Matthew 21:1-17
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1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
We have seen that Jesus has been approaching Jerusalem for a while now and they are almost there.
Bethphage is near Bethany (home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha) on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives!
We know that Jesus was in Bethany prior to this, where He raised Lazarus and where Mary anointed Jesus feet with her hair and expensive oil - .
From Bethphage road skirted south end of Mount of Olives, then it dipped into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and it would cross the Brook Kidron and from there up to Jerusalem.
Since this is the time of Passover then it would be around 2 million people around Jerusalem.
2-3 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.”
Mark gives us more details about this event in , but we will focus mostly on the information that Matthew provides us with.
We are not told who these two disciples were. They may have not been one of the 12, but some other since their names are not given.
Lord had already worked out the details about this.
He knew what they will find and question that they would be asked, and He has prepared them for it.
We don’t know how Jesus knew all this. Did He already had a prearranged plan with the owner of the donkey, or this was a demonstration of the supreme authority and omniscience of Jesus, it is hard to tell. Both are possible.
But I’m sure that the disciples were glad to find things as Jesus said they would be.
Imagine just the circumstance of all this! You have two disciples coming to some stranger’s property and untying their donkey. They would have easily been mistaken for thieves.
But, the Lord had it covered and taken care of.
And so often it is the case in our lives. Lord has taken care of things in advance for us.
We are uncertain how things will go for us, but He knows, and He is in control.
All we have to do is to walk in faith and trust Him. Trust that He got it!
4-5 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
Jesus, the fulfilment of prophecy.
Matthew has been demonstrating this truth throughout his gospel. Prophets prophesied about the coming Messiah and we are seeing how Jesus fulfilled it!
This is fulfillment of prophecy of and
Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ”
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
Daughter of Zion is reference to Jerusalem.
In the past, donkeys were symbol of importance (; ) but through time, Jews substituted donkey with horses and a horse became of symbol of importance and donkeys were left for poor people.
Now he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, which are called “Havoth Jair” to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy young donkeys. He judged Israel eight years.
Jesus would ride in on a clot, younger of the animals. There was donkey as well, colts mother, but we know from that Jesus said on a colt on which one no one ever sat before!
and He said to them, “Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it.
It needed to be this way so that he could fulfill prophecy.
But this is not the only prophecy that needed to be fulfilled, Daniel’s 70 week prophecy from is another very important as well.
“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
This was prophesied and on the exact day it was mean to happen!
And interestingly, this is the only time that Jesus will allow for people to call Him a King and treat Him as such.
Also, from Luke’s account we know that Jesus expected this kind of reception and that if the people didn’t do it, then the rocks would cry out - .
But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
Jesus in indicates that people should have known this day to be special.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
6-7 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.
Things were as Jesus said it would be.
Also, we see that the disciples payed homage to Jesus by placing their clothes on the animals.
This is something you can see being done as well in when Jehu was chosen to be the king of Israel.
Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”
This represented the importance of Jesus and their submission to Him.
Also, when Solomon had a similar procession in .
So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.
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.
So, this, using of branches for celebration, comes from the time of Maccabees.
And ultimately, this is something that John will see in heaven when believers are before the throne and we will hold palm branches in our hands - .
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
We see a very great multitude gathered to declare Jesus as the King.
Ironically, about a week later there will also be a large crowd asking for His crucifixion!
Most likely this great multitude is the one that followed Him and mostly consisted of the peasants, while the one during His trial would most likely be city dwellers.
It is possible that during His trial there were some there who were also present here as well.
This multitude was not made of revolutionaries (even though revolutionaries among them hoped that this would produce rebellion against Rome), nor was this crowd made of sophisticated people (even though there may have been some).
This was a crowd that desired kingdom of Heaven, even though they didn’t fully understand what it all meant!
I think at times we should get this excited about our King!
When was the last time that you were truly excited about Jesus?
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!”
It is interesting that Matthew doesn’t spend much time on this even as some other gospels do.
It is important to notice that the cry of the people expressed the truth about Jesus!
They call Him “Son of David” which is Messianic title - .
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
They cried to Him, “Hosanna” which means “save us we pray, help”.
