Latest / HBCWestminster / 4.5.20 Matthew 20:17-21:11 Pastor Danny Gardner

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4.5.20 Matthew 20:17-21:11 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:01
  Well, good morning church. We're so thankful you could join us for worship and time of God's Word this morning. If you want to be getting your Bibles ready, you can. We'll be in Matthew in chapter 21. This is Palm Sunday and Communion Sunday. And so we're so thankful that we get to worship even though it's online and we look forward to being in person together. We're thankful that you guys could enjoy this service and worship this morning. Well, if you guys would stand with me in honor of God's Word, we'll be in Matthew 21. Like I said, in our text this morning will be verses 1,
• 0:31
  to 11, the triumphal entry, Palm Sunday. Stand in honor of God's word, if you would. Let me read. We'll pray and begin. Beginning in verse 1 says, Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them, and he will send them at once.
• 1:01
  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. The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
• 1:27
  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. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, who is this? And the crowds said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. Would you pray with me? And Lord, our hearts desire to know you and to be known by you. We ask today that you would speak to us through the preaching of your word.
• 1:58
  Open our ears today to its truths. Illuminate our minds to understand. And God, we ask that you would incline our hearts to obey. We ask again for health and for safety for our families, for our doctors and nurses, for our police and firemen. And we ask for wisdom for our president. Lord, we do not fear in these troubling times because we know the King who resides in our hearts. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.
• 2:28
  amen thank you church you can be seated well it has been my desire and even a dream of mine as long as i've been in ministry to walk with our church through the passion week day by day i have for many years tried to figure out a way to gather the church every day of the passion week
• 2:46
  and to preach those portions of Scripture corresponding to what Christ would have done that same day. It's never logistically worked out. We just couldn't figure out how to meet every day during the Passion Week. But this particular year and its uniquenesses maybe provide us with the opportunity to really study this week and to teach our families exactly what Christ's final days on earth entailed. And so I'm going to post a Bible study video every day this week.
• 3:13
  based on the events of Christ's life, which correspond to the same day of his passion. I would encourage you to use this in any way you see fit in your home. Maybe to set aside a few minutes each morning or evening, make it a part of your regular routine this week, every day this week, to read the passages assigned for that day, and then to watch our short video explanation and application. Let me qualify the study by saying that there is some disagreement, and I understand that.
• 3:43
  Among scholars and theologians as to the exact timeline of the Passion Week, for the purpose of this study, I will adapt Edersheim's timeline in his quintessential book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, which actually includes a silent Wednesday. I'm going to use that timeline knowing and understanding that many authors that I love and respect disagree with me, and that's okay. But church, I would encourage you not to miss the point.
• 4:11
  Don't become entangled in the timeline. The timeline doesn't matter. Christ ended up on the cross. That's what matters. Christ the righteous became sin for us. That's what matters. And no matter what you believe about Wednesday of the Passion Week, everyone agrees that the tomb was empty on Sunday. Amen, church? I'm assuming everybody just said amen.
• 4:38
  And we know that the Bible is a big book, and I actually read quite a bit. Some of you know that about me. And the Bible is still one of the largest books I've ever read. My particular Bible, the one that I use, has 1,252 pages of Scripture in it. And I would bet that I've read less than five books in my entire life that number over 1,000 pages in a single volume. And why do I bring that up? I bring it up because you can determine the importance an author places on an individual
• 5:08
  an event, by how much space they devote to that individual. The week leading up to and ultimately culminating in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is obviously the most important week of his ministry. It was the most important week of his life, as indicated by the disproportionate amount of space that the gospel authors devoted to the Passion Week. For instance, the gospel of John
• 5:36
  devotes 11 chapters, the first 11 chapters, chapters one through 11, four to the beginning of time, chapter one and verse one, in the beginning was the word. He goes from the beginning of time all the way through just a couple of days before Palm Sunday. And so he devotes 11 chapters to eternity past through just a couple of weeks before Jesus is crucified. But then he devotes the next 10 chapters to eight days of Christ's life.
• 6:06
  There are hundreds of pages in both the Old and New Testament describing how the Messiah would fulfill or did fulfill every nuance of God's requirements for mankind. In fact, every page of our Bibles chronicles the Savior making all things new through the crucifixion and resurrection. Robert Culver has said that every single biblical verse is messianic. Every single one has to do with Jesus.
