MATTHEW 21:1-17 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” 12 And Jesus entered the temple[b] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.
Triumphal Entry
1. Jesus is entering like a King or Emperor would after a victory in battle. Usually a long army procession behind him, with his enemies in chains. People would gather to celebrate (often fabricated). King would ride a war horse, not a donkey.
2. Palm Branches were a sign of the kingdom of David (Israel) before the star of David. “Hosanna” literally means “save us now” or “save us we pray.”
3. This is a political act that no doubt gets Rome’s attention and the Jewish Leaders attention. Roman’s do not care if Jesus is a god, they are polytheistic, they have thousands.. But only one King or Lord and that is Caesar.
Jesus Enters the Temple
1. Money-changers converted other currencies for an excessive fee into half-shekel which Jewish men had to pay as tribute or temple tax.
2. Doves and Pigeons where allowed by God to be offered as sacrifice in place of a lamb for those who were poor or couldn’t afford a lamb. These were bought and sold at a huge mark up for a profit.
3. King Jesus is unmistakably asserting his Lordship over the temple by restoring proper or right worship back to the people of God. Jesus is not attacking Judaism, but the profane and perverted practice of profiteering and commercializing worship of God.
4. The result of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple is that those who were previously not allowed are now coming to him. The blind, lame and children are in the temple being healed. Jesus turns over the tables of moneychangers to make the temple a place of prayer, communion with God, healing, intercession, and proper worship.
The Cleansing Power of Jesus
1. We are now the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). We can have desires, motives and fears that pervert true worship of God. Fear often effects and redirects our worship.
2. Holiness is often thought of in terms of moral propriety (not cussing, being kind, etc) but miss the desires and motives of the heart that we have placed above God. (Security, wealth, comfort, success, etc)
3. Jesus desires to “wash us in the water of His word” (Eph. 5:26) as we “present our requests (concerns and fears) to God” (Phil. 4:6,7) and through communion with Him by the Spirit to give us the peace of God.
4. Restoring us to true worship which is obedience as God acts within us to “will and to do according to His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13)
5. As Jesus and this text shows us, true worship of God is to be about His business in our own lives and the lives of those around us.
The Healing Power of Jesus
1. Jesus cleanses in order to heal. He overturns the established order and invites the blind and lame, the sick and broken to come and be healed.
2. As God cleanses us, we must continue to be bring our broken, hurting and wounded parts to Jesus as an act of worship.
3. Jesus desires to make us- the New Testament temple of the Holy Spirit- an agent of His healing power to others around us. Remember in just a few days from this story of Jesus cleansing the temple, Jesus will offer the Lord’s Supper to his disciples. At the Lord’s table Judas eats too.
4. King Jesus restores right worship of God to God’s people, which is to bring the goodness of God to the broken and hurting around us.
Conclusion:
1. Jesus as King, in humility, cleanses and heals.
2. Holy Week reflections each day.
3. Good Friday is about God’s saving and reconciling power. Who does God want you to invite to the table to see what Jesus might do?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Pray about who to invite over on Good Friday. Invite them and see what God does!
Palm Sunday: Jesus the King
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable PDF file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: A shared meal could be the activity most closely tied to the reality of God’s kingdom, just as it is the most basic expression of hospitality. It comes as no surprise that many significant stories of Jesus are centered around a dinner table.
When Jesus wanted to explain to His disciples what his death was all about, he didn’t give them an informative lecture. He gave them a relational meal.
In a society that has grown so relationally disconnected, an invitation to Biblical hospitality might be one of the most compelling and irresistible aspects of Christianity. The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It’s about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.
Great encouragement comes from rehearsing God’s Word. It is God’s plan for us to spend time drawing close to His heart and hearing His voice together as a family. This is why we start each meeting with this question first:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Realize there is great power in just reading the Bible together and allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken his conversational nature in the group.
MATTHEW 21:1-17 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” 12 And Jesus entered the temple[b] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16 and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” 17 And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there. ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
Everywhere we go, we bring...
GP2RL: Pray about who to invite over on Good Friday. Invite them and see what God does!