That Special Week: Sunday and Monday
(Matthew 21:1-22, 23:37-39)
1. Hundreds of sages or rabbis in the first century had disciples who would follow them and receive instruction in the Torah, the written Law of Moses and the oral interpretations of that Law by the famous rabbis.
2. It was not unusual for a man to go away for a month or two, or even a couple of years, following a rabbi and traveling to and ministering in small towns and villages.
3. There was nothing unusual about a Sage asking men to become his disciples, and there was nothing unusual about people opening their homes to these traveling rabbis and his disciples. This was so common that they had rules; for example, a married man could not leave home for more than 30 days without the permission from his wife.
4. When Jesus told his disciples to borrow a donkey and to say that the Lord had need of it-- this was not unusual either. The Jews had an ethic to encourage and support these programs of spiritual development.
As a matter of fact, in the Talmud we read that a man was to put a Rabbi who discipled him above his own father:
When one is searching for the lost property both of his father and of his teacher, his teacher’s loss takes precedence over that of his father since his father brought him only into the life of this world, whereas his teacher, who taught him wisdom [i.e., Torah], has brought him into the life of the World to Come. But if his father is no less a scholar than his teacher, then his father’s loss takes precedence…
If his father and his teacher are in captivity, he must first ransom his teacher, and only afterwards his father — unless his father is himself a scholar and then he must first ransom his father. (Bava Metsi’a 2:11)
[source: Jerusalemperspective.com]
5. What singled Jesus out were His Messianic claims which were substantiated by His miracles. The other Sages claimed to be nothing more than Bible scholars who were out to train others; Christ claimed this as well, but He claimed to be the promised one. It is this claim that resulted in Him being hated by the religious leaders and eventually crucified.
6. So was Christ a success or a failure? The answer is clear: He appeared to be a failure when He was crucified in weakness, but proved Himself a success by resurrecting from the dead.
Main Idea: Sometimes it is hard to distinguish failure from ultimate success.
I. Sunday: The REGAL Savior (Matthew 21:1-11)
(show photo of Palm Sunday)
A. PROPHESIED
Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey…"
Psalm 118:24-27, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
O LORD, save us; [note: this is what Hosanna translates to] O LORD, grant us success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar."
B. A Result of LAZARUS’ Resurrection
C. One of SEVERAL Comings of Christ
1. In a sense, He came to set up His Kingdom when He told His disciples that the Kingdom of God was among them (Luke 17:21)
2. In a sense, He came to set up His Kingdom on the Mount of Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18).
3. He a sense, He was crowned King on Palm Sunday.
4. In a sense, His Kingdom began when He instituted the New Covenant
5. In a sense, His Kingdom began at Pentecost (Acts 2)
6. In a sense, His Coming is when He comes to the clouds at the rapture (I Thess. 4:13-17).
7. But we usually refer to the two comings of Christ from heaven to earth
• first, through the incarnation (John 1)
• second, when His feet touch down on the Mount of Olives and He returns to reign on earth for a thousand years… (Zechariah 14:4, Revelation 19:11-16)
D. NOT the same Jews who shouted, "Crucify him!"
Not what they shouted out in vs. 9 (clearly Messianic)
E. True CHRISTIANS can thrive as a MINORITY
F. Although there were hundreds of people who recognized Jesus as the Messiah on Palm Sunday, they were a small minority. By the end of the 1st Century, perhaps 20% of the Jewish population had accepted Christ, but the leaders and the majority did not.
[Source: An essay by Dr. Louis Goldberg found in the book, "The Enduring Paradox," John Fischer, editor, Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2000, p. 114]
Did Jesus fail? That depends upon what He was trying to accomplish!
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish failure from ultimate success.
II. Monday: The ANGRY Savior (21:12--22, 23:37-39)
A. The CURSING of the Fig Tree (18-22)
(show photo of fig tree)
. What the Fig Tree represents…
Israel’s comfort and prosperity (sitting under ones fig tree --I Kings 4:25 under Solomon)
--by implication, the Messianic Age --
--the Olive Tree symbolizes spiritual relationship to God, the fig tree prosperity, safety, and ease
1. When Christ returns to earth, ISRAEL will be ready for Him (23:37-39)
2. Lesson: Change occurs when we are READY
? Roy the boiler man and our boiler at home…I took convincing…
1. An object lesson, not a temper tantrum…
2. This species produces fruit first, then leaves…
3. No fruit: looked good, but no substance….
4. God expects fruit (banana w/empty inside)
5. Some people work hard at presenting an image, but no real commitment to Jesus Christ
3. The disciples were amazed at the miracle and Christ then discussed the subject of faith with them, but I wonder if they got the main point to it all…
B. The second CLEANSING of the Temple (11-17)
(show cleansing of temple)
1. Jesus, as the Son of God, had sovereignty over the Temple
2. Such behavior was expected of the Messiah
3. In His anger, Jesus also took time to heal and show compassion
4. Controlled anger is an asset, not a liability
5. We have blotted out an angry Savior from our consciousness…
C. Our ANGER is often unlike the Saviors
Could you imagine singing, "I serve an angry Savior, He’s in the world today…I know that He is angry, no matter what men say…"
Why don’t we celebrate Jesus’ anger? Because anger is so dangerous and ugly when combined with our sinful natures!
1. We get angry over the wrong things….things that offend us, not things that offend God
2. We are not evenhanded….we over react or under react…
3. It is not a sin to be angry….but anger creates plenty of opportunities for sin
4. That’s why it is important to confront issues early and honestly…
D. Notice that Jesus then healed many to evidence His right to do what He did.
E. Let’s pick up the objection raised by some of the Pharisees in vs. 15-16.
F. Did Jesus fail? That depends upon what He was trying to accomplish. He did fail at giving the Jews the kind of Messiah they wanted at that time, but He succeeded at initiating the Kingdom of God and the plan of God.
G. Do we let others define success or failure for us?
Wealth? Beauty? Power? Prestige? Education? Athletic ability?
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish failure from ultimate success.
CONCLUSION
1. The heart of Christianity is not the teachings of Jesus, but the person and work of Jesus; He is the promised Messiah, God in human flesh; He did not hide His claims and He was crucified for them and arose the victor, vindicating everything He had said.
2. To become a real Christian does not mean to embrace a philosophy or a set of rules; it means to embrace the Savior by faith.
