Again, if you've been trying to follow along in this series, I'm going to tell you now that I've chosen to skip one of these fulfilled, actually two of them, one of cross in Matthew chapter eight. And again, you'll see in Matthew chapter eight in the verse number 17, after the Lord heals many individuals, it is said in verse 17 that it might be fulfilled, which is spoken by Isaiah, the prophet saying, himself took our infirmities and bear our sicknesses. We look at that text in conjunction with our studies in Isaiah 53, demonstrating again the Lord does indeed secure physical healing in his atonement. But a healing that is not in this age, but an age that is to come. The expectation that Christ has in his coming addressed every consequence of sin, even disease. so he waits his final return and the consummation of that ministry. But you're seeing Matthew again highlighting the fulfillment of words spoken by Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 53. There's also an across in Matthew chapter 12 and I didn't Again, verse 17, we're not going to look at it in any detail. Again, it's fulfillment of Isaiah 42. The choice, the election of the Son of God, the Son of Jehovah, to come and save people. Even here in verse 18, showing judgment to the Gentiles. In other words, telling them of the truth of the nature of God, the requirement of righteousness that they themselves do not have. Point them ultimately, to the only source of righteousness, namely the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now my point in highlighting these two sections, Matthew 8 and Matthew 12, as we skip across to Matthew 21, is to encourage you to see, again, an important principle here. Matthew is writing to Jewish readers primarily, and he's showing them from their own scriptures that Jesus fulfills these scriptures. But what you should appreciate is Matthew is resting heavily on words spoken to prophets regarding the return of Judah from captivity and the expectation of a king. A king that would come. Now remember, remember what happens in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there is that division after Solomon's reign, the Northern and the Southern kingdoms. The Northern kingdom very quickly goes into apostasy, ultimately to the Assyrian captivity. Judah, more faithful, ups and downs. Yes, some good kings, some bad kings, but eventually they fall foul of their own wickedness and they enter into the Babylonian captivity. But God ensures them and encourages them. They also will indeed be restored. They will be in captivity for 70 years, but there'll be a restoration. But so much of the sin highlighted the deficiencies and the defectiveness of the kings. You read through the scriptures. Bad king. That was evil in the sight of the Lord. And judgment comes upon the nation. The kings were representative of the people. And so in these prophets, as they bring words, Isaiah and Zechariah, and they bring words of encouragement to the people of God, you're going to be brought back into the land and do what? You're going to get a king. And this king's not going to fail. This king is going to succeed in an altogether more glorious fashion. And so by the time you get to Matthew writing this, by the time you get to Christ's incarnation, you have again several hundred years where clearly the prophesied king has not come. There's been a restoration. But yet the kings fall in the restoration and exile. They haven't come to the glory of the promises of these prophets. And now Matthew is saying, he's come. Here he is and his name is Jesus. It's a recognition that the captivity of the people of God in Babylon is a picture certainly of our captivity to sin and the rescuing from our sin by Jesus. But it's also a recognition that Jesus is the final great king. He is the final son of David to sit upon David's throne and to do so forever and forever. There will be no other king on David's throne. Christ and Christ alone will reign. And so Matthew's gospel has this theme. It is the gospel of the king. And we see in Matthew's gospel that the king is crowned by way of the cross. And when you get to Matthew 21, you're really seeing that that journey to the cross is rapidly progressing. He's on his way to the cross. He's on his way into Jerusalem. And this entrance into Jerusalem is entering in the time of his suffering and ultimately his death. He's been keeping, in the previous time, a relatively low profile. He's been encouraging people to take care as to how they speak of him and to whom they speak. But now that changes. This event is very, very public. It is really a coming into Jerusalem that would indicate the coronation of a king, a messianic king at that. Now of course we read this section in light of Philippians chapter 2, the one that was obedient was then glorified. But here we're seeing in the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem that the King that is promised, well, he is fulfilling these Old Testament scriptures. So as we look at this coming King, I want to begin by considering the predicted transport. Again, we're just going to draw some principles here from the narrative, the details historically that are before us here. It is certainly a remarkable and surprising means of transport. Surely a horse would have been better. But of course it is a colt. It is again, as it says in verse number five, the colt, the foal of an ass. Again, it's one of those stories that children are told very early on. If they're raised in a Christian