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Matthew Chapter 21
- Matthew 21:1 And when they
drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the
mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two 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.
- 3 And if any man
say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them;
and straightway he will send them.
God supplies the need, not always the
wants in spite of the teaching going about today. Actually we really
do not want to receive all our wants because the flesh does not
always want what would turn out to be the best.
God prepared animals
for the Lord's use. He prepared the heart of the owners to be
willing to lend these animals to Christ at the right time to fulfill
scripture.
- Matthew 21:4 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.
This was found in Zechariah.
-
Zechariah 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.
At the Second coming of Christ it will be
different. He will come with power instead of humility. He came the
first time to make an offering of Himself for the sin of mankind. He
will come a Second time to take rule over the earth and none shall
stop Him.
- Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened,
and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
- 12 His eyes were as a flame of
fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written,
that no man knew, but he himself.
- 13 And he was clothed with a
vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
- 14 And the armies which were in
heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white
and clean.
- 15 And out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall
rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
- 16 And he hath on his vesture and
on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
He came the first time in meekness, born
of a poor ordinary family. He will come the second time as King and
none shall prevent this from occurring. Our part is to be ready.
Will He say to us, "Depart from me" or "Well done".
- Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- 22 Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have
cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
- 23 And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
This is not what we want to hear when we
see the Lord rather the verse below is what our goal should be.
-
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well
done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord.
When things begin to come to pass, it will
come quickly. We don't know the day or the hour because the Lord
wants every generation to be alert and on their guard spiritually.
-
Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and
my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall
be.
Rewards are for faithful service and
obedience.
-
Revelation 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have
set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast
a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my
name.
It is our choice and we must make that
choice now without delay. We must remember the importance of keeping
the word and commandments Jesus gave and never deny His name or
authority that was given to Him by God the Father. Sometimes
when we think of rewards for service, we think only of good deeds to
fellow humans but keeping His word and trusting in His salvation are
first and foremost.
- Matthew 21:6 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.
- 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.
- 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.
God deserves our praise at all times. We
should never try to suppress true heart felt worship toward God.
Surely if we are silent, the rocks may cry out. I love it when the
whole congregation sings in
praise and worship when they together in
His name. The whole congregation should lift up their voices in
praise and singing. I prefer this to special singing or just
listening to someone else sing but that is just my preference. I get
more out of a service if everyone is singing together. I
receive joy just by worshiping with a multitude praising God.
-
Matthew 21:10 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.
We see here a positive and a negative
side of our Lord. He was not all positive and upbeat. There are
times when He had to correct.
- Matthew 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.
We like to take these passages and sort
of dumb them down to mean something else other than what Jesus said.
We need to make sure the place we set
aside to worship God is a place of prayer first, teaching the word
and worshiping God in spirit and in truth. That should always be the
main priority, making sure that we don't become a place of business
and profit instead.
- 2Peter 2:1 But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall
be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction.
- 2 And many
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of
truth shall be evil spoken of.
- 3 And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of
you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their
damnation slumbereth not.
We want to make sure that we do not make
merchandise of the gospel. Some have excused these passages saying
that the modern day church is not the temple in Jerusalem, but the
church buildings we build for worshipping God is like a temple in
that it was built for the purpose of worship, teaching the word and
prayer. I realize that in Christ, we become the temple of God and
the true church is us, the believers in Christ, but still setting
aside a special place to gather for worship should be a place that
is separate from the concerns and cares of the world. A place of
refuge for example.
- John 2:14 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.
We must be very careful not to fleece
the flock of God.
- Acts 20:29 For I know
this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in
among you, not sparing the flock.
- 30 Also of your
own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away disciples after them.
- 31 Therefore
watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased
not to warn every one night and day with tears.
- 32 And now,
brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance
among all them which are sanctified.
- 33 I have
coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
I realize that the scriptures above
from Acts means mostly spiritual as well and material fleecing and
that did happen as we read church history we discover that. This can come from two directions. Someone coming in and drawing
followers and splitting churches or it can come from the leadership
when one man runs the show and becomes a tyrant lording over the
flock. All leadership should have accountability.
- Matthew 21:14 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?
Religious people who are married to
their own traditions and rules do not like true worship in spirit
and in truth.
We have been so afraid of fanaticism
that we have forbidden people to worship freely. While we need godly
order, strict control over the worship services can become routine
and lack true worship from within us. I realize we can't be praying
out loud when the anointed fervent message is given by the speaker
or pastor, but there are times when we must yield to the will of the
Holy Spirit when He leads us to do something outside the box.
