Matthew 21. I think it might be helpful to start at verse 1. Our sermon this morning will focus on verses 18-22. I think the context of this last of three symbolic acts that show the identity and the authority of the Messiah King, all three of them be read. So we'll begin verse 1 in Matthew 21. We'll read all the way through verse 22. Please hear the Word of God. Now when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them. And immediately He will send them." All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, which would be Zechariah, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt. They laid their clothes on them and sat Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying..." I think even referring to Psalm 118, "...Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna or God saves in the highest. And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? So the multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer. Isaiah 56 But you have made it a den of thieves. Jeremiah 7 than the blind, and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David, they were indignant. And they said to Him, Do You hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Have you never read Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise." According from Psalm 8. Then he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and he lodged there. And now verse 18. Now in the morning as he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, Let no fruit grow on you ever again. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree wither away so soon? And so Jesus answered and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive. This is the Word of God. May God, by His Spirit, teach us and convict us and mold us according to His will this morning. You may be seated. We've said at least a couple weeks in a row that Matthew 21 ushers in the Passion Week of Christ, which would be eight days that are basically the centerpiece of God's plan of redemption for His people. So it shouldn't surprise us that this last week takes up a fourth of Matthew's Gospel and a third of all the Gospels if we put them together. In Matthew chapters 21 and 22 are organized by Matthew in three sets of three. We're in three sets of three in Matthew 21 through 22. First we see the promised Messiah King comes to perform three symbolic actions to reveal who He is. We're seeing the third of those three today. Then, Jesus gives three parables of his kingdom. And then, the promised Messiah-King parries three questions from the religious leaders. He's asked, being tested, and he certainly passes the test. So you have three symbolic actions, and three parables, and then three questions by three sets of religious leaders trying to catch him. That's what we have in 21 through 22. And these three symbolic actions of the Messiah King that we've seen in Matthew 21 show that He is the Messiah as prophesied, as Scripture says. It shows His identity and His authority purposely. First of all, we see that He came triumphantly as the Messiah King into His city. We said He was the sovereign King who is a servant riding on a donkey, but who's the saving King. Hosanna. God saves. And then we looked at verses 12-17. We see here the Messiah King comes to cleanse His temple. He comes not just to the city, but He comes to His temple. And He's the cleansing King. Seeing the hypocrisy and idolatry in the temple itself. Cleansing the temple, but He also shows His compassion. And then he claims that he is God when he says from Psalm 8 verse 2 that God has ordained these children to be singing. He's saying that God has ordained these children to be singing to the Lord God Almighty and therefore I am indeed God Jehovah. And then in verses 18 through 22, which we'll look at today, we see he comes to the city, he comes to his temple, but he actually then comes to his people. As we see this symbolic action of Him cursing the fig tree, He comes to His people in a sense of judgment. And here we will see that He's a human King. We've seen that He's God Almighty, but He's also fully human. He is holy, but He's also the helping King. And so with Matthew 21, verses 18-22, we see two main memorable events. We see Him cursing the fig tree as an act of judgment. Then we hear Him saying, if you have faith, you can move mountains and actually cast them into the sea. Does that cause you to scratch your head a little bit? Those are the two memorable events here. But there are three main points that we'll be hopefully making before we're done. That in Christ's humanity, we rejoice that He relates to us and we to Him as our Great High Priest. And in Christ's holiness, We see that He comes in judgment of sin and hypocrisy, and He demands fruit from those who would follow Him. But then we see in and through His helping as the Helper King, He enables and empowers us to bear fruit for Him, and then He exhorts us to do so. He doesn't leave us hanging with false or impossible to fulfill demands. He empowers us to do what He asks us to do. And so you see a very short, in fact, maybe too short outline in your bulletin that we'll see. Maybe there could have been a better alliteration, but he's the human king, he's the holy king, he's the helping king. He's the human king because he's hungry. He's the holy king who curses fig trees, but he's the helping king who can say, you can move this mountain if you believe. So let's look at verse 18. In verse 18, Matthew writes, now in the morning, as Jesus returned to the city, He was what? He was hungry. Matthew is more concerned about themes than he is about chronology. You don't have to put things in the exact chronological order to be exact and to be infallible, and Matthew's more concerned about themes and grouping things together than he is about trying to make sure we understand the perfect chronology. I think it's important to note here that if we look even specifically at Mark chapter 11, that we see more is going on here than what we know. Matthew's grouped together the cursing of the fig tree, and then the talking about the cursing of the fig tree all in one lump. However, if we put together all of the Gospels, we see that the cursing of the fig tree occurred on Monday morning. But then the reaction and discussion over what happened occurred on Tuesday morning. And so we have a pattern of events, an order of events like this. On Sunday, there's the triumphal entry where Christ comes to the city. And then He comes and He observes the temple. seeing what's going on, then he goes back to Bethany, where we think Lazarus and Mary and Martha are living, to rest and to sleep at night. Before then, Monday morning, returning to the city, he sees the fig tree, he curses it, and then he goes to cleanse the temple. At the end of the day, he goes back to Bethany to rest. And then on Tuesday morning, he returns to the city again, and now there's the reaction to the fig tree, seeing it withered from the roots up, Trees don't die that quickly. Something must have happened, supernatural. And then from then, with this fig tree symbolic action, the last of three, then he goes on and gives three parables, we'll see. And then there's three questions that he answers as we go on to the Olivet Discourse. But that's the order of events, but Matthew treats the fig tree section as one unit, not worrying about what happened on Monday morning, what happened on Tuesday morning, to focus on the purpose of the cursing of the fig tree. Somewhat separate from the cleansing of the temple, even though I think, at least I hope by the end of the sermon, you'll realize that the cleansing of