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. 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. 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. 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.
Matthew quotes Zechariah as fulfilled by this event in Christ’s
ministry;
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.
See how they strew branches in Jesus’ path, a token of the Feast
of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:40 and garments in his path as in 2Kings 9:13.
Leviticus 23:40 And ye
shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm
trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall
rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
2Kings 9:13 Then they
hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the
stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem causes quite a stir and a multitude
acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah to come. Several
declarations are made here. He is the Son of David who comes in the name of the
Lord. He is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth.
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. 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? 17 And he left them, and went out of the city
into Bethany; and he lodged there.
The event that starts this passage is said by John, or so it
appears, to have happened earlier than Matthew shows. It is not unusual for
memories of events in the past shared by different people to have some small
differences. In fact, eyewitness testimony that is a hundred percent identical
would be suspicious. Of course, there could have been two separate instances of
this happening as well.
Jesus, in purging the temple, quotes Old Testament passages.
Isaiah 56:7 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 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.
In response to the complaint of the chief priests and scribes
Jesus will allude to the following;
Psalm 8:2 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.
Jesus is not acting as a politician, nor is He acting as a
revolutionary. He is asserting God’s intentions by what He has established,
which the religious leaders have ignored in creating their own edifice upon
which to justify their power.
He roots out corruption, helps the helpless, and reproves the
religious elite for their unbelief as the people call Him the Messiah.
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