Exalted, yet humble
Theme: The humble king
Scriptures: Matthew 21:1-11
Objectives (From the D6 Fusion SSL book):
Know: The Bible teaches Christ’s humanity and His divinity.
Think: Live with the assurance that my Lord and King is accessible to me.
Do: Exalt Christ as God, but also associate with Him as a respected friend.
Notes and questions
B1 Outline
- Before the donkey Matthew 21:1-6
- With the donkey Matthew 21:7-11
B2 Timeline–show page. Timeline
B3 Mount of Olives
- Some pictures: http://www1.cbn.com/mount-olives-simply-sight-behold
B4 Donkey
- One or two
- He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. (Matthew 21:2 [GodsWord]
- He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. (Mark 11:2 [GodsWord]
- He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. (Luke 19:30 [GodsWord]
- The importance was on the colt, so that was mentioned in both Mark and Luke. The fuller view in Matthew, lending evidence to various eye-witness testimony, has both donkey and colt.
- Matthew is showing the fulfillment of prophecy. This happened so that what the prophet had said came true: "Tell the people of Zion, 'Your king is coming to you. He's gentle, riding on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.'" (Matthew 21:4-5 [GodsWord] The quote is from Zechariah: Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal. (Zechariah 9:9 [GodsWord])
- Did Jesus ask the disciples to steal the colt?
- Consider: He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them. That person will send them at once." (Matthew 21:2-3 [GodsWord])
- They had the permission of the owner. The men Jesus sent found it as he had told them. While they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the donkey?" (Luke 19:32-33 [GodsWord]
- The disciples found the young donkey in the street. It was tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, some men standing there asked them, "Why are you untying that donkey?" The disciples answered them as Jesus had told them. So the men let them go. (Mark 11:4-6 [GodsWord])
B5 Why a public entry into Jerusalem?
- The death of Jesus was for all people. A Savior has suffered for our sins. He has paid the penalty for all, if they but put their trust in Him. It needed to be done publicly.
- "God has been helping me to this day so that I can stand and testify to important and unimportant people. I tell them only what the prophets and Moses said would happen. They said that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to come back to life and would spread light to Jewish and non-Jewish people." As Paul was defending himself in this way, Festus shouted, "Paul, you're crazy! Too much education is driving you crazy!" Paul replied, "I'm not crazy, Your Excellency Festus. What I'm saying is true and sane. I can easily speak to a king who knows about these things. I'm sure that none of these things has escaped his attention. None of this was done secretly. (Acts 26:22-26 [GodsWord]).
B6 Questions
- How did Jesus know about the two donkeys and the response from those with the donkeys?
- Is anything hidden from God?
- Why was it that the same nation that is here praising later calls for his death?
- Why is it that religious leaders reject Bible truth?
- What did the crowd not understand when they identified him as a prophet from Galilee?
B7 What is humility?
- The word generally has the idea of “being low.” It is the difference between exalting us in every area or exalting another.
- Someone who is humble will
- Acknowledge limitations
- Acknowledge faults
- Be grateful
- Accept mistakes
- Admit mistakes
- Not brag
- Be considerate
- Listen
- Be compassionate
- Listen to other opinions respectfully
- Acknowledge another’s help/assist, etc.
- Be conscientious
- Not afraid to ask for help
- Quick to forgive
- Patient and not frustrated with other’s weaknesses
- Are peacemakers
- Acknowledge my weaknesses
- Happily serves others
- Be thankful
- Have a tender conscience and ready to repent
- Treats others with respect
- Not afraid to put others first
- Thanks to
- What other traits does a humble person have?
- How does Jesus fit the above characteristics?
B8 Bethphage
- Near Jerusalem
- Near the Mount of Olives
B9 Fulfilled prophecy
- Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal. He will make sure there are no chariots in Ephraim or war horses in Jerusalem. There will be no battle bows. He will announce peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9-10 [GodsWord])
- The LORD has announced to the ends of the earth: "Tell my people Zion, 'Your Savior is coming. His reward is with him, and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.'" (Isaiah 62:11 [GodsWord]
- Zion according to Jewish scribes for generations and the studies of Dr. Jimmy Deyoung believe that Zion, Temple Mount, was the location of the Garden of Eden. See: http://devotional.prophecytoday.com/2014/09/isaiah-5111.html
- What/who is “Son of David?”
- This is a term for Messiah.
- When the time comes for you to lie down in death with your ancestors, I will send one of your descendants, one who will come from you. I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be my Son. If he sins, I will punish him with a rod and with blows inflicted by people. But I will never stop showing him my love as I did to Saul, whom I took out of your way. Your royal house will remain in my presence forever. Your throne will be established forever.'" (II Samuel 7:12-16 [GodsWord]
- Blood descendent of King David See Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38. While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They answered him, "David's." He said to them, "Then how can David, guided by the Spirit, call him Lord? David says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Take the highest position in heaven until I put your enemies under your control."' If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" No one could answer him, and from that time on no one dared to ask him another question. (Matthew 22:41-46 [GodsWord])
- Resources:
- Compare: King David said, "Summon the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada." So they came to the king, and he said, "Take my officials with you. Put my son Solomon on my mule, and take him to Gihon. (I Kings 1:32-33 [GodsWord]
B10 A friend
- God is real. He is not an imaginary friend.
- Some characteristics
- Common interests
- Common goals
- Common opinions (not exactly the same)
- Common likes as in music, food
- They just have much in common and enjoy being with each other
- Quotes:
- I am a friend to everyone who fears you and to everyone who follows your guiding principles. (Psalms 119:63 [GodsWord]
- who leaves her husband, the closest friend of her youth, and forgets her marriage vows to her God. (Proverbs 2:17 [GodsWord] I put this verse here to point out that our closest friend must be, ought to be, our spouse.
- But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11 [MKJV])
- You are my friends if you obey my commandments. I don't call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Father. (John 15:14-15 [GodsWord]
- And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called a friend of God. (James 2:23 [EMTV]
- The word friends is usually φίλος (philos, fee-los) and has the idea of a common love based on experience.
- What are the conditions for God to be our friend?
B11 Few more questions
- The large crowds praised His arrival. Why did this crowd not support and praise the Lord Jesus in the next few days?
- Why was one group praising Jesus, while the other group was rejecting? By this time he was coming near the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives. Then the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted joyfully, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven." Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet." Jesus replied, "I can guarantee that if they are quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:37-40 [GodsWord]
- What if this King were to come today?
B12 Next week
- A King dies for His Subjects
- Theme: A Crucified King
- Scriptures: Matthew 27:11-54
