Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 21:14
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Verse 14. The blind and the lame came] Having condemned the profane use of the temple, he now shows the proper use of it. It is a house of prayer, where God is to manifest his goodness and power in giving sight to the spiritually blind, and feet to the lame. The Church or chapel in which the blind and the lame are not healed has no Christ in it, and is not worthy of attendance.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the blind and the lame came to him,…. The Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, “they brought unto him the blind and the lame”. The blind could not come to him unless they were led, nor the lame, unless they were carried: the sense therefore is, they came, being brought to him:
in the temple; that part of it, the court of the Gentiles, and mountain of the house, out of which he had cast the buyers and sellers, c. and in the room of them, were brought in these objects of his pity:
and he healed them to the blind he restored sight, and caused the lame to walk; which miracles he wrought in confirmation of the doctrine he preached: for all the other evangelists relate, that he taught in the temple.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14. And the blind and lame came to him. That the authority which Christ had claimed for himself out of the usual course might not be suspected of rashness, he supported it by miracles. He therefore cured the blind and lame in the temple, in order to proclaim that the rights and honor of Messiah truly belonged to him; for by these marks the prophets describe him. Hence we again perceive what I hinted a little ago that it is not every one of the people who is called to imitate this action of Christ lest he inconsiderately raise himself to the throne of the Messiah. We ought indeed to believe that the lame and blind, who were cured, were witnesses of the divine power of Christ, as if God, by his voice from heaven, approved what had been proclaimed by the multitude. (16)
(16) “ Comme si Dieu eust d’enhaut approuvé par sa voix les louanges que le peuple avoit proclamees en l’honneur de Christ;” — “as if God had from on high approved by his voice the praises which the people had proclaimed in honor of Christ.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(14) The blind and the lame.These, as we see from Act. 3:2, and probably from Joh. 9:1, thronged the approaches to the Temple, and asked alms of the worshippers. They now followed the great Healer into the Temple itself, and sought at His hands relief from their infirmities. If we were to accept the LXX. reading of the strange proverbial saying of 2Sa. 5:8, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house of the Lord, it would seem as if this were a departure from the usual regulations of the Temple; but the words in italics are not in the Hebrew. Most commentators give an entirely different meaning to the proverb, and there is no evidence from Jewish writers that the blind and the lame were ever, as a matter of fact, excluded from the Temple. All that we can legitimately infer from the two passages is the contrast between the hasty, passionate words of the conquering king, and the tender compassion of the Son of David, to whom the blind and the lame were objects, not of antipathy, but pity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Blind came to him in the temple Neander thinks it so strange that miracles should take place at this moment, that he pronounces the verses unhistorical! Verily, our Lord did not think the temple of God too sacred a place for deeds of mercy, nor the moment too valuable to put forth his power for poor humanity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.’
In the chiasmus this verse is in deliberate contrast with those speaking of the casting out of the corrupt dealers. For a short while the Temple was restored to its rightful purpose, and became a place where people were made whole. In the place of the racketeers came the blind and the lame. And Jesus healed them there. Had people but realised it this was a further Messianic claim (Mat 11:5).
This would not, however, have been pleasing to the religious authorities. In their eyes such deformities did not fit in with the holiness of the Temple. The blind and crippled were allowed into the Court of the Gentiles, but they could go no further, and even then there were severe restrictions placed on them. So the sight of so many flocking in would have been distasteful to their eyes, and the thought of them being healed there positively disgusting. They may well have felt that such healings must surely leave some residue of the deformity behind. Furthermore such people would now be able move on into the Temple proper for they were no longer disabled. Such an instantaneous change in the situation with regard to holy matters could not be pleasing, and caused problems for the authorities. How did you police it?
