Daily Bible Study

Tweet

Day 59 Matthew 21:1 Matthew 21:1 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 comes 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 comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 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. 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, 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. 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, Hear thou what these say? And Jesus said unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? 17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Has anyone tried to stop you from having a good time, of being happy, and rejoicing over something wonderful that happened to you or in your life? Jesus told his disciples to get a donkey along with the colt and bring it to him, so he could ride into Jerusalem. As Christians, you know when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, it was the beginning of Passion Week. Palm Sunday is celebrated because it was that day the people cut palm branches and laid them with their clothes on the ground so he could make an entrance into Jerusalem. What kind of entrance did Jesus make? Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. With the clothes strewn before him along with the palm branches, he declared he was their King. 2 Kings 9:13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. (KJV) He did not ride into Jerusalem on a horse, as a horse represents a conqueror. He rode in on a donkey. There will come a day when Jesus will ride in on a horse, with all the host of heaven and the saints behind him in the battle of Armageddon when he defeats the Antichrist. It wasn’t time for the final battle, it was time to declare that he alone could bring salvation to the people. How did the people respond? With exceeding joy, laying clothes and palm branches and singing Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Who was angry and wanted to put a stop to the celebration? The chief priests and scribes wanted the celebration to stop because they knew what was happening. They knew the Scriptures, and with Jesus entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey, they understood he fulfilled Scripture. However, they didn’t want the people to know or understand what he did and asked him to stop the celebration. Instead, Jesus told them what Scripture he fulfilled. Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King comes unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Jesus then went to the temple and chased out the money changers and proclaimed the purpose for the temple – a house of prayer. Jesus proclaimed who he was by his actions. The chief priests and scribes wanted him to stop his actions before the people recognized who he was, and what their proclamations said about him. People are still trying to stop the Word from going forth. Those in leadership don’t want anyone to know the truth about Jesus and what he came to do. They tried to ban prayer in school, talking about the Bible in public places. Yet, the Word still goes forth. Children have taken up the banner for Jesus, just as Jesus said they would do. Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou might still the enemy and the avenger. At the beginning of each school year, students organize a See You at the Pole event. It is at the flagpole where students and anyone else who wants to join them, will gather to pray for their schools, teachers, and the administrations for a successful school year, without violence. Students lead Bible studies during after school activities. People have tried to shut down those activities, but they have been unable to because they are student led. It is the only time you will find adults taking part in those activities, showing what they stand for and they are behind the efforts shown by the students. Jesus also told the Pharisees who also tried to have him stop the people from shouting their hosannas, that in doing so the stones would cry out. Luke 19:39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (KJV) Don’t let anyone stop you from praising Jesus for all he has done for you. He deserves the glory and praise. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he brought salvation with him. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be my King, my Savior, my Lord. Help me to open my mouth in praise for all he has done for me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 17 June 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay