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March 23, 1986
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people praised Him. But did they know who He really was? Sadly, the same crowd that gave Jesus praise upon His entry later called for His crucifixion. Alistair Begg suggests that professing Christians can also fall prey to this kind of hypocrisy when we honor Christ with our mouths but our hearts are far from Him.
1Six days before ithe Passover, jJesus therefore came to Bethany, kwhere Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2So they gave a dinner for him there. lMartha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3mMary therefore took a pound1 of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5“Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii2 and ngiven to the poor?” 6He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and nhaving charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it3 for the day of my burial. 8For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
9When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus4 was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, owhom he had raised from the dead. 10pSo the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, 11because qon account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.
12The next day rthe large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13So they took branches of spalm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, t“Hosanna! Blessed is uhe who comes in the name of the Lord, even vthe King of Israel!” 14And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,
15w“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey's colt!”
16xHis disciples did not understand these things at first, but ywhen Jesus was glorified, then zthey remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17aThe crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18The reason why the crowd went to meet him bwas that they heard he had done this sign. 19So the Pharisees said to one another, c“You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, dthe world has gone after him.”
20Now eamong those who went up to worship at the feast were some fGreeks. 21So these came to gPhilip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22Philip went and told hAndrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23And Jesus answered them, i“The hour has come jfor the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I say to you, kunless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25lWhoever loves his life loses it, and mwhoever nhates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves me, he must ofollow me; and pwhere I am, there will my servant be also. qIf anyone serves me, rthe Father will honor him.
27s“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, tsave me from uthis hour’? But vfor this purpose I have come to uthis hour. 28Father, glorify your name.” Then wa voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, x“An angel has spoken to him.” 30Jesus answered, y“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31zNow is the judgment of this world; now will athe ruler of this world bbe cast out. 32And I, cwhen I am lifted up from the earth, dwill draw eall people to myself.” 33He said this fto show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that gthe Christ remains forever. How can you say that hthe Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35So Jesus said to them, i“The light is among you jfor a little while longer. kWalk while you have the light, lest darkness lovertake you. mThe one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become nsons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. 37Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 38oso that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
p“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39Therefore they qcould not believe. For again Isaiah said,
40r“He has blinded their eyes
and shardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
41Isaiah said these things because the saw his glory and uspoke of him. 42Nevertheless, vmany even of the authorities believed in him, but wfor fear of the Pharisees they did not xconfess it, so that they would not be xput out of the synagogue; 43yfor they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
44And Jesus cried out and said, z“Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but ain him who sent me. 45And bwhoever csees me sees him who sent me. 46dI have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47If anyone ehears my words and does not keep them, fI do not judge him; for gI did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48hThe one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; ithe word that I have spoken will judge him jon the last day. 49For kI have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father lwho sent me has himself given me ma commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
1cHe entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3And dhe was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ea sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for fI must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried and came down and greceived him joyfully. 7And when they saw it, they all hgrumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods iI give to the poor. And if I have jdefrauded anyone of anything, I restore it kfourfold.” 9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since lhe also is a son of Abraham. 10For mthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
11As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because nthey supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12He said therefore, o“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13Calling pten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, ‘Engage in business quntil I come.’ 14But rhis citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been sfaithful in a very little, tyou shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ua handkerchief; 21for I was afraid of you, because you are va severe man. You take wwhat you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22He said to him, x‘I will condemn you with your own words, yyou wicked servant! You knew that I was va severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26‘I tell you that zto everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27But ras for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and aslaughter them before me.’”
28And when he had said these things, bhe went on ahead, cgoing up to Jerusalem. 29dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and eBethany, at fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent gtwo of the disciples, 30saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, hon which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32So those who were sent went away and found it ijust as he had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36And as he rode along, they jspread their cloaks on the road. 37As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—kthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, 38saying, m“Blessed is nthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and oglory in the highest!” 39pAnd some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, qthe very stones would cry out.”
41rAnd when he drew near and saw the city, she wept over it, 42saying, t“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now uthey are hidden from your eyes. 43For vthe days will come upon you, when your enemies wwill set up a barricade around you and xsurround you and hem you in on every side 44yand tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And zthey will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know athe time of your bvisitation.”
45cAnd he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46saying to them, “It is written, d‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but eyou have made it a den of robbers.”
47fAnd he was teaching daily in the temple. gThe chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
1qNow when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to rthe Mount of Olives, then Jesus ssent two disciples, 2saying 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. 3If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4This took place tto fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5u“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
vhumble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt,1 the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8Most of the crowd wspread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, x“Hosanna to ythe Son of David! zBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna ain the highest!” 10And bwhen he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11And the crowds said, “This is cthe prophet Jesus, dfrom Nazareth of Galilee.”
12eAnd Jesus entered the temple2 and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of fthe money-changers and the seats of those who sold gpigeons. 13He said to them, “It is written, h‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but iyou make it a den of robbers.”
14jAnd the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15kBut when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, x“Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant, 16and they said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; lhave you never read,
m“‘Out of the mouth of ninfants and nursing babies
you have prepared praise’?”
17And oleaving them, he pwent out of the city to qBethany and lodged there.
18rIn the morning, as he was returning to the city, she became hungry. 19tAnd 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.
20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21And Jesus answered them, u“Truly, I say to you, vif you have faith and wdo not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, x‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22And vwhatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, yif you have faith.”
23zAnd when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him aas he was teaching, and said, b“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus 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. 25The baptism of John, cfrom where did it come? dFrom heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, e‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ fwe are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ga prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
28h“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in ithe vineyard today.’ 29And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he jchanged his mind and went. 30And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, kthe tax collectors and lthe prostitutes go into mthe kingdom of God before you. 32For John came to you nin the way of righteousness, and oyou did not believe him, but pthe tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward jchange your minds and believe him.
33q“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted ra vineyard sand put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and tleased it to tenants, and uwent into another country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants3 to the tenants tto get his fruit. 35vAnd the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and wstoned another. 36xAgain he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, y‘This is the heir. Come, zlet us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and athrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40bWhen therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, c“He will put those wretches to a miserable death and dlet out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, e“Have you never read in the Scriptures:
f“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;4
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God gwill be taken away from you and given to a people hproducing its fruits. 44And ithe one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and jwhen it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”5
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46And lalthough they were seeking to arrest him, mthey feared the crowds, because they held him to be na prophet.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
