Divine Appointment Two Blind Men

 
Matthew 21:1-11

Bible Memorization Moving Forward on every Sunday.Matthew 21:1-11 (ESV)
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

How does a person set up a Divine Appointment? What would that look like? 
An appointment is something you plan intentionally. Like you plan an appointment to meet with a doctor. But a “Divine Appointment” is something that you don’t plan, but God sets an appointment on our behalf. So, a “Divine Appointment” is an encounter, moment, or event orchestrated by God’s design for His larger picture and a greater purpose. Many of these “Divine Appointments” are life-changing encounters with someone, unexpected conversations, or strange coincidences that open the door to spiritual transformation or awakening. Someone recommended that I get connected with this one person, whom I had never met before. Normally, I don’t meet up with a stranger, but for some reason, I felt led to meet up. We met, and as I was talking, this man started writing things down on a napkin. I thought he was very rude and not paying attention to what I was saying. He asked me an important question, and I responded. After I spoke, he showed me what he wrote on the napkin, and I was shocked. A total stranger who wrote down everything I was thinking about my future ministry. I was struggling to see if what I was thinking and praying about was in the right direction, and this guy, out of nowhere, just confirmed everything. This has happened multiple times in my life.

So a “Divine Appointment” takes many forms, but ultimately this Divine Meeting is in the hands of an eternal Creator who is aware of your needs and orchestrates history to magnify His truth in your plans. In other words, God meets you where you are in the season of life you are in. And, this is when “The Triumphal Entry” of Jesus comes in. God has orchestrated history on Palm Sunday specifically for Jesus.

In Matthew 21, we begin with a familiar story traditionally called the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into the majestic city of Jerusalem. Now this city is not like Jerusalem in the Old Testament. Jerusalem at the time of Jesus got an upgrade. Jerusalem in the Old Testament was more like a military fortress, but by Jesus' time, it had become a world-class city. It had a newly renovated temple that rivaled nearly any in the ancient world. They upgraded the Public pools, which were fed by the Gihan Spring. And they built two new aqueducts that brought water into the city from as far as 7 miles away. More water means more people. It’s like getting the entire city of Baltimore upgraded.

One of the big reasons for the upgrade of Jerusalem was the Passover celebration. For the Israelites, the Passover is one of the most important celebrations a Jew can have. Moses, who represented the Hebrew slaves, asked Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh said, “No,” and 10 plagues came upon Egypt. The last one was the “angel of death,” in which all the first born male was to die. So, if you wanted the “angel of death” to pass you over, you had to slaughter a lamb and with its blood mark the door frames with its blood, and you had to eat the lamb that night. That night, the angel of death came, and for those who had the door frames with blood passed over their homes.

Pharaoh gave up and let the Hebrew slaves go. From that point on, God gave a command to all the generations that they had to remember this day and commemorate the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. This is a command from God to all the Jews, wherever they may be.

Population:

In the first century, the population of Jerusalem was around 80,000 to 100,000. But during Passover, you would have over a million people coming into Jerusalem. Remember that the Jewish people were scattered all across the Roman Empire and beyond. Even if you were a second or third-generation Jew and you didn’t speak Hebrew, you still showed up once a year to celebrate, because it was a command from God to all the Jews.

Because there were so many people, Rome would send in hundreds of additional soldiers to prevent riots or rebellions. Now, why would there be a riot or rebellion? Because the principle of the passover was all about receiving freedom from oppressors. And who were the oppressors during Jesus’ time? Rome. So you can imagine Rome’s hypersensitivity. The people of Israel are praying and hoping for another salvation like the time of Egypt. When the Hebrews cried out to God for help, God sent Moses, and the Romans know this. So, you can imagine the sensitivity of Rome.

Now that we have some idea about the background, let’s begin our story for today.

Matthew 21:1-2 (ESV)
1 Now, when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. [You will find a mommy donkey and youth, the colt] 

Jesus is speaking to His disciples and giving them specific instructions about future events. And he is asking them to bring a donkey that has never been ridden on so that he can ride on it into Jerusalem.

