Do you have what it takes to be a successful leader?
Text: Matthew 21
Hosts:
J. Kent Edwards
Vicki Hitzges
Nathan Norman
Narrator: Brian French
The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God’s voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org
Produced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production
© 2025 CrossTalk Global
Brian: Do you have what it takes to be a successful leader? There are a lot of characteristics you might consider. For example, vision. Can you give your people a compelling vision of the future? And can you communicate effectively? To articulate the vision to lead effectively, you need to be decisive and adaptable, able to make sound choices and pivot when necessary. You need to encourage collaboration, delegate appropriately and provide opportunities for growth. And successful leaders lead by example. Being a role model reinforces and helps you get what you want from your team. If you lead in any capacity, you need all those qualities, but Jesus identifies one as mission critical. Join Kent Edwards, Nathan Norman and Vicki Hitchkiss as they discover in Matthew 21 the non negotiable quality Jesus requires of you to lead his people. Welcome to crosstalk, a Christian podcast whose goal is for us to encourage each other to not only increase our knowledge of the Bible, but but to take the next step beyond information into transformation. Our goal is to bring the Bible to life, into all our lives. I'm Brian French. Today, Dr. Kent Edwards, Vicki Hitskus and Nathan Norman continue their discussion through the Gospel of Matthew. If you have a Bible handy, turn to Matthew chapter 21 as we join their discussion.
Kent: Hey everyone. It's great to be back. I certainly missed you, our listeners and Nathan and Vicki, you and our weekly discussions around God's Word.
Vicki: We missed you.
Nathan: Yeah, yeah.
Kent: But my time hopscotching around the world was really successful and I appreciate your prayers went well in Romania, Moldova, as well as across the United States. But it's good to be back and centering our attention on God's word. We come to Matthew 21. We come to a major turning point in Jesus ministry. The context of this gospel tells us that, well, the Jewish people have been waiting a long time for their Messiah to arrive. Thousands of years, in fact. And in chapter 21, the big day that they've been waiting for arrives. This is the day when Jesus makes it clear to everyone that he is the Messiah. He tells his disciples in this chapter to go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there with her colt, with her. Untie them and bring them to me. So why is that significant? Why would he tell them, essentially, go get me an Uber. Why is he giving those specific instructions?
Nathan: Well, Matthew fills this in and he says in verse four, this took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, say to daughter Zion, see your kingdom comes to you gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Kent: Okay, so Jesus here is very intentionally fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. Why is that important?
Nathan: Because he's fulfilling Old Testament prophecy.
Vicki: Well, that's probably true. Right. So that we know, indeed, this is the Christ.
Brian: Yeah.
Nathan: And the imagery is important too.
Brian: Right.
Nathan: Because he's not coming in on a war horse. He's not entering into the holy city on a horse ready for war. He's coming in on a donkey, which in the ancient near east culture, coming to the main capital city on a donkey as the ruler was a sign of peace. He's the prince of peace. So this. And it was usually after a victory or in response to a victory or in anticipation of some sort of peace accord that he's coming into Jerusalem. He is the prince of peace, and he's foreshadowing that he is making peace between man and God possible.
Kent: Yeah. And if there's one city in the world that would understand what he's doing from an Old Testament prophecy context, it's Jerusalem. Right.
Nathan: One would hope.
Kent: They're all Jews. They spent their lifetime waiting for the Messiah. They've heard this passage over and over. And he comes in deliberately fulfilling that prophecy. And you can tell that because look at how the people responded.
Vicki: Yeah, they did. It says in verse eight, a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of them and those who followed shouted, hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven.
Kent: That sounds exciting.
Vicki: It does.
Kent: It's interesting that the word hosanna is actually used twice. What does that mean, anyway?
Nathan: Yeah, it means save. And here in this context, especially referring to the Old Testament, they're saying, God save us. Now we need you to save us. And the fact that they're mentioning. Yes, they're mentioning it now, and they mention it multiple times because they're saying, we need it now. God save us.
Kent: And notice they say hosanna to the son of David. That's another messianic term, isn't it?
Nathan: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. They recognize his lineage.
Kent: And he comes in the name of the Lord. That means that he comes with the authority of the God Most High. Hosanna in the highest heaven. This is the greatest day, not only of their lives, but one of the greatest days in all of history. And as you would expect, the Messiah immediately goes to the temple. Why doesn't that surprise you?
Vicki: Because he's the Son of God. He comes in the name of The Lord.
Kent: That's his house.
Vicki: Yeah, Right.
Kent: He's going. He is the master walking into his house. And look at what happens. We read in verse 14, it says.
Vicki: The blind and the lame came to him at the temple and he healed them. And the children began shouting in the temple courts, hosanna to the Son of David.
Kent: Everybody got it. The Messiah has come. This is the one that God has promised of ages. And he's come and he is in his house.
Vicki: Don't you know, that was exciting because nobody was jaded. There weren't. There wasn't, like, trick photography on television. There was nobody faking it. This is the first time it had happened. And they saw blind people see and lame people walk. And that must have been amazing.
