Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, possibly via this road, to spend time in the Temple there, etc. (Those trees were there recently.) This was not Jesus' first visit, but it was his last before the crucifixion.
His arrival that Passover time, was memorable (all too memorable for some), even spectacular, in a low-key kind of way, and many branches were waved. Some (pilgrims?) wondered what was going on. Here is a collection of Gospel reports covering that time:
The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21:10-11, CEV).
When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.[a] He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”[b]
When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
That evening Jesus and the disciples left[c] the city (Mark 11:15-19, NLT).
When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching.
That evening Jesus and the disciples left[c] the city (Mark 11:15-19, NLT).
Early in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered.
When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:18-22 CSB).
When the disciples saw it, they were amazed and said, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” (Matthew 21:18-22 CSB).
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[a]?” Matthew 21:14-16, NIV)
“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[a]?” Matthew 21:14-16, NIV)
One day, as Jesus[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from (Luke 20:1-7, ESV).
That was not the end of Jesus being heard in those few days, for example
Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with great delight (Mark 12:37, NLT). Notice the popular response. Here it is delight. How deep did that go? Were they able to accept the invitation? I wonder what they liked; what did they hear? We might get some idea from reading the fuller accounts. (Future post?) I suspect there was some pleasure for the ordinary folk in seeing the experts frustrated.
From the procession at the opening: The answering members of the procession did not say, this is Jesus, come to save us from God's judgement. Even though it was the truth, not many were likely to say that then. (He did come to save us - from what we deserve.) The joy was over a king come, they expected, to straighten out their enemies. See how John reports: The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna![a]”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”(John 12:12-13, NIV). They were right. They were wrong.
His arrival had been noticed - and the religious elite were angered. They made their feelings felt by complaining about the children. Perhaps the children had continued with the excitement of the procession. I doubt that there was much cheering when, in the Temple, Jesus put the ancient words of the prophets into action (see below). The leaders, if not the people, would have been well aware of the implication of the words of Jeremiah (and Isaiah), with their ancient warnings and rebuke.
That tree! Withered! The destruction of the figless fig-tree seems strange? Out of character? (Mark's account in chapter 11 varies, extending over the next day, but not more gentle.) Here was a very serious object-lesson reminder for Jesus' followers and others. The symbolism was of the consequences of the people of the Temple having failed to produce the fruit God intended. (That was clear in the earlier fig-tree parable in Luke 13:6ff.) Very soon after the fig died, Matthew (24), Mark (13) and Luke (21) give space to Jesus' even more shocking prediction of the obliteration of the Temple, etc. It was an unthinkable catastrophe. (In just a few decades, City, Temple, and then nation, were swept away.)
Earlier we are told the people were so amazed at Jesus' teaching? What amazed? Was there something new - more people hearing for the first time? A change in the thrust of Jesus' message? An ominous change? A daring activity, in the face of obvious disapproval, but continuing. Was it that he was not cowed by the experts? All are possibilities, do you think?
Surely the elite were vexed by Jesus being held in popular esteem. They would not have welcomed him turning the Temple precinct into his "clinic" either! What happened to their authority and prestige? What would they think about the disturbance to trade? There would be no financial advantage, or any other advantage, in allowing what Jesus did to continue.
They could listen with care and thought and consider what Jesus was saying, and why. Instead they wanted to know if Jesus had authority. A good question.
Was it fair of Jesus to answer their question with a question, a question which put them on the spot? Notice, they had an agreed answer (no-answer) for Jesus. Here was part of their conspiracy, the same conspiracy which wanted to consign the "whole wretched affair" to the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem.
Luke (alone) tells us that in his teaching Jesus was "good-newsing". He must have been calling people to enter the kingdom of God; to accept the mercy of God; to receive forgiveness and new life. They could do that by trusting in him. That is what Jesus offers. Still he offers. He was also teaching - giving information, explaining - and that is what is recorded in the preceding pages.
Final Temple disturbance: There is a lot of common ground between the Gospels but the sequence of moments varies. (I have largely followed Matthew.) Matthew, Mark and Luke seem clear on the events/moments of the week. John*? If John wanted his Gospel to be seen as chronological, it means that the above clean up is a "second round"? (I can imagine the same issues arising for the same response.)
Even more ancient words of Jeremiah
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.
Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? I, too, am watching, says the LORD (Jeremiah 7:1-11, NRSVUE).
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.
Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? I, too, am watching, says the LORD (Jeremiah 7:1-11, NRSVUE).
And Isaiah:
This is what the LORD says:
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is close at hand
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
Blessed is the one who does this—
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”
And let no eunuch complain,
“I am only a dry tree.”
For this is what the LORD says:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant—
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that will endure forever.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD
to minister to him,
to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.”
The Sovereign LORD declares—
he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather still others to them
besides those already gathered” (Isaiah 56:1-8, NIV).
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is close at hand
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
Blessed is the one who does this—
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”
And let no eunuch complain,
“I am only a dry tree.”
For this is what the LORD says:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant—
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that will endure forever.
And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD
to minister to him,
to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.”
The Sovereign LORD declares—
he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather still others to them
besides those already gathered” (Isaiah 56:1-8, NIV).
Yes, they had heard. As have we. We can be gathered - Jesus also made that clear.
Allen Hampton
*A footnote re John: I have recently been reminded that much(most) of academia thinks John's Gospel does not count. John obviously has a different approach to Matthew, Mark and Luke and does not align simply in chronology with them. (Then again alignment is not complete between Matthew, Mark and Luke!) Discarding the bluntly challenging John becomes a simple and convenient "solution" easily adopted for a complex issue. As suggested above, reading all four Gospels, I see there are puzzling aspects, to which I may return.
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Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Scripture quotations marked (NRSVUE) are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Note: I retain in the publishers' text where they occur the references [ ] to footnotes, but usually not the notes. You can check them out by viewing the text on-line. Often they are replicated in different translations.
Bible passages courtesy Bible Gateway
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