Triumphal Entry
Jesus arrives at Jerusalem at the start of this chapter [Matthew 21:1-11]. As He and the entourage reached Bethphage Jesus sent two disciples ahead to a nearby village to acquire an ass and her colt for His use. He assured that if anybody asked what they were doing, they should simply say that the Lord needed them and they would be permitted to borrow them. This was done to fulfill the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 .
The multitudes spread their garments in the way of Christ's passage and cut down branches for trees to spread before the colt and ass. They went before Him shouting Hosanna to the Son of David and Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
In modern day, the word Hosanna has become a term associated with praise and deliverance. But it is useful to note that at that point in time it was a phrase that meant Please save or Please deliver. While Jesus did come to do exactly that with respect to sin, I'm afraid that most of the multitude who were shouting those phrases then were instead pleading for Him to deliver them from the rule of the Romans. I think this would go a long way in explaining how easy it was for the crowd to turn against Him once He was clearly under Roman court conviction.
When He got to Jerusalem, many in the city wanted to know who was making such a grand entrance, probably not seen or heard of in those days outside of a Roman general or Caesar doing a triumphal entry. The multitude who accompanied Jesus replied he was the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee but didn't go so far as to proclaim Him as the Messiah.
Although Nazareth was where He was from, if He'd have been identified as having been born in Bethlehem, it might have been a better identification for anyone who didn't know who He was destined to be. At least the disciples apparently had kept quiet after the transfiguration and Jesus' conversations about who they thought He was.
Joining in a procession was one thing. But anyone watching from Jerusalem would have been confounded by people taking off their outer cloaks to have many animals and people walk all over them. Even cutting down tree branches would have seemed odd. It was a perfectly good road, after all, that many had just walked or rode down themselves. And due to the Passover, it was probably covered with at least a certain amount of animal waste - to put it politely.
Jerusalem at that time had anywhere from 20,000 to 70,000 permanent residents (estimates generally range to the mid to higher portion of that range). But during major pilgrimage events like Passover which was only a few days away, the population would double or triple. The people would come from all over both Israel and the rest of the world where Jews had traveled and set up life.
It is very likely that many of the visitors to Jerusalem at that time might not have heard as much about Jesus as the permanent residents would have. Most, or possibly all, of the visitors would have been Roman subjects.
Casting out Moneychangers
In Matthew 21:12-14, we see the only recorded instance where Jesus did something about the evil that He saw. I'm sure that many things that happened around Him during His life offended Him. But the only time His anger was allowed to be expressed was when He went to the temple of God and saw the moneychangers selling doves for those who came from outside Jerusalem for Passover.
He said they had turned the house of God into a den of thieves, so I suspect that they had inflated their prices to make an additional profit at the expense of the Jews who were coming for Passover. Jesus said that His house was declared to be a house of prayer [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11]. As people who were sick came into the temple, he healed them whether they were lame or blind.
The church needs to get back to these fundamentals. When Jesus or the disciples went into the Jewish meeting places (temple or meeting houses) of their day, they taught. They also healed. They didn't try to cheat the people, and in fact most disciples went out of their way to provide for their own expenses by finding jobs to do in the community where they were ministering - probably not universally done, but a characteristic of the main disciples.
It is true that the church still teaches. But most churches don't teach as much as they once did. When I was growing up, there was a Sunday School class, Sunday morning service, Sunday evening service, and mid-week service. Today, that same church has one Sunday school class for the old folks (although it is open to anyone), a Sunday morning service, and groups that meet for less formal review of that Sunday morning service. There are short run courses on other topics, but no long term teaching sessions. The kids still have mid week or Sunday night services they can attend, but there isn't any other meeting where everyone outside of the kids attend. I suspect we are not out of the ordinary. And I do realize that much of the reduction in offerings comes from a lack of attendance and volunteer staffing on the part of the church members.
