Who is This?

The prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah would “set His face like a flint” in Isa. 50:7. That phrase means He would be determined to accomplish the task set before Him regardless of how difficult it may be. Here we see Jesus entering Jerusalem.

He’s entering the lion’s den.

He is stepping into a trap that He knows has been set for Him.

He is willingly walking to the place of His death.

Jesus is determined to die for the sins of the world.

Matthew spends twenty chapters covering 33 years of Jesus’ life. The next eight chapters will cover eight days. Clearly, he wants to put a lot of attention on what we call the passion week of Jesus.

Let’s look at how the last week of Jesus life begins.

The command of Jesus (1-3).

Jesus walked most of the way to Jerusalem. There was a Roman military road that ran from Jericho to Jerusalem. It would have been about a 17 mile journey. The road actually climbed 3,000 feet so it would have been a tough road to walk. It passed through Bethany and Bethpage. I think Jesus was an in-shape guy. He covered lots of terrain and hard terrain at that. He wasn’t a pale faced weak effeminate man like so many artists portray Him.

Jesus stopped in the city of Bethpage. This would be as far as He walked. The rest of the journey would be on a donkey. The problem was they didn’t have a donkey. The disciples toted their things on their back and they didn’t have a lot of things to tote. Jesus told two of the disciples to go into the village and they would find a donkey and her offspring with her. They would be tied up. The disciples were to get them both and bring them to Jesus. If there was any problem the disciples were simply to tell the owner “The Lord needs them”. Luke tells us there was a problem. The owner came out and said, “What’s going on”. They told him “The Lord needs them” and the owner let them have them.

The prophecy of Zechariah (4-5).

Around 500 years earlier this event was prophesied by Zechariah. Speaking of the coming Messiah Zechariah said in 9:9 “Rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass”.

Jesus rides the donkey to the edge of Jerusalem (6-9).

The disciples helped Jesus get on the donkey. First, they made a saddle out of their clothing, making the journey a little more comfortable for Him. Then He got on the donkey, which may have been a peculiar sight, a grown man on a small donkey.

There was a great number of people involved. The Bible says multitudes. The roads would have been extremely busy as pilgrims made their way to the Holy City for Passover. There were the disciples, followers of Christ, religious leaders, and pilgrims in general. And suddenly everyone just gets emotional about the Lord. Maybe it was the hype of all the talk about Jesus. Luke says it had to do with the mighty works Jesus had been doing. But the people begin to make a road for Jesus. They begin to lay down their clothing to lay out the red carpet for the Lord. They would have had extra clothing for the trip. Others began to lay out palm branches to make a road for the Lord (John 12:13). To the Jew palm branches symbolized victory. They were used in the Feast of Tab. (Lev. 23:40) and were a symbol of victory to the Jewish people.

Luke says the people blessed the Lord with a loud voice. They began to quote Psalm 118:25-26. “Hosanna to the Son of David” (‘Save now!”). They recognized His right to the throne of David. They said He came in the name of the Lord. They blessed Him more than they would a normal person. Luke says they said, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest”. It was creating such a spectacle that Luke says the religious leaders told Jesus to tell His disciples to stop. Jesus said “It wouldn’t do any good. If they did, the stones would start crying out!”

People are curious (10-11).

Once in Jerusalem Jesus is the talk of the twon. People are asking who He is. An answer is given that does not do Jesus justice. They say, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth.”

What we see in the last eight chapters clearly proves who Jesus is. In fact, there is a lot in our text today to prove who Jesus is. This morning we are going to answer the question asked in verse 10 from this text.

“Who is Jesus?” That is the question. It is really the only question that matters. I want to give you five answers to that question this morning from what we often call the Triumphal entry of Jesus.

1. He is a breaker of the will.

The disciples are told to get a donkey and her colt. Luke 19:30 tells us that no one had ever ridden on the young donkey. It would probably have been difficult to get the colt to come at all and that’s probably why its mother was brought as well.

If me or you had tried to ride that little donkey we would have failed. This donkey is willing to carry Christ.

In the Bible we see examples of animals obeying God.

Noah’s dove.

