THE KING IN JERUSALEM (TALK 1/12: THE KING’S ARRIVAL)

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

CONNECT: How can you more intentionally serve as part of the body of Christ?

WARM-UP

1. Do you think that the question, “Who is Jesus?”, is still relevant for today? Why or why not?

READ Matthew 21:1-7

1. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, what are the other places named? Do these places have any particular significance with regard to Jewish expectation? (Try consulting a Study Bible if available.)

2. What was Jesus’ request of the disciples (be as detailed as possible)? What did they do? If you were one of the disciples, how do you think you would have responded to such a request?

3. Re-read verse 5. What is this reference? As Jesus intentionally fulfils this prophecy, what does this tell us about his identity as King? (Try to think about both his purpose and character as King.)

4. How is the role of Jesus as the one who fulfils (i.e., the law and the prophets) central to the Gospel of Matthew? What do you think it means that Jesus is the ‘King who Fulfils’?

READ Matthew 21:8-11

5. What were the crowds shouting? What does this actually mean and how significant is it? 6. How does it point to the Good News that Jesus is the King who rescues? How has he done it? 7. What were the crowds doing? What is the significance of this action? 8. What is meant by the whole city being ‘stirred’? What is so relevant about the question that people ask

in response to Jesus’ arrival? How would you respond to a friend who asks the same question?

READ Matthew 21:12-17 9. What stands out for you in this part of Matthew 21? Why was Jesus so upset by what was happening?

How is this different to a church doing something like selling event tickets in the foyer? 10. How do the religious elite respond? What were they actually expecting Jesus to do? 11. What can the children see that the religious leaders are blind to? Can we ever be like that? 12. What does this episode in the Temple tell us about Jesus identity as the King who both judges and

shows mercy? How is that Good News for us?

APPLY: How might you grow in familiarity with the Matthew’s Gospel leading up to Easter?

PRAY: Heavenly Father, thank you for the Good News that Jesus is the King who fulfils, rescues, and judges. Please help us to see Jesus with a greater clarity, grow in our relationship with him, and so respond faithfully with our lives. Please help us, leading up to Easter, to be grow as Disciples. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU

LIFE TOGETHER

(TALK 1/12: THE KING’S ARRIVAL)

GOING DEEPER RESOURCES On Your Front Line this Week

• Is there a friend with young kids that you could invite along to Colin Buchanan on Saturday 8 Feb? It’ll be full of music, confetti, and the good news of Jesus!

For Families

• The Story of Easter (The Triumphal Entry) www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-39h0xYqdE&t=1s

Listen & Watch

• AUDIO: “Into Jerusalem” by Tim Keller: https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/into-jerusalem-6144/

• AUDIO: “Folly Backfires” by Christopher Ash: https://resources.thegospelcoalition.org/library/folly-backfires

• AUDIO: “Matthew 21:1-11 - God’s King” https://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/talk/7414/

Read

• READ: The Fickleness of the Crowds? https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/preaching-carefully-on-palm-sunday-2/

Other Helpful Resources (For Series)

• BOOK: “Matthew: A Great Light Dawns”: https://bit.ly/37KC8rX

• ONLINE: Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew (Fuller): https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/introduction-to-matthew/

• VIDEO: The Bible Project, Matthew Overview: https://thebibleproject.com/explore/matthew

For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU

TALK 1/12 (THE KING IN JERUSALEM): 01/2/20

“Who is This?” by the Rev’d Adam Lowe

Bible Passage: Matthew 21:1-17

SUMMARY: As Jesus enters into Jerusalem on the road to the cross, he shows us that he is the King who fulfils (the law and the prophets), rescues, judges, and shows mercy. Our

response it to crown him for the King who he is.

In the lead up to Easter this year, we’re taking a closer look at the climactic final days of Jesus’ life, all that takes place between his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Matthew 21, and his death, resurrection, and ascension, right up to Matthew 28.

• We’re going to take these eight chapters over 12 weeks, with the aim that - whatever your starting point might be - that we would see who Jesus is with a greater clarity, that we would understand the significance of all he did and said more readily, and that we would respond with more open hearts to recognise him for the King who he is.

• We want to see, understand, and respond to who Jesus is.

And of course that question, of “who is Jesus?”, is at the heart of Matthew 21.

• We know from here in Matthew, but also John 12, that this was an extraordinary occasion, that as Jesus enters into Jerusalem, there is a sense of the coming together of two crowds: the crowd coming into the city: those who have been with Jesus following him; but also the crowd coming out of the city, from the city, who in effect greet him.

2

• And as these crowds meet, we’re told the whole city is stirred up, the word for ‘stirred’ in the original language is the same root from which we get seismic… This is a big deal! The city is metaphorically earthquaked, and as people’s excitement and longing bubbles up and spills over in praise, there is one question on the hearts and lips of those watching on.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” (v.10)

• That’s the question on their hearts. It’s exactly the right question to ask. And it’s precisely what Jesus wants us to understand.

