Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Matthew 21 Devotional Bible Study by Steve Wilson

Matthew 21

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

 

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[
a]

 

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large 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 shouted,

 

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”

 

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

 

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

 

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

 

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

 

Jesus at the Temple

12 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 benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]

 

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

 

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

 

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

 

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[
g]?”

 

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

 

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

 

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

 

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

 

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

 

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

 

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

 

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

 

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

 

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

 

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

 

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

 

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

 

“The first,” they answered.

 

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

 

The Parable of the Tenants

33 “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 watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

 

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

 

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

 

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

 

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

 

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

 

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[
h]?

 

43 “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. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i]

 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

 

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 21:5 Zech. 9:9
  2. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
  3. Matthew 21:9 Psalm 118:25,26
  4. Matthew 21:9 A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 15
  5. Matthew 21:13 Isaiah 56:7
  6. Matthew 21:13 Jer. 7:11
  7. Matthew 21:16 Psalm 8:2 (see Septuagint)
  8. Matthew 21:42 Psalm 118:22,23
  9. Matthew 21:44 Some manuscripts do not have verse 44.

 

Welcoming Our Victorious, Peaceful King


Matthew 21:1-11

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

 

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]

 

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large 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 shouted,

 

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”

 

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

 

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

 

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

 

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

 

The crowd 1) cuts down palm branches and waves them in celebration of Jesus' coming and 2) lays their cloaks down for Jesus' donkey to trample on.

 

This is a victory parade, where the King is riding into the capital city in peace. The people know how much Jesus has been doing the last three years and now they are celebrating His coming to them, fully expecting Him to become king.

 

This is how we should we welcome Jesus in our own lives. We should 1) recognize that Jesus is king, 2) celebrate His presence in our life each and every day, 3) throw our sins at His feet for Him to trample on, and 4) live in the victory that we now share in Him.

 

How can you give Jesus the respect He deserves as your King?

 

How can you make each day a celebration for His presence in your life and what He has done for you?

 

What does it mean for you to throw your sins at Jesus' feet and to have Him trample them?

 

How does your life change when you are living in His victory?

 

If we will respect Christ as King, celebrate Him, and give Him our sins, then He will come to each of us gently and deal with us graciously.

 

 

The Christian Den of Robbers

 

Matthew 21:12-17

12 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 benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[f]

 

14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

 

16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

 

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

 

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?”

 

17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

 

In this passage, Jesus is offended that people are making the Temple "a den of robbers" rather than a "house of prayer".

 

When I think of a robber, I think of someone who takes what they don't deserve, cheating others.

 

We need to make sure that as Christians, we’re not turning ministry into business. A traditional church needs money, and staff persons need to be paid for their time and effort. Christian musicians and authors and app developers and movie makers need funding to do what they do. But how much money going toward the people doing ministry is too much in the Lord’s sight? When does Christian “industry” become a “a den of robbers” rather than “a house of prayer”?

 

Neither Jesus nor Paul nor Peter nor any of the other Apostles were wealthy. In fact, they seemed to just scrape by trusting God for their daily bread. The point? If you want to do ministry, do ministry. If you want to be wealthy by this world’s standards, go get a job in the secular world.

 

 

Jesus’ Disturbing Words

Matthew 21:18-22

18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

 

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

 

21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

 


So, Jesus kills a tree because it didn't have any fruit on it for Him to eat when He was hungry. It's a bit disturbing to see Jesus lashing out like this and killing something, isn’t it? It does, however, give us a glimpse toward the judgment. When Jesus comes again, He will judge people for not doing what He wanted them to do, just as He judged the fig tree for not producing fruit like He wanted it to do. As the Creator God, Jesus has the right to demand that His will be followed in all of creation and to judge anything that does not follow His perfect, sovereign will.

 

Then, after Jesus curses the fig tree, He tells the disciples that they can accomplish anything if they have enough faith. This is another disturbing aspect of the story. How many people have ever moved mountains? How do you get the kind of faith Jesus was talking about?

 

First, faith comes from God. It is a spiritual gift. Christians should also be guided by the Holy Spirit in what they are praying for. If God tells you something is going to happen and you pray for that thing to happen, then you are putting your faith in what God has said, and because God wills it, the thing will be accomplished.

 

Take the moving mountain, for example. I would never randomly decide to rearrange the landscape to such a degree on my own initiative. But if God communicated to me that He was going to move a mountain, and I prayed for that mountain to move, then my prayer will have been answered because I put my faith in what God said and prayed accordingly.

 

The key to having your prayers answered is to get in tune with what God is doing or about to do and then pray accordingly. If you do, you will be privileged to have known about the event ahead of time and to see it happen.

 

 

How to Have a Teachable Heart

Matthew 21:23-27

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

 

24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

 

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

 

27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

 

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

 

Jesus refuses to answer the priests' question because they were not bold enough to give their true opinion. They were afraid of the people.

 

If we are seeking knowledge from Christ, we have to do two things. First, we have to be willing to be wrong. The priests had a wrong idea about John (that he was not from God) but wouldn't share that opinion. If they had, Jesus would have been able to teach them. If we want Christ to teach us, we have to be willing to be wrong. That takes humility.

 

Second, we need to be bold enough to forget human opinion and focus only on Christ. Again, if the priests were willing to give some answer instead of being intimidated by the crowd, they would have had the opportunity to learn.

 

To learn from Jesus, we need to approach Him boldly, forgetting others' opinions, and be willing to be corrected. Boldness mixed with humility. Courage mixed with a teachable heart.

 

 

Which Son Are You?

Matthew 21:28-32

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

 

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

 

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

 

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

 

“The first,” they answered.

 

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

 

The man had two sons, both of whom disobeyed him at one point or the other. If we apply this passage to ourselves, we can say that everyone is a child of God, and everyone disobeys Him at some point. But God gives everyone a chance to obey.

 

After the first son disobeyed, he repented. Jesus is teaching us that it's never too late to repent. God welcomes the penitent any time they decide to turn around and follow Him.

 

The second son said he would obey, but didn't, and this is where Jesus’ anger falls on the religious crowd around Him. God is more displeased with hypocrites, people who have said they will obey God, but then don't, than He is with those who have never made a commitment in the first place.

 

The question today is, Are you either of these sons? Have you refused to come to God until now, but find yourself now willing to obey Him and be welcomed by Him? Or are you the second son? Have you made a commitment to God, have you called yourself a Christian, but now need to live that commitment out more fully?

 

Everyone is God's child, and He welcomes into His favor all who repent and choose to obey His perfect and loving will.

 

 

Are You Listening?

Matthew 21:33-46

33 “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 watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

 

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

 

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

 

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

 

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

 

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

 

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[h]?

 

43 “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. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[i]

 

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

 

The landowner is God, the tenants are the Jews, the messengers are the prophets, and the son is Jesus. The tenants are punished because they disrespected the landowner and showed their rebellion by mistreating his messengers, just as the Israelites did with the prophets and, ultimately, Christ.

 

The landowner, God, tries multiple times to communicate with the tenants. It shows His love and grace toward them before finally having to punish them. My question is, How is God trying to communicate with you? How can you be more attentive to the times God is trying to get your attention? Are you respecting the people He is using to speak to you?

 

The tenants had a limited amount of time in which to repent and give the landowner the respect He deserved, and so do we. We never know when our life might end and we will be out of time.

 

 

 

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