There may, however, have been another significance in Matthew citing ‘the blind and the lame’. When David was seeking to capture Jerusalem initially it would appear that the then inhabitants derided him and his followers as ‘the blind and the lame’, seeing them as powerless to enter their stronghold. When he did succeed in breaking in and capturing Jerusalem a proverb then arose that ‘the blind and the lame shall not come into the house’, and this probably applied to the exclusion from favour, and from the central place of worship, of the Jebusites. Thus Matthew may be pointing out by this that under the greater David the blind and the lame are now welcome. None are now excluded.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The confession of the children
v. 14. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple; and He healed them.
v. 15. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the Temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! they were sore displeased,
v. 16. and said unto Him, Hearest Thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?
Even in these last days the Lord continued the work of His healing ministry, in the very courts of the Temple, the Court of the Gentiles being used for various meetings. And the chief priests and scribes, fearing the multitudes, could at this time do nothing, although they were boiling with murderous indignation. But when the children that had come up with their parents to witness the Temple-service and to stay for the Passover, began to chant the song which had so grated upon the ears of the Pharisees on the day before; when their treble voices were lifted in the Hosanna of adoration and supplication, it was too much for the Jewish officials. Angrily they demanded of Him whether He did not hear. In reality they meant to say: Why do you not resent the blasphemy? For to be silent means to assent, and incidentally to confess that their song was the truth. But Jesus had His answer ready. They accuse Him of deafness, of not hearing; He accuses them of blindness, of not being able to see, or of a poor memory in not being able to remember. It was plainly written, Psa 8:2, that babes and sucklings would sing the praises of the Messiah, and He accepted their confession with gladness. It confirmed the laudatory statements of the multitude in regard to His Messiahship. It was a tribute to His mission also to little children. “So absolutely is He pleased with their praise. He accepts it, and permits Himself to be proclaimed a king in Israel, and that the kingdom of Israel was His own kingdom and people. That makes them angry and foolish; that the high priests and great lords at Jerusalem could not suffer; that disturbs them most of all that they cry in the Temple, ‘Hosanna!’ They are not concerned too much about the miracles; they permitted Him to make the blind to see, the lame to be straight, and to do more such miracles; but that He should want to come riding into the city with singing and pomp, and does not concern Himself about them, whom He should have asked for permission, that did not suit them at all. For all schismatics can easily judge the other man; they are waspish people, see the mote in the eyes of others, but are not aware of the beam in their own eyes. They think that the performance of miracles is indeed something, but to sing, for all of that, that He is a king and lord, that does not look well in a prophet. If He had first gone to the high priests and asked for permission, all might have been well; but that He does it without their permission, and that the poor bungler and beggar, who did not even own an ass, comes out so strongly against their will, and does not do so much as to look at them for permission, that is intolerable to them, that vexes them.”
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 21:14-16. And the blind and the lame came to him, &c. The opinion that Jesus was the Messiah now prevailed generally; for, while he was in the temple, the blind and the lame, and other diseased persons, were brought to him from all quarters, to be healed. Many such, no doubt, would be waiting in the several avenues of the temple to ask alms, at a time when there was so vast a concourse of people; and there seems a peculiar propriety in our Lord’s multiplying these astonishing miracles, both to vindicate the extraordinary act of authority which he had just been performing, and to make this his last visit to Jerusalem as convincing as possible, that those who would not submit to him, might be left so much the more inexcusable. Upon this occasion the very children, when they saw the cures which he performed, proclaimed him the Son of David; so wonderfully were they struck with his miracles. Indeed the chief priests and doctors, finding him thus universally acknowledged, were highly displeased; yet theydurst not do any thingto put a stop to it, as standing in awe of the multitude. They only asked him if he heard what the children said, Mat 21:16 insinuating, that it was his duty to stop their mouths, by refusing the praises they offered without understanding what they said. Jesus answered them out of the 8th Psalm, where David observes, that though all should be silent, God has no need of other heralds to proclaim his praise, thaninfants who hang at their mothers’ breasts; because, though they be dumb, the admirable providence of God, conspicuous in their preservation, is equal to the loudest and sublimest eloquence. To ordain strength, which is the phrase used by the Psalmist in the passage here referred to, was in effect to perfect praise, as the LXX. render it; so that there is no need to be solicitous about that little variance in the quotation. This general observation of David was greatly illustrated by thehosannahs of the children, and yet much more by the triumph of the Apostles,weak as they were in many respects,over all the oppositions of Jews and Gentiles. But see the note on Psa 8:2.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 21:14 ff. The insertion of Mat 21:14-16 from the apostolic tradition is peculiar to Matthew.
