Matthew 21:1-17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 21:1-11

All the four evangelists take notice of this passage of Christ's riding in triumph into Jerusalem, five days before his death. The passover was on the fourteenth day of the month, and this was the tenth; on which day the law appointed that the paschal lamb should be taken up (Exod. 12:3), and set apart for that service; on that day therefore Christ our Passover, who was to be sacrificed for us, was publicly showed. So that this was the prelude to his passion. He had lodged at Bethany, a... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 21:12-17

When Christ came into Jerusalem, he did not go up to the court or the palace, though he came in as a King, but into the temple; for his kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world; it is in holy things that he rules, in the temple of God that he exercises authority. Now, what did he do there? I. Thence he drove the buyers and sellers. Abuses must first be purged out, and the plants not of God's planting be plucked up, before that which is right can be established. The great Redeemer appear as... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:1-11

21:1-11 When they had come near to Jerusalem, and when they had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent on two disciples ahead. "Go into the village which is facing you," he said, "and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Loose them, and bring them to me. And, if anyone says anything to you, say, 'The Master needs them.' Immediately he will send them on." This was done that there might be fulfilled that which was spoken through the prophet, when... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:1-11

We may then take it that Jesus' actions in this incident were planned and deliberate. He was following a method of awakening men's minds which was deeply interwoven with the methods of the prophets. Again and again in the religious history of Israel, when a prophet felt that words were of no avail against a barrier of indifference or incomprehension, he put his message into a dramatic act which men could not fail to see and to understand. Out of many Old Testament instances we choose two of... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:1-11

To conclude our study of this incident, let us look at Jesus in its setting. It shows us three things about him. (i) I shows us his courage. Jesus knew full well that he was entering a hostile city. However enthusiastic the crowd might be, the authorities hated him and had sworn to eliminate him; and with them lay the last word. Almost any man in such a case would have considered discretion the better part of valour; and, if he had come to Jerusalem at all, would have slipped in under cover... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:12-14

21:12-14 And Jesus entered into the precincts of the Temple of God, and cast out all who were selling and buying in the Temple precincts, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and of those who were selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it 'a robbers' cave.'" And the blind and the lame came to him in the Temple and he healed them. If the entry into Jerusalem had been defiance, here is defiance added to... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:12-14

There is hardly anywhere in the gospel story where we need to make a more deliberate and more conscious effort to be fair than in this passage. It is easy to use it as a basis for a complete condemnation of the whole Temple worship. There are two things to be said. There were many traders and hucksters in the Temple Court, but there were also many whose hearts were set on God. As Aristotle said long ago, a man and an institution must be judged at their best, and not at their worst. The... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 21:15-17

21:15-17 When the chief priests and Scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children shouting in the Temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were angry. "Do you hear what these are saying?" they said. Jesus said to them, "Yes! Have you never read: 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you have the perfect praise'?" And he left them, and went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there. Some scholars have found difficulty with this passage. It is said that it is... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 21:1

f3 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem,.... The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, "when he drew nigh, or was near"; but not alone, his disciples were with him, and a multitude of people also; as is evident from the following account. They might well be said to be near to Jerusalem, since it is added, and were come to Bethphage ; which the Jews say F14 Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 14. 2. & Pesach. fol. 91. 1. was within the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 21:2

Saying unto them, go into the village over against you ,.... Munster's Hebrew Gospel reads, "before you"; not Jerusalem, as some have thought, for that would never be called a village; though the Ethiopic version reads it, "the city"; but rather Bethany, which was near to Bethphage, and is mentioned with it; though the Jews say F21 Toldos Jesu, p. 9. , the name of the village was Nob, and was near to Jerusalem, and own, that Christ had an ass from hence, on which he rode to Jerusalem,... read more

Group of Brands