Matthew 21:1-11

Exalted, yet humble

Theme: The humble king

Scriptures: Matthew 21:1-11

Objectives (From the D6 Fusion SSL book):

Know: The Bible teaches Christ’s humanity and His divinity.

Think: Live with the assurance that my Lord and King is accessible to me.

Do: Exalt Christ as God, but also associate with Him as a respected friend.

Notes and questions

B1 Outline

• Before the donkey Matthew 21:1-6
• With the donkey Matthew 21:7-11

B2 Timeline–show page. Timeline

B3 Mount of Olives

• Some pictures: http://www1.cbn.com/mount-olives-simply-sight-behold
• Some more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_Olives

B4 Donkey

• One or two
• He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. (Matthew 21:2 [GodsWord]
• He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. (Mark 11:2 [GodsWord]
• He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. As you enter, you will find a young donkey tied there. No one has ever sat on it. Untie it, and bring it. (Luke 19:30 [GodsWord]
• The importance was on the colt, so that was mentioned in both Mark and Luke. The fuller view in Matthew, lending evidence to various eye-witness testimony, has both donkey and colt.
• Matthew is showing the fulfillment of prophecy.  This happened so that what the prophet had said came true: "Tell the people of Zion, 'Your king is coming to you. He's gentle, riding on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal.'" (Matthew 21:4-5 [GodsWord] The quote is from Zechariah: Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal. (Zechariah 9:9 [GodsWord])
• Did Jesus ask the disciples to steal the colt?
• Consider:  He said to them, "Go into the village ahead of you. You will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them, and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them. That person will send them at once." (Matthew 21:2-3 [GodsWord])
• They had the permission of the owner.  The men Jesus sent found it as he had told them. While they were untying the young donkey, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the donkey?" (Luke 19:32-33 [GodsWord]
• The disciples found the young donkey in the street. It was tied to the door of a house. As they were untying it, some men standing there asked them, "Why are you untying that donkey?" The disciples answered them as Jesus had told them. So the men let them go. (Mark 11:4-6 [GodsWord])

B5 Why a public entry into Jerusalem?

• The death of Jesus was for all people. A Savior has suffered for our sins. He has paid the penalty for all, if they but put their trust in Him. It needed to be done publicly.
• "God has been helping me to this day so that I can stand and testify to important and unimportant people. I tell them only what the prophets and Moses said would happen. They said that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to come back to life and would spread light to Jewish and non-Jewish people." As Paul was defending himself in this way, Festus shouted, "Paul, you're crazy! Too much education is driving you crazy!" Paul replied, "I'm not crazy, Your Excellency Festus. What I'm saying is true and sane. I can easily speak to a king who knows about these things. I'm sure that none of these things has escaped his attention. None of this was done secretly. (Acts 26:22-26 [GodsWord]).

B6 Questions

• How did Jesus know about the two donkeys and the response from those with the donkeys?
• Is anything hidden from God?
• Why was it that the same nation that is here praising later calls for his death?
• Why is it that religious leaders reject Bible truth?
• What did the crowd not understand when they identified him as a prophet from Galilee?

B7 What is humility?

• The word generally has the idea of “being low.” It is the difference between exalting us in every area or exalting another.
• Someone who is humble will
• Acknowledge limitations
• Acknowledge faults
• Be grateful
• Accept mistakes
• Admit mistakes
• Not brag
• Be considerate
• Listen
• Be compassionate
• Listen to other opinions respectfully
• Acknowledge another’s help/assist, etc.
• Be conscientious
• Not afraid to ask for help
• Quick to forgive
• Patient and not frustrated with other’s weaknesses
• Are peacemakers
• Acknowledge my weaknesses
• Happily serves others
• Be thankful
• Have a tender conscience and ready to repent
• Treats others with respect
• Not afraid to put others first
• Thanks to
• http://www.christianpost.com/news/10-ways-to-tell-if-someone-is-humble-123013/
• http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Humble
• What other traits does a humble person have?
• How does Jesus fit the above characteristics?

