The King Acts in Judgement (Matthew 21:12-32)
Matthew
continues with his record of the activities of Jesus during the last week of
his life. We have already seen what happened on the first day of the week when
he rode into Jerusalem on the back of the borrowed donkey. Now we move on to
the Monday with regard to what happened in the temple, although Matthew does
not indicate that there is a gap between verses 11 and 12. But Mark tells us
that the cleansing of the temple occurred on the day after the arrival of Jesus
in the city. The explanation of the barren fig tree was given on the Tuesday,
as was the interaction with the religious leaders in the temple. Matthew groups
together several events and parables and discourses that indicate that Jesus
has arrived in the city as a Judge, although the Jewish leaders, and eventually
the people, do not realise this and are determined to resist him.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
This is the second occasion when Jesus cleared the temple of bad practices – the previous occasion occurred at the beginning of his public ministry and is recorded by John in his Gospel (John 2:13-17). The obvious application is that since Jesus had to do this at the close as well as at the onset of his ministry, it means that the various visits he had made to the city during his three years of public ministry had made little effect on the religious leaders and others involved in the financial racket that took place at the temple. The resumption of the practice after the first clearing shows their hostility to Jesus.
Why did the various practices condemned here by Jesus begin? Probably because it would have been convenient for people worshipping at the temple to have nearby those who provided the proper money (Tyrian shekels) and sacrifices that were used by the worshippers. We should observe that Matthew highlights those who sold pigeons, and pigeons were the offerings made by the poor. So it looks like he is highlighting exploitation of the needy by the authorities.
What did God want the temple to be used for primarily? No doubt, one of the important reasons was for offering sacrifices to God as part of his worship. Yet it was possible obviously to offer them without sincerity. What activity would indicate sincerity most clearly? The answer to that is prayer, although external prayers in themselves do not indicate that one is a sincere worshipper. But genuine prayer does say that those engaged in it want to meet with God. Indeed, we can say that a person’s prayer life reveals the type of person that he is.
In contrast to the religious authorities, what did Jesus do in the temple? Matthew points out that Jesus helped the needy. The blind and the lame, the ones most likely to use pigeons as their form of sacrifice, turned to him for help. After all, Jesus could do for them much more than all the rituals of the temple. And he gave his blessings free of charge to them. There were no failures when it came to him providing blessings to the needy.
Matthew provides a startling contrast in spiritual perception when he mentions the responses of the temple leaders and the children to what they saw taking place. The chief priests and scribes were angry whereas the children realised that the Messiah was there, performing the signs predicted of him in the Old Testament. Sadly, the praise of the children displeased, indeed annoyed intensely, the official religious leaders. In contrast to them, Jesus pointed out why the children were engaged in this activity – they did so because his Father had been working in their hearts.
On the previous day, the crowd entering the city had sung ‘Hosanna’ when they accompanied Jesus into the city. Is Matthew telling us here that a day later the only ones still doing so were the children? There is no longer an affinity with Jesus by those crowds, perhaps because he had not from their perspective completed his entry to the city by removing their enemies from power. Nevertheless, we can see that Jesus was dealing with those who opposed his kingdom.
Jesus left the city and went to Bethany for his accommodation, probably with Mary and Martha and Lazarus. The reception he would receive there would be very different from what he had been given by the temple authorities. There in Bethany he would be with those who wanted to worship him as the Saviour.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
Matthew summarises what happened with the fig tree. According to Mark, who gives more details, Jesus cursed the fig tree on the previous day. Matthew focuses on the response of the disciples which happened on the next day. In order to appreciate the point being made, we need to bear in mind how figs grow.
First, there are green figs that can be eaten but are not very tasty; second, there will be leaves; third, there will be mature figs which are tasty. Since the tree had leaves, it was a sign that there would be figs, even if they had not reached the mature stage. However, when Jesus went to this tree, he found that there were no figs even although there were leaves. The tree illustrated a false profession, its leaves suggesting there would be fruit, when in reality there was nothing.
