April 10 Sermon: From the Mouths of Infants
Consider these questions as you listen to this Palm Sunday message from Matthew 21:1-17:
1. What significance does Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey hold in terms of fulfilling prophecy, and how does it confirm his identity as the Messiah?
2. How does the enthusiastic reception of Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem reflect their expectations of him as the Messiah, and what role did the titles "Son of David" and "prophet" play in their perception of him?
3. What message is conveyed through Jesus cleansing the temple, and how does this action highlight his roles as a priest and a king in contrast to the people's expectations of political liberation?
Transcript:
There are some people who just know how to make an entrance. Whether it is someone walking into a room or an entertainer stepping on to the stage in a full arena some people can make their presence known. You can likely think of some elaborate entrance or presentation that you have been present for and when it happens an already excited crowd just pops and you know the person they’ve all been waiting for has arrived. The perfect example of this is a sporting event when they are announcing the starting lineups. The crowd has been anticipating the game for hours. Between travel to the game, tailgating, and then getting through the gate to find their seats the suspense of the game beginning has been building up and there is excitement in the air. The majority of the starting line up is announced and then the superstar player is the last one to be announced and an arena you didn’t think could get any louder takes the decibel level to another level. The higher the stakes of the game, the louder the crowd will be. I had never even heard the word decibel but when I was twelve and the Minnesota Twins were playing in the World Series I saw a decibel meter reading noise levels for the first time. Even sitting at home you could tell that it was extraordinarily loud.
As we approach Easter and find ourselves once again at Palm Sunday and considering the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus. While we don’t know how high the crowd that day would have gotten on a decibel meter there is no denying that Jesus makes quite an entrance into the holy city for Passover and we find a crowd that believes the stakes are high and that he is the one that they have been waiting to arrive. Their words that day express that they believe Jesus to be the Messiah that has been promised.
As we come to this familiar story today I am going to break down what we’ve read into three points and once I break those down for you we will dig into the text.
The first thing that we will be looking at this morning is that Jesus fulfills prophecy. All throughout the gospels we see this important theme and as Jesus enters Jerusalem this idea is expressed to us again. And this theme of fulfilled prophecy carries a lot of weight because it implies something important: that Jesus is the messiah. The Old Testament doesn’t have prophecies about just anyone and anything. There isn’t a prophecy that Zachariah is going to eat hummus on the Tuesday before Passover. The Old Testament points to the Messiah not only in prophetic proclamation but in types and shadows. The Messiah is what the Old Testament is driving at and the prophetic fulfillment we see Jesus doing lets us know that he is the anointed one the people have been waiting for.
Secondly, we see Jesus enter Jerusalem with an astounding welcome. The way Jesus is received doesn’t mean much to us but to the people it was not only Jesus making an entrance it was the people affirming that they believe Jesus to be the one who they have been waiting for. The reception he gets is historically significant and shows that the people have high expectations for this one who has come to Jerusalem on a beast of burden.
Finally, we see Jesus cleansing the temple. As he arrives in Jerusalem he heads to the temple and kicks out those who are taking advantage of people in the temple courts. As Jesus does this he does more than just overturn tables, he upsets the chief priests and scribes. In doing this he puts a target on himself setting up the story we know is coming.
With those three points put before us, let’s dig into the first point as we see Jesus fulfilling prophecy.
Matthew 21:1–6
ESV
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,
on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
As we start out in this passage here in Matthew, I want us to call back to what we observed in the book of Luke over the last couple of months about the teaching ministry of Jesus. You’ve heard me say before that our perception of the life and teaching ministry of Jesus is that he was hanging out around Jerusalem most of the time and teaching people there. Remember back to what we saw in Luke though. He is out and about teaching in the synagogues in Galilee. We really only see Jesus making his way to Jerusalem for the feasts which would be three times a year and the most detail that we find about those is this final observance of Passover.
And so as we come to this first verse here we know that he is obviously headed to the city with the purpose of observing the Passover. And as they get close Jesus sends two of his disciples out on a little side quest that is vital to the story that is unfolding in front of us because it helps to confirm the identity of Jesus.
Now, we see in the way that the story of Jesus is told in the gospels that he is clearly the messiah. He is the one who was promised all the way back in the garden and was pointed to throughout the Old Testament. But the gospels also leave us with a sense of tension and mystery. We are brought along with the people who would have been anticipating the messiah and the authors use things like prophetic fulfilment and messianic language to confirm to us and remind us that Jesus is the messiah.
This part of the story does just that as Jesus gives these two disciples an interesting task. It is an interesting task because traveling on his feet seems to have previously been just fine with Jesus. In fact, this seems like a bit of a chore. You’ve walked this far Jesus, why do you need a ride now? He is right outside the city.
Well, the reason is that he is in the business of confirming his identity to us. This is al about fulfilling a prophetic word about him. But before we get to that prophecy, we see how Jesus told them to acquire this mode of transportation. This part of the story is interesting to me because I know how awkward I would feel if it was me he tasked with this assignment. We’re just supposed to walk up and take a donkey and if someone objects we tell them the Lord needs it. The Bible doesn’t tell us about the walk to get the donkey but I would bet the two disciples likely had a you take the donkey, no you do it, type of conversation on the way.
Matthew doesn’t give us much detail on how the acquiring of the beast of burden goes down. Instead he wants us to know that this fulfills a prophecy about the messiah. What is interesting about the gospel of Matthew is that here in chapter 21 he ramps up the Old Testament references. As Matthew starts there are a lot of quotations from the Old Testament but then there aren’t that many until the triumphal entry and through Christ’s passion. Matthew particularly wants us to know about the fulfilment of prophecy as this story leads us to the cross.
And so we see that the king is to come in a humble way and on a donkey. And so, Jesus ordains that this comes to pass. And it is important that we draw out what this means. Notice the use of two words. King and humble. Jesus is king but he is not coming with armies or with loud fanfare from his entourage. Instead, he comes in a humble manner. Not on a white steed but on a foal of a beast of burden.
And all of this comes to pass and it is a confirmation for us that Jesus is the one that has been waited for through the ages. Not only the one prophesied of but also the one that the types of the Old Testament rituals pointed to.
And before we move to our second point I need to remind you about the expectation that the people had for the Messiah. You know how you feel when you think something you’ve been hoping for is about to happen. You get excited and you are on edge waiting for it to take place. Well, the people of Israel have been looking to the promises of God in the Old Testament for a very long time. Their hope was increased by the fact that their homeland was occupied by the Romans and even more amplified by the fact that they believed they were living in the time when the Messiah would arrive. They would have looked at the prophecies of Daniel and calculated them to their time and so they were not only hoping for the Messiah they were expecting him.
And as we move on to our second point it is with this impending possibility of the messiahs arrival that Jesus on the back of a donkey arrives in Jerusalem.
Matthew 21:7–11
ESV
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!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
You and I are used to the story and so we kind of blow past the details here and maybe you remember why what the crowd does is significant from past Palm Sundays but, I had to double check the details and so I’m guessing it’s important that I remind you as well.
This throwing their cloaks on the road and cutting the tree branches calls back to other events in the history of Israel. It is reminiscent of a procession for the coronation of a king. They aren’t just throwing their cloaks on the ground because Jesus is a healer and a good teacher. Their actions here have expectations of Jesus being a king baked into them. And the waving of the branches calls back to a celebration when conquering heroes returned from a military victory. That victory and the celebration of it was such a big deal that the palm branches they used became a symbol for the people. So much so that during a period in the late first century when Israel went to make it’s own coins one of the symbols that was used was a palm branch.
These historical details let us know what the people are expecting from this one riding on the donkey. They are not escorting him into town so that they host a evangelistic event with Jesus as the speaker who follows it up by healing the sick. They are aware of what Jesus has done and because of those things they are identifying him as the messiah and so they believe he is going to end the Roman occupation and sit on the throne as king.
And it doesn’t take much to imagine what the people are thinking if you know what they are chanting. Hosanna sounds like a praise word to us but it is actually a cry of desperation. It means save us now. It is a cry for salvation. And they aren’t calling out in hopes that their sins will be forgiven. They are calling out in hope that they will be saved from Roman occupation.
And there is more to this than just the word Hosanna. They are calling out save us now to a specific person. The Son of David. This is not only a messianic term but remember who David is. He was THE king in the history of Israel. He was the one on the throne when the kingdom of Israel was united. He was really the only one who ever brought about the national unity they desire.
Their chants also include a messianic Psalm. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord is from Psalm 118 which would have been on the peoples lips as they were traveling to Jerusalem for Passover. They didn’t have to look these verses up they would have known them by heart and they were now singing it in hopeful expectation that the one they have been singing about is on the donkey right in front of them.
And we see that the whole city is stirred up by this and this shouldn’t surprise us. There are people from all over the place coming in to town and now the anticipation of the people has risen to a high level. They know what they want and so it is easy to spread the word to all those around the city. They want to know what is happening and who Jesus is and we see how the people view Jesus don’t we. He’s more than a teacher. They see him as a prophet. They believe he is from God and is speaking for God. Their statements and actions show that they want him set up as king and so we have seen here in our second point the idea that Jesus as messiah is king with their connection to David and the way they put their cloaks on the road. They also state that he is a prophet and so we have two of the three offices that we speak about Jesus holding. We often speak of Jesus as our prophet, priest, and king and in point two here we saw him seen as two of those and as we move on to our third point and the final part of our passage we see Jesus in the temple and in a priestly role he cleanses it.
