The Two Triumphal Entries of Matthew 21

Transcript

x make my yearly trip to to uh Boston or x Doon uh it's good to see so many people x and um yeah I'm happy to share some x thoughts with you this evening uh my my x write up for Brother Steve was kind of x wasn't as eloquent as many of the other x Brethren right up that's because I I x this is the title I wanted make is great x again but I realize that if this goes x online that might um provoke a lot of x different x thoughts um and it really isn't about x politics as I mentioned it's about two x different ways of x approaching um each day approaching um x neighbors x approaching um situations in our lives x and so that will come out but this does x does come out this idea of make Israel x great x again x um it's really about the two entries x into x Jerusalem and I guess this talk would x have been um better suited for maybe x what people call Palm x Sunday um but we you have an election x coming x up x and the way of Rome I'm going to call it x the way of Rome uh as as you will see x that will make sense later is something x that's that's really put before people x um the way of violence the way of anger x the way of um aggression in order x to in order to achieve x something and I know I don't know how x you guys feel down in the United States x but in Canada we're we're always nervous x about uh and more so these days about x American elections because you know x we're your little neighbor um and when x something happens to x America uh it can affect Canada x sometimes it's referred to as the United x States is the elephant and we're the x mouse and when the elephant rolls over x the mouse gets squished so we're we're x keenly interested in what's going on in x the x states uh and and you know it's going to x be very interesting over the next couple x of of weeks and I'm sure there's a lot x of anxiety about it um and so this x hopefully will get us to focus on on x some things that are more important than x this x election um and this really came out of x a discussion I heard online and there's x a pastor and another an interviewer and x they were discussing some of these x things and uh I haven't been able to x find the discussion again since um but I x was writing down some notes and I sort x of expand on those notes x um that we're going to discuss and it x all comes out of Matthew chapter 21 x which we just x read um oh let me just click on x this and there's this idea that came out x uh I think primarily from this book x called the last week by John Dominic ran x and Marcus bour and you can find a lot x of people referencing this book online x as they talk about two triumphant x triumphal entries into x Jerusalem x um and it's this idea that there are x that when Christ was coming into x Jerusalem pilate would have been coming x to into Jerusalem as well uh that week x perhaps the same x day um and wouldn't it have been amazing x if it was happening at exactly the same x time so here here's what they write it x says there were two possessions entered x Jerusalem on a spring Day in the year 30 x one was a peasant procession the other x an imperial procession from the East x Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of x Olives cheered by his followers on the x opposite side of the city from the West x Pontius Pilate the Roman governor of x iduma Judea and Samaria entered x Jerusalem at the head of a column of x Imperial Cavalry and x soldiers Jesus's procession proclaimed x the kingdom of God Pilates proclaimed x the power of x Empire so two processions coming in from x opposite sides of the city one is Jesus x and that's the one we read of in Matthew x chapter 21 but there would have been at x some point in time around that same time x another one and pilate would have been x leading that and that's the one we're x going to look at first Pilot's entry and x as I say what could it have been the x same day the same time that would just x be perhaps too perfect x um and so this is brought out people um x obviously have have heard of this x there's a Steve Thomasson he has a x cartoon Bible and he has an online um x website you can go to where he talks x about his drawings and what he was x thinking when he was going through them x and and and sometimes some of his x thoughts are pretty x interesting but these are the drawings x he has in the the cartoon Bible of these x two x processions um and you sort of you know x it's cartoonized or however you want to x say it it's in cartoon form but it sort x of brings across sort of that the idea x of these two sides coming together and x he has a little bit of a commentary on x his you know Jesus was the crossbearer x and Rome pilate were the cross x makers um but the idea is pilate didn't x live in x Jerusalem uh yeah pilate didn't live in x Jerusalem he lived in cesaria maritima x so he was by the Sea most of the time x and as we know his job was to maintain x with an iron fist control over Jerusalem x and and the area around x Jerusalem and so if there was going to x be a huge Gathering of people it was his x job to make sure they knew knew that x there was not going to be any funny x business there wasn't going to be any x revolts any rebellions and he was going x to be there to make sure nothing x happened um and not only that we know x that at this time with these two entries x it was the