March 24, 2024
Evening Service

The Passion Week begins with a joyous celebration as the long-awaited Messiah has arrived into the city of Jerusalem.  The crowd rejoices as Jesus enters humbly riding the colt of a donkey.  They throw palm branches (which symbolize freedom) and their own clothing into His pathway shouting:

 “Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest!”

Mat 21:10-11And 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."

            God is moving and “all the city was moved.”  The Spirit was stirring hearts to “Come and see” what God was up to in this momentous moment in time.  Matthew uses the Greek word “seio” which comes the word “seismic” or tremor.  All of Jerusalem knew God was moving in that moment.

   Are we in tune with the Spirit today, looking and listening when He stirs our hearts that “God is moving?”  I feel this very strongly right now, in the world overall, and in our little corner of it here at the Bride.  God is moving in the lives of our family right here among us.  Can you see it?  Can you feel it?  “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” and He is moving among us.  Don’t get left behind, jump on and hang on we are in for a wonderful ride.

 

Mat 21:12-13 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.'"

            Here we see Jesus angered by money changers who were cheating these people who had arrived for Passover to worship the Lord.  These thieves would exchange other country’s currency for the Temple currency and over inflate the exchange rate fleecing these sheep.  Nothing makes a Shepherd angry quicker than someone mistreating His sheep.  Jesus acts in “righteous anger” here confronting them and overturning their tables calling them out for their disgraceful actions.  Many like to portray Jesus as a weak, passive man who could not hurt a fly.  Here Jesus shows He is not that way, no doubt using the muscles He built up as a carpenter to chase these wolves away from His sheep.  When we speak out or act upon something that is not right, becoming angry about it, that is righteous anger as Jesus displayed here.

 Today the church needs to be doing just that now. We need to speak up when we see things that are not right happening around us and not be silent.  We need to display some righteous anger speaking out for truth and against evil.  The culture today wants us to remain silent, but we cannot do that,  we must stand against those who are doing evil and call it out for what it is.  Love does not remain silent in the midst of evil, but fights against it.

Jesus quotes two more scriptures that are fulfilled in this moment.

 

Isa 56:7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."

 

Jer. 7:11Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," says the LORD.

            God knew this would happen and would need to be set straight.  In the NT now there is not a Temple where we must go and worship.  It is no longer a place that can be defiled by evil or polluted by greed.  As we have seen in I Corinthians, we are the Temple of God.  The Holy Spirit lives within us and we don’t need to priests or sacrifices to come into the presence of God; He is with us always.  Jesus told the woman at the well this:

 

Joh 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  (24)  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

            God is after your heart.  He wants what motivates and move you to be owned by Him.  When that is true, it does not matter where we are or who we are with we can worship Him in spirit and in truth wherever we are.  We have no need to go to the Temple to meet with God, He is with you wherever you are.

            After driving out the money changers, Jesus now does something else to make the religious leaders angry.

 

Mat 21:14-17 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.

 

Psalms 8

            These religious leaders were blinded to who Jesus is really is (by God).  Rather than rejoice in the miracles that He is doing, healing the blind and lame, they become indignant (showing anger at what they perceive as unfair or unrighteous actions).  You would have to be blinded to not be in awe of witnessing a blind man who now can see or a lame man who now can walk.  Again, we must be in tune with the Spirit to be able to discern when God is moving and move with Him, not against Him. This is all part of God’s plan to push these leaders to the edge to move drastically in pushing for Jesus to be arrested and killed later in the week.  Jesus conflicts with these leaders many times over this week.  Let’s look at a couple of these tonight.

Mat 21:23-27 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.

            These leaders would have come to Jesus thinking they are the ones in charge.  They believed that they alone had the authority to speak and do the things He was doing.  They were here to silence Him as one who was beneath them. Jesus uses His infinite wisdom to ward off these men trying to trap Him in His words.  He flips the page and asks them about John the Baptist.  The question had no real right answer for them as Matthew explains so well here in the text.  They choose not to answer and so does Jesus.  Jesus now shares with them two parables which opens their eyes to how Jesus sees them as leaders.

 

Mat 21:28-32 "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.

            These leaders are the second son in the story.  He gives no account to those who profess their obedience only with their lips, but it is their actions that matter.  True conversion is evidenced by a person’s hearing the commands of God and then putting them into action (hearing and doing).  That is the difference between “religion” and “relationship.”  Religion is following the rules, but relationship results in actions from the heart and a vital, intimate knowing of our Lord.  It is shown in the why we do things; because I “have” to or because I “want” to.  Jesus wants you to want Him.  Jesus now stirs them up with another parable pointed directly at them.

 

Mat 21:33-46 "Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  (34)  Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.  (35)  And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  (36)  Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.  (37)  Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  (38)  But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'  (39)  So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  (40)  "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"  (41)  They said to Him, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons."  (42)  Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE. THIS WAS THE LORD'S DOING, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?  (43)  "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.  (44)  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  (45)  Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.  (46)  But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

 

 

            The landowner is God.  The vineyard is Israel with the servants being the prophets and Jesus the Son.  The leaders at first replied just as Jesus wanted them to passionately disapproving of the wrong deeds being done.  This reminds us of the prophet Nathan telling David of his sin.  The stories end differently as David repented, but these leaders become infuriated seeking to destroy Him.

 

Throughout this week Jesus is confronted over and over by these leaders, just as God planned.  They fight Him every step of the way until when they feel they finally win in the end when they see Jesus die on the cross.  Today we have experienced joy, sadness, anger, and frustration in our roller coaster of emotions ride this week.  I encourage to read from Mark daily and pray over what Jesus does each day.  We will meet again on Wednesday night and see what the Lord has for us then.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the faithfulness of Jesus to complete His mission completing the path to our salvation.  Keep us in tune as You speak to us throughout the week culminating with resurrection Sunday.