Matthew 21 - Jesus Enters Jerusalem on a Colt
Something different to the people. It was common during this time for the religious leaders to come from Jerusalem to Galilee to teach the people. Now we have a prophet coming out of Galilee to teach the people of Jerusalem.
1And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Bethphage meaning the "house of figs."
2Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. The two disciples Jesus sent ahead went to the village to bring Him the donkey and its colt.
3And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. Tell them the master needs them and there will be no problem. (All prearranged by God).
4All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, This was prophecy being fulfilled. Christ fulfilling the scriptures so we have no doubt.
5Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. Tell Jerusalem her King is coming to her. This was written in the Old Testament (Zechariah 9:9), speaking of the first advent. Zechariah 9:10 goes on to speak of the second advent. The first advent Christ came for salvation, in the second advent He comes to rule with an iron rod on a white horse.
6And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, They obeyed Him and did what He had said.
7And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. They threw their garments over the colt for Him to ride on.
8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. They paved the way with their garments and tree branches. (Probably branches from a date palm or oak tree).
9And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna meaning "save now." (Psalm 118:24-26). Praise for the Son of David! "Jesus was the rightful heir to the throne of David."
10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as Jesus entered.
11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. Something different to the people. It was common during this time for the religious leaders to come from Jerusalem to Galilee to teach the people. Now we have a prophet coming out of Galilee to teach the people of Jerusalem. (The religious leaders are not going to like that). Jesus came from a small town called Nazareth in Galilee. (Matthew 2:23). Once asked by Nathanael, can any good thing come from Nazareth? (John 1:45-46).
12And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, He came to the temple and it was filled with a bunch of scammers. (the money changers). The money exchange was a rip-off. (the exchange was way to high). If you were too poor to sacrifice an expensive lamb or goat, you could buy a clean dove as a sacrifice from the temple. (The sacrifices were to be approved by the priests). However, these guys were selling mite infested doves in the streets for a cheaper price. (Rip-offs then, rip-offs today).
13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Turned the temple of God into a house of thieves! Many churches do it today. (Always begging for money). There are a few good churches out there that teach the truth of God's Word (full gospel of God), leaving out church doctrines and traditions of men.
14And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. The religious leaders were there to make money and cater to the wealthy. The common people came to Jesus because He was the real deal. (Jesus reached out to the poor and heal the broken). Not like a bunch of phony healers you will find today. "Just send us a donation and you will be financially blessed and physically healed."
15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased, The children loved Jesus and praised His name in the Temple. The chief priests and scribes were upset when they heard this. (People love when you are good with their children, and Jesus loved the children). Again, this did not make Him popular among the religious leaders.
16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? Quoting from (Psalms 8:2). For the deeper student, He was also talking about that little babe David who slew Goliath. Goliath received the deadly wound symbolic of the deadly wound the one world political and religious system receives in the book of revelation. (Revelation 13:3).
17And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Bethany also called the "house of dates."
18Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. After a hard day and night with the crowds, Jesus was hungry in the morning.
19And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. It was not the season to harvest figs, it was spring time. (He was looking for the "early fig," tiny fruit that appears in the spring). The fig tree represents Israel. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He was looking for the good fruits of Israel. However, the good fruit (truth in the word), was lacking and Israel was not producing. (Just withering away). "The religious leaders were not producing, they were just taking."
20And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! How did the fig tree wither so quickly they asked?
21Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. If you have faith, not doubt, and never waver. (James 1:6).
22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Anything you ask of to do His work and believe, you shall receive. We are not talking here of the luxuries of man. "God will grant to those doing the work of the Lord." God will always supply the the blocks, but you need to do the building.
23And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? The chief priests and religious elders wanted to know by what authority Jesus did all these things? (taught the crowds, healed the people, cleansed the temple). They were not happy when Jesus chased away the money changers and ruined their business for the day. Again, all about the money!
24And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. I'll tell you if you can answer one question. (Proverbs 26:4-5). You see, Christ was very wise and knew how to put people on the spot when He needed to. (Colossians 4:6).
25The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? They would of excepted John if they believed. But they were caught up in their own traditions and doctrine. (John was from heaven, a man sent by God).
26But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. John was the prophet of prophets. He proved it! The religious leaders were caught in their own disbelief.
27And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. They could not answer the question. Christ shut them up real quick with His wisdom, and He did not need to answer their question.
28But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. Here comes another parable for the religious leaders to try and understand. A man with two sons asked the older son to go work in the vineyard. (The older son represents the tax collector and the sinner).
29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. The son would not go at first, but later changed his mind and went. (The older son repented and obeyed his father).
30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. The youngest son said he would go, but didn't go at all. (The youngest son represents the religious leaders).
31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. Which of the sons obeyed his father Christ asked? They replied "the first son, of course." Christ answered them and said that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom before you do. Why? The lesson here is repentance. Neither of the two sons obeyed their father at first, but the oldest son repented and then went to the vineyard to work. The youngest son (representing the chief priests and religious leaders) should have know better. If they had read the scriptures, they would have received John the Baptist, knowing that He was from God to call all sinners to repentance. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." (Isaiah 40:3, Matthew 3:1-4).
32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. John the Baptist told the chief priests and religious leaders to repent and turn to God, and they wouldn't listen. Evil men and prostitutes listened to John and repented. And even when the chief priests and religious leaders saw this happening, they still refused to repent, and so they couldn't believe. (Revelation 2:21). Just like the younger son who would not listen to his father. God wants you to follow Him, not traditions and doctrines of men.
33Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: In this parable, in its primary sense, the householder denotes the Supreme Being; the family, the Jewish nation; the vineyard, Jerusalem; the fence, the Divine protection; the wine-press, the law and sacrificial rites; the tower, the temple; and the husbandmen, the priests and doctors of the law.
34And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. He expected something in return at harvest from his servants. (a peace of the action).
35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. The priests, doctors of law, and religious leaders, persecuted many of the prophets over the years. (Nehemiah 9:26, Jeremiah 2:30, Luke 13:33-34, Acts 7:52, 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16, Revelation 6:9).
36Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. More were sent and they were treated the same way. Even the last of the prophets before Christ's advent, "John the Baptist," was rejected and killed.
37But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father for reverence (to be loved), but was rejected also.
38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. They wanted to kill the Son (which they did), and take everything over. Written in (Psalms 2:2-8).
39And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. Jesus speaking of His death. (They crucified Him)!
40When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? What will our Heavenly Father do to those responsible. They were murderers! They produced no fruit and no truth in the Word. Churches and ministries are to bring forth truth (good fruit), not traditions of men and false teachings. These murderers are the tares that are going to the lake of fire.
41They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. The priests and religious leaders reply with a reasonable answer, "the householder (lord of the vineyard), will put them to death." Sounds good! However, they did not understand that Christ was talking about them.
42Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Have Ye Not Read The Scriptures? The chief cornerstone they rejected was Christ, the Savior. (Psalms 118:22-24). I think Christ is getting their attention now.
43Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. The Kingdom of God will be taken away from them, and will be given to a nation (or those), who will produce the proper fruit. "Believers who follow Him and His way." (Those who have the truth and please the Father).
44And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. All who stumble on this rock of truth shall be broken, but those it falls on will be scattered as dust and destroyed in judgment. God is not happy with those who abuse or take advantage His children. (A warning to all religious leaders).
45And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. They finally realized that Christ was speaking against them. (They were the wicked farmers).
46But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. The chief priest and religious leaders wanted to get rid of Him, but were afraid to try because of the crowds, for the people accepted Jesus as a prophet. (Matthew 21:11).
Keep the faith,
Barton
