Following the Way of Jesus (10)

Jesus on Prayer - The Lesson from the Fig Tree

Matthew 21:18–22 (ESV)

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

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.”

Last week Mike spoke to us about Jesus being welcomed as King in Jerusalem as he rode into the city on a donkey to be acclaimed as Messiah, the son of David, as the people shouted hosannas and placed clothes and palm branches on the road before Him (Matt. 21:1–11).

(a). Background to the text:

The triumphal entry took place on Sunday (John 12:1-2) we now call it Palm Sunday. What isn’t clear from Matthew but is made clear in Mark is that at the end of the Trimuphal entry, Jesus “went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.”(Mark 11:11), - the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, His friends(John 11:1) - so the cleansing of the Temple actually took place on the Monday.

On the way to cleansing the Temple, Jesus has a rather unsual encounter with a fig tree. He was hungry and so seeing a fig tree in full leaf but with no figs, He cursed it saying, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” This causes some consternation because as Mark observes, “it was not the season for figs” (Mark 11:13).

Fig trees bore were common place and the disciples were in the vicinity of “Bethphage”(Matt 21:1) in the area of the Mount of Olives, 2 miles from Jerusalem the name of which means “House of young figs”. A fig tree bears fruit twice a year, the first time in early summer, so that in April, a fig tree at the altitude of Jerusalem would not usually have either fruit or leaves. However, it was normal for a fig tree to produce fruit before it sprouted leaves, so non finding nothing but leaves, Jesus was disappointed to find that this tree was in fact barren and useless for its purpose, hence he cursed it as unfit for purpose!

(b). The cleansing of the Temple:

The residence of high priestly families, particularly that of Annas in the time of Jesus, The “hicron” or 13 acre complex which included various courts and buildings, not the “naos”, sanctuary where God was approached and sacrifice was made - ended any forlorn hope on the part of the disciples that the Jerusalem leadership would accept Jesus as King. The sale of sacrificial animals and the changing of money took place in the Court of the Gentiles. The practice initially served the needs of the people, for Jews coming from distant places could not conveniently bring sacrificial animals with them and would also need to change Greek, Roman, or other coins for the required Jewish half-shekel, hence the need for moneychangers who set up their tables from the Jewish month Adar 25 until Nisan 1 (roughly March-April).

Jesus saw the Court of the Gentiles in such confusion that prayer was almost impossible there and that he saw the people being exploited in the name of religion and He was provoked to righteous indignation!

Once he “entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons”, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ (Isaiah 56:7) but you make it a den of robbers” the breach was irreparable as Jesus reminded the Religious leaders of the condemnation of Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.”

Jesus is equating Himself with God and even though, Jesus went on the heal some of “the blind and the lame” who “came to him in the temple” the leadership were furious, and even on seeing, “the wonderful things that he did” they were far more concerned that “the children” were “crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Do you hear what these are saying?” they asked Jesus! To which he replied, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies, have prepared praise’?  

“The cleansing of the temple’ contains an important truth,... the Messiah stakes his claim in the central shrine of his people. ‘Planned for prime time and maximum exposure, it was a “demonstration” calculated to interrupt business as usual and bring the imminence of God’s reign abruptly, forcefully, to the attention of all … It was at once a demonstration, a prophetic critique, a fulfilment event, and a sign of the future’ (Meyer, p.197). (R T France).

Malachi 3:1 anticpates a time when "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” and Zechariah 14:21 promised the coming of a day when ‘there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts’.

This has come to pass in their midst, but tragically as it says in Luke 19:43-44 “For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Slightly less than 40 years later the Roman army beseiged Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple and sent the nation into exile, all because Israel had rejected her God and King!

Then Matthew tells us that He left them, going “out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” (Matt 21:12-17).

(c). The Cursing of the Fig Tree:

Although Matthew does not tell us of the interval between the cursing of the fig tree and the disciples observing that it has deteriorated so quickly, Mark tells us that it wasn’t until the Tuesday morning that Jesus and His disciples were once again travelling up to the Temple and passing the cursed fig tree, noticed it was already “withered away to its roots”(Mark 11:14, 20). and was dry!

Matthew makes it clear that though this deterioration happened “at once”, at the command of Jesus, the disciples, here have the first visible evidence of its withering and rapid deterioration. Its worth noting here that fig trees were common in Israel, “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey” (Deut. 8:8). Fig trees can grow to a height of 20 feet and its branches can be equally as wide, making them an excellent shade when in full leaf. It was from under a fig tree that Jesus saw Nathanael and called him to follow as His disciple (John 1:48). So given the size of these trees you would not expect to see rapid deterioration. A diseased tree should take many days, even weeks to die, even if deliberately salted, so this was highly unusual.

The disciples were astonished at this development but Jesus took it as an opportunity to teach then an important lesson about faith - “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.”

So what exactly is the point of the story of the cursing of the Fig Tree? It serves as an acted parable to show that Jesus is justified in cleansing the Temple which though it was meant to be “a house of prayer”, fruitful in the service of God, was in fact a “den of robbers”, and just as fruitless fig trees have very little value as they are not fit for purpose, so a prayerless temple is not fit for purpose!

