Seeds for 12/08/2023 - Matthew 21:7-11
Scripture: 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!”
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.”
Observation: Everyone loves a parade, so the saying goes. As Jesus enters sitting on the donkey, the “very large crowd” gets into the act, spreading cloaks on the road, cutting branches to lay before Him, and praising Him with blessings and hosannas.
What stands out is the response of “the whole city” when Jesus enters Jerusalem. It is “stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’”
This is not the first time Jerusalem as been presented both as operating as a collective, kind of like a hive mind, and as being stirred up by the presence of Jesus. In Matthew 2, at the mention that a Messianic king of the Jews has been born, King Herod “was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” The presence of Jesus ought to elicit a reaction. In each case, in words and actions, Jesus’ kingship was declared. In Matthew 21, by Jesus self-consciously acting out scenes from Messianic texts in the Hebrew Bible, and the crowds’ response, participating in those very scenes. At Jesus’ birth in Matthew 2, it is the inquiry by the magi that triggers a response.
When Jesus is perceived as promise or threat, as the hope we long for or an offense that we bristle at, we respond like the Jerusalem of Matthew 2 or Matthew 21. Disturbed. Stirred up. Angry. Excited.
“Who is this?” is the question. The disciples have already dealt with this question too, at Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus put it to them as, “Who do you say that I am?”
“Who is this?” is the defining question of Christianity. If Jesus is a prophet, a sage, a teacher, a healer, a miracle worker, or an inspiring movement leader, then He is a person of incredible significance and influence. But He would have no business being worshiped as Christians do whenever we gather weekly on the Lord’s Day.
The crowds have an answer. Matthew’s Gospel poses the question explicitly in some places, like here, and implicitly throughout. Matthew also provides an answer in his story, whether from the mouth of Peter and others, or through the events that unfold.
Ultimately, of course, each of us must answer the question ourselves. It matters not whether we can peak at another’s paper and see what they have said. What matters is what we truly believe ourselves. The crowds ask, “Who is this?” We are invited to carry that question with us through the remainder of the Gospel story, to consider the unfolding events in light of it.
What will your answer be?
Application:
When does Jesus’ kingship stir you up — in a challenging way? in a comforting way?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for confronting and comforting us with your kingship. Grant us eyes of faith to see truly and answer faithfully who you are. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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