• 6:33
  and his crucifixion and resurrection. And the application must be then that if there is one week of Christ's life that the Holy Spirit desires us to remember, it is the Passion Week. And the Passion Week begins with today, Palm Sunday, Christ's coronation. Do you remember when you were young and you felt like you had something to prove? Many people...
• 7:04
  But especially, it seems like young people feel kind of insecure. And so they at times feel the need to overcompensate with nervous energy. Sometimes young people will become louder and louder in order to cover that insecurity or inadequacy. And about seven or so years ago, Hallie and I, my wife and I, were leading a college Bible study in our home Thursday nights. In fact, we still lead a college Bible study in our home on Thursday nights.
• 7:32
  But this time, about seven years or so ago, we were hosting this college-age Bible study in our home. And our old house sat at the very end of a long cul-de-sac. And so we were at the end of this cul-de-sac. And all of these college kids would come. They would all drive their cars, park along both sides of our street. And at times, at one point, that college Bible study had grown so large, in fact, that often these cars would line both sides of our street and then both sides of several streets, even blocks.
• 7:59
  away. We would have well over a hundred kids sometimes, and especially in the summer coming to our house for worship and teaching. And it got so crowded, in fact, to the point that some of those kids didn't want to walk the several blocks. And so instead would just park or double park, sometimes even triple park on our street. And our neighbors were always very cool about it. They understood what we were doing and they didn't mind.
• 8:22
  One particular night, this young man, and I love him dearly, I still do, but this young man triple parked at the end of our cul-de-sac so that his car actually sat right in the center of that circle at the end of the cul-de-sac. It was right in the center and it looked like a parking lot. All the cars were packed in there, but he stayed an exceptionally long time. In fact, much longer than most of the other kids did. And so by the time he was leaving,
• 8:46
  All of the other cars around his were gone and his car was just parked out in the middle of the street at the end of the cul-de-sac. He came running in after he had gone out to look at his car. He came running back in. He said, Pastor Danny, I need your help. There's a cop out front. He's giving me a ticket right now for parking in the middle of the street. So I came out with him and I talked to this officer who was giving him the ticket. And I said, look, I...
• 9:13
  I understand if you need to give him a ticket, he is parked illegally, but let me just explain to you what I was doing and why he parked the way that he did. It made sense, and I've spoken to all of our neighbors, and nobody has any problem with it. As I was speaking to this young man, this young officer, I realized that he was maybe exceptionally young. He had pulled up in his patrol car. He was wearing his uniform and his badge, but I thought, man, this guy can't be more than 21, 22 years old. It looked like a kid. To me, it just looked like a kid, you know?
• 9:42
  But he was wearing the badge and all of that. I was very respectful toward him. And I said, look, if you need to write him a ticket, that's fine. But I said, I know this young man. And I said, I actually know his dad as well. And if you will let him off with a warning, he'll not park this way again. If you let him off with a warning, I will do this. I will promise to call his dad and let him know. And whatever punishment his dad will exact on him will be far worse than whatever you're going to give him. I promise you that. He will teach him the lesson that needs to be learned.
• 10:12
  I saw this young officer looking down at a citation book, kind of got uncomfortable for a minute, flipped the book closed and then said, fine. And he looked at the young man and he said, don't park that way again. It's illegal. He said, no problem, officer. I'm happy not to do that. But I could tell this young officer was really perturbed. He was bothered by the fact that he felt like I think maybe he was being shown up a little bit. And so he turned around, he walked back to his patrol car. He got in, closed the door.
• 10:39
  And then, and this was the middle of the night, it was probably close to midnight in the middle of my neighborhood. Then, gunned his patrol car and did donuts in the end of my cul-de-sac, in uniform, in his patrol car, was squealing his tires, doing donuts, and then squealed down the street. And I thought, huh, despite the uniform, he was just a kid. A kid that felt like he had something to prove. His badge was bigger than he was.
• 11:11
  And so he felt this need, I think, to show off. Queen Victoria, when she ruled England, she ruled for 63 years. In fact, she was the longest ruling British monarch in history until their current Queen Elizabeth II, who has beaten her by a few years. But when Victoria was coronated in the year 1838, she was crowned with a diamond weighing 300 carats. Now that's about the size of a golf ball.
• 11:41
  Then she was handed a scepter capped with a 500-carat diamond, about the size of a tennis ball. Victoria was actually, when she was born, fifth in line to the throne. But her father and then all of her brothers died, leaving her the heiress to the throne. And when she was crowned at age 18, it was not for her beauty. In fact, she was said to be a disappointment when many of her subjects saw her for the first time.