Passover so I've heard x estimates of a million two million Jews x coming into this area heightened x emotions uh a national Zeal and what are x they doing during Passover they're x reflecting on a x time when they came out from under the x control of another powerful Nation so x this is a time when they're looking back x and we came out from under under the x Egyptians under pharaoh and we you know x we came into a into x Freedom um we came out from under x foreign oppression and so pilate had to x be there and he had to communicate by x his presence power and control and so x here's another section from that book it x says traditionally pilate paraded into x Jerusalem on the first day of the x Passover week entering the west x gate and you see that with the red x arrow um which is the front gate on a x mighty x warhorse with Legions of Chariots horses x and foot soldiers dressed for battle and x armed with swords and x Spears Rome's Authority would not be x questioned the Majesty with which pilate x enters the front door of the city was x meant to inspire awe and fear respect x and obedience and so that's from that x book that I referenced earlier and the x message this is important the message is x the way to win in this world is and the x way to have sway or influence or power x over people is you need Force you need x power um you need perhaps violence if x necessary it's that idea of Might makes x right and so what would the response of x the Jews have been at that x time you know they don't have the power x but they would have probably been x thinking something like like this you x just wait until our Messiah comes and x then he's going to make Israel great x again you know when when our Messiah x comes he is going to destroy x you and you have to believe that the x only way they could x imagine their Messiah coming and getting x rid of getting rid of Rome Rome with all x their chariots and centurions and swords x and shield s and power the only way is x through x Force Through Force Through x violence um through Power that's how x they I imagine in the mind of the Jew at x that time that would be what they were x thinking we need someone with x Supernatural power who's going to defeat x them and so the Jews were looking for a x political um a political Deliverance a x material Deliverance they were going to x take back their x city um they definitely were x not for the most part looking for a x spiritual Deliverance at least not the x the kind that they were going to x get and so this is sort of the attitude x or the ideology that if you want x something you have to fight for it uh x with power and control and x aggression and so's let's just look at a x couple places to to maybe bring out that x idea that this is what the Jews were x waiting for so if we go to Luke chap x 24 after Jesus had had died and was was x risen and x uh the two men are on the road to Emmas x and in verse 21 uh actually I'll read x verse I'll start at verse x 13 of Luke 24 it says Now Behold two of x them were traveling that same day to a x village called emus which was 7 miles x from Jerusalem and they talked together x of all things that which had happened so x it was while they conversed and reasoned x that Jesus himself Drew near and went x with them but their eyes were restrained x so that they did not know him and he x said to them what kind of conversation x is this that you have with one another x as you walk and are x sad then the one whose name was Copus x answered and said to him are you only a x stranger in Jerusalem and have you not x known the things which have happened x there in these days and he said to them x what things so they said to him the x things concerning Jesus of Nazareth who x was a prophet Mighty indeed in word x before God and all the people and how x the chief priests and our rulers x delivered him to be condemned to death x and crucified him now here's the point x but we were hoping that it was was he x who was going to redeem x Israel indeed besides this today is the x third day since these things have x happened and x so they had hoped that he was the one to x redeem x Israel um oops and I was looking up in x vines that this word redeemed and it x says in the natural sense of x delivering in Luke 24:21 the setting x Israel free from the Roman x yoke and so that's what Vines is saying x when they're talk about to redeem Israel x they're saying we wanted we thought we x hoped that he was the one who was going x to break the Roman yoke that was our x hope so you get a sense that that that's x what they were looking x for um here's another x example from Matthew chapter 20 if you x don't mind we'll just turn there just to x get the x context and I'm sure we know all these x things we've thought about them before x uh Matthew chapter 20: 20 through 21 it x says then the mother of zebedee's sons x came to him Jesus with her sons kneeling x down and asking something from x him and he said to her what do you wish x and she said to him grant that these two x two sons of mine may sit one on your x right hand and the other on the left in x your kingdom so she wants for her sons x and they obviously wanted as well uh x they want positions of authority in x Jesus's x Kingdom um and when Jesus asked them do x you you do not know what you ask are you x able to drink the cup that I'm about to x drink and be baptized