1. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk

2. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Stone & the Kingdom A Kingdom is where a King rules Your Kingdom come, Your will be done A verse that has puzzled me (Matt 21:44)  Context is vital to understanding  So also is the rest of scripture It comes at the end of Matthew 21 An overview of Matthew 21 Bear in mind the Stone is both the King and the Kingdom

3. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Triumphal Entry vv1-11, a deliberate gesture An announcement of who Jesus is  v5 quotes Zechariah 9:9  it is a Messianic passage The crowd acknowledge Him  “Hosanna to the Son of David”  “This is the prophet Jesus” What follows reaffirms this However, there is a mismatch between their, (and our?) expectations

4. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Cleansing of the Temple Jesus is exercising his authority over the Temple First he cleanses it vv12-13 then, v14, he uses it for its proper purpose, see Lev 21:18 The children acknowledge him  “Hosanna to the Son of David”  the scribes and pharisees recognise the significance of the title

5. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Incident of the Fig Tree John Glenham gave an excellent talk as part of our Easter Week series Main relevant points  it is a prophetic act  he came looking for fruit just as he had in the Temple  God patiently looks for fruit, Luke 13  the fig tree represents the political life of Israel, and the leadership of the pharisees & priests, Temple worship ends

6. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The question of Jesus’ Authority An astonishingly wise answer Pharisees afraid because the people think John is a prophet  the people also think Jesus is a prophet (and the Messiah) Jesus does not answer them  but he does give them an opportunity to work it out for themselves  he tells them two parables

7. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Parable of the Two Sons Two sons, two sets of people  those who said all the right things but did not do what John said  those who did not say all the right things but DID do what John said It is the fruit that matters (look back to the temple and the fig tree, and vineyard) John’s message was basically, “Prepare yourselves the Messiah is coming.”

8. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Parable of the Vineyard The vineyard owner wanted to receive his produce, fruit The vineyard owner’s son was rejected The vineyard would be given to others The pharisees recognised that this was spoken against them but refused to recognise the Son  the Son would be killed a few days later

9. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk The Stone & the Kingdom The stone at last… v44 The rejected stone, the Chief Cornerstone, Psalm 118:22-23, Eph 2:20, 1 Peter 2:6-7 The Stone brings other kingdoms crashing down  Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream  Isaiah 8:14, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over  appears to be no difference is falling on or being fallen upon

10. Dr. Adrian Todd - www.gatewaychurch.org.uk www.gatewaychurch.org.uk Fruitfulness When the King arrives then the Kingdom has come When you encounter the Kingdom of God whatever rules you is broken When you have a dynamic encounter with Jesus something has to change If Jesus comes looking for fruit, what will he find (Parable of the Talents)