Prior to examining the Olivet Discourse, it is important to consider the events just prior to the Lord Jesus’ discussion with the disciples after they had just left Jerusalem. The confrontation with the leadership of Israel and the people of Jerusalem are the driving force behind the condemnation of the temple, the city and its representatives and inhabitants. The significance of His entry in Jerusalem and the encounters there should not be taken lightly. It builds an important context for all that will follow especially in chapter 24 of this beautiful gospel. These are the grounds behind the words of judgment expressed by the Lord at the eastern mountain.
In the next few chapters, we will examine the impact on His entry into Jerusalem, His love for both the people of the great city and the things of His Father, as well as, answering the challenge of the religious leaders which brought about the final condemnation of these leaders, the temple, the city, and the people of that day. We will begin by examining Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and His interaction with the people of the City of David especially the leaders of Israel.
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY OF JESUS AS THE MESSIAH (Matthew 21:1-11 Mark 11:7-10/Luke 19:35-38)
In Matthew chapter 21, verses 1-11, Matthew begins this important section in his gospel by touching upon Christ’s arrival near Jerusalem accompanied by a large crowd. The Lord Jesus sent the disciples to acquire a donkey and a colt prior to His entrance into the holy city. This was to fulfill a prophecy pronounced in Zechariah 9:9 & Isaiah 62:11. We should pay close attention to it since its fulfillment is truly significant. The quotation begins with “say to the daughter of Zion” which implies a message to the city of Jerusalem much like it did in the days of Zechariah. There is a call for the City of David to rejoice in the coming king who is “just and humble” and would “bring salvation”. In both Isaiah and Zechariah, the theme is the coming salvation brought by the Messiah to Jerusalem. This coming king would bring His peace to the nations and a dominion which would extend “from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth”[1]. The message of this prophecy was to declare that the Messiah had finally come to Jerusalem along with His kingdom. The time of fulfillment of the promised Kingdom of God had come to that generation.
The reaction from those following Him was to lay their cloaks in front of Him. This is similar language to the coronation of King Jehu where we read that each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying “Jehu is King!” (2 Kings 9:13). The spreading of their coats and branches was a symbol of their declaration of His Kingship. The crowd began to shout joyously proclaiming Jesus as “Son of David” and “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”. The latter expression is a quotation from Psalm 118:27, a psalm that, as N.T. France tells us: describes a joyful pilgrimage into the temple, led by the king (the one who comes in the name of the Lord)[2]. The crowd shouts “hosanna”, a praise meaning to “save us immediately”. The parallel in Mark’s gospel adds the expression “blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (Mark 11:10), denoting that it wasn’t simply the King, the Son of David that had come but also His Kingdom. The long-awaited procession of the Son of David and His kingdom into the streets of Jerusalem was happening then and there.
His entry into Jerusalem created excitement among the people in the streets. The text tells us that “all the city was stirred” and the shouting of proclamation of the coming of the Messiah added concern to the religious leaders. A city under the rule of a Roman prefect would not fare well if a king would come to declare His rule over them. When asked who was this One riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, the crowd refers to Him as “The prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee”. The “prophet” was one who would represent God to bring them a divine message and, in return, came with authority granted by Yahweh. He came as a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) who would be able to claim God’s authority above the religious leaders of Jerusalem.
An important element added by the gospel of Luke is the manner in which he records the sequence of events in 19:41-44.
” When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
The passage speaks of Christ weeping over the city for the impending destruction that would fall upon it. In Matthew 24:1, the temple will be the focus by being torn down, but in this context, He is speaking of the city along with its inhabitants. Notice carefully the statement “for the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side. Later, Luke will use similar language of the abomination of desolation in terms of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. It’s important to recognize that the judgment to fall upon the city was local and coming to those who lived in Jerusalem in Christ’s time during his 1st coming. Being reminded of this will help when we analyse the text of Matthew 24 in its context.
THE MESSIAH & THE TEMPLE (Matthew 21:12-17)
Let’s now move to Matthew 21 verses 12-17. The First stop after entering the great city was the temple area. It is impossible to minimize the centrality of the temple in both Jewish worship and life. It was a symbol of their national identity especially after the Maccabean revolt approximately 200 years earlier. This was the temple built by Herod and it far surpassed Solomon’s temple in grandeur and beauty. People came far and wide to worship and to admire its magnificent structures.
The area in which this passage is referring to, seems related to the Gentile court where pilgrims coming from a far distance could purchase animals for sacrifice rather than travel with their sacrifice. This was distinguished from the more restricted areas where only Jews were permitted to enter (including the temple itself). The animals were sold for money, and the traders were likely making a hefty profit from the sale. The Lord’s indignation came upon them for their use of God’s house as a place of trade rather than a place of prayer. The issue wasn’t that He didn’t want them to make money, but where they were trying to make their profit. The Messiah’s coming would bring hope that one day “ there will no longer be a merchant in the house of the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 14:21). The Messiah came to purify the temple of its polluted practices (Malachi 3:1-4). The Lord drove out these salesmen and ruined their illegal businesses by flipping their tables. There are also overtones of blame towards the religious leaders for allowing these activities to occur in the temple courtyard in the first place. The Messiah came to condemn what the religious leaders allowed. As we’ll see, this brought about a battle of authority. The Lord uses scripture as His means of establishing His actions. The Lord quotes from the text in Isaiah 56:7, My house shall be called a house of prayer, which was a call for non-Jews to “join themselves to the Lord” and worship Him. Isaiah looked to a day where God would accept their worship in His temple, and they would call the center of this worship a “house of prayer”. The merchants and religious leaders had things backwards in that they were turning instead the holy house of Yahweh into a den of thieves, a place of crime and thievery.
