By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
March 24, 2024 – Matthew 21:1-17
I want to take you back to ancient Palestine at the time of Jesus. Not because all of you love history but because those who don’t learn from history are destined to repeat it. There are some of you who have felt stuck and maybe even oppressed in the stretch of life you find yourself in. You need to hear this message. There are some of you who are in some pretty severe struggles right now. You need to hear this story.
God had made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Not only that, but those descendants would also be the people of God; they were to be God’s chosen people. He reaffirmed that covenant with Moses and with David.
And that is how the Jewish people, at the time of Jesus, understood themselves- they were the chosen people of God. (Just as an aside, if you are a Christian, that is very close to your identity. You are part of the family of God. You were also chosen by God)
But all the way through their history, the Jewish people had been dominated by other countries. In their mind, the Babylonian exile never really ended. They were always under the domination of some Mediterranean superpower: the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, with a couple of other smaller regimes thrown in their history as well
The people in Jesus’ time grew up with this cultural sense of being dominated. The current oppressors were the Romans. But to the Jewish people, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Here is the thing. When you know yourself to be the people of God, but these batty idol worshippers seem to prosper as winners while you, as the people of God, seem to languish and suffer as the losers, it is both incomprehensible and unacceptable.
So, in the centuries before Christ, an intense expectation and anticipation builds up within the people. A deliverer is going to come, a messiah, someone like Moses and David and the prophets all wrapped up into one person. A messiah is going to come. And when he comes, watch out. He will do some serious damage to the Roman occupation and lead the people of God to victory and to glory.
But decades passed, and the Messiah didn’t come. On several occasions, some heroic group of Jewish militants would stage a rebellion, hoping against hope that God would give them the victory. They even hoped that the Messiah would rise from their ranks.
But no deliverance came. Many of their greatest heroes were slaughtered. Waiting year after year, decade after decade, there was no deliverance. You can imagine how the people would become more and more desperate for their Messiah to come.
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Have you ever been there? Have you ever been desperate for deliverance? Maybe it is a difficult job that you don’t think you can leave. Or maybe it’s a child that is giving you grief. Or maybe it is your past that has come back to haunt you. Or maybe it is some people in your life that really are oppressive. Your life seems to be defined by your oppression. Much of your mind space is taken up thinking about your situation. It is hard. It is very hard.
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Come with me now to the story of Palm Sunday. Let me set the scene for you. The city of Jerusalem is on top of a little mountain or a big hill (depending on your perspective.) Then there is a valley and another big hill. This adjacent big hill is called The Mount of Olives. On Jesus’ Palm Sunday processional, he started behind and proceeded over the Mount of Olives and then rode down into the valley and then back up a hill into Jerusalem.
Jesus had picked up a crowd from Bethany, just behind the Mount of Olives, where he had stayed the night before. This was the place where he had raised Lazarus from the dead.
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Now, you need to remember that this happened in a particular culture at a particular time. —- Some of you have seen movies that were set in that era. Come back in your mind with me to the Roman empire, when a general or an emperor conquered in war. When they got back to Rome, a parade was held in honour of them and their victory. You may remember scenes like this from movies like Ben Hur.
You have the cheering crowds that line the road. You have the triumphant army march through. You have the triumphant general seated on a chariot or a grand steed. Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem like a grand conqueror, but he chose to ride in on a humble donkey.
Come with me to Matthew 21. We are going to look at both the Matthew and the Luke passages of this same story. The Matthew passage tells the story more succinctly. The Luke passage tells us what Jesus says in the middle of the story.
Matthew 21:1–11 (NLT)
As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.”
4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said,
5 “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Look, your King is coming to you.
He is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.’ ”
6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.
8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Praise God in highest heaven!”
Do you see it? This is Christus Victor, Christ the Conqueror, riding into Jerusalem. The problem was Jerusalem didn’t recognize him.
10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.
11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Come with me now to Luke 19. The processional is at it height. People are worshiping. Jesus crests the top of the Mount of Olives. He is overlooking the valley and looking right at the city of Jerusalem.
Luke inserts this part of the story.
Luke 19:41–44 (NLT)
41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”
Jesus approaches the city and weeps. He sees Jerusalem for what it is. Remember, these are the people of God. They have been chosen by God. But they are under oppression, and Jesus cries for them. He cries because they missed what would bring them peace.
These people were desperate to get out from under the oppression. So, they tried to do it in four main ways. Let me take you back to the city and show you what Jesus knew. As he looked over at the city, he knew that there were four main groups in Jerusalem.
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The first group was accommodators. They had given up hope and figured that the Romans were here to stay. So, they collaborate with the Romans and accept reality as it is. The tax collectors and a party called the Herodians are made up of these kinds of people. Their attitude was, “The Romans are here to stay; we might as well make some money off them.” They accommodated the oppressors.
There was another group called the Zealots. Their thinking went something like this. There is no messiah coming. We have been waiting for generations, and no one has shown up.
We are going to have to make our own fate. We need to make our own destiny. We need to rise up and beat these Romans. If we would just stop waiting and praying and got on with life then we would be alright.
The opposite extreme of this was a group that you find quite often in the gospels. They are the Pharisees. They were a group that was waiting for a miracle. They say something to the effect, “We can’t save ourselves through military action. We are hopelessly outnumbered. The only salvation that will come will be miraculous – from God. The reason why the Messiah hasn’t come is our own fault. We are not holy enough.
If all of Israel would just stop sinning, if we would all obey the law of God for even just one day and become more holy and devoted to God, then God would send his Messiah. And we would be vindicated. So, they went about creating their own rules on what they thought it meant to be holy.
It is no wonder that they hated prostitutes and, adulterers and drunkards so much. It was their fault that the Messiah wouldn’t come. So, when Jesus was kind to sinners, they thought that he was actually keeping the Messiah from coming.
. The last group was a group who just wanted to remove themselves from the situation. These people were called the Essenes. They set up little communities out in the middle of the wilderness. They just withdrew. They were waiting for the Messiah as well, but they figured that they were going to have nothing to do with the world while they waited.
So, you have the collaborators who looked at Roman oppression as a way to make money and gain power. You have the Zealots who were looking for a way to fight the oppression, even if the battle looked hopeless. You have the Pharisees who were waiting for a miracle and trying to be holy enough to attract a miracle. Last, you have the Essenes, who waited for the Messiah by withdrawing from the world.
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But now Jesus arrives on the scene. He comes into this dynamic political situation and frustrates everyone’s expectations. The Essenes would applaud Jesus when he goes into the desert for 40 days and withdraws. But then he goes back into society. To them – that’s a big mistake.
When Jesus befriends tax collectors who had given up a messiah and prostitutes, he was flying in the face of what the Pharisees believed. He is doing exactly the wrong thing. According to the Pharisees, the point is to be holy and attract the presence of God. One shouldn’t sully themselves by hanging out with sinners.
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When Jesus says to turn the other cheek and be peacemakers, the Zealots would be none too happy with him. They would have labelled him as a wimp. Stand up and fight for your rights. The only way to fight power is with more power.
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But Jesus comes to all those groups and says your paradigm is wrong. Your thinking is wrong. You are collaborating, you are an activist, you are trying to be holy, you are withdrawing, but you are all missing the point. God wants to do something on a different scale. God’s ways are not your ways. His thoughts are not your thoughts. Your thinking is too small.
Let’s go back to our Palm Sunday story. Jesus enters Jerusalem like a conquering King. He would say to those groups, your focus is on the enemy. You collaborators, you are just getting by. Get a different focus. Pharisees, you are using God as a means to the end of getting rid of the Romans. Get a different focus. Zealots, you are being activists to fight off the oppression. Get a different focus. Essences, you have withdrawn from the enemy. Get a different focus.
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There are a number of you who have the equivalent of the Romans in your life. For some of you, it is a besetting sin. You can feel the weight of the addiction. Time after time, you will be frustrated with the oppression.
For others of you, the past haunts you. For others, it is your self-image. And it affects everything you do. For others of you it is your marriage, or your depression, or your fear, or your stress, or your busyness, and the list goes on. Your heart has been captured by the Romans.
And you are responding like the people of Jerusalem.
Accommodating
Zealots
Pharisees
Essenes
Jesus would say to you, get a different focus.
