HOSANNA!
Matthew
21:1-11
Many people who move to Raleigh from
other parts of the country cannot understand our obsession with college
sports—particularly college basketball.
Other sports just do not seem to get the same fan devotion and excitement
around here.
When we heard
rumors several years ago that a major professional sports team was considering
relocating to the Triangle, we got all excited about the possibility of summer
evenings watching Major League baseball, or maybe the Hornets would leave and
make room for an NBA team in Raleigh…fat chance! We were not exactly thrilled when we found out it was to be NHL
hockey since nearly no one around here had ever seen a game.
Then when the
Hurricanes came to town, the support was “underwhelming” since you had to drive
to Greensboro to see them play. But
then something strange happened…they started winning and everyone was a hockey
fan for a little while. Making it to
the Stanley Cup finals even persuaded me to go to a game! But alas…a new season, too many losses and
too many unmet expectations and we proved to be “fair-weather fans” who seldom
even read about the games in the paper, much less turn out for games!
The church has
its fair share of “fair-weathered followers” of Jesus Christ. They are around in big numbers when they
think they are going to get something out of following Him…but just as quickly
they disappear when our interests and desires don’t line up with His. No where is that demonstrated more
graphically than in the welcome Jesus received on Sunday of passion week and
the treatment He endured on Friday.
“Hosannas!” on Sunday and “Crucify Him!” on Friday. Let’s look at what happened.
THESIS:
Joining the crowds following Jesus sometimes only means that we are
interested in what we can get out of Him instead of what we can give to Him—our
whole-hearted worship and devotion.
I. AN ENTRY
CONSISTENT WITH ROYALTY
--When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the week of the
Passover, that Sunday morning entry marked the beginning of the end for the
reign of sin, and the establishment of the eternal reign of the Sovereign Lord.
--It was fitting therefore, that it was a royal cavalcade, a
parade fit for a King.
A. YOUR KING
IS COMING TO YOU
--As the prophet had said in Zechariah 9:9, a King would
come for God’s people who would not be just another king among the myriads of
earthly kings, but He would be “Your King!”
Matt 21:5
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your
King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the
foal of a beast of burden.’”
--As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem that Sunday, the
King of the Israel from the tribe of David arrived to much acclaim…even if the
crowds were mistaken about why He had come.
B. THE
PRINCE OF PEACE HAS ARRIVED FOR YOU
Matt 21:7
and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their
garments, on which He sat.
--He did not come riding on a powerful stallion, a warrior’s
war horse, but on a lowly beast of burden, coming humbly and peacefully, without
posing a threat by military might but imposing nonetheless as the Prince of
Peace to a sin-conflicted world out to destroy all opposition.
Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will
be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name
will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of
Peace.
C. THE
SOVEREIGN OF NATIONS WEEPS OVER YOU
--A true King loves His people and has
compassion for them, and so it was that the King of Glory is the Sovereign of
nations and was deeply moved by the plight of His people as He approached the
city of Jerusalem.
Luke 19:41-44 And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the
things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 “For
the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you,
and surround you, and hem you in on every side, 44 and will level you to the ground and your children
within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you
did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
--The heart of our Sovereign Lord grieves when we turn away
from Him and bring disaster upon ourselves.
II. A
RECEPTION SADDLED WITH SELF-INTEREST
--Large crowds gathered to receive Jesus into the city, but
for the wrong reasons:
·
Hosannas from the
crowd hoping for relief from Roman oppression (21:9)
·
Indignation from the
chief priests for opportunities to eliminate the competition (21:15)
A. THE
MIRACLE WORKER
--Many from Galilee just wanted to see a repeat of some of
the wonders that had “wowed” them back home; many from the territory around
Jerusalem had heard what Jesus had done and wanted to see something spectacular
themselves.
