In Jason Dohm's sermon titled 'The King of the Jews,' he examines Matthew 21:1-11, detailing Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This event, occurring during Passover week, fulfills Zechariah's prophecy of a humble king arriving on a donkey. Dohm emphasizes the significance of Jesus choosing this moment to publicly accept His role as King of the Jews, contrasting with His previous instructions to keep His identity hidden. The sermon explores the context of Passover, highlighting its foreshadowing of Jesus' sacrificial mission. Dohm also discusses the crowd's misunderstanding of Jesus' kingdom, desiring a return to political prominence rather than spiritual salvation. He explains the dual nature of Jesus' first coming in humility and His anticipated second coming in glory and judgment. The sermon concludes with a call to repentance and trust in Jesus' redemptive work.

Our passage this morning is Matthew 21 verses 1 to 11. Please follow along. Now, when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately He will send them.

All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the son of David!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest." And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? So the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Father, illuminate our hearts. Prepare us for the preaching of Your Word that we might fully understand Your purposes and Your will. We commit this time to You in the name of Jesus our Lord.

Amen. Matthew chapter 2 verses 1-3 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king. Behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship Him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him." This is the beginning of the history of Jesus Christ.

He was born. And somehow the wise men knew that the King of the Jews had been born, and they followed the star. And Jesus came disturbing Jerusalem. He came disturbing Jerusalem. And yet, in Matthew chapter 8, when He's healed a leopard, in verse 4, the text says, and Jesus said to him, see that you tell no one.

And in Matthew chapter 9, when he's healed two blind men who have been calling out, son of David, So they had some sense that this was the Messiah and the one who could give sight to a blind man as The kingdom of the Messiah would be marked by these things, and Jesus heals them. And in chapter 9 verse 30 the text says, And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, See that no one knows it. And in Matthew chapter 12, when Jesus has healed a multitude, it doesn't give any instance by name, but it summarizes, it wraps it up by saying that He healed a multitude of people. In Matthew 12 verse 16, the text says, yet He warned them not to make Him known. And In Matthew chapter 14, when He's fed the 5, 000, John's account of the feeding of the 5, 000, in John 6 verse 15, the text says, Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he departed again to the mountain by himself to be alone." And in Matthew chapter 17, when Jesus has taken Peter, James, and John on top of the mount to see Him transfigured and glorified with His face shining like the sun in front of them.

The text says in Matthew 17 verse 9, Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead. So what we have here is Jesus' birth is announced with fanfare, with wise men coming from hundreds of miles away, knowing more actually than the Jews are at least willing to recognize, and saying where is the King of the Jews? And putting Jerusalem into an uproar. And yet all during the course of his ministry, Jesus has been trying to dampen this as he's preaching perfect sermons, as he's causing the blind to see, and healing multitudes, and being transfigured before His disciples, He's saying, shh, shh, shh. Don't tell.

Don't spread. And yet now, now at the end of his life, with one week, less than a week left, until he comes and fulfills his mission by going to the cross and dying to purchase a people. Jesus, for really the first time in this way is allowing Himself to be acknowledged and received as King, as the King of the Jews. So we have a very remarkable passage. We've been in Matthew now for a long time.

We're in chapter 21. And we've not seen Jesus allowing Himself to be received in the way that He's received in this text. At the end of the week, Jesus will be crucified and there will be a sign over his head that says, this is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Now we have a lot to draw on for this passage. This is one of the very few passages that is in Matthew, is in Mark, is in Luke, is in John.

So we have just a wealth of extra data that's not given to us by Matthew, but that is in the other gospels to pull from. Matthew is very similar in most ways to Mark and Luke. And so we'll be pulling some tidbits out of Mark and Luke, but I won't be reading extended sections from there. John, however, shows us a lot and sets this in context in a way that Matthew, Mark, and Luke don't. So in John 12, we'll actually be spending more time there.

Before we get to the text itself, there are four points of background or context that helps us set the triumphal entry into its proper context. The first is this. Don't ever forget that this is Passover week. This is the Passover which has always, always, always pointed towards what is about to happen to Jesus at the end of the week. This is Passover week and that's so significant to what we're seeing in this text and what we'll see from now on through Matthew 28.

