The Messiah - Jesus Christ -
on the final stage of the
journey to death in Jerusalem.

 Jesus is self-consciously aware that he is about to die, and has warned his disciples beforehand that this is so. Jesus and his disciples make the long journey from Jericho up to Jerusalem, and after he heals two blind men by the side of the road, they approach Bethany - the home of Simon the leper, and of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. That's where today's story begins. I don't usually use alliteration, but this passage falls neatly into seven sections, each starting with the letter 'P', so I couldn't resist. Here on the overhead is the first section.

 1. The Preparation vv 1-3

Jesus makes preparations for his entry into Jerusalem. He arranges a donkey to ride on. Perhaps the donkey and its mother belonged to the family of Simon or Lazarus. It is obvious Jesus had made these arrangements some time before. It shows that Jesus was consciously associating himself with Messianic prophecy. Jesus is not the weak, vacillating, victim of circumstances as he is portrayed by the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, or as he is written about by some theologians. Matthew, an eyewitness to these events, presents Jesus as totally in control. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Jesus knew that the leaders planned to kill him after the Passover, but he knew that he must die during the feast, as the perfect Passover lamb to take away the sin of the world. And so he does something which in the political climate of the day would inevitably invite the Romans and Jewish leaders to destroy him. He proclaimed himself the king of Israel, in full view of the city of Jerusalem.

He did this, knowing full well that he was acting out the fulfilment of a well-known prophecy from Zechariah. And this is my second 'P' word, verse 4.

 This quote is from chapter nine. Zechariah nine and ten are full of God's promise to restore Israel. The prophecy talks about this humble king, who will "take away the chariots… and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken."

 As the residents of 1^st Century Jerusalem looked about, the only war-horses they saw belonged to the Roman army! The army they expected Messiah to defeat. It was their battle bows he would break. But there are two aspects of that prophecy which the crowds and the priests overlooked. One is that this king would bring peace to the nations. The other is that he would judge and condemn the corrupt shepherds of Israel. Zechariah 10 verse 3 says, "My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders." Furthermore, the prophecy continues to talk about the true shepherd, who will die for his people. Zechariah 12 verse 10 declares, "…they will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." And Zechariah 13 verse 7 adds, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!" declares the Lord Almighty. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.""

 Jesus has all of this in mind when he fulfils Zechariah 9:9 by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He knows he is the Messiah king who will suffer and die for his people, who will bring salvation, not just for Judah, but for all nations on earth. The crowds do not know this. Their vision is of a much smaller Messiah. They envisage a new era for Israel, free from the yoke of Rome and a renewed prosperity like in David's kingdom of old.

 And so we see their reaction to Jesus' act, in…

 3. The Procession of verses 6 to 11.

 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. John tells us they were palm branches, and that is why today is called 'Palm Sunday.' This symbolic action of spreading clothes and branches before Jesus was a response to his symbolic action of riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds were saying by this action, 'Yes! We accept you as our Messiah king!' And they shout that acceptance in…

 The crowds shout 'Hosanna.' This word literally means "Save!" That is, "Lord, save us!" But it didn't just mean 'Save' - it had become a praise word, like the word "Hallelujah!" It was a shout of joy and hope. Their hope was in the Lord and his Messiah, who would save their nation. This reminds us of Matthew 1:21 'You are to call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'

 The crowds proclaim Jesus with two titles here - the Son of David, and he who comes in the name of the Lord. Both are messianic titles. They are calling him the Messiah King of Israel. Luke has 'blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord,' and in John they say, "blessed is the king of Israel."

 It is no wonder then, that verse 10 says, "When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

 [There were three distinct crowds that were surrounding Jesus. There was the crowd of followers from Galilee, and maybe it was they who shouted proudly that Jesus was their prophet - the prophet from Galilee. Then there was the large crowd from the Judean towns surrounding Jerusalem, who had seen Jesus heal the sick and give sight to the blind. They had even seen Lazarus raised from the dead, and Lazarus himself was probably amongst them. Then there was the crowd that came out from Jerusalem to see what was happening, who ask, "Who is this?"]

 So when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and knew about it. And he gave them even more to think about. For he headed for the Temple, and in verses twelve to thirteen, we see…

 Jesus entered the court of the Gentiles. It was the outermost part of the Temple, and the only part that non-Jews were allowed to enter. If they went further, into the court of the women, or the court of the Jews, they would be killed. But they were perfectly welcome under Jewish law, to pray to God in the court of the Gentiles.

 [It is significant that in John there is the story of the Greeks who come to Jesus at this point. And in Mark is the incident of the fig tree, symbolic of the cursing of Israel, and in Luke Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because of the destruction which will come upon her because she rejects God's visitation.]

God was determined to fulfil his plan which he first revealed in Abraham, to bless all the nations, through Israel. But what Jesus found was Jewish merchants denying Gentiles access to their place of prayer. Can you imagine trying to pray in what would have been like a cross between a livestock auction and the stock market floor?! Merchants sold animals for sacrifice. Moneychangers haggled over the exchange rate for the temple shekel, the only coin that could be used in the temple. Jesus cast them out, symbolically purifying the Temple which was meant to be the source of salvation for all nations. He was furious at those Jews who stood between God and the Gentiles who sought him in prayer. Make sure you never keep anyone from God by your actions.

