Triumphal Entry
As we begin Matthew 21, we begin the end of the story. This is the account of the last week prior to
Jesus death and resurrection. As difficult
as many of the prior chapters have been to learn and apply, we are going to
face some very difficult stories in this last part of the Gospel as well.
We begin, however, with a greatly known story: the triumphal
entry. Here we see the crowds waving
branches before Jesus and laying cloaks on the road. Here we see disciples willingly going forward
and declaring their allegiance to Jesus so that they could bring back a donkey
and a colt. This is a celebration.
What are the people celebrating?
They think their Messiah is coming to Jerusalem to take over. They expect this to be the moment for which
they’ve been waiting. The disciples and
the crowd alike believe that this will be where the Messiah comes to throw off
the Roman Empire and elevate the Hebrew people to the pinnacle society on the
earth.
How sad.
I think this is actually one of the saddest stories in the
Gospels. Here we see a crowd praising
Jesus. Here we see disciples running
ahead of Jesus and declaring their allegiance.
Where will they be in only a few days?
The crowd will have turned on Jesus and instead of proclaiming “Hosanna”
they will be shouting for crucifixion.
The disciples will be fleeing the Garden of Gethsemane and declaring
that they do not know Him.
I know. That’s not the end
of the story. But the Triumphal Entry is
a story that always reminds me of the fickleness of the human heart. We get caught up in the emotion and are
strong only until the tides turn.
In the Temple
Jesus casts out the money-changers. He heals the sick and the lame. He makes enemies with the religious
leaders. Everything that Jesus was out
in the wilderness and among Galilee, Jesus is within Jerusalem.
This is a great part of the story.
What issue does Jesus have with the money-changers? They aren’t about the Father’s business! In fact, they are making the Father’s
business more difficult. So Jesus drives
them out and turns the temple into what it should be. For a little while, the temple becomes a
place of healing and sanctuary. People
come and encounter God in the temple. That’s
really cool.
Well, not everyone comes in God’s Spirit. The religious leaders are hostile towards
Jesus. They don’t approve. They don’t like what Jesus is doing. They don’t approve of what the people are
saying about Jesus. Jealousy rages deep. Zealousness for the wrong things drives them
mad. They become indignant.
Figs
The next morning, Jesus and His disciples were returning to the
city. They pass by a fig tree that was
in full leaf. However, there was no
fruit upon the tree. Jesus cursed the
tree and it withered. The disciples were
amazed at what happened.
So what did happen? Did
Jesus really not know that the tree had no fruit? Isn’t He God?
Shouldn’t Jesus know where to find fruit?
Actually, that’s precisely the point. Jesus knew where to find fruit. He knew that fig tree didn’t have any. But here’s the truth. The fig tree was in leaf. It had the appearance of having fruit.
Jesus is teaching His disciples something very important. God isn’t fooled by appearances. God doesn’t want us to look like we are
bearing fruit. He doesn’t want us to
look like we’ve got it all together. He
wants us to actually bear fruit.
He doesn’t want us to talk about the importance of making
disciples; He wants us to actually make disciples. He doesn’t want us to talk about forgiving
people; He wants us to actually forgive.
He doesn’t want us to talk about prayer, charity, or ministry; He
actually wants us to pray; be generous, and do ministry! God will not be fooled. We can fool one another and look like we are
bearing fruit. We can talk a good
game. But God really knows what is going
on. God knows if the fruit is real. We can see how God reacts when we appear to
be bearing fruit but have no fruit among us.
John the Baptizer
Some religious leaders come before Jesus and ask Him from where
His authority comes. Jesus replies in
turn. Jesus tells them that the only way
that He will answer them is if they tell Him whether John’s baptism was from
God or from man’s power.
Jesus knows that He has them over a barrel. If they say from heaven, Jesus will point out
that they aren’t living like it. If they
say that John’s baptism wasn’t real, they will lose the crowd. The leaders don’t answer. Neither does Jesus.
The sad part of this story is that it reveals the hearts of the
religious leaders of Jerusalem. They
weren’t really interested in discerning where God was leading. They simply wanted to remain in power and
maintain their status. They wanted to maintain
their lifestyle. So they missed the
boat. They had an opportunity to hear
God speak truth in their life and they voluntarily passed it up.
Two Sons
Jesus tells the parable of two sons. One son is amenable to the father’s words but
disobedient in deed. The other is
disobedient in words but repentant in action.
Which will the Father love? Of
course, the son who eventually does the right thing is pleasing.
In the end, we must be careful to not make this passage into works
righteousness. It isn’t about entering
into the Kingdom of God based on our righteousness. We enter based on the righteousness of the
Son. But it is about responding to the
righteousness of the Son. What is my
favorite Bonhoeffer quote? “Only those
who obey believe; only those who believe obey.”
God wants us to be obedient in action even if we are disobedient
in word. God wants us to be
repentant. There is always forgiveness
for the repentant one.
Tenants
Jesus gives us yet another parable. Since my post is already getting long, I won’t
recite the details here. I will,
however, make two comments on the meaning of the parable.
First, God has been incredibly generous to us. He has given us resources, life, protection,
fertile ground, love, and a whole host of other things that we don’t
deserve. We have but one question to ask
of ourselves: how will we respond? Will
we humble ourselves to God and return it to Him? Or will we rebel, drive Him out of our life,
and claim His generosity as if it were our own doing from the very
beginning? That is the fundamental
question between Christian and non-Christian.
Second, notice that this parable is the straw before the straw
that broke the camel’s back. The
religious leaders perceive that Jesus is speaking about them. They want to arrest Him. They want to do away with Him. But they are still afraid of the crowds. That will soon change. This fact will not change Jesus’
approach. He has come to Jerusalem to
speak truth and confront the religious leaders and ultimately die.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment