Behold, The King is Coming

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I would like to speak to you of what's on my heart and what God has laid on my heart as I was studying this week and meditating in my own devotional time as well.
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I'd like to speak to you about, Behold, Your King is coming. Behold, Your King is coming. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem.
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So please open your Bibles, the Word of God. Isn't it wonderful to have God's Word? With me to the
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Gospel of Matthew. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 21. I have preached on this text before, but I took some of the skeleton of my text and I'm just not one to preach an old sermon.
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I needed something fresh for my own soul, so I got in my study this past week and I just had a wonderful time in studying and meditating on this.
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So this is a fresh sermon, even though there are some quotes I have used before in it. I think it bears repeating, but you got fresh bread for you.
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It's not stale bread, I promise you that. Chapter 21, this is really a great text.
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We're going to look at verse 1 through 11. We're looking at what is called the triumphant entry of Christ, which is normally identified as Palm Sunday.
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Keep in mind that Levi, Matthew, the writer, is writing to Jewish people and he presents
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Jesus as king and He is Israel's true king. And speaks of, if you have a king, you also have a kingdom.
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Jesus' kingdom is not of this world and we must keep this in mind. We're not going to be accepted in this world and we're not supposed to be accepted.
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We should be doing exactly what the king has told us to do and be faithful to it.
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As we approach this wonderful text, I want to say on the offset that Jesus and His disciples were on the road to Jericho.
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They had already climbed most of the pathway that twisted and turned for 17 miles from Jericho up to Jerusalem.
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Now we read in Matthew chapter 21, and I like to read 1 through 11.
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Hear the word of the living God. I'm reading from the NASB translation. When they had approached
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Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then
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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.
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Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the
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Lord has need of them. And immediately He will send them.
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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 a colt, the foal of a beast, a burden.
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The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them and brought the donkey and the colt and laid their coats on them.
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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.
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And the crowds going ahead of Him and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when
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He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred saying, who is this? And the crowds were saying, this is the prophet
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Jesus from Nazareth and Galilee. And God richly blessed the reading of His word to our hearts this morning.
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Let's seek our Lord's face within this hour as we study and worship Him in the word and together as we approach
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His throne of grace. Our Father and our God, Lord, we thank
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You so much. And Lord, our hearts long to worship You without any sin and vileness within us,
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Lord. Only You can wash away our sins. Lord, we fail so much in this, but Lord, as we do come, we come with an obedience.
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First, Lord, we thank You first and foremost for Your holy word in which
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You have given to us so graciously and preserved for us in our own language.
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Lord, I pray, save us from apathy this morning. Save us, O God, from being over -familiar with the word of God.
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May this word be fresh to us. O God, we pray that Your blessed Holy Spirit would just come and give the heat and the light in which we need so much.
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Give us eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to understand. And Lord, only by Thy truth
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You can sanctify us wholly. Change us, O God. Change us. And Lord, our hearts cry within us this morning in this grave hour of apostasy in which we see so much around us.
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Lord, we just pray, O God, that we would see Jesus. O Lord, that we would see
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Jesus. And that we'd ask this in His name and for Your glory.
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Amen and amen. Throughout this gospel of Matthew, we see that Matthew again presents
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Jesus as King. This is vital to realize what's going on in the text.
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Over and over and over again and again, Matthew is consistent about this.
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He points his readers to the prophecies given in the
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Old Testament by the prophets that were moved by the Holy Ghost, as which Peter tells us, which are a fulfillment of everything in which
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Jesus came to do. It's a fulfilled... Jesus fulfills these prophecies one after one after one to prove that He is the
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Messiah indeed. Beginning with this genealogy tracing back to David being born of the
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Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem actually means the house of bread.
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Then we read about going into Egypt. Then to Nazareth. Being confirmed by the
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Father at His baptism and confirmed also by the Holy Spirit which came in the form of a dove that landed upon Christ.
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Then later at His transfiguration on the Mount of Olives. Amazingly, His preaching and His teaching was in power and in truth.
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And He spoke like no one ever spoke before. They said He spoke with such authority and with such heavenly wisdom.
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After all, this is God in the flesh. This is Emmanuel. He proves His deity over and over again and again demonstrating
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His complete power over all disease such as leprosy and over all sickness, other physical afflictions including death itself.
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He proved to be His absolute authority both over the natural and the supernatural.
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As we saw that there was what manner of man is this the disciples said. He stilled the storms with the
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Word. He even has all authority to forgive sins. Jesus fulfilled all the
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Mosaic law exactly to the T. Now we see more evidence astonishing the people that Jesus is the
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Messiah. Meaning the anointed one, the Son of David, the promised one, the
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Son of the living God that has come in flesh to save His people from their sins. Now I thought about not including this, but in a book that was written about the angels were silent.
