Matthew 21, I would like to read
these verses again that our brother just read for us. But before
I do, I would like to tell you what the title of this message
is. I've titled it, The Most Important
Question on this Earth. And that is a sincere statement.
For our message today, we are gonna consider the most important
question on this earth. Let's read these verses and I'll
point out the question when we get to it. Verse one says, and
when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage, unto
the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus to disciples, saying unto
them, Go into the village over against you and straightway you
shall find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring
them unto me. And if any man say ought unto
you, you shall say the Lord hath need of them and straightway
he will send them. All this was done that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell ye
the daughter of Zion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek
and sitting upon an ass, and the colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went and did
as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass and the colt,
and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And
a very great multitude spread their garments in the way, Others
cut down branches from the trees and strawed them in the way.
And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried
saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when
he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, and
here's our question. Right here is the most important
question that could ever be asked in the world. Who is this? Who is this? That's the most
important question that could ever be asked in this world. Verse 10 says, when he was come
into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? Who is Jesus Christ? What think ye of Christ? Who do you say the son of man
is? Who is this? Before we answer that question,
I'd like to point out that the multitude tried to answer the
question, but they got it wrong. They missed it. And that's still
the case today. Multitudes of people in religion
throughout the various religions, they believe that they have an
answer for that question, but sadly their answer is wrong because
they missed it. Verse 10 says, when he was come
into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? And the multitude said, all right,
now listen to this. The multitude said, this is Jesus,
the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. They missed it. They missed him. Was His name Jesus? Yes, it was. But His name is so much more
than that. He is not merely Jesus. That is His name of humility. That's so important for us to
understand. That is His name of humility. That is His name
of humanity. And if we only know him by that
name, when we think of him, if it's just that name alone, we
have missed him. Who is this? This is the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's not just his full legal
name. That is his authority. That is
His office. That is the declaration of His
accomplishment, who He is and what He has done. When we call His name Lord, we
are calling Him God. The name Lord, when you look
it up in a Bible dictionary, it means the Sovereign. That's the definition of the
word Lord, the Sovereign. And that means God, that's His
name of deity. When we call Him Lord, we're
calling Him God. When we call Him Jesus, we're
calling Him man. That's amazing, isn't it? Which
one is He? Is He God or man? Well, when
we call Him Christ, We're answering that question. We're calling
both God manifest in the flesh. The Messiah, the only mediator
between God and man. Why? He is 100% God. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. Why? He is God. But as amazing as it is that
He is 100% God, He is also 100% man. Is that not Does that not amaze you? That
just amazes me. So when we call him Lord, we're
calling him God. When we call him Jesus, we're
calling him man. And when we call him Christ,
we're calling him the fullness. The fullest degree of both. Verse 11 says, and the multitude
said, this is Jesus, the prophet. Let me ask you this question.
Was he a prophet? Yes, he was. But he is infinitely
more than just a prophet of the word. He is the word himself. He is the word of the prophets. He is the very word of the prophets. He didn't just speak the truth.
He is the truth. That's the difference. Verse
11 says, the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet of
Nazareth of Galilee. Was he of Nazareth? Yes, he was, but he wasn't just of Galilee.
He was of God. He wasn't just from a place on
this earth. He was from before the foundation
of this earth. He wasn't just from Israel. He
was from eternity. We can preach truths concerning
Him and still not preach the truth concerning Him. That's
so, isn't it? Men do it all the time. You hear
men preach and you say, well, a lot of what he said was true.
We can preach truths and still not preach the truth concerning
Him. We can live in error and in lies
just by not saying the whole truth concerning Him. And I don't want us to live in
error and lies. I really don't. This little, you know, scripture
says, fear not little flock, this little flock right here.
I don't want us to live in error. I don't want us to live in lies.
So I pray God will reveal the truth to us this morning concerning
who he is. As you well know, there are so
many places that we could turn in the scripture to find the
answer to this question. but I want to find our answer
right here in this text. This has blessed me so much.