• 12:10
  One journalist even said of her after seeing her in person, and here's a quote, she is not what I would call beautiful. She must have a strong character. The coronation of a human monarch endows them with authority. Without that coronation, a human king, a human queen would be just like everyone else. The office makes...
• 12:36
  The monarch. And the greater the show, the greater it makes them feel. Human monarchs have something to prove. Because they know that they are smaller than the crown that they wear. But not so with Christ. Notice, as we look at Christ's coronation this morning, the contrast between his being crowned and that coronation, what would be the most important coronation in history?
• 13:03
  And notice the contrast between his and then those of human kings and queens. Palm Sunday is, in essence, the coronation of Christ the King. But there was no pomp. There was no circumstances. There was very little pageantry. He didn't wear costly robes. He was handed no scepter with diamonds on it representing his power.
• 13:30
  power and authority indeed even the heavenly monarchy itself emanated from him it wasn't granted to him but instead came from him he was greater than any crown that could have been given to him don't forget church when we get to heaven we will be issued crowns that will adorn our heads and then we will take those crowns off and throw them at jesus's feet
• 13:59
  The crowns that we will wear on our heads are only worthy of him stepping on. His final journey to Jerusalem in Matthew 21 represents Mark's, the end of his three and a half year ministry. It would be his final public appearance. These swelling crowds accompanying Christ, heralding his name, had no idea that they were actually accompanying him to his death. As they followed him to celebrate the Passover, little did they know that they were accompanying
• 14:30
  the Passover lamb himself. And before we come to the actual event, let's take note of its setting. How did we get to this day? And first, let us note in chapter 20 in verses 17 to 19 that there is no doubt that Jesus understood exactly what he was walking into. Look back, chapter 20 in verse 17 says, and as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took 12 disciples aside.
• 14:59
  And on the way he said to them, 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 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified and he will be raised on the third day. In case there are any who are confused about whether Jesus knew what was going to happen to him, this certainly puts that argument to rest.
• 15:25
  In case there are those, and listen church, there are many, they are everywhere in North Denver where we live. In case there are those who would claim that Christ was the victim of his circumstances, that he didn't know what was coming, that he was simply an ignorant but nice guy, a good teacher, a moral guy, he taught on morality and right and wrong, and he was just kind. He was never a man who would have claimed to bring the sword.
• 15:53
  In case there are those in our region who would believe that, Christ's statement here kind of scuttles that argument. Listen to C.S. Lewis' famous quote. I'm trying here, he says, to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus. That I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.
• 16:19
  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He'd either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he's a poached egg, or else he is the devil of hell himself. And you must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else...
• 16:39
  he was a madman or something even worse. And you can shut him up for a fool. You can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He's not left that option open to us. And indeed, he didn't intend to. There's no doubt that Jesus understood exactly what he was walking into, but there's also no doubt that Jesus' apostles
• 17:08
  had no idea what he was talking about. Look at chapter 20 and verse 20 says, then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons and kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, what do you want? And she said to him, say that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. And Jesus answered, you don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I'm to drink? And they said, we are able.
• 17:33
  He said to them, you will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and my left is not mine to grant. It is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. When the ten heard that, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Whoever would be first.
• 18:02
  must be your slave even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many more than a few times christ predicted his own betrayal and crucifixion in great detail and yet so caught up in the glamour of christ's presence and so ensconced in the thought of their own power at the lord's right hand were his disciples that they could not fathom
• 18:29
  that truth and in fact here we see them even arguing with each other he's just said he's going to be crucified and they begin to ask these request these petty things arguing with one another even sending their mom as their emissary to go and ask we want positions of power one of the things that stand out to me in this passage is the patience of christ despite the ignorance of his followers
• 18:59
  You can imagine how frustrated he could have become with his disciples, but didn't. And I love the grace of God in the patience of Christ. When I was a younger man, and in fact, even in college, getting a Bible degree, I was confronted with many things that I had never really considered before. One of them was what it means to be an actual citizen of heaven. I love the U.S. I love our country. I really do. I believe it to be the greatest country in the world.
• 19:29
  Maybe the greatest country in the history of mankind. But I was troubled by this thought that I'm both a citizen of the United States and a citizen of heaven. And when I was in college, I had a hard time reconciling those two things. Which one do I really pledge my allegiance to? And there was a time where I would even...
