Jesus saw the bigger picture

“He always sees the Bigger Picture”

Matthew 21:1–11 NASB95

1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He 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 the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Then

Hebrews 12:2 NASB95

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

- “2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God

-We will take a journey through the major events in the week leading up to Jesus crucifixion.

-It is the spring of the year, the time of the great Passover feast in Jerusalem, during the Jewish month of Nisan, which is in early April on our calendar. Passover always began on the 14th of Nisan, which that year fell on Friday. So scholars using astronomical data have determined that the date of the Passover feast during which Jesus was crucified was either April 3, AD 33 or else April 7, AD 30…. Our story today takes place on a Sunday and the disciples are traveling to Jerusalem to take part of the feast it is Palm Sunday.

Always

-Jesus plans and orchestrates events based on what will bring him the most glory, and what will be best for us.

Matthew 21:1–3 NASB95

1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

I. The Ride-Matthew 21:1-3 “1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3“If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

Matthew 21:1-3 “1When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3“If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

-(v.1) “when they had approached Jerusalem” Essentially this phrase is setting us up for the great finale of Jesus life. Let me give a little insight into the Passion of our Lord in .

Luke 9:51 NASB95

51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;

-(v.1) “when they had approached Jerusalem” Essentially this phrase is setting us up for the great finale of Jesus life. Let me give a little insight into the Passion of our Lord in “51When the days were approaching for His ascension; He was determined to go to Jerusalem;

“51When the days were approaching for His ascension; He was determined to go to Jerusalem;

a. determined-to set one’s face towards a goal without distraction.

-Jesus was fully aware of the timeline that he was following in his life, and he is following it without deviation.

-Jesus has to get to Jerusalem because that is where the Passover and the crucifixion is going to take place.

-(v.51) Notice Luke says that Jesus look through the trial & crucifixion to the ascension.

-(v.1) “then Jesus sent two disciples” Jesus sent his disciples on a mission:

a. Go into a village opposite you

b. Find a donkey and colt with her

c. Untie them and bring them to Me

d. when someone ask you what you are doing tell them “the Lord has need of them” the owner will then send them.

-In this text you can see the divine omniscience of Jesus. Jesus did not set this up prior, but by his foreknowledge he knows exactly where the Donkey and Colt are, he knows the sex of the donkey & colt, and what the owner’s response will be to the disciples request.

-(v.2) “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.” Jesus tells the two disciples to grab both animals. You will notice that it says a “colt” when we use that word it describes a baby horse, but during bible times the word is also “foal” which is a baby in the horse family of animals (Mule, donkey, or horse) …. In this case Jesus tells the disciples to grab the baby donkey, and his Mother…. Side note: Donkey’s in the middle east where not like the European Donkeys who were stubborn. The Donkeys in the middle east were mild mannered and accommodating.

Luke 19:30 NASB95

30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

Luke 19:30 NASB95

30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

-Luke adds a key detail that Matthew left off. This is a donkey that no one has ever ridden. We might call him a virgin donkey. There is some symbolic significant to this.

-“30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.

-Luke adds a key detail that the other writers left off. This is a donkey that no one has ever ridden. We might call him a virgin donkey. There is some symbolic significant to this.

Luke adds a key detail that the other writers left off. This is a donkey that no one has ever ridden. We might call him a virgin donkey. There is some symbolic significant to this.

-What is also significant is that during Jesus public ministry we do not have one account where he rode an animal. He walked everywhere he went, but this time he decided to ride the donkey into Jerusalem:

-Prior to this Jesus had been very private about his identity:

Matthew 16:13–20 NASB95

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19 “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

-(v.20) Jesus warns them to not tell anyone about his identity “the Christ” that means the anointed one.

-but now in this story it seems as if he is setting up his coming out Party.

Transition Statement

-Though our Lord was walking towards his death, he was in total control of the events leading up to his own death.

matthew 21:

Matthew 21:4–7 NASB95

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

Matthew 21:4-7 “ 4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

-(v.4) This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet” This phrase right here tells you the reason that Jesus meticulously planned with specificity the mode of transportation that he would take into the Holy City.

Matthew 21:4–7 NASB95

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

-(v.4) This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet” This phrase right here tells you the reason that Jesus meticulously planned with specificity the mode of transportation that he would take into the Holy City.

-There were about 353 specific prophecies about the Messiah in the OT and this is one of them. This needed to take place in this way. Jesus came to fulfill all OT prophecies about his life.

-(v.5) 5“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ This verse is italicized in your bible, that means it is quote from an OT verse. This verse is found in

Zechariah 9:9–10 NASB95

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah

Zechariah 9:9–10 NASB95

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.

