Matthew 21 – The Triumphal Entry and the Cleansing of the Temple

Matthew 21: The Triumphal Entry and the Cleansing of the Temple

The Triumphal Entry

Chapter with Audio

21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³ He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, ¹⁶ and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read,

¹⁷ And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

¹⁸ In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. ¹⁹ And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

²³ And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. ³⁴ When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. ³⁵ And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶ Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. ³⁷ Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ ³⁹ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. ⁴⁰ When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

⁴³ Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. ⁴⁴ And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. ⁴⁶ And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

Chapter Analysis

Matthew 21: The King Enters Jerusalem

The Triumphal Entry

📖 Matthew 21:1–11

¹ As Jesus and His disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples.
² He told them to go into the village, where they would find a donkey tied with a colt. They were to loose them and bring them to Him.
³ If anyone said anything, they were to say, “The Lord has need of them,” and immediately he would send them.
⁴ All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet.
⁵ The prophet said to tell the daughter of Zion that her King was coming to her, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded.
⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Jesus on them.
⁸ A very great multitude spread their clothes on the road, while others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
⁹ The multitudes who went before and followed cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
¹⁰ When He came into Jerusalem, all the city was moved and asked who this was.
¹¹ The multitudes said this was Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.

🔹 The Truth

Jesus entered Jerusalem as the promised King.

He came in humility, fulfilling prophecy.

The crowds praised Him as the Son of David, yet many still did not fully understand who He was.

🔹 The Promise

God’s promised King came exactly as Scripture said He would.

✅ Conclusion

The Triumphal Entry reveals Jesus as the humble King, the Son of David, and the One who comes in the name of the Lord.

Jesus Cleanses The Temple

📖 Matthew 21:12–17

¹² Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all who bought and sold in the temple. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
¹³ He told them it was written that His house would be called a house of prayer, but they had made it a den of thieves.
¹⁴ The blind and lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
¹⁵ When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things He did and heard the children crying in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
¹⁶ They asked Jesus if He heard what the children were saying. Jesus answered that they had never read that God perfected praise out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants.
¹⁷ Then He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

🔹 The Truth

Jesus had authority over the temple.

The temple was meant to be a house of prayer, not a place of greed.

The religious leaders were offended by the praise Jesus received, even from children.

🔹 The Promise

God receives true praise, even from the mouths of children.

✅ Conclusion

Jesus cleansed corruption from the temple and received praise as the Son of David.

The Fig Tree Withered

📖 Matthew 21:18–22

¹⁸ In the morning, as Jesus returned to the city, He was hungry.
¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. He said that no fruit would ever grow on it again, and immediately the fig tree withered away.
²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled and asked how the fig tree withered so quickly.
²¹ Jesus answered that if they had faith and did not doubt, they would not only do what was done to the fig tree, but could also say to a mountain to be removed and cast into the sea, and it would be done.
²² Whatever they asked in prayer, believing, they would receive.

🔹 The Truth

The fig tree had leaves but no fruit.

Jesus used it as a warning against empty outward appearance without fruit.

Faith and prayer must rest in God, not in outward religion.

🔹 The Promise

God answers prayer that comes from true faith according to His will.

✅ Conclusion

The withered fig tree warns against religious appearance without spiritual fruit.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

📖 Matthew 21:23–27

²³ When Jesus came into the temple and was teaching, the chief priests and elders asked by what authority He did these things and who gave Him this authority.
²⁴ Jesus answered by asking them a question: where did John’s baptism come from, heaven or men?
²⁵ They reasoned among themselves, realizing that if they said from heaven, He would ask why they did not believe John.
²⁶ But if they said from men, they feared the multitude because all counted John as a prophet.
²⁷ So they answered that they did not know. Jesus also told them He would not tell them by what authority He did these things.

🔹 The Truth

The religious leaders questioned Jesus’ authority but were not honest seekers of truth.

They feared people more than God.

Their refusal to answer revealed their unbelief and hypocrisy.

🔹 The Promise

Jesus is not trapped by dishonest questions. His authority stands whether men admit it or not.

✅ Conclusion

The leaders did not lack evidence; they lacked honesty before God.

The Parable Of The Two Sons

📖 Matthew 21:28–32

²⁸ Jesus asked about a man with two sons. He told the first to go work in his vineyard.
²⁹ The son said he would not, but afterward regretted it and went.
³⁰ The father told the second son the same. He said he would go, but did not.
³¹ Jesus asked which of the two did the will of his father. They answered, the first. Jesus said tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before them.
³² John came in the way of righteousness, and they did not believe him. But tax collectors and harlots believed him. Even after seeing it, the leaders did not afterward repent and believe.

🔹 The Truth

Obedience matters more than religious words.

Repentant sinners entered ahead of religious leaders who refused to believe.

The leaders saw true repentance in others but still would not repent.

🔹 The Promise

God receives repentant sinners who believe His Word.

✅ Conclusion

The parable exposes empty profession. Saying yes to God means nothing without obedience.

The Parable Of The Wicked Vinedressers

📖 Matthew 21:33–46

³³ Jesus told another parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard, set a hedge around it, dug a winepress, built a tower, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country.
³⁴ When harvest time drew near, he sent servants to receive the fruit.
³⁵ The vinedressers beat one servant, killed another, and stoned another.
³⁶ Again he sent more servants, and they treated them the same way.
³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son, saying they would respect his son.
³⁸ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said he was the heir and plotted to kill him and seize his inheritance.
³⁹ They took him, cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
⁴⁰ Jesus asked what the owner would do to those vinedressers when he came.
⁴¹ They answered that he would destroy those wicked men miserably and lease the vineyard to others who would give him fruit in season.
⁴² Jesus asked if they had never read in the Scriptures that the stone rejected by the builders became the chief cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing and marvelous in their eyes.
⁴³ Therefore the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation bearing its fruits.
⁴⁴ Whoever fell on this stone would be broken, but on whomever it fell, it would grind him to powder.
⁴⁵ When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew He was speaking about them.
⁴⁶ They wanted to seize Him, but feared the multitudes, because the people considered Him a prophet.

🔹 The Truth

God sent His servants, the prophets, but they were rejected and mistreated.

The Son would also be rejected and killed.

Jesus is the rejected stone who becomes the chief cornerstone.

🔹 The Promise

Though rejected by men, Christ is exalted by God as the chief cornerstone.

✅ Conclusion

The parable reveals the guilt of the leaders and points to the death of Jesus. Their rejection would not defeat God’s plan.

Summary Conclusion

Matthew 21 presents Jesus entering Jerusalem as the promised King, cleansing the temple, warning against fruitless religion, confronting dishonest leaders, and exposing empty profession through parables. The chapter reveals Jesus as the Son of David, Lord of the temple, and the rejected stone who becomes the chief cornerstone.

Final Questions For You

1. What does the Triumphal Entry reveal about Jesus as King?
2. Why is religious appearance without fruit so dangerous?
3. What does it mean that Jesus is the rejected stone who became the chief cornerstone?