OUR FATHER SENT A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS TO HERALD THE MESSIAH

Still speaking to the religious leaders who had demanded to know by what authority He was doing miracles and teaching, Jesus indicted them with a parable about two sons whose father wanted them to do some work in His vineyard . The parable, found in Matthew chapter 21 verses 28 - 32, reads this way;

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said to Him, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

The father of the two sons in the parable represented God. One son represented the religious leaders and the other son represented the outcasts of the society like the tax collectors and prostitutes.

Jesus contrasted the two sons by showing how one did what was wrong by refusing to do what his fatherˋs requested but later regretted it and went out to serve his father. The other son verbally agreed to do what his father asked but did not actually go out to work.

He asked the religious leaders which of the two sons actually did the will of the father and they replied to the question by saying that it was the first  son who initially refused but later went out to work.

The Lord then clarified that the first son was like the tax collectors and harlots because they originally lived in rebellion to Godˋs will but upon hearing the preaching of John the baptist, they believed and regretted their sins, repented and were baptized.

On the other hand, the religious leaders were like the second son who originally subscribed to a life of serving God but when John came to them preaching the news of the kingdom of God that called them to be baptized, they did not believe and they did not seek to repent and be baptized.

Jesus assured the religious leaders that because of this difference, the tax collectors and harlots would enter the kingdom of God before they did.

Have mercy on us O God.

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OUR FATHER DECLARED THAT JESUS WAS HIS SON IN WHOM HE WAS WELL PLEASED

In Matthew chapter 21 verses 23 - 27, we see the Lord Jesus, having returned to Jerusalem from Bethany, at the temple teaching. The religious leaders challenged Him by demanding to know by what authority He was doing miracles and teaching in the temple.

23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”

24 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25 The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.”

And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Lord , knowing that their challenge was not a sincere request for clarification but rather a trap, countered them by asking them to declare whether they believed that the baptism of John was valid.

To answer this question, the religious leaders would have been forced to reveal their hypocricy related to how they treated John the baptist.

If they said John the baptist was  a valid prophet of God, they would then be asked by the people why they did not accept his teaching and why they let John be executed by king Herod for preaching righteousness.

On the other hand, if they said John was not a valid prophet, they would anger the people of the city who believed that John was a true prophet of God and they had gone out to the wilderness to hear him speak. Openly denying that John was a prophet would expose the fact that the religious leaders were not on the same page as the people of the city.

Pressed in this connundrum, the religious leaders tried to evade the question by simply saying that they didnˋt know whether Johnˋs baptism was valid or not. Jesus then told them that because they would not reveal their stance on this spiritual matter, He was not obligated to show them His spiritual credentials.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO IS PLEASED WHEN WE WALK IN FAITH

After spending the night at Bethany, the Lord Jesus travelled the short distance (about 3.2 kilometers) back to Jerualem and on the way, an enigmatic event took place as described in Matthew chapter 21 verses 18 - 22;

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

A fig tree beside the road caught the Lordˋs attention and being hungry, He went to it looking for figs but the tree did not have any fruit on it but only leaves.

The Lord spoke to the tree saying, ˋLet no fruit grown on you ever againˋ, and the tree withered away.

The disciples saw the leaves rapidly drooping and fading and they were astonished that spoken words could have that kind of effect so they asked Jesus what power was at work that caused the tree to respond to His words like that.

The Lord explained a principle of faith to them which, if a person had faith that was undiluted by doubt, that person could command edicts over a fig tree and it would obey. Jesus explained that faith was not only effective in relation to living things but also in relation to inanimate masses such as mountains.  If a person had undiluted faith, they could speak to a mountain telling it to be uprooted and heaved into the sea, that would happen.  

The Lord then generalized the principle such that any prayers that are spoken while believing would bring about what was being asked for.

This teaching formalised the experiences that had occured in earlier chapters where for example in Matthew chapter 14,  the disciples were in a boat on the sea of Galilee and Jesus commanded Simon to walk on the water with Him and Simon got out of the boat and walked but he began to fear and doubt because of the high wind and waves and he started to sink into the water. Jesus grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the boat asking why he doubted.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The walk of faith that receives what is requested is one where we fully expect our words to carry effective power and that doubt is excluded from our thoughts no matter what the circumstances around us look like.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE

The Lord Jesus healed blind and lame people who came to Him in the temple and there were children shouting praise to God. Matthew chapter 21 verses 14 - 17 records these things and how they caused a confrontation between the religious leaders and the Lord Jesus;

14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant 16 and 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 babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”

17 Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

The miracles that Jesus was doing in the temple itself was eliciting a reaction of exultation from the people who were witnessing them and the religious gatekeepers were incensed by the attention that Jesus was getting and they asked Jesus if He was hearing what the children were proclaiming in the temple. 

Jesus responded by saying that He was hearing what the children were saying but He advised the temple officials that it was entirely appropriate because the scriptures, in Psalm 8 verse 2 said;

Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

Jesus paraphrased the scripture in Psalm 8 to reveal a spiritual reality. By equating the establishment of a stronghold that silences enemies and avengers with the perfecting of praise in the mouths of chidren, we learn from Jesus that the righteous praise of the children of God creates a stronghold or a fortress that neutralizes enemy plans and actions.