] the only instance of this usage in the New Testament, though very common in classical Greek and the Sept.: the wonderful things , viz. the cleansing of the temple and the miraculous cures. This combination has suggested the use of the more comprehensive term.
Mat 21:16 . . . .] in a tone of rebuke, implying that He was the occasion of such impropriety, and was tolerating it.
] recitative . The reply of Jesus, so profoundly conversant with the true sense of Scripture, is as much as to say that this shouting of the children is altogether befitting, as being the praise which, according to Psa 8:3 , God has perfected .
. ] In explaining the words of the psalm, there is no need to have recourse to the fact that children usually received suck for two and three years (Grimm’s note on 2Ma 7:27 ), nor even to the idea of the children being transformed into adult instruments in effecting the triumph of God’s cause (Hofmann, Weiss, u. Erf . II. p. 118), but only to bear in mind that, as a genuine poet, the psalmist seemed to hear, in the noise and prattle of the babes and sucklings , a celebration of their Maker’s praise. But, inasmuch as those children who shouted in the temple were not ( i.e . in connection with . infantes , Isa 11:8 ; 1Co 3:1 ), the scriptural warrant by which Jesus here justifies their hosannas may be said to be based upon an inference a minore ad majus . That is to say, if, according to Psa 8:3 , God had already ordained praise from the mouths of sucklings , how much more has He done so from the mouths of those little ones who now shouted hosanna! The former , though unable to speak, and still at the mother’s breast, are found praising God; how much more the latter , with their hosanna cries! These last are shouted in honour of the Messiah , who, however, is God’s Son and Representative, so that in His God is glorified (Joh 13:31 ; Joh 14:13 ; Phi 2:11 ), nay, God glorifies Himself (Joh 12:28 ).
. ] Consequently He did not pass the night in the open air (in answer to Grotius), for neither in classical Greek do we always find used in the sense of bivouacking (Apollonid. 14; Diod. Sic. xiii. 6). Comp. Tob 4:14 ; Tob 6:10 ; Tob 9:5 ; Jdg 19:9 f.
On Bethany, some 15 stadia from Jerusalem (Joh 11:18 ), see Tobler, Topogr. v. Jerus . II. p. 432 ff.; Robinson, Pal . II. p. 309 ff.; Sepp, Jerus. u. d. heil. Land , I. p. 583 ff. At present it is only a miserable village, known by the Arabic name of el-Aziriyeh (from el-Azir , i.e. Lazarus ). For the name , see note on Joh 1:28 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Ver. 14. Came to him in the temple, and he healed them ] So true was that testimony given of our Saviour,Luk 24:19Luk 24:19 , that he was a prophet mighty in deed, as well as in word, before God and all the people. Nos non eloquimur magna, sed vivimus, We are not eloquent but we survive, said the primitive Christians. Our lives as well as our lips should speak us right and real in religion; as Christ here, by his cures, gave a real answer to that question, Mat 21:10 , Who is this? Let us learn to lead convincing lives; these are the best apologies when all is done.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 21:14-17 , peculiar to Mt.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 21:14 . : that the blind and lame in the city should seek out Jesus is perfectly credible, though reported only by Mt. They would hear of the recent healing at Jericho, and of many other acts of healing, and desire to get a benefit for themselves.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 21:14-17
14And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant 16and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself’?” 17And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
Mat 21:14 “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them” Mat 21:14-15 are unique to Matthew, but they do show that, even at this late date, Jesus was still trying to confirm His message to the religious leaders by performing miraculous acts of love and compassion right in the Temple area. These were OT signs of the Messiah.