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But Cato says this, gives to us the setting of the holy week and passion week of our
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Lord so beautifully. And the reason I'm reading this is to remind us as we go into passion week and holy week we need to remember these things.
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He has a way with words and this is what He said. It's early in the final week.
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The props and players for Friday's drama are in position. Six inch spikes are in the bin.
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A heavy cross beam leans against a shed wall. Thorn limbs are wrapped around a trail.
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It is awaiting the weaving of a soldier's fingers. The participants are nearing the stage.
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Pilate is concerned at the number of the Passover pilgrims. Annas and Caiaphas are restless over a volatile
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Nazarene. Judas views his master with evasive eyes.
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Centurion soldiers available awaiting the next crucifixion. Players and props.
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But in parentheses, only this is no play. It's a divine act. A plan begun before Adam felt heaven's breath.
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And now all of heaven waits and watches. All eyes are upon one figure,
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Jesus of Nazareth. Commonly clad, uncommonly focused. Leaving Jericho and walking toward Jerusalem.
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He doesn't chatter, He doesn't pause. He's on a journey. His final journey.
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Even the angels are silent. They know this is no ordinary walk. They know this is no ordinary week.
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For hinged on this week is the door of eternity. Let's walk with Him. Let's see how Jesus spent
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His final days. Let's see what mattered to God. When a man knows the end is near, only the importance surfaces.
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Impending death distills the vital. The trivial is bypassed. The unnecessary is overlooked.
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That which is vital remains. So if you would know Christ, ponder His final days.
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He knew the end is near. He knew the finality of Friday. He read the last chapter before it was even written.
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And heard the final chorus before it was sung. As a result, the critical was filtered from the casual.
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Distilled truths are taught. Deliberate deeds done. Each step is calculated.
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Every act premeditated. Knowing He had just one week with the disciples. What did
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Jesus tell them? Knowing it would be His last time in the temple. How did
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He act? Conscience? That the last sand is slipping through the hourglass.
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What really mattered? What really mattered? Enter the holy week and observe.
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Feel His passion. Weeping as Jerusalem ignores Him. Scorning as priests accuse
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Him. Pleading as disciples sleep. Feeling sorrowful as Pilate turns.
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Sense His power. Blind eyes are seeing. Fruitless tree withering. Money changers hastening away.
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Religious leaders cowering. Hear the promise. Death has no power. Failure has no prisoners.
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Fear has no control. For God has come and God has come into the world. So to take you home.
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So let's follow Jesus on His final journey. And by observing His, we may learn how to make it ours.
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I could not help but leave that, not leave that set aside.
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I think it's important to jolt our memory and our remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ as we go into this week to remember
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Holy and Passion Week. Now in saying that, we're going to look together at the Lord's triumphal entry.
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And we're going to look at what the text has to say. So here in chapter 21 of Matthew's gospel, we see the
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King. The King comes. And there is the presentation of the
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King. And I like to say, one week from this very time in which we're speaking about this,
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Matthew chapter 23, we see the rejection of the King. The King is rejected.
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In today's message, I'd like to give you four points that are very important. And we need to see and look at these points within this text before us today as we see the presentation of the
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King. So as we look at the triumphal entry in Jerusalem, first of all, we will see the
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King's approach. The King's approach in verse 1. Secondly, we will see the
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King's preparation. The King's preparation in verse 2 through 7. Third, we will see the
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King's reception. The King's reception in verse 8 and 9. And fourth and final,
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I'd like for us to look at the most important part of this text is, who is this great
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King? Who is this great King? Verse 10 and 11. And then we will look at some practical applications as we conclude.
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So let's begin. First look, the King's approach. The King's approach.
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Look at with me in verse 1. And when they had approached Jerusalem, He had come to Bethphagia at the
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Mount of Olives, and then Jesus sent two disciples. This section marks
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Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. And we refer to it as Palm Sunday.
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It is one of the few incidents in Jesus' life reported in all four gospel accounts. By this action,
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Jesus presented Himself officially to the nation of Israel as the Messiah, the
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Son of the living God. Now, let us take this great event seriously and not take it lightly.
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There is great significance and purpose eternally of what was happening here when
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Jesus came into Jerusalem. At this time in Jesus' ministry, let's remember this.
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The Sanhedrin and the other Jewish religious leaders wanted Jesus dead.
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But they did not want Him killed during the Passover time.
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And there was reasons for this. The reason was because they feared stirring up the multitudes with whom
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Jesus was popular with. So Jesus entered into the city because His popularity had grown to this point.
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So Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem in His own time. And we know this, that the timing that God has is always perfect.
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He's always right on time, never late. Jesus actually forced the whole issue in order that it might happen exactly on Passover day.
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So when the lambs were being sacrificed, Jesus knew this as the Scripture says in 1
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Corinthians 5, 7. The Apostle Paul says, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
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So here in the text, we see God's perfect timing. The timing is precise.
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And lest we forget, it is foreordained from eternity. Jesus presented
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Himself to die. And this is all in the setting because beginning right here in Matthew 21,
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Jesus presents Himself as Israel's rightful King in the flesh.
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So here in verse 1, we see the King's approach to Jerusalem. It's also important to keep this in mind.
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As Jesus sets His face like the prophecy He said in Isaiah toward Jerusalem for the very purpose why
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He came into the world, He would go outside of the city of Jerusalem to be crucified.
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That is His destination, is to be crucified.
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This is His mission. This is the command that God gave Him. He knows this because He is the
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Lamb of God, God's Lamb. And He will suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, who will condemn
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Him to death. He then will be turned over to the
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Romans, and the Romans will afflict Him and humiliate Him, spit upon Him and crucify Him to death on a cruel cross.
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But Jesus also knew something else, that the cross would not be the end.
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And after they kill Him and bury Him, the third day He will rise again. Praise the name of God.
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He would be raised from the dead. And He lives. Aren't you glad our
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Savior lives today? According to John's account in John 12, 12, Jesus enters into Jerusalem on the next day, or the second day after the
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Sabbath, which is our Monday. We will see this later in the study, but this is where we pick up Matthew's account.
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The road from Bethany approaches Jerusalem from the east. So the text in verse 1 tells us when they had approached
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Jerusalem, and had come to Bethphagia on the
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Mount of Olives. Bethphagia means literally the house of unripe figs.
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The house of unripe figs. Bethphagia was a small little town near Bethany on the southeastern slope of the
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Mount of Olives. Commentator says this hamlet does not exist today, nor is there any evidence where it existed, except for the incidental accounts and the stories where it is mentioned.
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From what we know from the gospel accounts, it was located between Bethany and Jerusalem on the eastern side of Mount of Olives, as I already said.
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So as Jesus comes to this little small village, He knows that Jerusalem would be the next point
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He would reach. So in other words, He knows He must make sure that His entrance into Jerusalem, which is the city of the great king,
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He knows that it must be done properly. Everything matters here.
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Every detail is so significant. Significant to God. And it should be significant to us.
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So as a part of His preparation to enter Jerusalem, Jesus sends two of His disciples into the little village to do an important errand for Him.
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That brings me to my next point, the king's preparation. The king's preparation.
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So now let's look at the king's preparation. We looked at his approach. Let's look at the preparation.
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He's saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her, and untie them and bring them to me.
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Verse 3, If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately
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He will send them. Verse 4, This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet.
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Talking about Zechariah 9 .9. Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, gentle, mounted on a donkey, even a colt, a foal of a beast of burden.
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The disciples went and did just as Jesus instructed. And they brought the donkey and the colt, and they laid their coats on them, sat on the coats, and he sat on the coats.
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And I'll stop right there. The gospel of Mark recorded this as what was in fact exactly what had happened.
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Mark 11, 5, and 6. So having arrived in Bethphagia, in verse 1,
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Jesus would have no opportunity to make arrangement. He would not have had the time to make the arrangements for the use of these animals.
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Now we're talking about these animals. You know, as I was thinking about this,
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I couldn't help but think about the false teacher,
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Balaam. How he gave a curse to Jerusalem.
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And here Jesus is, the Messiah comes and blesses them. And as you well know the story of Balaam, he beats the donkey.
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Here Jesus rides upon the donkey. He's the one that made the animal. A lowly animal.
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A beast of burden. And there's two of them, exactly. And yet Jesus knew precisely in arranging everything here and the preparation of exactly what would happen in detail.
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In detail. Precisely the very location. The very location of these animals, he tells the disciples.
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And even the disposition of the owners. Such detailed foreknowledge tells us something about Jesus, doesn't it?
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It reveals his divinity. It reveals that he is God in the flesh. But the question arises, why did he need these animals?
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That's a very good question, isn't it? Did you ever think about that? Why did he want to use these animals?
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And you know, animals are significant. God is the maker of these animals and he uses them as he wills, as he does us.
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Of course, we're made in the image of God. But it shows you that God cares for the things he makes.
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And animals have a part. Not as important a part as people do.
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Especially the church, by no means. But he uses these animals here. Now let's look at this.
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The answer to that question is that Jesus would not enter Jerusalem just as a pilgrim, would he?
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Jesus would not just enter there as riding on a white stallion as other kings would.
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No. Rabbis did that in the past.
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Great leaders did that in the past. Jesus would at this time enter into Jerusalem in the manner in which he came, would declare to them who he was.
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That's why this is so important. Now, what do you mean, pastor, by that? Verse 3.
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Verse 3 says this. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has needed them.
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I want us to look at this. The Lord has needed them. Underscore that word, the
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Lord. The Lord. Many people refer to him as Lord, right?
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Many people call Jesus Lord and don't do the things he says.
