ࡱ> vxu} %bjbj55 E2__   cc8$a~~~~~~~$K'''cs(((':~('~((xm(4s((pN~10apFu(du4s4su0v*("#( a''''u  ): Matthew 21:1-22 Good News for the blind and lame! S.B.C. 16-03-08 INTRODUCTION I dont do it too often but this morning Im going to plagiarise someone elses illustration, though adapted very slightly. Have you heard about the film thats now showing on the South Bank featuring the rock band U2? Whats significant about it is that its filmed in 3D. To watch it you need special glasses or all you see is a blurred image. Matthew was aware that the Jews saw things, as it were through Jewish eyes, things which we can easily miss: what we need is some special glasses to enable us to see what the Jews saw! This is none more so than when it comes to Palm Sunday. JESUS DRAMATIC RIDE INTO JERUSALEM Setting off from Bethphage, Jesus instructed two of his disciples on ahead of the party to a nearby village, quite possibly Bethany, to collect a donkey (it seems that Jesus had made arrangements beforehand) and bring it to him. Cloaks were then placed on the donkey and Jesus sat on it. They set off for Jerusalem, a couple of miles down the western slope of the Mount of Olives. As they did so crowds gathered and threw down their cloaks in the path of the donkey, along with palm branches. Everyone was conscious of the powerful imagery behind this event. In addition the crowds cried out, Hosanna to the Son of David And when they entered the city, there was a great stir and much excitement. But what was it all about? What had Jesus unleashed? Some may remember that this time last year I read which stated that something like half of all men at the time were named after one of the five sons of Mattathias Maccabaeus; John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and Jonathan. Almost 200 years earlier those sons under the leadership of Judas, led an uprising against the Greeks who had previously occupied their land and controlled the Jewish people. The details of those dramatic and momentous times are recorded in the books of Maccabees. 2 Maccabees 12:7 is of particular relevance for us today, and especially the account of Judas Maccabaeus triumphal arrival in Jerusalem after driving out the Greeks. Jesus entry was virtually a carbon copy. Thus to all intents and purposes, Jesus was signalling that he was about to lead an uprising against the occupying Romans. It looked like a call to war! The people were longing for this and their liberation seemed imminent. Moreover, with God on his side, as all the miracles confirmed, victory was in no doubt! Hosanna to the Son of David. JESUS DRAMATIC ACTION AT THE TEMPLE After the triumphant ride into Jerusalem, a wonderful start to his day, Jesus went into the temple, criticised those working there, turned over their tables, scattered money everywhere and made an unbelievable scene, then went out and cursed a harmless tree to death. Whatever is it all about? And why does only Matthew tell us this story? One answer could be that he was simply giving an account of what happened that day and there is no reason, to read anything extra into it even though the other gospel writers ignored it. Another answer would take into account that Matthew wrote originally for a Jewish readership and included material that Jewish people would understand the significance of. They had the glasses! That, of course, begs the question, then what the significance of the blind and the lame? Anyone who was here last Sunday should have a clue! We were looking at Davids capture of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, little more than a citadel at the time, and of how its position high on a rocky outcrop made it so easy to defend that even the blind and lame could do so. Then of how David took the citadel by entering through the man-made water courses. Afterwards and as a consequence of the taunt of the Jebusites, a proverb came into being that the blind and the lame will not enter the palace (2 Samuel 5:8). It was a proverb that stuck in the Jewish mindset. So much so, that Matthew, with his Jewish readership in mind, developed this theme in his gospel. 11:5, 15:30f. and here in 21:14. JESUS SYMBOLIC CONDEMNATION OF A HARMLESS TREE A strange story if ever there was one! This took place the next day. The so called triumphal entry had taken place on the road from Bethphage to Jerusalem, a distance of a couple of miles on the east side of Jerusalem over the Mount of Olives (the precise whereabouts is unknown, but probably very close to Bethany). That was followed by the so called, cleansing of the temple. Jesus then retired to the village of Bethany and spent the night there. The next day on his way back into Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry, saw a fig tree and looked for some fruit. Finding nothing but leaves he cursed the tree saying, may you never bear fruit again, and it began to wither. Whatever are we to make of all this? It seems a million miles from the Jesus we met just the day before. The answer seems to lie in its place within the events of that last week of Jesus life, and the key seems to be with the temple the temple that Jesus had found, just like the tree, so be so wanting. The place where God had intended to meet with his people had been taken over for a very different purpose. More than just the use of the temple for commercial purposes, there is a clue in the text quoted about the den of robbers from Jeremiah 7:11. The robbers were not so much thieves but men of violence: the reference is to those who wanted to overthrow the Romans and had made the temple a symbol of resistance to Roman rule (cf. Matthew 26:55). Gods house had been subverted. Everything that Jesus had stood for and taught was at stake at this point. Violence was not Gods way. And unless the people heeded his words they would come to disaster and did in AD70. JESUS REMARKABLE STATEMENT ABOUT PRAYER When the disciples commented on how quickly the tree began to wither, Jesus told them that if they had faith and did not doubt, they could say to this mountain, be thrown into the sea, and it would be done by God, adding that, if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. This promise has always been difficult to understand. But consider the geography; Jesus was standing not far from the temple mount if that was the mount to which Jesus was referring, he was saying that with all its very impressive buildings and earthly power it would all come crashing down because it no longer served the purposes of God (cf. 24:1-2 and Luke 21:5-6). As for us and our world and our lives here today, what does all this mean? How can we sum it up? What does it promise and where may be the challenge? First, Jesus was executing the great saving plan of God despite great misunderstanding and powerful opposition; and second, the challenge is to put our trust in him who remains committed to that goal.      John the Baptist had been arrested and sent word to Jesus for reassurance that he had not been mistaken when he had prepared the way for him; that he had not been wrong to say that Jesus must increase while he decrease. Jesus reply is interesting, Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor (11:4-5).  Again in chapter 15, Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. 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