Land of Hope and Dreams

OPENING PRAYER:

Holy God, by your Spirit nourish my mind with new truth from your Word, as I read it now.

READ: Matthew 21:1-11

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

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

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 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[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

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

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Footnotes

[a] Matthew 21:5 Zech. 9:9

[b] Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15

[c]Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25,26

[d] Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15

Matthew 21:1-11

REFLECT:

Sing or speak a song of praise to Jesus as King.

‘If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck!’ According to this reasoning, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem must be understood as a royal drama. Christ’s use of a donkey to enact the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 (vs 4,5), the crowd spreading their cloaks on the ground before him, waving leafy branches (v 8), shouting praise from Psalm 118 (a royal psalm), and addressing Jesus with the Messianic title, ‘Son of David’ (v 9), all testify to this being the moment when God’s long-promised King arrives to save his people and establish his reign in the Holy City. Matthew would be very happy for his readers, after these verses, to arrive at the conclusion that Jesus is King.

Acknowledging Jesus as King is one thing; understanding and accepting his style of kingship is quite another (it is one thing to identify a duck, quite another to tell individual species of duck apart!). The jubilation of the crowd suggests that they rightly had expectations of liberation but, wrongly, no comprehension that the Christ would ascend to his throne through suffering and sacrifice – thereby setting the pattern of life for all who would subsequently call themselves Christians. Accepting Jesus as King requires that we liberate him from the confines of our expectations and actually submit to his reign.

APPLY:

Use Psalm 118 as a basis for celebrating God’s faithfulness and the good news of what he has done in Jesus.

CLOSING PRAYER:

Dear Jesus, I offer a shout of praise to you. I join my voice with the disciples and the Galileans in the crowd, celebrating you as Messiah and King.

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