Mission 3:16 | Amplified

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress. 4 For behold, the kings assembled; they came on together. 5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded; they were in panic; they took to flight. 6 Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. 7 By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tarshish. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. Selah 9 We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. 10 As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. 11 Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments! 12 Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, 13 consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation 14 that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.

Introduction

Today is traditionally known as “Palm Sunday,” and it marks the beginning of our“Holy Week” or “the Passion Week.” Palm Sunday is the beginning of a great crescendo of Jesus’ redemptive mission on earth.

Mission | 3:16 is going to be greatly amplified as Jesus clearly reveals himself as the prince, the rightful King who is bringing redemption and restoration to humanity. Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Holy Word. We will be reading from Matthew 21:1-11.

Matthew 21:1–11 ESV

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Prayer of Invocation

This morning, we are focusing on the triumphant arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem. Today, we are going to see Jesus as the rightful King of the Jews, and so much more!

Jesus had entered Jerusalem many times before, but this time was going to prove very unique. Palm Sunday celebrates the day, over 2000 years ago, that our Lord entered into the holy city of Jerusalem, the city of the great King, the center of Israel’s spiritual identity and messianic hope in order to set the stage for the fulfillment of his earthly mission.

In His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, Jesus melds four messianic indicators into one person. He is our Prophet, Priest, King, and Lord. He alone brings peace, salvation, and restoration!

As we begin this morning, let us remember that it was currently Passover season in Jerusalem. There were upwards of 2 million people visiting Jerusalem during the Passover. People from all over the region journeyed there to remember the Exodus from Egypt. Messianic hope was at an all-time high.

Up to this point in his ministry, Jesus had been somewhat secretive about his messianic identity. He had deliberately warned people against telling others what they had learned about who he was as he performed miracles and taught with uncommon authority.

Yet, we also see in our passage today, that in this instance he changed his stance and truly marketed himself. Why? Why does he do the things we just read about? Things that will certainly draw attention to his identity! Why change course now?

The answer is very simple, his hour has come! He wants to reveal his true identity and mission. This is his time, this is what he was sent to accomplish. He is turning up the volume! He is amplifying his mission as he melds four powerful messianic indicators into one person.

1. Jesus is the Lord of All! (21:1-3)

Look at verses 1-3!

Matthew 21:1–3 ESV

Jesus and his disciples are now in Bethany, a village about 2 miles away from Jerusalem and very near the Mount of Olives. Jesus has walked all the way from Caesarea Philippi to Bethany. That is quite a walk, well over 100 miles between those two areas.

Now remember, Jesus walked everywhere he went. Yet, here Jesus is sending two disciples into Bethphage, in order to bring back a donkey and her young colt.

Jesus told them exactly where they would find the two animals tied up. They were to untie them and bring them back to Jesus. If anyone questioned their actions, they were commanded by Jesus to say, “The Lord needs them.”

By calling himself “the Lord,” Jesus is implying that he is the sovereign Lord of all creation. This was not merely, “your Lord,” but “the Lord.” Jesus is the Lord of all, with the right to claim anything and everything for his own purposes.

When he orders these two disciples to go and fetch these two animals for him, he is exercising his right of requisitioning whatever he needs to complete his redemptive mission.

What do you have that Jesus may request to fulfill the great commission? Each of you have time, money, expertise, along with other gifts and talents, so be prepared, the Lord Jesus will seek to requisition you for his kingdom purposes. When he does call on us, we would be wise to obey him!

Before we find out if the two disciples accomplish their mission, Matthew marks this entire event as a fulfillment of prophecy. In doing so reveals that….

2. Jesus is the Counter-Intuitive King! (21:4-5)

Look at verses 4-5! This whole event took place to fulfill what was written through the prophet! Matthew is quoting primarily from Zechariah 9:9.

Zechariah 9:9 ESV

9 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.

Daughter of Zion is a reference to Israel.

Look your KING is coming to you.

Righteous and humble upon the back of a donkey’s young colt.

The Zechariah prophecy reveals the messianic identity of the King who is to come offering peace and salvation, not military might and conquest.

Through this event, Jesus declared to the people very clearly that he is the rightful heir to the Davidic line. He is the promised Davidic Messiah.

Gently, he came upon the back of a donkey’s young colt to bring about reconciliation between God and man. In days past, rulers would ride a stallion into battle, but when they were making peace they rode a donkey as an expression of gentleness and peace.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is our heavenly King of Kings! As Genesis 49:11 prophesies,

Genesis 49:11 NASB95

11 “He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.

Jesus was determined to go to the cross. He planned to have a triumphant entry into Jerusalem so that the people would know who he truly is.

The religious leaders would surely know who this King was, and if you remember, wise men told them about this King years earlier.

The result, they sought to have Jesus killed then and they will try again now. In provoking them by fulfilling this prophecy we learn that…..Not only is Jesus Lord of All, Not only is Jesus the counter-intuitive King, Jesus is also the confrontational prophet.

3. Jesus is the Confrontational Prophet! (21:6-11)

Look at verses 6-7!

Matthew 21:6–7 ESV

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.

The disciples have returned with the donkey and its young colt. They have laid their garments on the back of the animals.

By mounting and successfully riding the unbroken young colt, Jesus was demonstrating his control over the beasts of the earth as we learn from Psalm 8:6-7.

Psalm 8:6–7 ESV

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

He is truly the Lord of all and this young animal knew this very well.

Why did Jesus ride this young donkey after having walked so many miles? Was he tired? Of course not!

This is all a demonstration that he is the Messiah who is about to go, suffer and die on behalf of humanity. On behalf of those who would believe! He didn’t want the people to miss his mission.

But even the disciples did not understand what he was doing until after he had risen from the dead and been glorified according to John 12:16. John states:

John 12:16 ESV

16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.

Look at verses 8-9!

Matthew 21:8–9 ESV

8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Jesus is treated as royalty by the people as they lay their garments down on the ground before him. Others cut palm branches and laid them down in his path. This was the Jewish red carpet treatment for royalty.

The people who had gathered with him in Bethany were excited about the miracle that had recently happened in their presence: the raising of Lazarus from the dead after 4 days.

Many others who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem had heard about this miracle and the other works of Jesus Christ. When they heard that he was coming to Jerusalem for Passover, many came out to see him.

They all had great messianic hopes in the person of Jesus Christ. This is witnessed by the words they shouted in his honor. “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Hosanna means “save now” or “save, we pray.” Their attitude was something like this, “O Lord, save us now, grant us victory over our political rivals and prosperity as a people and nation.”

Here in this shout prayer and praise are combined. The people partially saw Jesus as the Davidic Messiah. They understood the donkey’s symbolism, but they missed the fact that deity was riding in on a donkey.

“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”

The crowd was quoting one of the Hallel Psalms that were traditionally sung during Passover. Specifically, Psalm 118:25-26!

Psalm 118:25–26 ESV

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

Psalm 118 is full of messianic expectations. These people were praising Jesus because they expected him to fulfill their messianic hopes.

This continued the entire last mile of Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem so that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Scriptures. King Jesus visited his people! Yet there is more to this story that Matthew doesn’t tell us. Thank God that he provided us with 4 accounts of the good news!

Luke and John inform us that some of the religious leaders had come out to keep watch on this event, as they thought that the whole world had gone out after him. Some of these Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke the people,

Luke 19:40 ESV

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Luke also tells us that when Jerusalem came in view, Jesus wept over it

Luke 19:42 ESV

42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

He goes on to pronounce judgment upon Jerusalem because they did not recognize the visitation of their King!

In other words, the people are clamoring about offering up worship and praise that isn’t worthy of Jesus because they do not recognize who he truly is.

They only saw in part because of their spiritual blindness and hard-heartedness. Brothers and Sisters, let us be careful when we worship Jesus, whether privately or corporately, that we worship him for who he truly is!

Look at verses 10-11!

