Sunday, 9/2/23, Jesus’ Arrival in Jerusalem, Matt 21:1-11

Divide into groups at tables

Intro Option 2

Ask the following questions and allow students to share their responses. HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN SOMEONE IS A HUGE FAN OF SOMETHING OR SOMEONE? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN FANS TURN ON THEIR TEAMS WHEN THEY LOSE? DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN YOU WERE “ALL IN,” BUT LATER YOUR EXCITEMENT FADED.

The crowds of pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem for Passover were excited to see Jesus. They welcomed Jesus like royalty, but days later some of them would change their opinions of Him because He didn’t meet their expectations.

Context:

Jesus was arriving to Jerusalem

Last week of his life before crucifixion.

A Sunday - Friday crucified - Next Sun Resurrection

People all over the country are arriving to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

The entry comes in the context of the pilgrims’ arrival in preparation for the feasts associated with Passover and Unleavened Bread.

Passover - yearly holy day set apart for the Israelites to observe the exodus from Egypt, particularly the passing over of the Israelite firstborn males when the firstborn of Egypt were struck down in the last of ten plagues. In Christian tradition, Passover is also associated with the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his disciples, as described in the New Testament, and is considered a precursor to the Christian holiday of Easter. Also: Feast of the Passover; Passover Meal; Pesach

Feast of Unleavned Bread - The springtime festival that the Israelites celebrated annually in conjunction with the Passover.

Read & Discuss Matt 21:1-5

The request of the donkey

This represents an appeal to the custom of angaria, the temporary procurement of resources on behalf of a leader, either ruler or rabbi.

The sense of each of the versions is that Jesus is directing events despite the appearance that events are spinning out of his control. The account is full of irony for those who can see what God is really doing.

foretelling their discovery of a donkey and her colt. He instructed them to untie them and bring them to him and to be prepared for any objections from observers. The Lord had already prepared the hearts of the animals’ owner, so that, at the mention of the Lord needs them, the owner would send the disciples promptly on their way with his animals.

At this point Matthew cites Zech 9:9. This allows the reader to see the fulfillment. Zechariah announces the coming of Israel’s king to Zion, riding on a donkey and the foal of the donkey.

9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! (Gods People) Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

ZION (צִיּוֹן, tsiyyon). A location near the Old City of Jerusalem. Comes to signify the city itself and the eschatological hope of God’s dwelling with His people.

What does this passage mean? Why does this matter here?

The prophecy - 500 years before Jesus

OT points to Jesus! Jesus is identifying Himself as this Messiah King figure! That HE is fulfilling this prophecy. (King, righteous, victorious, humble, donkey)

This is his position, even though he knows what is waiting for him at the end of the week.

“Of course, Jesus did triumph in Jerusalem, through the strange way of the cross, but any likeness to the world’s pattern of ‘triumph’ is avoided.”

Read & Discuss - Matt 21:6-8

Now that the ride is available, garments are placed on the beast, and Jesus sits down and rides.

Most of the people in the crowd took their cue from the disciples’ example. Denoting the arrival of an important person, the crowd places garments before him as a makeshift carpet. The description recalls 1 Kings 1:33, when David endorsed Solomon as successor.

They laid their coats across Jesus’ path in the road, as though to give him the “red carpet treatment.” Others cut branches from nearby trees to extend the “carpet” into the city.

John 12:13 tells us the branches were “palm branches,” thus our celebration of “Palm Sunday” five days before Good Friday and seven days before Resurrection Sunday, or “Easter.”

Why a Donkey?

“It was not uncommon for a king to ride on a donkey; But an unarmed, plainly clad civilian riding a donkey contrasts sharply with an armed soldier astride a war horse.

the key is when a king would ride on a donkey. If a king was going to war, he would ride on a warhorse as a picture of power. When he was not at war, the king would ride on a donkey as a picture of peace.”

This Messiah comes in humility, gentleness, and peace. The crowds recognize that this is something to celebrate but seem to be missing something

Read & Discuss - Matt 21:9-11

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem during the Passover celebration, the crowd of travelers went wild. Word about Jesus had spread, and His popularity had grown. We could compare the atmosphere of His arrival to a parade today.

AGAIN WHY ARE THEY CELEBRATING IN THIS WAY?

As the crowd moved along, they shouted words of praise, celebrating the arrival of Israel’s Savior, the Messiah-King. Hosanna is literally a plea to “save.” But again, they are missing something.

WHAT DID THE JEWS EXPECT THE MESSIAH TO BE LIKE?

Many Jews expected the Messiah to be a leader within the government. They lived in oppression under Roman rule, and they desperately wanted freedom. Because of their circumstances, they wrongly interpreted the prophets who spoke of a future ruler.

They missed the real reason Jesus came and possibly, the real Jesus himself.

I think some people thought Jesus was coming in to fight a war against Rome and they were celebrating this long awaited rebellion.

What the people failed to understand was that the king had come to defeat a much greater enemy than Rome—an enemy that knew no national boundaries or respected no political or sectarian differences. It was an enemy whose defeat would have repercussions far beyond the end of this life. Jesus had come to defeat Satan, our own sin, and the claim of death.

