The Gospel of Matthew - Jesus: Coming as King

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Coming as King.” The Bible is filled with irony at its most crucial moments. When God becomes human at Christmas, he’s born in a barn, lower than most humans. When Jesus conquers Satan on Good Friday, it’s not the blood of enemies, but his own blood being poured out. When Jesus rises on Easter Sunday he appears first to women, who don’t legally qualify as witnesses. When God the Spirit evangelizes about Jesus at Pentecost, he does so through Peter, the guy who most famously had denied Jesus. Our salvation is thoroughly ironic, right down to the fact that we are saved by grace, not by works. All that said, I might argue that the event which most clearly teaches this irony, and the subsequent confusion of mankind, is that which takes place on the weekend prior to Holy Week – Jesus Coming as a King into the Holy City. We’ll learn what this teaches us and how to use it this Saturday as we study Matthew 21:1-11.