People need to worship God who are not
paid or trained to be part of the program. Some churches have
forbidden some to refrain from speaking with tongues. Paul warned us not to do that.
Tongues are praise just as much as praying in a language we
understand. When it's time to bring a message for all to understand,
then and then only are we to be silent. Praise and worship either
praying in tongues or in a known language should never be forbidden
by the whole congregation. We need to worship. In saying all this I
will add that some dear souls do worship quietly and we must not
make the quiet ones feel like they don't have the spirit of God. Some cry,
some shout, some speak with tongues, and some prophesy. We are not
to suppress any true worship. When it's prayer time, we pray,
when it's time to sing, we sing but when it's time to listen to what
God is laying on someone's heart, we listen.
- Matthew 21:17 And he left
them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged
there.
- 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.
- 20 And when the
disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig
tree withered away!
The fig tree represented Israel as a nation
that in the time Christ walked the earth and dwelt among them, they
did not bring forth fruit by believing on Him at that time. They
will in the latter days but at that time they had Him crucified. A
church can have the same thing happen to them that could bring a
curse. We can name His name but not bring forth the fruit of
repentance, godliness and live according to what He teaches.
We are to bring forth godly fruit. True
conversion to Jesus Christ will bring forth fruit. It will change
lives. Married couples who are both believers should never be
divorcing. Business men should not cheat or steal to gain a profit.
Vengeance and hatred do not belong in our spirit. The fruit of the
spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance which is self control. We
can't expect new converts to be perfect overnight but there should
be some change in their lives if they are abiding in the vine. We
can read about this in John 15.
- Matthew 21:21 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.
When we are walking in the spirit and
not the flesh, we would not ask for selfish things but those things
which glorify God. True faith is something we receive from God. We
will not ask for things out of the will of God because that kind of
faith would not be given to us. We should start praying with faith
expecting to receive without doubting in our hearts. The prayer of
faith will save the sick and if they have sinned, it shall be
forgiven them.
- 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?
- 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?
- 26 But if we shall
say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a
prophet.
How many of us have to watch our words
because we fear what those listening will think if we say the wrong
things?
- Matthew 21:27 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 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.
The harlots and publicans were similar
to the the son that refused to go and work in the vineyard but later
repented and went to work. They lived a life of sin at first but
when they heard the gospel, they repented and accepted the way of
righteousness. The religious Pharisees and scribes say outwardly
that they will do the works of righteousness but they do it not in
reality. Their religion is only outward to be seen of men. They have
no fruits of love and godliness.
We can compare the Jews and Gentiles of
that day. The Jews, especially the religious Jews said outwardly
that they would serve the Lord but they rejected the Lord when He
came. The Gentiles were heathen nations that said no to God at first
but later when when heard the gospel, they believed.
In this latter day we see the tide
turning back. The Jews in part are returning to the Lord and the
Gentiles are returning back to their heathen roots. During the
tribulation period we will see the whole nation of Israel saved and
the Gentile nations judged by God. Individual believers among
both Jews and Gentiles will not be judged of course. Jesus is the
way out of judgment. We all need to be covered by the righteousness
of Christ to inherit eternal life and escape the wrath of God coming
upon the wicked.
- Matthew 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.
- 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?
- 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 nation that rejected Jesus is set
aside and other heathen nations that repented and believed are given
the vineyard. This is only until the latter days when
Israel returns to the Lord. This parable shows though the rejection
of Christ by the Jewish people of that day which caused the gospel
to go to the Gentiles.
God sent to them Moses, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others. He then sent John the Baptist.
Last of all He sent His own Son.
- Matthew 21:42 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 kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
- 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.
This is what exactly happened to that
whole nation. They were completely destroyed as a nation in 70 AD
not to regain it until 1948. This is given as a warning to those who
rejected Christ in that day. It is not given to the Gentiles to
gloat and persecute Israel. Israel will be grafted back into their
own vine the very day they repent and believe in Jesus Christ and
recognized Him as the true Messiah that God sent to save them from
sin.
- Matthew 1:20 But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost.
- 21 And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins.
Jesus was that stone the original
builders rejected but He has become the head cornerstone of the
kingdom of God. Judgment will fall upon those that reject the
salvation provided for by the death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ
for the sin of all mankind. DC
Matthew 22
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