The Secret Codes in Matthew: Examining Israel’s Messiah, Part 16: Matthew 21:1-46, by Kevin M. Williams

Does Messiah pay taxes? Journey through the Gospel to the Hebrews with Kevin Williams and find out.

And when they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them, and bring them to Me. “And if anyone says something to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them” (Mathew 21:1-3).

In Part One of The Secret Codes in Matthew, and nearly every volume since this study began, the assertion was made that the apostle Matthew wrote this gospel as a testimony to the Jewish people. The assumption when we first began was that this born anew tax collector wanted the Hebrews to recognize the Messiah of Israel in his text. The series’ title—The Secret Codes in Matthew—intimates that there are aspects of this book that, unless viewed from a Jewish perspective, remain secret to Gentile eyes.

The same is true in the passage above. Within Judaism of the day, there was great anticipation for the coming of the Messiah. Their theology taught that the Messiah might come on a white horse, in which case he would arrive as a victorious king. However, they also believed that he might arrive riding on a donkey, in which case, Israel would have been judged unworthy.

“Rabbi Alexandra said, ‘Rabbi Y’hoshua set two verses against each other; it is written, “And behold, one like to the son of man came with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13), while elsewhere it is written, “See, your king comes unto you, … humbly riding on a donkey” (Zecharaiah 9;9). [He resolved the paradox by saying that] if they deserve it [he will come] with the clouds of heaven, but if not, lowly and riding on an ass.’” (Sanhedrin 98a).

In other words, if the Messiah were to arrive on a donkey, Israel would not deserve him. From our vantage, we might agree with great vigor, citing example after example of her transgressions. However, it would be wiser—and more harmonious with the will of the Holy Spirit—to ask ourselves if we deserved Him when He came to us? If the answer is “no” (as it should be), then we might be better served to join our Jewish brethren, arm-in-arm and in our sin, to greet the only One worthy to cleanse us of our collective iniquity.

To believe that Israel first needed to be worthy—either among the Jewish or Gentile peoples of the world—would supercede the Messiah’s divinely appointed purpose. A redeemed people would have no need of a Redeemer. Yeshua (Jesus) said it best when he said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). May his name be praised for His goodness toward us!

So the Messiah’s arrival on the colt of a donkey fit perfectly with the Jewish religious thought of the day. They were not worthy—as none of us could claim to be.

Yeshua’s selection of a donkey and her colt not only found them unworthy by their own theology, but the colt may be significant for another reason. In David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary, he writes, “Perhaps Mattityahu [Matthew] mentions two donkeys for a different reason, namely, to emphasize the immaturity of the colt, too young to be separated from its mother” (p. 62, brackets mine). This would indeed, be a lowly and unclean animal. Not at all a steed worthy of the King of kings.

It was however, in keeping with the prophetic Scripture, as Matthew reminds the reader:

Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matthew 21:4-5).

Critics of the New Testament oft claim that this was no miracle, but that Yeshua arranged the whole event ahead of time so that he could fulfill the prophecy, thereby invalidating the event as genuine. Yet this argument falls apart when one considers the other circumstances surrounding the whole entry into Jerusalem.

Yeshua was not the first person to ride into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, but he was the first to be greeted by “multitudes” praising him as the “Son of David,”

And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the multitudes were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21:9-11).

The Gospel of Mark (10:52) gives us a clue that Bartimeaus, the blind man healed by Yeshua, “began following Him on the road” to Jerusalem. In Luke’s gospel, he defines the multitudes as “the whole multitude of the disciples,” (Luke 19:37). They were not merely passersby, or common Israelites going to Jerusalem for Passover who unwittingly joined some group mind-set. Luke specifically says they were disciples.

John gives us an even greater insight: “And so the multitude who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb, and raised him from the dead, were bearing Him witness” (John 12:17). If Yeshua had conveniently arranged his ride, it hardly discredits the other witnesses being born by the multitudes, disciples giving testimony to the healing of the blind and the resurrection of the dead—telltale signs of the promised Messiah. If Yeshua had those abilities at His disposal, arranging a colt and donkey to be on hand, and for others to find it in a place formerly unrevealed, would be a simple matter entirely.

This entry into Jerusalem filled the streets with the thronging, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9).

“Baruch haBa, B’Shem Adonai,” blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord is a phrase heard in synagogues around the world to open a wedding ceremony! Truly, the long awaited Bridegroom had come! But more important is the biblical reference:

The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.

This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

O LORD, do save, we beseech Thee; O LORD, we beseech Thee, do send prosperity!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar

(Psalm 118:22-27).

