MATTHEW 21:1-11
 

The Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah seem to emphasize two different aspects: He is seen 1: as king and sovereign:Isaiah 9:7: "of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this." And He is seen 2: as suffering servant: Isaiah 53:3: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." Both refer to Jesus Christ who was first suffering servant and then exalted king and sovereign. Throughout His ministry people either tried to make Him king or tried to make Him suffer. In the text for today there is an odd blend of humility as He rides in on the donkey and exaltation as He is given honor. He came into Jerusalem to become the suffering servant and was exalted as king by those who loved him. There are three examples of folk giving Him his due honor in the text. Let's consider them and follow suit.

1. OBEY HIM AS THE DISCIPLES DID: VV2, 6:

1. Jesus gave an order and "the disciples went and did as Jesus directed them!" That is a characteristic of real followers. Concerning our obedience, there are two striking statements in the Gospels:
1. When Jesus was at the wedding feast at Cana, the wine ran out. Mary said to those in charge, "What ever He says to you, do it." John 2:5. Let that be your rule of thumb!
2. When Jesus told Peter, who had fished unsuccessfully all night, to put out to deep water and cast out the nets, Peter replied, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but at Your bidding I will let down the nets." Luke 5:5. It may not make sense to you, but if Jesus bids it, do it!
2. Obedient followers do not just do as they think logical, or easiest, or best: Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 7:21. In keeping with that, the disciples didn't::
1. Go to "Rent-a-Donkey." They didn't say, "The guy may not want us to take his donkey! Do you know the penalty for grand theft - donkey?"
2. Procrastinate to a more convenient time. They didn't protest: "Can't we do it later? We've got other plans at the moment."
3. Check with the other disciples to see if they thought it was wise. They didn't say, "Jesus said to go get this guy's donkey. Do you think we should do that?"
3. "The disciples went and did as Jesus directed them!" That's how we honor Him as we ought!
1. It is not by fancy creedal statements, it is by simply doing as He commands.
2. It is not by lip service, but by life.
3. It is not by talk but by walk.
4. It is not by pledge but by performance.
4. Imagine an employer going away for a few months and leaving everything in charge of his executives. During his absence he writes letters in which he spells out all his expectations. Finally, he returns. When he gets to the office he is stunned! Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows are broken. The receptionist is doing her nails, chewing gum, and listening to her favorite disco station. Waste baskets are overflowing, the carpet hasn't been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned. He finds the executive in charge finishing a chess game with a sales manager. He discovers that his office has been turned into a television room for watching soap operas. He asks, "What in the world is going on, man?" "What do ya' mean, Chuck?" "Well, look at this place! Didn't you get any of my letters?" "Letters? Oh, yeah- sure, got everyone of them. As a matter of fact, Chuck, we have had letter study every Friday night since you left. We have even had small group discussion of what you wrote. Some of those things were really interesting. A few of us have actually memorized some of your sentences. Some of us have even memorized an entire letter or two! Great stuff in those letters!" "Okay, okay -you got my letters, you studied them and meditated on them, discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?" "Do? Uh, we didn't do anything about them." (Adapted from Improving Your Serve, Charles Swindoll). We honor Him by doing something about His Word. But there is another factor:

2. GIVE HIM WHAT HE ASKS AS THE DONKEY'S OWNER DID: V3:

1. Strange statement, when you think about it: "The Lord has need of them." The Lord needs them!?! He Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills needed a donkey? The Royal in need of the menial? The eternal in need of the temporal? The Divine in need of what a man could provide?
2. Jesus said, "tell the man 'The Lord has need of them,'and immediately he will send them." And, as Jesus said, immediately the man gave his donkey! That's how to honor Him as we ought! Give Him what He asks immediately! With the owner of the donkey
1. There was no hesitation: "Maybe I better talk to the missus to see if she's planning to use the beast today."
2. There was no refusal: "Maybe I have plans for the donkey today. Did your Master ever stop to think about that?"
3. There was no substitution! "I can't let you have the donkey, but my kid has one of those stick donkeys; take that!"
4. There was no grudging assent: "Okay, okay! Take the blasted beast; let me walk where I need to go. Make it hard on me, but take her, take her!"
3. The secret of giving what He asks is doing as did the Macedonians. They begged Paul for the privilege of giving to the poor. We read in 2 Corinthians 8:5 "and they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will."
1. What do you have that He asks? Time? Treasure? Talent? The Lord has need of those things!
2. The Lord of Heaven has made Himself somewhat dependent on you and me to get His work done!
3. First give yourself, then what you have will follow! He doesn't so much seek what is yours, but He does seek YOU. Ask yourself:
1. Do I truly belong to Him?
2. Do I recognize His priority in all of my life?
3. Do I willingly surrender to His authority?
4. Let me illustrate: A man was gathering a shipment of food for the poor of Appalachia which had been contributed by a school. As he was separating the items into groups, he reached into a box and pulled out a sack. It was a child's lunch. Out of the sack he took a peanut butter sandwich, an apple and a cookie. On the sack was written, "Christy, Room 104." This little girl had given her lunch for some hungry person because she believed Jesus wanted her to! That's true giving. That's how Jesus wants us to give that for which He asks. That's how we honor Him as we ought! And there is more. To honor Him as we ought:

3. PRAISE HIM AS THE CROWD DID: V9:

1. The crowds went ahead of Him and some followed shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!" Their praises crowned Him king.
1. This was a Holy "Hurrah!" "Long Live the King!" "Viva Jesus!"
2. This was a declaration of trust and confidence in Him: "Hosanna" was an appeal: "Lord, save us!"
2. If you want to give Him proper honor, get in line with the crowd!
1. They showed allegiance to Him, do we?
2. They were on His side, are we?
3. They were outspoken advocates of Jesus, are we?
3. We honor Him as we ought by praising Him. There are a variety of ways to do that:
1. Expressing thanks and gratitude.
2. Trusting and honoring Him even in times of adversity and affliction.
3. Declaring His Lordship and sovereignty and submitting to His authority in all aspects of our lives.
4. A faithful old saint lay dying. Her family gathered around the bed. Her son asked, "Mom, what Scripture would you like me to read?" She answered, "Anything from the Bible is fine, but let it be praise. Let it be praise." Let our very lives be praise to Him as we make Him Lord.

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