Sister Sunny Sunday Night 4/6/14

Sister Sunny Sunday Night 4/6/14

Mat 21:1  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

Mat 21:2  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.

Mat 21:3  And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

Jesus showed His disciples over and over again that He was God.  He knew where the colt would be tied.  He knew who the disciples would run into and what they would be asked when they went to untie them.  He gave them the reply that would satisfy the man and He must have prepared the man’s heart for the eventuality that his colt would be used.  Because He said, “Straightway he will send them.”

As I was preparing this lesson, I was inspired to exercise faith that God would and was doing the same for us.  He knows us, He knows who we will run into, He is preparing our heart and He is preparing the setting and the cast for the performance of His will. 

Mat 21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

Mat 21:5  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.

He is almighty God.  He is able to set up at the beginning of time the course of the stars so at the exact moment the star that would predict His birth to the wise men would be in position.  He is God.  He can make it so that all the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled so that without question all can know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Mat 21:6  And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

Mat 21:7  And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

Adam Clark -
And put on them their clothes - Thus acknowledging him to be their king, for this was a custom observed by the people when they found that God had appointed a man to the kingdom. When Jehu sat with the captains of the army, and Elisha the prophet came, by the order of God, to anoint him king over Israel, as soon as he came out of the inner chamber into which the prophet had taken him to anoint him, and they knew what was done, every man took his garment, and spread it under him on the top of the steps, and blew the trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king.” 2Ki_9:13.

Mat 21:8  And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

Mat 21:9  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.

Here the people were proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah and acknowledging that He was their king.  The term Hosanna means, “Oh save.”  It is an exclamation of adoration that was used in the Old Testament when one came to present a request to a king. 

Psa 118:25  Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

Psa 118:26  Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

This is what the people were saying: deliver us from our oppression and help us. 

In calling Him the Son of David again they were acknowledging Him as their messiah.  “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.”  He is come in the authority and character of the Lord.  “Hosanna in the Highest.”  Highest means Supreme one or heavens.  They were giving Him the highest praise possible.

Mat 21:10  And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

Mat 21:11  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

The whole city was agitated, trembled, thrown into a tremor of fear or concern, moved, quaked, and shaken.  “Who is this that is being proclaimed as messiah?” 

Deu 18:18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

Jesus was worthy of all the honor and praise that they gave Him.  He is Prophet prophesied of.  He did not speak of himself but spoke every word that His Father gave Him.

Joh 12:49  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

Joh 12:50  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

It is amazing that these same people that were saying “Hosanna in the Highest,” five days later were the ones saying, “Crucify Him.” 

Jesus did not court the people.  He was not flattered, He was not offended.  He knew their frame.  He came to seek and save the lost.  To as many as received Him to them gave He power to become the Sons of God.

Psa 103:14  For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Jesus went from the triumphal procession into the temple.  He found there those that were buying and selling.  This was the second time that He cast out all those that were buying and selling in the temple.  The first time was near the beginning of His ministry where He went into the temple with a scourge told of in John 2:15.  Here again near the end of His ministry He purges the temple of those that were buying and selling.

Mat 21:12  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,

Mat 21:13  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.

Jesus was zealous of the temple.  There were times when it was necessary for those that had to travel to buy their sacrifice when they got to Jerusalem, but the temple was not the place for that.  It was to be a place of prayer. 

We have been taught and I believe it is right to leave business outside of church.  Our services are meant to be times when we gather together to worship God. 

We are the temple of God.  How zealous are we to drive out and overturn anything that would hinder our worship of God? 

Mat 21:14  And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

Mat 21:15  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,

Mat 21:16  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?

The chief priests and scribes were undoubtedly jealous and offended.  Who gave this man right to overturn the buying and selling that was being done in the temple?  How could they not know that the power to heal came from God?  They must have hardened their hearts and closed their eyes.

I am sure that the praise that the children were giving Him was something that the chief priests and scribes desired for themselves.  They were those that had stood praying on the street corners to be seen of men.   They were of those that Jesus reproved for outwardly appearing righteous but inwardly being full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  (Matthew 23:25-28)

We want to be as these little children, praising God and worshipping Him. 

Psa 8:2  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Psa 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

What is man that thou art mindful of him?  How blessed we are that God takes pleasure in our praise and in our songs.  How blessed we are that He visits us with His Word and Spirit and gives us knowledge of His ways.  How blessed we are that He asks us to bring all our burdens to Him.  The promise is that He will sustain us.

Psa 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psa 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Psa 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;

Psa 103:5  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

All these things were offered to the chief priest and the scribes yet they chose to take offense and be jealous of His praise.  They were not counting the cost of refusing Christ. 

All these things are ours if we will humble ourselves and pray and turn from our own ways.  They are ours if we will go His way and heed and obey His Word and Spirit.  They are ours if we will seek peace and eschew evil.  They are ours if we will give Him all the praise, honor, and glory.  He alone is worthy.