Bulletins - New Life Bible Fellowship Church

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- - Psalm 118:21–26NKJV
All Glory, Laud, and Honor
Hosanna Loud Hosannas
- - Psalm 79NKJV
Introduction:
As we enter what is referred to as “Passion Week”, beginning with Jesus’ Triumphal entery into Jerusalem, and ending with his glorious resurrection, our desire is that you will become mesmerized by the events of that week and how they forever changed the course of humanity. The fear is that every year it is the same messages, and though we believe them to be important, we become almost numb to the spiritual reality and instead allow ourselves to be entangled with bunnies, and eggs, and ham dinners. The truth is, without the events we are about to unpack in the three sermons of our passion week series entitled, Joy From Sorrow, we might as well close our churches, burn our bibles, and eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. For, without these events, the human race is on a collision course with death with no hope for anything beyond the grave.
However, praise the Lord, those events did happen, and as we review them one by one, we will see that what began with great sorrow, ended up with an explosion of immense joy where the glory of God is indelibly cast in our hearts and minds. So we will begin our series, this morning, with a look at the Preparation for Joy, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, and is declared to be the Son of David. What does that have to do with the events of Passion Week? Let’s look together at that this morning from Matthew 21:1-11.
Text: Matthew 21:1-11
Matthew 21:1–11 ESV
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Main Idea: Because Jesus, the God-Man, is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, we must acknowledge him as both Lord and Savior.
Background:
The manner and process of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem would have been very much understood in that culture of that day. From both Israel’s history, and Roman history, when a conquering king returned from battle, the people in the city would leave the city and go to meet him, aligning his pathway with their clothing, and escort him back into the city with both a forward guard and rear guard, in symbolic protection, declaring him to be their sovereign ruler.
To the Jews, this was even a greater acknowledgment, in that, they were waiting for their Messiah to overthrow their captors. The setting of this event was enveloped in two of Israel’s great feasts, the feast of Tabernacles, commemorating God’s provision of them in their wilderness journey, and the feast of passover, remembering the tenth plague of Egypt when the death angel passed over the homes in Israel where the blood of the lamb was applied to the doorways, but killed the first born of all those who did not apply the blood.
It was Jesus final entry into Jerusalem, and the time had come to remove all doubt, and expose his true identity, and implement his purpose ( Lk 9:51)
Luke 9:51 ESV
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
So we begin with the...
I. The Preparation (1-7)
You will note that the triumphal entry into Jerusalem was not a verbal discourse by Jesus, but a display of fulfilled prophecy, a living epistle, for all to see, that he, Jesus, was the messiah, the one they had been waiting for.
A. The Preparation of the Disciples (1-3, 6-7)
Prior to his entry into Jerusalem, Jesus prepared his disciples for this final stage of his earthly ministry, and for the third time he reminds them (Matt 20:17-19):
Matthew 20:17–19 ESV
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
(1-3) Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” -
(1) Bethphage - traditionally located less than a mile east of Jerusalem on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus had been in Bethany (according to Mark, Luke and John’s account, which was near Bethphage), the place where Mary and Martha lived, and where Mary had anointed Jesus feet with perfume, and also where their newly raised-from-the-dead brother Lazarus lived.
(2) Jesus, in his divinity, was able to know and command his disciples to do something that may have seemed a bit strange to them, however, when compared alongside the quoted prophecy from Zechariah 9, it made good sense.
(3) Also note that Jesus plainly refers to himself as the Lord, the sovereign orchestrator of these events.
(6-7) The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. - note the obedience of the disciples
They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
the donkey and the colt. Matthew alone mentions two animals. Having the mother donkey move alongside her unbroken colt would be the best way to calm it during the noisy entrance into Jerusalem.
