Chapter 21
Matthew 21:1-5
1 And when they drew nigh unto
2 Saying 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.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The
Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 Tell 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.
When they came to Bethphage
and near the mount of Olives outside Jerusalem Jesus sent two of His disciples
ahead, telling them, “Go into the village just ahead of us. There, you will
find a donkey and her colt. Bring them to me. And, if anybody asks what you are
doing, tell him, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them.”
All that was done, so the
scripture would be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying, “Tell the
daughter of
Some ignorant men have
equated the colt of a donkey as being the Cadillac of Jesus day. They do that
in an attempt to hide their personal greed!
The colt of a donkey was a symbol of meekness.
Matthew 21:6-7
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded
them,
7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them
their clothes, and they set him thereon.
So, the disciples did as
Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey
and its colt, and put their clothes on them as a saddle, and they set Jesus on
it.
Matthew 21:8 And a very great multitude spread their
garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them
in the way.
A large crowd met Him. Some
spread out their garments on the roadway.
Others cut down branches from the trees, and laid them on the roadway.
That seeming acceptance would
be short lived!
Do you recall the seeds sown
by the wayside that did not last, or produce fruit. Here is an example!
Matthew 21:9 And 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.
The crowds cried out,
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
For some it was time of
worship. For others it was a time of
emotion.
Matthew 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all
the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
When Jesus came into
Some so-called Christian
scholars have trouble with all (Gr. pasa-pasa) meaning all.
They don’t believe the Bible.
Matthew 21:11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus
the prophet of
They said, “This is Jesus the
prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”
Matthew 21:12-13
12 And 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,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall
be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Then, Jesus went into the
So much, for “meek and mild”
being “weak and compromising.”
Jesus warned them, “It is
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a
den of thieves!”
Has today’s Church returned
to the commercial attitude of those days?
What is you local Church selling?
Matthew 21:14-16
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the
temple; and he healed them.
15 And 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,
16 And 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?
Those who were blind and lame
came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
When the chief priests and
scribes saw the wonderful things He did, and the children crying out to Him in
the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were extremely
disgruntled. The children were declaring
that Jesus is the Messiah.
Losing personal privilege to
the Son of God can be disquieting to the unrepentant.
They confronted Christ, “Do
you hear what they are saying?”
Jesus said, “Yes! But haven’t you read, Out of the mouth of
small children and nursing infants you have perfected praise?”
Matthew 21:17-18
17 And he left them, and went out of the city into
18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he
hungered.
Christ left them, and went to
Jesus became hungry. And,
that leads to another story.
Matthew 21:19-22
19 And 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.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled,
saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21 Jesus 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.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive.
Along the way Jesus saw a fig
tree. When He came to it Jesus found
that there was no fruit on it. So He
spoke to the tree, “Let no fruit grow on you from this time onward.”
The fig tree withered away.
When the disciples saw it,
they were amazed, saying, “See how quickly the fig tree withered away!”
The fact that the tree
withered is not the point. The speed in which
it withered is.
Jesus responded, “Truthfully
I tell you, if you have faith, and do not doubt not, you shall not only do this
which is done to the fig tree, but if you shall say unto this mountain, ‘Be
removed, and be cast into the sea,’ it shall be done. In addition, all things
you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”
Faith (Gr.pistin-pistin) may be best described
as the absence of doubt.
Believing (Gr. pisteountes-pisteounteV) speaks of a
faith of full and complete confidence. The key to success in prayer is
confidence in God!
Matthew 21:23 And 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?
That day when Christ returned
to the
They came to him as he was teaching. Interrupting Jesus’ teaching, they asked, “By
what authority do you do these things? And, who gave you the authority?”
Notice that they never
doubted the validity of Jesus’ power.
They were challenged His work. Their question was, “Who ordained you into the
ministry?”
Most of today’s denominations
ask the same questions.
Among the lost, the title
“God” does not carry any weight.
Matthew 21:24-25
24 And 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.
25 The 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?
Jesus did not skip a beat
when He answered, “I have a question for you, and if you answer me, I will tell
you by what authority I do these things.”
Then Jesus asked the
religious leaders, “The baptism of John, where did it come from? Was it from
heaven, or was it from men?”
They religious leaders
considered the situation. They discussed
the matter.
“If we say it was from
heaven, He will ask us, ‘then, why didn’t you believe him?’”
Religious leaders who are
spiritually challenged, devoid of the Holy Spirit, are always looking for a way
around the truth!
Matthew 21:26-31
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people;
for all hold John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.
And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
28 But 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.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he
repented, and went.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And
he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31 Whether 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
They continued their
discussions, “But, if we shall say John’s authority came from men we will
alienate the people, because they think of John as a prophet.”
Religious and political leaders’
authority depends on the crowd. If the
crowd does not follow them, they have no power.
Decisions, decisions!
So they avoided the issue.
“We don’t know.”
So, Jesus responded, “Then,
neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. However, I will ask
your opinion about a man who had two sons. The man came to the first, and said,
‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’
“The son said, “No!” But,
later he changed his mind, and went.
“The man went to the second
son, and asked him to go to work. The
second son, said, “Of course!” But he did not go to work as he told his father
he would.
“Which one did the will of
his father?”
The religious leaders say to
Jesus, “It was the first son.”
The question was a
no-brainer! But, it was a trick question, and they fell for it!
Jesus told them, “The
publicans (Gr. teloonia-telwnia), or tax collectors and prostitutes will go into the
That was not a warm, fuzzy
response! Truth can be blunt!
Matthew 21:32 For 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.
Jesus continued, “John came
to you in righteousness, and you did not believe him. Instead, the tax collectors and prostitutes
believed him. Even after you realized what happened you still did not repent
and believe.”
That added insult to injury.
Matthew 21:33-40
33 Hear 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:
34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent
his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one,
and killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first:
and they did unto them likewise.
37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying,
They will reverence my son.
38 But 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.
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the
vineyard, and slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh,
what will he do unto those husbandmen?
Then Jesus presented another
parable. He said, “There was a certain landowner that planted a vineyard, and
put up a hedge around it. He installed a
winepress and built a watchtower. Then
he leased the vineyard to another and left the area.
“When harvest time grew near,
he sent his servants to those who leased the vineyard to get what was owed him.
“The husbandmen beat one of
his servants, killed another, and stoned a third.
“The man sent more servants
to collect what was owed, and the husbandmen treated them in the same cruel
manner.
“Finally the man sent his
son. He thought, surely they will treat my son with respect.
“But when they saw his son, they
schemed among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him, and seize
his inheritance.’
“They caught him, cast him
out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
“When the landowner himself
goes to vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?”
We see this parable as
obvious, but the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not.
Matthew 21:41 They 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.
They told Jesus, “He will
miserably destroy those wicked men (meaning put them to death), and will rent
out his vineyard to others who shall honor their agreement.”
Matthew 21:42-46
42 Jesus 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?
43 Therefore say I unto you, The
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be
broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
45 And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard
his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
46 But when they sought to lay hands on him, they
feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.
Oops! They fell for the old
parable ploy.
Jesus confronted them,
“Haven’t you read in the scriptures that the stone which the builders rejected
became the cornerstone? This is the Lord's doing, and it is amazing to us!
“Therefore I tell you, the
“And whosoever shall fall on
this Stone shall be broken! But, on whomever the Stone shall fall, it will
grind him to powder!”
When the chief priests and
Pharisees heard that they understood Him.
But, when they sought to lay
hands on him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people looked upon
Jesus as a prophet.
Again, the truth can be
blunt!