All of Israel by the law of God is to come and celebrate this week. And so the population of Jerusalem, three times a year, and this is one of them, the population of Jerusalem is going to swell from whatever it is when people live there to 1 million or 2 million or 3 million, the estimates are that, during this week. And so Jerusalem is just swollen with people during Passover week. The second thing is this. In our last text we saw Jesus in Jericho, and now He's come up to Jerusalem.

And there's a Roman military road that runs from Jericho to Jerusalem. It's about 17 miles long. So we don't know the time that's elapsed since the end of chapter 20, but we know that Jesus has been on this 17-mile road from Jericho to Jerusalem. And that road over the 17 miles ascends over 3, 000 feet. So more than half a mile, climbing, climbing, climbing, this steady ascent.

That's why We have Psalms of Ascent, which are what the people of God would be singing as they are coming up the hill to Jerusalem, which is called Zion, which is called the city of the great king. When you are coming on this Roman military road, the 17 miles, the first place that you'd hit as you near Jerusalem is Bethany. Now Matthew doesn't speak of Bethany, but Mark does in Mark 11, and Luke does in Luke 19. It mentions Bethany and Bethphage, which is in our text today. So coming up this road, up this more than 3, 000 feet, you would come to Bethany first as you're approaching Jerusalem.

And Bethany is about two miles away. And then after you'd come through Bethany, you would come to Bethphage, which Matthew mentions in his text today. And then you would come through the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem. In Exodus 12, God gives the law for the Passover. And there's lots of law pertaining to Passover.

But it's all ceremonial law. In other words, it's all law given that had particular functions during the Old Testament dispensation, but it all really, ultimately, is pointing to and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It's pointing forward. And so, the ultimate things to know about the Passover is Jesus. And what Jesus is going to do.

And Jesus' life. So, In Exodus 12, when we come and we read about Passover law, all throughout Exodus 12 we should be thinking, Christ, Christ, Christ. How does this point to Christ? How does this lead to Christ? In Exodus 12, verses 3-6, the people are commanded on the tenth day of the month to take the Passover lamb into their household.

So the tenth of the month, you identify the Passover lamb, a spotless lamb, a male lamb, and you bring the Passover lamb into your household. And then you're going to keep the Passover lamb until the 14th day. And then at sundown on the 14th day, you're going to slay the Passover land. And it points backwards into Jesus redeeming the people of God out of Egypt, freeing them from their slavery, and it points forward to Jesus Christ and what He would do. Now, the triumphal entry, the day that is in view of our text in Matthew 21, is the tenth day of the month.

It's the day when every Jewish household is going to be bringing the Passover lamb into their household. This is the day, the day of the triumphal entry. Ceremonial law pointing to Christ, fulfilled in Christ. Now Please turn in your Bibles to John 12. Again, John gives us things in John 12 that help us to really understand the fullness of what's happening in Matthew 21.

I'm just going to point out some of those things in John 12 beginning in verse 1. John 12 verse 1. Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper, and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with him." And then in verses 3-8 we get the account of Mary coming and taking this ointment that's worth about a year's wages and anointing Jesus' feet and wiping His feet with her hair. So this is the scene.

This happens the day before the triumphal entry. This is the day before our text in Matthew 21. That Jesus has sat down in Bethany with Lazarus, whom he has raised from the dead previously. He is sitting at the table having dinner with this man that he raised from the dead and being served by Martha. And Mary has taken this very costly ointment and has anointed His feet.

Now we pick up in verse 9, John 12 verse 9. Now a great many of The Jews knew that He, Jesus, was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. The next day, a great multitude that had come to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet him." So this is the setting of the triumphal entry. Do you even remember reading that the Jews were plotting to kill Lazarus?

I probably have read that so many times, but I saw it this week as if it was the first time. I don't remember having read it. The chief priests actually want to assassinate Lazarus. They want to kill Lazarus because so many Jews have heard that This man has been raised from the dead, and they are coming and hearing his testimony, and they are believing that something has to be done not only about Jesus, but about Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. So there is this amazing scene that is happening in Bethany as Jesus ascends into Jerusalem the day before the triumphal entry.

In verses 17 and 18 we see that a lot of the multitudes that will be gathering and throwing down their cloaks and cutting down palm branches and covering the road for Jesus to tread on. A lot of these multitudes are attributable to Lazarus and his testimony. Look at verses 17 and 18 in John 12. Therefore the people who were with him when he called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. For this reason the people also met him, because they heard that he had done this sign." So undoubtedly Jesus is a really famous teacher.

