29: Entry into Jerusalem (Mt 21:1-22)

I.       The Basics

A.     Setting

As the Lord Jesus went into Jerusalem, he also entered the final week of His ministry. He came to the city on a donkey in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy about the King of peace, and the multitudes welcomed Him with shouts of praise. But this short-lived adoration would soon be overshadowed by an ever-increasing animosity.

B.     Key Verse

            “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey’” (21:5).

C.     Did You Know…?

1.       Bethphage (21:1):…lay on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives. ^6/437The name means “house of figs.” It is not mentioned in the OT, and in the NT only in connection with the Triumphal Entry. ^8/1469

2.       Mount of Olives (21:1): Olivet, or the Mount of Olives, is a small range of four summits, the highest being 2,723 feet, which overlooks Jerusalem and the TempleMount from the east across the KidronValley and the pool of Siloam. Jesus knew the Mount as a thickly wooded locality, rich in the olives which occasioned its name. ^7/907

3.       Hosanna (21:9): …“Save (us), we pray,” taken from Psalm 118:25. It came to be a note of praise as well as petition. ^12/68 The Hebrew expression meant: “Save us now!” It came to function like the modern-day exclamations “God save the king!” or “Hail to the chief!” ^1/1452

4.       Bethany (21:17): A village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem and the final station on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. ^8/1469

5.       “Found nothing on it but leaves” (21:19): Fig leaves appear about the same time as the fruit or a little later…Thus the leaves normally point to every prospect of fruit, even if not fully ripe. Sometimes, however, the green figs fall off and leave nothing but leaves. ^6/444

II.    Observation

A.     Outline

(21:1-11)

(21:12-17)

(21:18-22)

B.     Key Words/Phrases

III. General Analysis

1. List the many different reactions of the various groups of people.

IV.  Segment Analysis

A.     21:1-11

1. Record the things that show the people’s great fervor and excitement over the coming of the Lord Jesus.

2. How was this event a great miracle?

3a. How is the image of riding on a donkey different from what we might expect of a king?

3b. What does this tell us about the King we serve?

4. If one day God says to you about something you own, “the Lord has need of them,” would you give him what he asks for “immediately” (3)? What would it take on your part to do so?

B.     21:12-17

5a. How many different groups of people does Matthew record in this paragraph?

5b. What are the two sets of contrasts that we can observe and what can we learn from these contrasts?

6a. How have the buyers and sellers turned the house of prayer into a den of thieves?

6b. What does this teach us about true worship that pleases God?

7. What did the words of Jesus in 16 ironically point out?

C.     21:18-22

8a. What was the withering of the fig tree symbolic of, and what was the warning behind this symbolic action? Relate your answer to the context of the passage.

8b. In what ways could a worshiper of God become like fig trees with only leaves but no figs?

9a. Does God grant every request we make if we believe and not doubt?

9b. What does faith involve?