We can't seem to escape speaking about fig trees!
Here is why I said I didn't think the Disciples noticed the withering right as it happened. Jesus statement that the tree would never again bear fruit was said late on the previous day as they moved on pass the fig tree. I think at the time the disciples were looking ahead toward Jerusalem and weary from traveling. Now in the light of a new day as they again approach Jerusalem from where they overnighted in Bethany, Peter with his usual jump-in enthusiasm points out the tree has withered.
MATTHEW 21:20-22, MARK 11:20-25
As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?”
And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him, believe that you have received it; it will happen. And Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
"And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Now the disciples pause to marvel and ask how did it wither so fast.
We have often heard the the pharse if we have faith we can move mountains, but the combined Gospels add much more to it than just asking and receiving. You not only must ask in faith, but without a bit of doubt, believing that it will be done and received.
But Jesus added another crucial element. When you do pray, if you have anything against anyone you must include forgiveness. I think we often pray out of desire, but forget to pray with a clean slate. Our minds should not just be on ourselves, but at the same time on God and on others. The great command, remember?
Matthew 21:23 – 22:14, Mark 11:27--12:12, Luke 20:1-19
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
And they came again to Jerusalem.
And when he entered the temple, and as he was walking in the temple the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, and they said to him, “Tell us By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority to do them?”
And they discussed it with one another among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we shall say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John really was a prophet. all the people will stone us to death,” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know where it came from.”
And Jesus he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Interesting isn't it? They were questioning Jesus' authority to do these things. What things? Well, some things would be his driving the Moneychangers and merchants out of the Temple court. So if the Chief Priests and Elders were the ones with authority, why didn't they assert it and stop Jesus from driving out the Moneychangers and merchants? Weren't these priests responsible for those merchants?
The Priests and Elders hadn't assered any authority the day before when the Temple was cleansed because they were too busy plotting how to kill Jesus; but even more to the point, they were afraid of the people.
Jesus doesn't answer their question. Instead he throws a query their way. This is very reminiscent of the way the Pharisees and Scribes had tried to set Jesus up with the Adulterous Woman, asking him what they thought was a shrew question and a trap. It didn't work for them, but now Jesus asks them a question and his trap does work. If they answer from Heaven, then they should have accepted John. But they had not accepted John because he was as big a threat to their position as Jesus now was.
Jesus did not directly answer these Pharisees and Scribes. Instead he asks them:
“What do you think?" and proceeds to tell The Parable of the
A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.
And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
Who could Jesus be speaking about in this parable?
The father, the owner of the vineyard is God. The two sons he speaks of are not Jesus, nor frankly, is one of them John. The first son represents the Israelite people, the everyday common folk. They have been called to the Baptist to be cleanest for righteousness, but though they seemed to slough this off, in the end they make the journey, listen to John and get Baptized.
The other son is the collective Pharisees, teachers, priests and scribes, the "religious class" Those who see themselves above the common folk, who see themselves as oh-so-much closer to God. They too went to John, but not for righteousness, but to mock and question. They heard John speak, but they did not listen to him or get Baptized. So which of these two groups did the will of God?
The commoners, the lowlifes, the sinners, these were the ones who believed John. These religious leaders saw John, and even though they had the prophets and the Scriptures to guide them, rejected John.
Jesus in this gave their answer to his question for them.
We can see the crowd was pretty quick to gather about Jesus, to hear his teachings, probably much to the chagrin of the priests and scribes. So Jesus begins to seemingly turn away from the religious leaders and address the people with another parable. This Parable may seem similar to the Parable of the Ten Midas, which Jesus had told on Palm Sunday, but it has a different context and emphasis.
The Parable of the Tenants
And he began to tell the people this parable: “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house, a man who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country for a long while.
When the season came for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants they took him and beat him. And sent him away empty-handed.
Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed.
And he sent another yet a third and him they killed. And the tenants
The crowd has surrounded Jesus and the priests. Jesus begins telling the people a parable, his way of teaching truths, but this story is not so much aimed at the people.
He uses the example of Tenent Farming, not an uncommon pactice at the time, and still a practice today. In tenent farming a landowner will rent his land to others to care for it, till it and produce fruit and crops. Once the crops are harvested and/or sold, the landowner will take his share of the crops as the rent. The landowner continues to own the property.
In this case God is the "master of the house". He planted a vineyard with protection around it and gave his tenants all they needed to work his land. Then God sent his servants to oversee the fruit, in this case these were prophets and the true believers. But his tenants, who were the Priests and Teachers, did not welcome the landowners servants. They scorned them, beat them, even killed them. But God kept sending them more.
And so Again he sent many other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them, some they beat, and some they killed,. He had still one other, a beloved son.
Finally he sent his son to them, , ‘Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; saying perhaps They will respect my son.’
But they did not. Jesus was also rejected by those God had entrusted to spread his truth. These religeous leaders had fallen away from God and built themselves up on traditions that made them think they were the masters of the house. These Priests and religious leaders didn't love God. They had hard hearts and did not except ideas of love, forgiveness or grace. They wanted to hold onto their own status and rule the people with rigid laws.