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Sometimes people say, Lord, out of simple just respect, Master, some out of a sense of understanding that he might be the
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Messiah, therefore God in human flesh, and rightly so.
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But Jesus did not refer to himself in quite this manner before. Now, why do
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I say that? Here in this verse, Jesus tells them specifically to say, the
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Lord has needed them. Now, why is this important? Jesus did not say, I have need of them.
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Notice he says specifically in detail, you tell them the Lord has need of them.
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Jesus gives them detailed instructions to say, the Lord has needed them. The Lord, the Lord, the
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Lord, implying that Jesus wanted to make sure that they use the proper title of who he is.
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He's Lord of all, right? We sung it this morning. All hail the power of Jesus' name.
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He is Lord. And he will be Lord. And no one makes Jesus Lord. He is
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Lord. So, the Lord is the one who's the ruler over all. He's the master of everything.
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He has needed these two animals. Their response was to be a request in hopes that the owners of these animals would grant it to them.
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And it was a statement of a fact that the owners of the animals needed to submit to the
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Lord. We should keep that in mind in our own personal lives, shouldn't we?
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Jesus doesn't need to request us. Jesus doesn't need to plead with us.
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Jesus doesn't need even to beg us to obey him. He is Lord. And when he says something, he means it.
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You don't hear much of that today, do we? But Jesus Christ is Lord. And we gain no merit, by the way, by agreeing to abide by his commandments.
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We just obey his commandments. It's a fruit of salvation. All Jesus needs to do is state the fact of what he wants from us and state the commandment.
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And it's our duty to obey him because he is Lord. We're under compulsion, right?
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To submit to his lordship. And all that he says because of his position.
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He's Lord. Aren't you glad Jesus is Lord? And he's going to show it one day when he comes back in power and glory.
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The whole world will know he's Lord. Verse 6 tells us that the disciples did exactly what
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Jesus told them to do in the account. And Luke tells us that the owners did indeed stop them. And they did ask them what they were doing.
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And the disciples responded just as Jesus told them to do. And the owners immediately consented to it.
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Now in verses 4 and 5, Matthew tells us exactly why Jesus needed the donkey and the foal. It was because it was a direct fulfillment of a prophecy that it may be fulfilled.
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Verse 4 and 5 says this took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Jesus is fulfilling every prophecy that was spoken.
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Say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you. Gentle, mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, and a foal of a beast of burden.
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That's a direct prophecy from Zechariah 9 .9. Now I don't want to spend a lot of time there.
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But there is another prophecy that was given in Genesis far further back in 49, 10, and 11.
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It's often overlooked. And it's an older prophecy that actually explains why
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Jesus rode the donkey long before Zechariah even spoke of it.
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Jacob pronounced this blessing on his son Judah. The son Judah in Genesis 49.
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Listen to this, 10 and 11. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until he comes, one translation, until Shiloh comes, to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
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He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch, and he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.
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Wow, listen to that. I don't know about you, but that is a direct fulfillment.
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That's thousands of years before Jesus came. A direct prophecy. And that's even before Zechariah 9 .9.
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But Zechariah 9 .9 basically is what's taking place here. So what does this really mean?
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Jacob's prophecy meant that Israel's true king would come from the tribe of Judah.
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From this tribe, and that in some way he would be associated with the colt of a donkey. What's hinted at in Genesis is made plain in the
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Gospel. Jesus, the son of David from the tribe of Judah, rode into Jerusalem as Israel's rightful king.
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And there were many prophecies, by the way, concerning the Messiah. And this one particular noted the manner in which
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Jesus would come as a king on a donkey. A donkey?
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Brother Keith mentioned this before. It's an upside -down kingdom. Jesus does everything opposite of what they think.
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Now, Jesus comes in a lowly manner, gentle. Jesus would ride into Jerusalem on this lowly, humble, gentle manner on this donkey, the colt of a donkey.
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And riding into Jerusalem in this manner, like I said, Jesus made a deliberate claim of being the
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Messiah. One commentator, Clark, said this, quote, This entry into Jerusalem has been termed the triumph of Christ.
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It was indeed the triumph of humility over pride, and worldly grandeur, of poverty over affluence, and of meekness and gentleness over rage and malice.
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Isn't that great? Do you see the significance that God is doing here? It's the meek that will inherit the earth.
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It's the gentle. All this is symbolic. And Jesus knew this exactly, how to bring this right to them.
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This is not just a manner that was expected, by the way. Again, a conquering king would come riding on a steed, a white steed, groomed like a white stallion.
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And according to the end of Revelation chapter 19, tells us that Jesus will return in a white steed, riding as the head of all the armies of heaven, as King of kings and Lord of lords.
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But at this moment, that's not the time. Jesus comes as Savior.
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Next time He comes, He's coming as Judge. And beloved, it's going to be a day that the world will never forget.
