Palm Sunday, April 5th — Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem, Matthew 21:1-11
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. [see Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9]
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!” [See Psalm 118:26]
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.”
Thinking it through: The big question seems to be, would you have recognized Jesus?
Someone has said, “Expectation is the root of all hurt.” Think about it. If you were to go back and consider the times in your life where deep relational woundedness occurred, it most likely includes someone disappointing or hurting you in a way that was completely unexpected. Expectation is a programmed assumption. Sometimes our expectations are legitimate, and the wound is raw and real. Sometimes our expectations are illegitimate and the wound, while it may still be piercing, has been self-inflicted. The Jewish people were looking for a Geopolitical King to liberate them from Roman oppression; instead, they got a Servant King, intent on liberating the soul.
Here are three questions for you to consider…
Are there areas in your life where you have placed unrealistic or unbiblical expectations on God?
In a blog post Christian author Randy Alcorn identifies six false expectations that diminish true happiness…
- God’s Love for Us Should Look Just Like What We Want
- We Won’t Be Persecuted for Our Faith
- Jesus Must Return in Our Lifetime
- Life Will Go Smoothly and We’ll Always Have Health and Wealth
- Life Will Be Fair and People Will Treat Us Kindly and Thoughtfully
- Churches Owe Us Better Treatment than We’ve Received
Do you still carry woundedness or bitterness from your past as a result of unmet expectations?
All of our pain resolved or otherwise, is important to our heavenly Father. Your feelings, right or wrong, are valid. Nevertheless, consider real hurt vs. perceived hurt. Read Psalm 22; a psalm of David. He’s confused and in deep anguish—and yet he turns to God in his anguish. David is famous for being a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22), yet we sometimes fail to recognize how he repeatedly paid attention to loss, grief, and disappointment. As King, David led Israel to God through his own experiences of grief and loss.[1]
Are your aspirations, hopes, dreams, and expectations rooted in a developing biblical theology?
As Matthew notes, the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was foretold in the Old Testament. Those who were deeply familiar with the Scriptures would have recognized what was happening.
So, what is biblical theology? Biblical theology can be contrasted with experiential theology, which defines God through personal experience, emotion, and the subjective discernment of reality. Simply stated, biblical theology is seeing the whole Bible (both Old and New Testaments) as a single narrative. A more robust definition is the lifelong endeavor of tracking the whole story of the whole Bible as Christian Scripture in its proper context. It is one story that moves from creation to sin, to judgment, to reconciliation, and finally, to the restoration of all things.
Many Christians have never seen or understood the difference between experiential theology and biblical theology. Experiential theology will keep us trapped in immaturity and set us up for repeated disappointments. This could be a main reason for people exiting the Church—they’ve never been taught how to study and embrace the full single story of the Bible. And consequently, they didn’t recognize Jesus when He showed up in their lives. Unrealistic expectations and the resulting disappointments have hijacked their lives.
Is this happening to you? Do you know someone who is on the fringe or who has exited the Church because of poor instruction? If this describes you, go back to the Beatitudes: acknowledge your spiritual poverty, mourn over your sinful condition (along with the condition of the world around us), become a humble learner once again, and you will begin to experience a hunger and thirst for God. If you know someone who is deeply disappointed with God and/or the Church, invite them to meet and ask to hear their story. Don’t try and fix them, listen to them, affirm their feelings, and continue to love them. When the time is right, offer to read a book with them. One of the best books to help someone get back on the right track is Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller. It’s a retelling of a biblical narrative from Luke 15 that we often get wrong. Both brothers were prodigals and the main character is not the younger prodigal but the older one. Keller tells us there are two ways to miss God, 1) rebellion (younger prodigal) and 2) religion (older prodigal). The gospel is the third way. Read this book with your friend (Spouse? Child? Co-Worker?), walk together and let God do the rest.
Here are some additional resources to further consider biblical theology:
- https://www.uniontheology.org/resources/bible/biblical-theology
- https://www.crossway.org/articles/short-studies-in-biblical-theology/
- https://www.tyndale.ca/seminary/mtsmodular/reading-rooms
- https://www.gospelrelevance.com/2019/03/04/7-best-theology-books-for-beginners/
[1] Adapted from Enlarging Your Soul and Church Through Grief and Loss by Peter Scazzero.
Gregg Caruso 