Dig Deeper:
WHO IS THIS? It must have been quite a sight in Jerusalem the day that Jesus entered riding on a donkey, but unfortunately, the crowd makes a massive miscalculation. We read in v10 that 'the whole city was stirred' (interestingly, we draw the word 'seismic' from this same Greek word), causing people to wonder who in the world just showed up. But look at the answer they give: He is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth (v11, 26, 46). Not the Christ / Messiah, not the Son of God or even the Son of Man (although they do call Him the Son of David), but just another prophet.
They were certainly not being disrespectful, and it was a big deal for a prophet to be back on the scene, since it had been centuries between the last of the Hebrew prophets and John the Baptist. But still, they missed the point; Jesus is not a prophet merely pointing to God, He is Immanuel, which means God With Us.
Still today, almost everybody knows Jesus, and most people respect Him. They marvel at His moral preaching, social justice, and miraculous acts of mercy. He was a great teacher, prophetic for sure (which even the Pharisees note in 22:16). But they miss the point that He was the Son of God, who came to pay for sin and provide perfect righteousness for those who belong to Him. There are eternal consequences for missing that point, so make sure you understand it.
FIG TREE / TEMPLE CLEANSING: These two events are very, very difficult to interpret apart from the very Hebrew context they came in. Read the DIG DEEPER post from the parallel passage we read in Mark: wgtncrc.org/post/mk-11
THE KING EXPECTS HIS SUBJECTS TO WORK: This is the second chapter in a row that Jesus uses a vineyard as the basis for His parables. In chapter 20, the premise was that the owner went to town to procure day laborers to work, and today we read that even the owner's sons were expected to work in the vineyard (v28-31). No matter what your station is in the Kingdom of God, the King expects you to be working for Him.
AAA Prayer Tips:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Hosanna (Lord, save us!) in the Highest Heaven (v9, 15).
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for strength to produce fruit in God's Kingdom (v43).
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