Jesus is showing in these two events that dead religion was killing the nation! The PUBLIC cleansing of the Temple was a condemnation of Israel’s worship, and the more PRIVATE but even more damaging cursing of the fig tree was a condemnation of Israel as a worshipping nation - see Micah 7:1. see also Luke 13:6-9, “And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Zechariah the Prophet foresaw a time when the Lord would “remove the iniquity of that land in one day...every one of you will invite his neighbour to sit under his vine and under his fig tree” (Zech. 3:9–10). A garden of abundance with vines and fig trees was a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation of Israel, but a cursed fig tree, a symbole of judgment and God’s withdrawal of His blessing from the nation!

Of course, these two actions irreperably damged Jesus’ reputation and popularity because the popular notion of King Messiah was that He would come to Jerusalem and establish Israel as the Superpower of the World, whilst destroying Israel’s enemies and occupiers, but instead Jesus marches in and draws a close to Israel’s claimed exclusive access to God through temple worship.

To the religious leaders and these they influenced, Jesus was condemning the nation, he should be rescuing. Little wonder they condemned Him and rejected Him saying, “we do not want this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14)and before Pilate, choosing a murderer saying of Jesus, ”Away with Him, Crucify, Crucify!”

APPLICATION:

This passage contains a warning against DEAD RELIGION:

The Apostle Paul complained that Israel had “a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge” (Rom. 10:2), an “appearance of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5).

After all, a people who can witness healing miracles, such as Jesus performed but can object to the cleaning of the corrupt practices of temple worship, have a major problem!

A religion, however impressive, that has grand institutions, political influence, ornate temples and big financial capital with an impressive personel and benificieries but lacks in justice and righteouness and truth and prayer is all leaf and no figs! It is a pretense of worship and a dead religion!

The Apostle James reminds us that “faith without works is dead”(Jas 2:26).

True faith is demonstrated by actions. The works reveal the true character of our faith and the New Testament frequently refers to this as “fruit”.

Fruit is the sign of the work of the Holy Spirit trandforming our character, within us - Gal 5:22-23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

When people are truly converted by God they “bear fruit in keeping with repentance”(Matt 3:8) and as Jesus said, “a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit”(Matt. 7:18).

Jesus used another horticultural example of this saying, “I am the vine, you are the branches; whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bear much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing!” (John 15:5).

Fruit is always the consequence of belonging to Jesus because as we are born again of the Spirit, the life of Jesus is manifest in us!

But this parable also warns us against the danger of fruitlessness - John 15:1-11 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; dand the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as lI have kept mmy Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, nthat my joy may be in you, and that oyour joy may be full.”

Everything is dependent upon our ABIDING IN CHRIST!

2. This passage contains an encouragment to EXPECTANT BELIEVING PRAYER:

“It is not the symbolism which the disciples notice, but the power of Jesus’ word, and their response implies the question, ‘Can we do such marvels too?’(R. T France).

To which Jesus responds - “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 - perhaps the Mount of Olives or Mount Zion - , ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

“In both the Matthean and Johannine passages the discussion moves from the importance of fruit to the matter of asking. It is fatal for nation or individual to be fruitless, but this is not necessary. There are divine resources which can save either from fruitlessness and its consequent destruction. In John these resources are open to one who “abides” in Christ and “asks.” In Matthew these resources are open to the one who prays in faith.” (Frank Stagg).

Jesus wants us to know that we have unimaginable power available to us, through our faith in God! He declared to His disciples that, “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:13–14).

The requirement for receiving is to ask in Jesus’ name, that is, according to His purpose and will. Such faith believes God and trusts His word. Such faith is expressed in a desire to do the will of God and glorify His name.

So the promise is that as we grow in our knowledge of God and increase in our desire to glorify His name, we will seek mountain-moving answers to our prayers!

And we shall activate such faith as we pray, “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”

And we should persevere in such believing prayer - “Men ought always to pray and not give up”(Luke 18:1).

Be like the he person whose friend turns up at midnight with needs and go and bother your neighbours for some loaves of bread or like the widow who petitioned the unrighteous judge (Luke 11:5–8; 18:1–8).

Pray and persist in your prayer until God answers you! Persistent prayer is the prayer that moves mountains, those obstacles that feel so impossible to shift but can be moved by prayer!

“We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don't want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time because His idea of 'good time' is seldom in sync with ours.” ― Oswald Chambers

"Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between his will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer." - Elisabeth Elliot

Be encouraged my friend to believe that the person who wants what God wants can ask from God and receive it.

If we want God in our lives and we want to please Him we can pray for the strength and ability and receive the gracve to live for Him in a God-hnouring way.

And let us at WCF seek to make God’s “house, a house of prayer!”

Let us here at West Cliff, be a church that prays! A church that knows the power of God and a Church that regularly sees a crumbling of mountain-moving obstacles.

Let us not only pray for God to move and especially when they persist in such praying, will see momentous answers to their prayers - Matt. 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”