1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem,
unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his
disciples, 2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you:
and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never
man sat; loose him, and bring [him]. 3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye
this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him
hither.
Jesus came toward Jerusalem
as a seeker. He walked as one who was trying
to discern whether or not this city Jerusalem carried the answers that God had
charged them with holding secure and if they provided those answers to all who
might come looking. This scripture says
He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany.
Bethphage means the house of unripe or immature figs. Bethany means the house of figs but also
means the house of MISERY. Here is Jesus
approaching His own chosen people in Jerusalem and two towns on the outskirts
of the city haven't even been touched by His Word. One town is weak and immature and the other is
filled with pain and woe. It is a
painful testimony against us if our neighbors don't know us as Saints of God or
have some respect for our spiritual maturity.
Israel is known as the fig tree.
How much more damning is it that her suburbs are called immature and
miserable figs.
It would appear that there is
only one possible move on His part. He
is the King, the Son of the Living God.
It is obviously time for Him to enter His city with all His dignity according
to the Scripture laid down hundreds of years before, riding on the colt. Jerusalem is His royal city. He is the FINAL descendant of David the king. His Father has sent Him to embrace His chosen
people. Angels, John the Baptist and
God's Holy Spirit have prepared the way.
Everything is ready for His triumphal entry.
4
And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place
where two ways met; and they loose him. 5 And certain of them that stood there
said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? 6 And they said unto them even as
Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
Jesus' disciples didn't have to set up the situation
or prepare the population of Jerusalem.
God had already touched the hearts of thousands of His faithful who
gladly invited Him into His city and throne.
The problem didn't arise from the masses; it came from the caretakers,
those charged to prepare His way. His
transportation had been prepared from His birth in human form to this ride upon
a lowly ass.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and
cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their
garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed
[them] in the way. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna; Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
We might miss the importance
of garments being placed upon the donkey or the ground before Him. It has to do with God providing our covering
in the very beginning by killing innocent animals to cover our sins. Our clothing was useless for this
purpose. It barely covers our bodies
much less covering our sins. Jesus sat
upon our garments and in so doing covered them and us. Jesus rode upon our garments, grinding them
under foot as He became the sole covering required for our lives. He was coming on the prescribed day in the
prescribed manner through the prescribed gate and He was NOT received by the
caretakers He Himself had set in place.
His statement of who and what He was is echoed in John 8:58,
"Before Abraham was, I AM!" Those were the very same words used in
the burning bush.
The masses understood who He
was in their hearts and cried, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of
the Lord Yahweh. They were thrilled to
accept Him and offer Him their worship and praise. It was the caretakers who were supposed to
have kept His throne and honor safe that failed in their responsibility as we
shall see in a few verses.
10 Blessed [be] the kingdom of our father David,
that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. 11 And Jesus
entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about
upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with
the twelve.
Can you imagine a military
base that has been following the orders of the departing General for many
decades with no new orders. The officers
left behind have begun to enjoy their prestige and have not kept true to the final
orders of their commander. One day all
the privates in the army begin to shout, "The General is coming! The General has returned!!" The officers look out the windows of their
lavish penthouses and luxurious apartments and see someone who looks like them
but dressed like one of the privates riding upon an old jeep. He has all the proper security codes. He can answer all authentication questions
but it can't be him...can it? He's not supposed to appear like this. The Empower has made him Lord of all. Where are his armies? Where is his flashy uniform?
Even stranger than his
appearance is the fact that he merely came in and looked at their apartments
and penthouses. He examined the various
offices and records and then, as it began to be dark; he left the base without
even speaking to THEM! They were the
ones in charge. Who did he think he
was? He looked at them as if they were
...nothing. ...wayward children. They
began to grumble and argue amongst themselves.
Who did HE think he was???
12 And on the morrow, when they were come
from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves,
he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he
found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not [yet]. 14 And Jesus
answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his
disciples heard [it].
For His part, Jesus accepted
the adoration of His people and allowed the day of His visitation to unwind as
it might. He did not push anything or
demand His due. THIS was the EXACT
day. He came in the EXACT way. His servants failed to be prepared. There was no red carpet; no honor guard and
no band to mark the day with music. They
were not ready. He was tired, hungry and
disgusted by their failure. He had
fulfilled every requirement and appeared on the day when they ought to have
expected Him. In sorrow he left the fig
tree of God and walked quietly away. It
was not to be.
Leaving Jerusalem, the fig
tree of Jehovah, he came across a literal fig tree. It was full of leaves and great promise but
when He and His disciples arrived hungry and ready to partake they discovered
nothing. The imagery of what He had just
been through was too much. He had been
despised and rejected by His own and had endured enough. He cursed the fig tree that ought to have
brought the figs of life and truth to all people. It would never feed His Gospel to the world
again. That blessing and commandment
would be given to another who was worthy.
Like Nebuchadnezzar, Israel would be cut off, the individual leaves scattered.
The root would remain in God but only a miracle could bring it back to
life. The commandment and charge to
spread God's Word would go to the Gentiles.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus
went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the
temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them
that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry [any] vessel
through the temple.
After this prophetic ruling
of Israel's future, Jesus and His disciples returned to the temple where the
Lord of the universe showed His displeasure of their greed and lack of
spiritual perception. The Chief Priests
(an unlawful and made up term) had developed an entire economic foundation
surrounding sacrifices and offerings to God.
No sacrifice was acceptable and offerings had to be made in shekels
rather than Roman coins. Changing one for
the other involved transaction fees that multiplied the burdens upon the people
many times. Instead of serving God and
His program they became the rulers of all things Jewish. Every law was bent to bring more money into
the treasury and their individual pockets.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it
not written My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye
have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard [it],
and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the
people was astonished at his doctrine.
Can you imagine Christ's
frustration and anger over their poisonous actions? Israel was supposed to be a house of prayer,
not just for the Jews but for ALL NATIONS.
Even today God's plan for Israel is unchanged. Consider that once we gentiles are removed
the entire world will turn upon Israel to destroy it. At that moment in time she will turn back to
her God and the dead and dusty stump of
a nation will become a vibrant and powerful force of prayer and praise. On that day God will come down with thousands
of His angels and shut every mouth that spoke against His chosen people.
Notice it says that the
scribes and chief priests sought how they might destroy Him. They were not called or ordained by God. Have you noticed how some religious groups
develop alternate names to describe themselves?
They have cardinals and archbishops; overseers, popes and other
unscriptural titles. It is not enough to obey God's Word precisely and function
within His hierarchy. They develop
unscriptural ranks to fulfill their own purposes and yet call themselves the
house of God. These are the ones who
must be watched and guarded against.
They speak with smooth words and fragrant arguments while leading the
unsuspecting to a devil's hell. Jesus
speaks of them in Matthew 25...
13
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom
of heaven against men: for ye neither go in [yourselves], neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye devour widows 'houses, and for a pretense make long prayer:
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and
when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Beware those who tailor the
Word of God to preach their private gospel.
19 And when even was come, he went out of
the city.
Jesus said in John 6:4, "I must work the works of him that sent
me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 5 As long as I am
in the world, I am the light of the world." After spending the day at the temple He
returned to the place where Israel's failure was so striking, the villages of
Bethphage and Bethany, immature figs and misery. Consider this: if you make no difference in your community
then what good are you? You are salt
that has lost its savor and are good for nothing (Matthew 5:13).
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Notice that Jesus' response
to his disciples is not some long rant about disobedience or sin. He has an important point to make and refers
to the olive tree to make it. Remember
that Israel is the olive tree. The will
never again be chosen as the primary vessel to spread the gospel to the world
during this dispensation. Despite what
many denominational churches have to say about them however, they are still
God's chosen people. The Gospel was
given first to them and we should remember that when we ignore the Old
Testament as less important than the New.
It is full of the entire foundation of redemption that God has put into
place and without that foundation the New Testament is a shallow thing indeed. Indeed, it is the depth of continuity and
prophetic promise carried in the Old Testament that makes the New Testament so
extraordinary.
Jesus may have turned from
Israel at this point for her failure to win the world for almighty God, but as
any parent who has a child well knows, that doesn't mean we stop loving or
hoping for the best for that child.
Israel has been in her room for the past 2000 years while we have been
given the right to shine. Sadly, like
any children we have chosen to stick our tongues out at her every time we walk
past her while failing to consider what punishment awaits us if WE fail. Remember, while God loves us we're still the
adopted one, the wild olive branch.
Notice what is says in Romans
11:17... And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and
with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast not
against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that might be
graffed in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou
standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest he also
spare not thee.
God did not permanently cast
off Israel. They were broken off for a
time due to unbelief. Consider the
church of this present age. Have any of
them failed due to unbelief even while still holding services? Do any deny angels or the spirit or even the
gifts of God's precious Holy Spirit? Of
course they do. Many of them. Do you think that God won't break off those
who refuse to teach the Godship of Jesus and salvation by faith in His shed
blood?! Right now we are living under
grace stretched tight enough to snap. We
ought to be MORE faithful to God's PRECISE scripture, not less.
When Jesus arrived in
Jerusalem to inspect His temple it was not the believing Jews who ran the
temple. Those were the Pharisees. They were in error and still worthy of punishment,
but it was the Sadducees who held the true political power. They were the liberals who did not believe in
the sanctity of the scripture. They did
not believe in angels or spirits. How
did Jesus respond to them? He ignored
them in large part. He dealt with the
Pharisees. They were supposed to be in
charge. They knew AND believed the truth
but had been suborned by the Sadducees.
Jesus cursed THEM for their lack of faith.
NOW it makes sense that Jesus
should spring into a lesson on faith after cursing a olive tree. What did He tell us in 2 Timothy 4:
"2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will
not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away [their]
ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of
thy ministry."
It is quite certain that a
great number of Christian churches fall
into this category. How will God's
response to their apostasy be any different than his response to Israel. It's a blessing that God loves us, but we are
still the adopted wild olives. We are
surely not MORE respected than Israel.
We MUST exercise our faith in the true word of God or we are simply a
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. I
don't know about you but I don't want to hear, "You ran well for a while,
but what stopped you (Galatians 5:7)?"
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things
soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall
have [them].
Now that we've come to the
understanding of how Israel stumbled, we must make sure it does not befall
us. Hebrews 11 says, "Faith is the
substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." We must trust God even in the absence of
physical evidence. God is spirit. His spirit creates and controls energy and
matter. Because of this we must have
faith that He is God and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him
(Hebrews 11:6).
Today I spoke to several
people who are experiencing a crisis of faith.
Some of them have mind storms whirling about in their heads and can't
even hold on to a scripture, much less trust it for their deliverance. Some are facing their mortality and though
they have served God for many years they have never developed life or health
sustaining faith. How can you expect to
climb the Alps in Switzerland if you
can't even get off the sofa for a walk to the corner store. We are so spiritually out of shape that every
news report frightens or angers us and our hearts are failing for fear when we
should be the lions of the tribe of Judah that make Satan tremble.
I don't know about you but I
am tired of being a tottering testimonial who can't trust God for a meal much
less a healing. The Just shall live by
faith. It's not supposed to be a fall
back position in case your job and the government can't keep food on the
table. Less developed countries around
the world have much more developed faith than we do in America because they
have to. Doctors aren't available or
there is no money to pay for them. They
can't always get to a grocery store and if God didn't help out a bit someone
could starve.
This promise on verse 24 is
yours. Are you living in it. People mocked the name it and claim it, blab
it and grab it saints of my generation and called them greedy or deluded fools. Who's
the greater fool; someone who at least steps out on the water like Peter
and sinks or the one who never gets out of the boat? There's a lot of people today who will deny
Christ one day because they NEVER learned to trust Him or try Him, much less
walk hand in hand with Him.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if
ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive
you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father
which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
And finally my brethren...
I told several people this
today, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities
and powers. Against spiritual wickedness
in heavenly places." Where in that
verse does it give the right to say I hate aunt Maude or I can't stand my
boss? If they are that miserable of a personality
then they must have a lot of pain and many problems. Where is your compassion? Does it only work for puppies, babies and
little old ladies? Don't you have some
for the cranky old geezers and rude teenagers.
How many kingdom priests do you think should go around whining and
crying because someone hurt their feelings?
What exactly is it that we are so fearful of that we need to snap, bite
and devour one another.
Whatever the flaws of those
who grate on you and make you want to scream, remember this; they are only
there to make you grow. God doesn't want
weak saints. He wants you to have the
endurance of Job, the humility of Moses, the faith of Peter and the wisdom of
Solomon and Paul. You can only develop
those skills by going through what they went through. You too must have a myriad of experiences
that might just turn your hair white until you can trust the Lord your
God.
Let's be about our Father's
business beloved.
Bishop J