1. sight to the blind (cf. Isa 29:18; Isa 42:7; Isa 42:16)
2. help to the lame (cf. Isa 40:11; Mic 4:6; Zep 3:19)
3. both signs together in Jer 31:8 and Isa 35:5-6
If they simply had spiritual eyes to see, they would have seen His authority, compassion, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, but they did not.
Mat 21:15 “but when the chief priests and scribes” The usual designation of the Sanhedrin (see Special Topic at Mat 20:18) included the High Priest, scribes, and elders (cf. Mat 21:23; Mat 16:21). This was a way of referring to those in places of leadership in Jerusalem of Jesus’ day.
“the children who were shouting in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’they became indignant” Apparently the children (used of Jesus at twelve, cf. Luk 2:43) had heard the Hallel Psalms applied to Jesus the day before and they were repeating the refrain which had upset the Pharisees earlier.
Mat 21:16 “and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these children are saying'” In Luk 19:39 other Pharisees complained about this same thing. Jesus accepted these titles as another way of affirming His Messianic claims.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read'” This was a strong statement which implied that they were not familiar with their own Scriptures. Jesus used irony and sarcasm several times in relation to the religious leaders (cf. Mat 12:3; Mat 19:4; Mat 21:42; Mat 22:31). Jesus, at this point, quoted Psa 8:2. This was not necessarily a Messianic Psalm, but it is a Psalm which asserted that children (nursing ones, possibly up to three years of age or older) will speak the truth before adults even understand it.
Mat 21:17 “He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there” In Joh 12:1-10, Jesus stayed with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha several nights during this last week of His life.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive
1. Why is the Triumphal Entry so significant?
2. Why is it important that Jesus rode on the colt of a donkey?
3. Explain the significance of Psa 118:26-27. What was unique about this year’s welcoming parade?
4. Why was Jesus so upset with the buyers and sellers in the Temple?
5. Why did the religious leaders not rejoice in Jesus’ miracles?
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS FOR Mat 21:18-46
A. Matthew 21 begins with the Triumphal Entry and closes with the second of three parables. It was an attempt to discuss Jesus’ Messiahship with the Jewish leaders.
B. It is extremely difficult to be certain whether Jesus is rejecting (1) the Jewish nation, (2) her leaders, or (3) both.
C. The cleansing of the Temple in Mat 21:12-17 was an act of rejection. The cursing of the fig tree in Mat 21:18-22 was an act of rejection. The parable of the two sons in Mat 21:28-32 was a parable of rejection. The parable of the wicked tenants, Mat 21:33-46, was a parable of rejection. The parable of the King’s wedding feasts, Mat 22:1-14, was a parable of rejection. The question remains, were the leaders symbolic of all the nation or was it rabbinical Judaism in particular that Jesus was rejecting?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Mat 21:14. , in the temple) The right use of the temple; which was found fault with by His adversaries, who tolerated the abuse of the temple. No one else ever performed miracles in the temple; this was peculiar to the Messiah.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 9:35, Mat 11:4, Mat 11:5, Isa 35:5, Act 3:1-9, Act 10:38
Reciprocal: Isa 35:6 – shall the lame Mat 15:31 – the lame Mat 20:30 – two Mar 10:52 – he received Luk 7:22 – how Luk 18:43 – he
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:14
This work that Jesus did was far different from that of the “thieves.” They were in it for unright-ous gain while Jesus was doing good to the unfortunate people by healing their infirmities.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 21:14. Blind and lame. A house of prayer becomes a house of mercy. The making it a den of robbers was unmerciful.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. That our blessed Saviour works his miracles not secretly in a corner, but openly in the temple, and submits them to the examination of all persons senses. A miracle is a supernatural action, which is obvious to sense. Popish miracles are talked of by many, but seen by none.