with the baptism x that I am baptized with and they said to x him we are able so it's not just moms x there they're there we can handle this x we want to be on your left and right in x your kingdom and I'm sure in their minds x that kingdom was coming soon the Romans x were going to be x gone and they wanted positions x now U what type of leadership would x James and John have provided for x Christ well if we go to Luke Chapter n x we see what was in their heart at the x time x and in Luke chapter x 9 UM verses start at verse x 51 it says now it came to pass when the x time had come for him to be received up x he steadfastly set his face to go to x Jerusalem and sent Messengers before his x face and as they went they entered a x village of the x Samaritans uh to prepare for him but x they did not receive him because his x face was set for the journey to to x Jerusalem x and when his disciples James and John x saw this they said Lord do you want us x to command fire to come down from heaven x and consume them just as Elijah x did this is that way power aggression x Force if we want to get things done this x is the way to do it they're not x listening to us let's bring down fire x and Destroy x them and so Jesus says to them uh verse x 55 but he turned and rebuked them and x said you do not know what manner of x spirit you are of for the son of man did x not come to destroy men's lives but to x save them um I forget what version I x wrote this down from but it says you x don't realize what your hearts are x like so there's another example of of x this idea that let's make Israel great x again and we can do it by breaking the x Roman yoke we can do it by Force by by x taking x control and so that's the the passage x there and we also know from John x 6:15 um that Jesus had to escape at one x point because they wanted to make him x king x um it says therefore when Jesus x perceived that they were about to come x and take him by force and make him King x he departed again to the mountain by x himself alone so there's this x anticipation that we can make Israel x great x again x um now what about what about x today so I'm going to call this the way x of Rome the way of if you have enough x power if you have enough x Force if you scream the loudest if you x make the most noise you'll get your way x and so we do see it in modern politics x and we think about Russia right now we x think about the Middle x East um the way of Rome is is the way x you settle x things um in that map there is I just x found this online it's it's a list of x all the ongoing armed conflicts in the x world right now and some of them are as x we know Wars between nations some of x them are civil wars some of them the one x in Mexico is I think um the war on drugs x and on gangs but you can just see that x the world is x filled uh on a political level with the x way of x Rome uh we could look at home I put down x January 6 x 2021 which I'm sure you all know what x happened on that day but it was the idea x that let's take x over um we would call it Parliament what x you call the capital uh we'll use x force uh if we have a enough people we x can make this x happen but we don't even see it there we x see it even in in places of employment x um you know I talked to my my kids uh x who have had jobs one made sandwiches at x Subway and my daughter she worked as x a um a cashier at a grocery store and x there there's they tell stories of x customers who come in who yell and x scream over the silliest things but x that's the the way they feel they get x things done uh that's the way they feel x um you you get Authority or power over x somebody uh and sometimes we know that x it it can get x violent uh in community community x organizations the same thing can happen x if you've ever been um a part of a x sports team there are parents who feel x that yell and scream and threaten and x your kid will get more playing time or x you know the referees will back down um x we definitely see it in schools uh x sometimes from the parents quite often x from x students you know the way you can you x can gain control is through Force x aggression and x anger the scary thing is if we start to x see it in ecclesial organizations x whether it's a x committee uh you know um abs x magazines whatever it is if we start to x see anger aggression force in order to x push forward our way and only our way x you know we're we're heading into this x way of x Rome and we have to be on the lookout x for it x um because it it it's not the way of x Christ but if you were to ask x um no we I'll move on from that so I x want to I want to turn now to to to not x look at the the entry from pilate but to x look at the entry into Jerusalem of x Christ uh Jesus's x entry and here we have a x completely completely different attitude x and ideology that Jesus was presenting x so if we go to Matthew chapter 21 again x and there was a lot of details that came x out in Matthew chapter x 21 that x represent that not only represent x Christ's x attitude but also this attitude that x I've talked about of the Jews that were x there at the x time so Matthew chapter 21 and just x we'll look at some of those details x again um and we know that Matthew x chapter 21 when we read verses five uh x verse 5 it says this comes from if you x look in your in your x margin it tells us that this comes from x