A number of remarkable things are taking place. Within Judaism, to refer to a verse is to call upon the entire context of the passage. Their calls invoked the entirety of Psalm 118.

1.   The multitudes were directly, and by inference to the Psalm, making public proclamations that the chief cornerstone had arrived, that God had accomplished this, and it was a marvel to behold!

2.   By calling him not merely the Son of Man, but the Son of David indicated a collective belief that the King had come to his city, a promised and anointed (messianic) King who could heal and raise the dead.

3.   By crying “Hosanna,” found in Psalm 118 but hidden in the English translation, they were pleading “save us!” to the only one in all of humanity past, present, or future, who could redeem them.

4.   They were hailing the sacrifice for Passover was coming soon. In fact, John Lightfoot writes, “The taking to themselves the Paschal lamb, for this was the very day on which it was to be taken, according to the command of the law, Exodus 12:3; “In the tenth day of this month, they shall take to them every man a lamb” (Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica, Vol. 2, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997, p. 271).

Further, Psalm 118:27 says that the people are to “Bind the festival sacrifice,” hailing back to the promise of Isaiah 53:10, that the Suffering Servant would offer himself up as a “guilt offering.”

5.   Interestingly enough, when boughs of palm braches were taken during the Feast of Sukkot (booths or tabernacles) in that day and age, they were called Hosanna(s). By waving the boughs of palms, crying and carrying Hosanna, and inciting the title, Son of David, they were in fact, crying, “Save us, Messiah!” (Lightfoot, 271.).

For the Jewish person on the streets that day who was not a part of the multitude, the significance of the event could not be missed. Psalm 118 is called the “Great Hallel,” the “great praise” and was sung every year at Passover. From the earliest memories of every child to every adult, the Great Hillel, would be a familiar Psalm, particularly during Passover.

Some missed the significance, however. We read in Luke 19:39, “And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’” But Yeshua would not. Instead he answered them, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.” The prophet Habakkuk writes, “Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, and the rafter will answer it from the framework” (3:11). Why? A warning. In verse 10 the prophet wrote, “You have devised a shameful thing for your house by cutting off many people; so you are sinning against yourself.”

The Pharisees, in attempting to rebuke Yeshua to silence his disciples, were instead bringing sin upon their own heads.

John goes on to say that the Pharisees turned to each other and said, “… you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.” (John 12:19).

By Jewish tradition then and now, the Messiah will not announce himself, but will be hailed as the Messiah. The evidence will be so apparent that the Messiah will not need to be self-promoting—others will proclaim His reality. According to the threatened Pharisees, “the world” had gone after him, certainly meaning the Israelites.

And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the multitudes were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21:10-11).

For the Israelite, this answer built on Yeshua’s credibility as the Messiah, son of David. Isaiah 9:1-2 claims that out of the Galilee will come a “great light.” The importance of Nazareth shows up earlier in Matthew 2:23, likely alluding back to Isaiah 11:1 and the netzer in Hebrew, or “branch” in English. The pomp and circumstance, even the answers to the questions that day, all proclaimed Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel.

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And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My House shall be called a House of Prayer; but you are making it a robbers’ den” (Matthew 21:12-13).

There has been much speculation as to what was going on here. Why would Yeshua, the loving Redeemer, get so angry? Does that preclude modern houses of worship from selling Bibles or selling other merchandise?

Perhaps we can answer those questions, at least in part. Passover takes place in the month of Nisan, at dusk on the 14^th of Nisan to be precise. On the first day of the prior month, the month of Adar, the temple began collecting the God ordained and required temple tax, specifically, the holy half-shekel. This was no common half-shekel because the holy half-shekel was minted from the purest silver possible, whereas the common shekels and half-shekels were pressed from “common” silver.

From Adar, and through Passover (a great pilgrim feast when males of age would be coming to the Temple to make the requisite offerings), they would fill the temple treasury chests with the holy half-shekel. This in and of itself was perfectly acceptable, and in fact, required of the Almighty. Exodus 30:12-15 reads:

“When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. The rich shall not pay more, and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves.”

These holy half-shekels were placed in large chests, evident to everyone. But as the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.” You will note that Yeshua overturned the tables, though nothing is said about the chests. Yeshua, the Torah reverent man that He was, understood the need for the chests. His objection was with what was on the tables.

When a person came to the temple, they had to purchase a “holy” half-shekel since a common one would not do. The priest charged an exchange fee for this service, and these kolbon pieces were left on the tables, appropriately separate from the holy half-shekels.

