12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus 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, “Truly I tell you, 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.”
23 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 of human origin?”
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, ‘Of human origin’—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.
I'm not quite sure where our society gets the idea that Jesus was a weak and quiet man, and as a teenager, I can remember being a little embarrassed that my God wasn't a little more macho. But clearly, I just hadn't read enough scripture yet. I love Matthew chapter 21 because here we see three different examples where Jesus was not a push-over!
I love the picture of Jesus going into the temple and turning over tables because people were defiling God's house. Put some dramatic music behind those images and you have a just hero in an action movie! Jesus was a fighter. He fought for the holiness of God and His temple; he fought for the underdogs of his day when he cared for women, widows, and children; and he has and continues to fight for our souls out of His great love for us! No, He was absolutely not passive, and I am so proud to call Him my Savior! And yet, in this very scene, He also healed many people out of His love and compassion for them. Now, if that's not the perfect man, I don't know what is!
In the next part of this passage, He kills a fig tree on the spot for not producing fruit, reminding us that Jesus is fully God, and Scripture also says that Jesus was hungry, which reminds us that He is fully human lest we not forget! Now, there are many ways we could look at this and dive into it further as far as what that fig tree represents. But what I know about Jesus, is that His followers are to bear fruit! He despises "lukewarm" dedication from us. In Revelation 3:16, He says, "So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." He doesn't play pretend just so that everyone can feel nice about this Christian stuff. You either are hot or cold. I'd say those are pretty clear-cut boundaries, and He doesn't settle for the in between. I love that about Jesus, because even in my own life, I want to be on fire for Him. I'm glad that He makes that the standard because otherwise my fleshy self would probably not aim so high! So, I wonder if that tree represents self-proclaimed Christians who are not bearing fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). Jesus doesn't play games. I also like this section of scripture because as a leader, He empowers and encourages His disciples, telling them that they can do the same things if they just have faith that it can be done AND the humility to ask for it in prayer.
The third thing I love about Matthew 21, and I really love this one, is verses 23-27 (read above). The Pharisees are doing what they are always doing, trying to back Jesus into a corner about His authority. But Jesus is sharp! He plays their game of "asking questions" right back at them, and says they must answer His question before He'll answer theirs, because He already knows their hearts. They know what He wants them to say, but they don't want to say it, and if they say the opposite thing, the people will be mad at them (and we wouldn't want to make anyone mad at us, right, because they might take away our power), so they say "We don't know," which isn't the truth. Jesus response: "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." And that's the end of that. He doesn't give reasons; He just gives a simple answer. And they're thinking...rats, we're out-smarted again!
My Aunt Nancy is a hopeless romantic like me. I can remember visiting her at her farm in Kentucky as a child, and she had this picture of Jesus on her dresser that was unlike any picture I've ever seen of Jesus. He was handsome! Now, I know that the Bible says that Jesus was not particularly handsome (and I'd have to do a little digging to find that reference right now), but I can understand why -- Jesus doesn't want people following Him simply for His looks! (That's why He made Brad Pitt.) But, my aunt wanted to be so in-love with Jesus, that she used this picture to remind her of who Jesus really is, and she called it her Hunky Jesus.
Looking at Matthew 21, we've learned that Jesus was:
sure of His identity, assertive, strong, powerful, defender of God and the underdogs, compassionate, kind and tender, honest, human, God, smart and wise beyond measure, encouraging and empowering, street-smart, and many other descriptors! I'd encourage you to read this passage again yourself and add to my list. What a list it is. Yes, I'd say He is a Hunky Jesus, Aunt Nancy.
This is our God, loved ones. This is who our God really is! He is not a passive, quiet man who allows Himself to be walked upon. On the cross, He absolutely allowed it, but only because He loved you that much. He could have ripped Himself off the cross at any point, but He loved you, so He stayed there. He is a loving, sacrificing God out of His great love for you. You do not have to be ashamed of Him. In fact, the more I read these historical accounts of His life, the greater the chasm between Jesus and all the other gods of this world becomes. I choose Jesus. I hope, with a resounding YES, that you do, too, this morning.
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