Jesus then left the temple and went to the nearby town of Bethany where He had some friends and He spent the night there.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHOSE TEMPLE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER

After entering Jerusalem on a donkey colt, Jesus went into the temple of God and confronted the money changers and merchants who sold doves. Matthew chapter 21 vereses 12 - 13 records the event this way;

12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

The commerce that was being conducted in the temple was a speculative and opportunistic trade that took advantage of the sacrificial requirements of the temple to profit from the increased exchange rates between the public currency and the temple currency and to profit from the higher prices of sacrificial animals during the times when people flooded into Jerusalem for religious activities.

The Lord Jesus carried out a highly provocative cleansing of the temple where He drove out the money changers and animal sellers. As He did so, He quoted Isaiah chapter 56 verse 7 which (including verse 6 for context), reads this way;

6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him,

to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant-

 

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

The Lord rebuked the temple administrators for turning the sacred temple away from its ordinal task which was to be an international nexus of prayer and turning it into a ˋden of thievesˋ where currency speculators and hawkers could take advantage of the inflated rates and prices right in the temple facility itself.

This activty defamed the holy temple of God to the foreigners who would come to seek God but would be accosted by rip-off artists inside the sacred spaces of the temple.

This action put the Lord Jesus in the cross hairs of the religious establishment and those who were profiting from the intrusion into the temple.

Have mercy O God.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO HIS PEOPLE TO SAVE THEM

The apogee of Jesusˋ purpose and calling was now rapidly approaching and Matthew chapter 21 verses 1 - 11 registered the initializing steps that were taken to tip the first  domino that would then be followed by the sequence of confrontations with the religious and political forces that led to His arrest.

1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. 3 And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

4 All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet (Zechariah 9:9) saying:

5 “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.’ ”

Zacharia the prophet, in chapter 9 verse 9, foretold the counter-intuitive signifier of the Messiahˋs arrival where instead of a riding into Jerusalem with a mighty horse in a conquering invasion, He would ride into the city humbly riding a tiny young donkey. To prepare for the fulfillment of this prophecy, Jesus sent His disciples to get a donkey and her colt from a village they were passing and that a person there, already made aware of the requirement, would let them take the animals.

6 So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

“Hosanna to the Son of David! 

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ 

Hosanna in the highest!”

When the donkeys were brought back to the staging area just outside Jerusalem, the crowd that was with Jesus put clothing on the donkeys and set Jesus on the back of  the colt and they entered the city of Jerusalem as a procession that was laying garments and tree branches on the road as He rode the colt along. The procession of people in front of Him and behind Him yelled out expressions of high admiration for the Lord Jesus and proclaimed Him to be the Son of David and that He had come in the name of the Lord. 

This entrance was a non-threatening provocation that drew attention to the Lord Jesus and made everyone aware of His arrival in Jerusalem. By riding a tiny donkey that still needed its mother nearby to provide milk, His entrance into the city was non-militarized and it belied the historic gravity of the arrival of the Messiah into Jerusalem for the final time. The needle that needed to be threaded was to raise Jesusˋ profile in the city of Jerusalem without appearing belligerent which may had triggered a security response by the Roman soldiers who had a garrison in the city at the time. The careful balance of signals worked as intented because the whole city was buzzing with the question of the identity of the colt rider without feeling threatened and the people who had accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem were able to furnished them with the answer that it was the prophet Jesus of Nazareth from the northern Galilee region who had paid the city a visit.

10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”

11 So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Now that the Lord Jesus was in the city, a rapid sequence of events occurred that brought the political and religious tensions to a fever pitch due the fear and envy of the religious leaders and this culminated in Jesusˋ arrest, trial and sentence of death.

Have mercy on us O God.

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OUR FATHER WHO SENT HIS SON TO BRING SIGHT TO THE BLIND

The Lord, moving inexorably towards Jerusalem, left the city of Jericho with a large contingent of followers with him.

Along the roadside were two blind men who heard that Jesus was about to pass their location and so, addressing Him by the title Son of David, they began to call out for the Lord to have mercy on them. The people around Jesus, not wanting the Lord to be bothered by random people along the road, tried to silence the two men but they ignored the directives to be quiet and yelled even louder for the Lord to have mercy on them.

Matthew chapter 20 verses 29 - 34 records the narrative this way,

29 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

31 Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

32 So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

33 They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

The commotion along the road caught Jesusˋ attention and He stopped and called the two men to Himself and asked them what they were clamoring for.

They told Jesus that they wanted to have their eyes opened.

The zenith of Jesusˋ mission was rapidly approaching and the political temperature was rising sharply against Jesus as His influence grew in Samaria, Judea and even in Jerusalem. The religious leaders were actively seeking ways to destroy His ministry and they were putting out bounties for His arrest.

Under this tense atmosphere, Jesus, confronted by the two blind and desparate men, felt compassion for them and He touched their eyes which brought immediate restoration of their sight and they threw their lot in with Jesus and followed Him.

Amen.

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