• 19:47
  refused to pledge allegiance to the flag. I couldn't do it because I felt like it was betraying my heavenly citizenship. And I remember one time standing next to my dad, and my dad was an extreme patriot. He loved this country. And really, we come even from a military family, and so have generations of men who have served this country and served faithfully. And so he had this kind of nagging burden in his heart. It was offensive to him when I would stand next to him in places and not...
• 20:15
  pledge allegiance. And one of the things that I appreciated about my dad in those moments was his patience with me, not becoming angry with me, just allowing me time to figure it out. And I remember him just thinking, you know what? That's okay, Danny. You'll figure it out someday. One of the men that I respect who has become a spiritual giant in my life.
• 20:42
  would say this phrase very often, and he ministered with young people for a long time. He just said, Danny, don't expect old heads on young shoulders. Don't expect old heads on young shoulders. And here we see the patience of Christ leading up to his very crucifixion. And you can imagine what your own attitude would be.
• 21:03
  I know I'm only a week from being crucified and you would come to me with such silly requests. How can you be so concerned about where you're going to sit? I'm about to go to the cross. And yet Jesus doesn't do that. He doesn't bludgeon his disciples. He's patient with them. And notice, finally, in chapter 20, verses 29 to the end, the burden of the knowledge of his own voluntary murder, right? He knows he's going to the cross, did not dissuade him from doing what he came to do. Look at verse 29.
• 21:33
  It says, as they went out from Jericho, a great crowd followed him. Behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David. The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David. And stopping, Jesus called them and said, what do you want me to do for you? They said to him, Lord, let our eyes be opened. And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight.
• 22:03
  And they followed him. Here we are just days, days from the crucifixion. And yet Jesus says, I am here to serve. The son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And I don't know about you, but I, if I knew that I was only a week from being crucified, I would become so selfish, so self-focused. I wouldn't care what anybody else thought, what anybody else thought of me, what anybody else wanted from me. And yet here we see the servitude of Christ.
• 22:33
  in his final days, still having pity on others. And so that's the context going into the triumphal entry. Those are the days now leading up to it. He's on his way to Jerusalem, and here we see the entry itself, the coronation of Christ in verse 1 of chapter 21. Notice first that the crowd had the right manner. Look at verses 1 to 7. The crowd had the right manner.
• 23:01
  So he's been healing, he's been teaching, he's even taught his disciples about his crucifixion. And now it says, verse 1, when they drew near to Jerusalem, they came to Bethphage to the Mount of Olives. So they're just now one little canyon dip away from the city itself. Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied in a colt with her. Sending these two disciples, and although the death of Jesus was unjust,
• 23:27
  even murderous there was nothing about his own death that was outside of his control here he is orchestrating the events that would have that would come to his own death he is still very much in control i'm reminded of john chapter 10 and verse 18 where jesus says no one takes my life from me but i lay it down i take heart church the crucifixion of christ most certainly seemed
• 23:57
  like an accident to his followers in that moment. They probably felt violated. They probably felt stripped of purpose outside the view of God's loving and caring gaze. And church, I know that our world right now feels out of control. It feels like maybe God has turned his back. God is ignoring our global problems, but take heart.
• 24:27
  There is nothing outside of the control of your Savior. Nothing. Notice in verse 2, he says, you'll find a donkey tied and a colt with her. He says, untie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, in verse 3, you shall say the Lord needs them and he'll send them at once. Now Mark's gospel includes that the owners did indeed ask why the donkeys were being taken. So they did get asked, like, why are you taking our donkeys away?
• 24:57
  Their willingness, eager willingness even to give the animals probably means that those owners were also believers in Jesus. Mark's gospel also includes that the colt had never been ridden. And in fact, it's almost as if this colt had been reserved specifically for Christ. Continue in verse seven. I'm sorry, verses four to seven. It says, 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.
• 25:38
  The prophet Zechariah had predicted this day hundreds of years. In fact, more than 500 years prior to this event. Zechariah 9 and verse 9 is what's quoted in the text. And listen to it from Zechariah's prophecy. He says,
• 25:57
  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. And the Messiah would come into the city in triumph, not because of winning the battle against Israel's enemies, but because of winning the battle against sin. Having salvation is he, Zechariah said.
