Matthew 20:25-21:32

Jesus explains that she didn’t know what she was asking, and He foretold that they would share in His cup that He must drink. That was a cup of suffering, torture, and death. It was probably just as well that the disciples had no clue of the horrors that were behind the drinking of that cup.

 

So, we begin today in Matthew 20:29-31,

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.

And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 

Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” 

 

The Lord is going from Jericho up to Jerusalem to die.

As we’ll soon see, He didn’t defend Himself when He was handed over and condemned to death. That’s because this is the reason He came. The plan of the ages is quickly coming together. He was taking my place, and I’m guilty. There simply was no defence! That’s the reason He didn’t open His mouth at that time because He was bearing my sin, and He was bearing your sin at that time.

 

Notice how these two blind men addressed Jesus. ” O Lord, Son of David!”

They acknowledged His kingship. The recognise Him as Lord. They recognise Him as the long-prophesied Messiah. When we see someone in the Bible call Jesus “Lord” it doesn’t impact us here today so much but to a Jew who grew up with the law and the prophets this was a huge acknowledgment because it’s a recognition of God of diety.

Remember the gentile Syrophoenician woman back in chapter 15 verses 21 to 28? She was the first to call Him the son of David, but the Lord reminded her that she had no claim on Him in this way. She was a gentile. However, these men were Jews, and they did have a claim on Him, and they exercised their claim!

 

To verses 32 and 33,

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 

They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.

 

The problem of these men seemed so obvious. Why did the Lord ask what He could do for them? When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we must tell Him our need.

If we’re coming to Him for salvation, we tell Him that we’re a sinner and need His salvation.

If we don’t, we won’t be saved. That’s the offense of the Cross. It offends the majority who don’t see themselves as sinners at all.

Everybody would come to the Cross if they could bring their self–righteousness and their self-perceived good deeds.

But, my friends, you and I haven’t got any goodness at all, none whatsoever, to present to God.

We can no more sweeten our human character with training and psychology and education than we can sweeten a pile of manure in a cow paddock with a bottle of the most expensive scent.

We must come to Him as sinners and trust Him as our Saviour.

These blind men came to the Lord Jesus with their need, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened”!

Verse 34

So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. 

Our Lord healed them, and they followed Him. Remember where He’s going. He’s on His way to the Cross.

What an incredible contrast between these two humble blokes and the rich young ruler we’ve just spent the last couple of episodes looking at. Without any coaxing they recognise Jesus as the Messiah, as Lord, and then they just follow Him as if it was the most natural thing to do. Wonderful!

Some people just “get” simple truth and immediately follow it while others need to be convinced, cajoled, and coaxed their whole lives and still never see and accept truth.

 

Now we come to Matthew chapter 21 and here we’ll see Jesus entering Jerusalem officially, cleansing the temple and cursing the fig tree.

When He’s challenged by the chief priests and elders, He condemns them by using more parables. The parables of the two sons and the householder whose servants slew his son.

The Gospel of Matthew’s movement comes back into sharp focus in this chapter. Jesus comes to Jerusalem in a new role. Before now He’d entered the city quietly and humbly.

Now He presses His claims as King on the city of the King.

How could anything be more forward or daring. He cleanses the temple for the second time. This is a huge presumption if He’s not the One who He claims to be.

He curses the fig tree, which is a symbolic action as we’ll see, and He meets the challenge of the religious rulers and, with the use of another parable, He accuses them of plotting His death.

We notice how clear and deliberate Jesus is here. He’s the One forcing the issue, He’s the One running the agenda. Everyone else is a player in His game.

He’ll force them to act when and how He chooses. He’s in full control of the entire situation. He’s remarkable in His authority and the Monarch is obvious in Him as He approaches the Cross.

 

Matthew 21:1-3,

Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 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. 

And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

 

Many people read a miracle in this incident but probably there isn’t.

Possibly, when our Lord was in Jerusalem the last time, He made arrangements with some friends to use these animals the next time He came to the city.

