Who is This? (Matthew 21:1-16)

 Sermon for Milledgeville & Centenary UMC...

[Title Slide] Who is This? (Matthew 21:1-16)

 

Seems like there’s a national holiday for every day of the year. Thursday was national equal pay day, epilepsy awareness day, nougat day, and spinach day! You can eat a candy bar and then cancel it out with a spinach salad!

 

Do you know when to celebrate national parade day?

March forth!

 

Who is This?! (Matthew 21:10)

Jesus entered Jerusalem in a parade of sorts. The crowds gathered for the Passover festival celebrated Jesus as their messiah king. They lined the streets, waving palm branches, throwing their cloaks on the ground before his donkey to honor God’s anointed messiah.

 

[Slide] Why palm branches? They were symbolic of victory, triumph and national pride. It was like waving flags on the 4^th of July! They shouted Hosanna to the Son of David. Hosanna means “Save us.” Son of David is a messianic title. In popular use, Hosanna had come to mean “Hail to the King!”

 

Israel hopes in a divinely anointed, deliverer king, descended from David, who is both humble priest and powerful military leader. The Messiah will crush Israel’s enemies. The Messiah will establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness that will enjoy peace and plenty.

 

Jesus rode not one but two beasts of burden, a donkey and a colt! How does one ride two animals? [Slide] Perhaps Jesus did the intense splits like Thor here in Thor: Love and Thunder. Or maybe he rode the donkey for a while and switched to the colt. It really is beside the point. Matthew is fond of doubling his characters. Where Mark speaks of one demon possessed man near Gerasene, Matthew reports there are two. Matthew doubles his characters for this reason: he wants his readers to know that Christ came not only for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. Christ came for the whole world.

[Slide] Jesus rode the donkey as a direct fulfilment of scripture.

 

[Slide] Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion!
Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king is coming to you:
He is legitimate and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey—
on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)

[Slide] On the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem hailed as messiah, the Romans occupied Israel. The people suffered heavy taxes and the brutal enforcement of Roman soldiers. The people longed for God’s mighty deliverer to come and set them free.

 

The crowds had heard of Jesus, the miracles surrounding his ministry, reports of His powerful preaching. They believed Jesus was a mighty prophet and hoped that He was, in fact, the messiah.

 

The parade through the streets of Jerusalem caused a ruckus. [Slide] Some  asked, “Who is this?”

 

That is the million-dollar question, isn’t it? Who is Jesus? The people said he was a prophet. The crowd hailed Jesus as Messiah. But no one really understood who Jesus was, not even his disciples.

 

[Slide] The chief priests and scribes, experts in covenant law, saw Jesus as a danger to Israel. They believed he was leading the people astray. For instance, Jesus healed on the Sabbath, which they taught was forbidden. Jesus pointed out that when their animal is trapped in a pit on the sabbath, the law allows them to rescue the animal. How much more then should one heal on the sabbath those trapped by illness or infirmity? They could not argue the point. Jesus made them look like fools and that made them powerful enemies.

 

Even Jesus’ reference to Psalm 8, “out of the mouths of children” may be interpreted as an indictment of the chief priests. The entire verse reads…

 

[Slide] From the mouths of children and nursing babies
you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries,
so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy. (Psalm 8:2)

 

[Slide] The high priest, Caiaphas feared what the Romans might react to the fervor around Jesus. Hailing Jesus a king was treasonous. Jesus was a political problem that threatened the security of Israel. Caiaphas feared the he himself might be deposed from office, like his predecessor, if they didn’t silence Jesus and his crowd.

 

[Slide] To the people, Jesus was a prophet. The crowds hoped he was the messiah who would set them free from Roman oppression. And to the religious elite, Jesus was a heretical troublemaker.

 

In our reading from Matthew 21, Jesus gives instructions to acquire transportation from a village named Bethphage, which means house of unripe figs. By its name we know the village was associated with fig tree harvesting.

 

[Slide] Figs were symbolic of God’s blessing on the land, a ready source of food. The prophets spoke of a peaceful and prosperous future, under the messih, when everyone would sit under their own fig tree.

