A Baby

“A thousand times in history has a baby become a king; but only once has a King become a baby.”(Rose Delgado)

21 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. But first they stopped at Bethphage at the hill called the Mount of Olives. From there Jesus sent two of his followers into the town. ² He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a donkey tied there with its colt. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, tell him, ‘The Master needs them. He will send them back soon.’” ⁴ This was to make clear the full meaning of what the prophet said:

⁵ “Tell the people of Jerusalem,
    ‘Your king is coming to you.
He is gentle and riding on a donkey.
    He is on the colt of a donkey.’”

⁶ The followers went and did what Jesus told them to do. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to Jesus. They laid their coats on the donkeys, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸ Many people spread their coats on the road before Jesus. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Some of the people were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. All the people were shouting,

“Praise to the Son of David!
God bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!

Praise to God in heaven!”

¹⁰ Then Jesus went into Jerusalem. The city was filled with excitement. The people asked, “Who is this man?”

¹¹ The crowd answered, “This man is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

¹² Jesus went into the Temple. He threw out all the people who were buying and selling there. He turned over the tables that belonged to the men who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he upset the benches of those who were selling doves. ¹³ Jesus said to all the people there, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘My Temple will be a house where people will pray.’ But you are changing God’s house into a ‘hideout for robbers.’”

¹⁴ The blind and crippled people came to Jesus in the Temple, and Jesus healed them. ¹⁵ The leading priests and the teachers of the law saw that Jesus was doing wonderful things. They saw the children praising him in the Temple. The children were saying, “Praise to the Son of David.” All these things made the priests and the teachers of the law very angry.

¹⁶ They asked Jesus, “Do you hear the things these children are saying?”

Jesus answered, “Yes. Haven’t you read in the Scriptures, ‘You have taught children and babies to sing praises?” (Matthew 21:1-16, ICB)

Throughout history, kings have been seen as figurehead or dictators. The book of Matthew presents Jesus as the Messianic King. What was Jesus trying to convey by coming into Jerusalem on a donkey?

1.   Humility is required for His kingdom.

¹⁰ “One day there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. Both went to the Temple to pray. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector. When the Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or take part in adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector. ¹² I give up eating twice a week, and I give one-tenth of everything I earn!’

¹³ “The tax collector stood at a distance. When he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He beat on his chest because he was so sad. He said, ‘God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee was not right with God. Everyone who makes himself great will be made humble. But everyone who makes himself humble will be made great.” (Luke 18:10-14, ICB)

2.   Jesus leads with gentleness.

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. ²⁹ Accept my work and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ The work that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is not heavy.” (Matthew 11:28-30, ICB)

As your King, Jesus deserves two things from us:

1.   We must give Him lordship.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46, ICB)

2.     We must give Him worship.

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell your followers not to say these things!”

⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if my followers don’t say these things, then the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:39-40, ICB)

 “If Jesus is king in heaven then the Kingdom of God is in heaven. If Jesus is king, reign on earth then the Kingdom of Heaven is on earth. If Jesus is king in my heart, then the Kingdom of God is in me.” (Rick Warren) [i]

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[i] Inspired by the sermon “360 Jesus: King Jesus” (installment four) Sunday April 14, 2019, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.