Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: MATTHEW #33 - 21:1-11)
D. 21:1-11 THE JERUSALEM ENTRY
a. 21:1-2 JESUS ARRANGES HIS TRANSPORTATION
Kai HOte EGgi-san eis Ie-roSOlu-ma, kai ELthon eis Beth-phaGE,
And when they drew nigh to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage,
eis to Oros ton e-laiON [1636], TOte IeSOUS aPEstei-len DUo ma-theTAS,
to the mount of :Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
LEgon auTOIS, PoREUes-the eis ten KOmen [2968]ten kaTEnan-ti [2713]huMON,
2saying to them, Go into the village that is over against you,
kai euTHUS heuREse-te Onon de-deMEnen [1210], kai POlon [4454]met' auTES: LUsan-tes, aGAgeTE moi.
and straightway you shall find an ass tied and a colt with her: loosethem, andbring to me.
b. 21:3 WISDOM SHOULD A PROBLEM ARISE
kai eAN tis huMIN EIpeti, eREIte [HOti],
And if any onespeak anything to you, you shall say [that],
Ho KUri-os auTON CHREIan [5532]Echei; euTHUS de a-po-steLEI auTOUS.
The Lord has need of them; and straightway he will send them.
c. 21:4-5 THIS TO FULFILL SCRIPTURE
TOUto de GEgo-nen, HIna ple-roTHEto 'reTHEN diA tou proPHEtou, LEgon-tes,
Now this is come to pass, that itmight be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
EIpa-te tethu-gaTRI [2364]SiON, I-DOU, ho ba-siLEUS sou ERcheTAI soi,
5Tell you the daughter of Zion, Lo, your :King comes to you,
praUS [4239], kai e-pi-be-beKOS [1910]ePI Onon, kai ePI POlon, huiON hu-po-zuGIou [5268].
Gentle, and riding on an ass, And on a colt, foal of an ass.
d. 21:6-7 THE DISCIPLES COMPLY
po-reuTHENtes de hoi ma-theTAI, kai poiEsan-tes [4160]kaTHOS suNEta-xen [4367]auTOIS ho IeSOUS,
And the disciples went, and did even as :Jesus appointed them,
Ega-gon ten Onon, kai ton POlon, kai ePEthe-kan ep' auTON
7andbrought the ass, and the colt, and put on them
ta hiMAti-a [2440]; kai e-peKAthi-sen [1940] ePAno auTON.
theirgarments; and he sat on them.
e. 21:8 THE CROWD HONOR JESUS WITH THEIR GARMENTS
ho de PLEIstos OCHlos Estro-san [4766]he-auTON ta hiMAti-a
And the most part of the crowd spread their own :garments
en tehoDO; ALloi de Ekop-ton [2875]KLAdous [2798]aPO ton DENdron [1186]
in the way; and others were cutting branches from the trees
kai eSTRONnu-on [4766]en te hoDO.
and were spreading them in the way.
f. 21:9 ALL ISRAEL SHOULD MAKE THISRESPONSE
hoi de OCHloi hoi proAgon-tes auTON, kai hoi a-ko-louTHOUNtes, Ekra-zon [2896], LEgon-tes
And the crowds that went before him, and that followed, cried, saying
Ho-sanNA [5614] to huiO DauID:
Hosanna to David's Son:
eu-lo-geMEnos [2127] ho erCHOme-nos en oNOma-ti KuRIou; Ho-sanNA en tois huPSIstois [5310].
Blessed he that comes in theLord's name; Hosanna in the highest.
g. 21:10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, Who is this?
kai ei-selTHONtos auTOU eis Ie-roSOlu-ma, eSEISthe [4579] PAsa he POlis, LEgous-sa, TIS es-tin HOUtos?
h. 21:11 And the crowds said, This is the prophet, Jesus, the onefrom Nazareth of :Galilee.
hoi de OCHloi Ele-gon, HOU-TOS es-tin ho proPHEtes [4396], IeSOUS, ho aPO Na-zaRETH tes Ga-liLAIas.
NOTE: This launches the last week of Jesus' earthly ministry prior to His death, burial and Resurrection. Read Matthew 21-28 chapters; Mark 11-15 chapters; Luke 19-23 chapters; John 11-21 chapters; Acts chapter 1. From here we can indeed see that Jesus came to die! This portion of Scripture bears this out.
For the three years of 1949-52 while Marie and I attended seminary in Chicago, we sat under the ministry of Pastor Dr. D.A. (Scotchie) McCall of Tabernacle Baptist Church, where I served as Assistant pastor. Here is what he wrote concerning this Last Week and First Day of Jesus' Ministry:
“In some ways the last week of the ministry of Jesus on earth must have been the greatest week in the history of the world. The week begins Friday afternoon at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and ends a little over a week later with His ascension from the Mount of Olives.
“This last week is as great above other weeks as a century is above a second; as a river is above a rill; as a continent is above a corner; as the Bible is above other books.
“This last week - we have the music of all choirs; the quietness of the deep still pool; the veil behind which scorners dare not go; continents on which roses and lilies unroll their ruby hearts and white bosoms; all the sunshine of all the centuries; blackest darkness; love of God; hate of hell; scent of flowers; stinch of malice; blow of hardest hammer; wail of weeping women; sob of sorrowing ones; sound of the traitor's kiss. With apologies to Dr. Robert G. Lee.
