The Gospel According to
Matthew 21
46 verses≈ 8 min4 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
The Triumphal Entry
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples,
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Stylised map · locations approximate
Where it happened
Over the Mount of Olives
Coming up from Jericho, pilgrims crossed the Mount of Olives through Bethphage and Bethany. From the top of the ridge the whole city and its temple came into view across the Kidron Valley, less than a mile away.
This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”
When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves.
And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
From the mouths of children and infants
Matthew 21:16
Reflect
Who came to Him
When Jesus cleared the temple, “The blind and the lame came to Him,” and children filled the courts shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” The important men were indignant. The people with nothing to lose drew near. What keeps you from coming to Jesus as simply as they did?
The Barren Fig Tree
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to the city, He was hungry.
Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “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.
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Question
Quick question
Jesus walked up to a fig tree by the road, found nothing but leaves, and spoke to it.
In Matthew’s account, when did the fig tree wither?
Jesus’ Authority Challenged
When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him.
Chief priests & scribes
“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You this authority?”
Jesus
“I will also ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?”
Jewish elders
They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all regard John as a prophet.”
Chief priests & scribes
So they answered, “We do not know.”
Jesus
And Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Caught both ways
Whiteboard
The leaders did not ask what was true. They asked what each answer would cost them. Both roads led somewhere they did not want to go, so they chose not to answer at all.
The Parable of the Two Sons
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.
For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Live it
Which son?
One son said “I will not,” and then “changed his mind and went.” The other said “I will, sir,” and never went. Jesus cares less about the right words than about the walk that follows them. Where have you said yes to God without going? What would it look like to go today?
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants
Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. Then he rented it out to some tenants and went away on a journey.
When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit. But the tenants seized his servants. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Again, he sent other servants, more than the first group. But the tenants did the same to them.
Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Jesus
Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard returns, what will he do to those tenants?”
Chief priests & scribes
“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.”
Jesus 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’?
Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
0:25
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
Matthew 21:42
When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them. Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.
Pray
The cornerstone
The leaders rejected Jesus, but God made Him “the cornerstone,” and “it is marvelous in our eyes.” Thank Him that the stone the builders threw away is the One your life can rest on. Ask Him to make your life a vineyard that gives Him its fruit.
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Matthew 21
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A verse to carry with you
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Matthew 21:9
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