Observe, 2. That Christ’s enemies are never more incensed, than when his divine power is most exerted, and his divine nature owned and acknowledged. When the chief priests saw the miracles which Jesus did, and heard the children crying Hosanna to the Son of David, they, were sore displeased.
Observe, 3. That Christ can glorify himself by the mouth of babes and sucklings; he can form and fit up what instruments he pleases, to show forth his excellencies, and celebrate his praises. Out of the mouths of babes and suckling thou hast perfected praise.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
TRIUMPHANT ENTRY
Joh 12:12-19; Mat 21:1-11; Mat 21:14-17; Luk 19:29-44; Mar 11:1-11. John: On the morrow a great multitude, having come to the feast, hearing that Jesus comes into Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm-trees, and came out to meet Him, and continued to cry out, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel! Having arrived at Bethany Sunday evening, and lodged at the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, on Monday morning Jesus goes to Jerusalem, over Mount Olivet, as the road then led. Now it goes around it, south of the summit.
Mark: When they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near to the Mount of Olives, He sends forth two of His disciples, and says to them, Go ye into the village which is opposite you, and going into it, you will immediately find a colt tied, on which no one of men has sat. And if any one may say to you, Why do you do this? say that the Lord has need of him, and immediately he will send him hither. They departed, and found the colt tied at the door without, on the crossing of two roads, and they are loosing him; and certain ones of those standing there began to say to them, What are you doing, loosing the colt? And they said to them as Jesus commanded. And they led the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him, and He sat on him. I made a specialty of pursuing this old road over the mountain which Jesus traveled on this notable occasion. Bethphage is about half-way from Bethany to the summit, on the mountain slope. From this place, in the journey, Jesus sent the two disciples, whose names are not given, with orders to go into a village on the mountain in full view, and bring to Him the young donkey, which had never been mounted. Matthew says they brought the mother along with the colt. Those donkeys have wonderful strength, utterly out of proportion to their size, which is quite diminutive. They are much used in the Holy Land, really more than any other domestic animal, the camel ranking next, and being used for all heavy burdens. Some get confused in the statement of Matthew that He sat on them, thinking that He rode both of the donkeys, which is untrue, as them does not refer to the animals, but to the clothes which they laid on the young animal, and on which Jesus sat. Why did Jesus ride the donkey? Why not a horse? The reason is very obvious. The horse is the symbol of war, being always used in battle; while the donkey, too slow for war, is the universal symbol of peace, and consequently the appropriate animal for the Prince of Peace to ride. Again, the donkey symbolizes humility, as he is the poor mans animal, eating about as much as a sheep, hardy enough to live in the desert, and so small and tough that he can climb a mountain like a goat. Jesus came, the first time, in His humiliation, homeless and friendless, riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. He will come the second time in His glory, riding on a white cloud.
John: Jesus, having found the young donkey, sat on him, as has been written, Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting upon the colt of the donkey. (Zec 9:9) That is certainly a very beautiful prophecy. As Jerusalem occupies the summit of Mount Zion, the application is clear and unmistakable.