Undoubtedly, people know that He's been making blind men see that He's been healing the multitudes and they've heard of His teachings. So Jesus is known anyway. And yet, John here attributes much of the crowd to the testimony of those who were there and saw Lazarus come forth out of the grave in his grave cloth. The day has arrived. Jesus sends two disciples.

We don't know which two. It's amusing to see the commentators wrestle with which two it is, as if it matters. If it mattered, one of the Gospels would have told us. But two of the disciples are sent. It doesn't matter which two.

And they're sent into a village opposite. We don't know exactly which village that was, but they are sent to get a donkey and a colt. Actually, Matthew is the only one who mentions two animals. Mark and Luke just mentioned the colt, and they say that he rode on the colt. So that's probably what's pertinent here.

That's what we need to know is that of the two animals that are fetched By the command of Jesus, Jesus actually rides in on the cult, which we're going to see matches prophecy. And in this, in Jesus sending His disciples, knowing that there's going to be exactly two animals in exactly this spot and that they're going to be tied up and that somebody's going to ask them. Jesus' majesty as God is on display. Listen to John Calvin. In this way Jesus proved His divinity for both to know absent matters and to bend the hearts of men to compliance belonged to God alone.

So Calvin looks at this and says, to know absent matters, to know about things when you're not even there, and to be able to bend people to your will even when they don't even know it, these are things that belong to God. And so we should see in this evidences of the divinity of Jesus Christ. And Mark and Luke both relate more than Matthew does in that in Matthew Jesus says, if anybody asks you, tell them this. In Mark and Luke we actually get a fuller account where they really do ask these two disciples, hey what are you doing untying? My donkey, our donkeys.

They say what Jesus told them to say and it happens. It unfolds just as Jesus said it would unfold. In verse 6, so we're back in our text in Matthew, Matthew 21, verse 6 says, so the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. To me this is such a refreshing verse. Jesus gives explicit instructions, but strange instructions.

Different instructions to what we are used to. Saying what will be where, what to say to people who might ask you a question. And instantly we see these two disciples obeying. At times the account of Jesus' interactions with the disciples have been discouraging. Because you see yourself so much in those things.

They just don't understand. They're just so dull of hearing that they don't seem to know what Jesus is saying, or they're not really obeying, or they're rebuking Jesus and saying, not so Lord, but here we get to verse 6. And Jesus gives a command. And even though undoubtedly they didn't understand everything associated with this command, they just obey Him. So when I look at this verse, it's such an encouragement to see there can be progress.

There can be a shaking off of the dullness and beginning to understand more and beginning to trust more and beginning to obey more. And I would say this, if you are the Lord's, if God has caused you to be born again and given you a new heart, then Jesus is bringing you here. Jesus is bringing you here where you actually have learned to trust Him. Have learned to take what He says at face value And just believe it. Even if there's a hundred other reasons that would allow you to justify doing something else or not doing anything at all, you learn over time, if you're the Lord, to trust Him and just to obey Him.

Even when you don't understand. Even when it flies in the face of what you would expect or what your natural inclinations are, Jesus is bringing us here to verse 6, to this point where His disciples have learned to trust Him and to obey Him. So why all this? Why the two animals? Why the hump and circumstance on His entry into Jerusalem?

Well, Matthew tells us, like so many times before, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. This is just in a steady stream of what Matthew has been doing and doing and doing and doing going all the way back to chapter 1 verse 22 when Matthew points out that the virgin would be with child and he says almost the same words, this is so that it might be fulfilled what the prophets said. He's been saying that and saying that and pointing back that Jesus didn't just arrive on the scene unannounced, but that for hundreds and thousands of years the prophets have been saying, He's coming, He's coming, He's coming, He's coming, He's coming, He's coming. Going all the way back to Genesis 3, when it's prophesied that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. Going through Moses, a prophet like me will be sent to you, and Abraham, in your seed, all the nations of the earth will be blessed and on and on and on.

