Matthew 21
The Triumphal Entry
1Now when they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, you are to say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
Many commentators interpret this as a miracle, but it was most likely just good organization by Jesus.
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: 5“Tell the people of Zion, ‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”
Matthew quoted Zechariah 9:9, but he did not quote all of it. Zechariah 9:9 reads, “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Look! Your king is coming to you: He is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey –on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.”
The “rejoicing” is left out, because the rejoicing will not take place until the Second Coming.
“He is legitimate and victorious” is mistranslated by the NET. In Hebrew, it is צַדִּ֥יק וְנֹושָׁ֖ע (zadik wa-na—yeshua), meaning He is righteous and He is Yeshua. Zechariah predicted the name of Yeshua 400 years in advance. Matthew leaves out this part of the Hebrew, because salvation by Yeshua will not occur until the second coming of Jesus.
6So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.
The donkey was an animal of peace while the horse was an animal of war. Kings rode donkeys during times of peace. Jesus was riding the donkey as a King of peace.
8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road. Others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Usually, Jesus most likely entered by the sheep gate. The sheep gate was the gate where the sacrificed animals were to enter. However, this time Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a king. He gave everyone and opportunity to worship Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
9The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Hosanna is a Hebrew word meaning “Save now!” The crowd was singing Psalm 118:25–27. This psalm was sung at the Feast of Tabernacles. However, the crowd wanted salvation from the oppression of Rome. They were not interested in the individual spiritual salvation which Jesus offered.
10As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Notice that Jesus was only recognized as a prophet. He was more than a prophet. He was the Messianic god-man King predicted in the Old Testament.
Cleansing the Temple
12Then Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts, and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
Jesus was not a seeker-friendly teacher. Nor was He one who compromised with evil. This was the second time that Jesus physically cleansed the temple of money-changers who were attempting to fleece the people for profit.
13And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a den of robbers!”
Jesus always quoted the written Word of God. He was emphasizing to the people that the Oral Law was man-made. The written Law was the Word of God. Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.
14The blind and lame came to him in the temple courts, and he healed them.
Healing the blind was a messianic miracle.
15But when the chief priests and the experts in the law saw the wonderful things he did and heard the children crying out in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant
The Jewish leaders are not happy with the reception that Jesus received from the people. The Jewish leaders called Jesus demon-possessed, but the people were singing to Him as if He was the Messiah of Israel.
16and said to him, “Do you hear what they are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of children and nursing infants you have prepared praise for yourself’?”
Jesus quoted Psalm 8:2. All of the psalms were the music of Israel. These songs were about the Messiah. The point is that the religious leaders did not even possess the insight of children. The children knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but the leaders in charge of their education program did not.
17And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there.
Jesus did not spend the night in Jerusalem.
The Withered Fig Tree
18Now early in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.
The next morning, Jesus left Bethany and returned to Jerusalem. Jesus was God, but He was also man. He was hungry. A hungry God was a strange concept to the Roman mindset.
19After noticing a fig tree by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once.
The fig tree was used in the Old Testament as a symbol of Israel. The fig tree was producing no fruit, and neither was Israel. Israel would be destroyed in 70 A.D.
20When the disciples saw it they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
It was unnatural for the fig tree to wither so quickly.
21Jesus answered them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.
The disciples did not believe that God could move so fast in such an unnatural way.
22And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive.”
Prosperity teachers use this verse to falsely claim that people can get anything they want by faith and prayer. This kind of false theology makes God a servant of the people’s prayers. This is nothing but white magic. People cannot control God by their words. According to Matthew 17:20: the faith must be accompanied alongside the will of God.
The Authority of Jesus
23Now after Jesus entered the temple courts, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
The Jewish leaders observed firsthand the miracles of Jesus. They wanted to know by what authority He was doing these miracles.
24Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.
Jesus was a supernatural rabbi. He answered their question with a question.
25Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’
If John the Baptist was a prophet from God, then Jesus must be the Messiah, because John identified him as so.
26But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.”
The crowd all believed that John the Baptist was a prophet. If the religious leaders claimed that John was not a prophet, then they would lose their congregation.
27So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The religious leaders decided to stay political, so Jesus did not answer their question with words. He had already answered their questions with His works.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
The father was the authority of the home. He commanded his first son to go work in the vineyard.
29The boy answered, ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went.
The boy refused, but later he decided to honor his father’s request. This was a picture of the believer in Jesus. At first, he rejected Jesus. Later, he believed in Jesus and was obedient to his authority.
30The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go.
The second son was given the same command. He promised that he would be obedient, but he lied. He was not obedient. He was giving lip service. This was a picture of the Pharisees. They claimed to be obedient to God, but they were not. They were only giving lip service. They refused to listen to God’s Son.
31Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!
The Jewish leaders condemned the tax collectors as being traitors to Israel. They condemned the prostitutes of pagan sexual rituals. Yet, both of these groups would enter into the kingdom of God before the Pharisees.
32For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him.
Matthew was a tax collector who gave up his wealthy business to follow Jesus and write this gospel. Mary Magdalene gave up prostitution and followed Jesus.
The Parable of the Tenants
33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey.
The landowner was God the Father. The vineyard was Israel. The fence was God’s protection over the nation of Israel. The winepress was the blessings of the covenants. The watch tower was the religious leaders who were in charge of protecting the people from false doctrine. The farmers were the citizens of Israel.
34When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.
The land was leased to the people. They were supposed to produce fruit for God the owner. The fruit was converts to God. Israel was called to become priests to all of the nations, but instead, they had produced the lifeless and dead system of Judaism.
35But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
God the Father sent prophets, but Israel beat them, killed them, and stoned them.
36Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.
God sent more prophets, but they were beaten and killed as well.
37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
Finally, God the Father sent His own son, meaning Jesus. Since Jesus was God in the flesh, surely the people would respect Him and listen to Him.
38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’
The Jewish leaders decided to kill Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.
39So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Jesus will be seized, thrown out of Jerusalem, and crucified.
40Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
After God the Father sends His son back to Israel, what will happen to the Jewish leaders?
41They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”
The Pharisees were judging themselves.
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Jesus quoted from Psalm 118:22-23. The Jewish legend was that when the Jews were building the Jewish Temple, they could not find the cornerstone. After they finished building the temple, then they found the cornerstone. It was one of the stones that they had rejected. Jesus was the cornerstone in which the Jewish leaders rejected.
43For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
The kingdom of God will be taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles for a while. This dispensation will be called the church age.
44The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Daniel predicted that the Messiah was a stone who would crush the Gentile kingdom of the Antichrist.
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.
Jesus was not a seeker-friendly teacher. After Jesus finished the parable, the Pharisees understood that Jesus was speaking about their destruction.
46They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, because the crowds regarded him as a prophet.
Politics kept the Pharisees from arresting Jesus. They could not arrest Jesus in front of the crowds because they would lose their congregations. The crowds viewed Jesus as a prophet, but He was more than just a prophet. He was God in human flesh. He was the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament.