Matthew 20:29-21:11: “Jesus Heals Two Blind Men Then Makes His
Triumphal Entry Into
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this next section of the gospel of Matthew, we now
enter into the final week of Jesus’ life, a week titled, ‘The Passion Week’
1.1.1.
We see that Jesus begins the week by coming into
Jerusalem being hailed as the Messiah, the King of the Jews
1.1.1.1.This event
is called Jesus’ Triumphal Entry’
1.1.2.
We will look at the significance of Jesus being the King
of the Jews, and of the reign which He will undertake upon the earth one day
1.1.2.1.However,
Jesus’ first mission to earth is to be as the ‘Suffering Messiah’, not the
‘Reigning Messiah’, so the culmination of this week will be His death upon the
cross of
1.1.3.
Before we get to His Triumphal Entry, we first notice
this event that occurred as they were going out from
1.1.3.1.This event
shows that even though Jesus was now surrounded by a vast multitude, one who
was now recognizing His destiny and wanting to hail Him as their king, Jesus is
still moved with compassion by the needs of two men who were insignficant in
the eyes of the world, and as He always responded to those with true need who
came to Him asking for help, He gave them what they were needing
2.
VS 20:29-31 -
“29 And as they were going out from
2.1.
Notice here that even when Jesus was surrounded by multitudes who wanted
to follow Him, and even when He is now more focused than at any point in His
life since He knows that He is heading into Jerusalem to die upon the cross of
Calvary for the sins of the world, nevertheless Jesus hears and responds to the
cries for mercy of the downtrodden and helpless.
2.2.
These two blind men are crying out for mercy to Jesus, but the mercy that
they desire is mercy that would heal their infirmity and restore sight to them.
2.3.
There were very many people in Jesus’ day who suffered from blindness due
to the sanitary conditions present in the world.
2.4.
Notice that these blind men are men who are advanced in their faith, for
they call out to Jesus by the Name that God promised the Messiah would come by,
the ‘Son of David’.
2.5.
The multitude though did not want Jesus to be bothered by such men as
these since He was such an important man, and they also were taught by their
leaders that infirmities were brought upon people because of their sin,
therefore the multitude thought that these blind men surely deserved to be in
their blinded state.
2.5.1.
The scriptures do not teach by the way that sin and infirmity are related
to specific sins, nor that these afflictions come upon people because of
punishment from God. Illnesses come upon
us because we are a sinful fallen people and because of our fallen state our
bodies have degraded and become more susceptible to diseases.
2.6.
Both Luke and Mark include this account in their gospels, however they
both say that there was just one blind man who was healed, and in Mark 10:46 we
read that the man’s name was Bartimaeus.
Sceptics have taken this minor
discrepancy, as they have many others, and attacked the inspiration and
reliability of the scriptures, however when this type of discrepancy occurs in
the scriptures we believe that one account includes complimentary information
about the event. In other words, Matthew
just includes more detail than the others in saying that there were two men
instead of one, and Mark just happens to include that the more dominant one of
the men healed was named Bartimaeus.
2.6.1.
By the way,
if the gospel accounts all included the same detail about every event that
occurred in the life of Jesus, then in that case we would have good reason to
believe that either the books were forged by a single source, or that the
writers got together and concocted their stories. Every eye-witness account in testimonies
before courts of law include these same type of discrepancies in stories, for
each witnesses adds details that he or she thinks are important or that he or
she happens to recollect.
2.7.
Another
discrepancy between this account and Luke’s and Mark’s is that those two
writers wrote that this event occurred as Jesus was heading to
2.7.1.
Some have
said that to account for this their were two Jerichos or that their was the
inner part of the city and the out skirts, but in fact we really do not know
exactly what to account to this difference, however we believe that God’s Word
is inspired and therefore there must be some logical explanation for this.
3.
VS 20:32-34 -
“32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do
for you?” 33 They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” 34 And
moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained
their sight and followed Him.” -
Jesus healed the two blind men
3.1.
Jesus asks the two men whom He knew to be blind a very important
question, “What do you want me to do for you?”
3.1.1.
Many people know that they have infirmities in their lives, however they
may not really want to get well from those infirmities.
3.1.1.1.To be healed from blindness
would mean that these men would no longer have a reason to go around begging
for alms and that now they would have to get a real job. They may not have desired to do this.
