February 1 Reading for Today: Exodus 13:1–14:31Psalm 18:13-19Proverbs 6:6-11Matthew 21:1-22 Notes: Exodus 14:21 strong east wind. God’s use of natural phenomena does not detract in any way from the miraculous nature of what took place that night. The psalmist recorded this event as the Lord dividing the sea by His strength (Ps. 74:13). The wind walled up the waters on either side of the pathway then opened (v. 22; 15:8; Ps. 78:13). Proverbs 6:6 ant…sluggard. See 30:25. The ant is an example of industry, diligence, and planning (vv. 7, 8) and serves as a rebuke to a sluggard (a lazy one who lacks self-control). Folly sends a lazy man to learn from an ant (see 10:4, 26; 12:24; 13:4; 15:19; 19:15; 20:4; 26:14–16). Matthew 21:9 Hosanna. This transliterates the Hebrew expression which is translated “Save now” in Psalm 118:25. Blessed is He.This is an exact quotation from v. 26 of the same psalm. This, along with the messianic title “Son of David,” make it clear that the crowd was acknowledging Christ’s messianic claim. The date of this entry was Sunday, 9 Nisan, A.D. 30, exactly 483 years after the decree of Artaxerxes mentioned inDaniel 9:24–26. Matthew 21:21 if you have faith and do not doubt. This presupposes that the thing requested is actually God’s will—for only God-given faith is so doubt-free (see Mark 9:24). it will be done. A miracle on such a cosmic scale was precisely what the scribes and Pharisees wanted Christ to do, but He always declined. Here, He was speaking figuratively about the immeasurable power of God, unleashed in the lives of those with true faith. DAY 1: Why did Jesus cleanse the temple in Matthew 21? This was the second time Jesus cleansed the temple. John 2:14–16 describes a similar incident at the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. He regarded both merchants and customers as guilty of desecrating the temple (Matt. 21:12). Items being bought and sold included “doves” and other animals for sacrifice. Currency-exchange agents, or “money changers,” present in droves, were needed because Roman coins and other forms of currency were deemed unacceptable for temple offerings. Evidently, both merchants and money changers were charging such excessive rates that the temple marketplace took on the atmosphere of a thieves’ den (v. 13). Religion had become crass and materialistic. In verse 13, Jesus uses two Old Testament prophecies, Isaiah 56:7 (“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”) andJeremiah 7:11 (“Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes?”) to justify His actions. When the holiness of God and His worship was at stake, Jesus took fast and furious action. The “all” (v. 12) indicates that He drove out not only men but also animals. Yet, although His physical action was forceful, it was not cruel. The moderation of His actions is seen in the fact that no riotous uproar occurred; otherwise the specially large contingent of Roman troops in Jerusalem at that time because of the Passover crowds, would have swiftly reacted. Although the primary reference is to the actions of the Messiah in the millennial kingdom, Jesus’ actions in cleansing the temple was an initial fulfillment of Malachi 3:1–3 (and Zech. 14:20, 21) that speak of the Messiah’s purifying the religious worship of His people. From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, thomasnelson.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 06:23:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015