Matthew 21

This chapter opens the section of the Gospel of Matthew that covers the final week of Jesus' life. Having left Jericho in Matthew 20, Jesus enters Jerusalem in this chapter, and the disputes that take place in the temple continue through chapter 22.

Outline

• Verses 1–11 At Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sends two disciples to bring a donkey and her colt, and he rides into Jerusalem on them. The crowds spread their garments and branches on the road and cry out "Hosanna" (Triumphal Entry).
• Verses 12–17 Jesus drives out those who buy and sell in the temple (Cleansing of the Temple). He heals the blind and the lame, answers the chief priests and scribes who are indignant at the children's praise, and then goes to Bethany to lodge there.
• Verses 18–22 Early in the morning, a fig tree bearing nothing but leaves withers at once, and Jesus teaches about prayer offered in faith (Cursing of the Fig Tree).
• Verses 23–27 When the chief priests and the elders of the people ask about the source of his authority, Jesus responds by asking them where John's baptism came from.
• Verses 28–32 The Parable of the Two Sons. Jesus declares that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God first.
• Verses 33–46 The Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the quotation about the rejected stone. The chief priests and Pharisees seek to lay hands on Jesus but fear the crowds.

Key Verses

• Matthew 21:9 "Hosanna to the son of David" — The crowd's cry welcomes Jesus as a king in the line of David and draws on the words of Psalm 118.
• Matthew 21:13 "My house shall be called the house of prayer" — Combining quotations from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus speaks of the original purpose of the temple.
• Matthew 21:42 "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner" — A quotation of Psalm 118:22, which is used again in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7.

People and Places

• Jesus and two unnamed disciples
• Chief priests, scribes, elders of the people, and Pharisees — The leaders of the temple and of Jewish society, who oppose Jesus.
• John the Baptist — Mentioned in the dispute over authority and in the Parable of the Two Sons.
• Bethphage — A village at the foot of the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem.
• Temple in Jerusalem — The setting of the cleansing and the disputes.
• Bethany — A village east of Jerusalem where Jesus stayed at night.

Points for Reflection

• Matthew mentions two animals, whereas Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12 record only one. Some explain this in connection with the quotation of Zechariah 9:9 in verse 5, while others hold that the colt came along with its mother; still other views have also been proposed.
• John 2 places the cleansing of the temple early in Jesus' public ministry. Some interpreters regard these as two separate events, while others regard them as a single event that the Gospel writers placed at different points in their narratives.
• The fig tree episode is commonly read as a symbolic act portraying judgment on a fruitless temple and its leadership.
• Some interpreters read "a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof" in verse 43 to mean that the church replaces Israel, while others read it more narrowly as a judgment on the leaders of that time.
• Verse 44 is absent from some ancient manuscripts, and some modern translations therefore place it in brackets or in a marginal note.

In the Korean Church

• Verses 1–11 are frequently read and preached on Palm Sunday. On that day, Sunday school classes and choirs sometimes sing songs on the theme of "Hosanna."
• Verse 13 is often cited in sermons on prayer and on the church sanctuary.