Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The Type of King Jesus Is | New Testament | Matthew 21

Episode Date: January 30, 2023

What comes to mind when you hear, "King Jesus"? What was so revolutionary about his coming? Is Jesus similar to kings like Caesar? In today's episode, Keith uses Matthew 21 to discuss what made Jesus's kingship so revolutionary. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in 2023. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Matthew 21

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. Okay, can we do a little thought experiment? Imagine you saw a linked in account but could only see the person's resume, not their name or title. And on this mysterious person's resume, you read, Lord, Son of God, divine ruler, savior of the world. This person's list of accomplishments includes that he's brought peace to the world.

Who is this mystery person? Well, of course, you say the answer's easy, isn't it? Of course, it's Jesus. Well, maybe. If you had lived in the Roman Empire during the first century, you would have said the answer was Caesar. You see, all the titles that we think of as belonging to Jesus were titles that first belonged to the King of Rome, which of course means that when the titles Lord, Son of God, and Savior, were given to Jesus, they were making a claim that Jesus was the true king, not Caesar. And when the early Christians declared that Jesus is king, there was an unspoken implication. If Jesus is king, then Caesar isn't.

Now, that's the kind of thing that could get you killed. Since we're on the topic of death, why do you think the Romans killed Jesus? It wasn't because he was an itinerant preacher who taught people to love their neighbors and their enemies. No, they killed Jesus because he claimed to be the true king. And therefore, he was considered a rival to every other earthly king. Jesus' mission and his message were revolutionary. Is there anything revolutionary about your faith? If not, what do you think happened?

In Matthew 21, it records the events of Palm Sunday, which is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, receiving the praises of people who declared him to be their long-awaited king. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on this donkey in the days leading up to the Passover, when the city was packed with people making the annual sacrifice for their sins. He enters through the east gate, which was reserved for kings, and through which the Jews expected the Messiah to come. Here's Matthew 21, 4 and 5.

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet. Say to the daughter of Zion, see your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the full of a donkey. King David and King Solomon always wrote on donkeys. It sounds humble to us, but in the topography they lived in, the donkey was the steed of kings. So people grabbed palm branches and they waved them in the air and they threw them on the ground and shouted, Hosanna.

Here's verse 9. The crowds went ahead of him and those who followed shouted, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven. Hosanna means Lord Save Us. The palm branch was a symbol that had once been placed on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free. So the palm branches were not a symbol of peace and love.

They were a symbol of Jewish nationalism. And they were an expression of the people's desire for political freedom. What the crowds were really saying was, Jesus, you are our king, our deliverer from Rome. Take your rightful place and free us now. You see, the Jews were looking for an earthly emperor to take the seat of power once and for all, enabling the Jewish people to break free from the yoke of Rome. The people were trying to make Jesus the warrior king, but Jesus was arriving as the king of peace. He wasn't taking up a battle against Rome, but instead he was waging a war against sin and death.

Jesus wasn't the king they expected, but he was the king they needed. when we hear Jesus is king, why don't we get hyped as much as they did? Well, when you hear the word king, what comes to your mind? Burger King or King George in the film? Or King George in the play Hamilton? Or LeBron James is called King James. Or Elvis is the king of rock and roll or Michael Jackson is the king of pop. Or there's Dr. King or the Lion King or Stephen King or Smoothie King

or the King James Bible or King Tut or King sized King. candy bars? None of those get me excited about following a king. On top of that, all the TV shows, like the Crown or Game of Thrones, show kings as corrupt, power-obsessed, and selfish. But Jesus is a different kind of king. He doesn't use his power to dominate but serve. He uses his power to forgive and rescue and heal and protect. Jesus is the compassionate king, who cares for the needy and the broken, who seeks out those on the margins. Jesus is the wise king, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found. Jesus is the humble king, choosing to be made like us in every way. Jesus is the powerful king who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, but he

uses that power on behalf of the vulnerable. Jesus is the suffering king, giving his life for others. kings spill the blood of their enemies but king jesus's blood well that was spilled for his enemies in matthew twenty seven it says they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head they put his staff in his right hand then they knelt down in front of him and mocked him hail king of the jews they said above his head they placed the written charge against him this is jesus the king of the jews They thought they had killed him when really they had crowned him. When they lifted Jesus up on that cross, they didn't realize it, but they enthroned him as king. He didn't come to defeat his enemies, but to die for them. The crowd wanted a king who would deliver them from their political oppression by military force. But Jesus offered spiritual deliverance through suffering on a cross. Jesus didn't want to sit on a throne in Jerusalem, but one in heaven.

and the only way to sit on that throne was through humility and self-sacrifice. If you think Jesus is a threat to your kingship over your life, that's because he is. He was a threat to Caesar, and he's a threat to every king, to every person who thinks their king of their own life, you need to watch out. There's only one king. On Palm Sunday, Jesus declared that he is the true king. Will you give him the throne of your life? He rules the world, but will he rule?

your heart. Hey, thanks for listening. If you want to go deeper, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talk newsletter. You'll get a short email once a week. It'll challenge you to grow in your faith, give you interesting background on today's passage, and a lot, lot more. Just click the link in the show notes to sign up. It'll help you deepen your journey with Jesus.