The Coronation of Christ
The Coronation of Christ
Matthew 21:1-11 CEV
When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. 2 He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks why you are doing that, just say, ‘The Lord needs them.’ Right away he will let you have the donkeys.” 4 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, 5 “Announce to the people of Jerusalem: ‘Your king is coming to you! He is humble and rides on a donkey. He comes on the colt of a donkey.’ ” 6 The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. 7 They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees. 9 Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting, “Hooray for the Son of David! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hooray for God in heaven above!” 10 When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?” 11 The crowd answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Introduction
A. Coronations of Old
1. King would be dressed in the most expensive robes and jewels.
2. He would ride in an elaborate carriage and be drawn by the finest horses.
3. He would be accompanied by foreign dignitaries, the nations finest soldiers, and religious leaders.
4. For the grand finale:
a. King would be given a scepter or something else signifying a transfer of power.
b. Musicians would play.
c. The crowd would break into chorus of praise.
Illustration: Queen Victoria coronation of 1838
A. Wore a crown, which contained giant rubies and sapphires.
B. These rubies and sapphires surrounded a 309 carat diamond.
C. Her scepter contained an even larger, weighing 516 carats.
B. The Most Significant Coronation The World Has Ever Seen:
1. Wasn't Queen Victoria
2. It was the true coronation of a true king.
a. He was affirmed as the King of Kings
b. But the coronation contained no splendor or pageantry of the type we have just described.
Coronation of King Jesus
I. The Pilgrimage (21:1a)
A. Jesus Was Making His Final Journey…
1. He had just healed the two blind men in Jericho and now was making His final journey to Jerusalem.
2. He was approaching the end of His three years of ministry and there were multitudes on the road to Jerusalem with Him to celebrate the Passover
1. They had no the Passover lamb Himself was traveling with them!
2. A census taken ten years after this time indicated 260,000 lambs were slaughtered for the Passover…
3. One lamb was generally offered for as many as ten people. This meant there were about 2 million worshippers celebrating the Passover that year...
B. Bethphage Was A Small Village Near Bethany.
1. In the gospel of John we are told that Jesus stop in Bethany to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
2. John 12:1 – "Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead."
3. This would have been Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
4. We are also told in the Gospel of John:
John 12:12 The next day a large crowd was in Jerusalem for Passover. When they heard that Jesus was coming for the festival, 13 they took palm branches and went out to greet him. They shouted, “Hooray! God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord! God bless the King of Israel!”
5. In this we see the first "Palm Sunday" nearly 2000 years ago.
II. The Prophecy (21:1b-7)
A. Jesus Was Always In Control Of The Events Of His Life.
1. He sent into motion the events that culminated in the voluntary sacrifice of Himself on the cross…
2. Notice Jesus knew where the donkey and colt were:
a. And He sent the two disciples to retrieve them, not to search for them!
b. Not only did Jesus know where the donkeys were but He also knew what to have his disciples tell the men (Mark 11:5-6, Luke 19:33 tells us there us there were bystanders - owners) who were watching the donkeys.
B. Jesus Entire Life Was Marked By Two Overriding Purposes:
1. To do His Fathers will…
2. To fulfill the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah's first coming…
The prophecy comes from Zechariah who had predicted 500 hundred years earlier that the people of Jerusalem would hail their Messiah as king as He road into the city, that He would be gentle, and that He would ride a donkey, even a colt of a beast of burden.
a. It doesn't seem appropriate that any king, much less the KING of kings would make His triumphal enter on a donkey…
b. He did not come to slay Israel's enemies but to save all mankind…
III. The Praise (21:8-9)
A. Some Of The Multitude Spread Their Garments Before Jesus (v. 8)
1. It was a ancient custom for the citizens to throw their garments in the road for their king to ride. (2 Kings 9:13)
2. This symbolized their respect for the king and their submission for his authority.
3. It was as if to say "We place ourselves at your feet, even to walk over if necessary."
B. Some Of The Multitude Spread Palm Branches Before Jesus
1. From John we learn that the branches were from palm trees. (John 12:13)
Psalm 92:12—Used to portray the prosperity of the righteous…
“Good people will prosper like palm trees, and they will grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.”
Rev. 7:9—Used as a symbol of victory of the King…
“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 and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell face down before the throne and worshiped God.”