Praising the King of Kings(2)
“a-apanynk :acavorax :acavoru
Matthew 21:12-22
Today is the day when, along
with the people who were welcoming our Lord, we too shout and rejoice, saying,
“Hosanna, Son of David.”
Hosanna, Ashouanna, Save
us. The word Jesus Yashou comes from the same root
as this word.
Son of David:
they are declaring that this man is the Messiah.
In 2nd Samuel
7:16, we read God’s promise to David:
“And
your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. ‘Your throne shall be
established forever.’”
We have to see that throne is not temporary; it is not measured by time
and space; it is eternal.
Our next scene is when Jesus enters the temple only to find that the
house of the Lord has turned into a noisy market. They pretended that their
intention was to help the pilgrims who came from all over to make sacrifices
and worship; however, they misused their position and took advantage of the
people in the name of the Lord.
Jesus quotes two verses from prophecy scripture:
-Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”
It is based on Isaiah 56:7
“these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house
of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my
altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
-Jesus added, “but you
make it a den of robbers.”
It
is based on Jeremiah 7:11
“Has
this house, which is called by my name, become
a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.”
Our topic is worshiping our Lord. God is looking at our
hearts in our worship. Those people who were in charge of the
We
get stuck with the idea that how come Jesus, the gentle and kind man of God,
was angry? We forget what happens next.
Jesus
continued his mission. “And the
blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” (14)
Nothing will stop him from
doing his ministry. The strange thing is that the
children of the temple saw these and they continued worshiping Jesus saying: “Hosanna
to the Son of David!”
The temple leaders, the priests and scribes instead of joining, criticized Jesus and
demanded the children to be silent.
Jesus quoted again from the
scripture, this time from Psalms 8:2
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name
in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your
foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.”
Please notice who is worshiping our Lord?
The weak, the poor, the
blind, the lame, the children, the ones who were marginalized, the ones who did
not have a voice. They’ve got it. They saw the Messiah. They experienced
the Messiah. The only thing that they could do is to shout, “Hosanna to the
Lord!”
No wonder Jesus blessed the
little children and said that if we do not become like them, we will not have any
place in the
He also said about children
in Matthew 11:25
“At
that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden
these things from the wise and understanding and revealed
them to little children;”
I don’t think
God will not reveal himself to the wise; the wise men came to see little Jesus.
Watch out, we cannot find God with
our wisdom; it requires faith and
humility to grasp. The “wise” of this world stubbornly refuse to accept
the Gospel.
The next day
as Jesus was walking from Bethany to Jerusalem he got hungry. He came across a
fig tree with no fruits on it. He cursed the tree.
Jesus is making a point. What
is the use of a tree which does not carry fruits?
Who were the ones who worshiped him?
Again, the children, the lame
and the weak, those who were marginalized; those people worshiped him.
My question to you, how do you worship Jesus this
morning?
Are we just worshiping with
lips, or we are truly worshiping him in spirit and truth?
The “temple” people were
there to worship in their own ways. The center of their worship was their self interest.
God is looking for God-centered worship in our lives.
Let me give you an assignment
for this week.
Each day find a reason for
which you can thank God.
Dedicate a special time to
worship Him.
How?
HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS:
1. Play a CD, iPod, to listen
to your favorite worship songs and sing along loudly with the music.
2. Write down your meditation
in your quiet time and ask God to fill you with His Spirit.
3. Jesus worshiped God is
prayer but also he did not stop serving others by healing them or touching
their lives. Jesus was at the Temple and the lame and blind came he continued
his service. Our lives should be in worshiping atmosphere, serving our Lord is
one aspect.
Find a way to serve someone
this week. A weak person who needs healing, a lonely person who needs encouragement;
a student who needs a home or a hot meal. Send a card to encourage someone.
Serve the Lord; that is an act of worship.
4. Worship Him in truth. See
if Christ is the center of your worship and not your personal wants and
desires.
Hosanna, Save us, O Messiah.
Go and worship Him.
Amen