Matthew XXI

1. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

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.

3. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

4. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

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.

6. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

7. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

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.

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.

In analysing this passage in the life of Jesus Christ, we shall, in a few points, take the account as given by the other evangelists. The simplicity of the circumstance should not conceal from us its great significance, viz., that Christ’s Divinty was illustrated by the manner in which He pointed out the place where the ass and the colt were, and the circumstances under which the disciples would find them.

“By the ass is to be understood the synagogue of the Jews, and by the colt the Gentiles; for according to God Judaea is the mother of the Gentiles; the ass had gone under the yoke before, for the Jews went under the yoke of the law, but the colt was free, and hitherto living in pleasure, never yet bearing any burthen or under any yoke, and so were the Gentiles.” — (Jerome.) “By the ass understand the Samaritans, by the colt the rest of the Gentiles: so that here is a double calling of the Gentiles set forth, — the first of the Samaritans living according to some observances of the Jews before, the other of the rest of the Gentiles who were altogether untamed and wild; for, accordingly, two are sent to loose them being bound with the bonds of error; Philip to loose Samaria, and Peter to Cornelius.” — (Hilary.) The remark of Augustine upon this passage maybe accepted as an excellent canon in biblical criticism; it is this: — “There is some difference betwixt Matthew and John in this relation, for Matthew speaketh both of an ass and the colt, but John of a young ass only. But the difference ariseth from the interpretation of the Seventy: Matthew, as is likely, writing in Hebrew, and so following the ancient Hebrew copies. For the interpretation of the Seventy hath doubtless many things in it different from the Hebrew, the reason whereof, as I take it, is, that they being guided by the same Spirit with the prophets, as appeareth by their admirable consent in every word, and differing in sundry things from them, we might not any whit the more doubt of the writings of the evangelists, though they differ much the one from the other, seeing they differ not from His will to which we must all agree. For we must not think that the truth is so fenced with consecrated sounds of words, as that God doth commend unto us the words even as the matter; but there were no need at all to respect the words, if we could know the matter without them, as God knoweth it and His holy angels in Him. If Matthew speaketh of the ass and the colt, and the rest of the colt only, there is no cause why any man should be moved at it, seeing here is no contradiction, notwithstanding John’s speaking of the one; there being liberty to Matthew to speak of the one and the other also.” — (De Consensu Evangeliorwn, lib. ii., cap. 66.)

For homiletic purposes the narrative may be used to show the features which will characterise the day of Christ’s recognised royalty. When Christ’s royalty is fully recognised —

I. All possessions will be consecrated to His service. Jesus Christ gave His disciples a word whose power was to overcome all hesitation on the part of the owners of the ass and the colt; that word was — “The Lord hath need of them.” The expression itself is peculiar. Why should the Lord have need? Strange combination of ideas — lordship and necessity! Yet, on the other hand, what necessity can He have who has but to express it in order to have it satisfied? By a legitimate exercise of fancy, we may amplify the idea and include all orders of men, all degrees of talent, all capacities of endurance and activity. Say to the poet, the painter, the musician, the orator, the rich man, the man of influence, “the Lord hath need of thee,” and there will be instantaneous and grateful response!

When Christ’s royalty is fully recognised —

II. All the services of Christ will become the

SUBJECTS OF ARDENT AND UNIVERSAL PRAISE. According

to Luke, “the whole multitude began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen.” i. The true worker will eventually be recognised; 2. Works will be the basis of just and permanent elevation; 3. God will be praised as the fontal source of all true benefaction, — the multitude praised God. When Christ’s royalty is fully recognised —

III. HIS ESSENTIAL GREATNESS WILL OVERCOME HlS

momentary humiliation. “Behold thy King; ““Blessed

r 2 be the King that cometh.” (Trace Jesus Christ’s life, and show how much there was in it to depress and crush; yet, through all, there is a shining of His Divine lustre.) In addition to doing this a contrast may be drawn between what is transient and what is permanent in the Messianic life: poverty, sorrow, humiliation, all kinds of social and temporal disadvantage, on the one hand; on the other, riches, rapture, exaltation above every created height, and all the honour and homage of the universe. When Christ’s royalty is fully recognised — IV. Religious enthusiasm will overwhelm or absorb all Pharisaic formality. According to Luke, “some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples; and he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” Enthusiasm is natural; stoicism is unnatural. When the soul is inspired, the lips must speak. About enthusiasm three things should be remarked: — I. That it is essential to success in all pursuits; 2. That it reaches its highest intensity in the development of the religious life; 3. That its suppression would excite the reproaches of nature.

