"When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 "Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold your King is coming to you,
Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’"
6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest!"
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a joy it is to be studying the Gospel of Matthew. It is a privilege and an honor to preach verse by verse. It is a joy to have all of you here with us today.
In the spring of 33 AD, it was a time of great contrasts for Jesus and His followers. His ministry had never been more successful, large crowds followed Him wherever He went to hear Him teach deep spiritual truths. People were beginning to love those they used to hate. Authentic salvation is a remarkable thing to see.
Of course, there were those who hated Jesus as well as the very ground that He walked on and worse, they wanted to see Him dead.Yet, in spite of that, Jesus seems determined to go to Jerusalem, even though those closest to Him have been advising Him against it. As a matter of fact, His anticipated arrival was becoming a rather hot topic of conversation in the temple courts. That's the way it's always going to be with Christ, there will be those who love and adore Him, and those who love their sin that detest Him.
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When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’"
The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"
When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
Along the way, He had been ministering to people, and performing miracles, gathering crowds around Him, as He often did. This Passover, will be much different however, it would be His last. This is going to be a time of decision for a lot of people, but not just Jesus. For the disciples,they would have to decide if they would go with Him, putting their own lives at risk, or if they would wait to see how things work out.
Verse 1, "When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives." Let's stop there for a moment. Jesus arrives in Bethphage on Saturday, six days before Passover. Six days before He would becomes the Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. His friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha live in the village of Bethany, which is in the area. The little village where He recently raised Lazarus from the dead. So He would have stayed that Saturday night them. The Mount of Olives is also in the area on the east side. When Jesus arrived there, to spent some time with His friends and the disciples, He didn't travel alone, there was a very large crowd that followed Him.
In John 12, John tells us "So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him. Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." He goes on to say that "Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, *said, "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?" Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it."
Back to the end of verse 1 and now verse 2, "then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me." Luke says in chapter 22:7-8 says "Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it." By the way, "the village opposite you" is referring to Bethphage. We don’t know anything more about it, other than it's close to Bethany and the Mount of Olives. To ride on a young animal that had never been ridden was a mark of special honor. I believe this was to declare His uniqueness
It's worth mentioning, this is a trigger event, Jesus is asking these two disciples, I believe very likely Peter and John to begin to stage the coronation for Him. The Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem certainly weren't going to do it, they wanted to kill Him. If there is going to be a coronation for Him, He’s going to have to plan it Himself. Imagine the King of kings having to stage His own coronation, but that's exactly what happened.This is very important, to make it look like everybody is going after Jesus, which is going to anger the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the whole Sanhedrin, setting in motion a huge crusade, so He will be crucified on the day of Passover. Keep in mind, every detail of His life occurred on God's timetable, this includes orchestrating the day and time of His death.
The day our Lord entered the city, was likely on Monday rather than on Sunday since that would be the day Jewish people would select their lamb for sacrifice.
Verse 3, "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them." No further explanation is needed, because he’s going to let you have them. For the record, Jesus had no intention of keeping these animals, He needed them to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy, Jerusalem’s king coming on a donkey’s foal.
Verses 4 and 5, "This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’" The first line is from Isaiah 62, "Say to the daughter of Zion," and from Zechariah 9, "Behold, your king is coming to you;... Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey." By the way, "Daughter of Zion" refers to the city of Jerusalem, the location of Mount Zion. Zion, the symbol of Jerusalem, was the highest mountain in Jerusalem. A familiar term in Hebrew figure of speech. You'll notice the first seven verses of Zechariah 9, prophesy a human conqueror, roughly two hundred years after Zechariah's prophecy, Alexander the Great came as the protector of Israel. In verse 9, there begins the prophecy of a completely different protector, the Messiah, which continues through verse 17. This king is Israel’s own king. He does not make war but peace, He does not inspire fear, but praise. This King's coming to lay down His life. Humble or meek, endowed with salvation, He is a savior. By riding on a colt, He's demonstrating meekness. This is in stark contrast to other kings, but it is the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.
Jeremiah 17:25, "Then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever."
Now, we have the Old Testament messianic prophecy being fulfilled as prophesied. During Passion Week, there were a number of prophecies fulfilled, His Triumphant Entry, His crucifixion, the prophecies fulfilled on the cross, His burial, and resurrection. Which is the primary focus in Matthew's writing, to show that Jesus is God’s promise fulfilled. He wants us to understand that Jesus is so much more than a prophet, more than a good teacher, more than a healer or a righteous man. Jesus is Messiah! He is King!