home, they're told this story, and it's a wonderful story. And the two disciples are told to go to the village, and there they're going to find this ass tied, and a colt with the ass. And verse number three, if any man say unto you, you shall say, the Lord hath need of them. And I'm not told a lot of details in any of the gospel narratives. There's not that much detail regarding the nature of this individual. But he gives these animals to the servants of the Lord. Verse number three, by the way, is a bit debatable, where it's a straight way he will send them. It's hard to know what is referring to the man immediately giving the animals to the disciples, or is it the disciples themselves saying, by the way, we will return what we borrow. If you borrow things and don't return them, here's a passage perhaps to use again against you in that regard. I'm always conscious of my books and the things in my bookcase that some of those things have been borrowed many, many years ago. And I've even forgotten who lent them to me. You're meant to return what you borrow. Well, that's perhaps what's on view here. An assurance that they will send back the animals to the man, but it's hard to be certain. But what is clear is this means of transport teaches us much regarding the Lord's knowledge. I wanna highlight that in two ways. It shows us the Lord's omniscience and it shows us the Lord's knowledge of the scriptures. The liberal and the skeptic, they look at this situation and they suggest to us, this has all been arranged in a prior way. It's hard to see when. Again, there are scholars who have dissected the journeys of the Lord and they find it hard to see when the Lord would have made this prayer arrangement at this time. And I think the Bible is very clear, the Lord knows all things. And so when he says to them, go into the village and ye shall find. Why does he say that? Because he knows they'll find. It's a manifestation of the Lord's deity. He is indeed the one who's able to make these predictions. Again, you think back to Matthew chapter 17, where he tells Peter to go fishing. Matthew 17 verse 27, It's a remarkable incident, and the Lord knew exactly all about the animals, where they'd be, which one would be there to catch the bait at just the right time, and that one would happen to have somehow swallowed a piece of money. It's a remarkable display of the Lord's omniscience. And so he enters, or he goes and encourages these disciples with the demonstration that he knows all things. He's the one who sees Nathanael under a tree in John 1. He's the one in John 2 who's said to know what's in the hearts of man. One thing is clear here. There are certain people who must be very clear who Jesus is. Those people, of course, are the 11 apostles. They, if all people, must not have any doubts and questions regarding the identity of this man Jesus. And the Lord is here furnishing them with proof and evidence that he is indeed the omniscient God, able to predict in precise fashion that things would take place in this village. And so we see his knowledge here certainly in terms of his omniscience as the son of God. But we also see his knowledge in terms of the scriptures. Now the Lord himself does not say at this point that it might be fulfilled. What we have here in verse number four is Matthew's commentary on the events. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which is spoken by the prophet saying. This is a fulfillment of prophecy. John Calvin says this. This would have been a ridiculous display if it had not been in accordance with the prediction of Zechariah 9.9. In order to lay claim to the honors of royalty, he enters Jerusalem riding an ass. Did you hear what he said there? In order to lay claim to the honors of royalty. What I want you to see here is there are different ways in which things are fulfilled in Christ's life and ministry. You look at it humanly and you would say the babe or the young child that is there has no control, humanly speaking, over the appearance of Magi from the West. Just has no control over that. But there are times in the Scriptures where the Lord very consciously acts in order that He will indeed Himself act in a way that fulfills the Scriptures. And this is one of those. He's graciously furnishing all of us with the information that we'll make a fair judgment that he is indeed the one who is the Messiah. At the same time, proving to us that these Old Testament passages ultimately don't point to an earthly king, but a king from heaven who takes humanity upon himself and lives and reigns forever and forever. He's saying, I'm that king. And so the prediction here, the fulfillment of this is indeed from the scriptures. Now, what is the case here in verse number five is that this is a merger likely from two separate passages. Now, those who believe that Zechariah 9 verse 9, of course that's there, but it's also merged with the language of Isaiah chapter 62. You turn back there. Isaiah 62. And the verse number 11, Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion. So they suggest, well, that's the first part of what Matthew is saying here. Tell ye the daughter of Zion. Again, here I want to reinforce the point I've already made. This section in Isaiah 62 is the prediction of a king. who will be all glorious, and the Gentiles will even see His righteousness as the glory of this coming King. And you're going to tell the daughters of Zion, behold, thy salvation cometh. The King comes to save, comes into Jerusalem, the