Balaam’s Donkey

Daniel’s lions

Peter’s rooster

How does Christ ride a donkey that has never been ridden? He tames it. Just like the Lord stilled the waves he stilled the nerves of this donkey. He quietened this donkey’s heart. This donkey was as tame as you could imagine when the Lord mounted him. There is something there for us as well. The Lord can tame any heart! He can break any will!

Someone may look at the Gadarene demoniac filled with devils and ask, “How could he ever live for the Lord?” There is not a will Jesus cannot break. There is not a heart He cannot tame.

God has saved many a jackwagon! How does God save a jackwagon?

He changes their will. We talk a lot about our will. We are often proud of our will. But it’s our will that needs to be changed!

When God saves us, He gives us a new heart and new desires!

I’ve known men and women who were out of control until they met Jesus.

Who is Jesus?

He is someone who can change anyone.

He is someone who can tame anyone.

You may buck off your parents.

You may buck off your wife.

You may buck off your drug and alcohol counselor.

You may buck off the police.

But if Jesus gets a hold of you, you won’t buck Him off!

Why would you want to? What a privilege to carry Christ in our life!

Paul tried to buck Him off. He ended up on the ground blinded and pleading for mercy! Thank God Jesus is a breaker of the will!

2. He is a God of providence.

Jesus told the disciples to go into town and they would find a mother and baby donkey tied up. They were to bring both back to Him. If the owner objected, they were simply to tell him the Lord needed them.

We have no reason to believe this was prearranged. Jesus had been in Jericho not Jerusalem. They found these donkeys by the providence of God.

What do we mean by providence?

We don’t mean a miracle. A miracle is when God works outside His ordinary process of natural cause and effect (John Piper).

Providence means that God is directing all things in His creation in such a way that they fulfill all His purposes.

We’re not talking about fate.

We’re not talking about coincidence.

We’re talking about providence. Before the creation of the world God ordained the circumstances in which those disciples would find those donkeys on that day.

This is what we mean by God working all things together.

In a sense providence is more amazing than a miracle. In a miracle God works outside the ordinary process. Providence is God working things out in eternity to work a particular way do down to the smallest detail.

I am sure when these disciples found what Jesus said they would find their faith increased.

They were probably amazed. What’s the chances they would find a mother and baby donkey and the owner would let them have them?

The providence of God in my life has increased my faith. Let me share an example.

A man had come to church and I shared the gospel with him. I thought he would repent and be saved but he walked away. My heart was heavy for a couple of weeks. He was on my mind. I was praying for his salvation. One day I decided to walk through town until the sidewalk ended and then walk back home. On that day I was thinking of this man. When I got to where the sidewalk ended a car pulled up to the stop sign. The car stopped and six feet in front of me was the man I’d been burdened over. His window was down. We spoke. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. He did not get saved but I was satisfied I had done all I could do.

That was the providence of God in my life and that man’s life. I could tell you many stories like that. You have your own.

Who is Jesus? He is a God of providence. He is active in the lives of His people. He is busy working all things after the counsel of His own will.

We may seldom see miracles. But everyday we see the providence of God in our life.

3. He is the Provider of Peace.

Horses were ridden during battle. A donkey was a symbol of peace. Look at verse 5. The King is coming meekly to Jerusalem. He isn’t coming to conquer the people. He is coming to conquer sin, death, hell, the grave, and the devil.

He is bringing peace to His people through the cross.

He gives us peace with God. Romans 5:1 says therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are few verses that give me more comfort than that one!

Think of someone you have stolen from.

Think of someone you have spoken evil of.

Think of someone you have mocked.

Now you are forced to meet them face to face. You wonder if they know all the things you have done to them. In your mind the question would be “How will things be?”

We are all guilty of disrespecting God. God knows all we have done. Someday we must come face to face with Him!

How will things be?

If we are not saved things will be bad!

If we know Christ, we have peace with God. When we meet him face to face we have nothing to fear.

We have peace with God!

We have the peace of God. It surpasses all understanding.

Thank God for His peace! I would fall apart if it were not for His peace. He calms our spirit. He comforts us with grace.