Jesus, then unexpectantly, heals a blind and lame man. We might wonder what significance does this have to His entrance into the temple and coming as Messiah? When King David captured Jerusalem, the Jebusites said to him that he would not go there because the blind and lame would turn him away. David then declares “whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him reach the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul… The blind and lame shall not come into the house” (2 Samuel 5:6-8). One with a greater authority than David came to Jerusalem who didn’t condemn the blind and the lame but healed them. The response to this miracle came in the form of the Children’s song “hosanna to the Son of David” which in return created, in the Chief priests and scribes, a deep “resentfulness”. Christ’s was accomplishing the works of God in the form of demonstrating mercy and compassion upon the lame and blind rather than ceremonial rituals[3]. The former was truly what was pleasing to God!
The Jewish leaders point out the roar of the children to the Lord Jesus in an obvious attempt to paint their praise as misguided. Christ’s response comes in the form of a quotation from Psalm 8:4. The context of this passage in the Psalm is on “how God the creator silences his enemies by means of “strength” which comes out of the mouth of children[4]. The praise of the children was the praise to God for the silencing of the religious leaders in His actions. Notice that while the Psalm is attributed to praise Yahweh, the children were paying tribute to Jesus.
THE FIG TREE (Matthew 21:18-22)
Now, let’s move on to Matthew 21 verses 18-22. On their way to the city the following morning, the Lord and the disciples passed by a fig tree which according to Mark was “in leaf” meaning, of course, that it was full of leaves. The fruit was not edible at this time (March -April) since it was not the season for figs (Mark 11:13). The tree showed a promising abundance of leaves which would have led people to believe that a large quantity of fruit would blossom, however, the words of the Lord “no longer shall there be any fruit from you” shows that this tree drying up meant that it would no longer serve its purpose. As D.A. Carson points out: Its leaves advertised that it was bearing, but the advertisement was false. Jesus, unable to satisfy his hunger, not because it was not bearing fruit, whether in season or out, but because it made a show of life that promised fruit yet was bearing none[5]. Fruit in scripture is largely a symbol of works that God requires of His people generally as a manifestation of the essence of a person and whether they are trusting in God or themselves (Matthew 7:16-20; 12:33). The fig tree was used in the OT in symbolic fashion in a similar way:
- Associated with judgment (Isaiah 34:4; Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10, 16-17; Joel 1:7)
- Those receiving God’s promise of blessing as ripe fruit while those who receive a curse are rotten figs (Jeremiah 24:1-10)[6]
The disciples were absolutely amazed at the withering of this beautiful blossoming fig tree and questioned how it was possible for this tree to suddenly have withered away. The Lord then teaches them that if they have faith and don’t doubt, they can do more than wither a fig tree, they can even move this mountain! It’s important to notice that the mountain wasn’t just any mountain, but He refers to it as “this mountain”, probably identifying it as the temple mount being cast into the sea or destroyed.
All things that they ask the Father in prayer, will be granted to them, if they believe. The miracle of the withering of the fig tree is more than simply a call to the disciples to practice powerful prayer. It probably served as a symbol of what was to come for Jerusalem. Unlike the worthless fig tree, that externally was beautiful but unable to produce edible fruits, they were to produce fruits in believing and not doubting. It might seem strange to the average person how this was an answer at all. The main point is not as much the “prayer” as it is “faith” that produces not doubting. The fruits of faith are having assurance in God and that He will answer our needs. The said faith is powerful, and it can even proverbially move mountains!
The story is written in Mark’s gospel in two parts with the cleansing of the temple in between (Mark 11:12-14, 20-24). This demonstrates the association of the withering of the fig tree with the temple and in return, its rituals. Both are beautiful and externally seem to demonstrate their purpose while both are obsolete and there is coming a day when the temple will be judged much like the fig tree[7]. Something greater than the temple had come and it would be rejected by the faithless religious leaders.
In our next segment, we will examine the encounter between the religious leaders of Israel and the Lord Jesus in the temple.
[1] R.T. France notes “a subtle tension within Zechariah’s description of this messianic king: he is victorious and yet meek, and his triumph is received rather than won… He rides a donkey rather than a warhorse, and his kingdom will be one of peace rather than of coercion” (New International Commentary on the New Testament, R.T. France, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007, Page 777)
[2] New International Commentary on the New Testament, R.T. France, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007, Page 780
[3] We will examine the impact of this further in Matthew 22:41-45
[4] New International Commentary on the New Testament, R.T. France, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007, P.789
[5] The Expositor’s Bible Commentary with New International Version, D.A. Carson, Zondervan, 1995, p. 445
[6] While not explicit, the Lord might be expressing the fulfillment of Micah 7:1-6.
[7] There is a tendency to disassociate the fig tree from the temple and Israel with the argument that the fig tree is never related to Israel. Looking at the association of this text with the cleansing of the temple and the judgment language in Matthew on faithless Israel, it would make better sense to interpret this with the coming judgment of the faithless covenant-breaking people (See Carson P.445)
The Moncton Herald 