Who is This King?

A parade always serves a purpose. There was fanfare, people gathered along the road. However, the parade that we are reading about today happened without any planning which makes you wonder, who is this for?

We will read about the king of the entire world today.

Read with me in Matthew 21:1-11

The Humility of the King (v. 2-5)

As Jesus comes closer to Jerusalem, He gives instruction to two disciples to go and find a cold. Matthew points out in this account in verse 4 that the direction to retrieve the colt was in order that prophecy from Zechariah 9:9 would be fulfilled.

Zechariah 9:9 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.

We see clearly that the king will come in a humble way, seated on the foal of a donkey. What about this is a mark of humility? The reality is that a king would typically ride on a horse. The scene seems as though a conquering warrior is returning. The reality is, first, that the battle was already over. But beyond that, this is a servant king who enters on a beast of burden.

We must keep in mind when we think of Jesus that He is marked by humility. It is intentional that Jesus chooses to come in a donkey rather than a horse. It is to communicate to all those around that His reign is one of great humility. It is a foreshadowing of His death and the ultimate humbling of Himself to the point of death, as Paul points out in Philippians 2:8.

Philippians 2:8 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This king of ours is humble. In keeping in step with that, we ought to make every attempt in our power to humble ourselves as well. This points to the next point which is

The Obedience to the King (v. 6)

These two disciples are given very odd instructions to the point that Jesus even gives them what to say to anyone that questions them. After receiving the request, we are not told that the two disciples balk at the instruction from Jesus. They move forward and do exactly what Jesus has told them to do.

As we think about the Lord’s will, I am always quick to remind you that the most important thing about the Lord’s will is that we take the word of the Lord seriously. We ought to do what is commanded of us according to the holy scriptures. It is easy to say, “This is too difficult” or “I simply don’t want to do this because it isn’t my preference”. However, we need to think of God’s word in the same way as if royalty has come to us with instruction.

Look down at the book that you are holding. We ought to obey it because it contains instruction from the king.

However, in order to obey Jesus, something else needs to happen first. Next,

The Acknowledgement of the King (v. 8)

In verse 8, we read that cloaks and branches are spread on the road to go under the feet of the colt. There is another example in the scriptures where this takes place. Listen to 2 Kings 9:1-13.

2 Kings 9:1–13 ESV

Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled. When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ ” 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.”

Jehu is anointed as king and the people recognize him as king and cover the steps that he was walking on with their garments. And they did this with haste and enthusiasm.

In the same way, many in Jerusalem placed their garments on the ground along with palm branches in recognition that Jesus was indeed the king. Because of His royalty, the ground needed to be covered. This was just a simple action but it was meant to signify a dedication of service to the King.

But I want to point out one word at the beginning of the verse. “Most”. Not all of the people recognized Jesus as the King. Despite all of the miracles and the power of His teaching, they did not acknowledge Jesus as king, though we are not told of their reasons.

I want to ask you this morning, have you laid down your cloak for the king? Not literally, of course. Instead, have you laid down what is keeping you from full blown service to Jesus Christ? The laying down means that we have dedicated ourselves to Him. That is why it is important that we first acknowledge Him as king. The two disciples who obeyed Jesus had already recognized that Jesus was the king and the obedience followed naturally.

Now, the final evidence is what ought to seal the deal for those that might be on the fence regarding Jesus as king.

The Saving of the King

The people cry out, “Hosanna to the son of David!” The word Hosanna simply means “O save”. They were crying out that he would save them while also recognizing that He was from the line of David. They realized that He was the promised Messiah.

But the cry for saving is repeated but recognizes that Jesus was to be exalted. The recognition that He is the king and that He has the ability to save!

Earlier I read Zechariah 9:9 but I want to read the three verses that follow. Zechariah 9:10-12.

Zechariah 9:10–12 ESV

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. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.

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In the end of this passage, the whole city is in an uproar. They ask, “who is this?” If you’re here this morning and are asking who Jesus is: Jesus is the king!

He is humble.

He is to be obeyed.

He is to be acknowledged daily.

And He came to save us from our sins!