I pray the Lord will really make this a blessing to you. From these verses, we can very
clearly see who this is. As I read down, I was studying
this, and I read down through this. Five things stood out to
me that declare who Christ is right here from this text, and
I pray that our eyes will be open to it today. I want to point
out five things from this that will clearly tell us who Christ
is. Alright, look with me again at
verse 1. It says, And when they drew nigh
unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount
of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them,
Go into the village over against you and straightway you shall
find an ass tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them
unto me." Who is this? This is the commander. This is the master and commander. This is the one, the one who
gives the command. That's who this is. This is the
one who gives the command. Most people believe that He is
standing there waiting on them to give Him the command. That's
what most people are told. If you'll just give the command,
if you'll just say the Word, you want Him to save you? All
right, say the Word. You just do it, okay? As soon
as you... He's ready, He's waiting. As
soon as He hears it from you, He'll go. Not so. That is not so. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the servant of God the Father only. He's not the servant of men.
He is the master and Lord of men. He said, you call me master
and Lord and you say, well, for so I am. Everything that he has
to say to mankind is a command. Everything he has to say is a
command. Everything. When He says, come
to me, that's not an option. That's a command. It kills me
to listen to men and see men stand in pulpits, begging people,
please, please come on. That's not how it works. It's not an invitation. When
God Almighty says to a sinful soul, you come to me, that's
not an invitation. Well, now we're going to give
the invitation. No, we're not. Why don't you end the service
with an invitation? Because there's not one. That's a command. When he says bow, people hear
this and they say, I don't believe it. I don't want to believe it.
I don't like it. And all of a sudden, when he says bow, that's not
good advice. That's a command. When He says, believe, this word goes out. It's a gift. If we believe, that's a gift.
And if the gift is given and He says, believe this, believe
on Me, that's not an offer on the table. That's a command. When He says to the wind and
the waves, peace, be still, that's a command. What is the end result of his
command? When he says to the wind and
the waves, peace, be still what happens? Uh, I'm going to just let me
break. Let me break for a minute. I
always think about little Audrey who sits right here. She doesn't
like loud noises, but I always just want to give them this.
And I don't do it anymore because, but our God, this is what the
scripture says. When He said to the wind and
the waves, peace be still, immediately there was a great calm. I just,
I could sit and envision that and ponder that. It didn't go
like this. It went like this. That's what
happened. When he said to David, Seek my
face, what happened? David said, Thy face, Lord, will
I seek. When the Lord told these disciples
to go get that colt, what happened? Look at verse six. The disciples
went and did as Jesus commanded them. Jesus Christ is the master commander. Every command that he gives is
done. Every command that he gives is
done. That's who he is. That's who
he is. In Isaiah 46, he said, I declare
the end from the beginning and from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand and I
will do all My pleasure, calling a ravenous bird from the east,
the man that executeth My counsel from a far country, yea, I have
spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed it,
I will also do it." He said, if I say it will be
done, it will be done. That's who He is. We want to
know who He is? That's who He is. He's the Commander.
He's the Master. That centurion said, Lord, speak
the word only and it'll be done. That's who he is. Look at verse
one. And when they drew nigh unto
Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage unto the Mount of Olives, then
sent Jesus to disciples. saying unto them, go into the
village over against you, and straightway you shall find an
ass tied and a colt with her, loose them and bring them unto
me. And if any man say ought unto you, you shall say, the
Lord hath need of them, and straightway he will send them." Who is this? This is the sovereign over all
things. All things. Look at how Mark's
account words it. Turn with me over to Mark 11. Mark 11 verse 1, it says, and
when they came nigh to Jerusalem unto Bethphage and Bethany at
the Mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples and
said unto them, go your way into the village over against you,
and as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a colt
tied whereon never man sat. That's an important line. You
know what that means? That colt hadn't been broken yet. where
on never man sat. Can you just sit right down on
a colt and ride that thing into Jerusalem if nobody's ever sat
on that colt before? He's about to be broken, isn't
he? Verse two, saith unto them, go
your way into the village over against you, and as soon as you
be entered into it, you shall find a colt tied where on never
man sat. Loose him and bring him. And
if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say that the Lord
hath need of him, and straightway he will send him. And they went
their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a
place where two ways met, and they loose him. And certain of
them that stood there said unto them, What do ye loosing the
colt? Over in Luke's account it says
that that was the owners of the colt. The men who actually owned
the colt, so they thought. This actually proves to us that
everything is God's property. He said, the cattle on a thousand
hills are mine. He said, every beast of the forest
is mine. The fowls of the mountains and
the wild beast of the field are mine. He said, the world is mine
and the fullness thereof. That's Psalm 50. These men just thought that the
cult was there. So verse five, certain of them
that stood there said unto them, what do ye loosen the cult? And
they said unto them, even as Jesus had commanded, they said,
the Lord has need of him. The master, the sovereign has
need of him. And these probably, I have these
guys envisioned in my mind, probably no good scoundrel, rough neck
men. They said, Oh, absolutely. You
take the cult. The end of verse 6 says they
let him go. Our Lord does not try to do anything,
does he? He doesn't attempt to do anything.
