The Reason
for the Cross
Series:
Come to the Cross
Matthew
21:1-46
For the next few weeks as we prepare
for Easter Sunday, we are going to take a break from 1 John. Instead we are
going to turn our Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew. I will be bringing a series
of messages about the Cross of Christ.
There is an awesome power about the cross of Christ. In John 12:32, Jesus
said this about the kind of death He was going to die, “But I when I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men to myself.”
It is at the cross that sinners are
convicted; the arrogant are humbled; the hardened are broken, the skeptics
convinced, the weak strengthened and the repentant forgiven. Max Lucado in his
book No Wonder They Call Him Savior, says of the cross:
The cross rests on the time line of
history like a compelling diamond. Its tragedy summons all sufferers. Its
absurdity attracts all cynics. It’s hope lures all searchers… My, what a piece
of wood! History has idolized it and despised it; gold plated it and burned it;
worn it and trashed it. History has done everything to it but ignore it. That’s
the one option that the cross does not offer. No one can ignore it! You can’t
ignore a piece of lumber that suspends the greatest claim in history. A
crucified carpenter claiming that he is God on earth.
Paul wrote about the impact of the
cross in 1 Cor 1:18 where he said, “The
message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved, it IS the power of God…”
I believe this with all of my heart:
if we will take seriously the message of the cross – God is going to impact us
with His power. The power of the cross is this—by it God changes lives. I pray that we are not the same people
on April 4, 2010 that we are today. I really believe if we will get a glimpse of
what God has done for us on the cross, it will change us
forever.
I pray that the preaching the cross
over the next 6 weeks will bring some people to turn from their sin and
selfishness and to turn to Jesus for salvation. And for those of us who are already
saved, I pray that the cross of Christ will ignite our love for Jesus Christ
like never before; that we would become—real, alive, sold out, transformed,
light bearing, soul saving, hope giving, life changing, prayer believing, Bible
toting, scripture quoting, truth sharing, sin hating, God loving, Jesus lifting,
Satan crushing—believers … AND the
reason I am so excited about this series is not because I am confident in the
power of my preaching—BUT because I am confident in the message of the cross. It
is the power of God.
Did you know that the crucifixion
was no accident? The cross was always in the heart of God. Before the world was ever created God
had it in His heart to give His one and only Son to die for us. Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as the
Lamb of God, “slain from the foundation
of the world.” Jesus predicted how He would die many times and there are
many events that led up to what we call Good Friday—the day Jesus gave His life
for us. But today we are going to start less than a week before the cross. We begin on Sunday—five days
before Jesus was nailed to the cross.
And as the time draws closer to Friday, we begin to see the reason for
the cross.
The reason for the cross is that
people have rejected God,
His love, His authority and His
Son.
Today we will look at some events
beginning on Palm Sunday that demonstrate men’s rejection of Jesus; events that
set the stage for the cross.
I am thankful to
Pastor Coy Wylie for an excellent outline that I will draw from as we look at
Matthew 21. We are going to see the reason for the cross as we look at the
PRESENTATION of the Messiah, the PURIFYING of the temple, the PROPHECY of the
fig tree, and the PARABLES of rejection.
This passage is
traditionally known as The Triumphal Entry or the Coronation of Christ. It shows
us that for a very brief time, the people of
21:1
Now when they drew near
2
saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you
will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to
Me.
3 "And if anyone says anything to you, you
shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send
them."
4
All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying:
5
"Tell the daughter of
6
So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded
them.
Jesus
deliberately set these events into motion. He was not swept along by chance by
the crowd. His face was set to do the preordained will of the Father. He sent two disciples ahead to find a
donkey and her colt.
Matthew says
that the donkey was needed "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by
the prophet." The specific prophet was Zechariah who foretold the event 500
years earlier (Zech.9:9). He quotes that prophecy in verse
5.
You would think
that a king should enter the city on a white charger but the prophet foretold he
would come in a "lowly" manner riding a “donkey,” a "beast of burden"
(NASV).
Jesus did not
come as a mighty conqueror but a gentle Savior, not a militant general but a
sacrificial Lamb. He came in poverty, not wealth; meekness, not grandeur; not to
destroy
7
They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set
Him on them.
8
And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut
down branches from the trees and spread them on the
road.
9
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out,
saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of
the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
Verse 8 tells us that there were multitudes
or great crowds followed Jesus on His way to
The "very
great multitude" encircled Jesus and began to "spread their clothes on
the road" This was an old custom (cf. 2 Kgs.9:13) that symbolized respect
and submission for a king. Others
"cut down branches" from "palm trees" (Jn.12:13) and "spread
them on the road." The palm branches were a symbol of
joy.
They shouted
"Hosanna," a Hebrew word meaning "save now." They wanted Jesus to save
their nation from the Roman oppressors.
