Jesus is a Different Kind of King
Notes
Transcript
Let’s begin today with a question for you. I’d like you to choose one word to describe Jesus. Or choose one word that describes how you think about Jesus? Take a moment to think about it. Let’s see what words we came up with. Who is going to get us started?
We think of Jesus as . . . God, as Savior and our Lord. We occasionally may refer to Him as the King or King of Kings, but I don’t think that is the way that many of us think of Him. Here in the United States we don’t have an understanding of what it is to have a king.
Today Christians throughout the world are remembering the day we call Palm Sunday. It was on this day that Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel as its King. It was a full day with several different events recorded in the Bible that happened on Palm Sunday. These events give us insight about our King Jesus.
Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 20, one of the four accounts of what is called the Triumphal Entry. As we look at this today I want you to be asking the question, “What do the events of this day tell us about what King Jesus is like?”
The morning of Palm Sunday Jesus set out for Jerusalem. Look at Matthew 20:29.
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
It is 17 miles or so from Jericho to Jerusalem, an eight hour walk with time for lots of things to happen. Let’s keep reading
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.
What is the first thing we learn about Jesus on this day? It is that
1. He is a compassionate king. Matthew 20:29-34
1. He is a compassionate king. Matthew 20:29-34
Jesus had time for those in need. Palm Sunday was a really important, busy day for Jesus. You could argue it was the culmination of His entire life and ministry. He had been teaching about the kingdom of God for over three years and this was going to be the greatest day, humanly speaking, of His life.
Matthew could have told us many things about the day, what Jesus was wearing, how fast he walked, what he had for lunch. But he begins with with this story. Jesus healed lots of people in His ministry. Why include another healing?
This event is for all of us who think that maybe we aren’t that important to God and we shouldn’t bother Him. After all, that’s what the crowd thought about the requests of these two blind men.
There are a lot of busy important people in this world who carefully guard their time. I remember working for an organization once where the boss was so busy that he didn’t spend much time with his staff. He liked them and they liked him, but he was just a busy guy. One day one of the staff told me that before he met with the boss he would carefully choose from the long list of things he wanted to talk to him about and pick out the three most important and he hoped he would have the chance to talk to him about those three.
Do ever feel like maybe God is too busy for you? Do you think that you shouldn’t bother Him or ask Him for something because you’re not that important? This event shows us that isn’t true.
Why did Jesus stop? He stopped because two men called out His name.
Jesus didn’t have to stop. It would have been very easy for Him to keep on walking. They were blind wouldn’t know if He looked at them or noticed them. He could have kept right on walking. After all, he was busy. He was on an important mission!
But he did stop and he asked them want they wanted. And they asked. James 4:2 tells us “we have not because we ask not” and in this case they were asking for something really big! What is it you need today? What is it that is the desire of your heart that you want to ask God for? I don’t mean something selfish but something you need that is causing you pain. Are you crying out to God like these blind men? Why not?
Here we see the heart of God. He pitied them and healed them. He looked upon their suffering and from his heart of compassion performed a miracle and gave them sight.
What is the cry of your heart today? Do you think of Jesus as a compassionate king? Do you think he understands what you need today? Have you told Him? Do you believe He would hear you and have pity on you?
It is also worth asking if you have a heart of compassion to those around you? We can’t save the world, but we can make a difference in the lives of a few, in the lives of those that God brings into our lives. Are mercy and compassion qualities that others see in you?
Let’s continue reading
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.”
In this next part of the story we see that
2. Jesus is a sovereign king. Matthew 21:1-11
2. Jesus is a sovereign king. Matthew 21:1-11
He was intentional and in control.
How did Jesus know the donkey was going to be there? Was this an example of Jesus deity? We can’t know for sure but simplest answer is that Jesus or one of His disciples spoke with the owner of the donkey sometime in the previous week and arranged for it to be waiting there for him. Consider what Luke tells us a few days before.
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him.
Jesus was set on getting to Jerusalem for this day. It makes sense to me that He arranged in advance the detail of the donkeys. And He even arranged a secret password, the phrase “The Lord needs them,” which according to Luke’s account, they had to use.
Jesus didn’t need to do a miracle here. This day had been planned for hundreds of years! This day was the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy about the coming of the Messiah. He was fulfilling the prophecy of Zech. 9:9.
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.
When Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem, he brought to life an image that every Jew about. When we see a line of cars driving down the road slowly with their lights on, we don’t have to see the hearse to know it is funeral. When you see a woman in a beautiful white dress and a bunch of other women around her wearing matching dressed, you know there’s a wedding going on. If you’ve ever been in Chicago or New York and you see a bunch of semi-trailers and lots of wires and lights and a city block marked off, you know they are filming a movie.
Every kid who ever went to Jewish Sabbath School knew the story of the Messiah who would one day arrive in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. It was a visual object lesson that was not lost on anyone!
Jesus was in control and being purposeful. He was careful about the details. Do you think God is in control of your life? Are there times when you wonder why things have happened the way they have? If we believe that God is in control, the fancy word we use for that is “sovereign,” then we don’t believe in accidents or luck. I don’t play the lotto because I don’t believe in luck. Every time I get in the car to go somewhere I pray for safety, unless I don’t. What I mean is I’m human and sometimes forget but most of the time I very intentionally ask God to protect me and my car and I also pray that He will keep it sound mechanically. I believe with all my heart that I have been protected from accidents because I have prayed and God is in control.
Do you live your life, like God is in control? If you don’t then it is likely you live a stress filled life. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Do you want God to exalt you? I do! Do you want God to do anything about your anxieties? I do!
Would Peter tell us to do this if God were not able to exalt us? Would he tell us to tell God about everything that worries us if the Father couldn’t do anything about them? Of course not.
The problem for many of us is time. We don’t want to wait for God. It is like the old Yiddish proverb, “The Lord will provide. Now if only the Lord will provide until the Lord provides!”
Jesus is a King who is in control and is worthy of our trust with all the things that matter most to us. But we have to ask Him, turn to Him, depend upon Him, trust Him.
You may be wondering, “Okay, but what about that humility thing. Why is it important to humble ourselves?” Because humility is a sign of trust. Jesus modeled this for us. Let’s go back to the story of the Triumphal Entry to see this.
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.’ ”
3. Jesus is a humble king. Matthew 21:5
3. Jesus is a humble king. Matthew 21:5
Jesus is gentle and humble. A few years ago I heard a message on humility in which the speaker explained that although we value humility today that was not always the case. In ancient history leaders were valued for their pride and hubris rather than humility. Jesus was different and was in fact the one who introduced the concept of humility as important to leadership.
There are many aspects of humility that we could emphasize and I would like to focus on Jesus gentleness. In fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy, he rode a donkey, an animal that signified peace rather than a horse that was tall and majestic and powerful. Not only that, he rode on a young donkey, a colt that had never been ridden. He was gentle with animals and with people.
Humility manifests itself in how you treat others. We see it in how Jesus treats us. I am afraid that it’s easy to get this all wrong. We often think serving Jesus is about performance. Many Christians expect that when we get to heaven we will be given a broom and a pair of overalls and told to start sweeping. You see, we need to work for Jesus, don’t we?
Why are you in church today? Is it because you would feel guilty if you stayed in bed? If you are here because you think you need to be here to please Jesus, you’re wrong. Some read the Bible because they think it makes God happy and he gives us a gold star when we read the Bible. That’s wrong. Here is what Jesus says about His expectations for us in Matthew 11:29.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus want us to rest in Him. Yes, of course there is work, too, but it isn’t to earn his favor. It’s what we do out of gratitude for His favor.
As we continue reading, I need to point out to you that Matthew’s version of this story doesn’t match the chronology of the other Gospels. His concern is not with the time sequence, but with what happened and why. The next thing that Matthew describes is the cleansing of the temple in Matthew 21:12-16.
12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”
In this verses we see
4. Jesus is a holy king. Matthew 21:12-16
4. Jesus is a holy king. Matthew 21:12-16
Jesus was consumed with God’s priorities. Since we just mentioned humility, you may be wondering, “How is what Jesus did here humble?” To be humble doesn’t mean one grovels in front of others or is afraid of standing up for what is right. Being humble doesn’t mean one is weak or without conviction. The answer is that humility is being free from pride and arrogance. Jesus did what he did for the Father, not for His ego.
Temple
In order to understand what Jesus did, we need some historical background. There was a legitimate reason for the money changers and those selling animals to do what they were doing. The temple didn’t accept Roman coinage, so if people wanted to give, they had to exchange their money into Temple money. Also, it was impractical for those traveling from far away to bring animals for sacrifice, so merchants made animals available for sale.
