Matthew
21:1-46
Sermon Notes
Fear God
March 12,
2017
Lynchburg,
Virginia
EXHORDIUM
Jesus now makes His final
appearances in Jerusalem. We have entered the final week of Jesus’s life before
the crucifixion. There is a tremendous amount of His teaching left to study and
it all happens on that fateful week.
As Jesus faces His final showdown with
the Pharisees, the chief priests and the elders in Jerusalem, the question as
to who He is becomes paramount.
Israel looked for the Anointed One, the
Messiah. The awaited His arrival to deliver them from their oppressors and
restore the throne of David. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, the people recognize
that Jesus is the Messiah. They quote Psalm 118 and Jesus follows their quotes
with more quotes of Psalm 118.
You would think that the rulers would
recognize Jesus as well. The parable that Jesus tells against them teaches us
that they did recognize Him and they killed Him.
Since Jesus died, this question is
still paramount. Who is Jesus? Prophet? Priest? King? A good teacher? A holy
man? A martyr? Yes, all of these. But if He is merely these and not who He said
He was, then it is a lie. The Pharisees were right to kill Him.
But if He was who He said He was, and
He was, then a failure to submit absolutely to Him will be an invitation to
destruction. When we answer the question, “Who is this?” our next response is
to kneel before Him.
EXEGESIS
And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to
Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
This is common gathering place for
Jesus and His disciples.
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.
We are not told how Jesus knew this
without His disciples knowing it. Was this some supernatural vision He had? Or,
did He have other connections besides His immediate disciples?
3 And if any man
say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway
he will send them.
This seems to be a password that was
worked out ahead of time. In addition to the main 12 apostles, there are
several women that minister to Jesus. Perhaps one of them had set this up?
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.
Jesus fulfilled all prophecy. Some of
Jesus’s actions show that He self-consciously fulfilled prophecy. He did things
purposefully to show that He was the promised one. Other things that happen to
Jesus are outside of His immediate earthly control and yet these things also
fulfill prophecy.
This quote is from Psalm Zech 9:9.
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.
The disciples are being both obedient
and brave. They clearly think that the time for Jesus’s inauguration is at
hand. They desire to make Him King of Jerusalem. They put their clothes on the
donkey and set Jesus on the donkey. They set Him up as King.
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.
These are actions that celebrate the
arrival of a King.
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.
Jesus is a King and not just any King.
He is the One coming in the name of David. He is coming to set up the
restoration of the Davidic Kingdom. This is a great reason to praise the Lord.
Psalm 118. Also contains the promise of Resurrection quoted in Hebrews. This is
a song of judgment upon God’s enemies as well as triumph of the Son.
The Stone which the builders rejected
also quoted in Psalm 118 and below in this passage.
10 And when he was come
into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11 And the multitude said,
This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
The city was moved. They were
astonished. Who is this? That is the great question? The answer is that this is
Jesus. But who is Jesus? Is He a King? Is He descended from David? Is He
royalty? Is He a warrior? Politician? Priest? Elder?
The answer is that He is Jesus, a
prophet from Galilee of the Gentiles. How can this be? No good thing comes from
Galilee.
Matt. 21:12 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.
This is the second time that Jesus
cleanses the temple. When He comes the third time, He mows down every stone.
Jesus casts out all those who do not
belong in His Father’s house, those that bought and sold in the temple,
moneychangers and dove sellers.
The temple of the Lord is a place of
prayer, not to be a place to make money. We should keep this in mind. We can
love one another in service and provide good and services to one another for a
fair price. But the Church should not be the vehicle you use to advance
yourself and your financial future.
This is a problem in the church. From
Real Estate to Multi-level businesses, lawyer or even doctors, brother and
sisters can start to look like dollar signs. Pastors are not exempt from it.
Are the members of the church, tithers? Do you see them with dollar signs on
their forehead? Or sheep? We must protect ourselves from this temptation.
14 And the blind and the
lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Jesus is not just interested in those
who can pay their way, those who can buy the sacrifices. He ministers to the
blind, lame and sick. These have nothing to offer Jesus or those making a
mockery of the Temple. Jesus came to serve them, the least of His brothers.
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?
Jesus quotes Psalm 8. Lower than the
angels but has made Him to have dominion over all creation.
17 And he left them, and
went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.
Likely at the home of Mary, Martha and
Lazarus.
Matt. 21:18 Now in
the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 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.
Jesus was hungry for fruit but there
was no fruit. A fig tree peaks His interest but He is disappointed. He curses
the tree and it withers immediately.
This is a warning to fruitless Israel.
When the Lord comes looking for fruit, you are in grave danger.
20 And when the
disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree
withered away!
This was a miracle. It takes time for a
tree to die. Even if the tree were cut down, it might still have healthy
looking leaves the next day. Not so with this tree. As soon as Jesus judges it
fruitless, it dried up from the roots up.
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.
