READ MATTHEW 21
Reading Matthew 21 once again impresses me with the boldness of Jesus. He knew His enemies were plotting to assassinate Him but instead of appeasing them He deliberately antagonized them. Look at the primary events of this chapter and note how Jesus intentionally throws down the gauntlet and challenges his adversaries to take action against Him.
The Sunday before Passover, when huge crowds were streaming into Jerusalem, Jesus rode into the city on the back of a donkey. The religious leaders immediately recognized that Jesus was openly declaring Himself to be the Messiah. The prophet Zechariah had predicted, “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey…” (Zech. 9:9). Jesus’ foes were outraged with Him for making Himself the focal point of that parade making what they thought was an outrageous claim.
Instead of letting their tempers cool, Jesus fanned the flame even more by striding into the temple and driving out the moneychangers and releasing the animals they were hawking there. He put a halt to the leader’s primary source of profit and thundered, “My house is supposed to be a house of prayer and you have made it a den of thieves! Just get out!” Everyone fled. No one dared oppose the fearless Jesus.
The next day the religious leaders regained their composure and demanded, “By what authority do you do these things and who gave you that authority?” They were beside themselves with rage. But Jesus didn’t apologize for His controversial actions. Instead, He humiliated His accusers by publicly asking them a simple question, “The baptism of John was it from God or man?”
They recognized they were in trouble no matter how they answered. If they said, “John was from God”, Jesus would ask, “Why didn’t you listen to John’s testimony about me?” If they said John was a mere man they would lose favor with the majority of people who considered John a great prophet. So they could only cower and mumble, “We don’t know.”
Then Jesus made them really squirm by telling a parable about tenant farmers who were so dopey that they thought if they killed the owner’s son they would inherit the farm. How dumb is that? It was obvious whom the villains represented so, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet” (Matthew 21:45-46).
We could use some of Jesus’ gritty courage today. We are so easily intimidated and so fearful of being ridiculed that we back away from any confrontation and allow the world to bully us into silence.
Today’s Christians passively tolerate gross sins and rank untruths and say nothing. “Don’t be too controversial or political or you’ll lose the opportunity to win them to Christ,” some leaders tell us.
Christians are supposed to turn the other cheek but that doesn’t mean we run and hide. We are to speak the truth in love but we are still supposed to speak the truth. Psalm 107:2 encourages, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”
It’s about time for God’s people to get some backbone! Let’s have the courage to speak up and say:
“I believe the creation story is true.”
“I believe marriage was designed by God to be between a man and a woman.”
“I believe life is sacred from conception to the last breath.”
“I believe there is absolute truth revealed in the Ten Commandments.”
“I believe there is one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ.”
“I believe unmarried college students should be sexually abstinent and if they choose to be promiscuous they should pay for their own contraceptives – for crying out loud!”
If you have the courage to stand for truth you will undoubtedly be labeled an ignorant bigot, a hatemonger, a homophobe, a fundamentalist or some other nasty term the bullies of this age use to intimidate you into silence. When that happens remember that Jesus said, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” And, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5: 11-12).
May our prayer be: “Lord, help me to be strong and courageous…like Jesus.”
** If you are enjoying this study through the book of Matthew with Bob Russell, be sure to check out Bob’s “Falling In Love With Jesus Again” Bible Study DVD and resources for your small group or church.