He doesn't hope to accomplish anything. All of his purposes
come to pass. Everything works together in
the accomplishment of his will. Nothing stands in his way. No
one stands in his way. Nothing and no one hinders him,
not even the adversary. This is the sovereign. Everything
that he does is sovereign. That's who he is. His command
is done and everything around that command works according
to his will. I go back to Matthew 21. Verse four says. All this was done that it might
be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell
ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek
and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass."
That is Zechariah 9, 9. That is quoting Zechariah 9,
verse 9. And verse 4 says, all this was
done that Zechariah 9, 9 might be fulfilled. Who is this? Who is Jesus Christ? He is the
fulfillment of all Scripture. He is the fulfillment of all
Scripture. Enter into this, okay? Let's
get a hold of this. This is important. Everything that we see in the
Scripture. You can start on this side of
the Scripture. all the way over to this side of the scripture.
Everything that we see in the scripture, Christ is the fulfillment
of it. Every requirement, a lot of requirements
in here. Now you'd better, if you see
the word, if a lot in here, Every responsibility, every time
that we see this is what God demands. This is what God desires. Every time Christ is the fulfillment
of it. We are not the fulfillment of
it. Christ is the fulfillment of it. Every time I put an article
in our bulletin today by a preacher of the gospel, who the Lord has
now called home and his name was Rupert Reichenbach. And he
said in that little article. When we understand. That all
the ifs. In the Bible. Every time you
see every time you read in the Bible, you know, this is the
promise of God if. He said, when we understand that
all the ifs in the Bible hang on Christ, then the believer
can claim them all as promises. If it hangs on me, the promise
is it's not coming to me. I'm not going to get it. But what our brother was saying
is the moment we realize that all the demands of God All the
demands of God's promises, all of them have been fulfilled in
Christ. You wonder, what did Christ do for us? Why did he
come and what did he accomplish? He accomplished all the demands
of God, all the demands of God's promises. Once we understand
that, that's the moment we will realize that all of God's promises
will come to us in Christ because of Christ. So who is the Lord
Jesus Christ? He is the fulfillment of all
scripture. He died according to the scripture.
He was buried according to the scripture. He rose again according
to the scripture and everything else concerning Christ was according
to and in fulfillment of the scripture. Verse four, Matthew
21 verse four, it says, all this was done that it might be fulfilled,
which was spoken by the prophet saying, Tell ye the daughter
of Zion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee. Who is the Lord Jesus
Christ? He's the king. He's the king. I just love that. I want a king. I don't want a president. I don't
even want to vote for another president. I want a king. Well, he is the king. We have
a king. And he's king over the presidents. He is the king of kings. There in Zechariah 9, it said
he is the just one. It says he is the one who has and
holds salvation. All authority is in his hands. He's the king. All authority
is in his hands. He alone is the one who is worthy
to be glorified. He's the king. He's the one who is worthy to
be magnified and honored and praised for who he is and for
what he's done for his people. Though he was king, Though he
was the majestic one, he came to his people, his subjects,
meek and lowly. He humbled himself. Though he
was rich, he's the king. He became poor because that's
what his people were. Meek, lowly, humble, poor sinners. He joined himself to us, his
servants. It was said in one of the commentaries,
I read some of the commentary writers on this, our Lord riding
into Jerusalem like this. One of them said, great persons
rode on horses. After the days of Solomon, Solomon
had all these horses brought in. And after the days of Solomon,
it said, great persons rode on horses. Only poor people rode
donkeys. He did that for us. He joined
himself to us. He came to be the substitute
for us. That same commentary writer said donkeys were reserved
for burden carrying. That's what Christ came to do
for us. He came to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows on the
cross of Calvary. In this moment, that's where
he was headed, the cross of Calvary. Verse four says, all this was
done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet
saying, tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold thy king cometh
unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of
an ass. And the disciples went and did
as Jesus commanded them and brought the ass and the colt and put
on them their clothes. And they set him there on. And
a very great multitude spread their garments in the way. Others
cut down branches from the trees and strawed them in the way.
