Matthew 21 Jerusalem

[seekeroftruth]

Matthew 21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”​

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4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:​

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5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]​

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6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,​

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“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”​

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]​

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”​

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10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”​

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11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”​

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12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]”​

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14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.​

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16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.​

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“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,​

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“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?”​

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17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.​

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18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.​

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20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.​

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21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”​

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23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”​

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24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”​

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They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”​

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27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”​

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Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.​

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28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’​

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29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.​

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30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.​

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31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”​

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“The first,” they answered.​

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Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.​

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33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.​

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35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.​

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38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.​

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40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”​

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41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”​

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42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:​

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“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]?​

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43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i]​

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45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.​

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a. Matthew 21:5
b. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
c. Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25,26
d. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
e. Matthew 21:13 Isaiah 56:7
f. Matthew 21:13 Jer. 7:11
g. Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint)
h. Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
I. Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44

These tidbits are from Bible-studys.org.

“The ass and the colt”: Matthew is the only gospel writer who mentions the mare donkey. But all mention the young age of the donkey (John 12:14), or state that no man had ever sat on him (Mark 11:2; Luke 19:30). The mare was brought along, possibly to induce the colt to cooperate.​

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The disciples never questioned, they just did whatever Jesus told them to do. They knew that whatever He told them to do, it was right. They took their clothing and made them into something like a saddle blanket for Jesus to sit on, on the colt. This was humbleness to the utmost.​

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“Spread their garments in the way”: Spreading one’s garments on the street was an ancient act of homage reserved for high royalty (2 Kings 9:13), suggesting that they recognized His claim to be King of the Jews. ​

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“Hosanna”: This transliterates the Hebrew expression which is translated “Save now” in Psalm 118:25. This word has been used in services of both Christians and Jews. These people were still calling Jesus "son of David". This is a physical description, not a spiritual understanding of who He is.​

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“Blessed is he”: This is an exact quotation from verse 26 of the same psalm. This, along with the messianic title “Son of David” make it clear that the crowd was acknowledging Christ’s messianic claim. The date of the entry was Sunday, 9 Nisan, A.D. 30, exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes mentioned in Dan. 9:24-26.​

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This multitude with Jesus was not only His disciples, but many of them who had been healed by Jesus. This was a very triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Their worship of Him was so great that they removed their garments and put them on the road for the ass and colt to ride over.​

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In light of the seriousness of what He had come to do, Jesus could not tolerate such gross perversion of “the temple,” meaning the whole temple area on Mount Moriah including all the precincts and courts.​

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“Money changers:” Temple dues could be paid only in sacred coinage and it was necessary to change one’s money. The selling of doves was for purposes of sacrifice. This exchange became a source of extortion for the family of the high priest, who personally controlled it. In reality, the atmosphere amounted to a public bazaar.​

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Bethany” was a village on the eastern shoulder of the Mount of Olives, a little more than a mile east of Jerusalem. It was the home of His friend Lazarus and Lazarus’s sisters.​

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“The fig tree” fruit generally appears in February, followed by leaves, which are not formed until late spring. So there should normally have been some fruit on the tree.​

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The fig tree was often used as a symbol of the nation of Israel (Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7) and when Jesus literally came upon a barren fig tree, He used the incident in the almost immediate withering of the entire tree. While trees are nonmoral, they, like all of nature, are subject to the word of Christ.​

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Additionally, this is from the easy English site.

Either that was a miracle, or Jesus arranged it in advance. Otherwise, the owners would not have let the disciples take the animals. It seems that Jesus’ route had been through Bethany to Bethphage. 6 days before the Passover, Jesus had come to Bethany. That was probably a Friday before the start of the Sabbath. The Sabbath began that evening. He may have been there for a couple of days. So, he could have arranged something then. Crowds came to Bethany. They had heard that Jesus was there. John records that the next day Jesus ‘found’ the young *donkey (John 12:1-15). We call this day Palm Sunday.​

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Jesus went into the temple and he looked round. Because it was now late, he went back to Bethany for the night (Mark 11:11). On the next day, Jesus came again to the temple. The action that Matthew records was on the second day.​

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The temple consisted of several open areas, that are called the temple courts. The first was the area (court) for all people, from all nations. People who were not Jews could not go beyond that first area. Then there was an area for Jewish women. Women could not go beyond that area. Then there was an area for Jewish men. Those three areas were open with no roofs. Only the priests could go beyond that area into the area which surrounded the temple building. The holy place and the most holy place were inside the temple building. Only the chief priest could go beyond the holy place. He went into the most holy place once a year.​

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Jesus was angry because those activities were in the temple. He forced the people who sold things to leave the temple. He turned over the tables of the people who changed money. He turned over the seats of the people who sold birds. What they were doing was wrong. And they knew it. Nobody had the courage to oppose him.​

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The chief priests and the teachers of the law were watching Jesus. They saw the wonderful things that he did. They heard the children in the temple area as they praised Jesus. The children called Jesus ‘the Son of David’. The Son of David meant the Christ whom God had promised to send. Probably the children did not understand all that that meant. But often young children understand more than we think. However, the priests and the teachers of the law knew what it meant. And it annoyed them that children praised Jesus as the Son of David.​