The fact that It had never been used (Luke 19:30) made it fit for a sacred purpose (Num. 19:2; 1 Sam. 6:7).
put on them their cloaks (gesture of honor reserved for royalty) - The clothing evidently served as a saddle. The clothes on the road also formed a triumphal carpet (like rolling out the red carpet).
B. The Preparation from Scripture (4-5)
As we will see, the scripture is replete with references to this blessed event…
(4-5) This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
This [took place] (ginomai [per, act, ind] - come into a state of being) to fulfill (pleroo [aor, pas, sub] - complete; snapshot showing what it would look like when finished) [what was spoken] (eipon [aor, pas, par]) by the prophet - this prophesy that was declared by the prophet was looked at as if it already took place.
Matthew specifies that Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem upon a colt fulfills the prophecy of Zech. 9:9. Jesus’ action is an open declaration that he is the righteous Davidic Messiah, for the prophecy says, “your king is coming to you.”
Zechariah 9:9 ESV
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
but, their King, their Messiah, was unlike any other, since the donkey was the animal of a man of peace. A conquering king would ride a horse, therefore, if Jesus was the military leader they were seeking, he would not be riding on a donkey. The people seemed to have recognized the kingship part, but not the humble, and mounted on a donkey part, with its emphasis on peace. Remember our Christmas passage from Isaiah 9:
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
First and foremost, Jesus was the one that would bring peace between God and man. Without peace with God, there would never be peace with man.
Remember that the hostilities that we have towards one another are symptomatic of the hostility we have against the authority and power of the eternal sovereign God!
Romans 5:1 ESV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:14–16 ESV
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Matthew could also be alluding to Gen. 49:8–12, where Jacob prophesies about a kingly descendant of Judah whose rule will extend to the nations.
Genesis 49:8–12 ESV
8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
The first line of the OT quotation, however, is from Isa. 62:11 and uses the phrase daughter of Zion to refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. and on a colt can also mean “even on a colt”
Isaiah 62:11 ESV
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”
II. The Declaration (8-9)
A. The Declaration of the Symbols (8)
(8) Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Most of the crowd
spread their cloaks on the road - Cloaks on the road symbolized the crowd’s submission to Jesus as king (cf. 2 Kings 9:13).
and others
cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road - Branches (palms) symbolized Jewish nationalism and victory (see John 12:13). They were connected with prominent Jewish victories (e.g., 1 Macc. 13:51) and with the Festival of Tabernacles; palm motifs were common on both Jewish coinage and synagogue decoration.
Palm branches (Palm branches were called "Hosannas", signifying victory that the king would accomplish) - in this case, the victory would be won over the evil tyranny of sin and death, conquering Satan and appeasing the wrath of his father.
B. The Declaration of the People (9)
(9) And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Hosanna: "Save, now" (Ps118:25-26)
Psalm 118:25–26 ESV
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Note that Ps. 118, called a Hallel Psalm, was sung at Passover and considered a Messianic Psalm.
Why would they think this was the time? (Jn 12:1, 17-18 )
John 12:1 ESV
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
From John’s version of the triumphal entry we find the following words:
John 12:17–18 ESV
17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.
Son of David: The right to be King (Is 9:7)
Isaiah 9:7 ESV
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord - The name of God always denotes:
Authority of God
Attributes of God
Approving signature of God
However, with all the excitement and public acclaim about Jesus, sadly, the crowd seemed to be caught up in a mob frenzy and was not truly convinced that Jesus was indeed the messiah as we see next:
III. The Confusion (10-11)
In all the excitement of that morning, we note that words alone, even correct ones, are not enough to convince the heart regarding truth, for there was…
A. The Confusion of the City (10)
(10) And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?”
when he entered Jerusalem - that which had began several miles outside the city, ended with the city of Jerusalem, King David’s city, wondering what had just happened, causing…