It is a fulfillment of prophecy like we've seen over and over and over again. And so We see again, a lot like we saw last week when Jesus is saying, I'm going to Jerusalem, I'm going to be mocked, I'm going to be scourged, I'm going to be spit on, I'm going to be crucified, I'm going to rise from the dead. Not that they would understand it then, but then after his death and his resurrection, they'd be able to look back and say, God did exactly what He said He would do. So a prophecy is quoted by Matthew here, and it's Zechariah 9, verse 9. And he doesn't quote it verbatim, but he pulls out of this prophecy the things that are particularly relevant to the triumphal entry.

But I want to read this prophecy verbatim from Zechariah 9. And I want you to see it in its larger context. So instead of just parts of verse 9, I'll read 9 through 11. So you can see how appropriate this is to what exactly is happening. Zechariah 9, 9-11.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Isn't this what we see in Matthew 21? A mighty rejoicing of the people of Jerusalem. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your King is coming to you.

He is just and having salvation." So Matthew doesn't give us that, but that's part of Zechariah's prophecy. He is just and having salvation. Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt the full of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow shall be cut off.

Now listen to this. This is Zechariah 9 about halfway into verse 10. He shall speak peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit." The work and person and ministry of Jesus Christ is so beautifully set before us by the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 9, 9-11.

The king is being sent to Jerusalem, but it's a lowly king, just like Zechariah said. He is a lowly king. He's coming into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. Does he have a saddle? No, they just have to put their cloaks on there so he has something to ride on.

So here's your king, and he's coming to you on a borrowed donkey, not on a saddle, but on the cloaks of these fishermen. Matthew Henry says this, He comes not in wrath to take vengeance, but in mercy to work salvation. He is meek to suffer the greatest injuries and indignities for Zion's cause, meek to bear with the follies and unkindness of Zion's own children." So Jesus Christ will come, He will come in judgment, but not the first time. The first time He comes to work salvation for His people. He comes lowly, riding on the colt of a donkey.

550 years after Zechariah prophesied this, here comes Jesus on a donkey. To His people as their king, to the city of the great King. Now how much do the disciples understand this at the moment? John tells us exactly. In John's account in John 12 verse 16 it says this, his disciples did not understand these things at first, But when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.

Maybe Jesus on the road to Emmaus, when He is with these two disciples after his resurrection. And he's unfolding the Old Testament to them and saying, I'm there, I'm there, I'm there, I'm there. Maybe Zechariah was 9-9 was one of these spots. But whatever the case, at the time they didn't understand these things, but after the resurrection they remembered that these things had been said about Jesus, and that they had played their part. It says they remembered that these things were written about Him, and that they had done these things to Him.

Imagine looking back and knowing that this had been prophesied and that your actions were part of that prophecy and you didn't even know it was happening at the time. But you look back and say, I played my part. God had said this was going to happen, and I didn't even know it at the time, but I was playing my part according to the decree of Almighty God. Now Jesus rides this donkey colt, and Mark and Luke both say this, on which no one has sat. No one had ever ridden this foal before.

Ever. This is an unbroken donkey foal. Anybody want to try that? But Jesus who had calmed the tempest and Jesus who had walked on water, whose nature does his bidding, gets on this unbroken foal and he rides into Jerusalem. And the multitude is there.

It says that they are essentially surrounding him. Those who went before, those who followed behind, and they're taking off their upper garments, their cloaks, and they're casting them on the road, and they're cutting down palm branches, and they're putting it on the road, and this is the reception of a great king. And this is a scene that we have seen before in the Old Testament, at least a couple of times. Judges talks repeatedly about the people, the judges who were leading Israel riding on donkeys, and their sons riding on donkeys, But there are two very clear places that this seems like. The first is in 2 Kings 9, when Yehu is anointed king, and he goes and has Jezebel thrown out the window.

When he is anointed king in 2 Kings 9, Yehu's companions who are with him cast their garments on the ground under him. So this is the sign, an Old Testament sign, of the anointing of the king. The second place, which is even more striking, is Solomon being anointed king in 1 Kings 1. In 1 Kings 1, one of David's other sons by another mother, Adonijah, has taken it upon himself. He says, I'm going to be king.

And he leads a conspiracy, including Joab, to proclaim him king. And David has told this, and so David has already said that Solomon is going to be his successor and will be king. So David sends Solomon out of Jerusalem to come up essentially the same path that David has. So Solomon is in Jerusalem. David says, Solomon you are going to be king.

