Leaves but No Fruit
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Recap
Recap
Triumphal Entry
Clearing the temple
Chronological Side note
Matthew C. The King Acts out the Drama of the Fruitless Fig Tree (21:18–22)
According to Mark’s chronology, Jesus cursed the fig tree on Monday morning while on his way to cleanse the temple. Then the disciples noticed the withered tree on Tuesday morning as they returned for the day of confrontation (21:23–23:39). Matthew arranged events in a different order than Mark to place the temple cleansing after the triumphal entry and to keep the story of the fig tree together. This practice was fully accepted in that culture, and it served Matthew’s thematic development well.
Matthew went to great lengths to write his gospel in a way that things would add up to relate the Jewish Messiah to the Jewish People. All through the book of Matthew he made note of prophecies and titles used in the old testament to point directly to Jesus as the fulfillment of those prophecies and titles.
The passage we will cover is one that starts to tell an account of this last public battle with the Chief Priests and Elders.
It all starts out with what seems like an odd account of Jesus getting ticked off at a plant, a fig tree to be exact, but what’s actually happening is Jesus is living out a parable.
The Fig Tree
The Fig Tree
18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 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.
In a dramatic way, Jesus performed one of His few destructive miracles (the other one being sending the demons into the herd of pigs and them jumping off a cliff). His curse made the fig tree to wither away.
Essentially Jesus is accusing this tree of false advertising!
One Theologian said, “The first Adam came looking for fig leaves to cover his nakedness, the Second Adam, Jesus, came looking for fruit to be on the fig tree.”
But, why did Jesus destroy the fig tree? He did it to paint a picture for anyone who would have eyes to learn the lesson of those that would put up on the outside a religious, godly facade, i.e. have a tree full of leaves, but when the Lord comes looking for the fruit, none is found.
The thing is, Israel had been compared to a fig tree often in the OT.
13 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,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”
10 Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved.
Baal-peor - Moabitish deity “lord of the gap”. Israel’s sin and idolatry in the days of Hosea was like their sin at Baal Peor in Numbers 25, associated with sexual immorality and idolatry.
The desire of our Lord is that we would fix our eyes on him, abide in him and depend on him and our being “in Him” in order to bare fruit, but not just bare fruit, but that our fruit would remain.
4 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. 5 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. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
This is Jesus talking to the disciples moments before they travel to the Garden where Jesus is betrayed and handed over to the authorities. HE’s saying that a true branch of the true vine would bare fruit if they truly abided in Him. These hypocrites obviously had it all together on the outside, but Jesus saw right through them.
20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 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. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Matthew (C. The King Acts out the Drama of the Fruitless Fig Tree (21:18–22))
The necessary ingredient was faith (taking God at his word), which the disciples lacked. Jesus clarified his meaning by mentioning the opposite of faith—doubt.
Jesus has no intention for our “Mountain-moving faith” to be used in such a frivolous way as rearranging the earth. In fact, faith cannot be exercised in any way except according to God’s will. It is not the faith which moves mountains, but the power of God in response to the expression of faith. True faith is always in keeping with God’s will and is based on intimacy with God and an understanding of his heart and will.
What Jesus is saying in verses 21 & 22 is the same thing he will repeats in John 14:12-13
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Authority Questioned
Authority Questioned
Later that day Jesus and the disciples entered into the temple once again. Jesus continued to do what he’d been doing all along. Preaching the good news of the kingdom. It’s at this public place that Jesus authority is questioned. It’s not questioned by any of the people that have come there to worship but by those who should have seen the messiah coming. should have seen the signs, expected his triumphal entry and understood his anger when he cleared the money changers out of the temple.
23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The chief priests and elders feared man more than God. They new they couldn’t, for the sake of their religious agenda, confirm that John the Baptists’ ministry was from heaven, or from the Lord, because it was John the Baptists who proclaimed “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” and baptized him confirming he was the messiah! So, no, they couldn’t for their own political POWER confirm the divinity of their political enemy!
They also couldn’t come out and say what they really wanted to say, that John’s ministry was just from man, because they knew that the masses saw John as a prophet and there fore would be against the chief priests and elders because they denied his ministry.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Ultimately Jesus answers their question with a question like so many times before. In the end:
Matthew D. The King’s Authority Is Questioned (21:23–27)
Jesus knew they were not open to the truth, so he placed a hurdle between them and the answer to their question. They had to acknowledge that John’s authority came from heaven. Their refusal to answer was acknowledgment of their resistance to the truth—that Jesus’ authority came from God.
The word Authority in the greek, the word Exousia, power. Power in what?
1. power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases; leave or permission:
While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
same word here for Control is the word used in Matthew 21 for authority.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Ultimately, the direction of our lives are decided by authority. We have been given the power or authority to choose for ourselves who we will give our authority to or in another sense who we will place ourselves under their authority. Jesus has been given all authority, in heaven and on earth. We will either choose to place ourselves under the authority of Jesus Christ and follow him, or we will hold on to the authority we think we process and attempt to run our own lives only to still face the authority of Jesus in the end.
“I have been thinking of the advantages of my own position towards the Lord, and lamenting with great shamefacedness that I am not bringing forth such fruit to him as my position demands. Considering our privileges, advantages, and opportunities, I fear that many of us have need to feel great searchings of the heart.” (Spurgeon)
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
May we abide in Him, surrender to Him, and find our Joy in him!