3.1.2.
Many people have sin in their lives, and they may even call out to the
Savior and even claim that they are one of His children, but do they really
want to be healed from their sin?
3.2.
The blind men tell Jesus that they want their eyes to be opened.
3.3.
We read here that to the last, Jesus was moved with ‘compassion’, and
thus He healed thise two blind men.
3.4.
As with all of Jesus’ other healings these were complete healings, and
these men ‘regained their sight’.
3.5.
These men had first cried out to Jesus calling Him, ‘Son of David’, now here
we see the genuiness of their conversion in that after being healed they
‘followed Him’.
4.
VS 21:1-5 -
“21:1 And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to
the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into
the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and
a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. 3 “And if anyone says
something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately
he will send them. 4 Now this took place
that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of
4.1.
Few have questioned that the events of this day occurred on the Sunday
before He was crucified, and that therefore the celebration of ‘Palm Sunday’
which the church has commemorated for hundreds of years is perhaps synchronized
properly ‘day-wise’ to the actual event.
4.1.1.
John MacArthur and some other notables have accepted Monday as the day
that the event occurred however.
4.1.2.
The actual day this occurred is not really important however.
4.2.
All throughout His ministry, Jesus had always tried to get His disciples
and the multitudes of people to not make Him known publicly, however now that
Jesus knows that He is to go to the cross to pay the penalty for mankinds sin
during the Jewish Passover, Jesus is now the One who is orchestrating His
Triumphal Entry as the Messiah, the King of the Jews:
4.2.1.
Jesus sends two of His disciples ahead of Him into Bethphage (just
outside of
4.2.1.1.Jesus reveals His
omniscience and omnipotence in telling these disciples what they will find when
they get to Bethphage:
4.2.1.1.1.He tells them they will find
a ‘young donkey’ along with her mother.
4.2.1.1.2.When they tell the owner of
these animals that the Master has need of them, the owner will immediately send
them with the disciples.
4.3.
Both Mark and Luke in their account of this incident say that Jesus asked
them only to get a young donkey (or a ‘colt’ in some translations, however this
is not a request for them to get a horse for him to ride on), however they do
not mention that Jesus also told them to bring the donkey’s mother.
4.3.1.
This is not a contradiction in details, rather Matthew simply adds more
details that the other writers left out.
4.3.2.
Having it’s mother nearby would calm the young donkey as it carried Jesus
all long the path surrounded by the crazed enthusiasts.
4.4.
At any time during His ministry, Jesus could have orchestrated events
such that He would be received into Jerusalem with huge fanfare, but this was
the appointed as well as the appropriate time for such an event to occur, and
the appropriate pomp and circumstance for it.
4.4.1.
When Pilate commanded that the soldiers write on the top of Jesus cross,
‘The King Of The Jews’, in three languages, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (Luke
23:38), this event actually came as a result of God’s intervention into the
affairs of men, for it was God who put into Pilate’s mind to have this written,
since Jesus was appointed to be, ‘The King Of The Jews’.
4.4.2.
In Rev. 19:11-16, we see Jesus coming upon the clouds of heaven on a white horse as the
conquering, ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’, as He is coming at the end of
the Tribulation to usher in the Millenial Reign of His Kingdom upon the earth, “11 And I
saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called
Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His
eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name
written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 And He is clothed with a
robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies
which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him
on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He
may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads
the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and
on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
4.5.
Kings normally came into a city or region which they were taking over or
conquering upon a mighty stallion of war, as a show of might and valor, however
if a King wanted to usher in a peace treaty or make peace, He might come into a
city seated upon a humble animal such as the young donkey which Jesus chose for
His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
4.6.
Jesus ushered into
4.6.1.
In contrast, read what John MacArthur writes about the pomp and circumstance displayed at
Queen
4.6.2.
I guess we should not be surprised that this King who was born on this
earth in a horse stall amid poverty would arrive into
4.7.
It is estimated that perhaps as many as 2 million people might have been
in
4.8.
In our story here we see that the multitudes have finally begun to put
two and two together, so to speak, and thus to realize that in order for Jesus
to do and say the things that He had done, that He must be the long-awaited
Messiah prophesied for their nation, Him upon whom all their hope was placed.
4.8.1.
However, the people didn’t want the Messiah that the Lord wanted to give
to them, they wanted a Messiah of their own liking.