• And so as we look at Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem, we see that he is: • The King who Fulfils,

The King who Rescues, and The King who Judges.

3

THE KING WHO FULFILS \\ MATTHEW 21:1-7

First, Jesus is the KING who FULFILS.

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” (vv.1-3)

If you’re thinking that sounds both quite strange yet strangely precise, you’d be right! It’s very unusual and not only because Jesus hasn’t done anything like this before.

• Just take it in for a moment once again… • Two disciples, going into the first village, probably the first house,

finding that there will be two donkeys: a mother and her baby; untie them without mentioning anything to the owner, unless of course they ask, in which case simply answer, “The Lord needs them”.

• I don’t know how you would respond if that was asked of you, but the disciples, in effect respond, no problem, Jesus, and do exactly as was asked of them, and they’re obedient, and the events go true to Jesus’ word, just as he had instructed.

4

• And what we’re meant to see, is that whilst the idea of going to a stranger’s house, and taking a pair of donkeys might seem a bit random, it’s anything but random. Jesus is carefully orchestrating and shaping his arrival.

• That as they approach Jerusalem, the epicentre of Jewish life and identity, at the Mount of Olives, the very place associated with judgment + the coming of God’s King, Jesus is making an intentional statement about who he is and the time that has come.

Sometimes people say that Jesus never asserted that he was King. But that’s not true. He obviously knew and he wants people to understand who he is. That his coming into Jerusalem carries ultimate significance: not simply as the arrival from one town to another, from one chapter to the next; BUT that the arrival and fulfilment of all that has been longed for and promised: the transition from one age to the next, has come!

“Say to Daughter Zion [that is, Jerusalem], ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (v.5)

5

By quoting Zechariah 9 Matthew is joining the dots, showing us how familiar Jesus’ actions are.

• This is not just an uncanny or convenient resemblance! Zechariah 9 is part of a much broader section covering five chapters (9-14), that celebrates God’s defeat of Israel’s enemies and the establishment of God’s reign, a reign that the Jewish people had longed and prayed for, for over 500 years.

• When people saw Jesus arrive on a donkey, this passage would have sprung to mind for many. And in case we missed the obvious parallel that Jesus was enacting, Matthew points it out!

• By arriving in this way, Jesus isn’t pretending to be someone he isn’t, he’s demonstrating that he’s the one of whom the prophets spoke, that he is God’s King, and that it’s through him that God’s promises will be fulfilled. /

• The people would have be pumped! But it’s not going to be as they expect. • Because, note: this King arrives not on a mighty warhorse or a grand chariot,

the precise means of transport that royalty would choose when they’re demonstrating power, but Jesus arrives on a donkey - a baby donkey that had never been ridden, the precise means of transport that royalty, like Solomon, would choose in times of peace.

• It’s a bit like turning up to a battle in the Wiggle’s Big Red Car instead of a tank! • The long-awaited King, shows up on a borrowed, baby, donkey with cloaks instead of a saddle.

6

• Jesus is showing us unmistakably that he is the King they’ve been waiting for, Jesus is the King who will fulfil all that has been promised, but he comes not in strength to defeat the political enemy before them, but he comes in humility as God’s peacemaking King, and the peace that he will win, will not merely be that over the Romans, but a peace with God, made possible through his blood.

7

THE KING WHO RESCUES \\ MATTHEW 21:8-11

He’s the King who fulfils, because he’s also, the KING who RESCUES.

8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (vv.8-9)

Whilst the crowd may not have understood in full, their comprehension did not quite match their enthusiasm, their actions and words, what they do and they say, point to their acknowledgment, their recognition, that Jesus is their rescuing King. • That’s what the palm branches are all about. • Just in case you’re worried, I know that Matthew doesn’t mention that they are palms,

but we can safely assume that’s what the branches are because that’s what were told in John. • Every year at Passover, people would sing Psalm 118, the very Psalm quoted here,

bring palms, and recall their rescue. • In fact, at key moments of liberation and rescue, the people would wave palms in celebration.

8

• Some 200 years before Jesus, when Judas Maccabees entered Jerusalem, having defeated the pagan armies that had oppressed Israel, he was welcomed into the city by, what? A crowd with palm branches, celebrating that they had been rescued. Do you see what is happening here?

• The crowd have recognised that Jesus’ is the liberator, and this is a liberating moment! There is a sense of both who he is and the time that has come.

• That’s why they’re pulling out all the stops: • they’re throwing down their cloaks, like we’d roll out the red carpet.

they’re cutting palm branches, because the time of rescue has come!

But of course it’s not just what the people are doing, it’s also what they’re saying!

• It’s layer-upon-layer of meaning and expectation erupting from their mouthes. • “Hosanna” to who? “Hosanna to the Son of David”. • For 500 years, the Jewish people had been waiting and praying for a great King, like David,

a king who would establish a lasting reign, a king who would arrive and rescue them from their oppressors.