Matthew 21:10–11 NCV

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?” 11 The crowd said, “This man is Jesus, the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

The whole city was stirred! That word “stirred” does not give us the full picture of what was happening here. The Pharisees had said in John 12:19 that the whole world had gone out after Jesus. This was much more than a simple stirring.

The Greek word used is the same word that we get seismology from. This is a word used for earthquakes and apocalyptic upheavals.

The New English Bible translation says “wild with excitement,” another, “The Weymouth translation” says, “was thrown into commotion.” Both capture what is happening here better than stirred.

This was an event that truly shook the spiritual foundations of Jerusalem. People began asking the crowd “Who is this man?”

The reply of the people to that question, while accurate, is incomplete. They said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus was a prophet in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, but he was so much more than just a prophet, more than just a political messiah, much more.

Jesus was their God! They completely missed this about him! They had high hopes of freedom and prosperity, so they rejoiced, while Jesus wept!

Later, Jesus would say,

Matthew 23:37–39 ESV

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38 See, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

In this passage, Jesus turns the praise of the people from Psalm 118 toward his second coming. Right now they were simply not ready to see spiritually! They were blind to spiritual matters and it grieved Jesus greatly!

But after his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension they would have all the proof they needed to answer the question, “Who is this man?”

When you worship, do you worship Him for who he truly is out of conviction? Or do you go through the motions to appease people and gain an “attaboy” spiritual pat on the back from your own self-conscience?

In Jesus’ withdrawal from Jerusalem we learn that, Not only is Jesus Lord of All, Not only is Jesus the counter-intuitive King, Not only is Jesus the confrontational prophet, he is also our great high priest.

4. Jesus is our Great High Priest! (Mk. 11:11)

Our passage demonstrates to us the need for the cross. Humanity didn’t recognize him despite his strong claims and miracles. We are a truly feeble people! We needed something to shatter our hard hearts, to free us from the bondage of our sinful natures.

Jesus entered Jerusalem so triumphantly that the people should have seen clearly, but they did not! For this reason Jesus’ triumphal entry was unfortunately a triumphal judgment upon Israel and fallen humanity.

We have the truth! What will we do with it?

Mark 11:11 ESV

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Mark tells us that when Jesus came into Jerusalem, he entered the temple. The people who were full of hope that he would free them from bondage to Rome were anxiously awaiting a rallying speech or a demonstration of power.

Jesus gave them no such display, rather Mark tells us that he walked into the temple, looked around at everything, then turned around and went back to the Village of Bethany with his disciples.

Jesus did not pander to the crowd. He left them with their nationalistic zeal and hopes in disarray! Judgment was coming, but so was salvation!

Days later, in the resurrection, Jesus would become our great High Priest. He would be exalted to his position at the right hand of our Father in glory!

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

1 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Hebrews 4:14–15 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Three points of application can be drawn from this passage:

1. Believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

What the people proclaimed about Jesus on that first Palm Sunday, I now proclaim to you. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He is the Lord of all!

He came in fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. He came not to deliver Israel from the power of Rome, as the Jewish people thought. He came to deliver all people everywhere from the power of sin.

Acts 16:31 ESV

31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

2. Serve Him as your Rightful King.

As Messiah, Jesus is not only Savior, but Lord. Will you bow your knee to Christ? Will you submit to him as Lord and serve Him as your rightful King?

When Jesus comes back from heaven, he will not be riding a donkey in peace. He will be riding a white horse of victory as he comes in battle to defeat his enemies.

Revelation 19:11 ESV

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Revelation 19:16 ESV

16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Serve him as your King or experience him as your Sovereign Judge!

3. Worship Him for Who He Is!

Jesus is worthy of all praise. If we do not praise him, rocks may one day cry out in our place. Who is this man? Who is this Jesus?

He is the Lord of All, He is the King of Kings, He is the Confrontational Prophet, and He is our great High Priest.

He deserves everything we have to offer, All Hail the power of Jesus’ name.

Hymn of Invitation

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

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