Unit 2: Liberating Gospels
Key Verse:
Matthew 21:5 CJB
5 “Say to the daughter of Tziyon (Zion),
‘Look! Your King is coming to you,
riding humbly on a donkey,
and on a colt, the offspring of a beast of burden!’[a]
He came to us in peace, for the sake of peace…
What you need to know
John 11:25-27 NLT
25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[e] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”
Jesus posed His final ‘I AM’ statement to an audience of one; Martha, the sister of Lazarus as a declaration, then a question, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life… Do you believe this, Martha?” As had been the case before, in making this statement, Jesus identified Himself directly with God. In fact, that statement was a declaration that He was God. He made this declaration within the hearing of many who were there to mourn the death of Lazarus, Martha’s brother. They also heard Martha’s response to Jesus' declaration, “Yes Lord, I have always believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God!” Martha’s response reflected the response of Jesus’ closest associates. During a conversation with His disciples while in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had a similar exchange with Peter that resulted in Peter proclaiming, “Thou art the Christ (Messiah)! The Son of the Living God!” On this day, in this very public exchange between Martha and Jesus, Martha made a very public declaration about a very personal conviction. In her eyes, Jesus was Messiah.
John 11:43-46 NLT
43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” 45 Many of the people who were with Mary believed in Jesus when they saw this happen. 46 But some went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
After Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, many others believed! Believed what? Many others believed that Jesus was Messiah, Immanuel: God in the flesh. Give me a minute. When I make the statement that ‘many others believed’ allow me to qualify that with a few key distinctions. The miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection occurred in Bethany, just southeast of Jerusalem. Jesus had been outside of Jerusalem proper for some time. Most of that time had been spent in the regions of Galilee and Samaria, as well as the wilderness along the Jordan River. His ministry flourished there. Thousands had been fed with five loaves and two fish in the plains of Samaria. After that event, the people of the region wanted to make Jesus their King, but He prevented them.
However, Jerusalem was a different story. As the home of the Temple of God, it was the hub of all religious activity associated with Israel. The people of Jerusalem looked to their religious leaders, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes for any direction or authority pertaining to the interpretation of the religious laws of Israel. Subsequently, on the occasions that Jesus had ministered in the past in or near Jerusalem, He continually encountered fierce opposition from the religious authorities. The contention between Jesus and the religious leaders resulted in the general population being divided and undecided about whether or not Jesus was the Messiah. Over time, public opinion began to lean in favor of Jesus. The Pharisees hated this and worked hard to dissuade any support of Jesus in the city of Jerusalem. So great had been the contention between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem that, by this time Jesus came to be regarded as an ‘enemy of the state’.
John 11:53-54 NLT
53 So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. 54 As a result, Jesus stopped his public ministry among the people and left Jerusalem. He went to a place near the wilderness, to the village of Ephraim, and stayed there with his disciples.
So, with the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, public opinion swung heavily toward Jesus being the Messiah. That plays heavily into today’s lesson. Now a marked man, Jesus left the area and returned to the wilderness to avoid the scrutiny of the religious leaders. But Passover (Pesach) was coming. Jesus would return.
Matthew 20:17-18 NLT
17 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him. 18 “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man[b] will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die.
And so, in accordance with the customs of the people of Israel, Jesus returned from the wilderness, east of the Jordan River, through Jericho to Jerusalem with a full understanding of what awaited Him there. He braced the disciples with a message He had communicated to them before. He was going to Jerusalem to be betrayed, tried, and executed. That had always been the eventuality. He wasn’t going to Jerusalem to take the throne. He was going to die.
The Lesson
Matthew 21:1a NLT
1a As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives.
Coming from Jericho, Jesus and the disciples bypassed the direct route into Jerusalem, circling around the east side of the city and stopping in the village of Bethpage, immediately outside of Jerusalem, on the southeast corner of the city. This was a familiar area to Jesus and the disciples, as that they frequently visited the adjoining village of Bethany, the home of their close friends; Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
Matthew 21:1b-3
1b Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
Luke 19:32-34 NLT
32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Jesus knows that it is time. His time. However, He’s not going into Jerusalem unprepared or unheralded. His next move ensures that He will control the narrative. Was there some sort of plan? Yes. Was Jesus somehow manipulating the coming events? No. What then? Jesus is just following His Father’s instructions.
He sends two disciples into the village to acquire a donkey and her foal. Was this a previously arranged agreement? We see from Luke’s rendering of this same episode that it played out exactly as Jesus stated. The disciples found the donkey and her foal exactly where Jesus told them. In addition, the exchange between the stable owner and the disciples went exactly how Jesus predicted. However, because there is no money exchanged, I will argue that this exchange was not pre-arranged. I will argue that it was pre-ordained.