-(v.9-10) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah in this text is prophesying about a future event, where there will be great reason for celebration: He tells the Children of Israel when you see these things happen you need to rejoice: “Behold your king is coming to you”

zechariah 9:9-10

-(v.9-10) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah in this text is prophesying about a future event, where there will be great reason for celebration: He tells the Children of Israel when you see these things happen you need to rejoice: “Behold your king is coming”

This prophecy answers three question:

What he will be like?

a. The Kings Character-He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble. This King will be fair, he will bring salvation, and he will be Humble

What will be his mode of travel?

b. The Kings Transportation-Mounted on a donkey, even on colt, the foal of a donkey (Zechariah says that your messiah shall come riding on a baby donkey)

What is his purpose?

c. The Kings Mission-His purpose is to bring spiritual peace between God and man at his first coming, then return a second time to bring physical peace by destroying all of God’s enemies.

-Back in “the foal of a beast of burden” Two Biblical Points about the Donkey:

a. He had never been ridden-() This Donkey had never carried a burden or been ridden. In

Numbers 19:2–3 NASB95

2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. 3 ‘You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence.

Leviticus 19:2–3 NASB95

2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 ‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.

Numbers 19:2–3 NASB95

2 “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect and on which a yoke has never been placed. 3 ‘You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence.

-(v.2) You can see from this text the animals that had not been ridden were kept for sacred purposes…. In this case this young Donkey had been persevered for the sacred purpose of carrying the Anointed One who would be the sacrificial lamb to the temple mount.

numbers 19

-(v.2) You can see from this text the animals that had not been ridden were kept for sacred purposes…. In this case this young Donkey had been persevered for the sacred purpose of carrying the Anointed One who would be the sacrificial lamb to the temple mount.

You can see from this text the animals that had not been ridden were kept for sacred purposes…. In this case this young Donkey had been persevered for the sacred purpose of carrying the King through the streets of Jerusalem

b. Donkey were raised to bear yokes- Donkeys were raised and essential to this society for the purpose of carrying bodies(wives) and for the purpose of carrying crops. It is plain that Jesus chose an animal that shared the same purpose that he had: A donkey was gentle, humble, accommodating, and he was raised for the purpose of bearing yokes for others…. Like a Donkey Jesus was gentle, lowly of heart, humble, and raised for the purpose of carrying the burden of Sin for the world. And just like the donkey he had been preserved for sacred use……

-It is significant that Jesus came through Jerusalem on a donkey instead of a stead. When a King was preparing for Battle he would stride through town on a warhorse, but our Lord came through town on a humble baby donkey. He was communicating something to the crowd by his transportation choice.

Transition Statement

-Just the thought of this being the promised Messiah sent this large crowd into a frenzy…Let’s see how they reacted

Matthew 21:8–11 NASB95

8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He 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 the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:8-11“8Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” 10When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

-(v.8) “Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road” this act of cutting down tree branches and the laying of the clothes down was a sign of respect for Jesus…. This lets me know that they understood the prophecy and that they were applying it to Jesus…..One of the most common question asked by Bible students is “why did Jesus instruct people to kept his identity concealed” here is probably the main reason….God works by times and seasons, which means God reveals things exactly at the right time to make a maximum impact…..

-(v.8) “Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road” this act of cutting down tree branches and the laying of the clothes down was a sign of respect for Jesus…. This lets me know that they understood the prophecy and that they were applying it to Jesus…..One of our TBC bible scholar once asked a question “why did Jesus instruct people to kept his identity concealed” here is probably the main reason….God works by times and seasons, which means God reveals things exactly at the right time to make a maximum impact…..

-This is the Passover time and during the Passover it is estimated that there would be about 3,000,000 people visiting Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. God the Father set up Jesus to reveal himself to the masses at this Passover, which was his last Passover before dying. That way he could reveal his identity to a crowd of Millions all at one time.

-What was the response from the Crowd? (v.9) “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” This is both a praise and petition. Essentially they are praising him for what they believe he is about to do, thereby removing the yoke of Rome from off their shoulders. It is celebratory Praise.....Analogy of your brother coming to your aid during a fight

a. Hosanna-Save now!

-These folks are not really concerned about the primary reason that he came. Jesus on a number of occasion told them that he came to “seek and to save that which was lost” but they missed his true purpose. They were not concerned about their spiritual destiny; they were more concerned with their present physical condition. They wanted salvation from Rome, but they failed to see that what Jesus offered was far more valuable.

-The Reason that Jesus continue to preserver is that he saw the bigger picture……He could have saved them from Rome right there on the spot, but if he did then who would have put him on the cross, and if he didn’t die then all the folks he just saved from Rome would die a go to hell….He keep his eyes on the mission.

-Can you imagine Jesus riding through the crowd, while the people praise him, and he knows that 5 days later some of these same people would be saying crucify him…. . These folks change their mind about Jesus so quick and all because he did not act in the way that they expected and wanted him to

Application

1. Despite the presence of Satanic influence that seemed to controlling the events leading to Jesus death, he was in total control of all the events leading to his crucifixion

2. Jesus always sees thing from eternal perspective, not a natural perspective

3. When Jesus disappoints your expectation, there is always something better that he is preparing you for.

Illustration

-College Choice-He saw the bigger picture

-Career Choice-He saw the bigger picture

-Pastor Jones Adultery-He saw the bigger picture

Prayer/Open the Doors of the Church

Jesus saw the bigger picture

Introduction:

I. The Ride

II. The Reason

III. The Reaction