THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY                                     THE MINISTRY OF JESUS - PART 41

The Teaching Ministry of Rick Trice

(NOTE:  THIS IS PART OF A YEAR LONG STUDY OF THE EARTHLY MINISTRY OF JESUS OF NAZERETH)

January 27, 2002

Trinity Fellowship

Mark 11:1-11--Matthew 21:1-11---Luke 19:28-40---John 12:12-19

THE FINAL ROAD TO JERUSALEM

WE TALKED LAST TIME ABOUT JESUS’ ANOINTING IN BETHANY, JUST OUTSIDE JERUSALEM.

WHY WAS THIS IMPORTANT?

* TO SET HIM APART FOR GOD’S HIGHEST PURPOSE

* TO PREPARE HIM FOR DEATH

* TO SYMBOLIZE THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (SCENT “FILLED” THE ROOM”)

AND WITHIN SIX DAYS FROM NOW, JESUS WILL:

* TRIUMPHANTLY ENTER JERUSALEM,

* CLEANSE THE TEMPLE,

* CONFRONT THE PHARISEES AND THE SADDUCCEES

* CELEBRATE THE LAST PASSOVER SUPPER

* PRAY IN THE GARDEN,

* BE BETRAYED, ARRESTED, INTERROGATED, TORTURED, HUMILIATED, TRIED, AND SENTENCED

* BE EXECUTED A BLOODY DEATH

SO ENDING A BRIEF 33 YEAR LIFE, CULMINATED BY AN EVEN BRIEFER 3 YEAR OFFICIAL MINISTRY.  ON THE WORLD’S SCALE, THIS WOULD BE MEASURED AS A COLOSSAL FAILURE, NOT A SUCCESS.

BUT THAT’S THE ULTIMATE IRONY OF GOD’S PLAN. HIS WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS, AND HIS SUCCESS IS NOT TO BE MEASURED AS THE WORLD’S SUCCESS.

THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

WE HAVE WONDERFUL, FULL BLOWN ACCOUNT OF THIS EVENT. IT IS DEPICTED IN ALL FOUR OF THE GOSPELS, AND THEY CORROBORATE EACH OTHER’S ACCOUNTS VERY WELL, WITH SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES.

READ Mark 11:1-11, {with Matthew, Luke, and John to flesh it out} [NLT]:

(Lk){Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples.}

“As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethpage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ‘Go into that village over there,” he told them, ‘ and as soon as you enter it, you will see a (Mt){donkey tied there and a colt beside it} that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, “The Lord needs it and will return it soon.”’

(Mt){This was done to fulfill the prophecy,

‘Tell the people of Israel,(Jn){”Don’t be afraid}  “Look, your King is coming to you,

He is humble, riding on a donkey- even (Jn){sitting} on a donkey’s colt.’ (Is 62:11; Zech 9:9)}

(Jn){His disciples didn’t realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered that these Scriptures had come true before their eyes.}  “The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside a house (Lk){just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying our colt?’ The disciples simply} said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.

(Jn){...the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A huge crowd of Passover visitors...went down the road to meet him}[and] spread their coats on the road ahead of Jesus, and others cut leafy branches (Mt){from the trees}[and] the fields and spread them along the way. He was in the center of the procession, and (Lk){as they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen}, shouting,

‘Praise God! [HOSANNA]  (Mt){for the Son of David}  Blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Bless the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!

(Lk){Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven”}  Praise God in highest heaven!’ (Ps. 118:25-26; 148:1)

(Lk){But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, ‘Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!’  He replied, “if they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”}

(Mt){”The entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered. ‘Who is this?’ they asked. And the crowds replied, ‘It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’”}

(Jn){Those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling others all about it. That was the main reason so many went out to meet him-because they had heard about this mighty miracle. Then the Pharisees said to each other, ‘We’ve lost. Look, the whole world has gone after him!”}

(Lk){But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. ‘I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.”}

“So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked around carefully at everything, and then he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.”