Pre-ordained. Yes. Jesus was always led by the Holy Ghost. Who else was led by the Holy Ghost? The stable owner. When told that ‘the Lord’ had need of the animals, he quickly acquiesced. Was he prompted by the Holy Spirit? Undoubtedly. Remember what we talked about previously. After the resurrection of Lazarus, many more people in Jerusalem believed on Christ. In that no man can come to Christ except he is drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit, the fact the stable owner willingly gave his beasts to the disciples when they identified themselves with Jesus indicates that he knew who Jesus was, that he agreed with their designation of Jesus as, “the Lord”, and that Jesus and His disciples could be trusted. He knew he could take Jesus at His Word. Doesn’t that sound like a believer? Someone who has trusted Christ? Someone who knows that Christ’s Word is good. Finally, the stable owner exhibits a key characteristic of a believer. Everything he has is available for the Lord’s use. Is it too difficult to believe that the Holy Spirit is orchestrating all of the events heading into this Holy Passover celebration?
I was discussing this with a good friend, Deacon Wright. We were reminded of the stories of people during the Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s who opened their homes to the leaders of the movement as they traveled through the South. In many cases, white-owned hotels were closed to prominent leaders. In some cases, they were denied access to public transportation. It was the many, unacclaimed, black citizens in the various communities throughout the South who opened their homes and their hearts to the leaders who were the point of the spear. Those open homes, warm home-cooked meals, and willing drivers undergirded and powered the Civil Rights movement to success. They simply followed the example of an unnamed stable owner who lent his meager resources to a movement orchestrated by Heaven.
Matthew 21:4-5 NLT
4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,[a]
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.”
Matthew takes an aside here to speak specifically to his target audience; the Jews. His reasoning is to convince them, his fellow countrymen that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. More specifically, Matthew sought to prove from the scriptures that Jesus of Nazareth was the rightful heir to the throne of David, the everlasting throne promised to David by God. Let me take an aside here to further elaborate on the thrust of each gospel individually. Ezekiel prophesied the coming of the four Gospels, the four faces of Jesus in the very beginning of his writing about the vision he was given of the four living beings from Heaven, each with four faces.
Ezekiel 1:10 NLT
10 Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back.
Matthew wrote of Jesus as ‘The Lion of Judah”, Heir to the everlasting throne promised to David by God. Notice that his genealogy of Christ stops at Abraham. His goal was to prove that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and to David.
Mark wrote of Jesus as the ox, a servant. His message was to the gentiles. Notice that he does not offer a genealogy. Why? Because the genealogy of a servant doesn’t matter. Mark was probably a black man from Africa, specifically the area of Cyrene, now known as Libya. He carried the Gospel to the African continent and eventually became the first Bishop of the Church at Alexandria, in Egypt.
Luke wrote of Jesus as a man. Luke’s addressed both of his letters; The Book of Luke and The Book of Acts to a certain Theophilus, thought to be a high-ranking Roman official. His message was to all peoples (gentiles), much like Mark. Only he and Matthew provide genealogies of Christ in their writings. Luke’s genealogy of Christ goes all the back to Adam, then to God, thus linking all of mankind to God through Christ.
John wrote of Jesus as an eagle, connecting Him directly to Divinity. John’s primary audience were the Jews. He too sought to prove the identity of Christ as the Messiah through the scriptures. The genealogy John’s genealogy reads like this, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2 NKJV
Zechariah 9:9-11 NLT
9
Rejoice, O people of Zion![d]
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,[e]
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.
10
I will remove the battle chariots from Israel[f]
and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
and your king will bring peace to the nations.
His realm will stretch from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates River[g] to the ends of the earth.[h]
11
Because of the covenant I made with you,
sealed with blood,
I will free your prisoners
from death in a waterless dungeon.
Matthew borrowed from the Book of Zechariah to make his argument to his fellow Jews. Further examination of the passage in Zechariah provides further illumination as to the significance of the prophecy of Zechariah. Many will ask” what’s the significance of Jesus riding in on a foal of a donkey. First, it fulfills the express description of the Messiah, as the One who would come riding into Jerusalem on a foal. Second, verse ten speaks of God removing the horses of war from Jerusalem. This speaks of a king who will bring lasting peace, not war. No weapons, only celebration. The victory has already been secured. The image of the king riding a foal evoked feelings of everlasting peace. Matthew sought to prove that Jesus, riding triumphantly into Jerusalem, heralded a coming of everlasting peace.