They called Him "Son of David" the Blessed One who "comes in
the name of the Lord," a Messianic title. They quoted the Conqueror’s Psalm
(118). They were literally saying,
"Save us now, oh great Messiah." And although they were speaking the
truth and fulfilling Scripture, I think most of them had no idea what they were
doing or why.
10
And when He had come into
11
So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from
After this grand event "all the city was
moved" or stirred up. Though the people who came with Jesus had praised Him
as the Messiah, the "Son of David," now the people of
In just five
days the people of this same city would say to Pilate in Lk.19:14, "We will
not have this man to reign over us." They wanted a Messiah on their terms,
not God’s.
Many people
today want God on their own terms. They want a Jesus who will fulfill all their
wishes. However, like the multitude at the Triumphal Entry, they turn from and
reject Him when He does not deliver what they expect.
The Triumphal
Entry is the first sign that
Look at the next
one:
12
Then Jesus went into the
13
And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of
prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
14
Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed
them.
15
But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He
did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son
of David!" they were indignant
16
and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?" And Jesus said to
them, "Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise'?"
Verse 12 is now
the next day. Jesus having spend the night back in
There were many
injustices in
Jesus began His
public ministry at the Passover celebration in the same way He ended it.
According to John 2:13-17, once before Jesus had driven out
those who "bought and sold" with a "whip of cords." Now, three
years later the market was just as corrupt as ever.
The area in
question was called "the Court of the Gentiles." The priests had set up
lucrative businesses here. Any animal offered as a sacrifice had to be approved
by the priests. They typically only approved the animals they sold themselves.
The price was often 10 times the regular market value. A person could not give
an offering in just any currency. Money had to be converted to the temple
currency. Therefore official "moneychangers" would convert a pilgrim's
cash for a 25% fee. It is no wonder Jesus referred to this place as in v.13 as
"a den of thieves."
Without
hesitation, Jesus "drove out all those who bought and sold in the
temple." He "overturned the tables of the moneychangers and those who
sold doves." It was a madhouse! Animals were fleeing, doves were flying,
coins spilled onto the pavement! Mark adds further "He would not allow anyone
to carry wares through the temple" (Mk.11:16).
In the midst of
the melee, our Lord shouted, "My Father’s house shall be called a house of
prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves."
Mark adds the
full text of Is.56:7 "a house of prayer
for all the nations"
(11:17). The "court of the Gentiles" was supposed to be a place where anyone,
even non-Jews could learn of the one true God. Yet the priests and the religious
leaders had made it into a crooked marketplace.
Even while the
greedy merchants fled and those who used this place as a short-cut for carrying
their wares found another way, the needy people came to Jesus. "The blind and
the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them." Jesus receives the
poor in spirit, those who know they are in deep need.
But not everyone
will come to Jesus to be healed. The "chief priests and scribes" were not
physically blind nor lame. They "saw the wonderful things that He did" in
the court and walked "out in the temple" only to hear the joyful voices
of children crying out "Hosanna to the Son of
David!"
Their reaction
to all this shows their spiritual disability. When they saw and heard, "They
were indignant." They snorted and threatened because they could do nothing
else. They were amazed at His power to heal, transfixed by His ability to
command the crowds and furious that He ignored them.
Finally, they
approached Jesus directly and asked with contempt, "Do You hear what these
are saying?" They were asking, "Don’t you hear that they are proclaiming that
you are the Messiah? Why don’t you stop them?"
Jesus said,
"Yes." Of course He had heard them. Their song was literally music to His
ears. He asked these highly educated men, "have you never read…" then
quoted Ps.8:2, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have
perfected praise."
Even if the
religious leaders wouldn’t praise Jesus, her children would. Maybe that is why
Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you,
unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven. “ Jesus will be praised. Lk.19:40 records that
Jesus said during the Triumphal Entry, "I tell you that if these should keep
silent, the stones would immediately cry out."
17
Then He left them and went out of the city to
18
Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was
hungry.
19
And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it
but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately
the fig tree withered away.
20
And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig
tree wither away so soon?"
21
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have
faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but
also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will
be done.
22
"And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will
receive."
A. Because of
Fruitlessness the Fig Tree was Cursed
(vv.17-18).
Then Jesus does
something rather strange. He spoke a tree and said, "Let no fruit grow on you
ever again." With that divine curse "immediately the fig tree withered
away." It was a symbol of what would happen to
B. Because of
Faithlessness Israel was Rejected (vv.19-22).
1. Jesus made a
visual illustration of unbelieving
2. Have you ever
seen that principle displayed? Sometimes it happens in a local church. There are
churches that have a pretense of spiritual life, they look good on the outside,
but have no real commitment to Christ. They had no real spiritual fruit. They
are in danger of withering too. Let’s commit to never let that happen
here!