Mark: And many strew their garments in the way; and others cut down the branches from the trees, and continued to strew them in the way. Those going before and those following alter continued to shout, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom coming in the name of our father David I Hosanna in the highest! Luke says: He, drawing nigh to the descension of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of His disciples, rejoicing, began to praise God with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen. After the gushing, Oriental style of saluting kings and conquerors, they threw down their garments for Him to ride over them, demonstrative of their perfect submission to His authority, and at the same time they strew His way with palm-leaves, which are so majestic and beautiful in Oriental climates, and vividly symbolic of royalty, conquest, and victory. They had waited three years for that wonderful hour, and now feel sure that the desideratum for which they had prayed, sighed, and cried to God so long is fast culminating into a glorious reality; and when they reach Jerusalem, they are very sanguine that He will be crowned King of the Jews. At that time there were no factories, and clothing was so scarce and costly, comparatively with our day, that we can hardly estimate the sacrifice which they so cheerfully and gladly made in throwing down the best apparel they had, in the dusty road, for the donkey to tread upon. O they are so glad to hail Him King of the Jews, little dreaming that this grand ovation was but a scintillation of the oncoming glory of the triumphant entry of King Jesus into Jerusalem on the white cloud, symbolized by the white donkey, when the mighty host of angels and glorified saints will accompany Him. Thus they witnessed an exultant prelibation of the grandest triumph in the history of redemption, when our Lord shall descend from heaven on the throne of His glory, accompanied by the celestial millions. The perfect submission they manifested by casting their garments beneath the tread of the donkey, and the royal triumphs emblemized by the palm-leaves strewn in the Conquerors path, and the joyous shout of the appreciative disciples, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Glory in the highest! O what a grand adumbration of our Lords triumphant return on the throne of His millennial glory, to girdle the globe with peace, righteousness, holiness, and victory! Satan will be chained and imprisoned; the six-thousand-year weekdays of toil, temptation, conflict, and suffering under the dark reign of Satan will be fled and gone, and the bright Sabbath of Eden return in millennial glories,
Undimmed by sorrow, unhurt by time;
the earth, exultant from the long winter of sin and oppression, will again leap into the life of perpetual springtime; and sterility, wintry storms, wasting tempests, will retreat forever before the glorious Sun of righteousness, rising on all the world, with healing in His wings, dissipating forever the long, dismal night of sin, and girdling the globe witch Gods hallowed millennial day. As the happy years roll on, the people will forget the awful suffering, conflict, and desolation of bygone ages. This shouting multitude caught a glimpse of the oncoming victory, and thought the long-prayed-for triumph had actually come. But it receded away, leaving bright memories which have inspired the saints in all subsequent ages. While we contemplate this symbolic adumbration of our Lords coming glory, let us all thank God and take courage, remembering that we are eighteen hundred and sixty-seven years nearer that glorious hour when the triumphant coming of our King shall not only verify the prophecies, but triumphantly fulfill the thrilling symbolism of this memorable occasion.
Joh 12:16. And His disciples did not at first understand these things; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written in reference to Him, and they did them to Him. When the Holy Ghost descended on them at Pentecost, sanctifying and flooding them with light on the precious Word, then they were able to tightly divide the Word of Truth, and separate the prophecies some appertaining to His first coming, in humiliation; and others to His glorious coming in triumph. At the time of this public entry into Jerusalem, they were awfully disappointed, because He rendered Himself invisible and passed out of their hands when they came to crown Him King; but the Pentecostal baptism, which followed the glorification of Jesus, gave light on all these mysteries and filled them with joy.
Then the multitude, being with Him, continued to testify that He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him up from the dead. Lazarus was then with Him, one of His loving disciples, and also a host of people who had actually witnessed that wonderful miracle, regarded as the greatest of our Saviors ministry. Therefore the multitude came to Him because they heard that He had performed this miracle.
Then the Pharisees said to one another, You see that you profit nothing. Behold, the world has gone after Him. This grand ovation which Jesus received, along with the popular excitement over the resurrection of Lazarus, stirred the gall of the Pharisees and the higher clergy to the very bottom.
Luk 19:39 And certain ones of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Him, Teacher, rebuke Thy disciples. Dead religion cant stand hallelujah meetings. They are literal torture to dead professors and dry-bone preachers. Responding, He said to them, I say unto you, that if they must keep silent, the rocks will shout. We see that the Lord believes in shouting meetings. This was a more noisy time than you ever witnessed at a holiness camp, and yet the Lord rebuked no one for fanaticism, but commended the whole affair. The Lord is going to be praised with a loud voice. If the Churches will not do it, He will convert the drunkards and harlots, though their hearts be hard as stone, till they will shout His praises. The rocks did cry out the next Friday, when He hung on the cross, and they were rent with the earthquake shock.
