How Will You Welcome the Servant-King?

 Matthew 21:1-11

The Triumphal Entry

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted: “Hosanna ^[to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

‘Hosanna” means “Come and rescue me quickly.”

Matthew emphasizes the act of Jesus riding on the donkey, with an indication that Jesus was the Prince of Peace that was prophesized in Zechariah 9, four hundred years ago, and the One who will return to the house of Judah.

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Jesus was riding on a donkey instead of a horse, and by this, it highlighted that Jesus was a humble King who came to rescue. He did not build the nation of Jews with His political or military powers as his contemporaries perceived, but he was ridiculed with weakness and humiliation.

Jesus was crucified on the Cross like other Roman’s political rebels. He became the servant-king who suffered, and He died on the Cross to defeat the powers of the devil, so that sinners are delivered, and their sins are pardoned.

The whole creation was separated from God after the Adam and Eve sinned against Him. Now man can be reconciled with God and be restored in this broken relationship through the salvation that was accomplished by the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.

God’s wrath that was caused by man’s sin was appeased, and thus, men can become the children of God. They live under God’s Lordship and become the people of His Kingdom.

It will be until the Second Coming of the Lord that all the people in the Kingdom of God be consummated, and they shall dwell in the new heaven and new earth in God’s good presence with Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

There shall be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pains, or sicknesses or wickedness. By then all nations and all peoples shall come and bow down and worship the Lamb, who was slain and who sits enthroned for ever and ever.

Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the King had come to the city, and He brought with Him the great day of deliverance. At that time there were three groups of people who had responded differently upon Jesus’ entering into Jerusalem.

First of all, we see that the disciples of Jesus did not really understand the purpose for Jesus to enter the city of Jerusalem.

They were a group of disciples who worked without understanding. The disciples followed the instructions of Jesus and did what He told them. They brought the donkey before Jesus and placed their cloaks on it so that Jesus could sat on it, and they followed Him all the way to Jerusalem as He rode on the donkey.

Outwardly, they had done something they should have done, and they walked beside their Lord. By right, they should understand the meaning of Jesus’ entering into Jerusalem on a donkey.

However, John 12:16 says it clearly, that “At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.”

The disciples did not know the real purpose of Jesus to enter Jerusalem. They worked without understanding the heart of Jesus. They expected Jesus to be a political king but did not know that Jesus came as a servant-king. A Jewish king only redeem Israel but a servant-king will redeem the whole creation.

Let’s do a reflection today: We come to Sunday school, and attend Sunday Service week by week, but do we behave like these disciples, even though we have joined many religious activities, and performed many religious acts, do we not really understand what Jesus’ death and resurrection has to do with us? Or might we have some personal agenda for joining the ministries?

Do we put to death sins and wickedness in our heart and live out as the new creation in Christ in our daily living because of the death of Jesus and His overcoming of sins and evils? Do we have hope in this life and tomorrow and do not worry for tomorrow because of Christ’s death and resurrection? Do we instead focus ourselves on waiting upon the Lord and doing the work of God by relying on Him?

May God help us to come to understand the Lord who rescue us as a victorious servant-King. We are not only trusting in Him but relying on Him to live a victorious life. For He is the victorious King through given up his life for us on the cross, and His victory over the devil and sin has become ours.

We should now as redeemed ones, be determined to fulfil the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven by relying on Christ daily.

The Second group of people were those citizens who were shocked and disturbed, and who rejected Jesus.

Verses 10-11 says that, “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.” The whole city was stirred, and this carried with it the meaning of uneasiness and panic attack.

The Gospel of Matthew first mentioned that the whole city was stirred when it refered to the “birth” of Jesus. King Herod heard about the birth of Jesus and he was disturbed. The whole city of Jerusalem was with him (2:3). When Jesus went through crucifixion, the people of Jerusalem shouted aloud, “Crucify him!”

The people of Jerusalem were uneased, for they were concerned that social upheavals, fights and wars and bloodsheds would occur following the appearance of Jesus the Messiah. They rejected this suffering Servant King to come with all their hearts. They wanted to maintain their status quo.

Jesus has redeemed us and we are now God’s people. Yet, do we reject Jesus to be the King of our lives this day?  Very often, we want to control everything, and we don’t allow Jesus to take charge over our lives, for we fear that He will bring us shame and losses. We confess Jesus as the Lord, but in reality, we are our own master.

What causes us to be worried when Jesus rules as our King? He is the King who suffered unto death in order to deliver us. How can He harm us? Jesus wants to lead us out of the darkness and bring us into the light of the righteous path. It is for our own good that He leads us step by step on it.

Let’s return to Jesus and trust in His leading. We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, and their life experiences inform us that blessed are those who trust in the leading of the Lord.

Lastly, we see that those who followed Jesus entering the city out of their misconception dismissed themselves after they came to realize the truth.

They spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread it on the road when Jesus entered Jerusalem. They welcomed Jesus like welcoming a victorious King into the city. They shouted, “Hosanna, Lord come and rescue!”

They addressed Jesus as the son of David, and He was entering the city where David ruled as a king. Apparently, they wanted to enthrone Jesus as king. Nevertheless, their understanding of the deliverance of the king was different from Jesus’. What they expected was a military revival, and they wanted Jesus to rebel against Romans and overthrew them.  They wanted to set up an autonomous Jewish nation.

The crowd that followed Jesus introduced him as the prophet of Galilee to the people of Jerusalem. They emphasized that Jesus was the prophet who did signs and wonders, and who was competent to be the Jewish king. Yet, they did not come to realize that He was the Servant King who suffered and died and was resurrected. Thus, they disappeared in the narratives of the Gospel after Jesus was captured and crucified on the Cross!

Probably all our knowledge today about Jesus is also incomplete. We might shape Jesus to be a servant who creates no harm to others. We thought that Jesus had come so that He could fulfil all our needs. He shall respond to every of our request, and He is the servant who does things in accordance to our will, but not demand our obedience.

God rescued the Israelites out of Egypt so that they can serve him in the Promised Land and be blessed. Likewise, Jesus is King! He rescues us and demands us to submit under His Kingship.

We need to work hard on the Bible, and to learn the gospel message of the entire Bible. By doing this the Holy Spirit will speak to us through the Bible, and it helps to correct our misconception towards Jesus.

Do we keep on thinking about how Jesus, the Lord who delivers us, wants us to serve and to live for Him? Let’s follow the footsteps of the Lord, instead of asking the Lord to follow what we want. We are weak and if He were to follow after our will, we will walk towards destruction. Let’s submit under the Kingship of Christ and follow His leading, though it might be against our own will. He is the victorious King, and those who follow Him will not go wrong!

Conclusion: How should we respond to this “Suffering King/Servant King”?

Jesus does not want us to become those people who worked without understanding the reasons behind His suffering unto death. He also does not want us to be those people who were shocked and disturbed and who rejected Him. Moreover, He does not want us to be those people who might follow Him out of misunderstanding but disappeared after they came to realize the truth behind it.

How then does our Lord want us to respond to Him?

Frist, we ought to return, repent and come to the Lord Jesus and allow Him to be the King over our lives, that He could be master of our lives. Since we now belong to the Lord, we ought to submit to the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit, in order to live out daily the Word of God.

Second, we should respond to God with our love when we receive Christ’s sacrificial love, by loving those around us, inclusive those whom we have never met before. Because we love them, we will evangelize to them zealously, hoping that they can also be saved by believing in Jesus. This is the right attitude in responding to the sacrificial love of Jesus, the Suffering King/Servant King.