Sermon Tone Analysis

The King of Kings Has Come to Us!

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 21:1-9

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared December 15, 2022)

BACKGROUND:

*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 21, as we focus on one of the greatest wonders of Christianity.

Today's Scripture took place on the day that we call Palm Sunday.

It was the day of the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

And it was a very important moment in the mission of our Lord.

It was important enough to be recorded in all four Gospels, here in Matthew 21, but also in Mark 11, Luke 19, and in John 12. (1)

*By this time, Jesus was less than a week away from the cross.

And one of the most important things to know about this Scripture is that when Jesus Christ went into Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, He was firmly committed to die on the cross for our sins.

Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem to receive praise from His adoring fans.

Jesus rode into the city with His heart firmly fixed on the cross.

Luke 9:51 says: "Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

*As Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He was determined to die for us, and His enemies were making their final plans.

In John 11, the Lord had already raised Lazarus from the dead, -- not after he had been dead 4 seconds, or 4 minutes, but after Lazarus had been dead for 4 days!

It was an astounding miracle of God!

And that was the final straw for the chief priests and Pharisees who hated the Lord.

These wicked men had wanted to kill Jesus for months, but after Lazarus was raised, they made Christ's death a matter of official policy.

*John 11:47-54 tells us that:

47. . . the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do?

For this Man works many signs.

48.

If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.''

49.

And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,

50.

nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.''

51.

Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,

52. and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

53.

Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death.

54.

Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

*When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, He knew that He was riding into the jaws of death.

But Jesus did that out of His love for His Heavenly Father, and for us.

William Barclay explained: "Never in the world's history has there been such a display of magnificently deliberate courage as the Triumphal Entry.

We must remember that Jesus was an outlaw and that the authorities were determined to kill him.

All prudence would have warned him to turn back for Galilee or the desert places.

*If he was to enter Jerusalem at all, all caution would have demanded that he enter secretly and go into hiding.

But he came in such a way as to focus every eye upon himself.

It was an act of the most superlative courage. . .

And it was an act of the most superlative love, for it was love's last appeal before the end.

(2)

*With this background in mind, let's read Matthew 21:1-9, and see what the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem means for us today.

MESSAGE:

*Jesus Christ came down that road 2,000 years ago.

Church: Aren't you glad?

Yes! -- Of course.

But one of the greatest wonders of Christianity is that Jesus has come here too.

By His Holy Spirit, Jesus is here today, just as surely as He rode into Jerusalem long ago.

The King has come for you, and He wants to come to you.

*Peter Marshall was one of the great preachers of the 20th century.

One of the things special about him was his gift to make people aware of the presence of Jesus Christ.

One of Dr. Marshall's best-known sermons was called, "The King Is in the Audience."

He preached it every year on the anniversary of going to the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

And Dr. Marshall would say, "The King is in the audience, walking these aisles or sitting beside you.

You may whisper your own prayer to the King now."

*Heart-searching silence would follow.

One woman said, "We seemed actually to feel Christ beside us, to hear the rustling of His robes."

Christians: We should often feel the presence of the Lord in our lives, because by His Holy Spirit, He is here with us now.

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and He is always with us as believers.

(3)

*What does the Lord's coming on Palm Sunday tell us about His coming to us?

1. FIRST: HE COMES WITH THE GREATEST HUMILITY.

*In today's Scripture we see that Jesus actually humbled Himself enough to need help from people like us.

We see this truth in vs. vs.

1-3, where the Bible says:

1.

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

2. saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.

Loose them and bring them to Me.

3.

And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them.''

*Some scholars think this must have been a pre-arranged plan between Jesus and the owners.

And that's possible, but it's not necessarily true.

The Lord could have given them advanced knowledge through His Holy Spirit, an angel, or a dream.

Also remember from Matthew 17 that Jesus knew there would be a silver coin in the mouth of the first fish Peter caught.

So, it's no stretch that Jesus knew the colt would be right where he needed to be at the right time.

*But Jesus made an astonishing statement in vs. 3.

He told His disciples to tell the owners, 'The Lord has need of them.'"

The Lord needs them?

God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it, the One who couldn't possibly need anything, needed those animals?

*Yes -- through His sovereign humility, the Lord chose to need that donkey.

And through His amazing grace, Jesus has chosen to need us too.

Jesus Christ could have flown into Jerusalem by Himself, or ridden into the city on the wings of angels.

But He chose to need that colt.

He chose to need that young donkey.

And down through the ages, God has chosen to use little things to make a big difference.

*Max Lucado pointed this fact out, when he wrote, "That guy who gave Jesus the donkey on Palm Sunday is just one of the long line of folks who gave little things to a big God.

Scripture has quite a gallery of donkey-givers.

In fact, Heaven may have a shrine to honor God's uncommon use of the common.

It's a place you won't want to miss.

Stroll through and see Rahab's rope, David's sling, and Samson's jawbone.

Wrap your hand around Moses' staff which split the sea and smote the rock to bring forth rivers of water."

(4)

*Church: I also think of the widow's mite, and the little boy's lunch that Jesus miraculously multiplied to feed over 5,000 men, plus women and children.

God used them all.

And now He wants to use us.

Little things in God's Hand can make a big difference: An invitation to church, a heart-felt prayer for a friend in need, a word of encouragement for a wounded heart, even a small offering can make a giant difference forever.

*Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was one of greatest authors of the 20th century.

In 1970, he was awarded Nobel Prize for literature.

But decades earlier, after serving in the Soviet Army during World War II, Solzhenitsyn spent 8 years in a Siberian prison.

He was arrested for writing critical remarks about their Communist dictator Joseph Stalin, even though the criticisms were in a letter to a friend.

*Solzhenitsyn was sentenced to hard labor in one of the camps where millions died from cold, disease, malnutrition, and executions.

During that time, his parents died, and his wife divorced him.

Once, Alexander got so discouraged that he thought about suicide.

He was outdoors, on a backbreaking work detail.