And when He drew nigh, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things appertaining to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thine eyes. Because the days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies will throw a blockade around thee, and encompass thee in a circle, and they will press thee on all sides; they will slay thee and thy children in thee, and will not leave in thee stone upon stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. On the very spot, descending Mount Olivet, here referred to, where Jesus poured forth gushing tears, weeping over the city, we have a most conspicuous view of all Jerusalem. Christian money has built a beautiful, snowy-white stone church-edifice on that very spot. It is called The Church of Jesus Weeping. His omniscient eye saw the great and formidable Roman armies coiled round the city, like a huge boa-constrictor, cutting off all ingress and egress, dooming the inmates to famine, which, along with the sword, slew them so rapidly that interment was impossible. Consequently the pestilential exhalations, from the putrefying corpses, produced an awful pestilence, which swept its withering epidemic through the air, actually competing with the sword and famine by heaping the city with mountains of the dead. Josephus says the horrors of the siege actually beggared all possible description, Jesus, with immortal eyes, seeing the future like the present, gazes on these awful and shocking tragedies, while His pure, tender, unfallen human heart gives way to profoundest pity and lacerating sympathy, till His eyes flood with gushing tears. Only four days intervening till the bloody scene of Calvary is to seal the doom of that devoted city, and expedite the righteous judgments of the Almighty, the Holy Spirit, as we here see from the words of Jesus, having already been grieved away, while hell, with its black legions, has come to the front.
Mar 11:11. Jesus came into Jerusalem, and into the temple; and looking round upon all things, the hour already being late, went out to Bethany with the twelve. You must not forget that temple, in these Scriptures, simply means the Holy Campus, which is said now to contain thirty-five acres, with many valuable buildings on it, and more then than now; for none but the priests were admitted into the temple proper. Jesus, with His apostles, had lodged in Bethany the preceding night, and now goes back and lodges there Monday night. If He had lodged in the city, there is no doubt but His enemies would have attacked Him. Having lodged Sunday and Monday nights in Bethany, Tuesday and Wednesday nights in some of the villages on Mount Olivet, He remained in the city Thursday night, being arrested by His enemies at midnight.
Mat 21:10. Jesus having come into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, saying, Who is this? We do not wonder at the excitement and the inquiry which had been produced by an entrance so exceedingly demonstrative. Besides the native population, multitudes have already arrived in the city, that they may prepare for the oncoming Passover. As the children of Abraham, the most enterprising people in the world in all ages, had gone away into all the cities of the known world, there to sojourn and accumulate wealth, therefore to the great annual Passover they came from the ends of the earth. And the multitudes continued to say, This is Jesus, the Prophet, from Nazareth of Galilee. The blind and the lame were coming to Him in the temple, and He healed them. Many of them are there now. O how they thronged me, last November and December. begging for contributions, which I was only delighted to give, of course, in small value! Jerusalem this day is a practical Bible looking-glass. O what a glory when the blind and the lame all crowded around Him there in the great Temple Campus, and on their sightless eyeballs He poured the light of day, and made the lame to leap for joy!
And the high priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things which He did, and the children in the temple, crying, Hosanna to the Son of David, got mad, and said to Him, Do you hear what they are saying? And Jesus says to them, Yes; have you not read that out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise? (Psa 8:3.) We still see that Jesus believes in noisy meetings none too young and none too old to shout aloud the praises of God. It made these big preachers and Church officers very mad; and they still get mad when you get up a sweeping holiness revival, and they hear the people praising the Lord with a loud voice, with no exception of age, sex, race, sect, or color.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
This is the last reference to Jesus’ healing ministry in Matthew’s Gospel. The healing probably happened in the Court of the Gentiles. Some of these blind and lame people could not participate fully in worship activities at the temple (cf. 2Sa 5:6-8, where David excluded the blind and lame). However, Jesus made it possible for them to do so by healing them (cf. Act 3:2). Jesus therefore cleansed both the temple and those who came to it. One greater than the temple had arrived (Mat 12:6). The authorities would later question His authority to do this cleansing (Mat 21:23).