One Step Closer...

All throughout this week, Jesus is in the Temple teaching the assembled crowds and healing their sick and disabled. He is challenged and questioned on many things by the scribes and Pharisees, but is found without fault in all that he says. This is an ongoing theme throughout the week as the lambs are being examined and scrutinized for the Passover. Just as it was demanded in Exodus that the lambs for the sacrifice be spotless (Exodus 12:5), so too does Jesus, the true and lasting sacrifice, show himself to be spotless and without fault before the scrutiny of the Jewish leadership.

On the Tuesday of Holy Week, however, two major things happen that are worth mentioning.

First, as Jesus and his disciples are coming back from staying the night in Bethany, Jesus passes by a fig tree. When he reaches in to grab some fruit, he finds that, while the tree is green and full of leaves, there is not a single fig to be found. In reaction, Jesus curses the tree loudly so that his disciples can hear. In Matthew, the tree withers immediately down to it’s roots, and in Mark, the tree is withered when they pass it a second time. Jesus then preaches on the power of faith, telling his disciples that if they have faith, they could command the mountain to cast itself into the sea and it would obey. (Matt 21:18-22; Mk 11: 12-14, 20-25)

This seems like an arbitrary and oddly aggressive expression of power by our Lord. It seems at first glance that Jesus kills this poor tree simply because he cannot find breakfast. But, as in all things that he does during this week, there is a deeper meaning to be found in his words and actions.

In this passage, Jesus acts to illustrate his teaching by using vivid and striking miracles. We see this same type of prophetic behavior used in the Old Testament by Ezekiel. He digs a hole in the city wall and leaves as an exile in order to illustrate his prophesy that the rest of the citizens of the city would be exiled in the same way to Babylon (Ez 12:1-20). So, the question remains, what is Jesus trying by his actions?

Jesus is using his power to illustrate the fate of Israel. The fig tree, while having the appearance of fruitfulness and health, does not bear any fruit and is therefore useless. Israel in the same way, that lacks the fruit of faith and good works despite all of its apparent piety. So Jesus curses the tree to wither as a physical representation of the judgment that will come upon all peoples who do not bear fruit despite their apparent adherence to religious doctrine and to the law. We can also see this action as a development on the parable of the fruitless tree found in Luke 13:6-9

Jesus further connects his actions to faith, saying that “if you have faith and do not waiver, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to the mountain , ‘be lifted up and thrown into the sea‘, it will be done". Jesus uses the miracle of the withered tree as an illustration of what can be done when a prayer is made in faith. He shows us that nothing is impossible to those who have faith in God. One will be only be able to bear fruit through good deeds, and one will only be able to achieve great things through unwavering faith in God. Faith makes good works possible, and the fruit of those good works helps to bolster our faith. This cyclical motion is how we live out our faith and truly do the Lord's will.

Do you feel as if you have unwavering faith? What can you do to support that faith and do Gods work?

After this dramatic episode, Jesus enters back into the temple from which he drove the money changers the day before. He is approached by the chief priests and elders and asked by what authority he is doing "these things", and who gave him authority. Jesus responds by asking them a question, a common tool of rabbinical debate. "Was John’s baptism of heavenly or human origin?", he asks. Jesus says that he will answer their question if they answer his. The elders and priests do not want to call it a heavenly origin, or else Jesus would ask why they killed him, and they dare not say human origin, because the crowds revere John as a prophet. They claim ignorance, and Jesus refuses to answer their question. Jesus then launches into the parable of the tenants, illustrating the lack of authentic authority held by the chief priests and scribes. (Mt 21: 23-27, 33-46; Mk 11:27- 12:12; Lk 20: 1-26)

We assume that the chief priests and elders, when asking about “these things” they are referring to Jesus’ entry into the city on Palm Sunday, his driving out of the moneychangers, and his healings. These were all extravagant displays of power that drew attention to Jesus and what he had to say. So Jesus is asked for the source of his authority. This is meant to be a trap. If Jesus is doing these things on someone else’s authority, it means that that person is claiming religious authority over Israel, a position reserved only for God and the priests. If Jesus is saying that he does not claim the authority from anyone, or that he claims it from God, he will be considered a heretic and executed.

So Jesus flips the script. “ I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or human origin?” (Matt 21: 24-25). They are shocked, and as it says in the following verses, they do not want to say either one due to the consequences of each response. So they claim ignorance, and show themselves incapable of speaking with authority. Their own pride gets in the way, and Jesus refuses to answer their question.

Jesus then addresses to them the Parable of the Tenants. The story speaks of brutal tenant farmers who beat and kill the messengers of their master when they come to collect at vintage time. The master, distraught over the way his servants were treated, sends his son, thinking that they will respect him. The tenants then kill the son and throw his body out of the vineyard. Jesus then asks, "what will the owner of the vineyard do when he comes?", to which the Pharisees answer, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death. Through their own words, they have condemned themselves. Jesus says "the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Mt 21:43). The Pharisees come to the realization that Jesus is speaking about them, and try to arrest him. However, because of the crowds, they cannot get an opportunity.

So, for us, the question becomes the same that Jesus asks Peter on the way to Jerusalem. Who do we say that Jesus is? Where do we say he recieves his power from? Do we simply act like we believe in him, or does our faith bear fruit? Today let us meditate on the events of Jesus' last Tuesday, and truly seek to find the answers to our questions, prepared to have them answered in ways we do not expect.

Joseph, model of manhood, pray for us
God, Father in heaven, bless us