Matthew 21: I. Matthew 21:18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city

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1 Matthew 21:18-22 Introduction Jesus has entered Jerusalem as Israel s king and Messiah. He has cleansed the temple. And now, after having spent the night in Bethany, it s time to make the return commute back into Jerusalem. I. Matthew 21:18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city What morning are we talking about? If all we had was Matthew s Gospel, we could assume that this is now Monday morning, the day after Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But we know that while Jesus did enter Jerusalem on Sunday, it wasn t until Monday that He cleansed the temple. Matthew compressed these two separate events together to make it even more obvious that Jesus cleansing of the temple was an expression of Jesus authority as the Messiah. Jesus cleansing of the temple pointed to the mission that He had come to accomplish in the renewing, and recreating, and rebuilding of Israel s temple as a true house of prayer as a spiritual house, built of living stones, and possessing a holy priesthood that offers spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, we do know from Mark that the temple cleansing didn t actually happen until Monday, the day after the triumphal entry. So should we assume that the whole encounter with the fig tree happens on Tuesday morning (the day after the temple cleansing)? Well we could, but this assumption would be only half true, because once again Matthew has compressed his story! Mark tells us that Jesus cursed the fig tree on Monday morning (the same day as the temple cleansing), but that it wasn t until the next day (Tuesday morning) that the disciples saw the tree withered and had their discussion with Jesus. So it s Monday morning and Tuesday morning in Mark, but in Matthew it s just in the morning, and we re given the impression that everything happened all at once. * Mark s Gospel Sunday (Triumphal Entry) Monday morning (Cursing of the fig tree) Monday (Temple cleansing) Tuesday morning (Withered fig tree) Matthew s Gospel Triumphal Entry followed (immediately?) by Temple cleansing followed ( in the morning ) by the cursing and (simultaneous?) withering of the fig tree. * For modern day people, Matthew s compressing seems inaccurate and misleading. Some people may struggle to harmonize this compression with the biblical doctrine of inerrancy. And yet the people of Matthew s day would have had no qualms whatsoever about Matthew s tactics. By the standards of Matthew s day, his compression of the narrative would not have conflicted in the slightest with a belief in biblical inerrancy. Matthew s account is the very word of God and, therefore, not in error. This does not mean, however, that Matthew cannot compress events so that they appear to have happened on the same day and at the same time. Compression is a literary device that Matthew uses to underscore a theological point. In Matthew s day this would have had nothing to do with being inaccurate or deceptive. 1

2 So we wonder: What s the reason for compressing the story this time? II. Matthew 21:18-19a In the morning, as he was returning to the city [from Bethany], he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. This is all innocent enough. In fact, so far it seems thoroughly mundane. Jesus is hungry, and so He looks for some breakfast! A fig tree could also be translated (and probably should be translated) one fig tree (Hagner), or a single fig tree (France), or a lone fig tree (NASB; HCSB). This fig tree is all by its lonesome self, and we re about to see that it s all by itself in more ways than one! It was Passover, and Passover was in the spring, and this time of the spring was too early for figs! Mark tells us straight up that it was not the season for figs (11:13). And yet this lone fig tree had apparently put out its leaves earlier than usual, and leaves were generally an indicator of the first-ripe figs (cf. France). Mark says: Seeing in the distance a [lone] fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find anything on it (11:13). So even though it wasn t the season for figs, the early foliage of this lone fig tree might lead one to expect that there will also be figs! Here is the hope of breakfast! And it comes at the perfect time, because Jesus is hungry. But alas when Jesus had gone to examine the tree, He found nothing on it but only leaves. III. Matthew 21:19b And he said to it, May no fruit ever come from you again! And the fig tree withered at once. Now what just happened? I could maybe picture myself reacting like this, but certainly not Jesus. It wasn t the season for figs! This tree is an inanimate object! When Jesus was hungry and in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, He refused to use His power for self-serving ends. So instead of turning stones into bread (as Satan suggested), Jesus affirmed that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (4:4). So why does Jesus curse the fig tree after He found no fruit on it to satisfy His hunger? Remember Mark s timeline. On Monday morning Jesus cursed the fig tree, and then continued on into the city to drive out all who sold and bought in the temple. On Tuesday morning, the fig tree was withered (Mark says that it was withered away to its roots; 11:20). It shouldn t take a rocket scientist to figure out that here is a vivid, and even a haunting picture of the fate of Israel and their failed temple worship! On Monday morning, Jesus curses a fig tree that s full of leaves, but bears no fruit. Then Jesus goes on to cleanse a temple where everywhere there is the appearance of fruitfulness, but which is in reality only a den of robbers. The next morning, as the disciples make the return trip back into Jerusalem, they see the lone fig tree standing there, dried up and withered never to bear fruit again. Even in Matthew, the cursing and withering of the fig tree follows right after the cleansing of the temple, and comes right before Jesus parables of judgment and condemnation in the temple. But remember now that Matthew compresses the story together so that the cursing and the withering seem to happen both on Monday morning. What is there to gain in doing this (except perhaps a cleaner story)? Matthew uses the Greek word parachrema only two times in his Gospel, and both of these times are right here in this story of the withering of the fig tree. 2

