Finding Jesus: A Journey Beyond Misconceptions and into His Real Mission | Matthew 21:1-11

The following resource is brought to you by Real Life Community Church in Richmond, Kentucky.

We hope you're both challenged and encouraged by this message from Pastor Chris May.

We are in chapter 21, beginning in verse 1.

You have it.

Say amen, I'll wait for you.

If you've been here for a while, you should be able to find Matthew, because we've been in it for 8 years.

Matthew, chapter 21, beginning in verse 1.

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

Now, when they drew near to Jerusalem, see Jesus and his disciples and came to Beth's page, to the amount of olive, to the amount of olive, jesus sent two disciples saying to them go into the village in front of them and immediately you will find a donkey, tied and the colt with her.

Untie them and bring them to me.

If anyone says anything to you, you shall say the Lord needs them and he will send them at once.

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet saying Say to the daughter of Zion Behold, your king is coming to you.

They were humbly moistened on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast, the burden.

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.

They had brought the donkey and the colt and put them on their colt, and put on them their colt on them, and most of the crowds spread their cloaks on the road and others cut branches from trees and spread them on the road and the crowds that went before him and followed him were shouting Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest.

And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up saying who is this?

And the crowd said this is the prophet, jesus from Nazareth of Galilee, the word of the Lord, and you may be seated.

So there is a popular reality show on CBS.

How many have seen it?

Called Undercover Boss Anybody?

Yeah, it's an interesting show.

In each episode it features a CEO or an owner or some high level employee and they go undercover at an entry level position.

They take an entry level position in their corporation and they get to rub shoulders with other employees you know entry level employees and they create some you know kind of fictitious backstory to kind of cover their identity.

The executives spend about one week undercover working in various departments while building these relationships with their employees, and they discover during this time what works and what does it work.

And then, after a week here's what they do the boss finally reveals his identity, to the amazement and shock of the employees.

That's why you better be careful what you say to fellow employees.

So after the reveal, the boss always selects a number of hardworking individuals, he awards them somehow and invites them to corporate headquarters.

It's really an interesting show.

Well, I give you that I'm not here to preach about a show, a television show, but in our text today I think there's a connection, because we find a big reveal.

We could say it is the reveal of the undercover king.

All right, as we have seen throughout the book of Matthew, jesus has come as Israel's long-awaited king and Messiah, and while he is performed, we've seen this undeniable miracles.

He is taught with great authority, but besides that, he has kept his identity as Messiah a bit cryptic.

Now, to be sure, jesus didn't lie about his identity and he didn't create a fictitious backstory, but he never, up to this point, he has not announced to the crowds that he is truly the Messiah that they're waiting for.

He's given hints, but he's not been explicit about it.

Well, in today's text we have, as it were, the big reveal.

He's writing into Beth Page, a suburb of Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, and as he does, there's people.

He's kind of got an entourage.

There's people behind him, people in front of him, and they are celebrating this idea that he could be the Messiah, but what I want you to see in the text today is unpack.

It is this the crowds.

They're saying the right thing.

They're proclaiming this is our king, this is our Messiah.

They are.

You could say they are celebrating Jesus, but here's, here's what I want you to see.

The crowds are celebrating their own versions of Jesus, and we're going to see that.

So I think this is relevant because in our day, particularly here in the Bible Belt, don't many people claim to know Jesus, don't they claim to love Jesus and follow Jesus?

But if you hang out with them a little while, it's like are you sure?

Right, are you sure?

I think there are many people in the Christian church today and I'll come back to this later who have a false idea of who Jesus is, and they're following their own made-up version of Jesus, and I would just suggest that's not helpful.

And so I want to challenge each of our views of Jesus today.

Are we following each of us the true Christ or are we following a fictitious Christ?

And so I'm going to break the text down into two easy points, and I'm trying to put my points on the screen here.

If you're taking notes.

Hopefully that'll be helpful.

So, number one, the royal reception.

And number two, the royal misconception.

The royal reception as the crowds receive Jesus, and then their royal misconception.

So number one, the royal reception.

So again, centuries have passed and Israel has been waiting for the Messiah King who would be the great deliverer.

