Jesus, Our King

Series: Stand Alone

Category: Gospel

Speaker: Jason Williams

In this sermon, we looked in Matthew 21:1-11 at Jesus' return to Jerusalem, where he rode into town like a new King victoriously returning from battle. Despite this triumphant return, Jesus is greeted with mixed responses, from the adoration of His faithful followers to the hatred of the Jews seeking to kill Him. As Jesus made His way into Jerusalem, some people gathered along the streets to shout that He was their King, the Messiah, the Savior of Israel. Despite these proclamations, the parade fell short of the standard welcome for a respected and adored King. Some responded to Jesus with faith and adoration, others as fans following at a distance until things became hard, while others altogether despised Jesus. There were no valuable gifts offered and Jesus wasn’t ushered to the most important place in the city to be adored. Instead, Jesus headed to the temple to drive out the money changers, who had distorted God’s house of prayer. As Matthew points out, everything that happened on this day was to fulfill Old Testament prophesies, initiating the final series of events leading up to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Think about your current relationship with Jesus. If you were there that day with Jesus entering in to your city, which group of people would you be in? Would you be one of the faithful few, one of the fair-weather fans who followed at a distance, or one of those who opposed Jesus?