But when the tenants saw the son, those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
They [The People, remember Jesus addressed this parable to them] said to him, “He will come and destroy the tenants put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
Jesus had addressed this parable to the crowd and I think it was the crowds answer here. But the Priests and Pharisees and other religious leaders have listened to it all as well, and I think this was their answer to the crowd:
When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
Now Jesus turns his gaze from the crowd to the religious leaders.
But he looked directly at them and Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures? What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
"Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Jesus is quoting Psalm 118 here.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Jesus could have referred them back to Isaiah 28:16 as well:
“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’" Isaiah 28:16
Jesus now addressing the Religious Leaders:
Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
It will and crush anyone standing in the way as the stone fell and crushed the clay feet of Nebachadnezer's statue. (Daniel 2:31-44)
The kingdom of God would be, indeed, taken from the hands of these leaders and given to those who accepted Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles alike who became reconciled to God by the cross.
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephsians 2:11-22)
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. So they left him and went away.
MATTHEW 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
There are some parallels here to the Parable of the Great Banquet given in Luke 14:15-24.
Weddings were pretty big deals in Israel. A lot of time and expense went into the wedding feast. Marriage contracts were usually drawn up by the parents of the bride and groom, especially by the fathers. Once these betrothal contracts were signed the couple were considered married, but they had to remain living separtely until the wedding ceremony. While the bride remained with her parents, the groom went about preparing their home to be, which could take a bit of time. Once things were arranged, the groom would just pop up without warning, a lot of time late in the night, like around Midnight. The bride was expected to be ready. They would hold a ceremony and then have the wedding feast.
A Wedding feast was one of the most joyous occasion of Jewish Life, and the celebrating could last up to a week. It was an honor to be invited to such an event. In this case Jesus speaks of a King (God) sending his servants (Prophets) out to the invited guests (The Priests, Pharisees and Religious Leaders, and the Jews) to his Son's (Jesus) feast telling them the wedding feast was prepare and to come. But instead of being grateful and ready, these invited guests ignored the call, going about their usual business, and were even mean to the servants, killing some.
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
The King (God) was a bit perturbed at this rejection to say the least. If they would not honor the Bridegroom, the King's Son, God's Son, when they had been told to look for him and be ready and what the signs were then their city would be destroyed, and we can look ahead to 70 A.D. when the Roman's came and sacked Jerusalem and tore down the Temple. Jesus had came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:11)
And the Wedding Feast was offered to everyone, those who had been outside before, those Gentile dogs. The barrier was torn aside and everyone was now invited in, but wait, something odd.
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
What is this wedding garment? Why is the King so upset? Didn't he send his servants to invite everyone to the feast.
In olden days, when people were invited to a wedding, the King or the Father of the groom would supply each guest with a wedding garment to wear. Probably a kittel, a loose garment similar to a bathrobe. The kittel was white and covered the guests own clothes.
Given that wedding feasts were often lavish and long affairs, perhaps the kittel helped the host to easily tell who belonged there and who was a gate crasher. At any rate, it was considered a great insult to refuse the gift of the wedding clothes.
Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
A couple of things come to my mind. One is that when we are saved by Christ he clothes us with the white robe of his righteousness.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
My clothes. mere filthy rags, have been washed and covered in the blood of Christ and I am made clean and worthly to be at the feast.
It also reminds me of Matthew 7:21-23.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
What an insult to be offered the Robe of Salvation and try to present oneself in one favorite earthly wardrobe. Such self-righteous pride!
19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
Okay, maybe the Chief Priests are ready to back off a bit. It has been a long day, but the Pharisees were ready and willing to jump back into the fray. They were pretty smart fellows, or so they thought, and felt sure they could trick Jesus where other's failed.
Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26
Paying Taxes to Caesar
Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
And they sent their disciples to him, some of the Pharisees along with the Herodians to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them tribute to Caesar, or should we not?”
But he perceived their craftiness. Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy, aware of their malice, said, to them “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. Show me the coin for the tax.”
And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
They said to him, “Caesar's.”
Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”
When they heard it and they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, they marveled at his answer they became silent.
And they left him and went away.
All right, the Priests had their try and failed. The Pharisees also fell flat. But there were still more for now stepping to the plate were the Sadducees. The Pharisees and Sadducees were two competing sects, both with a lot of influence and the Sandredhin was comprised of both. The two sects had a number of conflicting opinions as well as background. The Pharisees were comprised, for the most part, by the middle class. The Sadducees were from the aristocracy, the upper classes.
Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 2:18-27, Luke 20:27-40
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
And The same day some Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that , ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first took a wife married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. So too the third, down to the seventh. And likewise all seven left no offspring. Last of all after them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, when they rise again whose wife will she be? For they all seven had her as wife.”
But Jesus answered them, “Is this not the reason You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection when they rise from the dead in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
"And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, even Moses showed in the passage about the bush, what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. The scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him any question
Yet, it still doesn't end.
Matthew 22:34-40, MARK 12:28-34, LUKE 21:37
The Great Commandment
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer heard them disputing with one another and seeing that he answered them well, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law the most important of all?”
And he said to him, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions
37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.
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