He is actually speaking to Solomon's mother, Bathsheba. And he says, Solomon, go out of Jerusalem and come back in the same track that Jesus is coming now and ride my mule, ride my mule, and come into Jerusalem. And the crowds were there and they're saying, long live King Solomon. And so the triumphal entry is a picture almost just like what happened with Solomon. Of course, Solomon is a type of Christ, a son of David who sits on the throne of David and who is full of wisdom.

And so in so many places, Solomon is equated with the messiah that would come and serves as a type of that messiah. Now Jesus is surrounded by the multitude, some going before, some following behind, and they're all crying out, they're all shouting, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Now I don't know about you, but Hosanna is not in my vocabulary.

I don't say Hosanna to anyone. And So, we're not Jewish, we might not know what that means, but it essentially means save, or save now. And it was a very familiar term to the Jews. And for the Jews, It had become an exclamation of praise. So it hasn't lost its meaning of save or save now, but it was a familiar exclamation of praise for the Jews.

And they're lauding Jesus as the Son of David. And they are acknowledging that He is the One who has come in the name of the Lord. It's such a clear reception of the promised Messiah. The people in Jerusalem, the people of God, the people who have come to Jerusalem from all over Israel are receiving their King. And they know that they are receiving their King.

Listen to Mark 11.10. This is our parallel text in Mark. Same circumstances. Mark just records it a little differently. Mark 11, 10.

Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. They say this right along with Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom of our father David." So they recognize that there is a coming, a returning of the kingdom of David. This throne that would be established forever and ever and ever.

This is what is in the minds of the people. And in John 12, our parallel passage in John 12-13, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel. So if you read the Matthew account and you're not sure whether they know it's the Messiah or don't know it's the Messiah from this, add in the richness that we get from Mark and from John and know with all certainty that the people knew that they were escorting their Messiah into Jerusalem. Now the people here are actually quoting Psalm 118 when they say, Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. In both Zechariah 9, the prophecy that Matthew has already quoted, and in Psalm 118, which the multitudes are quoting, What is in the surrounding text is almost as remarkable as what the author or what those who are quoting the text say.

Listen to Psalm 118. Again, we're going to expand what we're looking at in this text that is being quoted in Matthew. Psalm 118, starting in verse 22, going through verse 27. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing.

It is marvelous in our eyes. Think about that. These are the two verses that come before what the people of Jerusalem are crying out, are shouting as Jesus comes into the city of the great King. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing.

It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray. Hosanna.

This is where the hosanna comes in. This is what the people are quoting. And in Psalm 118, you get it in English. Save now, I pray. Oh Lord.

Oh Lord, I pray. Send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord and He has given us light.

Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." This is the fullness of Psalm 118, part of which the multitudes are shouting as Jesus comes into Jerusalem. Now Jesus, later in the same chapter, in Matthew 21, as we get to the end of Matthew 21 Jesus is going to quote this Psalm but he's going to quote the first part of it the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone and it's going to be the conclusion to a parable that says the kingdom is being taken away from you and given to a people who will bear the fruits of it. So the people are hailing their king as He comes into Jerusalem. And they are praising Him, and they are praising God, and they are rejoicing, but they are not thinking about the right kind of Kingdom. They are thinking about Psalm 118.

I pray, sin now prosperity. They are thinking that the kingdom is going to be restored to Israel in the sense of getting rid of these Roman invaders. They're thinking that prosperity is returning to the people of God in the sense of material prosperity and prominence among the nations. And so We have to look at this and the misunderstanding that the multitudes have and say, do we want to dominate or do we want to be dominated? When we welcome our king, Is it so that He would send prosperity, prominence, material advantage, or is it so that He would come and reign over us?

This multitude is very clear. They wanted the return to prominence that they thought that the coming of the Messiah would bring. They wanted the blessing and the golden age that they thought He would bring in that they did not want to be ruled by this king. They were thinking of the wrong kind of kingdom. And as we've seen in the first 20 chapters of Matthew, Jesus is talking about the kingdom and talking about the kingdom and talking about the kingdom, and the reason He's talking about it so much is they're thinking wrongly about the Kingdom.

And we see the same thing from these multitudes that we've been seeing from the disciples all along. They are welcoming Jesus as the Messiah because they think it means this, but it means that. And that is more wonderful than even their thinking, but they are unable to see it. Here's what J.C. Ryle says about this in talking about the fickleness of this crowd.