B8 Bethphage

• Near Jerusalem
• Near the Mount of Olives
• http://bibleatlas.org/bethphage.htm

B9 Fulfilled prophecy

• Rejoice with all your heart, people of Zion! Shout in triumph, people of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you: He is righteous and victorious. He is humble and rides on a donkey, on a colt, a young pack animal. He will make sure there are no chariots in Ephraim or war horses in Jerusalem. There will be no battle bows. He will announce peace to the nations. He will rule from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9-10 [GodsWord])
• The LORD has announced to the ends of the earth: "Tell my people Zion, 'Your Savior is coming. His reward is with him, and the people he has won arrive ahead of him.'" (Isaiah 62:11 [GodsWord]
• Zion according to Jewish scribes for generations and the studies of Dr. Jimmy Deyoung believe that Zion, Temple Mount, was the location of the Garden of Eden. See: http://devotional.prophecytoday.com/2014/09/isaiah-5111.html
• What/who is “Son of David?”
• This is a term for Messiah.
• When the time comes for you to lie down in death with your ancestors, I will send one of your descendants, one who will come from you. I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be my Son. If he sins, I will punish him with a rod and with blows inflicted by people. But I will never stop showing him my love as I did to Saul, whom I took out of your way. Your royal house will remain in my presence forever. Your throne will be established forever.'" (II Samuel 7:12-16 [GodsWord]
• Blood descendent of King David See Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38.  While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They answered him, "David's." He said to them, "Then how can David, guided by the Spirit, call him Lord? David says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Take the highest position in heaven until I put your enemies under your control."' If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?" No one could answer him, and from that time on no one dared to ask him another question. (Matthew 22:41-46 [GodsWord])
• Resources:
• https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_1332.cfm
• https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-son-of-David.html
• Compare:  King David said, "Summon the priest Zadok, the prophet Nathan, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada." So they came to the king, and he said, "Take my officials with you. Put my son Solomon on my mule, and take him to Gihon. (I Kings 1:32-33 [GodsWord]

B10 A friend

• God is real. He is not an imaginary friend.
• Some characteristics
• Common interests
• Common goals
• Common opinions (not exactly the same)
• Common likes as in music, food
• They just have much in common and enjoy being with each other
• Quotes:
• I am a friend to everyone who fears you and to everyone who follows your guiding principles. (Psalms 119:63 [GodsWord]
• who leaves her husband, the closest friend of her youth, and forgets her marriage vows to her God. (Proverbs 2:17 [GodsWord] I put this verse here to point out that our closest friend must be, ought to be, our spouse.
• But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11 [MKJV])
• You are my friends if you obey my commandments. I don't call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I've called you friends because I've made known to you everything that I've heard from my Father. (John 15:14-15 [GodsWord]
• And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called a friend of God. (James 2:23 [EMTV]
• The word friends is usually φίλος (philos, fee-los) and has the idea of a common love based on experience.
• What are the conditions for God to be our friend?

B11 Few more questions

• The large crowds praised His arrival. Why did this crowd not support and praise the Lord Jesus in the next few days?
• Why was one group praising Jesus, while the other group was rejecting?  By this time he was coming near the place where the road went down the Mount of Olives. Then the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted joyfully, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven." Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet." Jesus replied, "I can guarantee that if they are quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:37-40 [GodsWord]
• What if this King were to come today?

B12 Next week

• A King dies for His Subjects
• Theme: A Crucified King
• Scriptures: Matthew 27:11-54

10 Concerns of Francis Schaeffer

10 Concerns of Francis Schaeffer

Dr Francis Schaeffer had some important warnings in 1984.  Here are 10 important that he warned the church. We still need this warning as many, perhaps most, have slid away from truth.

Penned just before his death in 1984, Francis’ Schaeffer’s forgotten tome ‘The Great Evangelical Disaster’ drew attention to various concerns that lay heavily upon the Protestant thinker’s mind before he passed into glory. Today, rereading Schaeffer’s book some three decades later seems to almost verge on the prophetic. The Switzerland-based American teacher was able to pinpoint several major themes that have come to plague the evangelical scene in our days. In this article, we are going to highlight ten major fears that Schaeffer took to the grave which should be of concern to all of us who identify ourselves with the Gospel-centred, Reformation-rooted Protestant faith.

1.- Growing Relativism

Relativism came about due to the Enlightenment’s focus upon the autonomy of man. No longer was God to set the rules and call the shots; but rather humankind was to determine what was good and evil, true and false. Ethics and epistemology became absorbed by an inordinate passion for egoism and self-interest. Once the infallible, inerrant Word of God was openly decried; there was nothing left to take its place but human fancies. Schaeffer realized that a church built upon the sandy-foundation of relativism could not withstand the onslaught of fallen reason. Only the non-negotiable absolutes of Scripture could enable the church to keep waging a good warfare. It was those “absolutes which enabled the early church to withstand the pressure of the Roman Empire”.1 A relativistic church would have nothing left to say to a sinful culture.

2.- Lack of...

Here is the link to the rest of the article: http://evangelicalfocus.com/magazine/2383/10_Concerns_Francis_Schaeffer_Took_to_the_Grave 

Serious Business

Serious Business

Theme: Covenant Faith

Objectives (from the D6 Fusion SSL guide):

Know: From the days of Abraham, God provided for and fought for the Israelite people. In response, Joshua led the people to make a covenant with God to serve Him and obey His decrees and laws.