I mean, israel has been under bondage for years, but it's one empire after another who have been tyrants and who have put great stress upon God's people, and so they desire their longing for this great Messiah, the deliverer, who will wipe out their enemies and who will bring justice to this evil world.

And so they're looking and they're waiting and they're hoping.

And so, in our text, this is, by the way, passover week, and there were literally, during Passover, hundreds of thousands of Jews would flock into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

And so Jesus, this is Passover week.

He enters at the beginning of Passover week, and this is the day that we call Palm Sunday, and it's Jesus' triumphal entry.

And this is the beginning, and our text is the beginning, of Passion Week.

So this is Sunday, and on Friday Jesus will be hung on a cross, so he rides into Jerusalem making this grand entry.

And there's at least two reasons that I see in the text that I think we can say.

These people believe that Jesus truly is the Messiah, and so number one is this as he enters, they roll out the red carpet.

They roll out the red carpet.

Typically, it's interesting.

Jesus has traveled by foot, but here he is acting like a king.

He tells his disciples go fetch me an animal and, interestingly, he asked for a donkey and her cult that he might ride into the city.

Now, the entry is quite intentional.

The animal on which he's riding is quite intentional because Jesus here is fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy, and Matthew points this out.

The prophecy comes from the Old Testament, book of Zachariah, chapter nine and verse nine, which reads Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion, shout aloud, o daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your King is coming to you.

Now watch this righteous and having salvation, as he humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt the fall of a donkey.

Jesus, as he often does, is fulfilling prophecy.

Here is the Messiah Israel was promised and have longed hoped for.

So this is a transitional moment.

This is a watershed moment because Jesus moves from concealing his identity to making it pretty plain, and so, as he enters Bethpage the crowds, they begin spreading things on the road as Jesus is riding through, and they spread two things on the ground that will be trampled by this donkey.

One is they spread their cloaks on the ground and secondly, they put prom prom branches on the ground, and you are familiar with this from Palm Sunday.

So what is the significance of laying your cloak on the ground?

Well, spreading your cloak on a ground, this was a sign in ancient Israel.

It was a sign of submission and confidence in one's kingship.

So by spreading the, the, the cloaks on the ground as Jesus rides through the, the crowds are saying Jesus, we submit to you, we believe you're our King and we want you as our King will be loyal.

There's a story that's told of the great explorer, sir Walter N'Raleigh, who was on one occasion with Queen Elizabeth the first, and as they're walking through London, there's a place on the ground that was that's extremely muddy, and so it's said that Sir Walter takes off his cloak and places it on the ground so that the queen can cross, unless she get her little self muddy right Now.

If I did this I was thinking about this my wife would probably be upset for putting my coat on the ground and getting it dirty.

Do you not know?

I'm going to have to clean this now, you know kind of thing.

The reason this story of Sir Walter has survived is because this type of gesture is very rare, is it not?

It's very rare.

You don't see this on the street every day.

Has anybody in here ever done this for your wife?

Well, see, this kind of this is an act of kindness, but more than that, it shows a steam for someone, as it did for the queen.

So I would say it's like laying down the red carpet, and this is, you know, precisely what we see happening in Matthew 21.

As Jesus enters on this cult, crowds of people are there to welcome him and many of them lay down their cloaks.

Now, when we think of the you know, of our culture in the contemporary western world, we think of laying maybe a coat down and we think, god, big deal, we've got 10 more in the closet, right.

Yeah, something like this is no big deal.

This is no sacrifice.

But what is so interesting is hang on a second.

What is so interesting is that in the first century, most of the people, most of them, would not have a second cloak.

This was a massive sacrifice, and do you realize that?

I mean you lay this on this dirt road, not only is it going to be dirty, but it's going to be trampled by these animals.

It was a sacrifice, so we have a picture here of holding someone in the highest regard, and let me just mention this in 2 Kings, back in the Old Testament, chapter 9, verse 13, it tells a story of one of Israel's famous kings, and when he was proclaimed king in defiance of the existing one, this is exactly what people did they threw their cloaks down under his feet as a sign of loyalty.

It's an act of submission.

So do you see what's going on here?

