HIGH STAKES!

Just what is happening here?                                    

The Jewish Messiah, the King they have waited 600 years for, has arrived at His city Jerusalem only to be confronted at God’s temple by the elders who would dearly love... to crown Him?...no, to arrest Him!                                                

He has already warned them with 2 parables so now He spells out His warning even clearer – God’s Kingdom is ready, just like a wedding. You murderers are going to be destroyed, your city burned and outsiders are going to be welcomed - so long as they wear that wedding garment (Christ). 

Do they repent? No, they try desperately to entangle Him with words instead! (Matt 22)

• Religious Pharisees join with worldly Herodians to test Jesus’ allegiance to Caesar.                                                  

Answer:  “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s...”

• Sadducees challenge Jesus over resurrection - that they don’t even believe in!                          

Answer:  “God is not the God of the dead but of the living”

• Pharisees not to be outdone, wheel in their top attorney...            

The greatest commandment??  “Love the Lord thy God...”        ...and the bonus??  “Love thy neighbour”

So who really is this Messiah who the children hail as ‘Son of David’?                                                   

To silence everyone all Jesus does is quote the climactic Psalm 110:  “The Lord said unto my Lord...”

Yes, the Messiah, Son of David,...is LORD!

Is He YOUR Lord??

"BY WHAT AUTHORITY...?"

The people see Jesus as ‘the prophet of Nazareth’ but the elders are ‘sore displeased’.                                                    Why??  The children acclaim Him as Son of David!         

Next day....                                                   

How about some figs to stave off hunger pains on the way back to the temple - except this tree has none. (Matt 21)          

Here’s what the prophet Hosea recorded:

‘I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time’

Yes, this fig tree should be producing figs on last year’s growth before the new season figs appear, just as today’s fathers should be producing fruit for God.                    

Instead, they confront Jesus...

“By what authority doest thou these things?...”

Doing what?? Teaching the truth!

Jesus answers them with 2 parables – the first about repentance, the second about wicked vineyard managers.

Do the elders repent? 

No, they pronounce their own judgment!

“The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth fruit thereof...”                                                                                                      
Judaism is finished! In fact...                                         
“...whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

Whoa! This Man sure means business so don’t dare challenge His authority.

KING ON A DONKEY??

Whoah!!  Just what is happening here?... (Matt 21)

Jesus the Messiah is entering His city Jerusalem – on a donkey mind you, and...it’s colt too!  Is this just to fulfil Zechariah’s prophecy?...                                            

“Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.”

Try doing that sometime...                                     
Enter a city, help yourself to a donkey just waiting there for you, then ride it AND its colt thru a tumultuous crowd, as they shout:                                          

“Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest”

They recognise Jesus as ‘Son of David’ but straightaway call on Him to: ‘Hosanna: Save we pray!’                         
Is that ‘save us from our sins’ or ‘save us from the Romans’?

What a challenge! The rightful King of the Jews enters Jerusalem, now under the iron fist of the Roman Empire. Heavily armed soldiers loyal to Caesar are ready to put down any threat.

Does this King on His donkey start attacking the garrison?                         

No, He goes straight to the temple to take on the Jewish thieves then gets back to healing!

LORD HAVE MERCY!

Finally, it takes two blind men to show how it’s done and who Jesus really is (Matt 20)...guys that have missed seeing all those miracles!

Jesus has left Galilee behind as He heads deliberately to Jerusalem.                      

Why?...  “to be killed and be raised again the third day”     

Who by?...  Jews and Gentiles! 

Three times Jesus has warned of His death and three times He’s been interrupted while healing so many and blessing children: a legal challenge over divorce, a rich young man tries to win eternal life and the mother of two disciples wants the top spot for her boys.

Finally, near the end of the journey...                    

“Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David!”        

The blind faith of these poor men is rewarded and they follow Jesus.

What has Jesus Christ come here for?                         

To serve... but let’s not forget that He is also ‘Lord of the vineyard’ and will be gracious to latecomers... 
(yes, even the Gentiles!)                                            

Jew & Gentile – we all desperately need this mercy.

GOT ENOUGH STUFF?

What a contrast!...one young man who loves stuff more than his fellow-man meets another young man who loves His fellow-man more than stuff – yes, Jesus!... on His way to losing even His own clothes, then crucifixion, before receiving the ‘throne of glory’. (Matt 19:16- ) 
He replies...

“Why callest thou me good? There is none good but One, that is, God”

Is this good Man called Jesus really the good God?  

He first tests this guy with the Commandments, especially 5 that are about interaction with others....                                                                      

Okay, that ticked all the boxes but what about Commandment #10?                                              

‘Thou shalt not covet’                                              

Sorry pal, you don’t win eternal life thru your own efforts – you have to accept being a loser first!  

“It’s easier for a camel to go thru the eye of a needle... “

What would YOU give up for Jesus, for His Name’s sake?  
After all...                                              

He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to earn what he cannot lose. 

Me fit thru a needle?? Raspberries to that!

                                                

THOSE PESKY KIDS!

Huge crowds are following Jesus as He heals their sick.  An unmarried 33 year old – ‘a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven’s sake’ – is on His way from Galilee to Jerusalem...... to be CRUCIFIED!

The prophet Malachi has warned:                          

“For the Lord God of Israel saith that He hateth putting away...”   but that doesn’t stop these Pharisees from confronting Jesus over ‘easy divorce’ and adultery. (Matt 19)                                                           

Who hasn’t committed adultery with their eyes?

(Did you notice Jesus said:                                             

“He which made them at the beginning made them male and female”                                                      

Today’s ‘theistic evolutionists’ say: “Jesus was ignorant of modern science”!)                                                                            

So - divorce... guess who gets hurt by divorce?                  

It’s those little children again – just like these children the disciples are trying to stop from coming to Jesus for blessing!

Could you possibly find a more stark contrast?...    

Pharisees trying to trap their Messiah with Mosaic Law....  and a young Man on His way to being crucified, with time to bless those pesky kids!

Let’s see what it takes to follow Him!...NEXT

"WHO'S THE GREATEST IN THE KINGDOM?"

Let’s see how Jesus answers this one in Matthew 18... 
‘Jesus called a little child unto Him and set him in the midst of them’

What did He then say?...“Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”

Notice how Jesus goes on to teach that...

• All children are precious
• Our souls are precious
• My brother is precious
• Our gathering in His Name is precious

In other words, be careful pursuing your brother over some trespass!  After all - how much have you been forgiven? 
Only 490 times?

(Does He really mean for this to be a pattern on how to dis-fellowship people from the Church?                       

The Church did not even exist when He said: “...tell it unto the ekklesia”)

By the way, did you notice what Jesus thinks of people who entrap, trip up, entice (Gk: skandalizo) little children?   

Better that they had a concrete neck-lace then thrown in the drink!

So after all that....                                                     

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?                        
The King of kings, of course!