The Coming of the King

Scripture Reading

Matthew 21:1–17 NKJV

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ” So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and 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 babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

I. The King Arrived

Jesus orchestrated the two donkeys to present himself as the King.

Part of the reason for the odd arrangement is simply that Jesus and his disciples did not have a donkey, let alone two.

I’m not sure how the owner knew Jesus was the Lord who needed them, but it must have been a sympathizer to Jesus’ messianic movement.

Jesus did not go around using the phrase “I am the Messiah, the Son of David, your King,” because it was politically loaded, and the use of that exact phrase would have got him instantly killed. He would be killed, of course, but it wasn’t time for that yet. He did tell the Samaritan Woman this, but the Samaritan concept of the Messiah was quite different, more of a prophetic teacher than a conquering King.

However, his use of the two donkeys would have sent a very clear signal about his claims, a signal no one would have missed. That’s due to prophecy. Jesus used Zech 9:9 as a way to send the message that he was claiming to this person. The wider context is quite illuminating

This King would be authorized by God to protect the Temple and Jerusalem itself (Zech 9:8-9)

Zechariah 9:8–9 NKJV

I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For now I have seen with My eyes. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

This King would not come as a conqueror on a white horse, but would be a humble man of peace, coming on a donkey. The significance of the Donkey was when the King rode it, he was coming in peace. When a new King rode on the King’s Donkey, he was declaring his royal authority 1 Kings 1:28-35.

This new King would banish war, enforcing peace on a worldwide scale Zech 9:10

Zechariah 9:10 NKJV

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

However, God would go to war for Israel that day Zech 9:13-16

Zechariah 9:13–16 NKJV

For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.” Then the Lord will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. The Lord of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar. The Lord their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land—

In other words, this passage absolutely predicts a national, conquering King who would supernaturally overcome Israel’s enemies by the power of God. Once the battle was over, he would enforce worldwide peace, and rule as Israel’s King.

Since Judaism at that time was alive with Messianic expectation, people would absolutely have gotten the point, yet Jesus never actually said the fatal words, so no one could arrest him for sedition. yet.

II. The People Knew Him

Jesus’ actions here and before demonstrate a dramatic switch in his methods. Prior, he had tried to limit his fame from his miracles, telling them not to tell he was Messiah. But with the resurrection of Lazarus, he deliberately arranged the situation so that he could raise Lazarus from the dead in a very public fashion. Then, when he came to Jerusalem that last time, he had journeyed north to meet up with a large Gallilean group going for the Passover. Israelites tended to travel in large groups for safety from robbers. However, when he came to Jerusalem the Friday before Passover, he stayed in Bethany, which was just outside of a Sabbath day’s journey. Since observant Jews couldn’t travel on the Sabbath, most of them would be going on to Jerusalem to stay. Then they would tell everyone that Jesus was here, hyping up the crowds.

Thus it isn’t an exaggeration to say that all the city was moved (v.10). Everyone knew about the Prophet from Nazareth.

The actions showed they knew he was king

laying the clothes was a royal statement 2 Kings 9:13.

2 Kings 9:13 NKJV

Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”

The palm branches made a royal statement as well

The people quoted popular Messianic Scriptures

“Hosanna to the Son of David” = “Lord Save the Son of David”. A statement that they hope Jesus will save them from the Romans

“Hosanna in the Highest” = Lord Save from the Heavens.

Psalm 118:26 A favorite Psalm to sing on the way to the Passover - a Song of Ascents, full of Messianic Expectation Psalm 118:10-11, 22-23, 25-26.

Psalm 118:10–11 NKJV

All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

Psalm 118:22–23 NKJV

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

Psalm 118:25–26 NKJV

Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.

They were expecting a national Messiah who would conquer Israel’s enemies.

III. They didn’t Want the Real King.

According to Mark, this actually happened the next day, but it’s relevant since it shows what sort of Messiah Jesus was.

Jesus recognized the nationalistic overtones, and accepted them (v.15-16). It’s a quotation from Psalm 8:2, which ends with a statement about defeating enemies. The priests were angry because of those very nationalist overtones, but because they didn’t use the words “Jesus is King” they couldn’t do anything.

Psalm 8:2 NKJV

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

However, people expected Jesus to turn left and go up to Herod’s Palace and overthrow the Romans, but instead, he turns right and overturns the tables of the moneychangers. Why? Because he was the real Messiah, who from the beginning was clear about the need for true spirituality, real change in Israel first. He was starting his appeal for righteousness with the Temple and the people of God first. That was also a duty of the Messiah, but one that most people didn’t think as much about.

Jesus quotes Isaiah 56:6-8, clearly talking about how the point of the Temple was for a place of true worship for all people. Isaiah wrote about Solomon’s Temple, but Herod’s Temple was the real replacement for it, so it definitely fits.

Isaiah 56:6–8 NKJV

“Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

The phrase “den of Thieves” comes from Jeremiah 7:3-14. Jeremiah predicted the destruction of Solomon’s Temple due to not just theft, but rampant sin of all sorts. Just as God had destroyed Shiloh for Israel’s sins, he would do the same for Solomon’s Temple. Jesus point isn’t just that one quotation, but the whole section - Just as Shiloh and Solomon’s Temple were destroyed for Israel’s sins, Herod’s Temple was in danger of the same fate if they didn’t change their ways.

Jeremiah 7:3–14 NKJV

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.’ “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord. “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

Matthew 24:1-2 confirms Jesus was thinking along these lines.

Matthew 24:1–2 NKJV

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

So if the point was to draw attention to the unregenerate hearts, why turn the tables? Because it was a big, dramatic action to make a point people would understand. The problem with the buying and selling wasn’t the buying and selling per se, but the fact that it was the temple, where worship was supposed to be happening, not a market. God indeed commanded such things Deut 14:22-26. In fact, the market was held in the Court of the Gentiles, so in the very place where God wanted the Gentiles to worship, they were subjected to the realization that what the Jews actually cared about was money.

Conclusion

The problem with ancient Israel is really the same problem people have today. They thought they wanted God’s King, but they really only wanted part of it. They wanted about $3 worth of God, enough to make them feel good, not enough to change their lives. So when Jesus offered himself as the King who would rule Israel and defeat her enemies, they were really excited about it. However, unlike all the pretender Messiahs, Jesus was the real thing. That means that $3 worth of God isn’t enough. He demanded they live lives of faith, a life that showed they really put God first. He demanded they recognize that judgment had to begin at the House of God, and only when Israel was truly ready to follow God from the heart, only then would they be ready to accept the real King. Sadly, what they wanted was the good bits, Israel as the favored nation, Israel on top. They didn’t think they needed a real relationship with God, still less that they needed to have lives that proved what they said with their mouth. So when Jesus began with the temple, the people were greatly disappointed. That wasn’t what they wanted at all. That’s why they rejected their Messiah. But today still, people only want $3 worth of God. That’s not what God demands of you. Do you really want the Return of the King? or do you want a King on your terms?