They're rolling out the red carpet, they're putting down their cloaks, but not only their cloaks.

They're throwing down palm branches.

What's the deal?

What's the significance of palm branches?

Palm branches are symbolic of Jewish nationalism and victory.

Very important, and just a couple centuries before this text, judas Maccabeus arrived in Jerusalem after conquering armies that were standing against Israel.

They depressed Israel, and as he entered the city, he too was welcomed by the waving of palm branches.

So it's likely here's what's going on.

It's likely that the Israelites in Jerusalem here believe oh, this king is about to lead us into another victory, and they're excited, and so they're throwing cloaks down, palm branches down, and there they are rolling out the red carpet for Jesus.

This seems like a really good thing.

So you have the red carpet, but then you have something even more.

You have a.

What I'm calling, for the sake of alliteration, the royal chant.

The royal chant.

I'm sure that some of you watched at least part of King Charles III coronation ceremony.

Anybody, okay, four of you.

Well, I'll just give you a little clip here.

Snip it Soon after.

You're judging me right now that I watched this, I feel it.

But soon after the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the St Edward's crown on the king's head, a choir and I just watched it again yesterday this part, I wanted to hear the song, but a choir began to sing this majestic kingly song.

And so, similarly, as Jesus makes his kingly procession, the crowds they begin to shout into seeing this messianic song found in verse nine Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest.

And these words are taken right from Psalm chapter 118, and they're rightly applied to Jesus.

Psalms 118 · chapter mention

Now, what does Hosanna mean?

It means oh save, oh save.

It's a Hebrew expression, and so the people here they see Jesus writing in and the people behind him and the people in front of him.

They're crying out oh, save us, king.

But they don't just say King, they say oh, save us, son of David.

That's a very significant title, as we've seen two other times in the book of Matthew.

By using this title, they're making explicit the crowd this welcoming as Jesus, as Messiah King, because the Old Testament promised that this King would come, that this throne would be established through the line of King David and Jews had been waiting.

They had been waiting for a king like David to arrive for centuries to deliver them from bondage and oppression.

And this crowd believes he's here.

It's the son of David, it's our next King.

Hallelujah Hosanna, save us, oh great King.

So the multitudes, they roll out the red carpet and they sing this royal chant.

And they're quite right.

This is their King, this is their Messiah.

So this seems really good, right, like they're getting it.

There's issue, as I mentioned, they have a royal reception, but there's a tragedy in that they have a royal misconception.

Here's what they want.

Here's what they want as Jesus is writing it.

Here's what they're expecting.

Here's what they're looking for.

They're looking for a ruthless conqueror.

A ruthless conqueror.

See, the people of Israel.

They're under the bondage of Rome and they're looking for a king who will wipe out their enemies.

That's what they want a ruthless conqueror.

See, they're willing to submit to Jesus, signified by the laying down of their cloaks.

They're willing to do that, but it's on their own terms, in as much as he gives them what they want, in as much as he is on their mission.

They desire not only a king, but they desire a savior.

They want to be saved, not from sin, but from the heavy hand of Rome.

They want a warrior.

They've been watching warrior-like movies and they're ready.

They're ready.

They want a warrior like David.

Go read the Old Testament.

I mean he just you mess with Israel, man, you're out, right, you're going to get taken out.

They want somebody who will face their Goliath and wipe out every army that would stand against them.

That's who they want.

That would rule with brute force.

So the people, they're shouting the right words save us, save us, son of David.

But they grossly misinterpret Jesus' mission.

To be sure, jesus is coming back, isn't he as the conquering king?

But at this moment, his coming to earth, this ride into Jerusalem, jesus has quite a different mission in mind.

So they want the ruthless conqueror.

But let's just consider the real Christ Jesus.

Interestingly, he commands his disciples get an animal for me.

A king would ask for that.

I'm riding into this city, we're going to have a processional.

Get me an animal, but he doesn't ask for some like majestic horse.

Get me a donkey in her cult.

I remember Keller.

I hearing him preach on this and he said that sounds like a ride for a hobbit, not a king, right?

And so Jesus asked for a cult.

And what's that about?

See, this redefines Israel's idea of Messiahship.

Craig Keener says this about this event.

He says this is not actually a triumphal entry in the sense of Roman triumphal processions.

It is Jerusalem's reception of a meek and peaceful king.

He's not riding in Jerusalem as a ruthless conqueror.

He's riding in in meekness and love and compassion.

He enters on a symbol, not on a horse that would symbolize power and strength and conquering.

What's he do?

What's he do?

He rides in on a lowly donkey, a sign of humility, and he enters with a different mission.

You might remember, a couple of weeks ago, before going into Jerusalem, jesus has pulled his disciples aside now for the third, maybe fourth time, and he said to them hey, we're going to Jerusalem, we'll be there for Passover, but I want you to know why we're going.

Here's what he says.

This is Matthew 20, verse 18.

Matthew 20:18

He says we're going to Jerusalem.

The Son of man, talking about himself, will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and he says they will condemn him to death, deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he'll be raised on the third day.

And his disciples are thinking all along well, why would you go?

But it's his mission.

It's.

And even the disciples, they, cannot grasp this.

What is the mission of Jesus in Jerusalem?

Is it to wipe out Israel's enemies?

No, you know what it is.

It is.

It is to die to lay his life down for their enemies and them.

Will his weekend by him receiving a crown of jewels?

No, it'll end by him receiving a crown of thorns.

Well, his weak end with him sitting on a throne?

No, it's gonna end with him hung on a cross.

Oh, crowds, here's your king.

He's not wiping out your, the Roman tyrants who have been oppressing you.

He's actually giving his life for you and for them.

Do you still want that king?

That's the question.

And here's what we see, tragically, once the crowd realizes that Jesus purposes do not align with theirs, they really want nothing to do with them.

As a matter of fact, some want him dead.

Many listen to this.

This is mind-blowing.

Some people, some scholars, say that it is highly likely that some of these that were here this day shouting Hosanna, hosanna, save a son of David, were also in the crowd, who were later in the weeks shouting crucify him, crucify him, crucify him.

I just wonder how many people, when, when the meek and mild Jesus rides into their life, they're going oh, hosanna, save me.

But when things don't pan out like they think they will, they may not say crucify him, crucify him, crucify him, but they want nothing to do with him.

That's what happens in the story.

So let's address our own misconceptions of Jesus, and I'll be done.

So many people, they want their version of Jesus.

Just listen here Sometimes.

We don't want the Jesus that ask us to forgive our enemies, to turn the other cheek.

We want our version of Jesus.

We don't want the Jesus who asked us daily to take up our cross.

We want our version of Jesus.

We don't want the Jesus who tells us to walk in sexual purity.

We want our Jesus.

And I could go on and on and on.

And sometimes, when the Lord doesn't move in the way that we wish or our Christianity doesn't pan out to be quite what we expected, we can be left disillusioned and many walk away.

The Jews they want a king who will overthrow Rome.

They want a king who will overthrow Rome.

That's not what they get, and so many walk away.

So let me just Address some common like misconceptions of Jesus.

You ready for this?

We'll have some fun.

Everybody stretch will quit.

You guys are quiet.

Number one, this will be fun.

Self-help Jesus.

Let's go go to that next slide there.

Self-help Jesus, this is what some of you want.

Somebody just gonna come along side me, help me, help me think a little more clearly, help me be a better leader, better mother, but better father.

Self-help Jesus.

And so what you want is a glorified dr Phil.

Come on, and that's why churches you know churches that are growing like by leaf, some bounds, many of them.

You know what they get every Sunday they get a glorified dr Phil.

They get a motivational speech with a little scripture thrown in to make it spiritual.

Self-help Jesus.

Let me give you another one Political Jesus.

Uh-oh, which one is your Jesus?

And you're like, well, he read, wrote in on the donkey, so I don't.

Which is your Jesus?

I mean, this is how we think of Jesus sometimes is our political advocate.

And so Israel in the first century that this is what they wanted, a nationalist Jesus.

Jesus came remember back in Old Testament with Abraham.

Jesus says through you, I'm not just gonna bless Israel, I'm gonna bless all nations through you.