Many of the crowd here who are saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We'll be shouting, crucify Him. Crucify Him within one week. Here's what J.C.

Ryle says, this is a proof of the utter folly of thinking more of the praise of man than of the praise of God. Nothing in truth is so fickle and uncertain as popularity. It is here today and gone tomorrow. It is a sandy foundation and sure to fail those who build upon it. Let us not care for it.

Let us seek the favor of Him who is the same yesterday and today and forever." This crowd, This crowd who has gathered to shout Hosanna to Jesus wants the kingdom where the rich young ruler is first, where men of prominence rise to the top, not servants. Jesus has just said, if you want to be great in the kingdom, be a servant. If you want to be first, be a slave. And these people are not thinking like this. These people want the kingdom of the rich young ruler where the rich and where the prominent and where those who have an external keeping of the law rise to the top like cream rises to the top.

Jesus is not having that kind of kingdom. Jesus isn't bringing in that kind of kingdom. And so, Jesus cares nothing for the acclaim of these people. Now turn in your Bibles to Luke 19. This is Luke's account of the triumphal entry.

Luke 19. So the people are shouting praises. The people are ostensibly rejoicing in God and that the Messiah has been finally sent to Jerusalem. So we know what the people are doing, and we know what the people are thinking, But what is Jesus doing? Well, Luke tells us what Jesus is doing as He comes into the city.

Luke 19 will begin in verse 37. Then as He, Jesus, was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest." So they are sounding like the angels in Luke 1. Verse 39, And some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. But he answered and said to them, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Now as he drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, if you had known even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes.

For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side and level you and your children with you to the ground. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." So the crowds are rejoicing, the crowds are praising God, but Jesus is seeing forward almost 40 years when a foreign pagan army will come and level Jerusalem. So the people are crying, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, And Jesus is weeping, knowing what is coming to Jerusalem. So we have here in Luke 19, the interchange with the Pharisees, where the Pharisees are actually calling out to Jesus to rebuke these disciples who are acknowledging Him as the Messiah. And the Pharisees want nothing to do with that, and they want to shut it down.

And Jesus says, if they don't do it, the rocks will immediately cry out. And we get that Jesus is weeping, because these people who outwardly are praising Him, who are giving Him lip service in such a short period of time will be swept away. And he sees the vision of what will happen to Jerusalem in such a few years. And he weeps as he rides into Jerusalem. He came to his own, but his own did not know him.

Finally, the text says, back to Matthew 21, finally the text says that the whole city is moved to verse 10. Just like at Jesus' birth. I began with Matthew chapter 2. And it's when Herod heard that the King of the Jews had been born, he's troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him. We're back to Jerusalem is troubled.

The New King James renders this word moved. The NASB and the ESV and the NIV all render the same Greek word stirred. So the city is stirred. It's stirred up. In Matthew 27 verse 51, this is the verse where the veil of the temple is rent in two from top to bottom.

And it says, and the earth quaked. This is that word. Jerusalem is moved and the earth quaked. Same Greek word. The city is shaken.

The city is humming. The city is stirred up. And people are wanting to know who is this? Now, they're not looking for a name. They're looking for where this man who's coming in to the praises of the people fit into the plan of God.

Who is this? Not, this is Jesus. Who is this? Who is this prophet or messiah or king? Who is this to be in the plan of God?

And the multitudes respond, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Matthew 2.23 reads, and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene." So even this, even the multitude saying, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee, is a fulfillment of the prophet, that Jesus would be known as a Nazarene. And so it is. But I believe this is actually a reference to Deuteronomy 15, where Moses says, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear." And in Moses 18, Moses is talking to the people of God and he is saying prophetically, God is going to send you a prophet like me.

And the people of God have looked back on this verse and known Him as the prophet. Not a prophet. Elijah was a prophet. Elisha was a prophet. Jeremiah was a prophet.

What Moses is speaking of in Deuteronomy 18 is the prophet. So in John chapter 6 and in John chapter 7, when people are speculating who Jesus is, many say He is the prophet. Not a prophet, but the prophet. I believe this is what's being said here. And the reason I say that is the indications that the crowd recognized Jesus as the Messiah is so clear in the things that they're shouting as Jesus comes into the city.