3. The tree
puzzled the disciples. They "marveled" and asked Jesus, "How did the
fig tree wither away so soon." Mark tells us they asked this the next
morning. They had seen trees slowly wither away taking months to die, but
nothing like this.
4. In v.20,
Jesus speaks of "faith" that can move a "mountain." Like the
Parable of the Mustard Seed, even a little faith in God can cause great
things to happen.
5. Jesus said
"Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Prayer
is the key. Jesus just said, "My house shall be called a house of
prayer." When we pray "according to His will" we know that our
prayers are heard and answered (1 Jn.5:14-15).
6. Unlike
During these last days,
Jesus tells two
parables of rejection.
A. A Question
of Authority (vv.23-27).
23
Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the
people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You
doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"
24
But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing,
which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these
things:
25
"The baptism of John; where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And
they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say
to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
26
"But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as
a prophet."
27
So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them,
"Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these
things.
Embarrassed, these religious leaders
answered, "We do not know." Jesus responded by refusing to answer their
question as well. He would not give them any more ammunition to use against Him.
In fact, He would ignore them from that point on.
The Lord said in
Gen.6:3, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever." The Scripture
clearly teaches that when men willfully continually reject the light of truth,
God removes what light they do have. There is a limit to His grace. Let’s read.
B. A Question
of Belief (vv.28-32).
28
"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and
said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'
29
"He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and
went.
30 "Then he came to the second and said
likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not
go.
31
"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The
first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and
harlots enter the
32
"For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not
believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it,
you did not afterward relent and believe him.
Jesus then
proposes a question by means of a short simple parable. Jesus stresses that doing is more
important than saying. Jesus indicted them because they claimed to be looking
for their Messiah but rejected Him even as He stood before them. He said,
"Tax collectors and harlots [the scum of their society] enter the
He said,
"John came in the way of righteousness and you did not believe Him."
These men who were the students of
God’s Word and the keepers of God’s temple would not see "the
Even though the
religious leaders heard the message and saw the changed lives of societies worst
sinners, they would not "relent and believe." They rejected
Him.
33
"Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a
vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And
he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far
country.
34
"Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the
vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
35
"And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned
another.
36
"Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise
to them.
37
"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my
son.'
38
"But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This
is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his
inheritance.'
39
"So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed
him.
40
"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to
those vinedressers?"
41
They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease
his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their
seasons."
42
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone
which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the
Lord's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43
"Therefore I say to you, the
44
"And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it
falls, it will grind him to powder."
45
Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they
perceived that He was speaking of them.
46
But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes,
because they took Him for a prophet.
The point of the
parable is plain, itn’t it? God is the "landowner." The beautiful
"vineyard" was
The parable
meant that the "kingdom" was to be "taken" from
In v.44, Jesus
said, "Whoever falls on this stone will be broken." The gospel is
offensive and our pride must be "broken" to receive it (cf.Rom.9:33; 1
Pet.2:8). However, judgment will fall on the one who rejects Christ and
"grind him to powder."
Finally, the
leaders got the point, "they perceived that He was speaking of them."
They wanted to "lay hands on Him" or arrest Him but "feared the
multitude" who believed He was "a prophet."
The reason for the cross is that
people have rejected God,
His love, His authority and His
Son.
Governor Nash
stepped out of his office and, for a moment, out of his role as Governor of
Ohio. He tucked his large, black Bible under his arm and made his way down the
hallway of the State Penitentiary, in
Guilty of
first-degree murder of his girlfriend, the condemned one sat in his cell, just
hours away from his appointment with the electric chair. Upon seeing the elderly
man with a dark suit and Bible under his arm, he thought him to be a minister or
the prison chaplain. His anger boiled over and he cursed as he sent the man
away.
A guard standing
nearby could hardly believe his eyes. "You fool," he said, "don't you know who
that was?" "A preacher, I guess," was the reply. "No, that was the Governor, the
only one who could set you free, and you sent him away." The young man died a
few hours later, guilty not only of murder, but of sending away his only hope
for freedom and life.
Have you sent away Jesus, your only
hope?
You see it is in
the heart of God to accept us and to forgive us and to love us. But in the heart of man there is a
rebellion against God and a rejection of His love and His savior. Only by the grace of God can any of us
come by faith to receive Jesus—rather than reject Him. Mankind is sinful. The same city that hailed Jesus as
messiah on Sunday, rejected Him and crucified Him on Friday. That is what was truly in their
hearts—sin, ugly sin, murderous sin, sin that destroys and tears us away from
the God who loves us and gave Himself for us.
That is the
reason for the cross. People have rebelled against God, and rejected His Son.
But God’s grace is greater than our
sin. The cross was in the heart of God all along. The cross was necessary
because of our sin. God did it because of His love.
The city of