Think: Cultivate a great appreciation for all God has done, and let that drive your commitment to worship and serve Him.

Do: Reflect on God’s goodness in your life, and chose to serve and walk with Him, setting aside anything that hinders.

Scripture: Joshua 24:1-28

Notes and questions:

B1 Outline

• History Reviewed Joshua 24:1-13
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Joshua 24:1-4
• Moses and Aaron Joshua 24:5-7
• Israel, Amorites, Balak, and Balaam Joshua 24:8-10
• The Canaanites Joshua 24:11-13
• Covenant Renewed Joshua 24:14-28
• No other gods Joshua 24:14-24
• Memorial made of agreement Joshua 24:24-28

B2 General questions

• When is it good to review the past?
• When is it appropriate to review the “heroes” of the faith (ancient or local)?
• When is it helpful to review God’s dealings in our lives?
• When is it necessary to review our committment to God and His ways?

B3 Shechem

• http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2010/06/25/Shechem-Its-Archaeological-and-Contextual-Significance.aspx The narrow pass where ancient Shechem is located at the modern city of Nablus, view west. Mt. Gerizim is on the left and Mt. Ebal on the right. Dr. James C. Martin.
• Map: http://holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,2,6,438,477

B4 Joshua (from the D6 SSL 26 Mar 17)

• “He had not sought to be in charge, but had humbly carried out the responsibility placed upon him as Moses’ replacement.
• “He had communed with God before major battles or turning points, and had obeyed what God instructed him to do.
• “He prioritized where he should devote his attention, and then came back to important issues he had needed to postpone.
• “He developed strategy and tactics that God used to great effect.
• “He took a stand for God and challenged Israel to commit formally to following the Lord.
• “He grounded their future as a nation in their past. They needed to know where they had come from before they could live obediently in the land they had been given.
• “He provided a challenging example for Israel to follow.”

B5 Joshua 24:1-5,

• Who is the one who initiated the things listed in this portion? Who is the “I” here?
• How can we apply that truth to our life?
• Who choose this good land for Israel?
• Did Israel plant the gardens, build the cities, or care for the grooves?
• Why did the Canaanites lose all this? Can this apply to us?
• Note that Abraham was an idolater before God initiated salvation.
• Idolatry comes from within: Matthew 15:18-19 (NKJV) “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
• Is a fruit of the flesh of which we all have: Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV) “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” [Note: Wilbur Pickering has this note–”Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit “adultery” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). This statement holds also for “murders” in verse 21. This is one of several lists containing both ‘adultery’ and ‘fornication’, side by side, which indicates that they are distinct concepts.”
• They cannot save: Isaiah 45:20 (NKJV) "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, who carry the wood of their carved image, and pray to a god that cannot save.”

B6 Joshua 24:6-13,

• Who does Joshua emphasize is/was the deliverer?
• Does that ever change?
• Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV) “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
• When we compare Joshua 24:7 with Joshua 24:10, we see answered and unanswered prayer. Why was one prayer answered while the other was not?

B7 Joshua 24:14-15,

• Whom are we going to serve? Why?
• Was this a real choice?
• Why should we serve the God of the Bible?

B8 Joshua 24:16-18,

• What was the reason that Israel gave to serve the Lord?
• Do people serve Him today because God might bring them some benefit as a better job or money? See John 6:26-27 (NKJV) “Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

B9 Joshua 24:19-24,

• God is holy.
• The Bible definition of holy is “separation.”
• It is the total opposite, separation, from the world’s way in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. The list in Galatians 5 shows this total difference. Galatians 5:19-26 (NKJV) “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” [Most modern versions leave out the word “adultery” in Galatians 5:19, but Wilbur Pickering states in his notes on this verse–”Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit “adultery” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). This statement holds also for “murders” in verse 21. This is one of several lists containing both ‘adultery’ and ‘fornication’, side by side, which indicates that they are distinct concepts.”]
• So should we: Ephesians 4:20-24 (NKJV) But you have not so learned Christ,  if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
• Why is obedience to God important?

B10 Joshua 24:25-28,

• How would that stone be a witness? What would be witness for the Christian?
• What covenants do we make today towards God, His church, family, etc.?

B11 Some questions from the D6 Fusion teaching guide:

• What are some things that sometimes hinder people’s devotion to God in our culture?
• How can even non-sinful things work against us when it comes to serving God?
• What might you need to set aside in order to walk with God in full devotion?
• What changes could you make this week in order to walk with God in full devotion?

B11 Next week

• Exalted, Yet Humble
• Theme: The Humble King
• Scriptures: Matthew 21:1-11