He may have even revealed to them what He intended to do, and they agreed to have them ready for Him at the Passover Feast. Possibly, He told them that He would send a couple of His disciples to get them and that He’d tell them what to say, “The Lord has need of them.”

Jesus, without laying aside his sovereignty, had taken on a nature that has needs but, even in that need, he was still the Lord and was still in command.

Now to verses 4 and 5,

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 

“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.’ “

 

Here’s Matthew again showing fulfillment of prophecy.

This is a quotation from Zechariah 9:9 which reads,

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. 

Now, notice that in this quotation of the prophecy in Matthew there’re certain important things that aren’t there. We need to look carefully to see them.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion” isn’t there.

Why? Because our Lord’s not coming into Jerusalem for that time of rejoicing. That’ll take place at His second coming.

Also omitted is, “He is just and having salvation”. The word salvation has the thought of victory, which will be fulfilled for the nation of Israel at His second coming. At His second coming there will be a true triumphal entry.

The donkey was the animal of peace while the horse was the animal of war. When Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on this little animal of peace, He was offering Himself as King. In spite of the fact that He was doing that, the prophet says that He was humble. That’s very important to see.

 

Now to verses 6 to 9 and we’re in Matthew 21,

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 

They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 

And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 

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!” 

Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a King, and those who’re with Him recognise Him as a King. It’s their opportunity to accept Him or reject Him.

The spreading out the clothes was a symbol of their recognition of the King, and their support and loyalty. We see this in 2nd Kings 9:13.

The branches were a symbol of victory and success as in Revelation 7:9.

To the believers that had accepted Jesus as the Christ, The Messiah this was a glorious moment.

However, to the unbelieving world like the Romans and the other gentiles this crowd was ridiculous just singing religious songs with some religious verses taken out of the Psalms.

The people shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” was openly giving Jesus the titles for the Messiah, Who they look to for salvation. Hosanna means “save now!” They (Son of David… He who comes in the name of the LORD).

Jesus both received and encouraged this worship. This was because this is the day that the LORD has made from Psalm 118:24, we will rejoice and be glad in it. It’s the day when the Messiah came as Saviour to Jerusalem in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.

To verses 10 and 11,

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” 

So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.” 

The multitudes that had been following and listening to Jesus are surrounding Him in His entry into Jerusalem and the people of the city question what’s happening, who is this person that’s causing such a ruckus?

Interestingly, the reply to that question is that He’s the prophet from Nazareth, the one everyone’s heard about but who these residents of Jerusalem hadn’t yet seen. They didn’t announce Him as the King of the Jews, The Messiah, Lord, as the two blind men did. Of course there are people in the crowd who knew this, like the blind men who were most probably there, but the majority, the main voice of those that came in with Him announced Him as a prophet.

Verses 12 and 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. 

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, the focus here in Matthew is Jesus fulfilling prophecy.

First Isaiah 56:7,

Even them (“Them” is the foreigner who joins themselves to the Lord to serve and to love Him), 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.” 

And then Jeremaiah 7:11,

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.

Once again, it’s easy to just bypass this with a bit of “Ho hum”, but we should really get the impact of this incredible, constant fulfillment of prophecy.

God and God alone knows the beginning from the end as we read in Isaiah 46:10,

Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,‘

This verse beautifully captures God’s ability to see beyond time and comprehend the entire scope of existence—from the very beginning to the ultimate conclusion. His purpose is unshakable, and His wisdom surpasses all understanding.

Truly, God alone knows the intricate tapestry of creation, weaving together every thread of our lives. Never forget that the Person we’re reading and writing about here IS God!

 

He’s using very strong language and very severe actions here wouldn’t you say?

Let’s look at a few facts regarding this so–called triumphal entry.

Firstly, is it really a “triumphal” entry?

As we’ve seen, only certain portions of Zechariah’s prophecy were fulfilled. Our Lord came into the city of Jerusalem in order that He might be the Savior. He was making the final public presentation of Himself to the people.

When we look at the four Gospel records together, they present a blended, complex picture. Jesus didn’t enter the city on only one day but on three separate days.

The first time was on Saturday, the Sabbath Day. There were no money changers on that day, and He looked around and left, as we see in Mark 11:11,

And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. 