Back to our Matthew passage. Look what happens in verse 12
Matthew 21:12–13 (NLT)
12 Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
Where does he get the authority to deal with temple matters? He is not the temple licencing bureau. He isn’t on the ruling council. He has come down into Jerusalem as the king. He is doing the work of a king.
But they don’t let him be king. Do you think temple life was permanently changed? If they would have let him be king, God would have come. But they missed it.
God makes forays into our lives as well…..l
And just to underline the point.
Matthew 21:14 (NLT)
14 The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them.
Not only did he enter the city as Christ, the conqueror. Not only did he manage the temple like a king. He showed himself to have authority over sickness and disease. He is Christus Victor – Christ the Conqueror.
He made a lot of people nervous that day. The collaborators were nervous because you really shouldn’t show yourself to be a king under Roman occupation; this just upsets the apple cart. The Zealots were nervous, because he was supposed to be fighting the Romans, not the people at the temple. The Essenes were nowhere to be seen. But they would not have approved. And the religious…
Matthew 21:15 (NLT)
15 The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.”
But the leaders were indignant.
They were indignant. We are trying to create a pure state. Here you are receiving the praise of the people, which should be reserved for God.
That is often our response to God, too. Don’t upset the apple cart. Fix the problem; don’t work on me, God, I’ve been trying hard already- and I’m mad you are not coming through. Or, God, you are not doing things the way that I think you should be doing them.
He is saying you missed it. Jerusalem, you missed it. Collaborators, Zealots, Pharisees, Essences, you missed it. If you had only known what would bring you peace. But now it is hidden from your eyes.
Peace is not to be found in collaborating with the enemy, taking your destiny into your own hands and delivering yourself, trying to make yourself holy, or even trying to get away from the problems. Peace is found in a person, the person of Jesus Christ. It comes from proclaiming him King of your life.
In fact, talking about Peace to his disciples, he said,
John 14:27 (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
When Christ the King comes, he first of all comes to the human heart. He brings peace that is not dependent on human circumstances.
But he is saying that letting the peace of God rule in your heart will affect the circumstances. He says of the people of Jerusalem, if you would have known what would bring you peace, you could have avoided the coming tragedy.
Jesus’ ministry spanned 3 years. They had three years to see that God had come to them. But they pushed him away. For three years, he taught them and encouraged them – but most of them missed it.
For those of you who are oppressed – Let Jesus come to you and teach you who God is. It is so important that you hear from him and do what he says. For some of you, he might tell you to forgive those who have wronged you. For others, he might show you the lie that you believed when you were hurt and have you repent of the lie and believe the truth. For others of you, he may show you that the oppression comes from ways you have cursed yourself or other people have cursed you, and you took those curses to heart. For others of you he may show you the way to healing from past trauma.
What I do know is that when Jesus comes and speaks into your life, there is healing and hope. I also know he wants to come to all of us. If you are being oppressed and fall into the four groups of Jerusalem – change your focus. Pursue listening to Jesus – because he is the one who can deliver you from oppression.
Sermon Questions
Matthew 21:1-17 – Palm Sunday.
Introduction
1. What are you celebrating this week?
2. What are you praying about this week?
Digging In
3. Read Matthew 21:1-17. What stands out to you about this story?
4. Read Luke 19:41-44. What do we learn about the Palm Sunday story from Luke?
5. The sermon talked about how four groups in Jerusalem handled oppression.
- The Accommodators –figured there was nothing they could do about the problem, so they would make money and accumulate power.
- The Zealots – They believed they should take their fate into their own hands and rise up and try to beat the oppressors even if it was a losing battle.
- The Pharisees – They were trying to make God do a miracle by trying to be holy enough.
- The Essenes – The figure that they would withdraw from the world and stick their heads in the sand.
Can you think of examples of how people handle problems/challenges/oppression in our time like the groups above did?
6. In Luke 19:41-44 (that you have already read), Jesus wept. What was he weeping about? What would he have said to the above-mentioned groups?
7. Read Matthew 21:12-15. What does this tell us about who Jesus is? How would this have made the groups mentioned above nervous?
8. Read John 14:27 – How does this verse link to the above Luke passage? What is Jesus trying to say to us?
9. How does Jesus come to us today?