Passion Week of Christ (Part 3)
Faith and Authority - Matthew 21:18-32

Tuesday comes as a day of great confrontation with the religious leaders
assembled in Jerusalem. The Pharisees are joined by the Sadducees in
their desire to trick or trap Jesus through their questions.

The day begins with some strong words by our Lord:
Matthew 21:18-19: "Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the
city, he was hungry. {19} Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it
but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never
bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered." {20} When the
disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so
quickly?" they asked. {21} Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you
have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig
tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the
sea,' and it will be done. {22} If you believe, you will receive whatever
you ask for in prayer."

Jesus completely destroyed the fig tree—from the roots up it was
gone...Jesus did it miraculous and to the extent that it would never bear
fruit again!

Matthew: May you never bear fruit again."

Mark 11:14: "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."

We’re told in Mark’s account of this same story that it clearly was not
the season for figs.

To many of us, this response might appear completely out of character for
Jesus, especially considering the celebration of the multitudes on
Sunday and the praise of the children in the temple on Monday.

Why did He destroy the tree?
The Messiah had absolute power over all the physical universe and the
unfruitful among men have no such power! He also wanted to show His
disciples that this power extended even to the power to keep from being
killed!

· He was not dying out of weakness
· He was not dying because He was not the Messiah
· He was not dying because of the plots and intrigues of men
· He was dying because the death of God’s Son was the way of salvation!

I think there is another lesson that usually comes to mind here (though
we must acknowledge that it is NOT the lesson Jesus drew).
In reconciling these two gospel accounts, it seems clear to me that Jesus
knew this fig tree only looked mature and would not bear fruit...it
presented the object lesson that most clearly described the state of the
Jewish people and of Jerusalem.

They had received so much opportunity and had not used them to their
advantage...to bring forth belief.

Matthew 11:20-24: "Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most
of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. {21}
"Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were
performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. {22} But I tell you, it will be
more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
{23} And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will
go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had
been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. {24} But I
tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment
than for you.""

What makes these words so profound is the fact that the events recorded
in chapters 8-9 occurred in Capernaum.

The lessons on faith:
· Faith is believing when you can’t see and touch the end results
· Our faith must be in God—faith has to have an object
· Faith itself has no power: it is the object that has power
· Faith requires knowing the object. (Two men who want to go out on a
frozen lake to fish...one man goes forward, with full assurance...begins
to step out onto the ice, crosses the ice and begins cutting the hole to
begin fishing. The other man is timid and cautious and slow in his
movements. One man knew the ice and the other man did not know the ice)
· There can be no doubting! Why? Because of the source of our faith is
God’s Word and the goal of our faith is obedience to God, Christ, and the
church until our last breath

And look at the promise we are given: If you believe, you will receive
whatever you ask for in prayer."

His prayer is comprehensive: "all things"
His prayer is conditional: "believe"
His prayer is expectant: "receive whatever you ask"

It is also affected by the relationships we have with others:
Mark 11:24--25: "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. {25} And when
you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so
that your Father in heaven may for-give you your sins."

Questions about His authority
Matthew 21: 23-27: "Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was
teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By
what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you
this authority?" {24} Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question.
If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these
things. {25} John's baptism--where did it come from? Was it from heaven,
or from men?" They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say,
'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' {26} But
if we say, 'From men'--we are afraid of the people, for they all hold
that John was a prophet." {27} So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."
Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these
things."

Luke 20:6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us,
because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."

Matthew 3:1-9: "In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the
Desert of Ju-dea {2} and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
near." {3} This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A
voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make
straight paths for him.'" {4} John's clothes were made of camel's hair,
and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was lo-custs and
wild honey. {5} People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and
the whole region of the Jordan. {6} Confessing their sins, they were
baptized by him in the Jordan River. {7} But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to
them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
{8} Produce fruit in keeping with repen-tance. {9} And do not think you
can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our fa-ther.' I tell you that
out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."

The question of Jesus’ authority:
· Authority of His works
· Authority of the person

In taking them back to the ministry of John, Jesus was not trying to
avoid the issue. John had prepared the way for Jesus. Had the rulers
received John’s ministry, they would have received Jesus.

Instead, the leaders permitted Herod to arrest John and then to kill him.
If they would not accept the authority of John, they would not accept the
authority of Jesus; for both John and Jesus were sent by God.

It is a basic principle of Christian living that we cannot learn new
truth if we disobey what God has already told us. "If any man is willing
to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God"
(John 7:17). The religious rulers had rejected the truth preached by
John, and therefore Jesus could not impart new truth. Both He and John
were under the same authority.

Two choices:
· He was from God. If John was from God, then Jesus would also be from
God, because John would not lie and testified that Jesus was "the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sins of the world"
· He was a mere man

The tragic answer:
· No decision (some would say)...but they made a decision, didn’t they.
They had the answer clearly in their mind but didn’t want to suffer the
consequences that the decision would by necessity bring!
· They chose expediency rather than principle
· They chose to play it safe rather than to stand for the truth
· They chose to say "I don’t know" rather than to speak the truth
· This only served to point out their obstinate unbelief and make them
even more inexcusable before God (heaping wrath upon themselves)
· If "all the people" could listen to John and believe his message – so
could they!?#

A parable that drives home the point
Matthew 21:28-32: "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons.
He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
{29} "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
{30} "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He
answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. {31} "Which of the two did
what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Je-sus said to them,
"I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are
en-tering the kingdom of God ahead of you. {32} For John came to you to
show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the
tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you
did not repent and believe him."

The two sons represent the two classes of people in that nation: the
self-righteous re-ligious people, and the publicans and sinners.

When John came ministering, the religious crowd showed great interest in
his work, but they would not repent and humble themselves and be baptized
(Matt. 3:7-12; John 1:19-28). The nonreligious crowd, however, confessed
their sins and obeyed John’s words and were baptized.


The leaders committed two sins:
· They would not believe John’s message
· and they would not repent of their sins.

Of course, the leaders felt that they had no need to repent (Luke
18:9-14). But when they saw what repentance did for the publicans and
sinners, they should have been convinced that John’s message was true and
salvation was real.

Their rejection of John was actually a rejection of the Father who had
sent him. But God is gracious, and instead of sending judgment, He sent
His Son.

Jesus wanted to convey a message that would determine their eternal
destiny...even to the end He was giving them the opportunity to repent
and believe:
· The command "go work" is an emphatic imperative—there is no other
choice or alternative
· It needed to be done "today" – there’s no guarantee of tomorrow
· How often do we say "I will" and then not do it.....and somehow we can
justify ourselves and "feel ok about it"

The lesson is clear: it is not our intentions or even having the correct
answers to the questions ----we can and must turn from what can even be
disrespectful rebellion and do what is asked of us!

Romans 10:3: "Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from
God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's
righteousness."

1 Corinthians 15:34: "Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop
sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your
shame."

Last modified: April 18, 2006