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Another commentator here says of this text, quote, He who makes his entry unarmed with unarmed followers on a peaceful animal must either be already acknowledged as ruler, and he must aim at dominion in such a manner as excludes all force and political power, end quote.
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Don't you love what Jesus is doing here? He comes meek.
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His manner, slowly. Didn't Jesus say that? That I'm meek and lowly in heart.
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This is our Savior. This is our Lord. Certainly it fits
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Jesus. Jesus, meek and mild, look upon your little child.
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He comes meek, riding on a meek animal. He's already the ruler, we know that.
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He's Lord, though acknowledged as such, He's not acknowledged at this time in the manner by which
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He would gain dominion, would not be by force or arms by political powers, the commentator said.
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Jesus came not in wealth, did He? But He came in poverty. Not in grandeur, but modesty is not as a judge, but as a
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Savior, and as the Passover Lamb. This brings me to our next point.
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Third point is, we see the King's reception. We see the King's reception.
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Well, we know that most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, according to the
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Scriptures, and that others were cutting branches from the trees, spreading them in the road. Verse 9 says, the crowds were going ahead of Him, and those who followed were shouting.
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What were they shouting? Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
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Now, this is rightly so. We're going to look at the praise and worship that's given here. Keep in mind that the large crowds here, there's a reason for the masses of the people that would gather to Jerusalem for this event, because the
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Passover is about to take place. Estimates based, as I studied this, on the number of the sacrifices recorded that it projected.
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It projected that at that time could easily have been two million people.
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Two million people in Jerusalem in that area as the Passover would take place.
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So, people would come. That's why the masses were there. And at this time, as Jesus rides through Jerusalem, there are not that many as of yet, but there are masses there.
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But there's quite a bit. Imagine with me, for just for a moment, the commotion of all this would have caused.
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Jerusalem is in quite a state of the preparations being made for the Passover, and then you hear and then you see this huge crowd of people coming over the
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Mount of Olives down to the road through the East Gate. People are cutting down the palm branches, putting their coats down in front of Jesus as a sign of honor.
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At the same time, everyone is shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
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Lord. Hosanna in the highest. This is great as they are praising
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Him. And rightly so. What people were shouting was fitting to the occasion.
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In fact, it was a fulfillment of the prophecy as well. There's another prophecy. And what am
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I referred to? Most of what they were saying was taken from Psalm 118, which is part of the
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Hallel. They knew exactly what they were doing. They knew this. Psalm 113 to Psalm 118 is part of the
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Psalms of praise for the Lord's deliverance. See, everything is significant here.
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Speaks of God's deliverance to His people and were often sung at the Passover. So in addition, and saying
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Hosanna, Hosanna actually means it's an exclamation of meaning save now.
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Save us now. And this is very significant. It goes, Jesus is the
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Savior. Give thy salvation. That's what it means. Give thy salvation. And the phrase the
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Son of David, as you well know, is a direct reference to Jesus as being the Messiah, the anointed one. So Jesus was coming and He comes as Lord, but He comes gentle and meek.
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And the one who was from the highest heaven was bringing them salvation. Now, I've got another question here, and I think it's going to give some clarity to what
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I'm saying here. Next question is, did these people truly understand all that they were saying?
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Not at all. And I say this with sadness and tragedy, so much like so much is within the church today.
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There's a lot of strange fire. There's a lot of strange fire. Now, this is really amazing text because Jesus does not withhold the praise.
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It sets the praise. Now, let me back up a little bit. Why didn't they truly understand the significance here?
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Why? These questions really help us dig a little bit because we need to see what was really taking place here.
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And it's really staggering that these people's hearts, it's not surprising really because people's hearts are depraved and they're hard like ours so many times.
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But because they were still looking for a king that would save them from the Roman oppression rather than a king that would bring salvation from sin's oppression.
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You see? That's really why Jesus came, to save His people from their sins.
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Not the Romans. So here, what they were shouting was true.
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And as I was digging into this, I was saying, Lord help me see the real meaning of this. So I really believe that according to the text, these people did not understand and what comes to my mind is they really didn't believe what they were saying.
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That's the problem. The huge crowd of people were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord and the highest.
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The gospel here gives that record. But there's another gospel and this is why we need to study
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Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in accordance. All gospels has recorded this triumph of entry for a reason.
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Please turn with me to the gospel of Luke and let's look at this and we're going to see the significance here. Luke gives the details where Matthew does not give as many details.
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And this is why it's important to study all of these. There's one gospel given by four different witnesses.
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But Luke chapter 19 and verse 37 through 44 gives us the reason of this praise.
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And I want you to see something here that Matthew does not bring out. Verse 37,
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I'm going to read it. As soon as he was approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise
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God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen.
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Now these were disciples, more than just the 12. But there were more disciples.
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It specifically means that the most that was there were his followers.