um as you see up there Zechariah 9: x 9-10 uh this verse that says tell the x daughter of Zion beh behold your x king is coming to you lowly and sitting x on a donkey a Colt the fo of a x donkey so very different than what x Pilot's entry would have been with the x soldiers the x Chariots um the centurions the the x swords all the x weapons lowly sitting on a donkey a Colt x the full of a donkey we just want to x turn to Zechariah Chapter 9 there's a x few more details we're going to look x at so we want to have that passage x open I'm just going to start at verse 9 x it says Rejoice greatly oh Daughter of x Zion shout o daughter of Jerusalem x behold your king is coming to you he is x just and having x salvation lowly and riding on a donkey a x cult the fool of a donkey so we'll just x stop there for a second The Cult of a x donkey so you know what a contrast from x a x warhorse you know a cult perhaps barely x had the the strength to Bear the burden x of x Christ um the words are used uh it says x lowly and that word means to be poor or x Afflicted this is not a power ful by x appearance not a powerful x man x um in verse 10 it x says I will cut off The Chariot from x Ephraim and the horse from x Jerusalem the battle bo b bow shall be x cut off he shall speak peace to the x Nations his Dominion shall be from sea x to Sea and from the river to the ends of x the Earth so there's a few few things in x here that I find x interesting um and I'm not an expert on x that x but here you have the Romans who are in x charge uh all about chariots all about x war x horses and here it says in verse 10 and x I have the NIV up there I will take away x the Chariots from Ephraim and the war x horses from x Jerusalem and the battle bow will be x broken he will Proclaim peace now I x guess you could take that as Christ is x going to be victorious over the Roman x army or you could look at it you know x he's proclaiming peace he's coming in x but he's on he's a king on the Colt of a x donkey he's poor he's lowly he's poor x he's Afflicted what's going on in this x verse wouldn't you expect he's coming on x a mighty steed with Le you know Legions x of of Jews behind him to come and x destroy the Romans x it seems like his victory is very x different than one of violence and x aggression take away the Chariot and the x war horses and the battle vow he's going x to Proclaim peace I also thought it was x interesting this term his rule will x extend from sea to Sea and from the x river to the ends of the Earth and x that's something that a lot of the uh x the Palestinian protest there's this x phrase they keep keep using from River x to x Sea and that that saying from River to x sea is we're going to push the Jews x completely out of the land it's really a x way of Rome sort of a statement violence x yet in Zachariah it says he will x Proclaim peace to the Nations his rule x will extend from sea to Sea and from the x river to the ends of the Earth so you x get this picture of of not violence that x there's some sort of Victory that's x going on here but it's one that that x doesn't x include aggression and x force um and Power in that way I guess x it's a different type of x power now let's let's keep going and x we're going to look at go back to x Matthew chapter 21 and we're going to x look at some three elements of what's x going on in Matthew chapter x 21 all right so we look at these uh x these three elements of Jesus's entry x and what the people are doing and try to x get an idea of where their minds were x with his x entry uh so the first thing we see that x them doing is we'll start at verse six x here so the disciples went and did as x Jesus commanded them they brought the x donkey and the Colt laid their clothes x on them and set him on them and a very x great multitude spread their clothes on x the road x so they're taking their clothes and x they're putting it on the x road so this did x happen back in Second Kings 9 and this x might might give us an idea of what the x people were thinking when they saw Jesus x coming into Jerusalem so if you go to 2 x Kings x 9 this is about the anointing of juu as x king of Israel x so let's see x um so we're told in verse one of 2 Kings x 9 and Elisha the prophet called one of x the sons of the prophets and said to him x get yourself ready take this flask of x oil in your hand and go to ramoth Gilead x now when you arrive at that place look x there for juu the son of Jehoshaphat the x son of nimshi and go in and make him x Rise Up from among his associates and x take him to an inner room x then take the flask of oil and pour it x on his head and say thus says the Lord I x have anointed you King over Israel then x open the door and flee and do not x delay and so when we read on this is x exactly what he does he goes in he x anoints ju who his x King uh if we pick it up in verse 11 it x says then J who came out to the servants x after he had been x anointed his master uh and one one said x to himis all well why did this mad man x come to you and he said you know the man x in his Babel and they said a lie tell us x now so he said thus and thus he spoke to x me saying thus says the Lord I have x anointed you King over x Israel verse 13 then each man hastened x to take His Garment and put it under him x on the top of the steps and they blew x trumpets saying J who is King so here we x have