Kent: Yeah. And the healing is significant because he's showing his grace, his love, his care.
Vicki: For his people and his power, his ability.
Kent: Absolutely, absolutely. So all this makes sense. But, yeah, verse 15 seems a little bit strange, doesn't it?
Nathan: Yeah. It says, when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw these wonderful things he did, and the children shouting in the temple courts, hosanna to the Son of David. They were indignant.
Kent: So, hold it. The religious officials, the religious leaders of the day, the chief priests, they were indignant that the Messiah would come and enter the temple. Why wouldn't you expect them to be excited?
Vicki: You would expect them to be thrilled. This was their game. This was their court. This was their guy. But they didn't think that. And instead they were thinking, whoa, we're going to get kicked out of here. We're losing the game. Who is this guy?
Kent: Oh, why would they think that? Oh, wait, we skipped a verse.
Nathan: Verse 12 says, Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of money changers and the benches of those selling doves. It is written, he said to them, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.
Kent: Wow, that is powerful. And by the way, who was he speaking to? Who was making this a den of robbers?
Nathan: The chief priests and the temple officials.
Kent: Yeah. So he walks into his house and he calls them out. He rebukes them. They have turned God's house into a den of robbers. Jesus is calling out their sin and telling them indirectly what they needed to repent. Right?
Nathan: Yeah. You're not doing what God wants you to do. You're not actually under the lordship of God Almighty. You're following your own plans.
Kent: So a den of robbers. That's really strong language. What would be the equivalent in a contemporary church today. What would it look like if we were to transpose what was happening when Jesus went into the temple to our contemporary context? What might we see when we walk into the earth?
Nathan: Oh, maybe getting on the TV and telling people, if you give a gift of $1,000, God will most likely, probably give you sevenfold blessings and your own personal angel to help you along your way. Yeah, something like that, maybe.
Vicki: Absolutely.
Kent: Yeah. Or maybe selling books in the foyer, or maybe a wheel of fortune kind of thing that could go around. Place your money here and the profits will go to the work of God, and you may win big in the process. This is thievery that's going on. This is misusing God's work for personal gain. They were making money out of religion. It was personal, selfish gain. They were organizing a den of thieves, stealing money from people to benefit themselves. They were the thieves. Wow, that's strong. And I think Jesus was really upset. I mean, really upset because he left the temple. Having said all that, look at what happens starting in verse 18.
Vicki: I think this is such an interesting story. I think about this a lot. It says, early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry and seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And then he said to it, may you never bear fruit again. And immediately the tree withered.
Kent: Yeah. And so quickly the disciples were astonished. And Jesus kind of said, well, don't be so astonished at that. I mean, that's not the big deal. But it does leave you with a mystery. Right.
Nathan: Poor tree.
Vicki: It's a tree.
Nathan: It's like I wasn't even in season. Come on.
Vicki: Yeah. And everything I know about tree. Trees don't have souls. They don't have minds. They're just sitting there, you know.
Nathan: Getting angry at the tree.
Vicki: Yeah.
Kent: I got angry at trees, but I never tried that one. I mean, I. I wouldn't. So a lot of commentators kind of get lost and say, what in the world is this all about? Like, why is he taking out his frustration on a tree? But I think Matthew knew what he was saying. This episode is put here for very important reason. And that really makes sense if we understand how this story began. Remember what Matthew said way back in Matthew, chapter three.
Vicki: Let's see if we can make sense of this. It says, john the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. And people went out to him from Jerusalem, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees, he said to them, you, brood of vipers, produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Kent: Ah. So here he's using the metaphor of good fruit, and he says, what is the good fruit that God is looking for from the leaders of his people?
Nathan: Repentance.
Kent: Yeah.
Nathan: Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Kent: He's looking for holiness. All these people are coming and confessing their sins. You're not. You need to produce fruit in keeping of repentance. The fruit of repentance, which is holiness. You know, a fig tree is a fig tree because you can see figs on it. You know, a person of God is a person of God when you see holiness in them. The fruit of repentance. Since holiness begins with repentance, you cannot be saved without repentance, and you cannot lead God's holy people without holiness. In chapter 21, verse 23 and following, Jesus arrives at the temple and begins teaching. This is the next scene. The chief priests and the elders ask him, who gave you authority to teach in this temple? How does Jesus respond to these religious leaders who challenge his authority to teach in his own house?
Nathan: He said, john's baptism, where did it come from? Was it from heaven or of human origin?
Kent: Hmm. So he takes them back to John the Baptist, again back to Matthew chapter three. And he says, so what was the source of his message? Did it come from God or did it come from himself? And they're in a dilemma. They don't know how to answer. So with their brilliance, they respond like I just did.
Vicki: We don't know.
Kent: Jesus responds, do you question my authority to teach? I question yours. If you don't even know if John the Baptist's call for repentance is in keeping with God's will. If you don't even think that God wants holiness, then you are not qualified to be leaders of God's people. John the Baptist did not preach repentance because he wanted to. He preached repentance because God wanted him to, because it's a fundamental requirement of God's people. And God's leaders have to have the courage to call others, to repent and obey themselves. I mean, isn't that what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:14?