Jesus teaches several things here. One,
have faith. Those represented by the tree had no faith. They were unbelieving
Israel. They will dry up and be thrown into the fire. If the disciples have
faith in Jesus, then they will see this happen.
Furthermore, the mountain also
represents unbelieving Israel. It will be thrown into the sea. The sea are the
Gentiles and they will produce the fruit of faith.
Matt. 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?
We are nearing the final showdown. The
chief priest and elder demand to know who Jesus is and from where His authority
arises. But they have no plan to submit to His authority, even were it God
Himself.
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?
Jesus presents a question which exposes
their hypocrisy. The question is straightforward and clear. Furthermore, the
chief priests and elders know the answer. But they are not interested in truth.
They are interested in staying in control.
And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say,
From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 26 But if we shall say, Of
men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
Their reasoning reveals their deceitful
hearts. They do not reason among themselves as to whether this answer or that
answer is true. They reason among themselves about what the result of their
answer will be.
This sounds a lot like how a politician
thinks when asked a question. He is not so much interested in the truth but
what effect it will have at the voting booth. Unfortunately, many pastors now
reason among themselves in this same self-serving and self-preserving way.
27 And they answered
Jesus, and said, We cannot tell.
They say, “We cannot tell.” But they
really mean, “We will not tell.”
And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority
I do these things.
And so Jesus responds in kind. Since
you cannot tell me that the baptism of John was from heaven, neither will I
tell you that I am from heaven.
Who Will Do My Will?
Matt. 21:28 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.
We can tell from this parable that the
elders are good at reasoning. They did not perceive the trap or they would have
refused to answer.
The first sons are the hypocritical and
sneaky Chief Priests, elders, Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes. The second sons
are those who disobey for a while but afterwards fully repent. The Lord rejects
the first and accepts the second.
Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the
publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 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 now clearly answers the question
He put to them about John. In this, He implicitly answers their question to
Him. John was from God and so am I.
For Jesus to tell them that publicans
and harlots are better than them is more than they can take.
Matt.
21:33
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.
The
householder is still looking for fruit.
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.
He kept
sending his workman to collect the fruit. The husbandmen beat, kill and stone
the servants of the landowner.
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.
Finally,
the landowner sends his own son to collect payment. The husbandmen realize this
is the heir and kill him to seize upon his inheritance.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard
cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 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.
The
wickedness of the husbandman is clear. Jesus gets the Pharisees to pronounce
their own judgment. They will be destroyed and their vineyard will be let out
to others who will produce the fruit of it.
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?
Jesus
quotes Psalm 118. This is the same Psalm that says, Blessed is He who comes in
the name of the Lord. It is a Messianic psalm. The latter part of the psalm is
about the One who is coming who will destroy those who oppose Him. Of course,
the ancient church of Israel thought that meant that Messiah would destroy
Israel’s enemies. But Jesus uses this quote to show that Israel is the enemy of
Messiah. Thus, she will be destroyed.
43 Therefore 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 given to the Gentiles.
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.
Whoever
attacks this stone, this chief cornerstone will be broken and ground to powder.
The enemies of Messiah will not survive. He will crush them and rule over them.
The chief priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus spoke this against them and
sought to lay hands on him to kill Him. However, they feared the people and did
not do so in the light of day.
EXHORTATION
Spurgeon, Who is this is a profitable, proper, personal,
pressing question.
Profitable
We must
know. Is He a King? And if so, Is He our King? Is He My King? Will He rule me?
We are like sheep without a shepherd, a people without king.
Proper
The
question about Jesus really is, “Who is This?”
C.S.
Lewis “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that
people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,
but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be
a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man
who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must
make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman
or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and
kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but
let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.
He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
If He is not God in the flesh, then He is nothing less than
a liar and a deceiver. If He is not God, then He is worse than any great
religious leader that came before or after Him. So, this is the proper
question. “Who is Jesus?”
Personal
This question about Jesus is not abstract. We don’t merely
answer it for theology’s sake. We are not trying to pass a test. We want to
know Who Jesus is because it is vital to us. If He really is the savior of
mankind, then He is my Savior. The question is not only did Jesus come to save
mankind but did Jesus come to save me.
And to answer that question, you have to answer why you need
a Savior. Jesus is making it plain in these pages of the Bible, that the Pharisees
and Scribe, the Sadducees, the Chief Priests and the elders, could not see the
need for Jesus.
Why would
I need Jesus to save me if I am not lost? Why would I need Jesus to forgive me
if I have not sinned against Him? Why would I need healed if I am not sick? Why
would I need life if I am not dead. But Jesue reminds us we are sick, lost and
sinful. We are dead in our sins and without Jesus we are without God and
without hope in the world.
Thus, who
Jesus is, is a very personal question.
Pressing
It is not only profitable, proper and personal, it is
pressing. Today if you will hear His voice harden not your hearts. Today is the
day of judgment. When we put off the Lord, we do so to our peril. Who knows
whether He will call us again with such a profitable, proper, personal and
pressing question.
Who
is Jesus?
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