Luke 19:37
And as He was now approaching, near the
descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to
praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all
the miracles which they had seen,
--Their interest was not in Jesus as Lord, but in Jesus as
Showman and Entertainer, who could bring some excitement into their monotonous
lives.
B. THE
MIGHTY WARRIOR
--Others entertained hopes that Jesus may indeed be the
long-awaited Messiah who would save them from their oppressors, release them
from their bondage and set them free to be on their own.
Matt 21:9
And the multitudes going before Him, and those
who followed after were crying out, saying,
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
--Hosanna means “save now,” or “save, I pray!”
For many who cry out for Jesus to “save now,” the
interest in only in being saved from the things they don’t like, and not saved
from the things they do like!
They are perfectly willing to offer
Him praise and acclaim as long as He does what they want for them.
C. THE
MESSAGE BEARER
--Still others are fine with Jesus as a good teacher and
promoter of interesting ideas, to fill the role of prophet, but they will not
grant Him more than that.
Matt 21:11
And the multitudes were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
--For all the hoopla and celebrative atmosphere surrounding
the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the primary reasons for their enthusiasm had
nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with their own self-interests!
With church attendance on the rise around the
country, there still is little evidence that people are living for Jesus
Christ. They have been drawn by the
crowds in many cases for many reasons other than a heart-felt devotion to Jesus
Christ and a willingness to surrender their lives to Him.
They are fine with His teaching,
excited about the possibility of experiencing something that gives them goose
bumps, hopeful that they might get Jesus to save them from a tough
situation. But if He refuses to play by
their rules, dance to their tune, work for their agenda—they no longer have any
use for Him and turn away when following Him means having to give up what they
like and want for themselves.
III. A
SAVIOR WORTHY OF PRAISE
--If Jesus never did anything for us, He would still be
worthy of praise, still be the only One worth following at all costs!
A. GLORIFIED
IN ALL THE EARTH
·
Children will praise Him
Matt 21:15 …and the children
who were crying out in the temple and saying,
“Hosanna to the Son of David,”
·
Stones will cry out
Luke 19:40 And He answered and
said, “I tell you, if these become
silent, the stones will cry out!”
·
Mountains, hills and trees will applaud
Isaiah 55:12 For
you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the
hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the
field will clap their hands.
·
Heavens will declare His glory
Psalm 19:1 The heavens are
telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His
hands.
B. EXALTED
AS PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING
· Prophet Represents God with man
· Priest Represents man in the presence of God
· King Exercises dominion and restores the original
dominion of man
C. WORSHIPED
AS THE LAMB OF GOD
--John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who
had come to take away the sins of the world, and John the Apostle in the
Revelation sees Him glorified and worshiped.
Rev. 5:12-13 “…Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing.” 13 And every
created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on
the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and
honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.”
D. ADORED AS
THE SOVEREIGN LORD
--Everything comes from Him and all glory is due to Him, so
it is only right for us to go to Him as our Sovereign Lord with hearts
overflowing with adoration for who He is.
1Chr. 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power,
the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth
is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is
over all things. (New Living Translation)
Any façade of praise that can turn from
“Hosanna!” on Sunday to “Crucify Him!” by Friday is not worthy of the One who
gave Himself for us. Nor is it worthy
of the One who in and of Himself deserves every word and act of worship we can
ever offer Him.
We cannot be so
fickle in our praise that we serve and worship Him when we like what He can do,
but turn on Him when He will not act in contradiction to His eternally perfect
character to meet our demands of Him.
Crying “Hosanna—Save us now!” can be the cry of a heart that sees in
Jesus its only hope of salvation given our conviction of sin. It can be a legitimate appeal for a heart
that has uncovered the torturous truth about our fallen nature. But let us never use Jesus for our own
self-interests…blessing and glorifying His name should be our highest joy and
greatest priority.
Hosanna…for your sake, not ours! Blessed be the name of the Lord!
May the Lord make
that the cry of our hearts!
Providence Baptist Church
© David Horner 2004
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