Matthew 21:46 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

NIV: They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

NASB: And although they sought to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, since they considered Him to be a prophet.

CSB: Although they were looking for a way to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because the people regarded him as a prophet.

NLT: They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

KJV: But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

NKJV: But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Jesus knew He would be rejected, condemned, and executed in the coming days (Matthew 17:22–23). For now, however, He was enormously popular among the people in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11). A cowardly lust for power, even at the cost of truth, kept Jewish religious leaders from arresting Jesus immediately. Above all, the chief priests had become politicians. They could not afford to lose the support of the people. For the time being, the people believed Jesus to be a legitimate prophet from God. Some apparently believed Him to be the Messiah.

These beliefs would not last the week for most Israelites, but the chief priests and Pharisees knew that if they arrested Jesus now, they would be seen as standing against God's man. Ironically, this is exactly what they were doing.

Matthew 21:33–46 begins with another vineyard-related parable from Jesus. This one involves tenants who refused to pay the owner His agreed upon share of the crops. Instead, they mistreated and killed the servants he sent and then killed the owner's son. Jesus compares Israel's religious leaders to these tenants, saying the kingdom of God will be taken from them. Jesus identifies Himself in a psalm about a stone rejected by the builders but chosen by the Lord to be the cornerstone. All who reject Him will fall on the cornerstone or have it fall on and crush them.

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 5/5/2024 1:14:56 PM