3 Parachrema means suddenly, instantly, at once. And so while Mark never uses this word, Matthew tells us that the fig tree withered at once. Now when it comes to the withering of a fig tree, even a day later can still count as at once, but in Matthew, we don t even know that this is a day later! And so by his compressing of the story, Matthew is able to emphasize the immediacy, and the suddenness, and the absolute certainty and irrevocability of God s judgment on Israel. In the Old Testament, Israel was sometimes likened to a fig tree. And there are two Old Testament passages in particular that help us to understand what Jesus does here in Matthew 21. Jeremiah 8:12 13 (Joel 1:7; Jer. 24:1-10; Hos. 9:10) Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. When I would gather them, declares the LORD, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered. Micah 7:1 2, 4 (NRSV) Woe is me! For I have become like one who, after the summer fruit has been gathered, after the vintage has been gleaned, finds no cluster to eat; there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger. The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright The day of their punishment has come. Just as Micah hungered for a first-ripe fig, so now does Jesus. And just as Micah was disappointed with a barren tree, so now is Jesus. The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright. There are no figs on the fig tree, even though the fig tree is full of leaves. It has every appearance of being alive and of bearing fruit, but instead it s barren and unproductive. And so Jesus says, in effect, to Israel with her failed temple worship, May no fruit ever come from you again. The withering of national Israel, and the withering of her temple are now very near at hand. This is the meaning of Jesus cursing of the fig tree. But now the plot thickens. IV. Matthew 21:20 22 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree wither at once? And Jesus answered them, Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Now at first it might seem like we have two different things going on at once. On the one hand, the fig tree is an object lesson on Israel s failure to produce any fruit. On the other hand, the cursing and withering of the fig tree is now a lesson for the disciples on the power of prayer! So what s going on here? Have we moved on to an entirely different topic? Should we have saved this part of the text for next week s message? The disciples are obviously so amazed at how fast the fig tree withered that they ve entirely missed the main point! They re missing the obvious spiritual lesson because of their amazement over a physical miracle. So the question I have is this: Why in the world does Jesus humor the disciples by telling them that they, too, can wither fig trees, and even cast mountains into the sea? Well, in reality, Jesus isn t humoring the disciples at all! Instead, He s actually trying to correct their very misguided amazement. 3

4 The disciples question, How did the fig tree wither at once? can also be translated as an exclamation, How suddenly the fig tree has withered! Mark tells us that it was actually Peter who said to Jesus: Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered (11:21). So my guess is that Jesus is not so much answering a question from the disciples as He is actually taking the initiative to refocus their attention on the true spiritual lesson behind the withering of the fig tree. To our knowledge, none of the disciples ever withered a fig tree. But we can be especially certain that none of the disciples ever ordered a mountain to be taken up and cast into the sea. For that matter, Jesus Himself never did any such thing. The disciples were fixating on the physical miracle of drying up a fig tree. So Jesus says, OK, wait a minute, we might as well be talking about throwing whole mountains into the sea! And in that light, what s the big deal about withering a fig tree? Don t you understand that what just happened to this fig tree is not the main point! What s the main point? The point, as always, is God s kingdom rule! The point is God s righteous and holy will! And God s righteous and holy will is that Israel should be judged for its failure to produce fruit. God s righteous and holy will is that Israel s temple should be destroyed, and then rebuilt as a true house of prayer as a spiritual house, built of living stones, and possessing a holy priesthood that offers spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. God s righteous and holy will is that this new temple should be built up against the most impossible odds, and that it should bring forth much FRUIT to the glory of God. And so Jesus promise to us of the power to curse fig trees and cast mountains into the sea is nothing less than His promise to us that when we pray in faith, we will be enabled to bring forth much fruit, and to overcome all obstacles that stand in the way of the building up of God s temple and the spread of His kingdom rule. I think of God s promise to Zerubbabel as he faced the daunting task of rebuilding the temple after the exiles had returned from Babylon (cf. Keener; quoted in France): Zechariah 4:6 9 This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of Grace, grace to it! Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. And so now in a very similar way, Jesus says to us today as we consider the impossible kingdom tasks before us: Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. Conclusion It is God s will that as individuals, and as a Church, we don t just give the appearance of having fruit, but that we actually, and truly bring forth fruit as His people, as a spiritual house, as a holy priesthood! But often times we re just like Israel. We have the form of godliness, but we 4

5 lack its true power (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5). As individuals, we keep up appearances, and yet we struggle to bring forth real and lasting fruit of the kind that truly brings glory to God. As a church, we keep up appearances, and yet we struggle to bring forth real and lasting fruit of the kind that truly results in the spread of God s rule throughout all the world. We keep up all the outward appearances, and yet we struggle to overcome the impossible and overwhelming obstacles that stand in the way of the true progress of the kingdom. But Jesus gives us a very simple solution to this depressing picture Prayer. If we have faith and do not doubt, we will not only do what Jesus did to the fig tree, but even if we say to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, it will happen. And [lit. everything, whatever] we ask in prayer, we will receive, if we have faith. Here is the key to bearing fruit, and not just leaves. Here is the key to overcoming impossible obstacles and advancing the work of the kingdom in our homes, and churches, and communities, and throughout all the world. PRAYER. It is God s will that we bear much fruit. And if we would bear much fruit, then we must pray. If I would have fruit come from my preaching, then I must pray more than I do. If we would have fruit come from our listening to the preaching, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from our evangelizing, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from our times of fellowship, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from the counsel that we give to others, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from the instruction that we give to our children, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from our ministry and service, then we must pray more than we do. If we would have fruit come from our striving against sin, then we must pray more than we do. If we would see fruit in the midst of those circumstances that seem to be overwhelmingly impossible, then we must pray more than we do. And we must pray with faith, and without any doubting, believing that God will enable us to move mountains, and for that matter to move all of heaven and earth, in order to accomplish His will, and bear fruit to His glory. Here is the key to bearing fruit, and not just leaves. There are no shortcuts. There is no substitute. There is just the power of believing prayer. Remember that when Jesus gave us this promise, He prefaced it with these words: Truly, I say to you So the question is, will we take Him at His word? Will we experience the joy of bearing much fruit for the kingdom through the power of believing prayer? 5