Episode 5 - Who Is This Jesus?

Welcome to another episode of Live It Out! A podcast where we talk about God's Word and encourage one another—and our listeners—to live it out for the glory of God and for the good of others.

In this episode, Adam Green and Pastor Jim Neal discuss the powerful account of Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem from Matthew 21:1-11. As Jesus rides into the city on a donkey, the crowds shout “Hosanna!” and praise Him as the coming King. Yet not everyone sees Him the same way.

We focus on the different perspectives people had of Jesus that day—and the question that still echoes today: “Who is this Jesus?”

Answering that question honestly is incredibly important. It reminds us who our true King is and what (or who) we are actually worshiping. Is Jesus truly the Lord and King of our lives… or have we allowed other things to take His place—things like money, our jobs, comfort, security, relationships, politics, or personal success?

This conversation challenges us to examine our own hearts and realign our worship, our allegiance, and our daily lives under the rightful rule of King Jesus.

We pray this episode stirs your heart to declare with fresh conviction: “This is Jesus—the Son of David, the promised King, and the only one worthy of our wholehearted worship!”

If this encouraged or challenged you:

Leave a comment below: Who do you say Jesus is, and how is He King in your life right now?

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hey friends, welcome to another episode of Live It Out, a podcast where we talk about God's word and we encourage one another and our listeners to live it out for the glory of God and for the good of others. I'm Adam Green, and with me today is Pastor Jim Neal here at Village Bible Church in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. And today begins what we call Holy Week, where we celebrate today the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, specifically talking about the Matthew account, Matthew 21, verses 1 through 11. But we want to also invite you later this week, we've got a special service where we're going to remember Jesus' saving work for us on the cross at our Good Friday service. That is April the 3rd, this Friday at 4 p.m. here at Village Bible Church. We've got our choir, we've got a special string ensemble, we've got some scripture that's going to be read, as well as taking the Lord's Supper, all centered around Jesus' saving work on the cross. You're not going to want to miss it. And then as well, we've been preparing for a while for our big Easter celebration, which is taking place this Sunday, April the 5th, at the Woodlands Auditorium. That's right, not going to be here at Village Bible Church campus, but we're going to be at the Woodlands Auditorium here in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. You can check out our website for more information, but we'd love for you to invite your friends, your family, your coworkers, your neighbors. Let's jam-pack this place and let's raise Jesus, our risen Savior. You're not going to want to miss it. Well, at this time, I'm going to ask Pastor Jim to give a brief overview of our Matthew chapter 21 passage. Again, we're looking at verses 1 through 11, and then we're going to take a deep dive into the text.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Well, the Matthew passage to me is probably the most complete. As we know, the synoptic gospels are called synoptic because they bring together narratives in sort of summary form. Each one has a little different slant. For example, in one of the books, it will talk about the donkey exchange with neighbors questioning why you are untying the donkey. And others, it will talk about the owners questioning that. And that's just the discrepancies that you often see in eyewitness accounts of any situation. All of them were caught by surprise. And that was the element that was there that can cause different kinds of perspectives. When we are, it gets our attention. And when you get people's attention, then you have the possibility for life transformation, for something to change in life. If everything is just going along the way it always goes along, then change doesn't really happen.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