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See, and they were shouting, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
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And I want you to see something here. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him. This is interesting.
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Some of the Pharisees, now the religious leaders in the crowd said to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples.
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But Jesus answered, I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.
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Hallelujah. You see, and then it says, When he approached
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Jerusalem, he saw the city and he wept over it.
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You see, now we see Jesus in anguish. You see the heart of God. You see that God is broken.
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He accepts the praise, but he's broken. He's saying, if you had known in this day,
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Even knew the things which make for peace. But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
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For the days will come upon you. This is Jesus. When your enemies will throw up a barricade against you.
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This is a prophecy that happened. And surround you and hem you in on every side.
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This has happened from Titus in 70 AD. Verse 44, and they will level you to the ground.
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And your children within you. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another.
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Because, don't miss this. You did not recognize the time of your visitation.
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Beloved, it breaks me to see this. Because this is where we are today in this apostate church.
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People do not recognize the day of God's visitation. Beloved, Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem.
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He was a man of sorrows. He was in anguish. He was in deep pain internally.
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Hurting, crying over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was grieved over them.
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At least two other occasions as well. In Luke 13, 34 and Matthew 22, 37.
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And this timing of this lament. Jesus is lamenting. He doesn't hold back their praise.
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But He also laments. May seem to be inappropriate. But can
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I tell you? Anything that Jesus does is not out of place. It shows us that we are so fleshly and undiscerning.
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And not seeing the significance here. Actually it reveals that Jesus knew their superficiality.
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He knew the hardness of their hearts. Because John 2, 25 says. And because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man.
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For He Himself knew what was in man. So what's the mood here?
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The mood of these people were shallow. They were giddy. They were hard -hearted as He rode into the city.
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But He did not hold back their praise. Even though it was lip service. And it wasn't from their heart.
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But He doesn't hold them back. This is amazing. Now how do we know this to be?
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Because the same crowd would cry out for His blood and death.
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A week from this moment, this event. And Luke 23, 21 saying, Crucify Him!
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Crucify Him! The fickleness of these people. And their depraved hearts.
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And the hardness of their heart. You know it's amazing. Strange as this may sound. And the reply to what some of the
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Pharisees and the crowd said to Him in Luke 10, 40. Teach or rebuke your disciples.
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And that they were praising Christ. But Jesus answered, I tell you if these become silent, the stones will cry out.
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So He does not hold back their praise. Even though it was lip service. But it's important that we do come to God praising
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Him from the heart. Isn't it? We should praise Him from the heart. And the rest of the Pharisees were directly wanting a rebuke toward the disciples.
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And Jesus willingly accepted their worship and praise. This was a strong claim of Jesus' deity, beloved.
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You see that? A prophet, a prophet would say, no, you don't praise me.
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A great prophet would say, no, I'm just a man. The Apostle Paul said that. We are, and Peter said this.
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And you see these godly men. That you don't praise me. Praise God. Even the angel in heaven.
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He said, you don't praise me. You praise God. And Jesus, see,
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Jesus did not hold back their praises. You know why? Because He is deity. He's divine.
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Well, Jesus encouraged the worship here. Another reason why
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Jesus encouraged their worship, I believe, is a fulfillment of Psalm 118, 24. Let's not take this lightly.
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This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. So the day of the
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Messiah had come. And as He rides into Jerusalem as their Savior, a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
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Now, and the last point is the most important point of all. And then
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I'd like to give application to this point and conclude. And I'd like for us to look at who is this
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King? Who is this King? I think that's one of the most important questions that you and I will ever hear.
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Who is this King? Our text in Matthew 21, 10 and 11 says this.
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And when He had entered into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?
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Verse 11, this was their answer. And the crowds were saying, this is the prophet
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Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. That was their answer. Now, Jesus showed that He is that prophet.
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There's no doubt about it. That would arise like as of Moses. And He is the prophet, priest, and king.
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But He's more than just a prophet. I want us to see this. Jesus shows that He wasn't afraid of the chief priest and going into Jerusalem.
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And He wasn't afraid of the Pharisees. He had no fear. He knew that they were plotting to kill
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Him. He knew that His life was jeopardized. But He knew there was a fulfillment of all that would take place if the prophets would speak of Him.
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Yet He came openly to the city of Jerusalem as their Messiah. Interesting to note right here that when the
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Magi, and I read this from a commentator and I put it in my own words, the Magi came some 30 years before this event, looking for the king of the
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Jews. In Matthew 2, 3, it says all Jerusalem was troubled.
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Now their true king arrives in Jerusalem and all the city was stirred.
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Another translation says they were moved. So keep in mind that most of those in the crowd praising
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Jesus and shouting Hosanna were either from Galilee where Jesus had done many miracles.
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And they were the ones also that were present when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. So they witnessed the very miracles of Jesus.
