_SINCERITY IN RELIGION_ And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway be will send them.’ Matthew 21:3 The remarkable incidents recorded in this chapter have many lessons. Let us look at some which do not seem to lie quite on the surface. I. ADAPTAB... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE COMING KING_ ‘Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.’ Matthew 21:5 I. THE KING.—Our Lord is described as ‘thy _ King_.’ We are glad to greet Christ as our Saviour; but are we equally ready to take Him fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_WHO WERE MOVED?_ ‘And when He was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?’ Matthew 21:10 ‘All the city was moved.’ Let us think of some different types of people who were represented in that great throng. I. THE COMMON PEOPLE.—They heard Him gladly, and the same is tr... [ Continue Reading ]
_A GREAT QUESTION ANSWERED_ ‘Who is this?’ Matthew 21:10 Who has ever fully answered this question? I. PARTIAL ANSWERS.—I can tell you of a hundred partial answers, absolutely true as far as they go, but not complete. Who is this? you ask. And Eve could tell you. He is the ‘woman’s seed that sha... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE BAPTISM OF GOODNESS_ ‘The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?’ Matthew 21:25 St. John the Baptist was not only a striking individual character, but a type. I. THE ASCETIC CHARACTER.—He was a type of that band of fine spirits whose lives stretch down the ages in a chain... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE MASTER’S CALL_ ‘Go work to-day in my vineyard.’ Matthew 21:28 We recognise the claims of Christ; we know the needs of the world; what now shall be our answer to the Master’s call? Whatever response we make (whether at home or abroad) let it be loyally proportionate both to the authority whic... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE TWO SONS_ ‘A certain man had two sons.… Whether of them twain did the will of his Father?’ Matthew 21:28 The originals of these two pictures are before us every day. An utterly godless man, who virtually says to God, ‘I do not wish to be pious’; and the good moral man who is just on the bord... [ Continue Reading ]
_CHRIST THE HEADSTONE_ ‘The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’ Matthew 21:42 Three things the corner-stone is to the builder’s work; and those three things Christ must be to you. I. EXALTATIO... [ Continue Reading ]