Perhaps the tree was in the process of dying. If that was the case, Jesus could have solved the problem with a word and made it capable of fruitbearing. Or he could pronounce the opposite and say that the process already there would remain and become its fixed state. It is important to observe that Jesus did not destroy a good tree. Instead he confirmed that a bad tree would remain a bad tree.
What is the Saviour teaching by this cursing of the fig tree? He is stressing that a show religion, the equivalent of leaves on the tree without fruit, is not only worthless, it will be judged severely. In the Old Testament, Israel was often likened to a fig tree and now they were about to be judged because they had not brought forth any fruit for God. Instead, all they had was something that looked nice, but when it was searched by Jesus he found nothing to commend. Of course, what was true of the nation was also true of individuals.
The combined incident mentions at least two lessons. First, the judgement on such pointless religion can be very sudden and devastating. It only took one statement from Jesus to confirm that judgement had come on a fruitless tree. In a more solemn way, judgement would come on those who misused the worship of God and pretended to be something they were not. The King had revealed that judgement was coming on his people Israel for their failure to bring forth fruit.
Second, what would have made the difference to the people of Israel? What would be the signs of true religion? Jesus mentions two features of genuine discipleship – faith and prayer. By faith, he means faith in God, which includes faith in Jesus as the Saviour. Such faith is supernatural. Jesus does not mean that his disciples should engage in the ministry of moving mountains literally. Rather, he stresses that when his disciples come across something that needs to be done, they should deal with it by faith in God and prayer to God. Such a response indicates the existence of genuine religion in the heart.
The challenging aspect of this statement is the necessity of a meaningful prayer life. Jesus is teaching that what matters is not what people see, because sometimes an outward range of activities may be all that a person has. Without ongoing prayer about what happens in life, the religion of such a person is liable to divine judgement.
Jesus dismisses the religious leaders
During his visits to Jerusalem, Jesus taught the people in the temple. He did not have official permission to do so, but since the temple was the place of divine worship he did not need earthly permission for him to teach there. The temple leaders should have focussed on Jesus and his mission in a spiritual manner, and not on other irrelevant notions.
One way to deal with pompous leaders is to ask them a question that forces them to confess they have been wrong in their previous response to a situation. We can see that Jesus does this when he challenges the religious leaders regarding their opinion of the baptism of John. As we can see they recognised the corner that they were in by his question. Whatever answer they would give would bring problems for themselves, so they chose instead not to answer his question.
This led Jesus to refuse to answer their question. Yet there is a very different reality with regard to his refusal because it is an act of judgement on them. When Jesus refuses to enlarge on his mission when speaking to a group of people, then we can see that they are being denied knowledge of salvation, which is a very serious expression of divine judgement.
Jesus then used a parable to inform the religious leaders of their wrong situation. They were like the second son who pretended that he would work for his father. As leaders, they had not done any work for God, although pretending all the time that they did. Neither had they repented of their wrong decisions.
In contrast, the first son, who had initially refused to work for his father, later changed his mind and did so. He was a picture of those who initially rebelled against God, but who repented when they heard John’s message, and were forgiven by God. Even if they had been overt sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, they had been pardoned and had entered the kingdom of God.
The religious leaders should have rejoiced to see the display of God’s grace in bringing such sinners into his kingdom. Instead the leaders had persisted in their refusal to listen to John, which in effect was the same as not listening to Jesus because John had announced that the Saviour would arrive soon. It was obvious that the religious leaders had no insight into the workings of divine grace.
Some applications
There are three applications that we can briefly think about. The first is connected to why we are religious. It is possible to have a very strong involvement in correct religion, but for that involvement to be nothing but hypocrisy. That was the problem with those who oversaw the use made of the temple. The one thing that was lacking was the one thing that was essential – prayer.
The second application is whether we have repented of our wrong actions. Which of the two sons are we like because we are like one of them? We cannot avoid being so. Have we come to God and confessed our sins to him? Repentance is a defining feature of a Christian life.