And the multitudes that went before and that followed cried
saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Who is Jesus Christ? He is the
one who alone is worthy to be glorified. He is the one who
everything on this earth exists for the purpose of glorifying
him. And let me show you what I mean
by that. That cult was glorifying him by riding him into Jerusalem. Those garments that were thrown
down in the way and those palm branches, they were glorifying
him by being laid in the way of his road to Jerusalem. Those
people were honoring and glorifying him by crying, Hosanna, lest
is he that cometh into Jerusalem. Luke's account mentions one more
thing that's not mentioned right here. Turn with me over to Luke
19. I absolutely love this. I've loved it since the moment
I first saw it. Luke 19. Luke 19 verse 35, it says, And
they brought him to Jesus, and they cast their garments upon
the colt, and they set Jesus their own. And as he went, they
spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even
now, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude
of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice,
for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, blessed
be the king that cometh in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven
and glory in the highest." I can just see them crying at the top
of their lungs. Blessed be the king that has
come. Peace in heaven, glory in the
highest. Verse 39 says, and some of the
Pharisees from among the multitude, the religious leaders, said unto
him, master, rebuke thy disciples." They're just, they're being too
loud, like whenever blind Bartimaeus, they said, hush, quit hollering,
you're bothering people. Here they are all hollering and
throwing their garments in the way. And he's, these religious
Pharisees, they said, master, rebuke thy disciples. Verse 40,
and he answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these
should hold their peace, The stones would immediately cry
out. I wish they had held their peace.
Just so they could have given the stones a minute to glorify
God. That's what he said. If I tell them to stop crying
out, it won't do any good. All the rocks will start crying.
Glory to God in the highest. Peace has come. Peace has come. Look at him. See him. Behold
him riding into Jerusalem. The substitute for sinners. Who
is this? This is the one who everything
on this earth exists for the purpose of glorifying him. Isaiah
55 says when he comes back to get his people and he takes them
up to glory to be with him. It says as God's people are rising
up. The mountains are going to break
forth into singing. And all the trees of the field
are going to clap their hands. It's going to happen. That's
just glorious, isn't it? That's beautiful. That's who
this is. All right, I'm done. Go back
to Matthew 21. Verse 8. And a very great multitude spread
their garments in the way. Others cut down branches from
the trees and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that
went before and that followed cried saying, Hosanna to the
son of David. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. The word
Hosanna means, oh, save. That's what they were crying.
Oh, save us, Lord. You're our only salvation. That's
what they were crying. You're our only hope. Redeem. Redeem us, Lord. Redeem us by
thy blood. We're crying out to you. You
are our cry. You are our plea. You are our
all and in all. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He is the Savior. He is the Redeemer. He is our
Deliverer from all of our sin. And that's what we cry. Lord,
save us. Oh, save us, Lord. Master, Commander,
Sovereign, Fulfiller, Accomplisher, King. Our glorious Savior and
our only hope. Save us because of who you are.
Save us because of who you are. For your name's sake, have mercy
and save. Did he? He's not only the author of salvation,
he's also the finisher of salvation. He is the finisher. That's who
he is. Thank God. Amen. All right.