Matthew 21:6-7 NLT
6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
The disciples took off their cloaks and made a saddle for the Master. What will you surrender to the Lord? The answer is… anything that is required in the moment, isn’t that right? Would you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and surrender a prized possession to the Lord? Isn’t that also a component of discipleship? After all, If the Lord requires it, won’t He repay recompense? Can’t Jesus be trusted? Can you trust him? Do you?
Matthew 21:8 NLT
8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
2 Kings 9:12b-13
12b So Jehu told them, “He said to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you to be king over Israel.’” 13 Then they quickly spread out their cloaks on the bare steps and blew the ram’s horn, shouting, “Jehu is king!”
1 Maccabees 13:51
51 On the twenty-third day of the second month,* in the one hundred and seventy-first year, the Jews entered the citadel with shouts of praise, the waving of palm branches, the playing of harps and cymbals and lyres, and the singing of hymns and canticles, because a great enemy of Israel had been crushed.
((1 Maccabees is regarded as an Apocryphal record that provides a strictly historical account of Jewish rebellion against Rome 200 years before the time of Christ))
Revelation 7:9 NLT
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar,
“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
and from the Lamb!”
“King me!”
There is a declarative term on the board game of checkers that one opponent makes to the other when he has successfully commandeered a path across the checkerboard from one side to the other. At that point, that game piece is elevated to a new status within the game. That checker is elevated to the office of ‘King’, whereupon it becomes a ‘super checker’, if you will, that is able to traverse the entire board in all directions at will. When a player has a checker that assumes the position of ‘king’, he shouts to his opponent, “King me!”. Per the rules of the game, his opponent must place a crowning piece on the checker in question, acquiescing to his opponent and acknowledging the ‘authority’ of the newly crowned piece within the auspices of the game.
Matthew 21:9 NLT
9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God[d] for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!”[e]
In all of this, Jesus is making a declarative statement. His defiant entry into Jerusalem is a proclamation that Jesus is entering victoriously, demanding that His opponents, the religious leaders based in Jerusalem acknowledge that he is their …King! And He had help. As I stated earlier, most of the peoples of Galilee, Nazareth, Samaria, and the regions of the plains north of Jerusalem have generally acknowledged that Jesus was Messiah. And now it seems that His supporters in Jerusalem and the area of Judah are ready to come to the fore in their visible and vocal acknowledgment of Christ as Messiah. Public opinion has swung definitively toward the consensus that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. The crowd is awaiting Jesus with open arms. His entry into Jerusalem is met by more enthusiastic followers who shed their garments and spread them on the path ahead of Jesus; an act of submission acknowledging His lordship. Still, others are cutting down palm branches and spreading them before Him in celebratory fashion customary to the Jews when they celebrated a great victory. Everybody is shouting in praise lifted toward Heaven. Certainly, we will all have an opportunity to participate in such a celebration when we celebrate the Lamb before the Throne of God.
Matthew 21:10-11 NLT
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
At the sight of Jesus and of all of the procession surrounding Him, all of Jerusalem was swept into upheaval. The normal population of Jesus’ day was 10,000 people or so. During these Holy celebrations, especially the Passover, that population swelled to 50,000 people or more. As Jesus and the Hosanna procession enter Jerusalem, the observers from the crowds could be divided into three distinct groups:
Jews from the city of Jerusalem, 2. Jews from Israel proper, particularly the men of Israel who were commanded to come to Jerusalem, both by the Mosaic Law and Rome, which required the payment of taxes at the time. 3. Jewish pilgrims or expatriates who lived in foreign lands, returned to Jerusalem from afar in order to celebrate and worship with their families and friends in Jerusalem.
It stands to reason then, that the Jews from the areas within Israel, but outside of Jerusalem would be Jesus’ most ardent supporters. When questions arose about the meaning of this impromptu procession, it would make sense that the people from the regions of Samaria would be the most ardent in their support of Christ. His fame in those regions was boundless. Both the citizens of Jerusalem and the Jews making the pilgrimage into Jerusalem were then caught up in the wave of entheos, fueled by the Holy Spirit, as they all celebrated the Triumphal Entry of the King of Peace!
Beloved, as we enter this Holy Passover season, may you enjoy this time of celebration with the members of your faith community as we remember and celebrate the victory that we share in Christ, the Lord.
Selah,
wb
Closing Reflections:
Matthew 16:13-17 NLT
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”
15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[d] the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John,[e] because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.
Revelation 7:9 NLT
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar,
“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne
and from the Lamb!”
I love this lesson. Wayne eloquently explains these pieces of history in a way that can be comprehended. He also makes the lesson pertinent to today's times and events.
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