Bulletin:
August 25, 2024
The King’s Court in Session
(Matthew 21-25)
Receive Your Savior King
(Matthew 21:1-11)
Receive King Jesus as Your HUMBLE CHAMPION (1-7)
Receive King Jesus as Your WORTHY OBJECT OF WORSHIP. (8-9)
Receive King Jesus as Your UNMISTAKABLE GOD. (10-11)
Transcript:
One of the duties of being a judge is to preside over trials and deliver sentences to those convicted.
Some judges have gotten pretty creative in their sentencing.
Case: In 2004, a woman who was found guilty for abandoning 35 kittens in the woods
The judge offered the defendant a choice: spend 90 days in jail or spend one night alone in the cold, desolate woods, similar to what she subjected the kittens to.
She chose the night in the woods.
Case: In 2012, a Cleveland judge ordered a woman to stand on a street corner holding a sign that read, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
Case: In 2015, Judge William Mallory of Hamilton County, Ohio, offered a woman convicted of assault a choice between 30 days in jail or reading the Bible daily for two years.
The woman chose the Bible reading,
Case: In 2007, teenagers were found guilty of blasting loud music.
The teens were required to sit in a room and listen to music they found boring, such as Beethoven and Bach, as a way to understand the annoyance they caused others.
We pivot in the gospel of Matthew to Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem
After this morning, you’ll see why we’re calling this series (Ch.21-25) - The King’s Court in Session
The way that Matthew lays out his gospel, you’d think that this is the first time that Jesus enters the city
Much of the gospel of John centers around Jesus being in Jerusalem for various feasts & festivals
And we’ll see this morning that Jesus enters with no little amount of fanfare.
From this point forward, Jesus basically takes over the temple mount and starts owning everyone,
As I said, you’ll see over and over again why we’re calling this series - The King’s Court in Session
He will go straight to the temple and cast judgment on all the sordid trade happening there
He’ll tell one parable after another that warns of what judgment will be like those who oppose Him
He’ll liken God’s judgment to evil tenants that their landlord gets fed-up with.
In the Parable of the Talents, He’ll explain how God will expect a return on what He left His stewards with
In the Parable of the Wedding Feast he’ll describe a person being thrown out where there’s weeping and gnashing of teeth because they refuse to be clothed with a robe provided to them.
Jesus will foretell an abomination that will desolate God’s holy temple and lead to its destruction
In Ch. 24, He’ll go as far as to describe the scene of His court room as the judge of all mankind-
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats… 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
In light of these things, He’ll conclude the Parable of the 10 Virgins ominously with
“Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
While warning of what the future holds for those that reject Him, Jesus won’t make many friends.
You don’t make friends telling hard truths to people as we’ll see
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”
“You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! “
“You are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”
From this foretaste you can see why our present section we’re seeing as The King’s Court in Session
Lead – And with this knowledge I hope you’re convinced to -
Title: Receive Your Savior King
There’s some pretty interesting cultural things going on as Jesus enters Jerusalem.
We’re going to learn about them this morning.
And I hope you’ll see we can learn from them and check our hearts regarding if we’re letting Jesus rule
The 1st response that I want to encourage you to is to Receive King Jesus as
1. Your Humble Champion
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.”
Jesus comes near to what would be considered a suburb of Jerusalem.
He’s drawing near to where the pilgrims would be received daily as they come for Passover.
Lead – You can see Bethphage on this map
In a moment I’ll explain the significance of Bethany
Jesus directs two disciples on what seems to be a divine mission of foreknowledge
They are to retrieve a donkey and it’s colt and bring it back to Jesus.
The explanation that they are to give the owner that the LORD needs them
This term is a direct acknowledgement of Jesus’ divinity as the Messiah.
Matthew explains how the use of the donkey and its colt is a fulfillment of messianic prophecy.
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.
Matthew combines Isaiah 62:11 & Zechariah 9:9 telling how their Messiah would enter as the fulfillment of the descendent of David who would sit on his throne.
But he wouldn’t enter in military triumph in a show of force and intimidation.
Typically, a king arriving to take His throne would’ve ridden on a large, regal horse/a charger
Instead, Jesus came humbly in meekness (strength under control)
How Matthew paints it, after avoiding a public demonstration of His identity for His 3 years of ministry
Jesus was now displaying Himself as the fulfillment of OT prophecy and Israel’s hope.
But He didn’t come in a show of force but of vulnerability.
Professional boxers can have some pretty crazy walkouts.
They’ve dressed up like royalty or Julius Caesar – carried out on palanquins
They’ve come out to fireworks or lightshows with a huge entouage
They want to communicate strength and intimidate their opponent.
Jesus entered as He did to communicate meek confidence & the fulfillment of scripture.
