QT 24/01/2024 Wednesday Matthew 21. The wise learn it only once. 聪明人只学一次。
QT 24/01/2024 Wednesday Matthew 21
http://www.esvbible.org/matt21
Read Matthew 21. You heart might be pained, if you felt the full emotions of these 3 verses, Matt 21:1, 10 & 12.
REFLECTION: What's the significance of the simple verse Matt 21:1? "Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples."
REFLECTION: And how about Matt 21:10? "And when he entered Jerusalem..." Or Matt 21:12? "And Jesus entered the temple..."
You see, God is now in HIS TEMPLE again, having entered it from the EAST side, from the Mount Olive direction (Matt 21:1).
We recall that the last time there was this kind of movement was in the OPPOSITE direction. In Ezekiel chapters 10 & 11, God's glory DEPARTS from the temple in the EASTWARD direction.
God's glory moved from the cherubim (holy places) to the temple threshold (the exit of the building, Eze 10:4), then "went out from the threshold of the house" (Eze 10:18), then on the way OUT "stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD" (the exit of the compound, Eze 10:19), then OUT of the city and ACROSS the Kidron Valley to MOUNT OLIVE (Eze 11:23).
REFLECTION: Previously, descriptions of how God's glory FILLED His temple/tabernacle took only 1 or 2 verses (Exo 40:34 & 1King 8:10-11). BUT it took 2 WHOLE chapters in Ezekiel to describe God's glory DEPARTING. Why so verbose?
It was because God was RELUCTANT to leave His temple and His people. "因为神舍不得". In Matt 21, the divine entered the temple AGAIN. However, Jesus found things that PAINED God, ALL OVER AGAIN. It was NOT a house of prayer (quoting Isaiah 56:7--Isaiah again, oh no!), but a mercantile exchange, a trading hub where the usual intrigues were expected - "a den of robbers" (quoting Jeremiah 7:11).
Not only was the ACTION rotten, the ATTITUDE was also rotten - when both the blind and the lame got healed, the "chief priests" & "the teachers of the law" were INDIGNANT (Matt 21:14-15). What kind of attitude and heart was that? Shouldn't they have rejoiced and shouted "Hosanna to the SON OF DAVID" too (Matt 21:9)?
When Jesus quoted Isaiah & Jeremiah in one breadth, you can feel the exile mood & punishment coming upon God's people. Again, the divine "went out of the city" (Matt 21:17, just like in Eze 11:23).
REFLECTION (1): Why must God's people make the same mistakes all over again? Adam and Eve were chased out to the EAST (Gen 3:24), the Exodus generation died in the "EAST" of Jordan, Israel was exiled EASTWARD to Assyria and Babylon.
REFLECTION (2): If Jesus were to visit our church today (in fact, He IS there at every worship service, with His church 24/7), WHAT will Jesus find in us all, temple of the living God?
Are there yucky things too? Bare trees (Matt 21:19)? Unsubmissive pride (Matt 21:23-27)? Words not matched by actions (Matt 21:28-31)? Ungrateful spirits that always persecuted God's messengers (Matt 21:33-45)?
星期三2024年1月24日 今日读经：马太福音21章
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Mat/21/
读马太福音21章。如果你感受到了马太21:1,10和12节所有的情绪，你很可能也会感到心痛。
反思：太21:1这段简单的经文的意义是什么？“耶稣和门徒走近耶路撒冷，来到橄榄山的伯法其那里。耶稣派了两个门徒。”
反思：太21:10的意义呢？“耶稣进了耶路撒冷...”或太21:12?“耶稣进了圣殿...”
你看，神又在祂的圣殿了，祂从东边进来，从橄榄山的方向进来(太21:1)。
我们记得最后一次类似这样的举动是相反的方向。在以西结10章、11章里，神的荣耀是从圣殿的东边离去的。
神的荣耀从基路伯(圣洁的内院)升到圣殿的门槛(建筑物的出口，结10:4)，然后“离开殿的门槛”(结10:18)，离开的时候“停在耶和华殿的东门口”(殿院的出口，结10:19)，接着出了城，过了汲沦谷到橄榄山(结11:23)。
反思：之前，有关神的荣耀如何充满祂的殿/帐篷的描述只有一到两节的经文(出40:34和王上8:10-11)。但是在以西结里却用了足足两章来描述神的荣耀的离去。为什么要这么详细？
这是因为神不舍得离开祂的殿和祂的子民。"因为神舍不得"。在太21章，神圣的那一位又进入圣殿了。然而，再次地，耶稣发现一些让神心碎的事。这不是祷告的殿(引自以赛亚书56:7---又是引用以赛亚教训人！)，而是商业交易、一个充满一般尔虞我诈的交易场所--“贼窝”(引自耶7:11)。
不光是行为烂，就连态度也烂--当瞎子和瘸腿两个都被医好，那“祭司长”和“经学家”都很忿怒(太21:14-15)。那是什么态度和心态啊？他们难道不是也应该欢呼，高喊“和散那归于大卫的子孙”吗？(太21:9)
当耶稣一口气引述了以赛亚书和耶利米书时，你可以感觉到被掳和被惩罚的心情临到了神的子民身上。再次地，那神圣的那位“出了城”(太21:17,就如在以西结11:23一样)。
反思(1):为什么神的子民一再地犯同样的错误？亚当和夏娃被赶到东边去(创3:24)、出埃及的那代人死在约旦的“东边”、以色列被掳去向东的亚述和巴比伦。
反思(2):如果耶稣今天来到我们的教会(事实上，祂每个崇拜都会与祂的教会同在,24/7)，祂在我们这些永活的神的殿里会找到什么？
会不会有恶心的东西？没有果实的树(太21:19)?不肯顺服的骄傲(太21:23-27)?言语和行动不相衬(太21:28-31)?忘恩负义的灵，只会终日逼迫神的仆人(太21:33-45)?
