March 2nd, 2023
by Jon Welch
by Jon Welch
Two needed attributes
As Jesus makes His way from Jericho to Jerusalem, He is about to receive an incredible gift from the Father– a king’s welcome into the Holy City. It is a day of celebration and great emotion. What will happen as Jesus enters Jerusalem?
Read Luke 19:28-48; Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-26; John 12:12-19
As you study these passages, how do you visualize the energy of this moment?
How did Jesus respond to these crowds?
What is the feeling as Jesus enters Jerusalem?
What are the different groups saying about Jesus?
A prophecy given hundreds of years earlier is being fulfilled before these young leaders’ eyes: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, Your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9) The king has arrived and shouts fill the air, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and Glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:36). Others shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David! Blessed is the King of Israel!”
All of those praises are being lifted, filling the air! A line of people stretched from the entrance of Jerusalem to the descent of the Mount of Olives. There were so many thousands of people in this line that the Pharisees said to each other, “Look how the whole world has gone after him!” (John 12:19). Of course, you know how the story ends. So how does a crowd of hundreds of thousands shout praises one day and “Crucify Him!” only six days later?
Don’t miss what John adds to his description of the ride into the city. John says that as they approached the city, Jesus began to weep as he looked upon it. Then Jesus gives a prophecy just as He did three years ago. Last time the prophecy was about the temple of His body. This time the prophecy is about the physical temple and city of Jerusalem. Jesus says, “They will dash you on the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44). Jesus pronounces judgment on the city for their unbelief. This prophecy of Jesus came true in 70AD when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem and tore down the temple and city walls.
Jesus parades into Jerusalem on a donkey. What an entrance for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The people shout back, throwing their coats, cutting branches from the trees along the way, and spreading them on the road. The Bible says that “when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘who is this?’ the crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matt. 21:10-11). Jesus enters the temple, and what does he see but the same scene from three years earlier. The people are again selling doves and exchanging money. Jesus responds similarly by driving them out of the temple and turning over the money changers’ tables. But this time, he adds, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13), quoting from two Old Testament passages, Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. It is evident from Jesus’ response that they were taking advantage once again of the poor and the foreigners. The poor bought the doves because they couldn’t afford to use lambs as sacrifices (Leviticus 5:7). The foreigners were the ones changing money because they charged a poll tax to enter the temple and would only take them Jewish money. They did not want money with Caesar’s picture on it, thus forcing those coming from great distances to exchange their money, most likely at a poor exchange rate.
The people had come seeking to pray and to worship the one true God, and others had chosen to seize the opportunity to take advantage of them. To make it worse, the two groups they had decided to take advantage of were the poor and foreigners. Throughout the Old Testament, God warned the people of taking advantage of these same groups!
Jesus responds passionately and deliberately by shutting down these businesses. Remember the last time He had done this, years earlier a the beginning of His ministry? Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days” (John 2:19). Had they been listening? Jesus’ words are about to come true at this Passover because Jesus is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).
Two things stand out to me from this passage; Passion for God’s name and compassion for His people.
Do you have a true passion for God’s name? How is it displayed? Would anyone know?
Do you have compassion for God’s people? Those who are poor? The foreigner?
Passion and compassion are two needed attributes of a disciple of Jesus.
Read Luke 19:28-48; Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-26; John 12:12-19
As you study these passages, how do you visualize the energy of this moment?
How did Jesus respond to these crowds?
What is the feeling as Jesus enters Jerusalem?
What are the different groups saying about Jesus?
A prophecy given hundreds of years earlier is being fulfilled before these young leaders’ eyes: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, Your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9) The king has arrived and shouts fill the air, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and Glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:36). Others shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our Father David! Blessed is the King of Israel!”
All of those praises are being lifted, filling the air! A line of people stretched from the entrance of Jerusalem to the descent of the Mount of Olives. There were so many thousands of people in this line that the Pharisees said to each other, “Look how the whole world has gone after him!” (John 12:19). Of course, you know how the story ends. So how does a crowd of hundreds of thousands shout praises one day and “Crucify Him!” only six days later?
Don’t miss what John adds to his description of the ride into the city. John says that as they approached the city, Jesus began to weep as he looked upon it. Then Jesus gives a prophecy just as He did three years ago. Last time the prophecy was about the temple of His body. This time the prophecy is about the physical temple and city of Jerusalem. Jesus says, “They will dash you on the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:44). Jesus pronounces judgment on the city for their unbelief. This prophecy of Jesus came true in 70AD when Titus destroyed the city of Jerusalem and tore down the temple and city walls.
Jesus parades into Jerusalem on a donkey. What an entrance for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The people shout back, throwing their coats, cutting branches from the trees along the way, and spreading them on the road. The Bible says that “when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘who is this?’ the crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Matt. 21:10-11). Jesus enters the temple, and what does he see but the same scene from three years earlier. The people are again selling doves and exchanging money. Jesus responds similarly by driving them out of the temple and turning over the money changers’ tables. But this time, he adds, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (Matthew 21:13), quoting from two Old Testament passages, Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. It is evident from Jesus’ response that they were taking advantage once again of the poor and the foreigners. The poor bought the doves because they couldn’t afford to use lambs as sacrifices (Leviticus 5:7). The foreigners were the ones changing money because they charged a poll tax to enter the temple and would only take them Jewish money. They did not want money with Caesar’s picture on it, thus forcing those coming from great distances to exchange their money, most likely at a poor exchange rate.
The people had come seeking to pray and to worship the one true God, and others had chosen to seize the opportunity to take advantage of them. To make it worse, the two groups they had decided to take advantage of were the poor and foreigners. Throughout the Old Testament, God warned the people of taking advantage of these same groups!
Jesus responds passionately and deliberately by shutting down these businesses. Remember the last time He had done this, years earlier a the beginning of His ministry? Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days” (John 2:19). Had they been listening? Jesus’ words are about to come true at this Passover because Jesus is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).
Two things stand out to me from this passage; Passion for God’s name and compassion for His people.
Do you have a true passion for God’s name? How is it displayed? Would anyone know?
Do you have compassion for God’s people? Those who are poor? The foreigner?
Passion and compassion are two needed attributes of a disciple of Jesus.
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It’s hard to have passion and compassion if we don’t spend time with Jesus. The more we fast, pray and read the Word, we start to see through God’s eyes and care for the things He does. He humbles us through fasting, prayer and the Word and then we become more passion and compassion for God and people.
There are just a lot of things we can’t see clearly until we are truly seeking Jesus! That’s some of the reason we can’t stay luke warm. When we stay in sin our eyes are never clear. That’s why we have to spend time in the Word and ask the Holy Spirit to help us love and comprehend the Word, so we can practice it and live it out.
Give us boldness to teach and preach your word in and out of season, ( not like the fig tree) and Lord not to let society or peer pressure silence what we know to be true. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.