• 26:21
  By choosing to ride a donkey, Jesus showed that he was not the conquering warrior that people expected. He was not coming in on this glorious white stallion. Instead, he chooses to enter the city with humility as the Lamb of God. So that's first. Notice that the crowd had the right manner. But also notice second, the crowd had the right message. Look at verses 8 and 9. It says,
• 26:51
  cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. More specifically, even than that, they didn't just cut branches, they cut palm branches. And that's why today is called Palm Sunday. Palm branches were and still are plentiful in Israel. Palm branches came to symbolize victory and celebration. If there was a celebration in Israel, they would take those palm fronds and they would wave them in the air. They were in essence, our modern day fireworks.
• 27:19
  That's what they used them as, a celebration. You continue in verse 9. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. Hosanna, it says in the highest. The literal English translation would be save now. Save us now, we pray. Zechariah said he'll come having salvation with him. And now the people are saying, save us. We want that salvation. Hosanna was a term the Hebrews were familiar with.
• 27:49
  It's all through the Psalms and especially in Psalm 118. Hosanna, save now, we pray. They call him in verse 9, the son of David. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And so their belief in Jesus was total. They understood exactly who he was. They understood what he was there to do. They were calling him by the right name. It was a recognition of his legitimate claim.
• 28:14
  to the throne you are the heir to the throne you are the true king of israel ironic that this is the exact charge that would be nailed over his head on the cross a mere five days later not only did the jews understand who he was but even his roman executioners understood he was the true king the son of david
• 28:44
  They finish with blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And this is actually a direct quote from Psalm 118. It's a significant statement since it recognized Jesus was the one they were expecting. The long awaited one, the Messiah was here.
• 29:03
  in front of them and put together this message, the palm fronds, Hosanna, the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. That message that they were communicating would have heard this way. If we were to say it today, they'd be saying victory, celebrate, salvation is here. The long awaited one has arrived. He's bringing salvation and he is the true king of Israel. Notice finally, and with this,
• 29:33
  we conclude that the crowd had the right man. Verses 10 and 11. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying, who is this? And the crowd said, this is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. Jesus of Nazareth. They recognized who he was. They recognized from where he came. This is the one that claimed to be born of a virgin. This is the one.
• 30:06
  Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled better than 300 specific Old Testament prophecies. But where he'd be born, what he would be like, who his parents would be, what kinds of miracles he would do, what response his hearers would have, how he would eventually be treated. They were saying, people were asking, who is this? Verse 11, they were replying with, this is the guy.
• 30:31
  This is the guy. This is the one we've been waiting for. This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth of Galilee. And church, as we consider the coronation of Christ, let us ensure that he has been given the proper place in our hearts. He was crowned the king of Israel, but has he been crowned the king of your life? You know, Jesus is not going to shove himself into first place in your life. He doesn't have to.
• 31:02
  He's not one of those kids, right, wearing the badge that he doesn't have anything to prove. One thing that has stood out to me during the COVID pandemic has been the genuine terror that some people are living under. But church, not believers, not believers. We're not afraid. The reason is because we don't need to be. We know the king that resides in our.
• 31:33
  And if you don't know the Lord as the king of your life, then I would encourage you, I would even ask that you make him so, that you grant him that place in your life and heart, that you make him the king of your life, and he will give you what scripture says is the peace that surpasses all understanding. The peace that you know believers have, that they're not scared, right? That they don't fear, that we don't have a spirit of timidity, but instead of power.
• 32:02
  If you don't know that peace and that power, then I would encourage you to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Conclude with a quote from Sammy Tippett when he says, if I manage much for the king, I'm happy. And if I manage little for the king, I'm happy. If I die on the battlefield for the king, I'm happy. I'm happy simply because I'm a servant of the king. Let me pray. God, thank you.
• 32:30
  for being not only king of this world. God, thank you that we know that you have all things under control. Even your own crucifixion, Lord, was orchestrated by you. And so that we know that what we are going through as a nation, even right now, and as a race, as a human race around the globe, Lord, what we are going through is not outside of your control. You have a purpose for this. We believe that you will be glorified through it. God, we thank you for not only being the king of the universe,
• 33:02
  but offering to become king of our own hearts and lives as well. And Lord, I just pray that we would bow the knee to you, the true king. Lord, if there are any who don't know you as king, that they would offer you their very lives. Lord, we are happy. We are happy because you are our king. What a privilege to be known by you. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.