A Renewal of Our Worship

Intro

The last two years have taught me as a pastor to be prepared for anything!

*Show book, sunscreen, mask and headlamp*

I’m sure the disciples of Jesus were likewise prepared for almost anything to happen

Teach anywhere, heal anyone, pick fights with those in authority, survive riots, feed huge crowds, etc.

Jesus took them off the beaten path!

But heading into Jerusalem for the Passover festival, they were suprised again

One thing Jesus did NOT usually do was loudly proclaim His status as the Messiah

Often told others to stay quiet about His true nature

That all changed when Jesus asks His followers to bring him a donkey, and He entered Jerusalem outwardly proclaiming EXACTLY who He was

Read Matthew 21:1 - 17 and pray

Jesus as Prophet -> Know God Truly

From the beginning of His ministry until now, Jesus has been widely held to be a prophet

Re-read verse 10

To understand Jesus as prophet, we must understand the role of prophets in Judaism

Did not primarily foretell the future, but brought the Word of God to the people

Often included predictions and promises of what would come; all to serve the greater message of repentance

Jesus spoke with tremendous authority, which established His reputation as a prophet

Not just with authority, but taught new things; challenged existing structures

“You have heard it said...”

But Jesus was a radically different prophet, because He cut out the middle man

The Word of the Lord came to (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, etc.)

The Word of the Lord became flesh, and made His dwelling among us (Jesus)

Jesus IS the message; He IS God! When you see Him, you see the glory of the Father

Not only that, but after His acension, Jesus sent the HS to abide in us, and lead us into truth

Role of prophet ceases to be necessary; prophecy is now a spiritual gift

All continues to serve to bring the truth of the Word of God to our daily lives

As the one true prophet, Jesus uses this role to help us know God truly

He was constantly redirecting the people away from misconceptions, legalism, empty tradition, and teaching them that God wants their hearts

Jesus revealed to everyone directly the character of God, and what God desires from His people… He revealed what is true

Shown in this passage by Jesus quoting - and interpreting - so many OT passages

This continues to be true of Jesus in our own lives today

*Talk about the past few years revealing many things that we believe about very strongly*

ALL of what we believe needs to be held up humbly and consistently to the teaching of Christ (Word of God) and truth of Scripture (Word of God)

It is dangerous to hold unbiblical beliefs with biblical fervour

Instead, we must allow the revelation of Jesus Christ and the revelation of Scripture to guide our beliefs about what is true and important

Even (especially!) when our emotions run high

Jesus as Priest -> Worship God Truly

After entering the city, Jesus goes to the Temple and asserts Himself as the true High Priest

Began by driving out all who bought and sold, turning over the tables of the money lenders

Commerce of necessity; not necessarily corrupt

People needed to purchase supplies for sacrifices

All of this was ordained by the religious authorities at the time

It was problematic because:

Turned into big business (commerce more important than worship)

Happened inside the Temple (in the outer Court of the Gentiles)

Jesus quotes from Jer. 7:11 (den of robbers) to make His point clear

Secondly, Jesus invited the blind and the lame to enter the Temple to be healed

Spurring from 2 Sam. 5:8, it became tradition from that decree by David that the blind and lame were not allowed in the Temple

Not only does Jesus allow them in, He heals them

In both cases, Jesus is claiming a higher authority than the current high priest as He re-orders proper worship

As the perfect high priest, Jesus teaches us all how to worship God truly

Not just teaches us; he enables true worship

*Outline role of priests in the Old Covenant*

Cf. Hebrews 7:23-28.

Once again, Jesus takes away the middle man

Through Christ, we enter into true worship. He intercedes for us each and every day. He ushers us into the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Both under the old covenant in our story and the new covenant today, Jesus reveals that true worship is a matter of the heart

He was dissatisfied with the self-serving “big business” and empy legalism of worship in the Temple

God has always wanted worship from the heart (mercy; not sacrifice)

Cf. Isaiah 56:7 (as partially quoted by Jesus)

God still desires our hearts, our honest prayer, our joy in worship today

Jesus was also dissatisfied that some (lame and blind) were excluded from worship

Turning over the tables in the court of the Gentiles was also an act of inclusion

In Christ, we are all made acceptable to worship God

No more Jew or Gentile, clean or unclean, male or female, etc.

Worship at SBF must be ready and able to include all people, exactly where they are at

No pretenses needed here!

Jesus as King -> Live for God Truly

Of course, the main focus of the entire story is the Triumphal entry; when Jesus is declared to be King

It starts by the disciples stealing a donkey (awkward)

Direct fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 (and overt claim of kingship)

Jesus plans this on purpose; He is declaring His kingship

Jesus makes quite the entrance, with a multitude of people declaring Him to be King:

Layed down outer garments and palm branches (red carpet treatment, reserved for royalty)

Called out “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Son of David a reference to the enduring throne of Israel)

Hosanna = transliteration of Hebrew “save us!”

People were referencing Psalm 118 (read verses 19-29)

So much that Jesus is fulfilling in this moment!

The whole city was “stirred up” at his entrance, and the fervour of the people proclaiming Him king

When our lives are subject to King Jesus, we learn to live for God truly

The king represented hope for salvation

For the Jews, it was the long awaited hope of deliverance from Rome and other opressors

Jesus was their saviour, but from so much more

Called Jesus because He would save His people from thier sins (cf Matt. 1:21)

For us, Christ is the king who saves us from ourselves

Sin, brokeness, shame, anxiety, guilt, depression, greed...

Only the king is strong enough to free us from everything that seeks to drag us down

The king is to be served

Wait, what? Didn’t we just learn last week that Jesus came to serve and not to be served?

True, yet He calls us to serve Him in response. Our life becomes about Jesus and not about ourselves

We don’t have many true monarchies anymore; personal autonomy is now a way of life!

Jesus saves us from ourselves so we no longer need to serve ourselves (use freedom to serve Jesus and others)

Cf. Galatians 5:13-15.

The king is coming back, ready to rule forever in the perfect kingdom

Cf. Rev. 22:1-5.

This is our hope! This what we long for, and what we live for

Pray.