Matthew: Encountering the King (20:29-21:11)

This sermon was preached to Grace Church Guildford on 24 March 2024. The audio recording of the sermon can be found below along with the transcript.

What would you do? How would you react if you came face to face with the King? Perhaps someday some of us will have that chance. We will be recognised for some sort of special service, or make the trip into London to join the crowd for his birthday parade, or another public event. If you encountered him like that, what would you do? Would you ask him a question? Or thank him for his service? Would you shout, ‘God Save the King!’ along with the rest of the crowd? Or simply smile and wave at his carriage? How would you act if you encountered the King?

Well, tonight in our passage, we watch as people do exactly that, come face to face with their king, their monarch, their messiah. The main message of our text tonight is that the King has come, he has arrived to be with his people, and he is called Jesus Christ. Of course, this has really been Matthew’s main message right from the beginning. If you remember back to when we covered 1:1, you will recall that the book begins by declaring Jesus to be “the Son of David”, that is part of the royal family, heir to David’s throne. Similarly, in Matthew 2, the wise men say that he is the one who has been born king of the Jews. Right from the start of his story, for twenty chapters now, Matthew has been telling us that the king has come. And yet, our text tonight is the culmination of this royal arrival, as Jesus completes his journey to Jerusalem, comes into the Capitol, and receives the praise of his people.

There are countless allusions to Christ’s kingship in our text, and we will be considering many of these tonight. However, the biggest and clearest sign that Matthew means for us to see Jesus as a monarch, in that phrase which appears in both the cries of the blind men, and also in the shouts of the crowd. There in 20:30 and again in 20:31, these two blind men cry out: ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ And did you notice that that is the same title that the crowd give him in 21:9, crying ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is regularly called Son of Man, he is sometimes called the Son of God, but here we have the very rare title of the Son of David, which is an explicit direct declaration of his credentials for the crown. These blind men and the crowd know what they are saying, know who they are claiming Jesus to be, for they call him the King, the son who has come to sit on David’s throne. And of course, this all happens on what came to be known as Palm Sunday, the last Sunday before Easter. And so, it is fitting that we consider it tonight, just a week out from Easter around 2000 years later. 

Our passage breaks easily into two parts. First, in 20:29-34, we hear of two blind men healed by Jesus who join the crowd following him. And then, in 21:1-11, we are told of two disciples being sent by Jesus to get a donkey, and him being praised by the crowd as he rides into Jerusalem. And in both stories, we see how to react to a King. What should we do? How should we act when we encounter this King called Jesus? Well, like the blind men, we should cry out for mercy. And then like the crowds, we should cry out with praise. Those are our two main points. Our passage teaches that our King has come: (1) Cry out for mercy (20:29-34); (2) Cry out with praise (21:1-11).

1.     CRY OUT FOR MERCY (20:29-34)

Of course, if you know anything about royal protocol, you will know that if you encounter the King, you actually shouldn’t say anything. One of rules, given to those who go to royal dinners or garden parties, is to keep silent until you are spoken to. You are supposed to allow them to direct the conversation, decide who to speak to, what to talk about, how long to linger with you. And most of us can understand why that is the case. Royalty deserves to be honoured, respected, deferred to, rather than interrupted or imposed upon. You don’t just butt in on the king! However, it seems that the two blind men in first our story didn’t get that memo, understand that royal protocol.

Our passage begins there in 20:29, as Jesus and his disciples leave the city of Jericho, followed by a large crowd. If you remember, Jesus has been journeying to Jerusalem for 4 chapters, slowly making his way from Caesarea Philippi in the far north, to the capital in the south. To avoid Samaria, he travelled down the far side of the Jordan, along with all the other pilgrims streaming towards Jerusalem for Passover, which was happening that same week. He crossed the Jordan river at Jericho, and started the final stretch of his journey from that city. Jericho was only a day’s walk from Jerusalem, and so he really is on the last leg of his trip, only hours away from arriving in the capital with thousands of his followers. The crowd can almost see the city sitting on the mountain before them. Perhaps they are beginning to imagine the joy of Jerusalem, as the long-awaited messiah, the promised king finally comes to his people. And then, above all the bubble and excitement of the crowd, two men can be heard shouting: ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’ The crowd are frustrated, they don’t want their royal procession to stop, the arrival of this king to be delayed. And so, they try to silence the two men in 20:31, rebuke them for interrupting such an important moment, for trying to catch the attention of Christ as he is about to come into his kingdom. It is sad, as one writer points out, that sometimes the greatest obstacle potential disciples of Jesus face are his other followers. But these men are not put off, but simply shout all the louder, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!’