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They witnessed this. And it was the same crowd that said crucify Him, crucify Him. You know, many times
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I hear people say, I wish I just lived in Jesus' day and seen what the disciples saying. They would have still gone backwards.
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They would still harden their hearts. You see, it takes true belief.
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Seeing, you know, these are the evidences of His miracles that demonstrated who He was, who
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Jesus was. His miracles backed up who
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His claims were. And they also heard Him teach and they had only minutes before shouting, like I said,
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Hosanna, saying, Hosanna, son of David, the Messiah, the promised one. Next, simply making a statement that He is a prophet or the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.
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Now, as the record of Holy Scripture gives us about Jesus' claims, I don't think there is one more important than the ones that I'm about to take you to.
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The most important question that you and I will ever hear to our ears or the question that comes to us or to anyone that's living on the face of this earth is, who is
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Jesus Christ? Can I say that is the most important question ever of who
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Jesus is? A lot of people's got different definitions and views of who Jesus is.
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And how we answer that all important question would determine everything about our destination.
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It is a matter of eternal life and eternal death, beloved. How we answer this. So, why do
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I say that? Because, as Tozer says, what we think about God is the most important thing about us.
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Right? It is. So, in saying that, I want to conclude, go to Matthew chapter 16.
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Matthew chapter 16. You know where I'm going. Brother Keith preached on this.
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And I appreciate Brother Keith filling in for me last week. That was a wonderful text. And I appreciate him just focusing on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
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But honestly, I tell you what, Brother Keith, I still remember this message you preached to us. And it shows the anointing of this text.
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And anointing upon as the Spirit of God helped Brother Keith bring this before us. I've heard many messages on this.
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And this is one of the most important, important statements that we ever find.
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Matthew 16. I'm reading. Let me read the text real quick. I want to bring to you.
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Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, Who do people say that the
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Son of Man is? And they said, Some say John the Baptist. Others, Elijah. But others, still others,
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Jeremiah and one of the prophets. And He said to them, But who do you say that I am?
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And Peter answered, Simon Peter answered, You are the
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Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said to him, Blessed are you,
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Simon Barjona, Because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, But my
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Father who is in heaven. And then Jesus gives this statement. I also say to you that you are Peter.
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And upon this rock, I will build my church. My church belongs to Christ.
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And the gates of Hades were not overpowered. Now, by no means
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I can bring out everything in conclusion of everything in this text. But what I'd like for us to focus on is the questions.
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Jesus says, Who do you say that I am? First He begins,
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And let me say this, Because what we think about God and Jesus is the most important thing about us. In saying that, this is significant.
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Who Jesus really is. Who Jesus really is. And Matthew 16 is a very critical chapter.
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And let me give a little bit, because it presents Christ as King, right? But Matthew chapter 16 is a climax and a high point in the life of Jesus.
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And in all the chapters in Matthew, because Jesus has withdrawn from the masses, the crowds, and He comes to the disciples on a personal level.
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Specifically, He does this, teaching that to His disciples. And He teaches them by asking them questions.
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And this is the most important question that Jesus asked them. First, He addresses it like this.
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In this chapter, we learn who Jesus really is. Then what He came to do and why
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He came. So, first of all, in saying this, who Jesus is, verse 13.
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And then He says, who do people say the Son of Man is?
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First, He asked, who do people say that I am? Now, I'm going to bring out something here.
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Answer is given in verse 14. Verse 14 tells us, well, some of them had suggestions and speculations.
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And some say John the Baptist, others Elijah. John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. Three is named.
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And then they said, well, some other prophets. John the Baptist and others.
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Elijah said others. Jeremiah. These are great men of God. But you know what the surprising thing is?
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The surprising thing is that no one here at this time was suggesting that Jesus was the Messiah.
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Though the speculation had been made of John the Baptist, apparently, Jesus did not match up to anyone's messianic expectations.
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Just a prophet. Jesus asked them the second time, second question.
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Verse 15, He said to them, but who do you say that I am?
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Oh, wow. Listen to that. Blessed are our ears this morning to hear this. And it was at this point,
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Peter spoke out. And it wasn't from Peter's intelligence. It was something supernatural that took place here.
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And it was actually revelation from God the Father. It's a classic answer, isn't it? Simon Peter answered, you are the
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Christ, the son of the living God. Wow. Let me tell you how powerful this is.
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James Montgomery Boyce said it is. It says this of the answer to the most critical question. This is why this answer was so important to the question that Jesus gave.
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Peter's, this is Boyce. Peter's answer did two things, both forcefully.
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First, it identified Jesus as the Messiah, the one who was to reign forever on the throne of his great ancestor,
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David. Second, and even more important, it identified Jesus as divine.
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He goes on to say, the son of the living God. It is that combination, Boyce says, of the ideas that makes
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Peter's confession so important. For he was confessing that Jesus was no mere man, but God himself.
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God himself come to save his people. End quote.
