Reed Mueller

I quite enjoyed my personal study leading up to last weekend’s message. It confirmed in my mind and heart something that is of considerable debate in some circles, namely the question: “Did Jesus believe he was the messiah and King?” If you didn’t catch it, you can listen to the message, taken from Matthew 21:1-11 and supported conceptually by Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:22-29, here: download or listen online/podcast feed/iTunes.Based upon the actions we see as recorded in Matthew we can see a few of important facts:

1. Matthew’s goal in this record seems to be revealed at the end of the passage through the words on the lips of those in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:10, as the people of Jerusalem say “Who is this?”). I believe that Matthew’s goal in recording this event is to help the reader ask that question, too. So, who is Jesus? How can we know? Matthew offers us two pieces of evidence.
2. Matthew’s answer to this most important question comes first through the actions of Jesus. We can see by looking at the text’s first five verses that Jesus intentionally set out to fulfill a well-known messianic prophecy something that would be crazy to do if you didn’t believe that you were the messiah. What was that prophecy? It was that the King would arrive in Jerusalem riding on a beast of burden (Zechariah 9:9). In light of this prophecy, which the masses apparently knew as well, he sent his disciples to find just such an animal so that he could – through his intentional enactment of that prediction – say one thing to the onlookers that day: “I am King.”
3. Who is Jesus? Matthew next presents the crowd’s response: they proclaim Jesus to be King (Matthew 11:6-9). It’s one thing to claim to be King, it’s quite another for people to believe it. But what do we see in the record? We see the crowd get it! They honor Jesus as King and even sing the words from a very familiar messianic psalm (Psalm 118). Look deeply into that psalm and you’ll see that it draws a picture of a processional, led by a King, right to the place of sacrifice. This is God’s doing, says the crowd, our messiah is finally here! And they celebrate wildly!

But what was the response of the mass of people who flooded Jerusalem that week before the passover celebration? It was to ask the question of the day – “Who is this?” – but answer it in a way that made Jesus weep (Luke 19:41-42). He wept because the people of Israel, on the whole, saw him not as messiah but simply as one teacher and prophet among many (Matthew 21:10-11).

Matthew’s question is still essential to consider today: Who is Jesus… to you? He still weeps for those who don’t receive the peace the King offers to those who trust…but there is great joy for those who see the servant-King for who he is, and lay it all down before him.

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