a king who is Anointed and they put x their clothes down so that he can walk x on x them and what do we know about J x who um so they put clothes on the steps x we know that he goes out his whole x mission was to go and destroy the whole x house of Ahab so the first thing he does x is he kills joram in 9 verse 24 and then x in 9:27 he is ahaziah killed and in 933 x he is Jezebel killed in 10:7 he kills x the 70 sons of Ahab and 10:1 the remnant x of the House of Ahab which was all his x chief men his close friends his priests x it says leaving him no x Survivor in Chapter 10: 13 to 14 he x kills all of Jezebel's x sympathizers in chapter 10:1 17 he kills x ahab's family in x Samaria and then in chapter 10: x 25 he kills all the prophets of Baal all x his servants and all his priests that's x what it x says so here we have a x man who was x making Israel great again and how was he x doing it he was doing it by destroying x Ahab and his family and everyone x associated with him he was using aggress x aggression and violence um and I mean x this was directed by God x but x perhaps in Matthew chapter 21 as Jesus x is coming in and all the Jews are under x the Roman yoke and they can't wait to be x delivered and maybe this is our x man and maybe and it's just a suggestion x that they were laying the clothes on the x road and it's referencing back to this x this is the man who's going to come in x with violence and aggression and do the x will of God and get rid of the Romans x so that's just the first thing that x happens is the close on the x road the second one we're going to have x to get out our uh and turn to first x macbes which you probably don't hear too x often in Bible classes but it's in verse x um it says here in verse 8 of Matthew x 21 and a very great multitude spread x their clothes on the road others cut x down branches from trees x and spread them on the road then the x multitudes went on before and those x followed cried out saying um hosana to x the son of David blessed is he who comes x in the name of the Lord hosana in the x highest so they cut down branches uh x these palm x branches um and lay them on the road now x what may they have been thinking when x they're laying down the palm x branches well they may have been x thinking about x what x happened x um in the time of their x oppression about 200 years x earlier and so about 200 years earlier x uh x Antiochus the x fourth x epiphanies uh king of Syria ruled over x the Jews um in the second century BCE he x ruled Judea as a tyrant Tyrant with an x iron x fist x um so he was a a horrible man he was x called epiphanies which means the God's x beloved uh several of the Syrian rulers x received similar titles but a historian x of his time called po x polybius gave him the x epithet x epines instead of epiphanies and EP x means a x Madman so even the historians were of x the time were saying this guy was x insane and they said x it x epines madman was a title more suitable x to the character of this harsh and cruel x King and so he outruled x um here he outlawed Jewish worship x worship of God he sacrificed a pig to x Zeus in the temple x um he would force people to to sacrifice x to foreign x gods and so it was a time when when the x Jews were under um a horrible x Tyrant and then Along came a priest x named Judas x macabus uh and his nickname was the x hammer almost sounds like a x wrestling uh nickname but his nickname x was the hammer and he led a revolt x and actually pushed the seusd Empire out x for about a hundred years so Against All x Odds and this is where we get the um is x it the x the the Hanukkah with the the lights is x that it where they light them and then x the oil lasted longer than they right x yeah x um and so here's I'm just going to um so x it was a miraculous Revolt he made x Israel great again and here's what it x says in 1 mccabes x 13:51 on the 23rd day of the 2 month in x the year 171 there was a great x celebration in the city because this x terrible threat to the security of x Israel had come to an end Simon and his x men entered the fort singing hymns of x praise and thanksgiving while carrying x palm branches and playing Harps symbols x and leers Liars Lear x so perhaps once again just a suggestion x that when the people are coming out x putting the clothes on the road they're x bringing palm branches maybe they're x thinking back to a time here comes x Jesus and we're under the Iron Fist of x Rome and they're remembering Judas x macabus the hammer and we're looking for x the hammer to come in and use force and x violence to regain power to redeem us x and the third thing they did was they x shouted x hosana and the word hosana now this is x from the very credible website x gotquestions.org x uh but you can check it out if you want x hosana is often thought of as a x declaration of Praise similar to x Hallelujah but it is actually a plea for x salvation the Hebrew root words are x found in Psalm 118 :2 which says save us x we pray O Lord the Hebrew words Yasha x deliver save and Ana beg beseech x combined to form the word that in x English is hosana literally hosana means x I beg you to save or please deliver us x um and so you get this picture with x these three things let me go back one x the clothes on the road the palm x branches save us now we beseech you save x us now from the Roman x rule x um and yet a