• And that’s of course what ‘Hosanna’ means. It’s not merely an excited hoorah you shout in the presence of a celebrity, it means “Save Us!” - it’s the expression of their greatest hope as a people.

9

• When they shout, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” it means that they have recognised Jesus as God’s representative, through whom their ultimate longing for everything to be put right is found.

• When they add, “Hosanna in the Highest”, they’re rounding off their acclamation by identifying that there is none greater than him!

• It would have been the most amazing scene. These are the most grandiose claims! The crowd get it! Or at least for now… As they lay down their cloaks, celebrate with branches, exalt him as Son of David, cry out Hosanna over-and-over again, that it’s in Jesus and in Jesus alone that they find the object of their hope, that it’s through Jesus that they will be saved. • But whilst they think they know what they need,

the way of rescue will not happen the way they expect. • So often in life we only like the leaders who give us what we want.

And when they’re not giving us what we want, we plan to kick them out. • But let’s not make the mistake of going to God like that as well.

• For God is not in the business of giving us what we want, but he has made it his mission to give us what we really need.

10

• The people are longing for rescue, they think rescue from the Romans is the answer, but Jesus is going to answer their longing by addressing a much deeper need.

• As they enter Jerusalem, his trajectory is not a throne, but being enthroned on a cross.

18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” (20:18-19)

• He’s not going to pour out judgment on the Romans and their oppressors, but he’s going to go to the cross, so that all judgment can be poured out on him, so that we, as we come to him, don’t need face the punishment that we deserve.

• That’s how he has fulfilled what was promised. That is how he has rescued us.

• And as we see, as the King who also Judges, he’s inviting us to put our trust in him.

• Not as the King we make up. Not as the King we want. But for the King who he is. The King who we need.

11

THE KING WHO JUDGES \\ MATTHEW 21:12-17

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (vv.12-13)

• When we hear this, people can get pretty worried that we can be guilty of this. But this is not the same thing as selling Colin Buchanan concert tickets after a service!

I remember some years ago visiting a very old church overseas, and after I walked in, I couldn’t get out quick enough. For what was meant to be a place of worship, felt more like a busy marketplace. Whilst a service was trying to be run, there were people everywhere, buying candles, talking, taking photos. And I remember feeling sick, thinking, they’ve totally missed the point!

• The problem was not that trade was occurring, but what it had become. Remember, being able to offer a sacrifice was an essential part of their worship. For those who had travelled, they needed to be able to purchase a sacrifice.

• However, what was meant to help enable the worshipping the life of the community, had actually become a mockery of the role of worship at the Temple.

12

• For: not only had it taken over the space for worship, not only were people being ripped off as they exchanged their currency, not only had the dove trade become a totally corrupt racket, not only would have the noise spilled into other parts of the Temple, but it meant that if a Gentile came into the court to pray, the only place they could do it, was in the middle of effectively a noisy bazaar.

• And that made Jesus rightly furious, and he unleashes his judgment, driving out the sellers, overturning their tables.

• But that’s not all that he does, for Jesus not only shows judgment, but he also pours out his mercy.

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. (v.14)

• Something phenomenal is happening! • Jesus was not only condemning the practices that undermined worship,

but he was healing and welcoming the very ones who would have been excluded. • There are hints here that a time is coming when the Temple will be no more.

13

• Jesus is showing us that there is a new way in which we can come to God, that doesn’t rely on going to the Temple and offering sacrifices, but by relying on him, who would become the ultimate sacrifice.

• But that requires a response.

Note: as Jesus heals the blind and the lame, as he does ‘wonderful things’, and as the children shout “Hosanna to the Son of David” how do the religious respond? Are they ready to join the party?

No. They’re indignant. They’re annoyed.

• It’s a totally messed up situation. • This is their opportunity to recognise Jesus for who he really is! • But instead of directing their anger to the corrupt and dishonest adults,

what causes them most frustration are the children who shout Jesus’ praise. • It was one thing for people to be identifying Jesus a Son of David in the streets,

but for this to have infiltrated into the Temple absolutely infuriates them. • Don’t you hear what these children are saying?

Aren’t you going to do something about it? Aren’t you going to put a stop to the kids?

14

• They’re thinking, “who does this guy think he is?” • Heart-of-hearts, they know the only person who would have the sort of authority,

the sort of authority that says that it is his house and not theirs, is an authority that is greater than themselves, the Messiah.

• But whilst they desperately want Jesus to deny it, Jesus simply quotes to them from Psalm 8.

“‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”

• Jesus is saying, whilst your hearts may be too blind to see, the children know precisely who I am, and I won’t deny it either.

• And now you, too, faced with these claims, are faced with a choice… “Am I your King?”

• You can take me or leave me, you can crown me or kill me, but I’m not going to change saying who I am, because it’s true.

• I am the KING who fulfils, I am the KING who saves, I am the KING who judges.

15