Before anyone gets the idea, therefore, that God is opposed to profit, the lesson does not end there. The fee was not the problem; it was how some of the fees were acquired that was the problem.

“Therefore … the exchangers … received it of those that gave it, and compelled those that did not. … and then compelled them to give; and from him that did not give they forced a pledge, even his very coat” (Lightfoot, p. 275).

The books of Exodus and Deuteronomy have some specific instructions about taking a man’s coat/cloak as collateral.

“If you ever take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets, for that is his only covering; it is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious” (Exodus 22:26-27).

“And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 24:12-13).

The kolbon, or exchange fee was being used as a means to break God’s holy Torah by requiring a man to surrender his coat as collateral. When God’s mediators—the priests—did so, they oppressed the poor, something the Torah forbids time and again.

Yeshua was not opposed to the collection of the half-shekels, nor was He particularly opposed to a small profit being gained (though in theory the entire half-shekel was profit). But He was thoroughly incensed that in the House of God, the guardians of the Torah were the very ones breaking the Torah—for gain. They were robbing the poor and in this way, turning the temple into a “robber’s den.”

It is more likely that Yeshua was outraged at the ill-gotten gain, collected by oppressing the poor in defiance of God’s Torah, than he was at the actual exchange.

And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes thou has prepared praise for thyself’?” (Matthew 21:14-17).

It is not particularly clear, though based on the conclusions above, the blind and the lame—the poorest of society—came to Yeshua in the temple possibly because He had made a way for them. With the exchange tables overturned, they may have had access to the temple; access they had previously been denied. Surely this was “good news to the afflicted” (Isaiah 61:1).

All of this, or as the author comments, “the wonderful things that He had done,” brought the chief priests and scribes to bitterness. Matthew says they became indignant. The dictionary defines indignant as “annoyed at the unfairness … of something” (Encarta World English Dictionary). The inference is that they were annoyed that the people simply were not doing it right. The use of palm branches and crying Hosanna was reserved for the Fall festival of Sukkot (Booths, or Tabernacles). And while calling on the Son of David—a messianic title—was not particularly “wrong,” within this context, they were applying it to one particular man—Yeshua. In the temple, this had never been done before. It was without precedence or protocol.

And so they challenged Yeshua, asking, “Do You hear what these are saying?” In other words, “Don’t you think it is inappropriate for the populace to be crying out to you so?”

Yeshua, falls back on his strongest defense, the Word of God: Psalm 8:2. The New American Standard Bible renders it this way:

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast established strength, Because of Thine adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.

The verse reads a little differently. The Greek in Matthew 21:17 does not match the quote of Psalm 8:2. Somehow “established strength” literally a “bulwark”—a wall to stand against attackers—in Psalms becomes “praise for Thyself” in Matthew. The New King James Version renders it “you have perfected praise.” The Jewish Publication Society speaks similarly, “From the mouths of infants and sucklings You have founded strength on account of Your foes, to put an end to enemy and avenger.”

There is no clear reason why the differences between the Old and New Testaments passages exist. If Yeshua were going to quote the Bible, certainly the Word made flesh would quote it correctly.

From the way this reads in Psalms 8:2, Yeshua’s intent seems to be that these children—even so young as infants and babes, too weak and immature to even help themselves—were proclaiming Him the Messiah. If this is the correct understanding, then it was said for the purpose of bringing to an end hostilities between Himself and the “enemy and the revengeful”—between the Messiah and the chief priests and scribes. Had they taken its meaning this way, and stopping to consider all that they had seen before their very eyes, then things might have turned out differently. In fact, it may have turned out the way the New Testament reads, having “prepared praise for Thyself.” True peace, therefore, might have existed between them all, and together this “bulwark” might have produced perfect praise. It may have been Yeshua’s way of offering peace to both the chief priests and the scribes. Ultimately, however, they rejected all: they refused His peace, they did not recognize Him as the bulwark, and they rejected Him as being the “chief corner stone” (Matthew 21:42).

Now in the morning, when He returned to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it, and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. And seeing this, the disciples marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it shall happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matthew 21:18-22).

In some instances the fig tree has come to represent the nation of Israel and sadly, there are those today who would say that Yeshua is metaphorically prophesying against and even cursing Israel. Given what we read happened just the day before, with the multitudes of his disciples praising and worshiping him, proclaiming him to be the Son of David, this is indeed an unfortunate interpretation. It is in fact, anti-Semitic.