 

[Slide] Nations will not use weapons against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
Each will sit under his own grapevine
or under his own fig tree without any fear.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed it. (Micah 4:3b-4)

 

 

 

[Slide] Following Jesus’ confrontation with the priests and scribes, Jesus approached a fig tree on the way to the temple, but was disappointed to find no figs to eat. Jesus cursed the tree. “Never will you bear fruit again.” The fig tree withered and died. Strange behavior.

 

Bethphage is the house of unripe figs. Jesus curses a fruitless fig tree near the temple. Matthew is using the name of the village and the fruitless fig tree to point to the fruitless and corrupt temple system. Cursing the fig tree is symbolic of God’s judgement. [Slide] The moneychangers in the temple courts are just one example of corruption. When the Romans destroyed the temple, Christians and Jews alike interpreted it as God’s judgment.

 

Jesus came, not to sit on Jerusalem’s throne, [Slide] but to hang on a cross. While the people hoped Jesus would conquer the Romans, God had a much more sinister and ubiquitous evil to conquer. For our benefit, Jesus vanquished the power of sin in His own body as he faced every temptation you and I face. He never sinned. Because Jesus is the unblemished Lamb of God, He canceled our debt and washed away our guilt in the blood of His atoning sacrifice. He destroyed death’s power over us through His resurrection.

 

Jesus is the deliverer we never knew we needed. Our chief enemy, Sin, was conquered. And death has no power over those who live by the greater power of Christ!

 

We each need to answer the question. [Slide] Who is this?

 

My answer? [Slide] Jesus is my savior, my teacher, and my Lord.

 

As Savior, Jesus saved me from my sins and gave me the promise of sharing in His resurrection. I enjoy everlasting life, abundant life, because He lives. Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the hymn Because He Lives.

 

 

Because He lives I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

life is worth the living just because He lives!

 

Every day I walk in the power of Jesus, I walk in victory. Every time I fret and fear, Jesus reminds me that He has conquered. And He shares the victory with me.

 

O Victory in Jesus! My savior forever

He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood

 

Yes, Jesus is the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! He casts them as far as the east is from the west and remembers them no more! Jesus is my Savior.

 

Jesus is my teacher. He shows me who God really is. Love. We get confusing images of God in the Bible. He’s a warrior. He’s a jealous judge punishing the sins of those who rebel. God is an all-consuming fire. People die if not careful around God. God breaks mountains as He approaches. God orchestrates the wrath of nations in warfare for His own purpose. But the New Testament tells us that God is love. And love has no fear of punishment because we trust the good news about God’s mercy in the cross of Christ. Because of Jesus, there is no confusion about God or our standing before God. When we experience Jesus, we experience the truth of God.

 

Jesus teaches me how to live in love. He teaches me not to judge others but to love others, even my enemies. He teaches me hope in the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom close at hand because Jesus reigns as Messiah in the hearts of all who love and trust Him. Jesus shows me the way to live by inviting me to follow in His steps, to do as Jesus would do.

All who follow Jesus take off the old self enslaved to sin, like taking off dirty old worn-out clothing. Then we put on Christ. Dressed in His love, we learn to walk in love. Jesus is my teacher.

 

Jesus is my Lord. We love to know that Jesus is our savior, but few of us really want Jesus to be our master. Americans are ruggedly individualistic. We want to be masters of our own destinies. Our culture applauds such people. Jesus taught that we must take up our own cross daily. Those who want to save their lives must lose them. Those who lay down their lives in humble service to Christ will find their lives! It’s the paradox of faith. The last shall be first in the kingdom of God. The servant shall find a seat of honor near their Master in heaven. Those who serve will be exalted before God. Jesus is my Lord. I serve in My Master’s name.

 

[Slide] Who is this? Is Jesus a Prophet? Messiah? Troublemaker? Liberal? Conservative? Teacher? Healer? Savior? Friend? Or Master? We each must decide.

 

May God grant you the grace to discover who Jesus is to you.

 

Hosanna! Lord, save us! May this holy week be a blessing.