St. Matthew’s Gospel.

Chapter 21
Notes and Thoughts

Matthew omits the events which took place at Bethany,
John 12:1-8.

"1 Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
2 There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
7 Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.
8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always."

The King makes a public announcement.

Verses 1-11: Mark 11:1-10.

"1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest."

Luke 19::29-38.

"29 And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.
31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.
32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?
34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon.
36 And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest."

John 12:12-19.

"12 On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
17 The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.
18 For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
19 The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him."

This is the first of a series of visits to Jerusalem during the final week, which ended in the crucifixion.
Jesus had spent the night at Bethany, the exact location is unknown but it is thought to be east of the Mount of Olives.
The Mount of Olives was the place where the Jews expected the Messiah to first appear.

Verses 2-6: We are now approaching a special event, the instructions to the disciples about the mother ass and her young male ass is very specific (exact details), showing that the coming event was very important.
Jesus had normally walked everywhere, and the village was only about 2 miles away from Jerusalem, but this event was important, Jesus was about to fulfil,
Zechariah 9:9.

"9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."

Though the disciples did not seem to understand the significance of this until much later,
John 12:16.

"16 These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him."

Versesv7-8: Both animals were brought, the mother ass being needed at first as the colt would have not left her. The colt had never been ridden but submitted to the disciples coats being place upon it and then Jesus mounting it.
Some of the multitude now place there clothes into the road as a sign of honour. Others cut down palm branches,
John 12:13.

"13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord."

It was unusual for a Jewish king to ride an ass, a horse was more suitable as the ass was considered a lowly animal, .

Verse 9: The shouts of the crowd clearly showed that they believed that Jesus was the expected Messiah. "Hosanna," a Hebrew word meaning Save now. "Son of David!" a title associated with the Messiah, up to now Jesus had avoided such public displays, even though he had allowed individual announcements,
John 4:25,26.

"25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."

Matthew 16:16-20.

"16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ."

With this event there was an unmistakable announcement to the nation.
See also Psalms 118-26.

"26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD."

This was one of the Psalms (113-118) used during the Passover.

Verses 10,11: This event occurred just before the Passover and therefore Jerusalem will be full of Jews who had come for the Passover Celebration from outside the area and possibly from outside the country. Jesus had also deliberately avoided Jerusalem during His ministry. Because of this the Messianic announcement obviously caused many of the people to ask the question, "Who is this?"
At the end of the day Jesus enters the temple, after looking round He returns to Bethany with His disciples,
Mark 11:11.

"11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve."

The purifying (cleaning) of the Temple.

Verses 12-17: Mark 11:15-18.

"15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine."

Luke 19:45-48.

"45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him."

Jesus had made a similar cleanup of the temple at the beginning of His ministry,
John 2:13-22.

"13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said."

On the day following His public announcement Jesus enters the Temple and throws out all those who bought and sold.
The outer Court of the Gentiles was the location of the stalls where the people could buy the sacrificial animals, It was also the place where visiting Jews or the local people could exchange their foreign money into money suitable to use in the temple, for the temple taxes or offerings. Presumably these stall owners were making a profit on each exchange.
"Those who sold pigeons," These were meant for the poor to use as their Temple offerings.
As offered at the birth of Jesus, Luke 2:24.

"24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

All the buying, selling and money exchange was under the control of Annas the High Priest’s and his family.

Verse 13: "It is written,"
Isaiah 56:7.

"7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."

Jeremiah 7:11.

"11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD."

"Den of thieves, "the home of robbers, who were protected by the religious leaders in a sacred building.

Verse 14-16: Matthew is the only Gospel which records Jesus healing on that day and the reappearance of the Hosanna’s from the people worshipping in the Temple.
Responding to the objections of the priests Jesus quotes,
Psalm 8:2.

"2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

Which shows that God will be praised from what the world thinks is the most insignificant object, (smallest, unimportant) - a baby.

Verse 17: Again Jesus and the disciples returned to Bethany overnight.
Compare Luke 21:37.

"37 And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives."

The Fig Tree cursed.

Verses 18-22: Mark 11:12-14.

"12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."

Mark 11:20-24.

"20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

This next event actually occupies two separate incidents during the next 24 hours, Matthew has joined it into one incident.
The fig tree is a common tree in this area and is often used as a symbol for Israel. The fig tree is unusual in that the leaves and the fruit appear at the same time, often with the fruit coming first. This tree had put out its leaves in April and should have grown fruit as well, though the fruit may not have been matured it should have been edible at this stage. There was no fruit, only the leaves.
Jesus could have created fruit but he does not. Instead He gave a human reaction, "Let no fruit grow on you." A tree does not know of good or evil and is not responsible for its actions.

Verse 20: Matthew seems to indicate that the tree dies ‘quickly’ but it was not noticed until the next morning by the disciples.

Verses 21,22: Jesus tells the disciples that such power and even more was available to those who believed in prayer. However, coming with this faith will indicate that any prayer requests must be done in the Will of God.

Jesus authority is questioned.

Verses 23-27: Mark 11:27-33.

"27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Luke 20:1-8.

