Matthew 21:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And leaving them, he went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.

NIV: And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

NASB: And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

CSB: Then he left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

NLT: Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.

KJV: And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

NKJV: Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Jerusalem was crowded with travelers because of the Passover holiday, making lodging there difficult. Fortunately, Jesus also had good friends in the town of Bethany, about two miles away. Jesus likely spent the nights of that week at the home of the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, returning to Jerusalem each day.

Jesus' relationship with these three may be the closest thing to a "friendship" seen in the Gospels. He stayed in their home when He was travelling and had frank and honest conversations with both Martha (Luke 10:38–42) and Mary (John 11:28–37). Matthew does not include the event, but Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead not long before this in a display of His authority and power over death (John 11).

Matthew 21:12–17 describes Jesus' entrance into the massive Jewish temple in Jerusalem during what we now call Holy Week. He immediately drives a marketplace out of the temple and overturns the money-changers' tables. He also heals some blind and lame people and refuses to silence some children who are praising Him as the Son of David. He quotes part of a psalm to chief priests and scribes who find this inappropriate.

Jesus fulfills a prophecy from Zechariah about the coming of the king to Jerusalem by riding in on a donkey. The people celebrate and praise Him as the Messiah. Jesus drives the marketers and moneychangers out of the temple and heals some people. He curses a fig tree and tells the disciples nothing will be impossible for them with faith. Jesus forces cowardly and hypocritical religious leaders to back down with a question about John the Baptist. He then exposes their fraudulent spirituality with two parables about vineyards. Jesus applies to Himself a psalm about a rejected stone being made the cornerstone by the Lord.

Matthew 21 finds Jesus arriving near Jerusalem after leaving Jericho in the previous chapter. His triumphal entry is accomplished riding a donkey, and to raucous praise, fulfilling a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus cleanses the marketplace from the temple, heals, and presents lessons about faith and Israel's failed leadership. This leads into further conversations which Matthew compiles from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.

Accessed 4/27/2024 4:35:15 PM