favored city. Now you combine that then with Zechariah 9 verse 9, so turn across there, it's just a few pages back. In your Bibles from Matthew's Gospel, Zechariah 9, verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Again, it's a king coming, and it's a king coming to save. He is just and righteous. He's not like the other kings. They were marked by iniquity and injustice. But now this king is just and righteous and he has salvation. And when he enters, he brings salvation. That is so very, very important when you come to see what the crowds sing when the Lord enters. It's a fulfillment of prophecy. Now, it's always debated, well, how much did the Old Testament readers understand of these prophecies? Well, in this case, Jesus knew it was about himself. And Matthew underlines that. Of course, Matthew's been taught of Christ after the resurrection, that all the scriptures speak of the Savior. So the transport here, the predicted transport, again, teaches us some very, very important things. Jesus is indeed the Messiah. And the Messiah is no mere man. The Messiah is the God-man. The omniscient God in union with humanity. No ordinary earthly ruler, a just ruler, a ruler bringing salvation. And the Lord is teaching the disciples. He's teaching the 11. Here am I. I am this Messiah. And I bring salvation with me. Again, the gospel writers, they are desperate, I use that term carefully, they are desperate to convince us that this historical person of Jesus is indeed the Savior. They want to pile evidence upon evidence until there is no doubt. The anti-theist Richard Dawkins, he makes the assertion that science considers evidence and faith doesn't. That's not true. It's manifestly untrue. Science does consider evidence, but with foul minds makes the wrong conclusions. Faith is certainly grounded upon evidence. Here's a man named Jesus who in scores of ways fulfills perfectly the last detailed things prophesied hundreds of years ago. And so, yes, many doubt and they'll say, well, he knew the Bible so well, he engineered all of this. Well, I'm telling you right now, he understood the Bible. And he makes sure these things occur to fulfill the prophecy. But there are things that are outside his control as a mere man. Think about the inconsistency here. They're suggesting to us that Jesus is a very clever man who knows the Bible and therefore engineers these things so it gives the appearance that he is indeed this Messiah figure. But no mere man can do all of this. No mere man can bring all these things together. So the point you must make clear to a skeptical unbeliever is the evidence carefully considered points to the truth that this is no ordinary man. And yes, it's a man with perfect sinless knowledge of scripture, but no ordinary man who can say to the disciples, you're going to find an ass there and you're going to get permission to bring that ass immediately. It is the Lord, He is the King. It is the Lord, He is the Savior. And it's only in Him that salvation is found. That's the predicted transport. Secondly, we see the praising throng. Again, there's a crowd here, gather, verse number eight, and a very great multitude. The Lord is entering in the midst of a tumult, a throng who gather around Him, a multitude. Again, there are those who believe these were the poorest and despised of society. The religious leaders, they mock and they scorn at such adulation from the common man. They despise this, don't they? They despise the children in verse number 15. They mock all of this gathering, this gathering crowd. The Lord is glad to receive the adulation of the common man. The kingdom is for the common man, it's for the poor and despised, it's for the ill and diseased, it's for all sin-sick souls. It's for children. Christ's kingdom is for children, not just for those in mature years. There mentioned explicitly in verse number 15, the children crying in the temple saying, Hosanna to the son of David. And the chief priests and scribes are sore displeased. I wonder why they're so displeased. Well, we'll come back to that. Before we get there, just note please verse number 16, where the Lord shows them this fulfills another scripture. The Lord has not gathered a crowd. He's not paying these children to come and speak on his behalf. These are children who are acting freely. And yet he says that they fulfill the language of Psalm 8, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings they ask perfected praise. Children. The psalm itself of course is very, very interesting. Now you turn back to Psalm 8 and you'll see this prediction of Psalm 8 is of course a messianic psalm. Psalm 8 verse number 2 is the portion that Christ refers to in the temple. Again, that's taken in Hebrews as a messianic prediction. Hebrews chapter 2. Christ alone fulfills this. He, in taking humanity, is made a little lower than the angels. All of these things come together. Christ is the Lord, and yet Christ takes humanity so that in humility, he enters Jerusalem to the adulation of children. And in his entrance, he secures the fulfillment of this. As he suffers in humility, he then has come, verse number six of Psalm 8, to have dominion over the works of his hands. You've got to draw the dots or the lines in your Bible. You've got to connect these various things. The humble meek king comes and then ascends to glory and honor. And the Lord shows that here in the temple. You know, it's an encouragement to us when we see the Lord acknowledging the praise of the children. Though