Preached in Markham Baptist Church, March 20, 2005

WHAT'S IN A NAME? - PART 4: "THE SON OF DAVID"

As I think of all the sermons I have delivered during 15 years of preaching I am aware that there are certain themes that are struck again and again. One of those themes is Jesus is King. It is a theme that I visit often because Scripture emphasizes this fact again and again. 

The gospel writer Matthew is particularly keen for us to grasp this point. As you read through this gospel you get the sense that Matthew is always addressing the question that the people of Jerusalem ask in our text at verse 10 – Who is this? And Matthew points a steady finger to Jesus and says this is Jesus who is not simply a carpenter’s son, but He is the King promised by God who possesses all authority, before whom bow demons, disease and nature; in whose hand lay all the power of God so that at His word the blind are able to see, the lame are able to walk, the leprous are made whole, the dead are brought to life and sins are forgiven. He is the King and this truth is emphasized again and again in the gospel of Matthew and no less in our text today. 

It may be a familiar story to you, it is one in which we are given the much needed reminder that the Jesus we serve is King. 

The opening verses show us that He is the King who is in control of everything. Do you remember in our text last week, John 10 Jesus said, “…I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (vs. 17-18). And as we come to the events of the last days of Jesus’ life, we see that Jesus is very much directing the situation.

He tells His disciples to go into the village and you will find a donkey tied there with her colt. Untie them and bring them to me. 

We are not told how Jesus knew this, but we do know that the disciples found it just as Jesus said. I believe it shows that Jesus is in control, it was all planned, all premeditated. Jesus knew what He was doing when He went to Jerusalem and ultimately to the cross for our sin. 

Don’t think that these last days of Jesus’ life are spinning out of control so that in the end He is crucified, and it’s a real surprise to Jesus. No. The whole movement of these days is under His own government and His own arranging. If we see Him merely as a victim of circumstances we miss point entirely. Pilate missed the point and says to Jesus, “Don’t you know I have the power to free you or crucify you?” And Jesus says, “No you don’t, the only power you have has been given to you from above.” (John 19:10-11). Jesus does not go to the cross as a victim but as a victor. This is a kingly entrance. He is going deliberately and with determination. 

And when we read this we are brought face to face with the question – who controls my life? It is a constant battle, isn’t it? For our minds may have been made up long ago as to who has control of our lives. We may have decided as a teenager that Jesus is the only one worthy to control us, or we may have decided last year that Jesus is the only one worthy to control us – regardless, it is not a one-time decision. It is a daily choice, it is a daily decision, for there are always so many temptations and opportunities to toss Him off the throne of our hearts. 

For me there is my constant sense of self-sufficiency. “I can do it on my own, God. I can do what you’ve called me to do on my own, I can be a father, a husband, a Christian, a pastor all on my own. I can build your church on my own. With just the right sermons, with just the right tools I can build your church.”  Or, “I can be a dad all on my own, God. I’ve got this dad thing down pat. Home for dinner, a story and prayers before bed and no problem, God! I’ve got it covered.” 

And God has to hit me over the head with a plank and get my attention and say, “You haven’t got it covered. You can’t do what I’ve asked you to do on your own. You can’t build My church on your own, Tom. You can have all the so-called right tools and programs you like, but if I’m not in control, it’s not my church you are building.  And you can’t parent on your own.”

There is a wisdom that we need that only comes from above. There is a patience we need that only comes from having the Spirit live in us. There is a discernment that we need as to when to speak and when to keep silent when to move into action and when to wait – we need that in every situation of life, but especially in parenting - that only comes from having the Lord in control of your life. 

We can’t do it on our own and we need constantly to come to Jesus Christ to give up control to Him and allow Him His rightful place of King in our lives. Only He is the one who can safely navigate your life through difficulties and hardships. He is the one who is worthy to be in control of your life and we need that reminder.

We see here that Jesus is the King who is in control.

2

We also discover in God’s Word here that Jesus is the King who is promised by God. Matthew points out that all of this took place to fulfill the prophecy given to us through the prophet Zechariah 9:9 - “Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 

This is why it is so important for the disciples to bring back a colt. Jesus rides the colt. Matthew stresses that this is a foal by saying that the disciples brought back two animals, the foal and the mother. And Jesus rides the foal, we read in the other gospels. 

He is going to great lengths to show that Jesus is the long promised Messiah and King, the one God had promised to His people long ago. 

I know when we get to talking about prophecy and how Jesus meets the prophecies we want to skip over it all – yes, let’s move on to something more practical, more applicable to my situation. But don’t move too quickly - stop and look at the wonder of how God’s word is so precise and the wonder of how it all fits together and how exactly Jesus meets the prophecies of the promised Saviour. 

So Jesus comes riding in on a foal of a donkey and a very large crowd gathers and they spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Even this action calls to mind the coronation of another king of Israel long ago, by the name of Jehu - he is proclaimed king (2 Kings 9:13) and the crowds welcomed him and threw their cloaks before him on the bare steps and blew trumpets and shouted “Jehu is King.” 