And the fact is that we need to be careful that we don’t get stuck with this picture of Jesus’ humility
Not that He won’t always be appropriately humble,
But He is going to also come one day as the judge of all mankind
As we’ll read in 24:29-30 of the end of days
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Something we read in Zech this week in our Daily Bible Reading – Jesus will be on the Mt. of O. again
* Zechariah 14:4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward… And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
Receive King Jesus now as Your Humble Champion
The 2nd response that I want to encourage you to is to Receive King Jesus as
2. Your Worthy Object of Worship.
8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Some of you might remember a sign of extreme chivalry = a man might lay his jacket over mud for a lady to walk over it without dirtying her shoes.
According to Jewish custom, the crowd makes an impromptu red carpet before the colt Jesus rides.
Others in the crowd use palm branches which is a customary sign of celebration /victory
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!”
Jewish celebrations would look back to God’s work in the past (Passover)
But they would also look ahead to God’s final/ultimate salvation in their coming King.
Surrounding Jesus was a customary proclamation – “Save us”
This was typically sung responsively on both sides of the Kidron Valley in anticipation.
This daywas different.
It was being sung in the hope/recognition that it was being fulfilled.
And the crowds recognized Jesus as the Son of David that would occupy Israel’s throne.
Let’s look again at our map and talk about this other town called Bethany
The Gospel of John gives clues about why the crowd is so crazy about Jesus at this point.
But John 11 describes Jesus’ most astounding and publicized miracle – raising Lazarus in Bethany
Because of the stir this created, John 11 closes with Jesus going up north,
But John 12 jumps to His triumphal entry.
After raising Lazurus (Matthew) He’s been traveling with many pilgrims through Perea to the Passover.
The combination of Matthew and John help us to understand how the anticipation has built
Everyone in Jerusalem is making a big deal of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead in Bethany
After Jesus travels down through Perea, He stops in Bethany for the night while the pilgrims He traveled with enter Jerusalem with a story to tell.
And John 12 describes the scene this way
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
I heard recently that you can define a celebrity as a person who is famous for being famous.
We might think of the celebrity that steps out of the car,
And the dress that she’s wearing is just a little bit odd,
But it’s going to create a whole new fashion as a result.
The cameras start flashing, and the heads start turning.
And their walking on a luxurious red carpet that’s been rolled out especially for them.
These are the people that are worshiped by our culture.
How do I know this?
Because their picture is going to be on the magazine covers
Their outfit is going to be mimicked.
They’re relationships are going to be the topic of conversation
But are they worthy of such worship?
They’re on the red carpet because they’re who our culture worships
They’re worshiped because they’re on the red carpet.
They’re famous for being famous, and that’s about how much sense it makes.
The truth is that we’re made to worship.
And we’re going to worship something.
And if we’re not going to worship Jesus as the one that’s truly worthy of our worship,
we’ll worship something as silly as a celebrity
?- What do you lay before Jesus’ feet in worship like the people’s cloaks on the ground?
Do you lay down your hopes, plans, and desires?
Do you lay down your fears, anxieties, and worries?
Do you lay down your treasures, possessions, and opportunities?
Do you lay down your definition of what makes you important and successful?
These are acts of worship.
They’re offerings that He’s worthy of.
The third response that I want to encourage you to is to Receive King Jesus as
3. Your Unmistakable God.
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
Those in the city of Jerusalem that hadn’t traveled with Jesus were asking who this man is
The impact is felt not just among the pilgrims He traveled with or those who heard of Him raising Lazarus
It’s included the whole city
11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
The crowds answer falls short of understanding Jesus as the Messiah.
You might ask, “JD, how can you say that Jesus is unmistakably God when these people obviously mistook Him for a prophet?”
There is a “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” that blinded minds do not see.
Scripture also describes the “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” which He allows us to see.
we’re told about this in 2 Cor 4 -
* 2 Corinthians 4:4–6 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I always get frustrated by politicians or other famous people that get caught doing something wrong,
And they hold a press conference and the big announcement is that they made a “mistake.”
I want to say, “It wasn’t a ‘mistake.’ It was something wrong that you did!”
The person may have been blinded by greed or lust or envy or pride.
But they didn’t make a mistake.
They made a choice for which they’ll be held accountable.
Jesus is unmistakably God.
It’s not a mistake to refuse to honor Him as Lord and Savior.
It’s a grave sin which is unpardonable
He’s unmistakably God,
but God allows people to be blinded due to their sinful inclinations.
He’s undeniably God,
but God allows people to deny Him as their free choice to make.
He’s indisputably God,
but God allows people to dispute Him as if it would ever make a difference of who He is.
He’s unmistakably, undeniably, and indisputably God.
To refuse Him as Lord and Savior is inexcusable.
And I thank God that He opened my eyes to be able to see Him for who He is