others may despise the Lord, he calls sinners to repentance. The world despises Christ, but the poor and the child honor him. Who are you going to choose? Are you going to choose the exaltation of the world, or are you going to choose the humble position that honors Christ Jesus? It's a multitude. What do they do? Well, we're told in verse number eight, they spread their garments on the way. It is the disciples in verse seven who put their clothes upon the animals, but it is the multitude in the way who put their garments on the pathway of the King. They spread their clothes in the way according to Luke 19. Calvin again says that the garments indicate again the lowly state of our Lord, indicate his poverty. He had no saddle or other equipments of riding. The garments are used as a replacement. But even more than that, there is something very significant in the garments being spread in the way. It's a reference to what occurs in 2 Kings 9. They hasted, and since Jehu being made king, they took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew a trumpet, saying, Jehu is king." That's 2 Kings 9, 13. It's a cultural way for people to indicate that a king is coming, that they put their garments in the way and the king is then raised up in their view. There's an idea of the exaltation of this man as he comes into Jerusalem, the garments. Also the branches in verse number eight are significant. They lay these branches before him. John's account suggests that they took palm branches with them. Again we are just told branches here in verse number 8 but John refers to palm branches. They took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him. Now this practice again is significant in Old Testament culture. They do this in Leviticus chapter 23 on the Feast of Tabernacles. Ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and wills of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. This is a sign of joy. The palm trees. An indication again of God's deliverance from captivity. All these things come together. The king delivers from captivity. He fulfills these things and the people rejoice. The king with joy. And then note what they say. So so far we've got Isaiah 62, we've got Zechariah 9, we've got Psalm 8, and now we've got Psalm 118. What they're doing here is using the words of the psalm, Psalm 118. And they're crying in the fulfillment of that psalm that as they view this man coming upon the ass in the Jerusalem, they're exalting and honoring him in the words of Psalm 118. They acknowledge his authority. He comes in the name of the Lord, from the Lord, for the Lord, with the Lord's authority. They recognize his majesty. He's the son of David. He's the one that God has made covenant with, that of the throne of David, there's always going to be one of his sons. He's the son of David. And they use this word, Hosanna. This word in the Hebrew, initially has the thought of save Lord we beseech you. Now it seems in the course of time over the years the word became more and more akin to a word of praise. But it's a word of praise that recognizes God's ability to save. Save Lord we beseech you. That's what Hosanna means. And they're identifying this to Jesus. He is the son of David coming with the authority of Jehovah with the ability to save and to whom they cry in praise and prayer. What does all this mean again? Well, clearly it is Matthew showing us and Christ himself bringing all these things to pass that we would seek Jesus as the coming king, the son of David, the coming savior. There's a very sobering thought in this passage. The multitudes go before him and they follow, cried saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Many of these people joining in the crowds to acknowledge the coming king would join in other crowd in a few days and cry, crucify him. And we sang the hymn that highlights that particular fact. For a time, It does seem that they genuinely recognize that Jesus was indeed the coming Messiah. There was at least in their language, a verbal expression testifying to that. Again, there are some who suggest, well, they did so unknowingly. But it all fits together so much so that the chief priests are irritated by this. In verse number 15, they're irritated by the use of this messianic prophecy. And so it seems at least the chief priests felt that people were being swept along with this enthusiasm for this Jesus who came in their midst. And they say, who is this? Verse number 10. This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, of Galilee. And the chief priests are fearful that the crowd are being swept along in this. Now, I suspect a number of them are true believers. But how many do we find praying in Acts chapter one? 120. And does that mean all those who trusted in Christ? That's all there was in Jerusalem at that time. I don't believe that. There are others, I suspect, who certainly would trust the Lord. But that inner circle of 120, that's all there were. But there's a multitude here in verse number eight. And therefore, from this multitude, there would be, I suspect, many who also joined the cry to crucify the Savior. The important principle is this. The true believer will always rejoice in the Lord. If you do not rejoice in Christ, then you are not saved. The true believer will find gladness and delight in all that Jesus is and all that he does. But there can be external joy present in one who is not born again. You can't be born again without having joy. But you can have spurious joy without