The whole scene shows the effect of a true view of Jesus Christ upon the heart of man. Such a view transports the soul with the holiest delight, and draws the worshipper, even while in the poverty and feebleness of the body, nearly into the ecstasy of the heavenly worshippers. The scene gives a hint of the joy which shall one day fill the hearts of all men.

10. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

11. And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

The movement of a whole city! There are many ways in which a whole city may be moved; (a) News of war; (b) News of a great loss, as of a monarch or other illustrious person; (c) News of great joy, arising from success in war, or in peaceful counsels, which will bring joy to those who have had much sorrow; (d) But the most profound and beneficent agitation of any city must be occasioned by the presence of Jesus Christ. Show how this must be so: — 1. Christ meets the great necessities of human life; 2. Christ shows the great possibilities of human life; 3. Christ is gentle towards the great sorrows of human life. With regard to the intense excitement which was generally associated with Christ’s presence, it is to be noted: — 1. That some men raise great expectations without being able to satisfy them; 2. Some men create great excitement without be able to control it; 3. Some men arouse popular tumult that they may profit by it; 4. Jesus Christ was able to satisfy, control, liberalise, and sanctify all the excitement of which He was the occasion.

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 money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

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.

14. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

These verses, taken in combination, present a vivid view of Christ’s twofold method of conducting His ministry: that method was first destructive, then constructive. About the cleansing of the temple four things are noticeable: — 1. Jesus Christ did not connive at abuses for the sake of securing popular favour; 2. Jesus Christ did not allow abuses to be continued on the ground that the circumstances were temporary, — He knew that the temple was soon to be destroyed; 3. Jesus Christ showed that man’s convenience was to be subordinated to God’s right, — “my house is the house of prayer” (Luke xix. 46); 4. Jesus Christ showed in this, as in all other cases, that the right one is morally stronger than the wicked many. The incident of healing “the blind and the lame” occurs most impressively in this connection; after anger came peace; after an assault upon strength came a gentle ministry upon weakness. The incident may be separately treated, as showing: — i. That the temple is spiritual not in an exclusive but in an inclusive sense, — the wants of the spirit include the necessities of the body; praying included healing, but money-changing did not include praying; and — 2. That society should be taught to connect the temple with the most benevolent, practical, and spiritual ideas. It is a great error in any community to shut up the house of God six days out of seven. When society is penetrated with true Christianity, the house of God will be a library, a hospital, a school, and a prayerhouse, all in one.

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,

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?

Official men take official views; and mere officialism can never be raised to the point of enthusiasm. Officialism has never led the world. All historic crises have been associated with intense enthusiasm in the lower and younger orders, for enthusiasm is the unwritten but irresistible law of the popular heart. The verses may be used as showing: — 1. That Jesus Christ’s presence and benefactions are not to be coldly received; 2. That the reception of homage produces no bad effect upon Jesus Christ; a man cannot be injured by applause so long as he is worthy of it; the moment that applause gets beyond the point of worth, danger sets in; “worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing;” 3. That all young religious life is viewed by Jesus Christ with special complacency: this is natural for obvious reasons, — (a) He Himself was “the child Jesus,” (b) young life offers all its unwasted strength, (c) young life enters into service with enthusiasm, (d) young life can give the most continuous illustration of the manifold influence of Christian truth in human discipline and human development. Christ’s reference to the prophetic word, “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise,” was not expected by the displeased and reproachful oligarchy. Some men are not content unless prophecy be fulfilled exactly according to their own notions. They are not infidel enough to doubt the prophecy, and not Christian enough to accept unexpected fulfilments. Looking over the field of prophecy, one cannot but feel that unexpected fulfilments will often come up in history. Such unexpected fulfilments are entirely consistent with the genius of God’s method of governing and educating the world. A discourse might be delivered on unexpected developments of Divine purposes as seen in the life of Jesus Christ. Nowhere do we find Jesus Christ and the theological parties of His day concurring in the interpretation of prophecy, — a most remarkable and even startling fact. Jesus Christ read the prophecies as if He had written them. He always presents new views, or aspects which had been overlooked, and even at the time that men were complaining of His course He showed that the very thing they were complaining of was actually a fulfilment of prophecy! From this point the most interesting and useful excursions into prophecy and history, as connected with Jesus Christ, might be made. After a collation of illustrative examples we should find ourselves in possession of a great hope, viz., that in a manner quite impossible for us to foresee, the nations of the world will be led into the most intelligent, rapturous, and reverent worship of Jesus Christ.