If you want a modern equivalent for what happens here, you could imagine King Charles’ carriage coming out of the gates of Buckingham Palace last year, on the day of his coronation, on his way to claim his crown, and someone runs up to it, asks to discuss their personal problem with him, requests some of his time and attention. It just isn’t appropriate, hardly the right time, it is a distraction, an interruption to the main event. And yet, amazingly, we see that contrary to the expectations of the crowd, Jesus stops to speak with these men. For we read in 20:32: [READ].

It is a wonderful illustration, isn’t it, of what Jesus explained to his disciples in the previous story last week. There in 20:28, he declared that he did not come to be served, but to serve. That his main mission was not to receive the adulation of the crowds, but to care for the needs of the broken. That of these two events we hear about tonight, the healing of the blind men and the entrance to Jerusalem, it is the former and not the later that is primary. These men are not interpreting Jesus on his very important mission, these men are Jesus’ very important mission, for as Messiah, he came to open the eyes of the blind, answer the cries of the hurting. And the same is true today, brothers and sister, when we bring our problems to Jesus, cry out from a place of need and weakness, we never interrupt him. Even now, as he sits on his heavenly throne, reigns over his kingdom, his ears are open to our cry, he delights in the prayers of his people, for he sits on his throne to serve, he ever lives to intercede, intervene, for us. Christian, Jesus cares for you, he wants to hear from you, he is never too busy, to stop and speak with one of his subjects. As was promised of the Son of David in Psalm 72, ‘all kings [will] bow down to him and all nations [will] serve him. [Why?] For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.’

Jesus responds to the cries of these men, and yet maybe you find this response a little strange. Why would he ask what they want? Surely, that’s obvious! They’re blind, so they will want their sight back! And yet, it is crucial we realise here that this question is really a test to see if they truly grasp who Jesus is. Will these men, now that they have his attention, simply ask Jesus for money or food, as beggars often do? Or do they truly grasp the significance of what they said? Do they really believe that he is the Son of David, the long-awaited Messiah?

For remember that Jesus has been in this situation before. Back in Matthew 9, we were told of two blind men, and who also cried out for mercy to the Son of David. And when dealing with that passage, we thought about how blindness was a very common ailment in those days, and yet it was an extremely rare miracle. In fact, there is no record of anyone in the Old Testament ever giving sight to the blind. Prophets like Elijah and Elisha did all kinds of wonderful miracles, healing the lame and the deaf, even raising the dead, and yet they never cured the blind. For that miracle was reserved for the Messiah alone. It appears again and again in prophecies such as Isaiah 35, where we are told that when the Messiah comes, when the Son of David shows up, the blind will see! Opening blind eyes was the most messianic of all miracles. And so, when these men ask Jesus, not for money or food, but for the restoration of their sight in 20:33, we see that they really do believe he is the King! They grasp the significance of saying he is the Son of David, for no one else could open their eyes! And, because they really believe he is the Messiah, we are told that Jesus is moved with pity, and immediately heals them.

There, in 20:34, the story ends telling us that they began to follow him, joined these pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem with Jesus. Before they were healed, they were left sitting by the roadside, unable to go up for the Passover, enter the temple with their King, due to their blindness. But now, they have been healed, given eyes to see, and so they can join Jesus and the rest of his followers for the final part of this journey.

This is the last detailed healing account in Matthew’s Gospel, and it really provides a perfect illustration of what all the healings have pointed to. What we see here in our first story is really is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus, in a nutshell. If you are here tonight, and want to know what Christianity is all about, then the story of these two blind men is a great place to start. For the Bible says that like them, we are all born spiritually blind. That we are born into the darkness of sin, rebellion against God, and that like them, we too face much misery and suffering. Indeed, just like these men could not come into God’s presence in the temple, or join the celebration of his people at the Passover, we too are cut off from God because of our sin, find ourselves outside his blessing and protection. And yet, if like these men, we cry out for mercy from this Messiah, cry out to this King for compassion, he has the heart to both hear us and heal us. To forgive us our sin and enable us to follow him.