We may have a prodigal child, but we also have the peace of God!

We may have an empty bank account, but we also have the peace of God!

We may have a fatal disease, but we have the peace of God!

Charles Spurgeon told the story of a martyr who was being burned at the stake. Just before the fire was lit the executioner said he was sorry the man would not deny his beliefs. The martyr said to the executioner “Come and lay your hand on my heart and see if it does not beat quietly.”

The executioner complied and the martyr’s heart was beating calmly.

He then said to the executioner “Now put your hand on your own heart and see if you are not more troubled than I am. Then go your way and instead of pitying me pity yourself.”

There is a supernatural peace imparted to the believer through Christ. He is the provider of peace. I pity those who do not have the peace of God.

4. He is the Fulfillment of Scripture.

Verse 5 is a combination of Isa. 62:11 and Zech. 9:9.

Hundreds of years before Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey the Word of God said He would. I want to give you some deeper insight you may not notice.

First notice the donkey was tied. What does that matter? The Bible says that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. A descendant from that tribe would rule eternally over the world. If you look at Genesis 49:10-11 it says this:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;

and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Binding his foal to the vine

and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,

In the prophecy concerning the Messiah and the tribe of Judah, all the way back in Genesis, there is a reference to a donkey and her colt tied up.

This donkey is Jesus donkey. It is ordained for Him to ride upon it.

The Jews set apart some animals for special purposes. An animal that had never been used to plow or had never been ridden was considered sanctified, set apart for the Lord’s use (Num. 19:2, Deut. 21:3, 1 Samuel 6:7).

There are those who will tell you the Bible cannot be trusted. They are fools. The prophecies themselves are enough to prove the Bible true. Who is Jesus? He is the fulfillment of Scripture. We can trust Him, and we can trust the Bible.

5. He is a King who should be Worshipped.

When Jesus came to Jerusalem many gave Him the red-carpet treatment. He deserved it. They sang praise to him. He deserved it.

But eventually those praises faded. Most people turned their back on Him. Some of those saying “Hosanna!” here may have even been saying “Crucify Him!” on Friday.

Why?

Because Jesus didn’t meet their expectations. They thought He was going to overthrow Rome. They thought He was going to bring Israel back to her glory days.

They didn’t understand the work of the cross, the future work of the cross and the patience of God.

Here’s the interesting thing. Jesus checked off most of their boxes:

Born of a virgin

From the tribe of Judah

Working miracles

Preaching to all people

Riding a donkey into Jerusalem

But they had one more box. That box was “overthrow Rome- Make our life better right now.” Because Jesus didn’t check off that box, they rejected Him. They dropped Him like a hot potato.

There are many people who are like that.

Some of you know who ted Turner is. He is a very rich and powerful man. I remember some years ago he was talking about the fact that he was an agnostic. I think his beliefs may have evolved somewhat. But he said when he was young, he was a Christian. His sister became very sick with lupus. He prayed for her, but she died anyway. Ted Turner said that was what turned him away from the faith.

You see Ted Turner had a box that he wanted God to check.

Heal my sister. That was his box.

Jesus checks off every box but a good life in this word is not one of those boxes. In fact, Jesus says in this world we will have tribulation.

Jesus is a King who should be worshipped not only because of all He has done for us but for all He will do for us.

Ultimately, we will be delivered from all suffering. We look forward to that day. But that day has not arrived yet.

There will be another entry of Jesus, not into Jerusalem but into this world!

He’s not coming back to be crucified but to be glorified!

He’s not coming back on a donkey, He’s coming back on a stallion!

He’s not coming back peacefully, He’s coming back to make war on His enemies!

He’s not coming back with speculation, everyone will know who he is!

He’s not coming back with a fickle crowd, He’s coming back with an angelic army and His blood washed saints!

Jesus is a King who should be worshipped. Even if we suffer in this world, he should be worshipped!

Even if He does not answer every prayer we pray, He should be worshipped.

Jesus is worthy because of who He is and all He has done for us.

Who is Jesus?

He is a breaker of the will

He is a God of providence

He is a provider of peace

He is a fulfillment of Scripture.

He is a King who should be worshipped.