Matthew 21:1-22

Jesus made His entrance into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. The people were laying down their coats and palm branches on the road before Him, praising Him and shouting "Hosanna!" Within a week's time, the shouts would change from "Hosanna!" to "Crucify Him!" Perhaps Jesus didn't fulfill the expectations of the people. Perhaps everyone was just going with the flow. When we make a decision to follow Jesus, we need to make sure it's for the right reasons.


When Jesus came to the temple, He ran off the people who were using the temple to make money selling doves and exchanging money for people to bring their offerings. Jesus said they had made His house into a den of thieves. Even in today's church, we run the risk of seeing the church as just another way to make money. We need to be careful not to let the occasional bake sale, car wash or other fund raisers take the focus away from the teaching and ministering that we are supposed to be doing.


Jesus began healing people in the temple. The children were shouting "Hosanna!" This bothered the religious leaders there who decided to make an issue of it with Jesus. Jesus referred them to scripture which talks about praise coming from children (infants and babes). When our children are praising God we should encourage them instead of silencing them. It is good for our children to learn from an early age to give glory to God and lay a good foundation for a lifetime of the same.


Jesus came up to a fig tree looking for figs. Because the tree was barren, Jesus cursed it to never grow fruit again and the tree withered. The disciples were amazed and asked how He did it. Using this as a teaching moment, He told them that if they had faith, they could do even greater things than this. Also, whatever we ask for in our prayers with true faith and belief will be given to us. God wants to do great things for us and through us, but we need to have faith in Him and believe He will give us what we need.