On that, He entered as Priest.

The second day He entered Jerusalem was on Sunday, the first day of the week. The money changers were there, and He cleansed the temple as per the verse we’re up to. On this day He entered as King.

The third day He entered Jerusalem was on Monday, the second day of the week. At that time, He wept over Jerusalem, and then entered the temple and taught and healed as we see in Luke 19:41-44 and Luke 19:47-48.

He entered as a Prophet that day.

It’s obvious that these records here in Matthew, then in Mark and Luke, record three different entries. The Lord entered Jerusalem on three consecutive days and in three consecutive roles, as Priest, as King, as Prophet. After each day He left to spend the night in Bethany.

Apparently, He didn’t spend a night in the city until He was arrested.

 

Now, let’s remember that the so–called triumphal entry ended at the cross in torture and death, completely opposite to the expectations of those that recognised Him as the Messiah, the One who would set up the Kingdom and restore Israel to its position of authority and influence as per the centuries of prophecy.

They had no understanding of why the Lord, The Messiah had to die. They didn’t see that only by His death could sin be paid for and only by His death, burial resurrection could the power of sin that had held the world captive since Adam be broken.

What the people, including Jesus’s closet disciples, saw was that the time that the Kingdom would be set up and the nations that currently rule over Israel overthrown had arrived.

This was it! This was the day!

When we get this, we can understand the rejoicing. The roman rule would soon be ended, and Israel again would be restored to the heady days of Solomon and David.

What joy there must have been. It must have been like the joy the nation felt on the day they walked out of the bondage of Egypt with Moses.

 

Only Jesus Himself knew that that day was going to be some 2000 years into the future.

Only Jesus knew that before that would take place a new creation would arise, a creation that had never existed before. A creation made of people! Individual people, not nations, and those people would be a mix of jew and gentile.

The great timeline of prophecy would be interrupted while a great mystery, kept secret from the foundation of the world, would come to reality. The Church, the Body of Christ. The collection of countless millions who would be made righteous and acceptable to God, not by there own actions but by the blood of the Son of God that’s now very soon going to be spilled.

So, it was not outwardly a triumphal entry even though it certainly was from the aspect of God’s eternal plan being fulfilled.

But Jesus will come a second time and it will be outwardly obvious that it’s in triumph.

Hebrews 9:28 says it all,

…so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. 

We’re told in Zechariah 14:4 that when He comes the next time to this earth, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and THEN when He enters the city of Jerusalem, that’ll really be the triumphal entry!

 

After the Lord cleansed the temple, many came to Him for help, verse 14,

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 

Matthew never let’s up emphasising the huge numbers that were healed!

Now to Matthew 21:15-17,

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 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’?” 

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

 

Prophecy fulfilled again and again!

This time it’s Psalm 8:2:

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.

This beautiful verse highlights how even the simplest and most innocent voices, those of children and infants, can offer perfect praise to God.

 

The chief priests and the scribes!

We should all see clearly now that the people here are born and bred Jews and unlike us gentiles were very aware of prophecy and scripture.

Of all those people the ones that should have been the most accepting of Jesus as the Messiah were the chief priests and scribes.

They lived in these prophecies. Scripture was, or should have been, second nature to them.

These blokes should have been like the prophet Daniel.

In Daniel chapter 9, the prophet Daniel begins by calculating how long his people, the Israelites, are supposed to be in exile. He bases this calculation on the prophecy of Jeremiah. He realises this time is coming to an end and begins to pray for the nation. While praying God sends him what must be one of the greatest of all prophecies, especially for us living today, the Prophecy of the seventy weeks.

 

Had these scribes and religious leaders been diligent in their understanding of scripture as they should have been, they would have, and should have, known that the time had arrived according to Daniels 70 weeks. It was just a simple calculation for them to see they were in the 69^th week of that prophecy and they should have known the signs of many other prophecies.

Jesus expected them to know as we saw in Matthew 16 verses 1 to 4,

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 

He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 

A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed. 