And so Israel seemed to forget at some point about that message that through them, all the nations were be to be invited to Jesus Christ.

So many people today in our country you know what they're doing.

They're looking for a Jesus who will further their political agenda.

They think, well, jesus is Republican.

And I hear people say that I mean seriously.

And what's so interesting is I hear so the Republicans, who are conservative.

And you know, in these certain moral issues and stuff, they go well, jesus would absolutely be Republican.

And then you have the liberals on the other side, the Democrats, and they would go, oh, jesus would be just like us, we want to take care of the poor.

And you know, and it's like well, which is he?

And my answer is neither, he doesn't fit into a political system.

He's king, but we're in the kingdom.

It's not a democracy.

It's not split up in political parties.

It's a theocracy run by father, son and holy spirit.

There's one party and it's called Christian.

So we want Jesus to back up our political agendas.

Number three what about vending machine?

Jesus Is what you do, some of you.

You stand there and you go.

You know.

Here's what Jesus is for.

I pay a little tithe, I do a little job around the church, I'm real nice to somebody, I get to the poor and now I get to press, you know H1, g3, and I get the bag of chips I want, I get the new Mercedes, I get the new home, I get the promotion.

Jesus, I've done this for you.

You're my vending machine.

Or I used to say cosmic bellhop, ring the bell and there he is.

It's a misconception, folks, and I know these are a little bit humorous, but this is how many people view Jesus folks.

And then I like this one a temporary Jesus.

All right, what is this?

Oh Jesus, I'm so glad you're here, listen, I'm so glad I can have you in my life because you're going to make me so much more comfortable.

This is Joel Osteings your best life now, having a faith, your life will be comfortable.

Tell that to the disciples who gave up their lives for Jesus, one of them martyred and one exiled.

Tell them that.

Tell the people right now, today, who are risking their lives by meeting together in other parts of the world, some of them who will likely be beheaded today.

Tell them oh, this is the Jesus you get.

Come to him here.

It is Cozy, comfortable Jesus.

And then one more lifeline Jesus.

Lifeline Jesus.

This is, you know, lord, I can pretty much handle my own life, but you're there, jesus.

You're there, jesus, when I need that extra help.

Lord, I need this promotion, lord, lord, I need you to fix this relationship.

And then here's what happens If Jesus, you know Lord, I need you to help me in my finances, so help me out.

And if he doesn't answer, you have nothing to do with him.

And if he does answer, you say all right, thank you, I'll call you again when I need you.

These are tragic views of Jesus and I'm sure there are many more that we could bring out today.

Beloved, we don't get to follow our own versions of Jesus.

We're called to follow the real Jesus.

Can I just say to you that you may be disappointed that Jesus is not like one of those.

You know.

He didn't fit in one of those categories.

Can I just tell you this though the real Jesus is way better than any Jesus you could conjure up.

He's way better Israel.

What do they want?

Save us from Rome.

What they didn't see is this that Jesus came to deal with something much greater, because Israel's greatest problem you read through the Bible, their greatest problem was never another empire.

Their greatest problem was their own sin.

And Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost.

He came to lay of life down as a ransom for many.

He came to deliver them not from Rome, but from sin, which is way better than delivering them from Rome, because if he would have delivered them from Rome but they stayed in their sin, what would they have ultimately had Judgment, but he laid down his life to deal with that greatest problem.

About 15 years ago, I dealt with some minor but frustrating issues with my gut, about 15, four, about 15 years, and so for 15 years I went from doctor to doctor.

I was looking for the magic pill Like fix me, fix me, fix me.

Nothing worked.

So, about out of patience, I decided to do this.

I said I'm going to try one final doctor who was recommended to me when we move back to Kentucky, and so I went to this doctor in hope for a quick fix, and that just didn't happen.

But instead, you know what she did.

She looked deeper into my life.

She looked at my diet, she looked at my daily habits, she looked at my stress level, she looked at things that were causing inflammation, and then she began to deal with those one by one, and, if I'm being really honest, the things she told me to do her prescription was not what I wanted.

Just give me a pill, let me keep eating KFC, right, let me keep being stressed?

No, she didn't do that.