Putting the two incidents together, we have for a subject — What may be, and what may not be, done in the temple;

1. (a) prayer, (b) healing, (c) praise, are allowed; 2. Buying and selling, self-enriching, and secularisation are disallowed.

17. And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

18. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

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.

20. And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

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.

22. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

This incident may be homiletically used to show: — 1. The doom of those things which do not meet the wants of the time;

2. The terrific prospect of meeting a disappointed Christ; 3. The perfect dominion of the spiritual over the material; 4. The vast possibilities of undoubting prayer.

Olshausen has some striking observations as to the cursing of the fig-tree: “The difficulty is diminished here, if we understand by it that kind of figs which remain hanging on the branches all winter, and are gathered in early spring. In that case, the sense of the words would be this — while the common kind of figs were not yet ripe, and the time for gathering them in had not come, Jesus yet perceived that this tree on which He sought for figs belonged to that other kind, which bore at that time ripe and refreshing fruit, and thus He could rightly expect figs on the tree.”

Upon this passage several of the ancient comments should be considered, though some of them are obviously fanciful. “Here is nothing else set forth but that Christ hath power to punish, as well as to help and save; He had divers times showed His power in helping, but never yet in punishing; therefore, for His disciples’ sake who should see Him apprehended and crucified, He doth this miracle upon a tree full of sap, that they might understand that He could as easily destroy the Jews His enemies.” — (Chrysos-TOM.) “The fig-tree setteth forth the synagogue of the Jews, which is unfruitful to the end of the world, when, as the fulness of the Gentiles should come in, it withered whilst Christ was living upon earth, the sap and virtue thereof being translated to the Gentiles. The mountain which they should remove is Satan, who is cast by every faithful one into the sea, that is, into the bottomless pit.” — (Origen.) “Here arise two questions, First, How could Christ be deceived in the fig-tree? Secondly, How happened it, that He cursed the tree, seeing no impatience could be incident to Him? For the first, as He was man He might go unto it, not perceiving at the first what tree it was; and for the second, it is to be thought, that finding no bodily food He took occasion to do this miracle, thus feeding Himself, as His manner was, by doing the will of His Father. And by this figure He figureth out the state of hypocrites, all whose ostentation is vain and nothing worth.” — (Calvin.) This opinion is controverted by Mayer, who says, “I hold with Chrysostom that this (coming to seek fruit when there was none) is spoken according to the suspicion of the disciples, who thought He went to seek fruit there when as He had another end.”

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?

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.

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?

26. But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet:

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.

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.

29. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

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.

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 question related to Jesus Christ’s authority. What the chief priests and elders of the people had seen produced a deep impression upon them, and naturally excited wonder as to the source of so great a power. The spectators often asked, “Whence hath this man this wisdom?” or questions of similar import. Jesus Christ declined to give a direct answer to the inquiry as to His authority, yet He threw the responsibility of decision upon the inquirers themselves by setting forth two parables. This method of dealing with the case may be used to show that the truly authorised worker leaves his service to be its own exponent and defence. Viewing the subject of Christ’s authority from this point, we have to inquire, What are the uses to which Christ puts His authority? If the uses’ be Divine we shall have a strongly presumptive argument that the authority itself is Divine.

I. Christ uses His authority in asserting God’s

PATERNAL RELATIONSHIP TO MAN.

The parable is constructed in the fullest recognition of this fact; for example, “A certain man had two sons,” — “whether of them twain did the will of his father?” By teaching the fatherhood of God, Christ incidentally, but most convincingly, asserts the Divinity of His authority. Jesus does not so represent the Unseen One as to repel men from His service, but on the contrary continually sets Him forth as the Father of men. Whenever Christ reverts to the power of God, it is to show how it is exercised in love.