being born again. You can have carnal interest. You can be swept along with a religious crowd without properly and really knowing the Savior. Faith will never be there without joy, but emotional and external joy can be present in the absence of true faith. It's why what takes place in some of these mega churches is so dangerous. It looks just sincere, but it is dangerous in manipulating people to have a response of joy without that joy being based upon true faith and truth itself. Anybody can be swept. in an emotional state, in some sort of hysterical state, swept along in the crowd and joined with others in singing and dancing and praising. But this crowd was fickle and they changed very, very quickly when they came to bear the cost. When the religious leaders say, this man is worthy of death, Will they bear the reproach and identify with Christ, or will they go away and cry with the crowd, crucify him, crucify him? You see, true faith that produces true joy is a faith that understands the gospel to be true no matter what anybody else says. Christ is really the Messiah. He is the King. He is the Savior. And no matter what anybody says, or no matter what it might cost me, I'm going to say faithful to Christ Jesus. But that was not the case with this crowd. And the Lord weeps over the city. Had they known what belonged unto their peace, but it was hid from their eyes. So this throng It speaks truth and yet also reveals just the danger of external religious joy without genuine saving faith. Which leads thirdly and finally to consider the pertinent truth here. This whole section is proclaiming to us the nature of Christ as king. But his kingdom is one that is marked by humility. Again, the text itself tells us, verse number five, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee meek. This king is going to conquer, not by power of man, but by humble obedience to the will of God. He comes to conquer souls, not to conquer states. And as he comes as king, He's coming to the temple, not the palace. Don't miss this. Verse number 12, and Jesus went into the temple of God. Surely the king would go to the palace, but the Messiah goes to the temple because his kingship can never be removed from his role as priest. And as he goes to the temple, what do they say? This is Jesus, the prophet. You see, the Messiah is prophet, priest, and king. He is the one who enters the temple. upon a coat that has never been rode. Man has not sat upon this. The coat is not the sacrifice. The coat is carrying the sacrifice. And the king comes to the temple to fulfill all the types and shadows that are present in the temple. He comes there as the priest of God. He is king, priest, and also prophet, priest, and king. And he enters the temple and he casts out the money changers. Why? to secure the temple as the house of prayer for the nations, for Gentiles. He's coming here as prophet, priest, and king to secure salvation for all people, not just the Jew, but also the Greek. All of this is being seen in this passage. This is our Jesus. And thus, if you want your sins forgiven, you need a priest. No man, no man can bring you to God. But Christ is that one mediator. He is the one priest who can bring you to God, bring you all the way in the very presence of God, that you can be face to face with God without fear. His work is sufficient. His blood cleanses from sin so that you need not fear the presence of God. Jesus alone is that priest. You want sins forgiven, you must come to Jesus. You want to know the way to live in this world? You must come to Christ as your prophet. He alone can guide you into all truth and lead you in those paths of righteousness. And so you live in this world and you feel the guilt of your sins and you want forgiveness. You live in this world and you feel the blindness and the darkness of this world. You want a prophet to teach you. But you cannot have a priest and you cannot have a prophet. without also taking a king to rule and to reign over you, to submit to his law, to gladly say, this is the will of my king and I will do it gladly. Of course, to have such a king is to be in the best place of all. It is to be under the authority of one who provides for you and cares for you and protects you. Take the whole Christ. The whole Christ for the whole man. That is the only way to know peace with God and eternity in the presence of the Savior. This is our king, prophet, priest, and king. May God bless our thoughts tonight for the glory of Christ's name. Let's all bow together, please, in prayer. Oh, eternal God and Father, we thank you again that in your kindness we see the scriptures are filled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Strengthen our faith, oh God, though the world will despise us and mock us, though they question our faith in Jesus, help us, oh God, to be strong and purpose that we would not succumb to unbelief and discouragement and despair. Help us to walk humbly with conviction that Christ alone is our hope. We thank you, he does indeed bring us to God. We thank you, he guides us in all truth. And we thank you, he rules and reigns over us. We praise his name. Oh, what a savior, that he died for me. Hallelujah, what a savior. We praise you again, oh Lord, for your kindness to us throughout this day. Take us, oh Lord, home with your presence. May your goodness rest and abide upon us. O Lord, grant us blessing in the coming days. O Lord, how we need Thee. Grant grace, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.