So she began to give me these ways that I could begin to heal my gut, and it was a long, arduous and tedious process and many days I wanted to quit and I was like man, is she really?

Is she just messing with me Like she's?

Like, is this a prank?

Does somebody call her?

Because this is miserable.

I happened to make some of these changes, but I did it, and now I feel better, to be honest, than I have in about two decades.

In our text, the Jews wanted a band-aid fix for their problems, but what they got was something that would fix them for good.

It would be painful, it would be something that would be long-term, because it's trouble and tribulation that the Lord deals with us.

Do you realize?

The Bible says this.

You think, man, lord, I'm doing everything right.

Why would this pain come?

Why would this happen to me?

And the answer is because he loves you, and it is through, it is through trials that we are tested.

I mean, goodness, I've been in ministry for 20 years.

It's amazing I don't have gray hair.

Amazing.

And there's times I've wanted to walk away.

But I think, lord, listen, I would not be the man of God I am today and I'm not perfect.

I have a long way to go, but I would not be the preacher, the man of God I would be today if God would have delivered me from every single problem.

He's allowed me to go through things, to grow me, to bless me, to help me and to make me more like him, and I'm grateful for it.

So today, what Jesus are you following?

Jesus are you following?

Have you trusted in the real one?

Have you committed your life?

Lord, I'm going to follow you through thick and thin.

I'm in, I don't care what pain comes my way, I don't want to know.

You know, I don't care what trial, what tribulation.

Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, you have tribulation.

But he says be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.

So he never.

I love Jesus as honest.

He told the disciples they hate me, they're going to hate you.

He tells us, you know, tells Peter I'm going to, the devil wants to sift you his wheat.

And then Peter later on, after he figures this out, he writes to the church and he says the devil is going about like a roaring lion seeking whom.

He made a vow.

The Bible's honest.

So you want to sign up for the real Jesus, to follow him.

Oh, it's glorious, there's nothing like it.

But here's your life, amongst joy and amongst peace.

Here's what you get Persecution, trials and you get an adversary who is a beast, like a roaring lion, who wants to take you out.

He wants to sift you his wheat.

He wants you to throw your faith away.

See, that's the real Christian life.

But the real Jesus will walk to you, walk with you every step of the way.

He doesn't always get us around mountains but, beloved, can I get a witness.

He gets you through him, he gets you over him right.

He doesn't always take you, you know, around the fire, but, like Shad-Mack, help me.

Meshach and Abednego, thank you.

My mind went blank.

What did he do?

He went and he was in the fire with them.

So he may not get you out, but he's right there with you, hallelujah, he's right there with you.

So I would just say this Jesus may not be meeting your expectations right now, like you, may be really jaded and really disillusioned about some of the things in your life, but I'm telling you this what he's got for you is way better than what you want, and he's right there with you.

Follow the real Jesus.

Stand with me In the mighty name of Jesus.

We come to you, oh God.

Thank you you that the Messiah has come.

Great and mighty is he.

And thank you that he came not riding on a majestic horse but on a donkey's colt.

He came in humility.

He came into Jerusalem on Passover week to be the sacrificial lamb himself.

That's what he came for and because of that we can have right standing with you and we can have life in you.

Wow, lord, we know that we have relationship with Jesus right now.

We know that there is great injustice in the world, there's great evil, and we feel it.

We feel it, it impacts us, but we thank you, oh God, that though Jesus came as the gentle lamb, he will be coming again as the lion of the tribe of Judah, and we long for that day.

But until then, we want to walk with the real Jesus.

So there's one here today that hasn't made that decision.

May they come, believing in his death, burial, in resurrection.

May they come to life today, may their eyes be open, may the veil be lifted and may they see the light of the beauty of the glory of Christ in Jesus' good name, amen.

Thank you for listening.

If you'd like to know more about how you can have a relationship with Jesus Christ, or if you have questions about our church, you can email us at infoatmyrealchurchorg.

Real Life Community Church is located at 335 Glendon Avenue in Richmond, kentucky.

We invite you to join us for worship Sunday at 10.45 am or Wednesday at 7 pm.

Visit us online at myrealchurchorg.