A few concluding remarks. First, as we look at this text, we cannot help but think about the seed that falls on the stony places. There are those that hear the Word of God and immediately receive it with joy. Yes, joy! But when there's tribulation or persecution because of the Word, they fall away.

This is undoubtedly what we see here. Who was defending Jesus five days later? Who was there? There was no one. Everyone forsakes Him.

And so these people have received their Messiah with joy, but when Tribulation and persecution comes because of the Word. They'll fall away in such a short period of time. Secondly, Jesus is being acclaimed by the crowd, praised by the crowd, Jesus cares nothing for that. We should follow Jesus in this. We should be like Jesus in as many ways as we can possibly be like Jesus.

Here's one from this text that would be so valuable to us if we would really get around it and follow Him in this. Jesus was the same if the multitudes were all praising Him, shouting for Him, Quoting the Psalms, or whether he was standing on trial about to be crucified, or whether he was struck and stripped. Jesus cared nothing for the praise of the multitudes, but he feared God. He cared for the praise of God, the approval of God, the favor of God. And we see this in the last week of his life.

By the way, I meant to say this really early on. We're in Matthew 21. We're three-fourths the way through Matthew. We still have one-fourth. We still have a quarter of the book left.

The quarter of the book is for this last, less than a week of Jesus' life. So think about the allocation. There's a three year period of ministry. 75% is for two years and 51 weeks, or whatever it works out to be. And 25% just for this last week.

This last week, this portion that we're entering into is so important. In Mark, in the Gospel of Mark, one third of Mark, the percentage goes up, a third of Mark is allocated. It's 20%. It's a fifth of Luke. And John, the last week of Jesus' life, is 50% of Mark's.

So, we're entering Gospel prime time beginning in chapter 21. Such huge allotments of the Gospels are given to this last week. And it's because though His preaching was wonderful, though His miracles are spectacular, He's here to die and to purchase a people with His blood. Secondly, maybe thirdly, lastly. Let's just call it lastly.

Jesus comes into Jerusalem as the King of the Jews. And He comes in humility. And he comes to die. He's not coming in judgment. He's coming to work salvation.

He's coming to pay a price by which he can purchase a people from the north and the south and the east and the west. From every nation He'll purchase a people and He'll pick and have mercy. And He'll be the stone that the builders rejected. And He'll be made by God the chief cornerstone. And it's not the only time He's coming.

So the reason that the Jews are thinking all wrong, the reason that the disciples keep struggling with the nature of this kingdom and Jesus is having to come back is because there's all these spectacular promises about when the Messiah comes. Well, the reason it's hard to sort out is because He's not just coming once. He's coming again. And they were expecting the first time the way He'll come the second time. In judgment.

To set up the kingdom like what they were expecting in many ways. Listen to Revelation 19 verses 11 through 13. Now I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except himself.

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. Jesus enters Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, on the garments of fishermen, lowly in humility, not in judgment, to come and work salvation. But He's coming again. And next time it won't be on a donkey, it will be on a white horse. And next time it won't be lowly, it will be in glory.

I tell you this is true. Believe the Scriptures. He's come once, but He is coming again. And He will come in glory. And He will come and judge.

And He commands all men everywhere to repent. If you've not repented, consider His first coming, that He's full of mercy, that He's humble, that He works salvation for people and grants time to repent. But also consider that He's coming again. He's coming in glory. He's coming in judgment.

And those who have not trusted in Him must give an account for everything that they've thought, for everything that they've said, for everything that they've done. Trust in Christ. Especially the children in here. Know with all certainty. As certainly as He came the first time, He's coming a second time.

And He's coming in glory. And He has commanded all men everywhere to repent. We should repent of any self-righteousness, of any self-trust, and trust in the redemption that He's working in this last week of His life as He sheds His blood for the remission of sins for many. Let's give thanks. Father, we do give thanks for your Word.

We do give thanks that you came for the first time and that you brought in a kingdom that was not like what was being looked for. And that you were humble and you worked salvation for your people. And we praise you for what we know will assuredly happen, that you'll come a second time. You'll come in the clouds, in the blast of a trumpet. You will be seen by everyone in Your glory.

And You will judge the quick and the dead. Oh God, I pray that You would send salvation. That You would send Your mercy among us. That you would cause us to look to this second coming, this second time that you'll come in your glory and to live in the light of it. I ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.