With the reduction of Christian teaching in our society, the societal mores have slipped steadily. Things that would have been completely hidden away in shame when my grandparents were around are now paraded in the streets. Subject matter that would have been only available in back alley locations in larger cities in the past is available at a click on the internet. People have stopped fearing God. They don't see Him at work, even in the churches that claim to be Christian often enough. And much that is now being allowed in some branches of denominations is flat out against the Bible. What we believe about it doesn't matter at all to God.
If there are any pastors, priests, deacons or elders reading this page I'd like you to contemplate long and hard about what Jesus would do if He came into your church or cathedral today. If you're in an exalted spot like the Vatican, I'd like you to contemplate what Jesus would say about what He found there (substitute your own denominations central headquarters like Springfield for the A/G in place of the Vatican for other denominations).
I could give a lot of examples, but I want you to get really close to God and let Him talk to you about it. Is teaching a focus? Are you filled with thieving moneychangers (or similar problems)? Are you helping to do God's work through all the gifts of the Spirit on such a routine basis that you are attracting multitudes?
If you are not in a position of authority in a church, pray for your church to have its leaders and all members baptized in the Holy Spirit. Pray for unity in the body. Pray that God will set right what is being done wrong or has been done wrong in the past. There is great healing and repair of reputation that must be done on a spiritual level in every church before the world is going to care about Christianity to any great extent again.
I truly think that God wants all denominations to be fixed. That doesn't mean that every denomination has to be identical. Different people and different age groups will be attracted to different worship service formats, and there is plenty of room for different organizations in the church so that everyone will have a place they feel comfortable and enjoy being.
But every church in every denomination needs to get back to the basics. If you become a house of prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your midst, and remove corruption, you won't have to be trying to figure out a new outreach program to try to increase your declining numbers. You won't have to pander to sin to make people feel included and come in. Preach the Word with signs following [Mark 16:20].
Get the church back to being the church of Jesus and they will come - to misquote Field of Dreams like everyone else does. If you don't see any hope of change where you are attending, pick a different church or a different denomination. Do it with prayer. I'd suggest a Pentecostal and evangelical church if you want to see or hear God working [A/G Directory]. The chances are probably higher there than in other denominations.
But pray about where you should end up. Many evangelical or Pentecostal churches have gone to more modern worship service formats (sigh/grumble from an ex choir tenor- hey points for honesty), but if you want to see God at work, right now at least, those are the places to be. I hope that it won't always be so. But realize that God may tell you to stay put and fix what is broken where you now attend.
Jealousy of the Chief Priests
When the chief priests saw the healing that was being done by Jesus and the accolades of the people, they were "sore displeased" [Matthew 21:15-16]. Jealousy is a rough reality in life. Pride and jealousy have done a lot of damage in religion, and the damage is ongoing. I suspect that with each split of the church there has been a great deal of jealousy if the new split seems to be doing well and pride that keeps both the portion that remains from seeing what is working in the split off group and adapting, along with pride in the split off group that they made the right choice to leave. Such feelings aren't new. You can look all the way back to the pride and jealousy of Satan for proof.
When Jesus was praised, they flat out asked Jesus about the people lifting up His name in praise. Jesus quotes Psalms 8:2 in response, which probably infuriated them even more.
Pride and jealousy are still a thing. If God is moving in some church in your community, rejoice! Find out what they are doing right and change yourselves to be more like where Christ is moving. And to be clear, I'm not measuring success by number of seats filled on Sunday. I'm measuring success by God's supernatural work. If that is happening (from the gifts of the Spirit to Spirit led sermons that touch people's Holy Spirit prepared hearts) that is how you measure success. Success like that will grow any church, regardless of the denomination you belong to. Of course, some aspects of what I've just suggested might get you thrown out of your denomination if they don't believe the Holy Spirit baptism is for today. But that's another sermon [Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2].
The Fig Tree
After leaving the temple, they returned to Bethany where they lodged. The next morning Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree by the side of the road [ Matthew 21:17-22]. It didn't have figs, but evidently should have. Jesus cursed the tree that it shouldn't have figs ever again, and the next day the disciples saw that the tree had withered away. They were shocked, but Jesus replied that with faith, literally anything that wasn't against the will of God was possible. If a mountain needed to be cast into the sea (can't think of any reason why this would be needed, but even so) it would be done with faith.