And it is so true that only the Messiah can save and help the sinner!
And He truly came in the name of the LORD!
This is a reference to .
Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
Jesus is truly perfect representation of the Father and God’s heart for His creation , ; ; .
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
10-11 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”
There was a great commotion because of Him.
This Triumphal entry, this glorious procession, grabbed the attention of all Jerusalem.
People are talking about Him.
We see that He is again identified with Nazareth () and Galilee.
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
This would have caused even greater confusion among the uninformed, for they would be shocked that any prophet would come from such an obscure and undesired place as Nazareth - .
And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Prejudice is such a great obstacle in peoples lives.
Also, this “the prophet” has Messianic overtones, hinting at .
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
12-13 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 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.’ ”
Again, we see that Matthew is not spending much time describing all that happened in these events.
We find more information in other gospels.
What is going on here is that religious leaders had a system worked out that was designed to have people buy animals for sacrifice at the Temple at their approved vendors and any transaction that was going on had to be done with Temple money which people had to get there by exchanging their money.
They made a Temple a marketplace, a shopping mall of a sort. And poor would be the ones who would be affected the most by this system.
Temple ceased to be a place of worship and prayer and it became a place of business and merchandise.
Jesus is quoting and . Even in His anger (which was justified) He is quoting the Scriptures.
Even them 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 nations.”
Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.
This is all happening in the courtyard and court of the Gentiles. And this merchandise has been preventing Gentiles from coming and even those who are lame and sick.
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
This would be the most appropriate place for this to happen!
It is interesting that Jesus action of cleansing of the Temple courtyard didn’t discourage people from coming to Him. It probably even enabled it.
“The blind and the lame were restricted to the court of the Gentiles; they could not go closer to the temple and could not go to the altar to sacrifice. After purging the court of the Gentiles of merchants and robbers, Jesus then ministered to the outcasts who congregated there.” (Guzik in BLB)
Jesus needed to do cleanse the Temple so that everyone would be welcomed to worship!
I think that church today can do a great disservice to some people if it tries to aim for a certain group of people. There are churches where Pastors have said from the pulpit that their church is young people’s church and thus if older don’t like it, that they should leave.
And I’m afraid that some church buildings today also look like places of merchandise or concert halls, and not as a place where believers gather together.
People want to come to Jesus and that is what it is all about.
Our gathering should always be about Jesus!
15-16 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’?”
It is no surprise that religious leaders would be upset at all of this.
Jesus was doing wonderful things and the religious leaders were indignant.
God was working in their place of worship and they were upset! Their religious rituals, traditions and systems were so important to them that they forgot what it looked like when God is working!
They were bothered by the praise of Jesus by children, but greed didn’t bother them.
Now, if Jesus wasn’t the Messiah, this would be inappropriate and they would be right to be upset, but everything around them in these past 3 years was confirming this truth - that Jesus is the Messiah.
Notice that children were praising Him!
They were worshipping Him in their childlike way. I think that this is important to recognize.
Children should be allowed to be children always, even when they are worshipping God.
It can’t be, and I don’t think it should be, expected of them to be like their parents in their worship! A boy should not be like his dad and a girl like her mom, with the same mannerisms and actions.
They should be allowed to be children.
It is interesting to notice that Jesus again quotes the Scriptures. This time .
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
Jesus is bringing the word of God into the Temple! That area became deprived of the truth and it was filled with lots of activity that gave it a look of life, but in reality it was starving spiritually.
When a house of God is lacking word of God, then there is a need for Jesus to do the cleansing.
Don’t be fooled by activity in some church buildings and assume that there is life there. Lots of people doesn’t equal spiritual health.
Lots of activity doesn’t necessarily mean Spirit of God being behind it.
But a good sign of spiritual life is that God’s word is proclaimed!
17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.
He would retire to Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters were. Bethany was just a few kilometers away from Jerusalem.
18-19 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.
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20-22 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.”
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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?”
They were still upset about cleansing of the Temple
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:
Wisdom of Jesus,
25-27 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.
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28-31 “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.”
-32 Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 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.
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33-41 “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.”
This parable is pretty straightforward
42-45 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 kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 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.
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