4.8.1.1.They didn’t want a Messiah
who would come first be a dying Messiah, one who suffered humiliation and
physical, mental, and emotional agony before all of the world in order that the
penalty of sin be paid for.
4.8.1.2.They didn’t want a Messiah
who would come into
4.8.1.3.They wanted a Messiah who
today would conquer all of their enemies, one who would throw off the unwanted
tentacles of
4.8.1.4.They didn’t want a Messiah
who would be the Lord of their hearts, one who would win their love by laying
down his own life, and one who would then by virtue of who He is require all of
their worship and adoration as God, they wanted a powerful conquering Messiah
who would exalt them and place them up above all of the people of the earth.
4.9.
It is so like man to want God in our life, however to want Him only upon
our terms, and for us to want a God in the image in which we fashion Him.
4.9.1.
This reminds me of something that Ray Comfort once said. He said that he was once talking to a lady,
and he was telling her that if a person didn’t repent and ask Christ into her
life that he would end up spending eternity in hell. However, the lady replied, “My God would
never send someone to hell for eternity”.
Comfort replied [in so many words], “That’s because your god doesn’t exist,
for your god is a figment of your own imagination, an idol that you have
created for which you choose to worship”.
4.9.1.1.People have always been
creating a god in their own image, this is the basis of all idolatry really.
4.10.
One of the things that is so sad about this multitude who exalted Jesus,
acknowledging Him as their Messiah and King, is that this is the same group who
a week later when before Pilate and they had the chance before the Passover to
have either Jesus released to them or a murderer named Barabas, they chose to
have Barabas released from jail, and they chanted that they wanted Jesus to be
crucified.
4.11.
In Zechariah 9:9 we read of a prophesy concerning how the Messiah of the Jews would come
to them mounted and riding upon a donkey, and as we see from this verse, in
Matthew 21 Jesus was merely fulfilling what the scripture had prophesied
concerning Him, “ 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
4.12.
The coming of the Messiah as prophesied by Daniel in Dan. 9:25 was also fulfilled in
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry, and if the Jews had been wise in rightly dividing the
Word of God they would have known that their Messiah would show up on this very
day, “25
“So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore
and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of
distress.””
4.12.1.In this prophesy a week is
equivalent to a week of years, or seven years, therefore the Messiah was to
come to them in, ‘69 x 7 years’ (or 483 years), after Artazerzees decreed to
have the temple in Jerusalem rebuilt.
5.
VS 21:6-9 - “ 6
And the disciples went and did just as Jesus had directed them, 7 and
brought the donkey and the colt, and laid on them their garments, on which He
sat. 8 And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others
were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road. 9 And the
multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out,
saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David;
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”” - The disciples brought the donkeys, and they
and the multitude placed palm branches and even their own garments on the path
before Jesus for Him to ride upon these on the way into
5.1.
Jesus’ omniscience and omnipotence were proven out to the two disciples,
for they found the two donkeys just as Jesus said that they would, and the
owner of these donkeys gave them for their Master just as Jesus said that the
man would.
5.2.
The disciples did not have a proper saddle for Jesus to sit upon as He
rode the young donkey, so they laid their own garments on the animal for Jesus
to sit upon.
5.3.
The mother of the donkey was probably used by the Lord to just follow
along behind so that the young donkey would be settled down as it carried
Jesus.
5.4.
The multitude was accepting Jesus to be their Messiah and the King of the
Jews as is seen in:
5.4.1.
They placed their very garments into the path before Him to ride on them.
5.4.2.
The phrase, ‘Hosana’, that they cried out to Jesus as He rode into
5.4.3.
They also gave Him another Messianic title, ‘Son of David’.
5.4.4.
‘Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord’, was another
phrase set aside only for the Messiah of the Jews.
5.4.4.1.The multitude were actually
quoting a Messiahic Psalm, Psalm 118:26
6.
VS 21:10-11 - “
10 And when He had entered
6.1.
The Lord had placed in the inhabitants of
6.2.
The last time that the people of Jerusalem were greatly stirred was when
the wise men rode into Jerusalem looking for a child after Jesus had been born,
and as a result of the Lord stirring up the people that something was happening
on that occasion, Herod responded by having all of the males two years and
younger slain.
6.3.
The common people as well as the leaders of