Untied For The Master’s Use

Secular -

A young man was walking through town and saw a sign in a pet store window: "Religious Parrot for Sale – $500." Intrigued, he went inside. The owner pointed to a beautiful green parrot. "This bird is amazing," the owner said. "If you pull the string on his right leg, he recites the Lord's Prayer. If you pull the string on his left leg, he quotes the 23rd Psalm word-for-word."

The young man was impressed, but being a bit of a jokester, he asked, "Well, what happens if I pull both strings at the same time?"

Before the owner could answer, the parrot looked at the young man and screeched, "I’ll fall off my perch!”

People can be a lot like the parrot. They’ve got the ‘right’ leg of religiosity and the left leg of tradition down pat. But if you pull the strings at the same time and look at their life you will find there is no Jesus there. They fall right off their perch.

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 21:1–12 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.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - True Discipleship is Measured by Obedience, Not Excitement.

Life Point- The Lord Has Need Of You

Exegetical -

Matthew 21:1–5 BSB

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt beside her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone questions you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

Homiletical -

Jesus and the crowd of people following him are coming to Jerusalem and they came to a place right outside called Bethphage on the Mount of Olives.

Jesus sends two of his disciples, so two of the twelve. He gives them a command

He told them to Go. That is a command, we are told to Go as well in the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Jesus gives us the command here just as he did the disciples and He says Go! What comes after that is different. He tells us to Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son an of The Holy Spirit and to teach them to observe all things that He commanded the disciples.

Notice Jesus didn’t say to make converts, He said to make disciples. What is a disciple?

Someone who follows another person. We are to be followers of Christ and the disciples of Christ are supposed to show us the way. Guess what, that means you are a disciple and it is your job to disciple others.

Here is what that looks like:

We are to be Going. That is purposely on purpose sharing the Gospel.

We are to be baptizing

We are to be teaching what it means to be a Christian to new believers’

What this means is.. TIME. To take your time and invest it into other people.

But pastor what if they hurt me?

That may happen, you will see that they hurt Jesus too. The same ones who praising Him end up hurting Him later on.

Back in our main text Jesus has told 2 of the disciples to go and get the donkey with her child and untie them and bring them to Him. If anyone questions them they are to say the Lord needs them. That is the title for God. Lord is used exclusively of God. So what will happen? They will send them right away.

Jesus is God and He knew what would happen here and so He sends His disciples to do this task.

Matthew tells us that He did these things and that it fulfilled a prophecy, “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

This colt has never been ridden before. So you wouldn’t expect it to behave so much, but it does behave and it follows its’ mother. Jesus comes riding on a donkey.

Most conquerors when they would come into a city would be riding a majestic horse something that is resplendent and strikes awe in people’s minds. This was not that.

Jesus came in on a lowly donkey. We like to call this the triumphal entry, but to the everyday person in Jerusalem there was nothing triumphal about it. This was some guy on a donkey that people were praising.

Illustration -

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and asked his father if they could discuss him using the family car.

His father said, "I'll make a deal with you. If you bring your grades up from a C to an A average, study your Bible, and get your hair cut, we’ll talk about the car."

A month later, the boy came back and asked again. The father said, "Son, I’m real proud of you. You brought your grades up and I’ve seen you studying your Bible. But you didn’t get your hair cut."

The boy thought for a moment and said, "You know, Dad, I’ve been thinking about that. In my studies, I noticed that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair."

The father smiled and replied, "You’re absolutely right, son. And Jesus walked everywhere He went."

Life Point - Don’t Mistake A Parade For A Pilgrimage

Exegetical -

Matthew 21:6–9 BSB

So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”

Homiletical -

The first words in this scripture should hit us pretty hard “So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.”

When was the last time you did what Jesus has said to do in the Bible and maybe personally to you?

If God told you in 2006 to go and teach Sunday School and you never went and taught Sunday School and now you’re praying “O, Lord what would you have me to do?” Maybe you ought to be doing the last thing that God has already told you to do.

Spread the Gospel, make disciples, teach that Sunday School class.

Now the disciples did as they were told and they brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.

Jesus is on His way to coming into Jerusalem.

Notice it says that a massive crowd shows up. They have heard about this guy, this prophet named Jesus. They were wrong though. He is not just some guy nor just another prophet, but He was and is the savior of the world God made manifest in flesh.