Friend, if you had a private audience with King Charles tonight, I am sure there are many things he could help you with. He might be able to help you financially, lending or giving you some money, or he might be able to help you relationally, introducing you to the right people, as the most powerful person in our nation, he could do all kinds of things to help you. And yet, he can do nothing to help you with your sin, with your moral blindness and guilt before God. But Jesus can. Jesus died on the cross so that he could save his people, save people like these blind men, save people like you tonight, if you only cry out to him for mercy, ask him for forgiveness, come to him for healing and wholeness.

2.     CRY OUT WITH PRAISE (21:1-11)

There are many similarities between our first story, and the healing of the blind back in Matthew 9. Both involve two blind men. In both they cry to the Son of David for mercy. And yet, what is strange, is that in Matthew 9, at the start of his ministry, Jesus goes to great lengths to perform the miracle in secret and tell the men to be silent. In Matthew 9, he performed it privately in a house, whereas here in Matthew 20, it is in public at the roadside, with thousands of pilgrims watching on as part of a huge crowd. In Matthew 9, he tells the two men to slip away not telling anyone what has happened. Whereas, here in Matthew 20, they join the back of the crowd, and are surely talking to everyone around them about this merciful miracle. It seems then the time for secrecy has passed. Jesus is no longer trying to hide the fact that he is the Messiah, but rather he is publicly proclaiming it. As Matthew 21 begins, Jesus is being borne up to Jerusalem on a wave of excitement and expectation, surely heightened by the healing of these two men. And Jesus makes no attempt to curb the crowd, but rather deliberately stokes the fire by claiming kingship in clear and obvious ways.

We see the first one there in 21:1, when we are told that Jesus arrives on the Mount of Olives. That may not seem significant for us today, but for those steeped in the Old Testament, they knew that Zechariah 14 promised the king would come via the Mount of Olives. And what is more, it is at that moment, as he stands on this royal road, that Jesus arranged for another prophecy to be fulfilled, sending two of his disciples to procure a donkey from a nearby village. This fulfils the prophecy read out at the start of our service. As Matthew says from 21:4: [READ].

That wording there comes from Zechariah 9:9, which predicted this very event happening centuries before this. Indeed, even that prophecy is rooted in the promise of a royal ruler coming from the tribe of Judah in Genesis 49, with the lion of Judah said to have a donkey and colt.  And yet, it isn’t just predictions that Jesus is fulfilling here, it is also a long pattern of kings doing this exact thing. Back in 2 Samuel 16, King David rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. In 1 King 1, Solomon rode into Jerusalem for his coronation on father’s mule. The meaning is clear. Jesus is claiming to be the king, he is coming for the crown. As Zechariah put it in 21:4, ‘See, your king comes to you.’

The donkey confirms Christ’s kingship, and yet it also demonstrates his humility, doesn’t it? This is not a normal king, coming in on a great stead, but a humble king, arriving on a simple donkey.

Here this evening, we see the opposite of what was in our passage this morning. In Acts 12, you had Herod who was a man, behaving like a god. Whereas here, you have Jesus Christ, who is God, becoming as a man.  

Jesus is a lowly, not a lofty lord. He is a modest Messiah. If with the blind men he showed us his mercy, here we see his meekness. And it is this same meekness that he demonstrates during the rest of the week, right up to Good Friday. Jesus did not come as a conquering king, but as a suffering servant. He would not win his crown on a battlefield, but on a cross. He did not achieve his great victory with a sword in his hand, but with a spear in his side. Jesus is no ordinary king. For he not only listens to the cries of his people, but he even lays down his life for them. Here he rides on a beast of burden, and soon he will become one, having all of our sins and sorrows laid on him, so he can carry them away.

