The Weekend Word

Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry = Palm Sunday

 1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

• We are now drawing in on the last week of our Lord’s life.
• Remember earlier Jesus said he must go to Jerusalem? Well here he is at the outskirts of town. (Matt 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19)
• Bethpage is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives about 2 miles from Jerusalem.
• Its Passover season and Jesus is doing his Jewish duty. He came when he was 12 and has probably made several trips during those next 21 yrs.

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.

• Note how he still sends out in twos – a Christian out in the world needs support.
• Grand Theft Donkey!!

³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”

• If anyone says “hey that does not belong to you!”
• Just the fact of Jesus coming to Jerusalem has declared himself to be Lord.
• And here he is acting as if he does own everything – even the donkeys.
• All of this has been put in place for my use – for the sake of the kingdom.
• Compare to the other accounts Mark 11:2 and Luke 19:30
• A colt that has never been ridden – an unbroken colt. But Jesus has authority even over the wild.

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

• Again the predictability of Matthew to quote the prophets. Zech 9:9
• Again to say “hey folks, I’m not making this stuff up.”
• This is he who was spoken of a long time ago.

 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.’”

• “Behold, your king” – what type of king?
• The type who will overthrow the Roman government? Transforms society – sets up a Utopia? A place where everyone is equal – socially equal?
• Will he look like Herod 2.0? Will he look like Pilate the governor?

 ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

• By this time the disciples are probably thinking – “hey, what can they do to us… kill us?

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.

• The manner Jesus is entering Jerusalem shows that he had no intention on being a king in an earthly way.
• His throne would be a crude wooden cross.
• His crown would be a crown of thorns.
• He would establish his kingdom not by shedding the blood of his enemies, but by shedding his own blood.
• Perhaps we see this way of the people laying down their cloaks etc in Matt 3 “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”

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!”

• We sing these same hosannas each week as Jesus comes into our presence – where? In the communion.
• Here we have our savior – but what kind of savior?
• A week later after their cheers of hosanna, we will hear the shouts of “crucify him.”
• We quickly go from rebuking crowds, to hosanna crowds to crucify him crowds.

¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”

• Once again Jesus knows how to draw a crowd and how to stir up a crowd.
• Who is this? They know he is someone special – but not who.

¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

• Plain recognition – but you still must tie the ‘who this is’ to Jesus and why he is here.
• He is the king, the Son of David king, the eternal king, the king who rules and the king who came to die as a ransom for the many.
• Who is this? We go back to Matt 1 “God with us.” We go to 2 Sam 7