“A week in which Jesus shows limitless love for His own - John 17; a week in which Jesus rebukes Judas for his penuriousness, and under the sting he goes out and bargains - rebukes him over “last” oil; oil running down over the body of Jesus as the dews of heaven; as tears of angels; were the 300 of the Thermopylae wasted? Dead of 1776? Stephen? Paul?
“Let us feed our hungry hearts upon him; He is the bread of life; the water of life; He is the strength of life.
“One-fourth of Matthew; one-third of Mark; one-fifth of Luke; and three-sevenths of John are given to the terms of this last week in the life of Jesus.
“Every church would do well to study at least once a year the events of this week.
“Read John 11:55; 12:1; 12:9-11. All eyes are upon Him. Lips are asking, “What will he do?” The Passover is a time of tumult when religion and patriotism ran at fever heat. Said some, “The time has come for Him to declare Himself - will He rescue the Jews?” These were the combustibles into which he threw the light of his life. There were those who loved Him devotedly. Some would die for Him. Many of these were the common people. Some came out of curiosity to see Jesus and to see Lazarus who had been raised from the dead.
“There were the Pharisees and the Chief Priests stalking Lazarus and stalking Jesus. These two stood in their way. They were willing to commit murder to get them out of the way. As vultures seeking carrion they had been waiting for Jesus to make a mistake that they might accuse Him. Jesus made no mistakes. Then they resorted to cunning and falsehood. Sometimes such may be seen in religious life today.
“As we walk with Jesus this week, if we hate we will leave it dead as we see what hate did to him: if lacking in love, God will fill it from His fountain of fullness, as we see what the Love of Christ in God did for us.
“Sunday is a day of triumph. Matthew 21:1-11, 14:17. Mark 11:1-11. Luke 19:29-44. John 12:12-19. Multitudes of the people are for Jesus. Pharisees and some others are against Jesus. He is to announce His Messiahship in the face of the opposition of His enemies.
“Jesus sends two disciples for the colt on which to ride. Note the scarcity of some things mentioned in the Bible. The ages of only two women are told, and God told that. The women did not tell it. Only once did Jesus write, and he rubbed that out. He only rode once and then not in a chariot of war neither on a graceful horse but upon a colt. It was a colt whereon no man ever sat. Jesus traveled many new roads, as the virgin birth, forty days of temptation, living without sin, victories over dead, devils, and disease.
“Please note that no detail in the program of the Kingdom of God is too minute to be left out. He notes the sparrow's fall, and the hairs of our heads are numbered.
The colt was first a symbol of peace. Solomon said the horse is a symbol of war. The Gospel of Jesus is one of peace in the soul, in the home, in the life, and in the emotions. Second, the colt is a symbol of close intimacy with folks. He did not ride above them that they might kiss a ring on his toe. He did not use a horse in riding over them leading to destruction and carnage. He felt the heart beat of the people. Third, it was a visible pronouncement of principles of the Kingdom. Armyless and Navyless, but triumphant and victorious,
The colt was borrowed.
“They borrowed a bed to lay his head when the Christ the Lord came down;
They borrowed the ass in the mountain pass for him to ride to town;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own.
“He borrowed the bread when the crowd he fed on the grassy mountain side;
He borrowed the dish of broken fish with which he satisfied;
Though the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore -
Were his own.
“He borrowed a ship in which to sit to talk to the multitude;
He borrowed the nest in which to rest, he had never a home so crude;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own.
“He borrowed a room on his way to the tomb - the Passover lamb to eat;
They borrowed a cave for him a grave; they borrowed a winding sheet; -
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own.
“The thorns on his head were worn in my stead; for me the Savior died;
For the guilt of my sin the nails drove in, when him they crucified;
But the crown that he wore and the cross that he bore
Were his own - they were rightly mine.”
As Jesus rides along they spread branches before Him. Jehu had a procession when he was anointed King. 2 Kings 9:13. When Alexander went into Babylon, roses were spread before him. As David returned from a campaign, he was met by women dancing and shouting. A Persian King had gobbets of sugar broken before him for three miles. Never had one such a procession as went before and with Jesus shouting, “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.”
Who was shouting: Maybe those who had been healed; maybe one of the ten lepers cleansed; maybe the woman of Sychar; maybe the daughter of Jairus, or the son of the widow, as both had been raised from the dead.
At times it is good to see people get wrought up about Jesus. The pulpit sometimes loses its fire because of the ice plant in front. People get excited in a ballgame or political rally, then go to church and sit like a tombstone with the epitaph already written. Never was there a day when the blue was deeper, the light brighter, or spirit more buoyant; still the icy hearts of the Pharisees remained. What did they care about healing and saving?
Thus, first, we have the triumphant entry.
Second, we have the carping, criticizing Pharisees.
Third, we have Jesus closing the day healing and helping and happy. He returns to Bethany.
What is to be the outcome of it? His broken heart? The joy of the multitudes? the hatred of His enemies?
We shall see!
“Now the day is over, Night is drawing nigh, Shadows of the evening steal across the sky.”