All things that are in God's will - either explicit or permissive - can be received if asked in prayer with faith. Limits on this include verse like James 4:3, but the general concept is correct. Trust and believe in the promises of God and seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower you. God's desire for you is nothing less than that Jesus expressed to the disciples [Acts 1:4-5,8].
Jesus' Authority Questioned
The Question and Response
When Jesus arrived at the temple again and was teaching the people, the religious and civil bosses showed up and wanted to know who gave Jesus the authority to do anything (teaching and working miracles and healing, presumably) [Matthew 21:23-27]. Jesus knew they were trying to trap Him, so He agreed to answer their question if they would answer His. He didn't give them a chance to agree or disagree, but immediately asked what they thought of John's baptism, whether it was of God or of men?
I imagine there were a few more curse words that went through the minds of the elders and priests than the Bible records. They knew they had been asked an even better question to trap them than they had come up with to ask Jesus. If they answered man, they knew the people would be upset as they considered John a prophet. If they answered God, then Jesus would ask why they didn't believe Him. So they said we can't tell, and Jesus replied that He wouldn't answer their question either (at least directly). He then told a couple of parables that did really provide the answer though.
The Man with Two Sons
He starts with the story of a man with two sons [Matthew 21:28-32]. The man told the first so to go and work in the vineyard, but the son refused. Afterward, he repented of his poor decision and went to work. After the man had the first son refuse, he went and told the second son to go and work in the vineyard and the second son said he would, but decided not to go after committing to go. When Jesus asked which had done the will of the father, even the elders and priests had to say that the first one who ended up going did the will of the father.
Jesus then explains the story to them in very direct terms. He said that the publicans and harlots (people of low estate in the minds of the elite of the day) would be entering into the kingdom of God before the elite who came to question Him would. They had refused to believe John but the publicans and harlots believed him. When they saw the ministry of John, the didn't repent of what they initially thought that they might believe the truths John was teaching.
The Householder who Left His Vineyard to Husbandmen
Jesus then told the story of the house owner and his vineyard [Matthew 21:33-41]. The owner planted a vineyard, protected it, built a winepress to handle the eventual crops, and let it out to people who would take care of it for a fee. The man then went far away. When it came time for harvest, the man sent servants to get the fruits of the harvest. The husbandmen beat one servant, killed another, and stoned a third.
He then sent more servants than the firs time and the husbandmen did the same thing to them. He then sent his son, thinking the son would be reverenced, but they caught and slew the son as well. Jesus asked what the owner should do to the husbandmen.
The chief priests and elders declared that obviously he would destroy those wicked people and give his vineyard to other people who would treat it properly and give him the fruits of his vineyard in the proper time.
The Corner Stone
Jesus then explains the parable to the priests and elders because He wanted to be sure they got the message [Matthew 21:42-44]. He starts with Psalms 118:22 which speaks of a stone that the builders rejected becoming the chief corner stone. He prophesied that whatever stone would fall on Him would be broken, and whatever stone He fell on He would grind to powder.
As you think back about this parable, think back to the Old Testament, and how many prophets God sent to Israel and Judah over the years to try to straighten out the people and turn them back to God when they went astray. They are the servants in the above story. Likewise, the son was Christ Himself.
The Effect of the Parables
When they heard the parables and His explanations, they saw that he was speaking directly of their actions. They didn't like it and sought to lay hands on Him to destroy [Matthew 21:45-46], but were afraid of the multitude who had heard everything they and Christ had said and probably had also drawn the same conclusions the high priests and elders had drawn.
Something that wasn't really brought out in the parable as it wasn't the primary point was that the son was more important to the father than any part of the crop. Jesus is more important than any program you want to implement. If you want church growth, be Jesus focused guided by the Holy Spirit.