I'm glad you brought that up. I actually just in the hallway had a conversation with one of our uh you know previous elders uh who was blown away, you know, even by a prayer that happened earlier in this service, setting them up to receive God's word later in a more powerful way. Um, and that whole idea of perspective, maybe you can speak on that, because that's something I want to definitely unpack is you mentioned several different perspectives of people. Again, this is a fairly known passage. People have probably heard it in Sunday school, they've heard it growing up, and but but you know, you were trying to bring kind of every different perspective angle you could look at the triumphant entry of Jesus. Maybe you can just uh maybe outline some of these different perspectives.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Yeah, it was hard not to begin with anybody but the disciples, because they were the ones who were closest to Jesus. Yeah. They had walked with him, they had seen him. Um I think even the disciples had their own, not only their own agendas perhaps sometimes, but their own viewpoint of what was going to happen in the future. I don't know if they really understood where all of this was headed, in spite of the fact that, as I said in the sermon in the previous chapter, Jesus had told them what was to come, that he was going to go through some horrendous things. And our human minds, when that happens, it either we don't compute what it means or we deny it. Oh, that that just can't be. You know, and it's almost like those stages of grief that people go through when they lose a loved one, that that there's this can't be happening, there's bargaining, there's denial before there ultimately gets to be acceptance. Right. And I don't know, you know, I'm sure that they had some anger. I know that the disciples had fear when the time actually came. Yeah. And we'll, of course, hear more about that in the coming days as we approach Good Friday and Easter. But the disciples, you you have to begin with them, uh, especially since two of them were recruited for the great adventure. Um I was most fascinated as I studied the triumphal entry in preparation for the sermon this time about uh the owners of those donkeys. Sure. I mean, the cult had never been written before. We're told that in scripture. And here is here are these animals which were really uh their livestock, and part of their living was made with those animals. And yet somebody comes who they probably had no idea who these people were. Yeah, these two disciples walk up and say, Give me what you have because the Lord needs it. And how that transaction came about so smoothly leads me to believe that it's only through God's providence that you could have that transaction go that smoothly. Sure. It can't happen the other way. Then another perspective was on those who had been fighting Jesus tooth and nail all along the way, who were intimidated by him, threatened by him, uh, upset that they weren't getting their agenda. Uh, the the Pharisees, the Herodians, ultimately the Sanhedrin who would bring Jesus to trial. Um they, I think they were intimidated by the crowds uh at the triumphal entry. You know, because in fact there is another passage of scripture where they look at each other and they say, Everything we've been doing is not working. Look at look at how they're responding to him. And ultimately there will be coming a time when the opposers of Jesus will have to throw up their hands in despair and say, I there's nothing we can do. Everything we've tried. We tried to fool him, we tried to trip him up his words. It didn't work. It didn't work. And then then, of course, the curious. There's always the curious around. And uh they they watch, they get involved. Yes, before this, we had Lazarus. Because the crowds had gotten bigger and bigger. As in fact, you remember early on, Jesus anticipated the possibility of that coming because he often said to people, don't tell anybody about this healing. Or tell them, yeah, about this miracle. You know, don't share it. Or even the very first miracle he did, the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, you know, he said to his mother, it's not yet my time. Not yet. Because he knew once you start getting exposed like that, then you get artificial followers. Yeah. Yeah. Called the curious. Yeah. And then there were the politically hopeful. That was the massive crowd. Yeah. And I wonder, I wonder how many of them were ones that did come back the next week that had done a 180. Yeah. You know, that changed their perspective from Hosanna, son of David, to crucify this guy. And our unmet expectations, there's a book out right now with that title, Unmet Expectations. When our expectations are not met, we often get angry. And I think that's what happened with a lot of people who they they had a whole scenario in their mind of what the Messiah was going to be like, uh, what power he would have, what relief they they would be brought as a result of his leadership and his new kingdom. And when that didn't happen, and it was going south on them, yeah, they got angry and they sided with the crowd that wanted to crucify him. Sure.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

That's really where I want to press into is the idea that there are these different perspectives, and you you outlined them well. And I think that's a good composite of all those who are there. And some of them, as many of them, were shouting Hosanna, which you pointed out as like a short prayer of, you know, save me. And um, which means that at least at the moment they're realizing they need saving. But I think you alluded very well in your in your in your sermon, they didn't quite understand what they needed saving from. Yes. I think that's where I want to dig into today is, you know, uh we could find ourselves fitting right in that's in those same categories of people of either either where we've been told uh what Jesus is gonna do, and we're like, I don't understand it. I don't know how it's gonna happen. We're the curious, we're maybe we're we we see these amazing things happen. Um, but yet, you know, maybe we've got these these other things in which we think Jesus is coming to be the king who's gonna take over, as you said, take over Rome, take over the authority, he's gonna come restore what they feel is what it what their earthly peace versus peace with God, right? Their heart and their mind being forgiven and saved.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Yeah, because the people of Jerusalem were uh people who had historically become accustomed to a king and a ruler. You know, they they were the ones that requested kings in the first place. And once they got them, sometimes they liked their kings, other times they didn't like their kings, but uh they always had hope and expectation for what that king would do for them. Sure. And that's a human nature thing, it's an instinct that we always want our leaders to meet our needs. And the ultimate truth is that our real needs, not just those felt needs that we have, will only be met by the transformation that Jesus brings into our life. And he becomes uh the king of our life because we follow in obedience and we live. Yeah, and that's that's what makes all the difference.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

