Matthew 21 – The Triumphal Entry, Authority, and Judgment

Overview: The King’s Arrival and Rejection

🔹 Timeframe: The final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

🔹 Setting: Jerusalem, in the temple and among the crowds.

🔹 Theme: Jesus’ authority, Israel’s rejection, and God’s coming judgment.

Key Takeaways

🔑 Jesus enters as a humble King, not a political ruler.

🔑 God’s house must be a place of worship, not personal gain.

🔑 Faith must bear fruit, or it risks judgment.

🔑 Religious leaders rejected Jesus, but God’s Kingdom will continue.

Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment

🔮 The Triumphal Entry & Zechariah’s Prophecy – Fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, revealing Jesus as the peaceful King.

🔮 The Cleansing of the Temple & Messianic Authority – Echoes Malachi 3:1-3, where the Messiah purifies the temple.

🔮 The Rejected Cornerstone – Seen in Psalm 118:22-23, prophesying Jesus’ rejection and exaltation.

Historical & Cultural Context

📜 Passover Crowds in Jerusalem – Thousands of pilgrims gathered, making Jesus’ entry highly visible.

📜 Temple Merchants & Corruption – The buying and selling in the temple was a scheme benefiting religious leaders.

📜 Roman-Jewish Tension – Many expected a political Messiah to overthrow Rome, missing Jesus’ true mission.

💡 Final Reflection: Are We Receiving or Rejecting the King?

Matthew 21 forces us to ask: Do we truly embrace Jesus as King, or do we resist His authority?

📌 Are we honoring God in worship, or allowing distractions?
📌 Is our faith producing real fruit, or just religious appearance?
📌 Will we submit to Jesus, or reject Him like the religious leaders?

🚀 The King has come—how will we respond?

The Triumphal Entry
Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 
Mat 21:2  Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 
Mat 21:3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 
Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 
Mat 21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 
Mat 21:6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 
Mat 21:7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 
Mat 21:8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 
Mat 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 
Mat 21:10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 
Mat 21:11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 

Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Mat 21:12  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 
Mat 21:13  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 
Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. 
Mat 21:15  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 
Mat 21:16  And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 
Mat 21:17  And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. 

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
Mat 21:18  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 
Mat 21:19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 
Mat 21:20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 
Mat 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 
Mat 21:22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

The Authority of Jesus Challenged
Mat 21:23  And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 
Mat 21:24  And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Mat 21:25  The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? 
Mat 21:26  But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. 
Mat 21:27  And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. 

The Parable of the Two Sons
Mat 21:28  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 
Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 
Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 
Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 
Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. 

The Parable of the Tenants
Mat 21:33  Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 
Mat 21:34  And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 
Mat 21:35  And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 
Mat 21:36  Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 
Mat 21:37  But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 
Mat 21:38  But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 
Mat 21:39  And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 
Mat 21:40  When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 
Mat 21:41  They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. 
Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? 
Mat 21:43  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 
Mat 21:44  And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 
Mat 21:45  And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. 
Mat 21:46  But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.