You'll want to read the text of Matthew 21:18-27 before continuing further.
These verses follow immediately after the passage we read in worship on Sunday. They are certainly strange. Is this really the Jesus we thought we knew? What's with killing the fig tree because it had no figs on it? (Other gospels include the detail that it wasn't the season for figs. So what is Jesus playing at?!?) And why is Jesus so uncooperative with the religious leaders? He's not helping his case!
Let's remember that the fig tree scene takes place between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and his return to the city the next day. He's spent the night in nearby Bethany. Tensions are running very high. The city is crowded. And as far as whether one wants to be a follower of Jesus or not, time has run out.
Most biblical scholars doubt the historic accuracy of the fig tree scene. However, theologically it serves an important point. If the tree is symbolic of Israel, then it's Lord has come. Is it being productive? Is it bearing fruit? Remember, the scene is the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem. The temple and the heart of the faith is less than a mile away. Jesus was just there the day before and he was not pleased with what he saw. Jesus has found no fruit. He pronounces judgment upon it. It's time is past. Luke's gospel contains a parable of an unproductive tree that is given one more chance. Apparently that chance has passed.
Jesus is finding very little in the way of the qualities of love and mercy that he has come to proclaim. The next scene is the chief priests and the elders challenging him as he is teaching in the temple. Remember that the temple itself wasn't a very large building. There's no record that Jesus ever entered it. But the temple was surrounded by a series of large courtyards. It is in one of these courtyards that Jesus is teaching, and apparently gathering a crowd! The religious leaders who run the temple system go over to check it out. And they are not pleased with what they are hearing!
Let's not be too harsh with them. For if we do so we'll miss that they easily mirror ourselves. From their perspective they are faithfully honoring the laws and faith traditions that have been carefully handed on to them. They are doing so as well as they can under severe Roman oppression. The Romans are demanding control, putting up graven images, and even forcing Jews to use the imperial currency with all its sacrilegious imagery. They are doing the best they can! So when Jesus, an charismatic uneducated self-proclaimed rabbi from the outskirts of Jewish territory shows up and starts teaching his own stuff they feel threatened.
Jesus' teachings that the kingdom of God is at hand risks Roman retaliation.
Jesus' teachings that God forgives without going through the sacrificial system of the temple undermines all orthodoxy.
Jesus' teachings that God loves everyone regardless of whether they are "righteous" or "sinners" undermines everything they understand about God.
And so they want to know the authority Jesus claims for his radical teachings. In typical rabbinic debate Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own, "Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" We get to overhear their struggle. Jesus has created a no win situation for them. If they say, "From heaven," Jesus will reply, "Why then did you not believe him?" But if they say, "Of human origin," the crowds would be displeased because they considered John to be a prophet. And so they answered that they did not know. Jesus in turn replies that he will not reveal his authority either.
Perhaps we might think Jesus could have been more considerate here. This may have been a moment of compassion for him where he could gently teach the religious leaders; maybe even win them over to his side. But Jesus does not do that. He knows their minds are closed. He knows they've been keeping a watch on him for awhile.
Sometimes "I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer to a question of faith. But not here. The truth is that the religious establishment had already rejected John the Baptist. And they've already rejected Jesus. They are fruitless trees. God is acting. They are missing it because they are rooted in the human point of view.
It isn't wise to just jump on the bandwagon of every charismatic leader who claims to speak with the authority of Jesus. However, it is wise to always keep an open mind. Listen with discerning ears. Maybe God is speaking something new that we need to hear. The good news is that with the written word of scripture, and the community of faith that is the church, we are well equipped for discernment. God does speak in new and surprising ways all the time.
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