1 Not What They Expected Matthew 21:1-11 It Seems a Simple Story. A

Not What They Expected ultimately defined it. But the expectations of the people in the crowd that day Matthew 21:1-11 were not nearly so clear. And the expectations were often conditioned by the It seems a simple story. A throng of pilgrims is swept up in a hopes and fears of the people who held them. celebration as they approach the Holy City for Passover. Passover was a joyous The first expectation was of a Prophet. In Deuteronomy Moses had time. Thousands of Jewish people came from all over the world to join in the said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among observance. For some, it was a once in a lifetime experience. your own brothers. You must listen to him.” And then God says, “I will put my As Christians, we hear the words of the crowd and interpret them words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him” (Deut. immediately as an affirmation of Jesus as the Messiah. But the situation was a 18:15, 18). The Jewish people of Jesus’ time considered this a prophecy that little more complicated. The people were actually singing one of the psalms – had not yet been fulfilled. They were still looking for this Prophet and they in particular a psalm that was traditionally sung as part of this annual expected that, when he appeared, he would give the authoritative interpretation pilgrimage. Listen to these words from Psalm 118 – “O Lord, save us; O Lord, of the Law. As we know from the Gospels, the Jewish teachers spent most of grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. With their time debating exactly how the Law should be put into practice. But when boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” this Prophet appeared, he would put an end to all of the debate. But the thing we So, on the surface, nothing out of the ordinary was happening. But should recognize is that the expectation was that this person would continue Jesus’ presence presented another level of meaning for those who were looking with the Law as it was. It would still be an external set of rules that governed on. It was a period of tremendous expectation. Rumors of a coming Messiah people’s lives. Only now there would be no question as to how to put them into were everywhere – and Jesus had been dealing with the popular expectations for practice. months – even years. When we read the Gospels, we see that, up to this point, The people were also expecting a Priest. There were parts of the with few exceptions Jesus had been hesitant to embrace the title of Messiah. He Jewish community that emphasized this aspect. They referred to the Messiah as didn’t want to be forced into the mold that had developed around the concept. “the anointed one of Aaron.” Aaron, of course, was Moses’ brother and the first He was determined to define His role in keeping with His Father’s plan. High Priest. The groups that looked primarily for a Priest tended to have On this particular day, however, any attempt to hide His identity was separated themselves from the rest of the Jewish community. They lived out forsaken. When Jesus rode toward Jerusalem, He was clearly claiming His among the caves along the Dead Sea and they are the ones responsible for the Messianic identity. But it’s also clear that Jesus was intentionally Dead Sea Scrolls. They saw a need for a Messiah who would restore true communicating what that would mean for Him and for the world. worship to Israel. In their opinion, the priesthood had become polluted by its I. When we look at both the Bible and sources from the first century collaboration with political power. Often the authority of the High Priests came outside the Bible, we can see that there were three expectations that Jesus was from outside the Jewish community. In Jesus’ day, the High Priest served at the dealing with. These were expectations that had grown out of the experience of will of the Romans. So they anticipated a priestly figure who would come and the Jewish people over several centuries. When we think of the “Messiah,” we sweep away all of the outside influence and purify the worship of Israel. look back through the lens of the New Testament. We understand it as Jesus 1 Then, of course, there were those that were expecting a King. This is his or her praises are now complaining about how the leader has failed to live up probably the most familiar aspect of the anticipation about the Messiah. As with to their expectations. the other two, this expectation had roots in the Old Testament. In Genesis, Jesus recognized the situation He was in. These people would cheer for Jacob had said, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff Him so long as He did what they expected Him to do. But their expectations from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs” (Gen. 49:10). This were not in line with God’s will and intention for His life. He knew that they theme was expanded after the reign of King David of whom it was said, “Your could just as quickly turn on Him. house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be Even in the middle of the celebration, Jesus understood that not established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). Maybe most famously the prophet Isaiah everyone was enthusiastic about His arrival in Jerusalem. They did not see Him had spoken about the one who “will reign on David’s throne and over his as the fulfillment of anything. They opposed Him as a threat to their security kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that and to the security of the nation. The religious leaders knew that things were not time on and forever” (Isaiah 9:7). perfect. They knew that they were not meant to live under the authority of an By Jesus’ time, most of the Jewish people expected a royal conqueror outside power like the Romans. But they had made the most of the situation and who would reestablish David’s throne and lead them in throwing off Roman rule had built a comfortable life for themselves out of cooperating. Now Jesus was and to national glory that would surpass anything they had known before. That coming back to the city and as they looked at the procession surrounding Him, expectation was thick in the air on this particular day. The waving of the palms instead of palms, they saw red flags. Jesus could bring everything crashing had more than one meaning. Palms were the national symbol of the Jewish down on top of them. people. So, Jesus’ experience riding into Jerusalem was similar to a national Do you remember back at the beginning of his gospel how Matthew hero riding through a crowd waving flags on the 4 th of July. He understood what told the story of the visit of the Magi soon after Jesus was born? They came to all of this meant. Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? II. The situation confronted Jesus with a tremendous dilemma. Some We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2). Do you of the crowd saw Him as the fulfillment of the hope for a miraculous liberator. remember the reaction they got to their question? Matthew says that “when You know how it is when a politician begins to attract national attention. People King Herod heard this he was disturbed , and all Jerusalem with him” (v. 3). At see someone or they hear a speech and they decide that this is their man or the beginning of his life, Jerusalem – and the politicians that ran it – saw Jesus woman. And they immediately attach all of their hopes to that person. They as a threat. They were paranoid. assume that he or she sees things just as they do. They may speak Now at the end of His life, Jesus approaches this same city and enthusiastically about this person being the greatest leader since Abraham Matthew says, “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan (had to get all the sides in there (literally, “in turmoil) and asked, ‘Who is this?’” (Matt. 21:10). Same reaction – somehow). But then the person is elected and has to begin making the tough similar questions. Who is this? And Jesus knew that everyone was reading their decisions that leaders have to make and suddenly the people who were singing own answer into their understanding of who He was. He could not possibly meet all of these expectations and He could not change the perceptions of those 2 who saw Him as a threat. He was being pulled apart by these competing It’s kind of like the difference between a map and a GPS – one that purposes. And He knew that the only way to ultimately answer all of this was to works properly. It used to be that, if we were going somewhere, we would look submit to the cross. at a map to find out how to get there. It was an external guide that was only as III.

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