And then the crowd shouts in our text, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Hosanna is a word of praise - it means “save”. Depending on how it is said, it can have several emphasizes but here it is primarily a note of praise. But notice the words, “Son of David.” The title given to Jesus here. 

And as we dive into the Old Testament we see Jesus is the one who fulfills prophecy. Long ago in Genesis God promised Jacob’s son Judah: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” (Genesis 49:10) 

And many long years pass before Israel has a king and the king of God’s choosing is David, in direct line of Judah. And David is a great king - he was loved by God because of his heart, his willingness to be broken and God promises David in 2 Samuel 7:16 that his house and his kingdom “will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” 

So it was understood that the coming Messiah would be in the line of David. So that when Isaiah prophecies about the coming Messiah he says that “he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:7)

And here is the crowd saying “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Praise to the one who was promised and come to be king. Did the crowd know the full implication of what they were saying? No. And this is part of the humour of Scripture. Matthew is saying, “look what the crowd was saying! If they only knew! Indeed here is the son of David, promised long ago by God!” 

You know, we read this title at the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel. He begins, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David…” (1:1) 

Why does Matthew begin his gospel with a boring list of names? Because it’s important. We often read it like a telephone book list of names, but I’m sure that’s not how Matthew wrote it. I can imagine him dancing as he wrote this, saying look, look how Jesus is in the line of David, He is the King promised from God. He is the King biologically, legally, historically, prophetically, in every way He is the King! He’s arrived! 

And God is saying this to us today in His Word. This is the one who whom you have been searching for so long. Here is the desire of your heart. Here is the one who will bring peace to your strife-torn life. Here is the one who will, if you open the doors of your heart ride in and establish His kingdom. Will you give Him a chance? Will you let go? Will you let go? Will you let go of your need to exercise power and let his power to rule you/ Will you let go of your agenda and let Him direct your life? 

If so then pray that prayer now, Lord I accept you as my Sovereign. I hand all that I am over to you. You are the one true king and I give over control to you. 

And that might be frightening to give up control – but look at the text, look at the truth of God’s word – Jesus is King who comes with strength, but also meekness. He comes with power and authority but also with a servant’s heart. Humble and riding on a donkey. 

It could have been so different. The people were expecting a Messiah from God who would come and dazzle them with divine splendour. To be sure God could have come and could have blinded us with the glory of heaven so that our wills would have been beaten into submission. After all, He does have all power and authority. 

Charles Colson writes in the book, “Power Religion” that he saw the influence of power when he was President Nixon’s right hand man. He tells how he would have to set up appointments for Nixon and how many of these appointments were with leading evangelicals of the day – good men and women with good intentions, with sincerity and all the best at their hearts wanting to plead their case before the president – and he would be instructed to give them the royal treatment. He remembers who these Christians were all fired up and knew what they wanted to say to the President, the justice they wished to fight for, and then they would be ushered into the oval office and they’d see the great seal, on the plush carpet of the floor, the magnificent wood work, the president’s desk in front of the window. And you can picture the light of the day streaming through window on President Nixon who would be standing looking out the window as if in thought and he was an imposing figure – and in a moment Colson would see all their resolve, all their speeches, all their good intentions slip away in the presence of such power and grandeur, they were putty in the President’s hands.¹ 

The way of our Lord is so different. God comes in Jesus and humbles Himself.

George Mcdonald put it, “They were all looking for a king to slay their foes and lift them high, Thou camest a little baby thing that made a woman cry.”

Paul in the book of Philippians puts it like this, “Christ Jesus who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

Those words should make us catch our breath. I guarantee that when Paul wrote those words to the Philippians there were tears of joy in his eyes. He was struck by the wonder of it. Though Jesus was in the form of God – meaning that He was part of God, part of the divine Godhead, a third in the mysterious trinity.

He didn’t count it a thing to be grasped but He emptied Himself, He impoverished Himself willingly so that His coming would not overpower us, but He would gently knock at the door of our heart. 

He is the son of David, the king of Kings and yet he comes riding on a donkey. 

And doesn’t that attract you to Him? There is no pomp, there is no pretentiousness, there is no air about Him that tells us that He cannot be approached. 

He is the king of Kings but do not be afraid to approach Him, giving Him your life, your concerns your burdens, your sin, your self-sufficiency. He can be trusted.

And how much we have to learn from Him! How often we want first place, how often we want the seats of honour and prestige. Don’t ask me to do the menial. I am much more important than that. Yet the one we serve, the one we call Lord comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, when He should have come riding on a steed, accompanied with the choir of heaven. Instead He is accompanied by kids, Matthew tells us later in this chapter. 

How much we have to learn from Him. But it is possible, but only possible as we allow Him the rightful place of King in our lives and give up all our self-sufficiency, our demand for honour and prestige. And Give Him the rightful place of King in our lives.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - March 2005

ENDNOTES:

1.     “The Power Illusion” by Charles Colson in the book, Power Religion, Michael Scott Horton, Editor. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992) page  35. 
 

[Home] [Coming Up] [Programs] [Sermons] [About Us] [Contact Us]