Sunday, July 14, 2013

Year 3, Day 195: Matthew 21

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.


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