Behold Your King is Coming
Notes
Transcript
4 Now this took place so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,
7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks.
8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
9 Now the crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”
11 And the crowds were saying, “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Are you ready for the message God has for us?
Great, let’s begin
Triumphal entries were nothing new to the people gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover.
People would come from all over for the festival of passover
Temple Guards and Roman soldiers were likely sent as extra security for the festival
This would be no ordinary passover, the king is coming!
The people of Jerusalem were familiar with with conquering kings and military generals riding on horses and adorned with the shouts of praise from the crowds
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was different
Jesus illustrates the Kingdom of God doesn’t look like the kingdoms of the world.
The Kingdom of God is not won through violence and carnage!
It is brought through sacrifice and resurrection
It is beautiful and expansive! That is what the people are crying out for
Hosanna, a word that means save us now!
They were saying Son of David Save us Now!
The were emphatically pleading with Jesus to save them!
Triumphal Entries
Triumphal Entries
Roman triumph was the highest honor granted to emperors and generals in the Roman Empire.
It was a processional into the city, led by government officials, then the sacrificial animals for the temples of the Roman gods
Followed by the champion in a chariot pulled by white horses, usually dressed in purple regalia, followed by the spoils and captives of war.
Such a procession was only given to those victorious in war
Jesus processional wasn’t into Rome!
Not into the capitol of the Empire
Into Jerusalem the location of the temple the religious heart of the Jewish faith!
Jesus did not come as a victor of war but as one who marched toward death!
Illustrating that true victory does not come through violence but through humility.
It takes place at the beginning of a festival, Passover.
Remembering the way God spared the lives of his people and freed them from oppressive Egyptian rule.
Jesus is also bringing an offering toward the temple, but the offering is himself.
Instead of a horse and chariot, Jesus rides in on the colt of a donkey, which is an illustration of humility
Donkeys are common and not a sign of prestige.
Donkeys are pack animals, not war animals.
They are a symbol of peace.
Jesus and the Temple
Jesus and the Temple
Although Jesus entering the temple isn’t part of the text we read today, yet it is an important component of the triumphal entry.
We often view Jesus overturning tables as an angry Jesus
Scolding people who are doing wrong
And this he did yet when with the entry scene the text in Matthew seems to indicate something else.
The sale of sacrificial animals on the temple grounds was both common and acceptable.
Many out-of-town visitors would need an animal to sacrifice.
Clearly however, the way they were doing it was probably taking advantage and over charging!
I wonder though is there more?
Is it possible that Jesus entering Jerusalem and the temple was him bringing the sacrifice to the temple?
Declaring that Messiah is here as he also attended to the needs of those who were lame and limp which he then heals.
The kingdom of God that Jesus is ushering in is not one of preferential treatment but one that welcomes everyone!
Two passages surround ours in Matthew
13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
7 But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
The Greek word for compassion means - mercy, pity, compassion, clemency
It is leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency of authority
Jesus as the Messiah was showing that the kingdom of God where mercy and compassion matter more than sacrifice.
The expected Messiah, but not the Messiah they expected
The expected Messiah, but not the Messiah they expected
The Jewish people were busy looking for the Messiah to come in the ways they wanted.
They expected a political ruler who would rise up and overthrow the Roman government, in likely violent ways.
They expected freedom from Roman oppression.
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey, some may have thought this was the moment he was going to take over.
To usher in the a kingdom like the Golden days of David and Solomon!
Instead, Jesus’s arrival disrupted the way they were doing things.
He called out their acts of injustice: the ways they were abusing and using the poor and denying worship to marginalized people.
He healed people who were considered outsiders and unclean: the lame, the blind, the poor.
Children recognized who he was and what he was doing, and he welcomed them.
His rebuke was for the religious leaders who continued to miss the point.
Jesus ushered the kingdom of God into the world, it’s still at work.
We can cry out “Hosanna save us!” today, while also repenting of the ways we have fallen short.
We can cry out “Hosanna save us!” and still look for the ways that the kingdom of God is breaking in, and join that work.
Conclusion
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he wasn’t seeking to free the oppressed through violence but through humble sacrifice.
Jesus challenged the exclusionary practices of the temple, declaring a new temple that wasn’t contingent upon location but centered upon him as the Messiah.
Jesus brought about the beautifully just, merciful, and grace-filled kingdom of God that we get to participate in now.
As we enter Holy Week, may we look for Jesus in places that disrupt injustice, in the ways we see others extend mercy and grace.
May we repent of the times and places when we have excluded others and embrace the fullness of the kingdom that Christ brings.
May we look for ways to participate in the kingdom of God now, even as we await its fulfillment when Christ returns, by being people of love, grace, mercy, and peace.