Matthew 21:14-17 "And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. (15) And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, (16) And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? (17) And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there."
The chief priests and scribes could not deny the "wonderful things that He
did"; yet, their envy of Him was the driving force behind their scheming
to kill Jesus. It would seem the only thing that held them back was their fear
of the people. But the truth of the matter is that which held them back was the
timeline, the schedule, of God. Remember Jesus came as the Lamb of God. As
such, He was the ultimate offering that would be made unto the Heavenly Father
as the Passover Lamb. God had a specific time when Jesus would be placed on the
cross. More than once, the chief priests and Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus,
but "His time had not yet come." The time was fast approaching
when Jesus would lay down His life. We must never forget that at that time, God
was on His throne and in complete control. May I add that even just now,
He is still on His throne and He still is in control.
Jesus left Jerusalem and went back to Bethany for the night. Let's take a
glimpse at what took place while He was there. (John 12:1-3) "Then Jesus six days before the passover came
to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the
dead. (2) There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but
Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him."
Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead. After going to Jerusalem, He went
back to the house of Mary and Martha where they prepared a great feast.
Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. The interesting thing is found in three
words, "... and Martha served." If you remember, when we were
introduced to her, Martha had made a big deal of Mary sitting and listening to
Jesus, rather than helping her in the kitchen. But now we read, "... and
Martha served." We do not read of her grumbling or complaining. She
simply went about her business of serving. When we can see Jesus as the
true King of all kings and Lord of all lords, we can then humbly serve Him as
He directs us. May God give us grace to serve Him with a joyful heart!