See, Jesus held them accountable. They should have know the time was now for the coming Messiah, but they did not know, or if they did, they outwardly rejected God’s Word.

Nations, including Israel, were judged on their leadership. Even today each individual citizen of a nation has very limited resources to change anything he may disagree with that their government does. But their nation will be seen by others in light of the quality of the leadership.

 

“And he left them” displays Jesus’s rejection of the religious leaders.

“And went out of the city into Bethany.” Again, our Lord didn’t spend the night in Jerusalem until the night of His arrest. But we find Him coming back into the city the next day.

 

Now we come to verses 18 and 19,

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 

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. 

There’s been so much confusion and so many theories around this the fig tree incident.

However, it’s not that difficult to work out.

It’s symbolic of Israel as we’ll see it soon in Matthew chapter 24.

As we see the Lord’s dealings with the nation of Israel, particularly the leadership, we see a lack of fruit, a lack of anything real. There were plenty of pretty leaves that looked good and promised a lot, but we see a ritualistic, lifeless religion.

The Lord condemned this.

The nation had a religious covering, but no reality, no power.

They’d turned what God had given them into a dead, lifeless ritual that was no longer was accomplishing God’s purpose for them.

We see later that Jesus openly accuses the leadership of this when He says in Matthew 23: 25-28,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 

Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 

Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 

Wow! No wonder the plot to kill Jesus thickened very quickly.

Certainly, He condemned the nation of Israel, and the nation suffered devastating judgment in A.D. 70.

 

Mattew 21 verse 20,

And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 

This was an amazing thing to the disciples as it would have been for any of us today.

 

Verses 21 and 22,

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. 

And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” 

 

Question! Have you ever been to a Christian gathering where a leader prayed, and a mountain got up and moved to the sea?

Removing mountains, and rooting up of mountains, are phrases used to signify the removing of or the conquering of great difficulties. Many rabbis were, and are, termed rooters up of mountains, because they helped remove difficulties, and solved cases where there was personal difficulty.

He that has faith will get through every difficulty and perplexity of life and the mountains that challenge a person will become molehills or flat plains through that faith coupled with prayer. The saying shouldn’t be misunderstood and shouldn’t be a puzzle.

 

Again, Jesus is challenged by the religious authorities in verse 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?” 

 

The religious rulers are getting ugly and very hateful now. They’re a simmering hotbed of loathing and scorn.

They don’t question what the Lord’s doing. Do you notice that? They simply can’t deny the miraculous things He does; they can only question His authority.

 

Verses 24 to 26,

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: 

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?’ 

But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 

 

You see, these religious rulers were attempting to trap Him by putting to Him what they thought was an impossible dilemma, but He immediately turned the spotlight back on them. He said, “I’ll tell you by what authority I work if you will tell Me by what authority John the Baptist did his work. Was it from heaven or was it of men?”

Of course, if they had said it was of heaven, our Lord would have said, “I move by the same authority.” So, they wouldn’t answer Him. They wouldn’t accept that John’s authority was from heaven; so, of course, they wouldn’t accept Jesus’ authority either.

 

To verse 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.

 

We can sense the tension developing in this situation. The Lord is about to deliver a scathing verbal assault on the religious rulers. He’ll give a parable that places publicans and harlots above them, and the charge that Jesus makes can’t be ignored.

Jesus continues speaking to these rulers in verses 28 to 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.’ 

He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 

Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 

Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 

 

This parable was a terrible insult to the religious rulers.

Jesus likens them to the second son who said he would work for his father but did not.

The Lord places publicans and harlots on a higher plane than these religious leaders.

The publicans and harlots recognised their sinfulness and how hopeless their own works were in working to please God. They came to Christ for salvation in the humility that comes from realising just who they really are.

Even though they came late because they’d said no to God at first, they did eventually come to Him, and He received them.

 

Verse 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. 

The religious rulers had a religion of exterior prettiness but with nothing real inside.

Now our Lord gives them another parable before they can get out of earshot, but we’ll wait until next time to look at it.

In the meantime, friends may God fill you with His grace and may He let you know that He’s with you always and that He’ll never forsake you.