The anticipation has been building, His arrival at the time of the Passover festival is significant, only a few miles away, Jesus is about to begin His Triumphal Entry. Verses 6 and 7, "The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats." Since the disciples weren't sure which one He was going to ride, put their coats on both animals, the mother will lead the colt, until the colts goes on its own. Luke tells us "And they they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it." Jesus has officially begun His journey from the Mount of Olives as the prophesied King of Israel to fulfill God’s divine plan.
Verse 8, "Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road." The crowd, which was accumulating along the way, those who followed Him from Galilee, those who showed in Bethany, joined by those coming into the city for Passover all merging with those people already in Jerusalem. This is an enormous entourage, spreading their coats on the road to create a makeshift red carpet, then Matthew says "and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road." This is symbolic, the date palm tree branches indicate strength, their large green showy leaves are an indication of beauty, even in the desolate barren land and joy and salvation. This is a very humble coronation for a meek and humble King.
Interestingly, the Judean date palms had disappeared by the nineteenth century, and amazingly after lying dormant for many centuries, several seeds from the second century AD to the third century BC were found in Judean archaeological sites were soaked in water and fertilizer, which have recently produced green palm saplings and were able to grow and produce their superior fruit. Scientists are still trying to figure how the ancient seeds, much larger than modern seeds, were able to miraculously survived in the desert for two millennia and have been able to germinate!
Verse 9, "The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!"
Passover was a commemoration of how God delivered them from Egypt through Moses, so they are filled with hope that deliverance is near. When the Messiah comes, riding on a donkey’s colt, He will deliver them from the bondage of the godless occupying Roman power and authority. They had identified Him as the Son of David, knowing that both His father and His mother were in the Davidic line. Hosanna means save, Savior, or Rescuer. They are asking that heaven joins them in praising God, this is a cry for deliverance. So they’re literally calling on the Son of David to save them, rescue them from Rome and for Rome to be crushed. However, the assumption here is that He would deliver them in the physical sense, rather than a spiritual deliverance.
Verse 10, "When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" Matthew uses the verb, "seió," which literally means to be shaken to and fro. It was like an earthquake with thousands upon thousands of people shouting and crying out, and they don’t even know who it is. Look at the end of the verse, "Who is this?" They were likely caught up in the massive crowds of people and were unable to see what was taking place. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, will soon accomplish the greatest act of love the world has ever known, laying down His life and rising from the dead. The disciples knowing Who He is, couldn't understand why the Messiah would come in such a meek and humble manner. A lowly and humble entrance was not the standard way that kings arrived. Roman rulers arrogantly rode black stallions followed by chariots and thousands of soldiers marching in step with shields gleaming. It wasn't until after His crucifixion, His resurrection and Ascension that they would finally understand when Jesus was glorified. There’s a lot of powerful truth there as well.
Their theology never really came together until the Holy Spirit would come, lead them into all truth, teaching them everything concerning Jesus! It all becomes clear why our Lord arranged to ride the young donkey into Jerusalem as an intentional act of fulfillment of biblical prophecy. I often wonder what this world is going say when Jesus comes again as a conqueror, the King of king, Lord of lords, in power and glory? Jesus Christ, God incarnate, personally came to die for our sin and pay the price for our iniquity.
If He never does anything else in this present life, His grace, mercy and forgiveness is
more than enough. For that alone, He deserves our faithfulness, obedience and loyalty. We owe Him our life because He willingly laid His for us on Calvary.
In chapter 19, Luke tells us "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" John tells in chapter 12, "The Pharisees said to one another," You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him." The Jewish religious leaders were enraged, terrified because at this point, it appears as though the whole world was going to rise up and support Him. I believe it's safe to say now they are wondering how could they get away with killing Him!
That brings us to verse 11, "And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee."
Tragically, the excitement of the crowd was not matched by their faithful commitment to Jesus, and the belief that comes from repentance. Before Jesus would assert His outward sovereignty, He must rule man's heart. The key to His kingdom is not revolution but repentance! The next day, Jesus would do battle with religious leaders in the temple. We'll look at that next time.
In Closing..
Many today believe in the wrong Jesus, everyone wants the Jesus who offers health, wealth and prosperity, that wants bless you and heal all their diseases and make them rich. That's not the Jesus of the Bible, Who came to confront sinners and call them to repentance, Who came to expose your false religion, and warn you that the Judgment of God that will fall on every unrepentant sinner who refuses to give up their lusts and carnal desires, then graciously offer them salvation through faith in His name. The Jesus Who loves you enough to pay for your sin's and mine with His Own blood on the cross. A plan has been in place since before the foundation of the earth was laid.
Challenge yourself this week to get to know the real Jesus. Is there room in your life for that Jesus?
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen