Giving Up Popularity Matthew 21:1-11 PRAY INTRO: We are quickly approaching Easter Sunday. On that day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. And we end the season of Lent. That we means whatever we gave up for Lent is not longer off limits! That is unless we are talking about the things we have given up for Lent... and for Life. Things like Control, Expectations, Superiority, Enemies, and our Lives. Remember, we give up our lives in that we choose to follow Christ and reorient ourselves to him and to others. Before we get to Easter, though, we have another thing to give up this week. And on Easter Sunday we will consider what Jesus helps us to give up. More on that next week! Today, let's think about giving up Popularity. (THE PROBLEM) ME: I kind of like being liked. I don't mind belong popular either. But is this a problem? Not necessarily, but it can become a problem. When being liked becomes more import to me than doing the right thing, that's a problem. When being popular is prioritized over listening to and obeying God, that's a problem. YOU: Is Popularity a problem for you? Is being liked more important than being righteous? If it is, then we have 1
got a problem! Let's see if God has the answer to our problem, if we do have a problem. (THE ANSWER) GOD: Matthew 21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, The Lord needs them. And he will send them immediately. Jesus sounds a lot like a celebrity asking for M&Ms in the dressing room... and demanding there be no blue ones be in the mix! I thought we were learning how to give up popularity? They say his entry into Jerusalem is vitally important from almost every perspective. Historically, it marked a very significant point in Jesus life and ministry. There was no turning back from the destiny God had prepared for him in Jerusalem after this. From a literary standpoint the entry represents a key point in Matthew s Gospel. After so many chapters depicting him on a journey to Jerusalem, Jesus has arrived. All the themes Matthew has been developing can be brought to a conclusion. Theologically the entry enables Matthew to proclaim truth about Jesus that could not be as effectively communicated in any other way. Matthew s Gospel focuses on the question of Jesus identity. The issue will be most directly raised by the city s question in verse 10: Who is this? Though the crowd will answer that it is... Jesus, the prophet from 2
Nazareth in Galilee, we learn much more about Jesus from Matthew s account of the entry. As Jesus and the disciples came near to Jerusalem, they entered Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives stood on the east side of Jerusalem overlooking the whole city and especially the Temple courtyard. Bethphage was either on the top or slightly down the eastern slope of the mountain. It marked the end of the road from Jericho and entry into Jerusalem. When they get to Bethphage, Jesus sent two disciples to begin preparation for the entry into the city. Even though many think that Jesus had made prior arrangements for the donkey he would ride into the city, the natural flow of the story suggests divine foreknowledge on his part. The disciples were to go to the village ahead and find a donkey. They would NOT need to search, but at once they would almost trip over the the donkey with her colt. Matthew is the only Gospel to mention both the donkey and the colt. Perhaps he considered both to be part of the Scripture fulfillment that he will mention in verse 5. Jesus instructed the disciples to untie the animals and bring them to Him. Is this him being a high maintenance celebrity again? Not at all! While some might regard this appropriation of the animals as stealing, ancient culture assumed that a king could commandeer any possession of one of his subjects. Some rabbis also claimed the right to commandeer resources from the common people. Thus the instructions to the disciples assume Jesus identity either as rabbi or, more likely for Matthew, as king. If anyone says anything, Jesus instructed the disciples to say to them, The Lord needs them. The play on words is clearer in Greek than in English. The word Lord in Greek is kyrios, which was used both of a property owner or master as well as the 3
primary name for God in the Hebrew Bible. So the disciples are to tell anyone who objects that the owner God himself needs the animals. It is usually understood that Jesus rode a donkey to symbolize his message of peace rather than riding a horse, which would have symbolized a militant view of the Messiah. The Hebrew Bible suggests that the heir of David would ride a donkey to his coronation. Solomon did, as seen in 1 Kings 1:32 40. Absalom (2 Sam. 18:9) and Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 19:26) were both heirs to David s throne, and both rode donkeys. So the symbolism, intended by Matthew and understood by the crowds in Jerusalem that day, was that by riding on the donkey Jesus laid claim to the title Son of David, King of Israel. 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. In verse 4, Matthew says that this took place to fulfill the Scripture found in Zechariah 9:9, which he quotes in verse 5. This pattern of introducing Scripture quotations was common in the early chapters of the Gospel but has been missing since chapter 13. The prophecy provided another reason for the disciples to say that the Lord needs the animals. It spoke of Israel s king coming to the people. This enabled Matthew to claim the title king as part of Jesus identity. The text then described the king as gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Most agree that the reference to the colt in Zechariah is an example of Hebrew parallelism, so both 4
lines refer to a single animal. The second line, referring to the colt as the foal of a donkey, would be another way of saying that the donkey was young and unbroken. Matthew seems to have thought that the text referred to two animals. WE: 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven! 10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, Who is this? 11 The crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee. Verse 6 shows that the disciples went and did what Jesus had told them to do. Are they finally getting it? Is their obedience an indication that they were finally beginning to understand Jesus identity? The disciples placed their cloaks on the animals, and Jesus sat on the cloaks riding into Jerusalem. I read that Matthew s choice of words, saying that Jesus sat on the donkey rather than riding it, reflects Matthew's 5
understanding of Jesus as king. Sitting was the normal posture associated with kings. Matthew shows that Jesus royal entry into Jerusalem as a huge public event. A very large crowd got in on it by spreading their cloaks on the road and by cutting branches from the trees to spread before the entering king. This all signifies Jesus kingly role. People spread their cloaks before Jehu, proclaiming him king in 2 Kings 9:13. Cutting the branches from trees would have been part of the way the road was prepared for royalty as we read in Isaiah 40:3 4. The crowds were so large that some went ahead of Jesus and some followed, but ALL shouted praises to Him. Hosanna, Loud Hosanna! Brenda Fossum Tells this story: On Palm Sunday, my 5-year-old niece, Stephanie, sat on my lap while we listened to the pastor's sermon. He described Jesus' approach to Jerusalem and how the crowds cried, "Hosanna, Hosanna!" At that, Stephanie perked up and began to sing, "Oh, Hosanna, now don't you cry for me!" It is helpful to remember that the way pilgrims entered Jerusalem for religious festivals was to walk. Even people with mounts to ride to the city would dismount and walk the final steps into Jerusalem to show their humble gratitude at coming to the house of the Lord. 6
That Jesus, who had no animal to ride, sought out the donkey and rode into the city made a strong statement that he was no ordinary pilgrim. He was God himself coming to his own house. It changed quickly, though. The same crowds that shout Hosanna would soon shout Crucify! Jesus would soon lose his popularity. He gave it up willingly to do what he was sent to do. To do what he was ready to do, what he knew was coming his whole life long. He could have chosen to chase after the Popularity. If he had, he would not have been doing what was right. We can do the same, we can choose to do what is right, even if it is not popular. THE SERMON IN A SENTENCE: Give up Popularity for Lent and for Life. YOU: Author Lee Eclov shares a story that will bring this home for us this morning as we think about giving up Popularity for Lent and for Life: He says: When I was a kid in the mid-50s, Parker Brothers came out with a game for church families like ours. It was called "Going to Jerusalem." Your playing piece wasn't a top hat or Scottie dog, like in the "worldly" game of Monopoly. In "Going to Jerusalem," you got to be a real disciple. You were represented by a little plastic man with a robe, a beard, some sandals, and a staff. In order to move across the board, you looked up answers to questions in the little black New Testament 7
provided with the game. I remember that you always started in Bethlehem, and you made stops at the Mount of Olives, Bethsaida, Capernaum, the stormy sea, Nazareth, and Bethany. If you rolled the dice well, you went all the way to a triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But you never got to the Crucifixion or Resurrection. There were no demons or angry Pharisees. You only made your way through the nice stories. It was a safe adventure, perfectly suited for a Christian family on a Sunday afternoon walk with Jesus. It never occurred to me, while leaning over the card table jiggling the dice in my hand, that traveling with Jesus wasn't meant for plastic disciples who looked up verses in a little black Bible. If you're gong to walk with Jesus as his disciple in this world, you may need to change your expectations. After all, Jesus said, "Take up your cross, and follow me." CLOSE: What a welcome Jesus got as he entered Jerusalem. Hosanna! the people cried, hailing him as an honored king. The crowds loved Jesus on Palm Sunday, but just a few days later a different crowd was calling for his death and the release of a murderer. Popularity and acclaim in the eyes of others is fleeting, and if we put all our faith in it we will be very disappointed. Instead, God calls us to put our faith in God's unending love and grace - something that will never go away, and will sustain us through the times when others have abandoned us. Let's join together in prayer... 8