Matthew 21:12–17
ESV
And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,
“ ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”
And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
And Matthew showing us where Jesus is going is interesting because based upon what the people have said you would think the next step is overthrowing the Roman government or maybe as a preliminary he gathers an army to do the overthrowing for him but where does he go? He goes to the temple. That isn’t going to do anything for overthrowing the Romans and him being a king like the people so greatly desire.
And while the people might like Jesus flipping a few tables over their concerns are not with the temple. Their desire isn’t for a cleansed temple. Their desire is for the Romans to be gone.
But in flipping the tables Jesus is saying something very important. These people in the temple that had their tables set up were serving an important role. They were providing a way to convert Roman money into the temple currency so they could pay their tithe. They also were providing animals for sacrifice and specifically they were providing birds which would have been the sacrifice of those who couldn’t afford to sacrifice a lamb. Ultimately, these were necessary services, right? The temple shekel was required but they didn’t get paid in temple currency so they needed an exchange and were people expected to travel miles upon miles keeping a bird with them for the sacrifice.
But Jesus takes issue with where these were set up and also with the people taking advantage of the people. He says that the Lord’s house is to be a house of prayer. This stuff shouldn’t be set up where it had been set aside for people to come and pray and he refers to them as robbers. We don’t know to what effect the people who set up shop in the temple were taking advantage of people but you know it would have been an easy opportunity to steal from people by taking more than the exchange rate and by charging more for a bird than necessary because the people traveled all this way to make a sacrifice, they need the bird and so even poor people would have paid for these pigeons.
Jesus is concerned with the purity of the temple and so we see that priestly role at play here and we also find that he shows his authority to do what he has done by healing people there in the temple. Remember what the healing establishes. It shows that his words and actions have authority from God.
And as so often happens with Jesus as soon as he does something the scribes and priests show up to question his authority. Notice that Jesus is able to show that he has authority by the power to heal but the scribes and chief priests question it. They know the ramifications of what the people are saying.
And I love the way Matthew expresses this event to us. The children are crying out. It is likely the chants of Hosanna to the Son of David have long died out by the masses but now they are continuing with the children singing the song they have heard from the adults. The grown ups have probably moved on to other concerns. Acquiring sacrifices and changing their money or getting settled in where they are lodging for the Passover but the children are still proclaiming the truth. The crowds might be silent but the truth is echoing through the streets of Jerusalem from the mouths of children.
We are told that the scribes are indignant and they ask Jesus if he can hear them. Well, of course he can. If they can, he can. They aren’t really asking if he can physically hear them. They are asking if he objects to it, right? And Jesus gives a scriptural answer and they aren’t going to like it.
Jesus is quoting from Psalm 8 here and that Psalm is addressed towards God and so what is Jesus doing? He is claiming praise meant for God to himself. Yeah, you can see why that isn’t going to make them happy and so with that thought in mind we see how the last week of the life of Jesus is set up.
The people are expecting the overthrow of Rome. In going to the temple Jesus shows he isn’t the earthly ruler they expect. By the end of the week, the people expecting revolution against Rome are going to be sorely disappointed and ready to say crucify him. And his actions at the temple infuriate the group that already is looking to get rid of him.
We read of shouts of praise and calls of save us now today but we can easily see how Good Friday is on the way.
And so, we praise Jesus on this day but we know the path that our savior is on. It is a path of betrayal and suffering.
As we look to apply this passage to our lives in the coming days and weeks and I want us dwell quickly on the reminder of the three fold office we see in this passage.
First, as we head to good Friday we should remember the office Jesus holds as prophet. He is the one who came and declared the word of the Lord. He spoke words of comfort and peace but also words that called people to turn from their sin and repent. May we hear the word of the Lord and understand that he is the one through whom God has spoken and may we daily take him at his word and trust the authority and sufficiency of God’s word to have primacy in our lives.
Secondly, may the cleansing that Jesus did of the temple humbly remind us of the cleansing that he has done in our lives. He is our great high priest and he has cleansed the temple once and for all by the sacrifice of himself for our sins. May we not arrive at Good Friday and simply think that it is a story of a good teacher who was cut down in his prime. The story of the cross is about the sacrifice for our sins and his substitution for us. May we not consider the work of Jesus with the gravity of what was done but also with joy that he has cleansed our hearts once and for all in his perfect sacrifice for our sins.
Finally, may we journey to Good Friday knowing that Jesus is our king. He did not arrive at this position by the people rising up and putting him on a throne. He did not assert his miraculous power and remove all adversaries. Instead, he is a king who suffered for his people. His greatest triumph was not in a military battle or in possessing a particular tract of land. His coronation was on a cross suffering for his people and now he is our risen and ascended Lord.
In this coming week may you and I be reminded of the fullness of who Jesus is and may it leads us to turn from our sin and rejoice in the work that he accomplished for us. May all honor, glory, and praise be given to the Son of David for he has saved his people. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