And that and I loved how uh you know your sermon was pointing right there as you were asking that question, who is this Jesus? And really that's a question for every single person. We're trying to point it out through song or through prayers of, you know, and especially in this context, we can worship, we can put above God so many things, whether it's you know, money, possessions in this retirement area, maybe it's safety, yeah, comfort, whatever it is, but so many things we can worship above God. And then really, when those expectations don't get met, what do we do? We get angry, we get upset. Right. So really you're asking the question who do you believe Jesus to be? And that should affect truly all of our lives, all of our effort, all of our affection should be pointed to him.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Yeah. Well, in in the 14th chapter of John, uh Jesus told his disciples that he was leaving them and he was going to go and prepare a place for them, and so that where I am, there you may be also. And then Thomas, noted for his doubting, his response was, Well, how do we know? And then Jesus said it very clearly, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:12

So one way.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so I I think it's just really helpful, you know, even for us, you know, even as believers, we can so easily get swayed by the things that cause us to put our allegiance somewhere else. And so for me, it was it was just a great reminder of you know, Jesus truly is our savior from ourselves. As you were saying, these Sanhedrin, these religious rulers, they were threatened by Jesus. Yeah, and I think I think that's okay for us to feel like Jesus is a threat, but we need to be able to surrender ourselves. Anyways, I'm just just trying to throw out um, you know, how could this passage truly change us throughout this week and cause us to live more like Jesus?

SPEAKER_00 13:00

That's really Yeah, and one of the the directions that I wanted to go with that by focusing on the second coming is to remind us that at the triumphal entry, those people didn't have all the revelation that we have now. Right. Uh, and we don't have all the revelation that we will have after Jesus comes. So it's very easy for us to veer off course to getting hung up on all of our eschatological differences in terms of pre-trib, post-trib, amillennial, post-millennial. Uh and the reality is that we will hear that trumpet one day and that it will be very clear that Jesus has come. Very obvious. Yeah. And therefore, the big takeaway is be ready. Yeah. Just be ready. You don't have to try to understand every verse in the book of Revelation, which is challenging, or going back to Daniel with all their the prophecies there. What you have to understand is that someday he's coming, like it or not, ready or not, the question is we need to be ready. Yeah. And Mark Kane's quote has always been a stark one to me. Uh Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Yeah, that's right. So being prepared means having a right answer to that question, who is this? And the answer to the question is this is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, who came to live, to die, and to rise again, and will come again. And it's all about trust in him. That's right. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Amen. I think that's a great way to end this. Amen. Praise God. Thank you. Thanks, Jim. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of Live It Out. We're so thankful and grateful for the time in which you spent with us. And more than anything, we'd love for you to join us here at Village Bible Church on Sundays at 9 15 a.m. And again, if you're in the area this week, a reminder of our Good Friday service, April the 3rd at 4 p.m. here at Village Bible Church in our big Easter celebration this Sunday, 9.15 a.m. at the Woodlands Auditorium. I'm telling you, you're not going to want to miss it. Well, for all other Village Bible Church resources, you can check us out on our website, www.vbchsv.org, or you can follow us on our Facebook page. You could subscribe to us on our YouTube channel, or you can find any of our podcast resources on any podcast platform that you use by simply searching for Village Bible Church sermons, or of course, live it out. We hope you have an awesome week. God bless, and we can't wait to see you next to the next one.