“Two Questions”             2014

Matthew 21:1-11, 27:15-23

 

Matthew 21:1-11, 27:15-23

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

 

Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

 

 

This past year, one of our Salt and Light dinner themes

            was based on Matthew 7:7

                 “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

                                    So we endured a long night of ‘knock, knock jokes’ …

                                                … you know, “Knock, Knock.”  “Who’s there?”, and so on.

 

“Knock, Knock.”             “Who’s there?”

            “Jesus of Nazareth.”       “Jesus of Nazareth who?”

                        That is one of the fundamental questions

                             that is gradually answered in the gospel of Matthew…

            … that critical question,   who is   Jesus of Nazareth?

 

The gospel begins

            with a long genealogy that traces the lineage of Jesus

                        back through King David, Ruth, Jacob, Isaac,

                                    and finally all the way back to Abraham.

 

            When Jesus first preaches, the people in the crowd ask,

                        “who is this        that teaches with such authority?”

 

When he drives out demons from the possessed

            they ask,           “who is this        that even the demons obey?”

When he and his disciples are out in a boat and he calms the storm,

     they ask, “who is this   that commands even the wind and waves?”

 

The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for Jewish readers,

            so it’s focus is on showing how Jesus fulfilled

                        the OT promises that God will send the Messiah.

 

Demonstrating that identity of Jesus   is the point of the gospel,

            as it is gradually revealed by all that he says and does,

                        and by the reactions of the crowds and his disciples.

 

Finally, when they were on their way to Jerusalem,

            Jesus asks them, “who do people say that I am?”,

                        and they tell him what they have been hearing.

Then Jesus asks his disciples, “but who do you say that I am?”,

            and Peter correctly identifies him, in Matthew 16:16

                        à         “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

 

Then Jesus went on to tell them that in Jerusalem,

            he would suffer and die, and then be raised on the third day.

And all along their journey toward Jerusalem,

            Jesus continued to reveal more and more about who he is.

 

In the first Matthew passage  that we looked at today,

            Jesus has arranged for his entry into Jerusalem,

                        making it clear to those familiar with the Old Testament

                                    that he is   the long-promised and awaited Messiah.

 

Coming from the Mount of Olives in the East into Jerusalem

            fulfilled a prediction found in Zechariah chapter 14,

                        and entering the city riding the colt of a donkey

                                    had also been predicted as a sign of the Messiah.

 

Now the nation of Israel had long been under the domination

            of various powerful foreign empires,          first the Assyrians,

                        then the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks,

                                    and now the hated occupation by the Romans.

 

It was assumed by many that when the Messiah came,

            he would lead the people of Israel in a victorious revolt,

                        and that through military power and might they would

                                    defeat  and drive  the Romans from their land.

 

But Jesus did not come with the power of a mighty army,

            or through violence and force   try to defeat the Romans.

 

Jesus came demonstrating   the far greater power

            of love, grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness;

                                    traits that may seem weak in the immediate,

                                                yet through which God heal and transforms

                                                     the brokenness of this world and our lives.

 

Jesus lived out the sovereign and majestic power of God

            through his sacrificial love, mercy and grace,

                        rather than by force or violence of the sword …

… and the early Church living by that example set by Jesus,

            within three centuries after Jesus entered Jerusalem,

                        the mighty Roman empire, the army of Rome and it’s Caesar

                                    had officially been converted to Christianity.

 

It was not by the force of armies, violence or military might,

      but by deeds of Christian love, mercy and gentle compassion,

               by the willingness of martyrs to sacrifice for their faith.

 

A man riding into town on the colt of donkey,

            was hardly the image of one sent to transform the world,

                        yet, as we read in vs. 10

                                    When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,     “Who is this?”

 

In the second Matthew reading, it is later that same week,

            and now the Roman governor Pilate

                        is grappling to resolve the same questions,

                                    “who is this Jesus,    and what to do about him?”

 

In the Roman world,

            dreams were respected as messages direct from the gods.

                        So the note from his wife

                                    would have been a part of his deliberations.

 

But despite wanting to heed his wife’s warning about her dream,

            Pilate buckles and bends under pressure from the crowd

                        and will surrender to the crowd’s demand…

            … and so he is remembered for condemning and

                        crucifying   a man he knew to be  righteous and innocent.

 

Pilate would have preferred to not deal with the issue at all,

            so he tried to avoid it or find a compromise,

                          for he was well aware that

                               the religious leaders were trying to manipulate him.

 

So rather than decide the questions for himself,

            he tried to punt to the crowd and have them make the choice,

                        between Jesus and a notorious criminal, Barabbas…

 

… which would have been an obvious decision, except, vs. 20

            Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed.

                       

            Then when the crowd calls for Barabbas to be released,

                        he asks the most important question of all time, vs. 22

                                    Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!”

                                   

Just as it was for Pilate and the crowd that day,

            so too for us, those same two questions  confront us all ---

                        - who is Jesus,             and what should I do about Jesus?

 

If Jesus is who he claimed to be,

            the Son of God    sent by grace to heal and save the world,

                                    then isn’t it imperative

                                                that we get the second question right? …

                                                                        … what should I do about this Jesus?

 

                 Ultimately, the way we choose to answer that question,

                        will most certainly define and change our lives…

… and if it hasn’t really changed our lives,

            or isn’t changing and making a difference in our lives,

                                      then we haven’t really thought about the question

                                          or haven’t taken the question seriously enough.

 

Let my illustrate from my own life and experience.

      Once I grew up, for many years I had no interest in church life.

            I was ambivalent and had other interests and concerns.

 

But then one Easter I went to church, first time in years,

            and was drawn in, got involved at New Hope Presbyt. Church,

                           where they did take that question,

                                    “what should I do about Jesus”,    very seriously…

             … and almost without me noticing,    my life began to change…

 

… as my faith and my walk with God began to grow deeper,

            way more authentic, and was increasingly important to me.

I wanted to know and understand my God better, which led meà

            to more consistent prayer, Bible reading and church-life.

           

Two questions,   who is Jesus,   and what should I do about it,

                        eventually became a call to full time ministry,

                                    to leave my business career and become a pastor.

 

After all the years of working hard to climb the corporate ladder,

            there came a day  when I turned away from that world,

                        and met with my boss   to announce by resignation

                                    so that I could begin again   as a seminary student,

                                                -     because of what I believe God wanted for me.    

 

“Who is Jesus, What should I do about it?”

                        Isaac Watts wrote a wonderful hymn about that in 1656:

                When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,

                                 my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

                Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small.

                                 Love so amazing, so divine,  demands my soul,   my life,    my all.

 

Every committed, faithful and growing Christian I’ve ever known

            could tell their stories about risky decisions they made

                        in answer to two important questions:

                                    “who is Jesus”, and “what should I do about it?”

 

--the way we answer       will determine    our character,

            what sort of person we’re going to be;

                        selfish and always looking out for number one,

                                    or self-giving, following the way of Jesus Christ.

                                   

-- the way we answer      will determine    our destiny,

            what will be the point and purpose for us ever having lived,

                        and with whom   and where         will we spend our eternity?

 

Who is Jesus,  and what does he want for me?

      The answer to that   has the power to change our lives forever.