These people are hyped up, this crowd is all about Jesus.

They are throwing clothes on the road and branches from trees and yelling “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Remember in their minds they are looking for a conquering king to take over Jerusalem and overthrow the Roman Government.

If that were to happen the Pharisees and Sadducees would lose their authority that had been given to them by Rome. They also feared the power and might of Rome and they feared what Rome would do to the city, the people, and the temple.

So the elites and religious leaders weren’t throwing their clothes and tree limbs before Jesus but the common people. They saw him as some conqueror.

I said earlier that they were all about Jesus.

You ever met someone who was all about Jesus? What we used to call on fire for the Lord? Then some adversity happens and all of a sudden they don’t just walk away but now they are openly hostile toward Jesus and the faith.

I have met many in my life and you know what I have learned? They were never truly Jesus’s disciples. They had a look of Godliness but denied the power thereof.

2 Timothy 3:5 BSB

having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

1 John 2:19 BSB

They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

The people that John is talking about, departed the church and the faith and were never truly apart of either.

Illustration -

One such person was Charles Templeton. You have probably never heard of Templeton before, but he was a fellow minister and close friend of Billy Graham’s. At least for a time.

In the mid-1940s, Charles Templeton and Billy Graham were best friends and coworkers. They toured the United States and Europe together as evangelists for Youth for Christ. At the time, if you had asked who would become the face of American Christianity, most people would have bet on Templeton.

While Graham’s faith remained rooted in the authority of the Bible, Templeton began to struggle with doubts. He was deeply troubled by:

The conflict between evolution and the Genesis account. Which we know today that the evidence, the same evidence that scientists use, points to a creator.

The problem of suffering in the world.

In 1948, Templeton decided to attend Princeton Theological Seminary to seek answers. He urged Graham to go with him, but Graham famously declined, leading to a pivotal moment at a retreat in the San Bernardino Mountains where Graham decided to accept the Bible by faith, while Templeton continued to follow his doubts.

The two men took opposite paths:

Billy Graham went on to the 1949 Los Angeles Crusade, which launched him into global superstardom.

Charles Templeton eventually left the ministry in the mid-1950s. He returned to his native Canada, where he became a successful journalist, novelist, and politician.

In 1996, Templeton published his most famous work, "Farewell to God: My Reasons for Rejecting the Christian Faith."

Shortly before Templeton’s death in 2001, he was interviewed by Lee Strobel (for the book The Case for Faith). Even as a committed agnostic/atheist, Templeton famously became emotional when talking about Jesus, stating:

"I miss him."

Despite their total disagreement on theology, Graham and Templeton remained friends until the end, with Graham often stating that he never stopped praying for his old partner.

Life Point - Don't Be a Fan of the Circus; Be a Witness of the King

Exegetical -

Matthew 21:10–11 BSB

When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Homiletical -

The whole city is up in arms over Jesus. For the most part they thought He was a prophet from Nazareth. No doubt the stories of Jesus had reached Jerusalem at this time and now here He is, in Jerusalem.

The crowd called Him "the prophet from Nazareth." That’s a factual answer, but it's an incomplete one. Calling Him a "prophet" kept Him at a distance, someone to listen to, but not someone to die for. When people ask you "Who is Jesus?", do you give them a Sunday School definition, or do you tell them He is the Lord of your life?

You know before the internet, TV, Radio even. People would get along by hearing stories that were passed from one person to the next.

Even in the time of radios, for example, when a circus was coming into town there would be people from the Circus who would show up in advance to stir the towns up. Get people excited.

All of Jerusalem seemed to be excited by this visit and they are going to be listening to Jesus preach and teach later, which we will see the next time we come together.

When was the last time you got excited about Jesus?

Enough that you just couldn’t stop talking about Him. That He has changed your life and how He has changed your life.

Is your faith a "circus faith"? Are you only excited when there’s a show, a crowd, and a "buzz," or is your life fundamentally different once the "parade" moves on?

Once the parade and excitement is gone do you find yourself clinging to Jesus or are you just another consumer of the buzz?

Life Principle– True Discipleship is Measured by Obedience, Not Excitement.

Call to Action – altar call….