the whole city was stirred up - this was never meant to be a private event, but that all would witness the coming of their Messiah, but they were clueless…
saying, “Who is this? - the bewilderment of those who had gathered for the passover, and celebrating the feast of tabernacles; those who knew the Old Testament scriptures, and have heard their religious leaders teach regarding the coming of their messiah, were somehow caught off guard when he actually came.
B. The Confusion of the Crowds (11)
(11) And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
the crowds said - the crowds, a subset of the city, contextually were probably those who had followed Jesus into Jerusalem, had seen him raise Lazarus, and may have over the past three years, heard him teach and heal the sick, they were quick to proclaim…
“This is the prophet Jesus…” - Although Moses had predicted the coming of a “prophet like me,” to whom “you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15–18; see note on John 6:14),
Deuteronomy 18:15–18 ESV
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
The children of Israel were terrified to come into the presence of God, so God prophesied through Moses that he would come to them, in the God-Man, Jesus, the Messiah.
However, there is no indication that the crowds here in Jerusalem recognized Jesus as that prophet. But why? I believe because he was…
“…from Nazareth of Galilee.” - considered to be a small insignificant town, but one in which Jesus should had been heralded as the Messiah since much of his earthly ministry was done in Galilee.
This “prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee” was the One, therefore, who was being enthusiastically proclaimed on this, his last Sunday on earth before the crucifixion, as being “the Son of David, the Blessed One, coming in the name of the Lord,” that is, not only at God’s command but as God’s voice to the people he was declared by this event.
So, although this should have been an occasion of unspeakable, sustainable Joy, this preparation for joy would have to endure the ultimate sorrow of the crucifixion which we will look at this coming Friday night at 7:00.
So What?
What is your understanding of who Jesus is? Is he like a good luck charm that you hang on to hoping that he will bring you peace and prosperity?
The crowds in Jesus day certainly did. They were willing to proclaim him as King, as long as he brought about prosperity and the conquering of their enemies. They we easily caught up in the mob frenzy of declaring him as their King, when in fact, 5 days later they would again be caught up in a mob frenzy crying “Crucify Him”.
Jesus certainly was their King and Messiah, but not the one they wanted.
Do we indeed realize that the peace and joy we all long can only be found in knowing what Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, came to do?
This we shall look at on Good Friday evening when we unpack the “Endurance of Joy” from Isaiah 53.
If you are here this morning and can’t wait until Friday, let me say that the scripture makes it clear that we do not have peace with God, but instead, are under the judgment of God for our sin and rebellion against him. But God the Father sent his son, Jesus to this earth to take on flesh like ours, as the one-and-only God-Man, in order to go to the cross and have our sins laid on him, the innocent dying for the guilty. As a result, if we repent of our sin and put our trust in what Jesus did on the cross, we can receive forgiveness of sins and become a child of God. The scripture says it like this:
Romans 10:9–10 ESV
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
- - Matthew 21:1–11ESV
- - Luke 9:51ESV
- - Matthew 20:17–19ESV
- - Zechariah 9:9ESV
- - Isaiah 9:6ESV
- - Romans 5:1ESV
- - Ephesians 2:14–16ESV
- - Genesis 49:8–12ESV
- - Isaiah 62:11ESV
- - Psalm 118:25–26ESV
- - John 12:1ESV
- - John 12:17–18ESV
- - Isaiah 9:7ESV
- - Deuteronomy 18:15–18ESV
- - Romans 10:9–10ESV
- - Romans 10:13ESV
All Hail King Jesus

Psalm 118:21–26NKJV

Psalm 79NKJV

Introduction:

Text: Matthew 21:1-11

Main Idea: Because Jesus, the God-Man, is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, we must acknowledge him as both Lord and Savior.

Background:

I. The Preparation (1-7)

A. The Preparation of the Disciples (1-3, 6-7)

B. The Preparation from Scripture (4-5)

II. The Declaration (8-9)

A. The Declaration of the Symbols (8)

B. The Declaration of the People (9)

III. The Confusion (10-11)

A. The Confusion of the City (10)

B. The Confusion of the Crowds (11)

So What?

Matthew 21:1–11ESV

Luke 9:51ESV

Matthew 20:17–19ESV

Zechariah 9:9ESV

Isaiah 9:6ESV

Romans 5:1ESV

Ephesians 2:14–16ESV

Genesis 49:8–12ESV

Isaiah 62:11ESV

Psalm 118:25–26ESV

John 12:1ESV

John 12:17–18ESV

Isaiah 9:7ESV

Deuteronomy 18:15–18ESV

Romans 10:9–10ESV

Romans 10:13ESV