ANALYSIS

THE COMING KINGDOM

JESUS WALKS AHEAD OF HIS DISCIPLES. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS IS THAT HE IS ABOUT TO ENTER JERUSALEM AS A TRIUMPHANT KING, AND HIS DISCIPLES STILL DON’T UNDERSTAND IT.

JUST PRIOR TO THIS, JESUS HAS JUST GIVEN THE PARABLE OF THE TEN SERVANTS (LUKE 19:11-27) (READ LUKE 19:11; 26)

HE IS TELLING THEM THAT THE KINGDOM IS COMING, BUT NOT THE WAY THEY EXPECT IT, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THOSE THAT REJECT GOD’S KINGDOM AND HIS WAYS WILL FACE A CERTAIN, TERRIBLE JUDGMENT.

THE ROMAN ANALOGY

THE SECOND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY IS THAT, BY ITS VERY NAME, IT DEPICTS A CONQUERING KING, OR GENERAL, COMING BACK FROM BATTLE TO THE ADULATION OF THE CITIZENS.   THIS PARADE WAS CALLED “THE TRIUMPH.” THE CONQUERING ROMAN GENERAL WOULD MARCH INTO ROME, WITH HIS CAPTIVES AND THE SPOILS OF WAR, AND HIS ARMY, AND AS THE PEOPLE SHOUTED PRAISES, HE WOULD MAKE HIS WAY TO THE ROMAN TEMPLES FOR A SACRIFICE. THE GENERAL WAS ALLOWED TO DRESS UP AS A KING, COMPLETE WITH A SCEPTOR AND CROWN, AND BE ALMOST WORSHIPED BY THE PEOPLE AS HE PARADED THROUGH THE CITY.

THE MOMENT OF DECISION

JESUS KNEW THAT THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM WOULD PROBABLY KNOW THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TRIUMPH. IF FACT, HE COUNTED ON IT. AT THIS POINT, HE HAS LESS THAN SIX DAYS TO FORCE THE ISSUE OF HIS KINGSHIP TO THE POINT OF A DECISION. HIS FOLLOWERS HAVE TO DECIDE, THE PEOPLE HAVE TO DECIDE, THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS (SANHEDRIN) HAVE TO DECIDE, THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, UNDER KING HEROD, HAS TO DECIDE, AND ROME, REPRESENTED BY PONTIUS PILATE, HAS TO DECIDE.

AND IT’S JESUS THAT SETS THE STAGE.

REMEMBER, IT IS JESUS THAT FIRST ACCUSES AND INDICTS HIMSELF UNDER THE LAW (JOHN 8:13; 17) AND SETS HIMSELF UP TO BE EXECUTED. IT TOOK TWO WITNESSES UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES TO ACCUSE A MAN AND PUT HIM TO DEATH. AND JESUS CLAIMS THE ROLE OF ONE OF THE WITNESSES FOR HIMSELF, AND THE OTHER FOR HIS FATHER IN HEAVEN.

AND NOW HE MAKES IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT HE IS THE TRIUMPHANT KING, PARADING IN A NEW KINGDOM AND REIGN, AND FORCING EVERYONE TO COME TO A MOMENT OF DECISION.

(JESUS DOESN’T FORCE THE DECISION, BUT HE FORCES THE MOMENT OF DECISION)

TO FURTHER UNDERSCORE THIS, HE FULFILLS TWO ITEMS OF PROPHECY, WHICH THE PEOPLE OF JERUSALEM WOULD ALSO BE VERY FAMILIAR WITH.

*THE ZECHARIAH PROPHECIES

*THE HOSANNA PROPHECIES

ZECHARIAH

THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH LIVED 500 YEARS BEFORE JESUS. IF YOU READ HIS BOOK, THE FIRST HALF DEVOTES ITSELF TO ENCOURAGING THE PEOPLE TO CONTINUE REBUILDING OF THE JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM.

