Matthew 21:1-13, Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God

Reading Assignment: Matthew 21:1-13

Truth: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Key Verse: Matthew 21:5

Overview of the two events where Jesus is shown to be the Messiah:

1.        Triumphal Entry

2.        Temple Cleansing

Prayer:

1.        Confess Jesus as Lord.

2.        Commit to serving Him as the Lord.

Transcript

Let’s pray and we’ll get started.

Our Lord, thank You for speaking to us. Thank You that every morning we can turn our attention to You. And because of Jesus, You've given us the right to approach You to hear from You. Thank You for Your holy word, which in Your perfect wisdom is given to us for our good and edification and for our salvation. We pray that You would teach us this morning. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The next reading assignment is Matthew 21:1-13. And the truth I want to highlight here is this: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. In many ways, this is an echo of the way Matthew opened his gospel. He began by introducing us to Jesus as the Messiah, the son of David and the son of Abraham (1:1). And if you recall chapter one, not only is Jesus the Messiah, He is also the Son of God. And He is also the Savior who came to save His people from their sins. This is much of what we find here. It is striking that this section echoes the beginning of the gospel in that this is another kind of a beginning, the beginning of the final week of Jesus' life. This is the final week in which Jesus will pay for the sins of His people and save them from their sins. The key verse is found in verse 5 where Matthew quotes out of Zachariah 9:9, and confirms that Jesus is the Messiah because He fulfilled that Messianic prophecy. Even with regard to prophetic fulfillment, this passage sounds very much like the beginning of Matthew’s gospel. You’d recall that Matthew repeatedly told us how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. In verse 5, the words of Zachariah are quoted which says: “Behold, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” And this is exactly how Jesus began His final week of ministry in Jerusalem. He entered the city riding on a colt of a donkey. In terms of the whole passage to be read, there are two events that Matthew records for us. The first event is the triumphal entry and the second event is the temple cleansing. In both of these events, we see Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior.

Let’s begin with the first event: the triumphal entry. Matthew first tells us about the preparation for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. As He approached Jerusalem, He came to a city called Bethpage, just a few miles away from Jerusalem, located in the Mount of Olives. And there Jesus sends two of His disciples (Peter and John), and He tells them go to the village opposite them and that they will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Jesus tells them to untie these animals and to bring them to Him. Jesus further adds that if anyone asks them what they’re doing, they were to tell them, “The Lord has need of them.” Jesus told them they'll give the animals to them. And this is exactly what happened. Then when they bring the animals back to Bethphage, they lay their coats on them, and Jesus sits on the colt and enters Jerusalem riding on this colt. It’s a symbolic scene and Matthew tells us about the symbolism by quoting Zachariah 9:9. Matthew says, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, “BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.”’”

The prophecy is interesting, even strange, since a king would enter his city riding on a white horse, a war horse, with a sign of strength. But Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah enters His city as a humble and a gentle king riding on a donkey’s young. So, Jesus enters Jerusalem in fulfillment of this prophecy. He comes not as a warrior as He would at His second coming, but He comes gentle and mounted on a donkey’s colt. The crowd responds to all of this. They welcome Jesus by spreading their coats in the road along with tree branches. The other gospels tell us these were palm branches. Like award ceremonies today, whether for film or music or theater, they roll out the red carpet and receive the VIPs. This is what they were doing for Jesus. They were paving the way for Jesus to enter into the city as the Son of David, which is another title for the Messiah. And the whole city gathered in this welcome parade. Some were going before Jesus and others after Him. By the way, this was a huge crowd. This was during the Passover celebration. The crowd didn’t just consist of the residents of Jerusalem. This would have been all the Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. The Jews were required to celebrate Passover at Jerusalem. And they were to acquire a lamb by this point in the week, then sacrifice that animal by the end of the week on Passover day. By this time, Jerusalem was filled with travelers who had come for Passover. The city's population would swell a great deal for feast times like these. And here, they all show up to welcome Jesus into the city. The people seem to recognize the symbolism of Jesus riding on the colt, and they're super excited. And they even declare it with their words. Not only did they pave the road for Jesus, they also said these words: “Hosanna to the Son of David.” That was their first remark. “Hosanna” is the Hebrew expression for deliverance. It was a plea. It's translated in various ways: “Save us,” “I beg you to save,” or “Please deliver us.” This is a quotation from Psalm 118:25. Now, in that Psalm, the cry for deliverance is addressed to the Lord, to God. But of course, here, they are crying out for salvation to the Son of David. Now, you would imagine that this was because they perceived Jesus to be the LORD, but I would say that that’s giving them too much credit. I think they spoke better than they knew, because by the end of the week, they would join in the condemnation of Jesus as a blasphemer for having claimed to be the Son of God. Nonetheless, by the providence of God and the sovereign orchestration of all things by Him, the right declaration is made about Jesus’ true identity. Then comes the next expression, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.” This is another quotation out of that same Psalm. This line recognizes the man who comes as a representative of the LORD. Now, Jesus clearly represents the LORD, but He did so as the Son of God representing His Father. I don’t believe the crowd accepted that idea. A little later we‘ll see that they saw Jesus as a mere prophet. But again, nonetheless, they speak the words that smack of this biblical truth that Jesus is truly the Lord. They spoke better than they really knew. Now, amid all of this spectacle, the spectators ask, “Who is this?” Strangely, the discussion among the people is that Jesus is the prophet from Galilee. This is what they say in verse 11. Of course, the fact of the matter is that Jesus is not a mere prophet: He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord. He comes in the name of the Lord as the Son of God, representing His Father. And He is the Messiah who does save His people from their sins. And even though the crowd doesn’t grasp this, in the economy of God, the words that were spoken were true, because Jesus is the LORD who delivers His people. He is the Messiah, the Son of David, who comes in the name of the LORD. Interestingly, according to Luke 19:40, Jesus declared, “if these become silent, the stones will cry out.” This is to say, those words of affirmation about His true identity would be declared one way or another because Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the LORD and King. This was the first event.

The second event is the temple cleansing. After Jesus enters the city, He goes into the temple and finds merchants engaging in business there. All of this is gravely offensive to God, and therefore, repulsive to the Son of God. Why? Because the temple was God’s designated place for worship and prayer, but the people had treated it as if it were a common marketplace. So Jesus drives out those who are buying and selling there, and He even overturns the table of the money changers and the seats of merchants. Then Jesus gives an explanation for why He's doing this. He quotes from the Old Testament, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a robbers’ den.” The temple was a later, permanent version of the tabernacle which was God's idea, given by His revelation to Moses. Solomon built a permanent version of the tabernacle as the temple in Jerusalem. And God recognized that place and placed His name there for the purpose of worship and prayer. But the people had twisted this purpose for the temple and desecrated it. Those who were their spiritual leaders should have dealt with this, but they didn’t. They allowed this sacrilege to occur there. But of course, Jesus wouldn't put up with it. The temple is meant for the worship of God, and so He drives out the merchants, the animals, the whole nine yards. In the explanation Jesus gives, He speaks of the temple as “My house.” This is the way Jesus saw the temple. This is also seen in the first time He cleared the temple. In case you weren’t aware, Jesus cleared the temple two times. The first time took place at the commencement of His ministry in John chapter 2. There Jesus called the Temple “My Father's house.” This is how Jesus thought of the temple. It was His Father's house. And of course, as the second person of the triune God, He shares with His Father His full divinity. If the temple is His Father’s house, then it is equally His house as well, because He is God the Son. So then, when Jesus declares that the temple is “My house,” He literally meant it in the first person, because He is God the Son, the LORD. He, as the Son of God, burns with zeal for that place of the worship of God, and thus He drives out all the desecrating activities from the temple. What does this reveal about Jesus? He is truly the Son of God. He is the Lord.

These two events mark the beginning of Jesus' final week of life on earth, known as the Passion Week. It's by the end of that week that Jesus will lay down his life at the cross to pay for the sins of His people. This final week is very important, obviously for Christianity, and it is emphasized in all four gospels. The four gospels devote a third of each account to this final week. Matthew does this. Chapters 21 to 28 covers this final week. That's about a third of the gospel. Mark does the same thing, as does Luke and John. The point is this: this is the most pivotal time of Jesus' ministry. This is the crucial week when redemption is made and Christ wins for His people the gift of eternal life, the kingdom of God, and peace with God.

The one thing for us to consider here is whether we truly believe and honor Jesus for who He is. Do we believe and honor Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord, the King? You see, the crowd that day said the right words about Jesus. They called Him the Son of David and that He comes in the name of the Lord. They recognized the symbolic entrance into Jerusalem on a colt. But they spoke those words without understanding. They spoke those words without meaning. We know this, because by the end of the week, they would cry out for Jesus to be crucified for blasphemy, because He claimed to be the Son of God. We certainly don't want to address Jesus as the Lord without meaning and commit the same folly as these people. And this is the important matter about which we should pray. First, we ought to affirm Jesus as the Lord, the Christ. If you really believe in Him, prayer is the vehicle by which we express that faith. If you believe, then you should say to Jesus, “Lord, I believe in You. You are the King. You are the Son of God. You are the Lord. This means I am Your subject. I am Your servant. I am Your slave. I am here to serve You and do Your will.” And that's the second thing to do, commit to honoring Jesus as the Lord. And if there should be any hint of rebellion or rejection of Jesus' authority, then this is the time to get that right with the Lord. Confess this to the Lord and say, “Lord, I haven't treated You right. But I want to get right with You.” This is the time to repent before the Lord and submit your heart to Him. He is God. And He is not only God the Son who came, but He came to save us from our sins by paying the price for our forgiveness and justification. Now, if on the other hand, you're faithfully walking with the Lord, then this is the time to affirm your faith in Him, and to worship and adore Him with your words, that He is your Lord and that you exist to honor Him as the Lord.

These are two events that open up the beginning of that final week of Jesus' life. There was then a right affirmation of Jesus' true identity, even as there was at His birth. All of this is recorded for us to show us who Jesus truly is, that He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord, the King. And we should embrace Jesus with all our hearts as the Lord and honor Him. That's the lesson for today. Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming from heaven to reveal the Father to us. And thank You for coming to save us from our sins. You are the king. You are the promised Son of David. And we believe in You and we trust in You. And in our hearts, we are committed to follow You and keep Your word. We love You as our dear Savior and Lord. There is no one like You. We have no Savior beside You. And we humble ourselves before You to honor You this day and all the days ahead of us. Keep us from meaningless expressions of the truth from spewing out of our mouths. Keep us from crying out to you, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” but our hearts have no intent to honor You as the Messiah. I pray instead, that by Your Spirit You would make us to be an honest people who embrace You for who You truly are. And serve You as You are so worthy of. We commit this day to You. You are our Lord. And we commit to serving You as the Lord this day. In Your name we pray, Amen.

That's it for today, Lord bless you, and we'll see you Friday morning.