The third application concerns how we respond to those who have repented. The religious leaders refused to follow the example of the tax collectors and prostitutes who repented. Sadly, the religion of the leaders was self-righteousness, and that religion will keep millions out of heaven. They saw others repent but they did not do so themselves. And maybe some of us are like that.
This is the second occasion when Jesus cleared the temple of bad practices – the previous occasion occurred at the beginning of his public ministry and is recorded by John in his Gospel (John 2:13-17). The obvious application is that since Jesus had to do this at the close as well as at the onset of his ministry, it means that the various visits he had made to the city during his three years of public ministry had made little effect on the religious leaders and others involved in the financial racket that took place at the temple. The resumption of the practice after the first clearing shows their hostility to Jesus.
Why did the various practices condemned here by Jesus begin? Probably because it would have been convenient for people worshipping at the temple to have nearby those who provided the proper money (Tyrian shekels) and sacrifices that were used by the worshippers. We should observe that Matthew highlights those who sold pigeons, and pigeons were the offerings made by the poor. So it looks like he is highlighting exploitation of the needy by the authorities.
What did God want the temple to be used for primarily? No doubt, one of the important reasons was for offering sacrifices to God as part of his worship. Yet it was possible obviously to offer them without sincerity. What activity would indicate sincerity most clearly? The answer to that is prayer, although external prayers in themselves do not indicate that one is a sincere worshipper. But genuine prayer does say that those engaged in it want to meet with God. Indeed, we can say that a person’s prayer life reveals the type of person that he is.
In contrast to the religious authorities, what did Jesus do in the temple? Matthew points out that Jesus helped the needy. The blind and the lame, the ones most likely to use pigeons as their form of sacrifice, turned to him for help. After all, Jesus could do for them much more than all the rituals of the temple. And he gave his blessings free of charge to them. There were no failures when it came to him providing blessings to the needy.
Matthew provides a startling contrast in spiritual perception when he mentions the responses of the temple leaders and the children to what they saw taking place. The chief priests and scribes were angry whereas the children realised that the Messiah was there, performing the signs predicted of him in the Old Testament. Sadly, the praise of the children displeased, indeed annoyed intensely, the official religious leaders. In contrast to them, Jesus pointed out why the children were engaged in this activity – they did so because his Father had been working in their hearts.
On the previous day, the crowd entering the city had sung ‘Hosanna’ when they accompanied Jesus into the city. Is Matthew telling us here that a day later the only ones still doing so were the children? There is no longer an affinity with Jesus by those crowds, perhaps because he had not from their perspective completed his entry to the city by removing their enemies from power. Nevertheless, we can see that Jesus was dealing with those who opposed his kingdom.
Jesus left the city and went to Bethany for his accommodation, probably with Mary and Martha and Lazarus. The reception he would receive there would be very different from what he had been given by the temple authorities. There in Bethany he would be with those who wanted to worship him as the Saviour.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
Matthew summarises what happened with the fig tree. According to Mark, who gives more details, Jesus cursed the fig tree on the previous day. Matthew focuses on the response of the disciples which happened on the next day. In order to appreciate the point being made, we need to bear in mind how figs grow.
First, there are green figs that can be eaten but are not very tasty; second, there will be leaves; third, there will be mature figs which are tasty. Since the tree had leaves, it was a sign that there would be figs, even if they had not reached the mature stage. However, when Jesus went to this tree, he found that there were no figs even although there were leaves. The tree illustrated a false profession, its leaves suggesting there would be fruit, when in reality there was nothing.
Perhaps the tree was in the process of dying. If that was the case, Jesus could have solved the problem with a word and made it capable of fruitbearing. Or he could pronounce the opposite and say that the process already there would remain and become its fixed state. It is important to observe that Jesus did not destroy a good tree. Instead he confirmed that a bad tree would remain a bad tree.