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Beloved, you know, this is the most important question that you and I will ever hear, that anyone on this earth will ever hear.
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Did you know in the Greek, and I believe Brother Keith brought this out, that Greek forcefully gives us confession in ten words.
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Speaking of the law of God. But those ten words is the definite article of the church.
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This is the article. This is it. This is the great confession. You are the
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Christ, the son of God, the living one. That's how the Greek reads. Jesus said to him,
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Blessed are you, Simon Bar -Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven came by a revelation from God the
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Father. God the Father stepped right in. Isn't that great?
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Then you see right in a few verses later, Satan steps in too. Peter had it right when it came to the person of Jesus, but he had it wrong when it came to the work.
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You've got to have both of them right. The person and the work of Christ. He came to die.
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Well, in closing here, today, the first and most important thing if any person needs to understand about Jesus is that he is the son of God.
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He's the son of the living God. I don't say that lightly. The old creeds say a very God, a very
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God. Why is this so critical? Why is this so critical? Because the value, the value of Christ's work, dying for our sin, dying for our sin depends on who he is.
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And if he's not God, then his death would not have no more value than any other person's death.
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This is why we focus so much on his death. It's the most important thing. And then we go to his burial and his resurrection.
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And we'll talk about that, Lord willing, next week. But why? Because he is
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God and his death has infinite value. Beloved, think about that.
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His death has infinite value. There's nothing more important than that.
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And you can believe it. We must believe it. You see that?
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It's only because God has revealed this to you, if you do believe it, by his Holy Spirit.
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Because we can't know this without the Holy Spirit, of the infinite value that the death of Jesus gives.
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It is because he is the blessing and brings us salvation. Salvation is of the
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Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. I close with the Psalm 24, 3 through 10.
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Brother Keith didn't know I had this written in my notes. That's, he really didn't. The Spirit of God, my teacher being, showing the things of Christ to me.
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Amen. God is among us. Psalm 24, 3 through 10.
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Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in his holy place?
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He who has clean hands and a pure heart. A relationship with each other and a relationship with God.
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Who has not lifted up his soul to vanity or falsehood. And has not sworn deceitfully.
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He shall receive a blessing from the Lord. What is that blessing? And righteousness from the
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God of his salvation. It's the righteousness of Jesus. That's the blessing. It's not our righteousness that will get us into heaven.
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It is the righteousness of Christ that we are clothed with. In other words, we put all of our faith and all of our trust in Christ.
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In Christ alone. That is sufficient. Beloved, then it goes on to say, this is the generation of those who seek him.
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Let that be for us. Who seek your face. Even Jacob, Selah.
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You know what that Selah means? Meditate on it. Pause on it. Actually, it's a crescendo. It's an accolade.
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Selah. Pause. Think about that. Lift up your heads, O ye gates.
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And be lifted up, O everlasting doors. That the King of glory may come in. Who is the
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King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle.
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Then he says it again in chorus. Lift up your heads. You know, we don't lift down our heads.
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We lift up our heads. Lift them up. Lift them up, O everlasting doors.
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That the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory?
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The Lord of hosts. The Lord of the armies. He is the King of glory.
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He is the King of glory. Selah. Amen and amen.
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Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how wonderful it is to have this text before us today.
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Lord, we thank you for visiting us. And it surely isn't because of anything of our own merits.
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Because we're nothing without Jesus. It's only in Christ and his righteousness.
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We praise you and we worship you and we cannot thank you enough, O Lord, for the great salvation that you have brought to us.
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You have accomplished. You've secured it for us in Jesus' name. It's all in Jesus, your beloved
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Son, in whom you will pleased. Father, it would take an eternity just to thank you.
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Lord, we say with the chorus in Revelation. Worthy is the land that was slain.
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Worthy is the land that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.
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Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father. That you chose us. Lord, that was not of us.
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It was you that chose us before the foundation of the world. Father, and help us never take this grace lightly.
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If we do, Lord, we need to be repenting in sackcloth and ashes. O God, help us.
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And Father, I pray that if anyone has any doubts of their salvation here, help us, O God, to make our calling and our election sure.
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How do we do this? We do this by repenting and believing the gospel. God, help us to repent and believe the gospel.
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To repent and believe the gospel every day of our lives, Lord. Truly, this is a merit that you give, a grace that comes from you.
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So, O God, we pray for true belief and true repentance to feel our need of you.
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We come to you, Lord. We thank you. We thank you for laying hold of us.
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We thank you that no one can snatch us from the Father's hand. And Father, we would pray that may we never forget your goodness and mercy that follows us all the days of our life.
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Thank you, Father, for using animals. You had need of them.
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And Father, use us. You have need of us. And Father, we just ask these things for your name's sake and for your kingdom's sake, for such a time as this.
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Help us. And we pray this in Jesus' name and for your glory. Amen and amen.