 The Sadducees, who were in charge of the daily running of the Temple, were fully aware of this situation, but did nothing about it. Indeed, there is evidence that the Sadducee High Priests actually owned these markets. It was a corrupt system that the ordinary people hated. Every Easter there is at least one TV special which claims that the Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus are historically unreliable. Let me assure you, many times the Gospel acocunts have been shown to agree with known history. This incident of the clearing of the temple is a good example. It is entirely believable historically. In fact we have a record of a very similar event taking place some decades later, just before the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus tells a story of how the people were sick of the corruption of the High Priestly family of Annas. They cleared what he calls 'the bazaar of the sons of Annas' in the temple courts. So it is quite feasible that Jesus did the same thing, and that it was popular with the people. That's why the temple police could not arrest him. Mark and Luke tell us that the chief priests were afraid of the people.

 And so, each day, Monday to Thursday, Jesus taught in the temple - Luke tells us that - and he healed. Here in verse 14, we see Jesus…

Jesus, even in his last week, continues to be the Great Physician. His miracles of healing were never in dispute, even by his enemies. The crowds were also amazed at his teaching, Mark says. All the people hung on his words, says Luke. And all this resulted in both the Pediatric Praise and the Peeved Priests of verses 15 and 16.

 7. The Pediatric Praise & Peeved Priests vv 15-16

 If Jesus is not God in the flesh, that last statement is blasphemy, since the Old Testament passage it comes from is speaking of praise to God himself. The youngsters in the Temple praising Jesus reminds us of what Jesus said about children in previous chapters - they are our role models for life in the kingdom of God. Unless you humble yourself and make yourself like a little child - that is, helpless, powerless, humble in status, then you will not enter the kingdom, because of your pride. Here we see another aspect of childlike faith. These children respond spontaneously to Jesus in praise. They are not concerned with the politics of the crowd or the hedged, domesticated, respectable, and hypocritical worship of the chief priests and teachers of the law.

 All four Gospels record the opposition of some of the Jewish leaders - priests, teachers of the law, and Pharisees. This opposition can only be explained by the hard heartedness of sinful human nature. Even when confronted by the undeniable miracles of Jesus - his healings, and his raising of Lazarus from the dead at Bethany, just outside Jerusalem, they did not acknowlege that he was God's anointed King, the Messiah. Instead, it made them all the more determined to kill him.

 Conclusion

Let me conclude. Who do you think Jesus is? What kind of Messiah is he? Do you try to make him conform to your own ideas? Do you want a reconstructed saviour? For some people, Jesus is merely a radical political liberator, as he was to most of the crowds who cried hosanna.

 To others, Jesus is merely a great teacher and moral example. He is not a saviour from sin and hell, because they don't believe in sin and hell. Like the Sadducee High Priests, they do not accept the whole of the bible as the inspired Word of God, nor do they believe Jesus did miracles or was raised from the dead.

 To others, modern day Pharisees, Jesus is merely used to legitimize their religious system. He is the status quo Messiah who is selectively quoted to back up their man-made rules and regulations. To many, Jesus is no more than one to call upon when he is flavour of the month. But they are unwilling to suffer for him, to follow him by taking up the cross. When Christianity is popular, politicians attend prayer breakfasts and make sure they are seen to go to church a lot. But they are not willing to stand up and be counted when the difficult and unpopular decisions come, on such issues as euthanasia, abortion, or homosexual marriage.

 To others, Jesus is no more than a warm fuzzy friend, an invisible ally who will always make you feel good and solve all your psychological problems. He will help you to love yourself and accept yourself and find meaning and self-esteem in life.

 But none of these reconstructed Messiahs will do. Jesus is the King, the Son of David, the Prince of Peace, who conquers sin, death and hell for us at the cross. We must not be fair weather friends like the crowds on Palm Sunday. Willing to be associated with Jesus when he is popular, but disappear or even turn hostile when the shame of the cross appears.

 For over this whole scene hangs the shadow of the Roman torture stake. While the crowds cheer, Jesus weeps. Not because he knows that in five days time he will suffer and die, but because he knows that most of them will reject the great gift that his death brings, and suffer the consequences. For Jerusalem, that meant destruction at the hands of the Romans in AD 70. But for all who reject the Son, the Messiah of God, whether ancient Jews or modern Australians, there is an even worse consequence. One that goes on forever. You cannot be just a fair-weather friend of Jesus. You cannot just accept part of who he is. You cannot create him in your own image. If you reject what Jesus came to do for you, by dying for your sins, then you will die eternally.

 But if you accept him as your true King, then you will be one his little ones. One of those who, like these children, sing his praises forever.

 Who is Jesus? He is the King who is in total control. The King who planned his victory procession to death on the cross for our sins. The King who is angry at anyone who keeps people from God. The King who delights in the childlike trust and praises of his little children of faith. And, as we shall see next week, the King who throws open the door of heaven to you.