week x later in Matthew chapter 27 we know that x Jesus is is like a sheep being led to x the slaughter or a lamb that is silent x before her shears he did not open his x mouth from my Isaiah 53 he stood before x the crowds a prisoner of Rome with his x life in the hands of x pilate and in Matthew 2027 the people x are given a x choice so there's all this anticipation x that maybe this is the one who's going x to the Messiah who's going to redeem us x and in Matthew 27:1 15 and 16 they're x given a choice now before we get to the x choice think about what Jesus had done x during his his three and a half your x ministry there were many sick who were x healed many sick who were healed they x were blind who received their sight x there were dead that were x raised um paralyzed who could now walk x and these stories would have x spread um and you would x think okay they're going to choose x Jesus uh in Matthew 15 uh sorry Matthew x 27:15 x now at the x feast the governor was accustomed to x releasing to the multitude one prisoner x whom they wished and at that time they x had a notorious prisoner named or called x barabus therefore when they had gathered x together pilate said to them whom do you x want me to release to you barabus or x Jesus who is called x Christ who are they going to pick and we x know the end of the story story of x course x um we know that barabus is mentioned in x all four x gospels in the Gospel of x Luke it says that he was being held for x rebellion and murder keep that in mind a x man of rebellion a man of murder a man x of action of force of aggression of x power um x he represented the way of Rome he x represented what the people wanted they x wanted to get rid of Rome and here we x have Jesus what do we know of Jesus in x Matthew 11:28-30 x he says I'm gentle and lowly of x heart we know that he was a person of x healing of humility of submission he x lived an unhurried x life he preached things like love your x enemies turn the other cheek go the x extra mile and x forgive and so here's this Choice x presented before the people and surely x Jesus would have been chosen you think x of all the lives he impacted the x positive way the ways he he x lived as I mentioned healing blind x paralyzed sick deaf feeding thousands x supporting the x marginalized um he had a completely x different way of making Israel great x again but the people chose barabus and x they didn't just choose x barabus I think what they were choosing x is they were choosing the ways of x barabus the ideology of of Revenge of x insurrection of x force and it was such a x shortsighted selection there was one who x was the image of off offering relief now x even though barabus could do nothing x against the Roman x Powers but Jesus was offering a x permanent x physical mental social and spiritual x relief and x Redemption and so even though Jesus x could have called more than 12 Legions x of x angels He chose to obey he chose to x submit he chose to follow his father's x will x and he did in a x way um get anointed as king that day x didn't he he wore a crown of x thorns he wore a robe of x mockery uh he was elevated not to a x throne but onto a x cross but in doing so he demonstrated to x us the way we must live and I just want x to go to uh First x Peter chapter x 21 um I'm going to start at verse 21 I x put x up uh the main part we want to focus x on um but I'll read from First Peter x chapter 20 uh verse two sorry First x Peter chapter 2 starting at verse x 21 and here it x says for to you for to this you were x called be because Christ also suffered x for us leaving us an example that you x should follow his steps who committed no x sin nor was deceit found in his mouth x who when he was reviled did not revile x and return when he suffered he did not x threaten but committed x himself to him who judges x righteously who himself bore our sins in x his own body on the tree that we having x died to sins might live for x righteousness by whose Stripes you were x healed for you were like sheep going x astray but have now returned to the x shepherd and the overseer of your x souls so we're to follow his steps x follow that example when he was reviled x he did not revile when he suffered he x did not threaten he committed himself to x him who judges x righteously when when you look at the x fruit of the spirit in Galatians x 5 coercion isn't there and violence is x not listed and aggression is not listed x those are the things of the flesh emnity x Strife jealousy fits of angers rivalries x dissensions x divisions but the the fruit of the x spirit is love love joy peace patience x kindness goodness faithfulness x gentleness and x self-control and so what Jesus did by x living that way was he achieved the x greatest Victory and and a victory that x will last x forever uh he he couldn't have done it x the other x way and so just to close we're heading x into a volatile world x um and it could get a lot worse we I x think we know it's going to get a lot x worse um and so how do we navigate x that uh how do we navigate those x situations that we come up to in in in x our lives in our community and our x workplaces um hopefully not in our x ecclesias but there are tensions that x arise well we're given the example by x Christ that we're to chose we're to x choose to follow the Spirit of Christ x and not the ways of x Rome um and