Matthew 21:18–27
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree
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.”
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
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.
False religion produces no ‘fruit’. (There are no spiritual results.) It must have the judgement of God. Jesus said that his authority came from God.
Jesus told the fig tree that it would never have fruit again. This action was a sign. Jesus was showing that false religion must receive God’s judgement. This event was in the month of April. Fig trees would not have either leaves or fruit at this time. On this occasion, Jesus saw a tree that had leaves. But it had no fruit.
This was like the religious leaders. They wanted people to notice them. But there were no spiritual results in their lives. The day before, they had been angry with Jesus. (Read 12:15.) Jesus seemed to be comparing them with the fig tree. Only real religion pleases God. Religion must have spiritual results.
The fig tree died at once. The disciples asked Jesus about it. Jesus answered their question with some teaching. He spoke about one of the marks of real religion. It is prayer with faith. (Read verses 21–22.)
Read Jesus’ words that are in verses 21–22. We must be very careful how we explain them. Often, people do not understand them correctly. These people say that Christians must have enough faith. Then they can ask God for anything and God will give it to them. But this may not happen. Then some believers feel that it is their fault. They must not have had enough faith. So they feel upset.
Jesus spoke about something that was impossible for humans. He did not mean us to follow his exact words. Jesus does not suggest that we must do it by ourselves. We cannot increase our own faith by hard work. More faith would not help us to have anything that we want.
We must look at what the whole Bible teaches. It teaches that God has all authority and power. He controls everything. It is about the word ‘doubt’ in verse 21. It does not mean to be unsure about something. It means that God has shown something clearly. And people still refuse to believe him. That is doubt.
So, to have faith is to trust God completely. We should pray with this sort of faith. Then impossible things can happen. This is because we are praying for what God wants. Jesus encourages us to have this kind of faith.
Jesus wins against those who oppose him (verses 24–27)
This passage records a discussion between Jesus and the religious leaders. By that time, there was plenty of evidence to show who Jesus was. Many Old Testement verses had come true that were about the Messiah. They came true about Jesus. He healed the blind men. (Read 20:29–34.) Isaiah 35:5 came true. Then, Jesus entered Jerusalem city. He was like a king who had won a battle. (Read 21:1–11.) Zechariah 9:9 came true. Jesus cleared out the Temple. (Read 21:12–13.) Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 described this event.
These and other similar events had happened. People had to believe two things. First, that Jesus’ words were special. (Read Matthew 7:28–29.) Also, that Jesus’ actions were special. (Read 8:27.) Slowly, men and women began to understand the truth. (Read 16:16.) But some people refused to believe the facts. We may not understand why these people were like this.
The chief priests and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus a question. (Read verse 23.) But they did not really want an answer to it. It was a reasonable question to ask. But what followed showed something. It showed that their question was unfair. Jesus could have said that his authority came from God. Then they would have accused him of ‘blasphemy’. This was a terrible sin. It was when someone claimed to be God. Also, Jesus could have refused to answer the question. But this would make Jesus’ disciples doubt him.
Jesus was wise. He knew what the religious leaders were trying to do. So he asked them a question instead! Their reaction showed what they were like. They seemed to have an interest in the truth. But it was false. (Read verses 25–26.) Jesus showed that the religious leaders were proud. They wanted people to accept their authority. They only cared about themselves. So they were unable to see the facts. The evidence about Jesus was there. But they could not believe it.
The whole story is funny. But it is very sad too. The religious leaders were behaving foolishly. They should have known the difference between true and false prophecy. That was part of their job. But they had to admit that they could not do their job (verse 27). So, they could not judge Jesus’ work either.
Questions
1. You believe the Christian message. People may tell you that this is stupid. What things in this passage would encourage you?
2. People or the members of a church can say that they ‘know God’. What does that mean?
3. Religious people often like official religion. (This means
that they obey all the rules. But its real meaning does not affect them.) What
is the reason for this? It has advantages. What are they? It has dangers too.
What are they?