Vicki: He says there, as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. For it is written, be holy because I am holy.
Kent: So you see what Jesus is saying to these Pharisees who challenge his authority to preach in the temple. He's saying, you don't even know what God wants. The most basic requirement of God's people is that they be holy as he is holy. And you have failed to do that, and you have failed to live it. You talk about someone who doesn't have the right to speak in God's house. It's you, not me. Just in case they miss the point, Jesus goes on to tell them a short parable of a man with two sons.
Nathan: The father said to his first son, son, go and work today in the vineyard. The son said, no, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to his second son and said the same thing. The son answered, yes, I will. But he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted?
Kent: Hmm.
Vicki: Well, I'd say neither one of them, but number one, really. But number one eventually did, because he.
Kent: Obeyed his father and the second son said he would.
Vicki: But he didn't.
Kent: But he didn't.
Nathan: Get off my back, old man.
Kent: And so Jesus says to the chief priests and elders, in response, he says.
Vicki: Truly, I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven ahead of you, which I bet they liked hearing that. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw that, you did not repent and believe him.
Kent: Wow. He's calling them out, right? Yeah, he's calling them out and said, not only are you not the leaders of Israel, you're the worst in the kingdom of heaven, because at the most basic level, you have not sought holiness. You have not sought to be like the God that you pretend to love and serve. You are the worst of the foulest of sinners, because you wouldn't, when John the Baptist was here and still won't repent of your sin. You've made my house the den of thieves. You cannot be saved without repentance, and you certainly can't lead God's people without repentance, because repentance is the first step towards holiness and because repetition is an important teaching tool. Jesus tells the parable of a landowner who planted a vineyard and rented it out to some tenants. When harvest came, he sent his servants and finally his son to collect his fruit. The tenants killed them all. And what happened? The landowner came, executed the tenants, and replaced them with new tenants who would give him the fruit he wanted. And Jesus ends this strong parable by.
Vicki: Saying, I tell you that. That the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. And the chief priests and the Pharisees knew that he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Kent: Those are strong words, aren't they? He's talking to the leaders of God's people and he's saying, because you have made my house a den of thieves, because you claim to be following God, but your life, the life you live, demonstrates the opposite. You will be removed. You will not enjoy the future you anticipated, and I will replace you with others. You cannot be saved without repentance and you cannot lead without holiness. And if you don't repent, God says to them and to us, I will find people to take your place. Because unholy leaders cannot lead God's holy people. Why? Why is this true? Why are unholy people unqualified to lead God's holy people?
Nathan: You think of the apostle Paul, and he said, essentially, look at me as I look to Christ. Follow me as I am following Christ. He doesn't say, follow me blindly, but look at my life. And as I am reminding you of Jesus, emulate. Follow me in those ways as well. You can't do that if you have a church or any organization and the person has severely ungodly attributes. Chief among in this context is arrogance. And I say arrogance because arrogance will always refuse to repent because it can't possibly imagine that it's wrong. And Jesus said, be holy as I am holy. God wants the people to lead his people to reflect his glory imperfectly, but to try along the way. The best image I've heard is pastors and Christian leaders are supposed to be parables of Jesus. Parable is not an exact one to one, but they're metaphors. They remind you of Jesus.
Kent: Yeah, And I'm always encouraged by Paul because he called himself also the chief of sinners.
Nathan: Yeah.
Kent: So he lived a life of repentance. The closer he came in his relationship with God, the more he could see areas where he was not what he wanted to be. And he repented and moved forward and repented and moved forward. Vicky, I'm just reminded of what your father, Haddon Robinson, would say. The closer you get to the light, the more obvious the more you can see the gravy stain on your tie. I may not wear a tie very often anymore, but God's Holy Spirit sure shows that the closer we get to him, the more work there is to do. We're never perfect, this sight of eternity. But our goal must always be to be holy, as I am holy. We do that. It's obvious we're not using the church for our own gain, but we are giving ourselves to the church, just as Christ gave himself to the church. The most important thing that we need as a leader of God's people? Yeah, we need vision, communication skills and the rest. But we need to lead by example. Because people become like the leaders they follow. There's nothing more powerful than a good example. Leadership 101 character counts.
Brian: What would disqualify us from leading Christ's people? A lack of holiness. To lead God's holy people, we need to be holy leaders. I trust that today's discussion of God's Word has been helpful and served as an encouragement to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers. Together, let's bring God's Word to life to our lives. This week, the crosstalk Podcast is a production of crosstalk Global, equipping biblical communicators so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more or to support the work of this Ministry, please visit www.crosstalkglobal.org. help us train the next generation of biblical communicators. All you have to do is click Donate in the show notes and make a donation of any size. You can also help support this show by sharing it on social media and telling your friends. Tune in next Friday as we continue our discussion through the the Gospel of Matthew. Be sure to join us.
Kent: Hey everyone, it's great to be back. I missed you listeners. And what's your name?
Vicki: Lyra Lyle. Our pants on fire. You can't even say it.
Kent: Hey everyone, it's great to be back.