What is the Saviour teaching by this cursing of the fig tree? He is stressing that a show religion, the equivalent of leaves on the tree without fruit, is not only worthless, it will be judged severely. In the Old Testament, Israel was often likened to a fig tree and now they were about to be judged because they had not brought forth any fruit for God. Instead, all they had was something that looked nice, but when it was searched by Jesus he found nothing to commend. Of course, what was true of the nation was also true of individuals.
The combined incident mentions at least two lessons. First, the judgement on such pointless religion can be very sudden and devastating. It only took one statement from Jesus to confirm that judgement had come on a fruitless tree. In a more solemn way, judgement would come on those who misused the worship of God and pretended to be something they were not. The King had revealed that judgement was coming on his people Israel for their failure to bring forth fruit.
Second, what would have made the difference to the people of Israel? What would be the signs of true religion? Jesus mentions two features of genuine discipleship – faith and prayer. By faith, he means faith in God, which includes faith in Jesus as the Saviour. Such faith is supernatural. Jesus does not mean that his disciples should engage in the ministry of moving mountains literally. Rather, he stresses that when his disciples come across something that needs to be done, they should deal with it by faith in God and prayer to God. Such a response indicates the existence of genuine religion in the heart.
The challenging aspect of this statement is the necessity of a meaningful prayer life. Jesus is teaching that what matters is not what people see, because sometimes an outward range of activities may be all that a person has. Without ongoing prayer about what happens in life, the religion of such a person is liable to divine judgement.
Jesus dismisses the religious leaders
During his visits to Jerusalem, Jesus taught the people in the temple. He did not have official permission to do so, but since the temple was the place of divine worship he did not need earthly permission for him to teach there. The temple leaders should have focussed on Jesus and his mission in a spiritual manner, and not on other irrelevant notions.
One way to deal with pompous leaders is to ask them a question that forces them to confess they have been wrong in their previous response to a situation. We can see that Jesus does this when he challenges the religious leaders regarding their opinion of the baptism of John. As we can see they recognised the corner that they were in by his question. Whatever answer they would give would bring problems for themselves, so they chose instead not to answer his question.
This led Jesus to refuse to answer their question. Yet there is a very different reality with regard to his refusal because it is an act of judgement on them. When Jesus refuses to enlarge on his mission when speaking to a group of people, then we can see that they are being denied knowledge of salvation, which is a very serious expression of divine judgement.
Jesus then used a parable to inform the religious leaders of their wrong situation. They were like the second son who pretended that he would work for his father. As leaders, they had not done any work for God, although pretending all the time that they did. Neither had they repented of their wrong decisions.
In contrast, the first son, who had initially refused to work for his father, later changed his mind and did so. He was a picture of those who initially rebelled against God, but who repented when they heard John’s message, and were forgiven by God. Even if they had been overt sinners, such as tax collectors and prostitutes, they had been pardoned and had entered the kingdom of God.
The religious leaders should have rejoiced to see the display of God’s grace in bringing such sinners into his kingdom. Instead the leaders had persisted in their refusal to listen to John, which in effect was the same as not listening to Jesus because John had announced that the Saviour would arrive soon. It was obvious that the religious leaders had no insight into the workings of divine grace.
Some applications
There are three applications that we can briefly think about. The first is connected to why we are religious. It is possible to have a very strong involvement in correct religion, but for that involvement to be nothing but hypocrisy. That was the problem with those who oversaw the use made of the temple. The one thing that was lacking was the one thing that was essential – prayer.
The second application is whether we have repented of our wrong actions. Which of the two sons are we like because we are like one of them? We cannot avoid being so. Have we come to God and confessed our sins to him? Repentance is a defining feature of a Christian life.
The third application concerns how we respond to those who have repented. The religious leaders refused to follow the example of the tax collectors and prostitutes who repented. Sadly, the religion of the leaders was self-righteousness, and that religion will keep millions out of heaven. They saw others repent but they did not do so themselves. And maybe some of us are like that.
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