Now wait a minute! “Why is Jesus asking His disciples to bring to Him a donkey to ride on when they have already been walking from Capernaum, walking around Samaria, and then passing through Jericho, and then stopping at Bethpage?” From Capernaum to Bethphage, walking distance is about 90 miles. And the distance from Bethphage to Jerusalem is about 1.2 miles. I’m just thinking, “Jesus, could we not walk an additional 1.2 miles to get into Jerusalem? Why do we need a donkey?”

Now, for Jesus to be the true Messiah, the savior, He would have to fulfill a prophecy foretold hundreds of years earlier. And so He does exactly that.

Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

You cannot be more detailed than that. Jesus was sending a divine message that He is the coming King, righteous and the source of salvation for all who would receive Him.

Here is the prophet Zechariah predicting a king, who in the future, will be riding on a donkey, and not just any kind of donkey, but riding on a young donkey that has never been ridden on. This prophecy by Zechariah was made over 500 years before the birth of Jesus, and Jesus will be the first human to ride this young donkey.

Now, if you are comparing by size of an animal to ride on, you have a choice of a horse, and then a mule (which is the crossbreed of a male donkey and a female horse), and then the smallest size would be a donkey. And, not just any kind of donkey, but a young donkey that has never been ridden on. What are the chances of that happening? Riding a horse is like a
conquering general who forcibly took over a city, while riding a donkey symbolizes peace and humility.

Jesus needs to come as a righteous one, having no sin, and bear the burden of  everyone’s sin. So He can reconcile us to God. There has to be a perfect mediator between man and God. Because God is Holy, perfect, and pure, and Jesus is Holy, perfect, and pure. And only a Holy, perfect, pure without sin can bring us to salvation.

So from Bethphage to Jerusalem, Jesus rode on a donkey to fulfill Zechariah’s prophecy, and to let people know that Jesus is truly the Messiah. Jesus is the one who fulfills all the prophecies foretold in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, there are about 300 prophecies about the coming Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled them all. This was a divine appointment and perfect timing by God.

Divine Timing: You know what is interesting? Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Passover from the time he was born? For 32 years, He celebrated the Passover with hundreds of thousands of people each year, and no attention was drawn to Him. There was no recognition of Jesus as the “King of the Jews” because it was not yet His time. It was not His “Divine Appointment” until the age of 33. Before then, he was just an ordinary carpenter, working in his wood shop and making a living.

Matthew 21:6-7 (NLT)
The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it.

Remember, in verse two, the command from Jesus was, “Go into the village in front of you, and you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.” Jesus is asking them to bring the mom and the youth donkey, the colt. He didn’t just ask for the colt but also the mom. Is this not very interesting?

This is how detailed God is, and how compassionate and merciful our God is. He knows that taking a young donkey that has never been ridden through a major crowd during the passover with people shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

When the crowd of thousands of people is shouting like this and waving their palm branches and laying down their garments in front of the young donkey, that donkey is going to get traumatized. So, Jesus, knowing this ahead of time, and having compassion on this young donkey, says, “Let's bring the mom also, to calm down the colt. So, during the noisy entrance into Jerusalem, the colt will not get scared.” The detail of how God is considerate even to this young donkey just amazes me. God plans even the details for an animal. How much more would God not plan things out for you? Each and every one of you matters to God.

Matthew 21:9 (ESV)
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Son of David: A prophecy is foretold in the future that a savior, the Messiah, would come from the line of King David. And that king would come to Israel and save His people. So for centuries, the Jewish people have been waiting for this prophecy to be fulfilled. And they believe this is Jesus who will deliver and save them. But from whom? Rome! Because at every passover, people are being reminded of how they were freed from the slavery of Egypt - freed from their oppressors.

At every Passover, it is customary in Jewish tradition to read the Book of Exodus and recount how the Hebrews were delivered from their oppressors. To this day, it is customary in Judaism to read the Book of Exodus at every Passover and celebrate the deliverance from Egypt.

And now this crowd is seeing Jesus as their savior, and they are shouting out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest!”

The Hebrew of “hósanna” is ὡσαννά pronounced ho-san-NAH, meaning to save now, or save we pray. It is both a plea for salvation and an exclamation of praise.

So, the people are  shouting, “Save us, Son of David! Save us to the highest heavens!” They are shouting for Jesus to “Bring the power of God from heaven to earth. We need this salvation that only God can bring!” This is what they were shouting.