However, there were two problems with the way the merchants were addressing these issues. The first problem was one of integrity. There are stories of merchants charging exorbitant fees for changing the money and for the animals. They had a captive customer and were money hungry. There prices were like Disneyland.
God is passionate about integrity, even about overcharging people. Jesus cared about integrity enough to kick these crooks out of the temple.
The other issue is that Jesus was concerned about worship. In order to understand this I need to show you a diagram of the temple area in the time of Jesus. There are four areas of worship, the court of Gentiles the large open area, the court of Women, court of Israel, and court of Priests. All of the business was going on in the court of Gentiles. Imagine that whole area filled up with tables and carts and animals. It would have been a very busy, noise place.
How was it possible for a God-fearing Gentile to pray and worship God in the middle of a bustling marketplace? It wasn’t. The noise likely carried over into the other areas of the temple. It had to! Instead of a place of worship, the whole temple had become a a flea market and a place of crooked commerce, a den of thieves.
Application: So, let’s clarify that it is OK to sell things within a church building, concert tickets or things to support a mission trip or those kinds of things. What would make it wrong would be if we had people going up and down the aisles during the service like at the ball game selling hotdogs and beer. Ok, how many of you just realized how hungry you are and wish you could buy a hotdog right now? I don’t relish trying to get you back to thinking about the message but if you’ll mustard up the energy I’ll try. If you’re still thinking about the hotdog it’s time for you to ketchup with the rest of us, OK?
What were we talking about here? Someone help me? Oh yes, selling things during church. The problem is that selling things, even if they are legitimate things interferes with worship.
Jesus said there are some things that need to set apart for God. That is what holy means. One aspect of holiness is the priority of worship. How important is prayer and worship in your life? Is it a priority for you? Don’t think it should only be a priority when you are at church. It is a priority all the time.
Is there an area of your life that should be devoted to prayer and worship that is filled with things taking your attention away from God? If Jesus were to step into your life are there things that Jesus would push aside to try to get your attention back on worshipping the Father?
This is not about Jesus arbitrarily saying “No” to things in our lives. He just says no to the things that get in the way of our walk with Him. Jesus is still actively trying to make a positive difference in our lives. Let’s read one more verse, Matt. 21:14.
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.
5. Jesus is a compassionate king. Matthew 21:14
5. Jesus is a compassionate king. Matthew 21:14
Jesus helped those in need.
Now for those of you who think that poor Pastor Ward is getting senile in his old age because he didn’t realize that his first point and his last point in the message are the same, you may be right about the senility, but this was intentional. The reason I did is because Jesus’ day begins and end the same way, with a manifestation of his compassion.
Even though it’s not news that Jesus healed the sick, it isn’t something we take personally. Sure, Jesus did that then, but He’s not doing much of that today. Why do you think that? If that’s true, why do you think it’s true? Jesus cares about us physically. God really does care about us physically. No one in history is better known for healing. It is out of His great love for us that Jesus heals.
This story also has another element of Jesus’ healing that might be easy for you to miss, and that is that He also heals spiritually. There is a spiritual aspect of healing that is very important and that is closely associated here with physical healing. Gentiles weren’t the only ones kept out of the inner courts of worship. Even Jews were kept away if they were sick, or lame or blind or physically handicapped.
Please get this picture here, it is so important. Jesus cares about our physical condition, but he cares much more about our spiritual condition, the condition of our hearts. When Jesus healed a person who was blind, he made them acceptable so they could worship and enter into God’s presence. Do you feel unacceptable today? Jesus wants to change that!
There is a problem that every one of us has, we are spiritually sick, contaminated by our selfish, ungodly thoughts and behavior. Just like the sick were prevented from entering into the temple to worship, so we are all prevented from worshipping God, being with God. If you don’t get healed, when you leave this life you will be forever separated from God.
This is why Jesus came, why He died on the cross and was buried and rose again, to heal us from our sin. The way we enter into that healing is by acknowledging we are sinners separated from him and then believing in Him that his death and resurrection heals us.
This is such a wonderful message, but today and back in Jesus day, people didn’t want to hear it. Do you want to hear this?
For those of you who have already trusted in Him, I have a question for you, what consumes you? The first time Jesus cleansed the temple, his disciples remember a quote from Psalm 69:9
9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
What is it that consumes you? What is it that eats you up? For Jesus it is was doing His Father’s will, worshiping Him, serving Him, leading others to Him.