The freedom Jesus brought would not be worldly freedom but spiritual freedom—salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

So, they line the street with garments and branches which further demonstrates how the crowds have the wrong messianic concept. There will be no victory party when they arrive in Jerusalem. Instead, there will be a conspiracy, a mob, and a execution.

Their expectations of release from earthly tyranny made it hard for them to see Jesus as the Messiah.

The crowds, swollen by pilgrims coming for the Passover feast just a few days away, were swept up in anticipation of a decisive battle to oust the Roman oppressors, which they thought would be led by the promised Messiah. Five days later a crowd comprised of many of these same people would be shouting for the king’s execution (27:17–25).

Which is huge for us!

For a short time, the people would acknowledge Jesus’ true identity as the sovereign Son of David, but they would fail to identify him also as the sacrificial Son of Abraham. They knew he had come to restore his kingdom, but they missed the fact that he was also here to redeem his people. They anticipated the sovereignty but overlooked the sacrifice. Jesus would not exercise the rule without the redemption.

SUMMARY

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah and proclaimed He was the One who fulfilled them. The people praised Jesus, but they praised Him for the wrong reasons, thinking He had come to free them from Rome. Jesus did not come to free people from the tyranny of a worldly power but from the power of sin and death.

HEAD HEART HANDS

So, lets connect this to us - to our head, heart, and hands

THE CROWDS MISSED THE REALITY OF WHO JESUS REALLY IS - HOW EASY IS IT FOR US TO MISS THE REAL JESUS!?

Easy - people miss this all the time.

“A god I want to worship” “Not the Jesus I know of”

WHAT KEEPS US FROM KNOWING JESUS?

Our made up expectations. (Preconceived notion / presumption / assumption) How we think things should be and therefore we may even unconsciously mold Jesus into how we want him to look.

“Jesus is supposed to make me feel good, give me what I want, be my friend who agrees with me...”

For many of the Jewish people - the Messiah was supposed to go to war with Rome.

Other things:

Sin, Self, Distractions, Focus on Feelings

HOW CAN WE KNOW THE REAL JESUS?

God’s Word

WHY IS THE BIBLE ENOUGH TO HELP US KNOW THE REAL JESUS?

Proven - Tested - Pressed but always has held its ground.

Prophecy - Fulfilled - There are over 400/500 prophecies about Jesus mentioned in the Bible. These were written between 500 and 1000 years before Jesus was even born.

He already has fulfilled over 300 of them.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT JESUS FULFILLS PROPHECY? All of Scripture is one big story, and the entire Old Testament pointed to our need for a Savior. God made it plain throughout the Old Testament that He would send a Messiah—a Promised One to deliver His people. There are hundreds of prophecies concerning Jesus’s birth (see Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 23:5-6), life (see Isa. 42:1-4; Zech. 9:9), and death and resurrection (see Ps. 22). If these prophecies weren’t fulfilled or met in Jesus, then the Bible itself would not be trustworthy. We serve a God who always had a plan. God fulfills His promises to us, and the greatest evidence of this is His sending His Son for our salvation. We can trust all of God’s Word to be true because He has been faithful.

Proclaims - Who Jesus is as the Son of God.

Philippians 2:6–11 (CSB)

6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The death of Christ was the ultimate example of His humiliation, but the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the first and glorious example of Christ’s exaltation. Christ was exalted (lifted up) when God raised Him from the dead, and Christ was exalted when He ascended to the Father’s right hand. He will be exalted by all creation when He returns to gather God’s people. All of these aspects work together to magnify the glory and worth of Christ, resulting in the praise from sinners rescued by grace.

But if you mix in your own assumptions and beliefs that will benefit you, you will miss the real Jesus.

THE PEOPLE CALLED JESUS A PROPHET. Which falls short of who Jesus really is?

HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN WHO JESUS IS AND WHY HE CAME?

LIKE THE CROWD, WE SOMETIMES VERBALLY ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF OUR WORDS? It’s easy to learn the right words—the church words. Some of us grew up in church and know all of the right words to say, but we often don’t realize the weight of our words. For instance, we may say or sing that Jesus is Lord, but sometimes our lives don’t reflect the truth that He is our only Master. When the way we live matches our words about Jesus, not only does this please the Father, but our lives also become a powerful testimony to others.

IN WHAT WAYS CAN YOU SHOW PEOPLE AROUND YOU THAT JESUS IS THE TRUE KING AND MESSIAH? If we believe Jesus is the true King and the Messiah, then it will affect every area of our lives. It will affect the way we act, the way we talk, the way we spend our time, and who we choose to spend our time with. Kings command respect and praise, and people often bow down before them in reverence and allegiance. Jesus—the ultimate King of all creation—deserves our adoration and devotion. We can bow down before Jesus by living out His commands and seeking to be like Him.

For the people in the story - they thought he was a warrior there to fight rome. When Jesus didnt meet their expectations, they turned on him. It took them less than a week, 5 days, to go from worshipping him as a king to killing him as a traitor.