And to further illustrate this, their acknowledgement of Jesus as their king, they took off their outer garments and laid them down in front of Jesus. Now, if you are traveling hundreds of miles to get to Jerusalem, and then laying down your personal and very important coat for a stranger, with His donkey to stomp on it, then that is a full acknowledgement of Jesus. Because taking off your personal outer garment and placing it on dirty ground has only been done by royalty. Plus, these people have to take their outer garments back home.

And to further acknowledge Jesus as royalty, a king, and a savior, the people actually went out of their way to cut off Palm Branches and lay them down in front of a conquering hero. The Palm Branches symbolized victory. And the people saw Jesus as the one who would give them this victory. In essence, people laid out the “red carpet” for Jesus.

Psalm 118:26 (ESV)
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the
house of the LORD. Does this verse sound familiar to you? The people were shouting directly from Psalm 118:26. This is traditionally used to greet nobility, but here the crowd acknowledges Jesus as the one sent by God to fulfill His mission. Meaning that Jesus has come with God’s authority and blessing. Jesus was the divinely appointed leader. That is why they say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Matthew 21:10-11 (ESV)
10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Some of the people were confused. “Who is this person that’s been authorized by God, a divine-appointed leader, to save us from our oppressors?” The people have been waiting for this deliverance since the time of the Exodus with Moses. But Jesus’s divine appointment was not to save us from Rome, but to save us from our sin. The sin that would separate us from God.

Jesus came with a Divine Appointment to reconcile us to a living God. Because ultimately this earth is decaying, dying, and will pass away, but heaven with God is everlasting. Listen, all the physical pain you have, all the emotional pain you might have gone through, all the good, the bad, and the ugly situations in your life, will be gone as a believer in Christ. This is our ultimate “Divine Appointment.”

Revelation 21:4 (NLT)
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Yes, Jesus received His divine appointment, but do you know that you can also receive it?

In closing, let me read this to you.

Matthew 20:29-34 (ESV)
29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

Now this is very interesting. You have two blind men sitting on the roadside begging for money, because that is what almost all of the disabled people do in Israel. Now, they cannot see Jesus, nor exactly know where He is, so you have to shout really loud to get Jesus’ attention, right? “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

They must have been so loud that they were telling these two blind men to be quiet. But they shouted even louder, “Lord, have mercy on us,” because they were desperate, yet they also had faith and believed with certainty that Jesus was the only one who could heal them. Not the religious leaders who passed by them all the time. Not the teachers of the law who passed them all the time. But Jesus, who was very busy and had a “Divine Appointment,”
would stop in His tracks and heal them out of His compassion.

And this is why I love Jesus, he asked the blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus knew that they needed healing, but he didn’t force His healing power upon them. Listen, Jesus will not force anyone to go to heaven. He gives everyone the free choice to either receive Jesus as God or reject Jesus as Lord and Savior. An all-mighty God does not force anyone to go to heaven.

Now, why am I bringing up the story of these two blind men? Jesus had a divine appointment to fulfill His mission, right? But the fact that these two blind men, without them realizing it, set up a divine appointment with Jesus. How? They heard of Jesus, and they simply shouted: “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And, they shouted even louder, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” When you cry out to God, you are wanting a “Divine Appointment” with God. You want God's presence in your life.

The religious leaders did not get the “Divine Appointment” with God. The teachers of the law did not get the “Divine Appointment” with God, but only the one’s that cried out to God, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

When you cry out to God and continue to ask, seek, and knock on His door, you are setting up a divine appointment. Why should you set up a “Divine Appointment”?

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You are not an accident. You coming here today is not a random chance or coincidence. This is a God moment. And this is your divine moment. And for those who have already had the “Divine Appointment,” maybe God wants you to help others have a similar “Divine Meeting” with God.

This is the season in which we are going to bring as many people to encounter the “Divine Appointments.” Listen, I am not saying that you should look out for “divine appointments” at every turn, or that every time you shout out, “Lord, have mercy on me, Son of David” that God will appear. What I can say is that every time you pray and genuinely seek the Lord through His Word, you will have a Divine Appointment with God. Every day and every moment in our relationship with Jesus is a Divine Appointment.

Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”