II. Christ uses His authority in calling all men

TO SPIRITUAL SERVICE.

“Son, go work to-day in my vineyard.” A call to work for God must be Divine. Any religion which bids man desist from work cannot be heavenly in authority. There are two noticeable things about God’s call to work: — i. God fixes the time, — “to-day;” 2. God fixes the sphere, — “my vineyard.”

III. Christ uses His authority in declaring the will of God to be the final standard of righteousness.

“Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” Christ makes the heart its own judge. The reference must always be to “the will of the Father,” — not to superficial success; not to the promptings of natural instinct; not to the decisions of human corporations; — but to God, God the Father!

IV. Christ uses His authority in marking moral
distinctions (ver. 31, 32).

These verses show: — I. That responsibility is measured by opportunity; 2. That opportunity is given to all classes; 3. That only the obedient can enter the kingdom.

We are thus brought again to the question, “By what authority doest thou these things?” Jesus answers — Let my works testify; if you believe not my labours you will not believe my credentials; judge me by the uses I make of my power; I tell you God is man’s Father, man’s mission is to work in the Father’s vineyard, man’s work is to be determined by God’s will, and that your relation to that will determines all the distinctions which the Father will recognise in the great judgment.

The argument of the answer may be applied to two classes of hearers.

First, Those who have unfulfilled vows resting upon them, — “I go: but went not.”

Second, Those who have openly refused to serve God, — “I will not.” This said to a. father, and that Father God!

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:

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.

35. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and storied another.

36. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise.

37. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.

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.

39. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

40. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?

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.

I. Here are men called to the highest service, — to work in God’s vineyard; 2. Here are men called to the highest service under the most favourable conditions, — “hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower;” 3. Here are men abusing the first principles of individual and social justice, — the husbandmen took the servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. It is important to remember that irreligion is an outrage of first principles; not a breach of recondite and subtle relations, but of the most obvious claims of intelligence, gratitude, and filial instincts; 4. Here are men whose course illustrates the tremendous speed by which sin attains its climax. They who kill a servant to-day will kill a son to-morrow! The education of depravity is soon perfected; 5. Here are men exposed to a doom which the common conscience of the universe will approve, — “They say unto him, he will miserably destroy those wicked men.” “He will bring these wretches to a wretched death.” — (Campbell.) It is important to point out that the hearers themselves gave the verdict; God’s judgment will but express the moral convictions of all who know the cases which are judged.

Lange has some excellent hints on the parable of the husbandmen; for example: — 1. The fearful wickedness of God’s labourers, who would turn His vineyard into a private possession; 2. Misunderstanding of the Lord’s external absence; 3. The ruinous delusion of the servants of Christ, who turn an office of labour into an office of rule. This is not the order in which they are given.

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?

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.

44. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

45. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.

46. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

This was the application of the parable, an application which was not general but personal, exposing the Speaker to all the consequences of having made an attack upon individual hearers. The doctrines of this application are: —

1. That unexpected persons are called to the highest places;

2. That persons who have abused their election will be disinherited and degraded; 3. That all men have a choice of treatment so far as this stone is concerned; 4. That men whose moral intentions are right, may demoralise themselves by the most unnatural and contradictory resentments; 5. That the most violent resentments are sometimes held in check even by secondary causes.

Stier becomes almost angry with a certain school of commentators. He says: “Must we, in opposition to the perverted and obstinate exegesis even of believing commentators, begin to prove that the 118th Psalm is Messianic — that the corner-stone of which it speaks is a real prophecy of the Spirit respecting Christ? We frankly confess ourselves to be so often vexed by such contentions with brethren who do not understand the Scripture, that we lose patience; and, however unscientifically, are inclined rather to rebuke them with Christ (Luke xxiv. 25), until their hearts burn, and their burning hearts begin to read in the light of the Pentecostal fire what is written.”

Referring to the falling of the stone, Blomfield says: “Here Wetstein and others suppose an allusion to the different ways of stoning among the Jews, whereby, a scaffold being erected twice the height of the person to suffer the punishment, the criminal was violently pushed from it. If then he died by coming in contact with some stone, nothing further was done; if not, a heavy stone was hurled upon him, which despatched him at once. But the real allusion, I should rather say, is to that stone spoken of by the prophet Daniel (ii. 34).”