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In the temple, Jesus taught the people. While he taught, a group of the leaders came to him. The group consisted of the chief priests, teachers of the law and other leaders. They could have been an official team from the Sanhedrin. Those leaders believed that they had the authority among the Jews. Yet, Jesus acted with greater authority. And Jesus taught with more authority than they did. They asked Jesus about his authority for what he did. They could see that Jesus had authority. But they asked who gave that authority to him. It seems clear that they wanted to use his answers against him. Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So, he did not answer them in the way that they expected.​

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That was a difficult question for the leaders to answer. They were not willing to accept that John’s authority came from God. They had not believed what John taught. And John had said that God had sent Jesus. Yet, the leaders dared not say that John’s authority was not from God. The people believed that John was a prophet. So, the people believed that John’s authority came from God. Those leaders were afraid of what the people would do. The crowd might throw stones at them and perhaps that could even kill the leaders (Luke 20:6). So, the leaders were able only to say that they did not know. They could not tell by means of what authority John baptised.​

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So, Jesus would not answer their question. In effect, they had the answer. God, who gave authority to John, also gave authority to Jesus. With that authority, Jesus taught and he did those great deeds.​

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The chief priests and the Pharisees realised that Jesus spoke against them. Luke included the teachers of the law (Luke 20:19). Most of the teachers were Pharisees. Many of the priests were Sadducees. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were the two leading groups in the Jewish religion. Also, they were the leaders of the nation. Those two groups were enemies but many of their leaders came together to oppose Jesus.​

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Herod, the Roman leader.... believed that John the Baptist was a prophet. He had John the Baptist beheaded after a lusty dance performed by his stepdaughter. He heard that John was a prophet from God. John ate bugs and honey and dressed in a hairy fir thing. Herod, the Roman leader, was really freaked out by John the Baptist. On top of that.... Herod thought somehow John was now Jesus. So the crowds Jesus was attracting were freaking Herod out too.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees..... didn't like the fact Jesus was drawing such attention. Even the kids were singing about it. The people Jesus had been healing and teaching were gathering around Him. Someone loaned Jesus a donkey to ride and the people He had been helping.... put cloaks on the ground and waved palm branches as they formed a procession bringing Jesus into the capital city of Jerusalem.

There are a couple of parables here.... one was a fig tree and the other was about crooked tenants.

I figure the fig tree is a good parable about useless Pharisees, Sadducees, preachers, priests, pastors, and teachers. If there is no fruit.... if no one learns about God.... if no one mentions the Gospels.... if no one builds on the foundation of the Old Testament and explains how the New Testament is the next chapter..... then there's no fruit. If there's no fruit.... then the tree is just using up water and sunlight. It's useless...... If those people are preaching to the paycheck.... or the free housing.... they are as useless as a fruit tree that has no fruit. Shade at noon isn't shade.

Then there is the parable about the tenants. Those tenants were supposed to care for the land and follow the rules. I'm sure they would have harvested the crop.... farmers do that.... but the rules part is where things went south. God gave the descendants of Jacob [Israel] simple rules to follow. He put them in a land so rich and vibrant it would take two men and a pole to harvest one cluster of grapes. But the people wouldn't follow the rules.

Now God is sending His Son.... Jesus.....Just as the landowner sent his son...... the farmers killed the landowner's son. They wanted it all.... they wanted it all... they wanted it now.... and the landowner's son was in the way. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the teachers.... they were happy until that Jesus came along.... with those kids singing...... On top of that.... Jesus tore up the market.... all those coins... all that inventory.... what a mess.... Jesus was in their cross-hairs.

The commentary used the term "nonmoral". That's a really interesting thought. That fig tree didn't have morals. That fig tree didn't decide not to produce fruit. That fig tree didn't say "I'm just to lush to be bothered about fruit.... I can't be bothered". The fig tree had a job.... produce fruit.... it didn't. The Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers, priests, and preachers.... have one job... lead the people in worshiping God......one job.

Then there is the parable about the two brothers.... one did what he was told... but late. The other said he was going to do as ordered but never showed up..... which one was the good son? The descendants of Jacob [Israel] weren't showing up..... the tax collectors... the prostitutes... the kids... the people in quarantine with disease.... they showed up...

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were jealous.... and Daniel told them something was going to happen.... I wonder... were they reminded of what Daniel taught them? Herod was petrified.

Last night, hubby and I were watching documentaries about the virus. Hey... we've binged just about everything on Netflix.... anyway. Remember the measles? I know it's a hot topic.... but I'm talking about the rash... the itching.... the fever... remember being sick? Remember reading about small pox? People were quarantined over measles and small pox. I remember being quarantined when I had the chicken pox. Jesus healed leprosy..... it was like the measles or small pox or chicken pox. Jesus healed it with a touch.

Jesus is in Jerusalem....