intent has been to tell us that Jesus is Messiah, Jesus is King. All the teaching has been to tell us about the King and His Kingdom. How the Kingdom works, who can enter it, how we behave in it, what it is like.

And now, we are getting to the point in the story where the rubber meets the road.

Because there is the Kingdom of Israel, with Herod as ruler. There are Pharisees and Saducees, and the Sanhedrin and the Lawyers, there are the religious elites in Jerusalem who are trying to keep peace with Rome and live a comfortable life.

Then there are people who are fed up with it all, looking for a strong Deliverer, a military leader.

There is the Kingdom of Rome who is really ruling over the people through puppets and appointees.

But then, there is the real King of the real Kingdom.

A Kingdom, that Jesus will say shortly, is not just of this world. A kingdom that doesn’t exert might through bribes and politics and military action. A Kingdom with a King who rides on a Donkey.

And he would stir the whole city.

You see, many are stirred and were stirred by Jesus and this entrance, this announcement.

Some would be stirred to follow Him.

Some would be stirred to curiosity.

Some would be stirred to amazement.

Some would be stirred to hatred.

Some would be stirred to fear and running away.

Some would be stirred to crucify Him.

Yes, all are stirred by Jesus in one way or another.

Some are stirred to annoyance.

Some are stirred to despise.

Some are stirred to interest or admiration.

Some are stirred to act against Him.

While still yet, some are stirred to follow Him, to trust Him, and to enter His Kingdom.

Has Christ stirred you? No doubt, He has touched your life in some way. Even just hearing this story, he has touched your life. Maybe you are stirred to further disinterest, or maybe your familiarity stirs only boredom. But I pray, you are stirred to faith and to follow Him.

5. Answering a Basic Question - Vs. 11

Finally, the people get their question answered.

Who is this?

It is the Prophet, Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee.

That may sound underwhelming, but using the term “Prophet” as a title would have stirred bigger images.

You see, many people were waiting for “A prophet like Moses” to come. That was a promise in Deuteronomy 18, and that was part of their Messianic expectation. Moses also would have been on their mind as they began the Passover festivities. He would have been in their readings and in the recitations.

In essence, the people, between the lines could have been saying,

Along with the fact that he is the Messiah, and the King, He is the Prophet. He is all we have been waiting for.

Prophet and King. Yes, Here was the better Son of David and here was the true and better Moses.

And very soon, Jesus would do the work of his third great role, as Priest. He would make sacrifice, by becoming the sacrifice.

He would fulfill the passover but shedding his blood, so that the Lord would have mercy on all who are covered by it.

Yes, the time has come. Everything is different now.

Do you see this Jesus for who he truly is? In the weeks to come in Matthew, we will see the strongest language and the strongest opposition that we have seen all along. And we live in a time where Jesus is hardly a “take Him or leave Him” kind of guy.

Jesus really is the King of the ultimate Kingdom, and if that is the case, all must come to terms with Him. He really is the sovereign Lord who gave his life for Sin, and if that is such an important mission, we must reckon with it for ourselves.