Matthew 21

We have come to the final days of our Lord’s earthly ministry. Consider the eternal plan of God to bring glory to His Name through both His greatest acts of justice and mercy. Then think back to the story of mankind and consider all of the events that have taken place since sin entered the world through Adam. Finally meditate on the Lord’s promises, and imagine all that is ahead of us in the age to come because of what Christ has done for us. Without a doubt, the events of Matthew 21 through 28 describe the most important happenings in the history of men and angels. We have here the dramatic turning point in the glorious progress of God’s grace. Christ will come into Jerusalem in humility, but He will be the great King of Zechariah 9:9. Everyone will play his part in these days, and every detail will be under the perfect sovereign control of Almighty God.

Even the crowds will be under the Lord’s majestic authority. They will fulfill their part from Psalm 118. There are many psalms that use the Hebrew plea to God, “Save me!” or “Save us!” This is what “Hosanna!” means. It is a cry for help. As we see from the specific actions and words of the crowd that day, it is especially Psalm 118 that is in view here, a psalm used in preparation for the Passover. Jesus is recognized as the coming King, the Messiah, the Son of David. He comes in the name of the Lord, and He is the Lord. Little do they know that the way He will save will be through His death as the Passover Lamb, a point that is marvelously tucked away in the ending of Psalm 118 itself. Now they praise Him and call on Him for help. In just a few short days, another crowd will shout out different words: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

As the Lord moves toward Mount Zion, it is not immediately clear that everyone understands the reason for the uproar. Word begins to spread that this is Jesus of Nazareth who is thought to be a great prophet from Galilee. He soon enters the temple area, and does again what He did at the beginning of His ministry. John’s gospel tells us about the first cleansing of the temple that set in motion Christ’s public work over the following three years. Now as the three years come to a close, Matthew’s gospel records for us the second cleansing, as our Lord prepares to die for sinners. Once again He moves in complete authority in a way that simply cannot be explained. He overturns tables and pronounces judgment on those who have misused God’s provision of this house of prayer. In fulfillment of Jeremiah 7:11, our Lord declares His judgment against His people, for they have turned the place of God’s presence into a den of robbers. In contrast, He is there as the one who is the Temple of God, and the one who will make us, united to Him, into the perfect resurrection temple. How appropriate that He not only cleanses the old temple but also heals the blind and the lame as the great new Temple, the Messiah King.

As they were shocked by Him the first time He did this, once again the religious authorities begin to question Him. They have noticed His wonders and the reaction of the crowd to these displays of glory, but they are indignant rather than in awe. He answers them with a reference to Psalm 8, for He is not only the Son of Man, He is the Lord who receives praise, even from infants. This is what God has ordained.

Something old is going away. The Lord’s plant of Old Testament Israel has been declared fruitless and cursed, for the Age of the Law must come to an end. Yet something new has come in its place, a people who will call upon His Name, not only the Jews, but even the nations. They will pray and be heard, and a mountain of unbelief throughout the world will be cast into the seas. The new people of God will soon hear the Word and proclaim it everywhere. They will be a people of faith who know about the real Temple of God, the true Passover Lamb.

The leaders of the Old Covenant community stood against this Messiah. They questioned His authority. He would not answer them, for they were unwilling even to acknowledge the fact that God had sent John the Baptist. If they could not see John’s mission as divinely ordained, what point would there be in talking about the One for whom John prepared the way, the One who would shower the church with the Holy Spirit? They claimed to love and obey God, but they did not obey Him, they opposed Him, while obvious covenant-breakers, tax collectors and prostitutes would make their way into the kingdom of heaven ahead of them. God’s grace would be victorious, and the way of true righteousness would be revealed, a righteousness that would come through Christ alone.

Their day in the Lord’s vineyard had come and gone, and Old Testament Israel had proven herself unworthy. She had no fruit for the Lord and had abused and killed the prophets. Finally, the Israelites were preparing to put the Son of God to death, imagining that this would serve their own agenda. Instead, they too were playing their part in the fulfillment of Psalm 118. The turning of the age from the era of the Law to the age of the gospel would happen in their midst. They would reject the Rock of Ages, but in their act of rejecting Him, He would become the cornerstone of a new temple of the Lord. Here was the sacrifice appointed to bear the guilt of all who would be a part of the kingdom of God. All of this was not merely through the plans of evil men, but according to the eternal purpose of God, who would fulfill His great decrees. This was marvelous in His eyes. It is our joy that we have come to see this despised Messiah as our Lord and have been welcomed into a new kingdom, a kingdom that will yield the greatest fruitfulness and blessings of grace ever known among men.