Jesus Comes to Jerusalem: Matthew 21: 1-27

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

 ¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

 ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

 ⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion, 

   ‘See, your king comes to you, 

gentle and riding on a donkey, 

   and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”^[a]

 ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

   “Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”

   “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]

   “Hosanna^[d] in the highest heaven!”

 ¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

 ¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Jesus at the Temple

 ¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”

 ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

 ¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

   “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

   “‘From the lips of children and infants 

   you, Lord, have called forth your praise’^[g]?”

 ¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

 ¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

 ²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

 ²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

 ²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

 ²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

   They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

 ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

   Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

This is the Palm Sunday verse. The first thing I noticed  was how humble Jesus' triumphal entry was. He came in on a donkey! A FREAKING DONKEY!!!!! Not a white majestic horse adorned with ornaments. Another thing that stuck out to me was that not many people knew who he was. It made me wonder, what I would do if Jesus were to have come today. I think I might let out a guffaw, Haha who does this psycho think he is? He would have to do a lot to prove himself to me, especially if he looked like a common man. This coming from a believer. What would you guys do? I give so many kudos to those who believed back then, their faith was so strong!

Something else that stuck out to me was the verses about  the fig tree withering (21-22) "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" In my Bible, there was a little blurb about this verse. It basically says that this verse isn't trying to tell you that you will win the lottery if you pray. It is saying the more you believe, the more God will shape your will and your prayers to be in line with his. something I truly need. 

What do you guys think?