I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 21-22.

    When Jesus entered Jerusalem for His final Passover before His crucifixion, He symbolically declared Himself the Messiah by riding in on the back of a donkey. Jesus rode in as a King at peace, a King whose battles were over. He did not ride into Jerusalem as a king going to war, but as a King declaring peaceful intentions. However, the first thing He did when He got into Jerusalem was go into the Temple and drive out the merchants exploiting those who came to worship God. This juxtaposition shows us that Jesus’ call to peace was not a call to lay down and submit. The following day the religious leaders challenged Jesus’ authority to do what He had done. It appears to me that they were challenging both His authority to chase the merchants out of the Temple and to conduct the parade He had led into the city the previous day. We can learn a lot from the way Jesus answered their question. If Jesus had answered their question by saying that He had been given authority by God to do as He had done, they would have accused Him of blasphemy. Instead of answering the question on their terms, He re-framed the question by asking them by what authority John the Baptist preached, that of God, or of man. The religious leaders unwillingness to answer Jesus’ question made it clear that they intended to use His answer to their question against Him, no matter what answer He gave.