Yeshua’s words to the tree, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you,” is used by some as a theological justification for the regular, century-after-century oppression the Jewish people have faced among the nations.

Rather, it would be wiser to examine the events within the overall context of the Word itself. In the book of Matthew alone, we have 7:16-20; 12:33, 13:4-9, and 18-23, which all talk about good trees producing good fruit and unproductive branches being thrown into the fire. The message therefore, would be that we all must be mindful of the fruit we are bearing—and that we actually bear fruit—or we are of no value to the King of kings.

Later, Paul will take up the cry in Romans 11:17-21:

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you.

No one is immune, Jew or Gentile, if they do not bear fruit keeping with the Spirit.

These were the days leading up to Passover. In Israel, the fig trees were already producing early (albeit immature) fruit—even before they put out leaves. Here was a tree with leaves only, but after Yeshua’s rebuke, it “withered.”

This was not some cheap conjurers’ trick, or a wanton rage from the Messiah. Yeshua did nothing out of selfish need. Everything he did and said had a spiritual application. This was what was at the heart of the disciples question, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”

The tree’s death—because it bore no fruit—may very well have been a lesson on faith and prayer. His answer was “Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it shall happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive”

Does this mean that we, as disciples, can ask for anything we want and if we have faith, we will receive it? Does this mean that we can, at will, curse a tree or move a mountain?

Given the overall context of Yeshua’s ministry, it would seem the answer is, “no.” The fig tree was not bearing fruit for its Master. It was not meeting His need, which as disciples is what we are supposed to be doing—meeting the needs of our Bridegroom as a worthy Bride. We are to produce fruits that satisfy His hunger. Praying to satisfy our own lusts is to twist Yeshua’s intent and to miss the point of the withering fig altogether. Like Him, we are not illusionists displaying our faith as some carnival sideshow. Nor are we empowered to exact revenge on something as insignificant as a tree. Those things are shallow and not at all in keeping with the example. Rather, our prayers and faith are to be used in the service of the King, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And when He had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23).

Apparently the chief priests did not like his answer the day before. He had already told them that the children crying out, “Hosanna, Son of David” was in harmony with the prophet Isaiah, and indirectly, that He was the long awaited Messiah. No, they had chosen blindness. They had seen the miracles in the temple, that the blind and lame were healed. This was the holy temple mount—the mountain the Bible says was the place of God’s own choosing to establish His name. Their question only proved their lack of vision.

And Jesus answered and said to them, “I will ask you one thing too, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude; for they all hold John to be a prophet.” And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Matthew 21:24-27).

Yeshua’s answer revealed their motivation. They were not interested in the truth. They politically feared the multitudes and the potential loss of their influence. They revealed their true colors and in doing so, revealed that any answer Yeshua would have given them would have fallen on deaf ears.

Instead, Yeshua changes tactics and uses a highly regarded form of rabbinic teaching, of making students think and helping them reach the right conclusions. He told them a parable.

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, “The latter.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him” (Matthew 21:28-32).

Yeshua did not make himself the focus of the parable, but kept the topic on John. If the priests and elders would not speak the truth directly, Yeshua would draw it out of them indirectly. Once again Yeshua is giving them an opportunity to repent, but they do not.

He continues with His strategy of leading by parable:

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey. And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and seize his inheritance.’ And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?”

They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons” (Matthew 21:33-41).

Using their own human sensibilities as well as their knowledge of biblical justice, he leads them to the right conclusion. They concluded that the landowner here (Yeshua’s metaphor for God), had every right to extract justice, and that the stewards of the vineyard (the temple priests) had grown evil. Their own words were their undoing.

Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘the stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. And when they sought to seize Him, they feared the multitudes, because they held Him to be a prophet (Matthew 21:42-46).

The message of the fig tree comes back into play. The multitudes of disciples (the Greek implying at least 20,000 people) who proclaimed him the “Son of David” in the streets of Jerusalem were more worthy of the kingdom of God than the chief priests and elders—who would wither. These multitudes were producing fruits keeping with the kingdom and to them the kingdom would be given. In fact, Jerusalem remained the principal city of the messianic faith for at least a century, until the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 of the Common Era, when Jerusalem was razed and the entire region renamed “Palestine” by the Roman authority, in an attempt to distance the land from any religious connotation.

If there were at least 20,000 people following Yeshua (and possibly more), it is clear to see why the Pharisees and chief priests were fearful of seizing Him at that moment. They would have created a riot.

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Next Issue: more of Yeshua’s leadership through parables will be examined as the days of his execution and resurrection draw near.