How should we respond to this show of lowly lordship? This demonstration of Christ’s kingship? To our merciful and meek Messiah? Well, we should do exactly as the crowd do here, we should cry out in praise and joy to him. In 21:8, we read that they take their cloaks and cover the road into Jerusalem with them, just as they did for Jehu when they proclaimed him to be king in 2 Kings 9. They also take palm branches, and throw them across the road, signifying the peace and prosperity that they expect to come from their Messiah’s reign. This was the first century version of the red-carpet treatment! The way to receive royalty in those days. They even begin to shout out, even to sing, in 21:9: [READ]. Those words there are taken from Psalm 118, a song of praise written to celebrate the arrival of a royal saviour. They basically mean ‘God save the King!’ Hosanna meaning ‘save’ and Son of David referring to the king. But just when we use such a phrase today, it is meant less as a direct prayer and more as an expression of praise. And they want this praise to extend into the highest of heights, they want even the angels in heaven to shout with joy, to sing with praise. And in 21:10, we see that this commotion of the crowd coming into the city stirs the whole of Jerusalem up, just as we were told happened back in Matthew 2, when the city was stirred up by the arrival of the wise men announcing that the King of the Jews had come. It seems that the stage is set for Jesus to enter into his rule and reign, to take the crown and to sit down on the throne of his father David.

And yet, that expectation is what makes the end of our passage tonight so strange. Did you notice how Matthew ends the story? Just as our first story this evening ended with a question that tested the faith of the two blind men, our second story ends in a similar way. For there from 21:10, we read: [READ]. Do you see what an anti-climax that is? Given all the evidence of Christ’s kingship they have just experienced, the messianic miracle of healing two blind men, the title the Son of David been shout and sung, the entry from the Mount of Olives, the riding on the back of a donkey, surely you would think, that when the crowd are asked who is this that has entered the city? Who is this that they are celebrating? They would reply ‘This is the King! Jesus the Messiah!’ But they don’t. No, rather they simply say that this is the prophet from up north, Jesus from Galilee. It seems that underneath all the fuss, behind all the excitement, though they sing ‘God save the King’, they haven’t really grasped who Jesus is.

The blind men got it, though blind they were able to see exactly who Jesus was. When asked, they passed the test, confirmed that they meant what they said, that they believed him to be the Son of David. But the crowd didn’t, for when asked what they thought, when push came to shove, they ended up giving a very different answer. And I think Matthew ends the account like this in order to give us a glimpse of what is going to happen, lay foundations for the grand finale later this week. How is it that on his way into the city on Sunday, Jesus can be followed by a huge crowd, all shouting and celebrating his kingship, and yet by Friday he will be followed out of same city by just a few women, in floods of tears, as they watch the same king being carried off to die on a shameful cross? This is how that is able to happen! The crowd don’t truly believe. Yes, they sing a song about him on Sunday, but they don’t really mean it.

Brothers and sisters, I hope you feel the challenge of that this evening. Today, both morning and evening, you have heard that God is sovereign, that Jesus is King. Do you really believe that? Today you have sung many songs. Do you really mean them? When your faith is challenged, when you face hardship and difficulty, when life asks you questions or puts you to the test, will you still believe in Jesus? Still say that he is your lord? Still put your future in his hands?

Or are you more of a Palm Sunday kind of Christian? Content to praise him with the crowd. But as soon as the service is finished, the song stops, and you go back to living like everyone else around you.

Teenagers - it’s easy to follow Jesus here on a Sunday, isn’t it? Surrounded by family and friends , it’s easy to sing these songs and say that he is king now. But what about this week at school? When you are surrounded by your non-Christian friends and classmates, when you face questions and objections to your faith then, will you still call him your king then? What about when you head off to university or enter the world of work? Will you still call Jesus your king then?

Brothers and sisters, if Jesus is the Messiah, if Jesus is the King, then he deserves our songs of praise, our lives of obedience and faith, forever. Not just on Sunday, when we are surrounded by the crowd, but the whole way through the week, the whole way through our lives. No matter what we face, our hearts should be so overwhelmed by the mercy and meekness of our Messiah, that though like Peter we end up in prison, though we must march out to die on a cross with him, we will never stop praising him.

Brothers and sisters, we should be starting the song now in our lives, that we will sing throughout all eternity.

Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven!