Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Lesson Helps for the Week of April 4Sabbath SchoolLessonFor April 4,1971CHRIST ACCLAIMED AND REJECTEDMatthew 21 =9-15,33-45Comments by John K. GaultThe events depicted in this lessonoccurred during the final week beforeJesus' crucifixion. Jesus had said sometime before this, "I must work the works ofHim that sent me while it is day: the nightcometh, when no man can work" (John9:4). So, Jesus' "day" was about over. Thegathering storm of opposition from therulers of the Jews was soon to break uponHis defenseless head, and He would betreated, then, as an archcriminal andwould suffer a most ignominious death.I: Jesus Prepared for His TriumphalEntry into Jerusalem.He knew beforehand that it was goingto happen even though no announcementhad been made. In Matthew 21:1,2 it issaid, "And when they drew nigh untoJerusalem, and were come to Bethphage,unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesustwo disciples, saying unto them, Go intothe village over against you, andstraightway ye shall find an ass tied, and acolt with her: loose them, and bring themto me. And if any man say ought unto you,ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them;and straightway he will send them. . . Andthe disciples went and did as Jesus commandedthem, and brought the ass, andthe colt, and put on them their clothes, andthey set Him thereon."Both Mark and Luke, in describingthis event, said that Jesus sent the twodisciples to find a "colt tied" which theywere to untie and bring. The apostle Johnsaid of this occasion, "And Jesus when Hehad found a young ass, sat thereon, as it iswritten."In explaining this seemingdiscrepancy it could be said that Matthewwrote his gospel principally for the Jews,and so he adhered closely to the word ofthe prophecy of Zechariah. It would seem,therefore, that the beast on which Jesusrode into the city of Jerusalem, was ayoung ass, or "colt, whereon never mansat." Usually an animal which is riddenfor the first time becomes nervous, but itwas not so with the young ass on whichJesus rode. It was thoroughly pacified,which was typical of the amelioratingeffect which the presence of Jesus hasupon the whole creation. He said to thewind and the waves, "Peace be still, andthere was a great calm." In the state of theyoung ass, therefore, there is to be seen areflection of the perfected kingdom ofChrist, when He shall reign as the "Princeof Peace."2: The Triumphal Entry Was aFulfillment of Prophecy.Several hundred years before thisoccasion the prophet Zechariah hadproclaimed, "Rejoice greatly, 0 daughterof Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem;behold thy King cometh unto thee; He isjust, and having salvation; lowly, andriding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foalof an ass." The scribes and Pharisees weresupposed to know the Scriptures, whichwould have made them "wise untosalvation." Instead, however, with theireyes blinded with their own traditions,they saw no connection between what theprophet Zechariah said and that which washappening right before their eyes. But thewhole nature of Jesus' earthly career wasa fulfillment of what the prophets hadforetold concerning Him; consequently,He could rightly say to the two discipleswith whom He walked on the way toEmmaus, "Ought not Christ to havesuffered these things and to have enteredinto His glory?"3: This Occasion Was a GreatDeclaration of the Kingship of Christ.The scribes and Pharisees did notgive to Him this acclaim. As Matthew saidin 21:8,9, "And a very great multitudespread their garments in the way; otherscut down branches from the trees, andstrawed them in the way. And themultitude that went before and thatfollowed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Sonof David: blessed is He that cometh in thename of the Lord; Hosanna in thehighest." It was the multitude, composedof common people who so acclaimed Him,and not the rulers of the Jews. "When thechief priests and scribes saw the wonderfulthings that He did, and the childrencrying in the Temple, Hosanna to the Sonof David, they were sore displeased, andsaid unto Him, Hearest thou what thesesay? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea;have ye never read, out of the mouth ofbabes and sucklings thou hast perfectedpraise?" Christ must be praised. It is theduty of the rulers of the world to recognizeChrist as King, but if they will not do itthere are others who will, namely, themultitude and the little children.4: Jesus Demonstrated HisAuthority over the Temple.When Jesus had come into the city ofJerusalem He "went into the Temple ofGod, and cast out all them that sold andbought in the Temple, and overthrew thetables of the moneychangers and the seatsof them that sold doves, and said untothem, It is written, My house shall becalled the house of prayer but ye havemade it a den of thieves." With, perhaps,several million people who had come intothe city from remote countries, for thecelebration of the Passover, the traderswere doing a thriving business, buying andselling animals for the sacrifices andchanging foreign money into the halfshekel of the sanctuary. And it is evidentthat they were not honest in their dealingswith the strangers, for Jesus said that theyhad made the Temple into a "den ofthieves." This practice in the very sacredprecincts of the Temple was an openviolation of the ideals of the kingdom ofChrist as pictured by Zechariah when hesaid, " .and in that day there shall be nomore the Canaanite in the house of theLord of hosts." (The name Canaanite hadbecome a synonym for merchant.) WhenJesus chooses to assert His authoritypeople and everything else must fall backbefore His voice and presence.5: The Rejection of Christ Is Portrayedin the Parable of the WickedHusbandmen. (21:33-41)In this parable four personalities arerepresented: the householder, thehusbandmen, the servants and the son.The "householder planted a vineyard, andhedged it round about, and digged aMARCH 10. 197111