Quizzing Matthew 21

Jesus enters as a king (although not on the war horse that the people were hoping for) and is hailed as king. But Jesus’ first act as king is not exactly what the people were expecting.

They probably anticipated that Jesus was going to bring down wrath on the Romans, but instead, Jesus brings down wrath on the Jewish people! In particular, those who are getting rich off of the temple. The temple is supposed to draw people to it for nourishment, not draw them in and leave them frustrated. This is immediately illustrated by the fig tree.

Jesus is not surprised (we learn in Mark that it was not the season for figs) but the leaves and His hunger drew Him in, but there was nothing to satisfy Him. The temple, like the fig, will no longer produce fruit. Now we come to a tricky verse (and an FTV): Matthew 21:22. What is going on here?

Inside the idea of belief is submission.

Matthew 1. True Discipleship versus Harsher Condemnation for the Jewish Leaders (19:1–22:46)

Whatever you ask for” may well still refer to whatever the disciples request concerning the replacement of the Jewish cult with the new covenant Jesus is inaugurating. And perhaps Jesus further implies, as Harrington phrases it, that “faith and prayer, not temple cult, are now the way to God.”

Matthew 1. Implications for Discipleship: Correcting Misunderstandings (16:21–17:27)

Moreover, for Matthew, the type of faith required always involves commitment to Jesus and obedience to his commands, which must therefore always include praying, “Thy will be done” (6:10).

The scene continues in v. 23ff which is all one scene! Some of the leaders come to Him to challenge Him by asking about the source of His authority. Jesus puts the question back on them asking their thoughts on JtB. They don’t want to answer, so Jesus dodges the question.

This flows right into Jesus telling them a parable about two sons, one who says he won’t, then does, then one who says he will, then doesn’t. Which ones does the will of his dad? The first one, obvi.

The “they” in v. 31 is the leaders who just questioned Jesus. Let me tell you, I just caught this on Thursday. I was always confused by this parable until then.

The first son is the tax collectors and prostitutes. They initially didn’t follow God, but now they do. All good.

The other son represents these leaders! The word for “changed his mind” (v. 29) and “repent” (v. 32) are the same.

Then Jesus continues with another parable, where a vineyard owner rents his vineyard out to some farmers. When it is time for the harvest, the owner sends some servants to collect what is his, but they kill them. Finally, he sends his son. Then they come up with a plan: if we kill him, maybe we can own this vineyard! This only makes sense if the vineyard owner is dead! But he is not and the audience knows that these workers deserve a huge punishment: removal from the vineyard and replacement by others. This is exactly Jesus’ point.

The temple and the fig tree and the kingdom of God are not producing fruit. A significant change is coming.

The leaders get the message…and make plans to prove Him right!