"1 And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,
2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?
3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:
4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?
5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?
6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.
8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things."

Verse 23: During the third visit of Jesus to the temple He was approached by members of the Sanhedrin, the chief priests, elders and scribes,
Mark 11:27.

"27: And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things."

The Jewish leaders want to know by whose authority Jesus was acting, the cleansing of the Temple, the miracles and acceptance of the position and worship as Messiah. The Sanhedrin or a senior Rabbi, (teacher) would normally have been given agreement by other religious leaders and so had the authority,

Verse 24: Jesus responds to the challenge by asking them a question, "The Baptism of John, by whose authority was that done, from ‘heaven’ or from ‘man’? "

Verses 25,26: This question caused the Sanhedrin representatives some searching of their personal heart and minds on the subject, as a result it exposes their dishonesty. The ministry of John the Baptist was very popular and had been recognized as prophetic, John had also publicly proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah,
John 1:29-34.

"29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."

John 3:26-30.

"26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease."

Acts 19:4,5.

"4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

If the religious leaders acknowledged and accepted John’s divine authority, they would have to accept Jesus as the Messiah and His teaching, on the other hand if they rejected John then there would be a public outcry as many people had accepted John.

Verse 27: They refused to answer, and so their cowardly action did not deserve any answer from Jesus. Instead He tells a parable.

The Parable of the Two Sons.

Matthew is the only Gospel to record this parable, Matthew’s Gospel was written for the Jews. The parable was definitely aimed at the Jewish people and their leadership.

Verses 28-32: The two sons are the representative of the Jews. The son who said "I will not" represents the religious outcast, publicans and harlots, who eventually accepted the message and teaching of John and often became followers of Jesus.

The second son represents the attitude of the religious leaders, they initially gave approval of John, but when they had seen what would be the effect on their life they turned away,
John 5:30-39.

"30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Luke 7:29,30.

"29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.
30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."

The wicked farm workers.

Verses 33-46: The title given to the man of "husbandman" would normally referred to a farmer who rented the land to farm from another land owner, he was a ‘tenant’ farmer.
This parable gives the original answer to the "by whose authority" question, because Jesus was a special divine Son sent by the Father.
We must always be careful not to read too much into the details of parables. It is obvious that the householder represents God the Father who has planted a vineyard, a symbol of Israel, who were the tenants of the kingdom of God. Yet Jesus also showed human thinking in that the householder did not anticipated (expected) the way the farmers would react to the requests of the owner of the land. They were legal requests of the landlord and the rights of the owner.
The story showed that the householder had made special preparation for the running of the vineyard, all the necessary equipment supplied. Then it showed the shameful behaviour of the Jews with the various messengers from God down through the Jewish history. It is amazing in the story how much patience the owner had with the evil farmers, but finally he sent his son and so reveals the total evil heart of the farmers, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.’
See John 11:47-53.

"47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
49 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,
50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;
52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death."

These were the exact thoughts of the religious leaders.

Verses 39-41: From this point the story actually turns from a record of history and becomes future a prophecy.
The son is killed off, a prediction of the coming crucifixion. In the story the vineyard is taken from the farmers by the owner and given to others, the church. At this point the Jewish leaders had not realized the meaning of the story but this was soon to change, verse 45. "They feared the people" and the popularity of Jesus. The same fear also prevented them turning against John, verse 26.

Verse 40: Jesus asks the scribes and Pharisees what should happen to these husbandmen, they did not hesitate in their reply, "He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus then points out that they had pronounced sentence on their own heads and actions, verses 42-45.
The difference in the story was that after the rejection and death of the son the owner punished the men, there was no mention of the future resurrection, as happened with Jesus, However, He was to become the stone which will break those who rejected Him. The leaders realized that Jesus was talking about them.
Let us look at the parable and see if there is anything which also applies to our time.

The vineyard:

This vineyard has been fully setup and planted by the owner and then given to the tenant farmers for care. God in Isaiah talks about Israel being the vineyard of the Lord. Israel was supposed to tell the world about God, they often boasted about the law, but forgot to produce fruit for the owner of the vineyard, God. Ceremonies and ritual were more important than the "fruit."
Unfortunately, this also now hold for the church of Jesus Christ today. We have many rituals and ceremonies in the church now days, many of these are created by religious leaders and have now become for the glorification of Man, not God, the true faith has been lost, forgotten.

The treatment of the servants:

Repeatedly the Israelites claimed that their father was Abraham, a chosen people of God, yet each generation of the tribes of Israel ignored and harmed the messengers and prophets sent to them. Finally they were to reject and destroy the Son of God sent to them.
The Jews were the most favoured people, they had been put in charge of the Words of God, while the world was in darkness the Jews had the revelations of God. Instead of telling the world in thanks they closed their ranks and kept it only for their own use, they basically thought and said that they were better than the world.
Today the Believer also has the revelation from God, how are you using it? The greatest sin in the world is to disobey the instructions of God the Father.
Also consider 1 Peter 2:6-9.

"6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: where unto also they were appointed.
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

Romans 11:25,26.

"25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:"