Behold, Your King!
Matthew 21:1–9
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.”
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, and 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 and 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. And 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!” (ESV)
Prayer
Everlasting God, who, by the mouths of Your prophets and saints of old, proclaimed the advent of Your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Nations, the Hope of Israel, the Redeemer of the world: Lead us to repent of all our sins, and so to humble ourselves that we may be prepared to receive Him with gladness and to join in singing: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Amen!
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
If God worked the way we wanted or expected, he would be no god at all. If God was what we imagined him to be—we would have a very sad and small god.
Unlike the “gods” people invent in their own minds, the true God, the Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, works in ways completely unexpected. The Lord’s ways are contrary to human reason, as he tells us, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“Behold, Your King!” If we were to imagine what this king might look like, we’d think of a mighty man, arrayed in magnificent armor, riding on a noble steed, surrounded by valiant knights and soldiers, led by a glorious band. But not this King. He is a humble carpenter from Nazareth who has announced himself to be the promised Seed of the woman, the Word become flesh, to conquer Satan’s kingdom. He comes in humility, riding on a colt, the foal of a donkey. No noble knights, but fishermen and even a tax-collector follow this King. He is followed not by important people, but by the poor and the insignificant.
But the people rejoiced! This lesson is familiar to each one of us, but this scene was also anxiously anticipated by God’s people. They knew the prophecies! The Jews knew that the Messiah would come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey during Passover. They had long been anticipating that great day when Zechariah’s prophecy would be fulfilled.“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” Jesus was fulfilling everything that the Scriptures foretold.
But in five short days, Jesus would be wrongly condemned, beaten, and crucified on the cross. What happened? Why such a drastic change?
Jesus will always cause division. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (10:34). These words would have shocked Jesus’ disciples. They shock me! Didn’t the angel proclaim, “Peace goodwill toward men” because Christ was born in Bethlehem? So why did Jesus say he did not come to bring peace but the sword?
Jesus was preparing his disciples and us for why so many would reject him. Jesus said he was bringing a sword because he would split apart families—they would be divided on Jesus. Jesus came to bring peace between God and men by giving his life as a ransom for many. Everybody likes that part of Jesus. They like a Savior—a Helper. But the Word of God is offensive—its’s a stumbling block, foolishness.
Jesus is a stumbling block because he is not the Savior we imagine. The Jews were expecting a King who would deliver them from the evil and corruption in society. They were expecting Jesus to sit on the throne of David, cast out the pagan Romans, and restore Jerusalem to its place of glory. Jesus was a King, but not of this world. Jesus did not come to set up an earthly kingdom. Jesus confessed before Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (John 18:36).
But the disappointment didn’t end there. Instead of preaching against the evil and corruption of society and the government, Jesus preached against the evil of their own hearts. The Son of David did not come to save the people from evil men, but from their own sin.
Everybody likes talking about sin until it’s their own sin. Then nobody wants to talk about sin. They would prefer to change the topic. It’s an offense to our human pride to hear we are poor miserable sinners who deserve nothing but God’s just punishment and that no matter our efforts, we cannot save ourselves. This can be hard to accept. Another difficult truth is recognizing that God works in ways far different from what we imagined or hoped.
We know what our Lord Jesus offers to all people. We know he has given his life as a ransom for all. He promises to work through his Word to create faith which alone leads to eternal life. But it seems that no one else sees this. The stadiums and concert halls are full of people, they even pay to get in. But there are plenty of open pews. What’s more, in our own lives we face hardship, grief, and just plain old tiredness. We’d like for Jesus to swoop in and solve all our problems. We want them to go away. We want peace. Peace in our lives and peace from our enemies.
But here is the mystery, in all of this, God is leading us to the cross. Our salvation is not found in our efforts. Our hope and confidence are not found in majestic buildings, in masses of people, nor our good health. Our hope is found only in Jesus. And we find Jesus at the cross. In fact, our entire Christian life is lived under the shadow of the cross—we live in repentance because we know we are sinners, and we look with hope for the life to come because we are troubled by this fallen world.
As the Holy Spirit works in us a knowledge of our sin, he is bringing us to the cross of Jesus. As the Holy Spirit works in us an awareness of this fallen kingdom, worldly vanity, and sinful corruption, he is leading us to the cross of Christ. He is leading us to the only true place of comfort and peace.
Advent means coming or arrival. Jesus’ first coming was at Christmas. Jesus came in humility. He came to save. He came to suffer and die. Jesus will come again. His second coming will be on Judgement Day. He will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead. He came in humility, but he will come again in glory.
Jesus came in humility. But even as we see him preparing for his lowly entrance, we see glimpses of his divine majesty. Jesus knew where the donkey was and where the colt was. He knew that someone would ask them why the donkey and colt were needed. He gave them the words to say so that they immediately let the disciples take the animals.
Jesus is omniscient. He is all knowing. Only God is omniscient. Jesus is God. There is nothing he does not know. This would be a terrifying thought if we didn’t know that Jesus is on our side. If we were to imagine a king, we would expect that he demands loyalty. If we betray him, he would have us killed. He would kick us out of his kingdom! So how do we know that Jesus is on our side? How do we know that he who knows all things won’t bring against us every wrong we’ve done, every sinful word or thought that has come through our mind? How can his omniscience bring us anything but anxiety, if not outright fear? The omniscient King is coming!
But look and see how he came—in humility and meekness. The one who will come to judge the hearts and intentions of the entire human race, who knows every sin you’ve ever committed, came in humility. He came to die for you. Our Lord’s decision to ride into Jerusalem was not a spontaneous decision. It was his deliberate plan to save our souls. Christ was fulfilling the Scriptures. Jesus accepted their shouts of praise as he rode on to die. He knew he would be rejected. He knew he would suffer. He knew he would bear the sins of the world in his own body. But he rode on all the same. This is why he came! He came in humility, obeying the will of his Father, fulfilling the demands of the law, suffering our deserved punishment.
The eternal Son of God, ruler of heaven and earth, became bone of our bones and flesh of our flesh, so that he could become our King—our Brother. In humility, he was lifted up on the cross, so that he could lift up you and me to heaven.
God is so good. His mercy and grace are beyond anything we could have imagined or hoped. We come to him burdened by guilt. He comes to cover that guilt and take away the burden. We come, confessing our sins of pride and self-promotion. He comes to forgive the sins by which we tried to make ourselves look good, and by forgiving us elevates us to heaven where we are seated with him—free from sin and guilt, and at peace with him.
Jesus knows everything. He sees us for what we really are. He knows everything we try to hide from others, even ourselves. But in knowing us he doesn’t turn away from us in disgust, nor against us in anger, but comes to save us.
Jesus is not the God we would have imagined. He is much more! Jesus came to save sinners like you and me. He didn’t just come to bring us temporary peace, but eternal peace in heaven—for his kingdom is not of this world.
But until Christ comes again in glory, he continues to come to us through humble means. This power goes unnoticed by the world, but it’s there. It’s through the unsuspecting signs like water connected with his Word, that a newborn infant is given the gift of eternal life and made an heir of heaven. It’s through an imperfect preacher, that God comforts the lonely, heals the brokenhearted, and lifts up the humble with his Word of absolution and grace. It’s through earthly elements of bread and wine, that Jesus gives the medicine of immortality through his body and blood for the forgiveness of sin.
God does not work the way we imagine and that’s a very good thing. As we await the return of our Lord Jesus, we wait with comfort and peace. In fact, we look forward to hearing his voice, because this King, once come in humility, is your King, who will bring you to everlasting life. Amen.