BUT THE SECOND HALF, BEGINNING IN CHAPTER 9, CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE FUTURE, WITH NOT ONLY THE COMING CHRIST ON EARTH, THE SHEPHERD KING, BUT ALSO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM AND THE SECOND TEMPLE (WHICH HAPPENED AFTER JESUS’ DEATH), AND ALSO THE FUTURE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND THE SETTING UP OF HIS FINAL TRIUMPHANT KINGDOM, AND THE FINAL JUDGEMENTS OF THE NATIONS OF EARTH.

HOSANNAS

THE WORD “HOSANNA” (GREEK), AN EXCLAMATION OF PRAISE, OCCURS ONLY SIX TIMES IN THE GOSPELS, AND GUESS WHAT? ALL SIX OCCUR AT JESUS’ TRIUMPHANT ENTRY.   “HOSANNA” LITERALLY MEANS “GOD, SAVE US NOW.”

SO, EVERYONE PRESENT, WHO IS PAYING THE LEAST BIT OF ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS, NOW KNOWS THREE THINGS:

*JESUS IS ENTERING JERUSALEM AS A CONQUERING WARRIOR KING

*JESUS IS PROCLAIMING HIMSELF AS THE MESSIAH (RIDING ON A DONKEY’S COLT, WHICH ZECHARIAH TOLD THEM WOULD HAPPEN WITH THE COMING MESSIAH KING)

*JESUS IS TO BEING CALLED UPON “TO SAVE THEM.”

THE CROWD

THERE ARE THREE ELEMENTS MAKING UP THE CROWD TODAY:

*THE CITIZENS OF JERUSALEM (“WHO IS THIS GUY?”) (STILL NEED TO MAKE THEIR DECISION)

*THE PILGRIMS FROM AROUND GALILEE (MADE THEIR DECISION)

*THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES (THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS) (ALSO MADE THEIR DECISION)

THEY REPRESENT THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD:

*THOSE THAT HAVE MADE A DECISION TO ACCEPT CHRIST AS KING

*THOSE WHO HAVE MADE A DECISION TO REJECT CHRIST AS KING

*THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO MAKE A DECISION

AND AGAIN, JESUS IS, THIS DAY, SETTING THE STAGE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE YET TO MAKE THE DECISION; TO GIVE THEM THAT OPPORTUNITY.

PROPHECY OF THE PHARISEES (JOHN 12:19)

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE PHARISEES HAVE PROPHESIED REGARDING JESUS. THE FIRST TIME WAS JOHN 11:45-52 (READ)

JUDGEMENT OVER JERUSALEM (LUKE 19:41ff)

HERE JESUS NOT ONLY UTTERS A PROPHECY, WHICH DID COME TRUE, REGARDING THE FATE OF JERUSALEM, BUT DRAWS A POWERFUL ANALOGY TO THE WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR ANYONE WHO REJECTS HIS KINGSHIP.

*THE THINGS OF PEACE HIDDEN FROM THEIR EYES

*ENEMIES WILL SURROUND THEM

*ENEMIES WILL DASH THEM TO THE GROUND

*ENEMIES WILL ATTACK YOUR FAMILY

*ENEMIES WILL DESTROY YOUR LIFE

ALL BECAUSE THEY DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE “TIME OF YOUR VISITATION”

THEN HE SETS THE STAGE QUIETLY, LOOKING OVER THE TEMPLE GROUNDS AT THE END OF THE DAY, AND QUIETLY GOES BACK TO BETHANY FOR THE NIGHT.

....THE TIME OF CHRIST’S PRESENTING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY FOR DECISION.

AND WE SEE VIVIDLY THAT IT BREAKS HIS HEART. HE WEPT OVER JERUSALEM, AT A TIME WHEN THE CROWDS WERE SHOUTING IN ADORATION, HIS HEART STILL BROKE.

YOU CAN COME TO CHURCH AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH ADORING CHRISTIANS.  YOU CAN EVEN JOIN IN THE PRAISES AND PUT ON A GOOD SHOW. BUT JESUS LOOKS DEEP WITHIN YOUR HEART...AND WEEPS OVER THE CONDITION HE SEES THERE...AND GIVES PERHAPS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE DECISION

REJECT HIM OR ACCEPT HIM?