Matthew 21

http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+21/

Jesus sent two disciples to Jerusalem ahead of Him. He told them where they would find a donkey tied up and waiting for them. If anyone questioned them, Jesus told them to tell that person that the Lord needed the donkey, and the questioner would understand. Jesus did this to fulfill a prophesy that said the king is coming to Israel, and He is gentle, riding a donkey. The disciples did as He told them, and when they brought back the donkey, they put their coats on its back for Jesus to sit on. When they entered the city, most of the people laid their coats down in front of Jesus. This act meant total submission. The people were giving up for Christ. Others took palm fronds (Palm Sunday) and laid them in the road. As He passed, the people shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" They were praising God and offering Him the highest glory. Even still, a week later they turned on Him and shouted for His death. Jesus is sometimes a societal fad. It can be all the rage to praise Him one day and the next day, worshipping Him can mean losing everything. Many people follow these fads because they follow the ways of the world, yet there are the few who will stand by Jesus no matter what because they know what He has done for them. The way you know which type you are is by weighting what you have. Would you give it all up, go to prison, and even die because of your faith?

Jesus goes into the temple courtyard, and what He sees upsets Him greatly. There is a full marketplace set up there in the courtyard. Jesus grows angry and flips over the moneychangers' tables and throws out the men who sell pigeons. He yells at them that the temple is supposed to be a house of prayer, but these people are soiling what the purpose is. They are thieves, overcharging and ripping people off in the Lord's name. That is not Godly behavior. While all this commotion occurs. the children begin to chant "Hosanna to the Son of David!" When the Pharisees hear this, they are angry, so they go out and ask Jesus if He hears what the children are saying. He says He does, and does His famous answer with a question by asking them if they;ve heard that from the mouths of children and infants, praise is created. Children cannot be nearly as two faced as adults. They do not curse God the moment after they praise Him. In His anger, Jesus stepped away and spent the night in the city called Bethany.

Jesus sees a fig tree and realizes that He is hungry, but as He approaches the tree, He sees that it has only leaves and no fruit. He grows angry with the tree for not doing the purpose it has been provided and condemns it that it will never bear fruit again. The tree quickly shrivels up and dies. When the disciples see this, they are amazed, and they ask how the tree died so quickly. Jesus told them that they can do the same thing to the tree that He just did if they have enough faith to. We could even tell a mountain to uproot itself and throw itself into the sea, and if we had enough faith, it would do so. Faith is the basis of Christ. If we have the faith, we can pray and whatever we ask to be done will be done for us. That is so much power, but I have yet to meet anyone who has the kind of faith it takes to tell a mountain to jump into the sea and see the results.

Jesus goes back into the temple courtyard and begins to teach. While He teaches, the Pharisees come up to Him and ask why He has the authority to do these things. He tells them He will answer their question if they answer His. He asks them if John's right to baptize came from Heaven or humans. The Pharisees debate this among themselves for a while. They decide if they say from Heaven, Jesus will ask them why they didn't follow Him, but if they say from humans, they are afraid of what the crowd might do because they thought John was a prophet. They finally conclude to answer that they do not know. Jesus tells them in that case, He will not tell them where His authority to teach comes from. Who are we as mere humans to question the authority of Jesus? He does not have to tell us where His authority comes from. Even if He did tell us, how could we possibly understand the things and ways of Heaven.

Jesus tells a parable about two sons. The father goes to the first son and tells him to go work in the vineyard. The son says he will not, but he later changes his mind and goes anyway. Then, the father goes to the second son and tells him to go work in the vineyard, and he replied yes, sir. Even so, he did not go. Jesus asks the Pharisees which of the two sons did his father's bidding, and they all replied the second son because he actually went and worked in the vineyard. Jesus tells them that they understand the concept, but failed in the application, and because of that, the tax collectors and prostitutes are more likely to go to Heaven. The Pharisees listened and tried to follow God, waiting for the Messiah to appear while the sinners went on sinning but entertained the notion. When John the Baptist, the one who made the way for Jesus, came, it was the sinners who recognized who he was, so they more easily recognized the Jesus is the Son of God. The Pharisees missed this.

Jesus tells yet another parable. He tells them of a vineyard owner who prepares his vineyard and leases it to workers, so the vineyard owner can go on a vacation. When the time comes for the grapes to be ready, the vineyard owner sends some servants, but the workers beat one, kill another, and stone yet another. The owner tries again, sending more servants, but they meet the same demise. Finally, the vineyard owner decides to send his son because he thinks the workers will respect his son, but when they see him coming, they decide to kill him, so they can take his inheritance. Jesus asks them what the vineyard owner will do when he returns, and the Pharisees say that he will kill the evil people. Again, they have the concepts but not the application. The servants are the prophets from the Old Testament. God sent them to bring the people back to God, but the leaders rejected them. Finally, He sent His Son, but they rejected and killed Him. JEsus tells them that the Son will become the cornerstone, and any who fall on Him wil be broken and any who He falls on will be crushed. The Pharisees are pretty mad about that because they know that He is talking about them. They want to arrest Him, but they are afraid that will upset the people since the people think He is a prophet.