the temple is really quite related to the cursing of the fig tree. But before we get to the fig tree, which I know you're just dying for figs, before we get to the fig tree, notice in verse 18 that Matthew writes, now in the morning, this is Monday morning, as Jesus returned to the city after the triumphal entry on Sunday, he was hungry. He was hungry. In verse 16, Jesus quoted Psalm 8, verse 2, to claim that He indeed is Jehovah God being praised by the children, which was ordained by Jehovah God. It's fulfilling Scripture to do so. In verse 19, when you see the effects of cursing this fig tree, we see that this is Jehovah God who is sovereign over His own creation. He proves His claim that He is God. Only God could do this to a fig tree. And even throughout, Matthew's presenting Jesus to show His divine authority. Only He has the authority to cleanse the temple. Only He has the ability to fulfill the Scripture as the divine Messiah. Nobody else could do that but the divine Messiah who came, who is Christ. But what Matthew says here is that He's hungry, which reminds us that He's fully human. He took on our nature. And as one who is fully human, he has to go back to Bethany to rest. There's no place to stay in the city. He has to go back and stay with friends. Of course, he didn't have a place to lay his head anyway as the son of man. And he has to rest and sleep. And now he returns to the city on Monday morning and he's hungry. Maybe Mary and Martha didn't have enough food. Maybe they were in a hurry. I don't know, but he's hungry. Humans get hungry. I would guess that some of you here today, right now, you're thinking, you know, stop saying hungry because my stomach is growling and there might be some muffins during the break. I'm trying to make it that far, but he was hungry. And so it reminds us that Christ had to humble himself to become like us, to become a real man, though he's eternal God. And this reminds us that we are sinners from conception. And we prove it by our sin. And we cannot save ourselves. We cannot pay for our sin. We cannot quench the wrath that our sin deserves. Our sin that's a transgression against holy God and all the wrath that is promised is deserved. And we cannot provide or perform the righteousness that God who is holy demands of us, and so we are enslaved to our sin and destined for death and hell. And so, by God's mercy and grace, the Son of God humbled Himself to take on a human nature into His one Person to save us. And only a man can live and die in the place of other men. Christ had to become man, but only God could suffer the eternal wrath deserved by our infinite sin and provide perfect righteousness. Only the God-man, Savior, Messiah, King could do this. It makes me think of our catechism questions. Two of my favorite catechism questions are numbers 23 and 24. I don't know, we've gotten away, I think, from teaching our catechism, although I'm so excited to hear about the catechism songs being sung in our Sunday school class. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery? Do we know this one? God, having out of his mere good pleasure from all eternity elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer. You've got to like that after all of the sin that's being talked about in the catechism. But there's a Redeemer. And then the next question is who is the Redeemer of God's elect? The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God became man, and so was and continueth to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever. I have three more written down here, but that's probably enough. I've tried your patience. But what you also see is Christ's humiliation and His exaltation in the Catechism rightly reflects the Scripture teaching that Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born, that God would be born as a man, and then in a low condition and made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, which includes being hungry and tired. in being persecuted and mistreated. The wrath of God He suffered in the cursed death of the cross, in being buried and continuing under the power of death for a time. That's the love of God through the humiliation of His Son. But then, Christ's exaltation consisteth in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day. He's coming again to make all things right and even to complete the redemption He began in His people. This is the Son of God, the Divine King, who became human to save us. Turn to Hebrews chapter 2, please. We're going to sing this? No, we're not going to do that. Please turn to Hebrews chapter 2. As much as you can interact with these things, I think it's helpful to keep your attention. Here we see Jesus became like us to save us, and thus He knows our weaknesses and our temptations, and He relates to us and we relate to Him in a marvelous way. And we looked at some of this last week, because Hebrews 2 is actually commenting on Psalm 8, I should say two weeks ago, and actually applying Psalm 8 to Christ, In Hebrews 9, we see Jesus, and speaking about Psalm 8, we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, and bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. for both he who sanctifies, Christ, and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren." Isn't that an amazing fact that the Son of God would become man? Become one with us? Us? If you looked in the mirror, He's not ashamed to call us brethren? Verse 14, "...inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same." that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Now look at v. 17, Therefore, in all things, He had to be made like His brethren, that's us, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest. In things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of His people, And in verse 18, you should have it highlighted, for in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he's able to aid those who are tempted. Turn a page over or two to Hebrews chapter four, and we see something very similar in verses 14 through 16 in Hebrews chapter four. Again, seeing this is a human king who's the God-man, and the benefits of such a high priest In Hebrews 4, Christ is this high priest who understands us and He mediates and intercedes on our behalf because He can sympathize and provide us access to God through prayer as well. In Hebrews 4, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Do you have weaknesses? We have sinful weaknesses. Christ didn't have that, but He knows of our weaknesses. But was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. And here's the application that I think is appropriate to Matthew 21. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace. Because of this High Priest who has entered into the Holy of Holies and given us access to the same Holy God through His blood, let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." That's certainly a call to prayer. The point is that a hungry Savior is a human Savior who though He is very God, He can know our weaknesses, He can know our temptations, He can know our needs. But since He is a divine Savior, He can and He will sanctify and strengthen and empower and aid those needs and fully provide for us. He has by His life and by His death provided access to the throne of grace of holy God that we might come boldly and pray and plead before Him. And He has by His Spirit and His intercession promised that mercy and grace will be given when we ask. And so He's our human but holy and helping King who will provide good gifts when we ask and when we have need. He was hungry. That's the first point. So now look at verse 19. He's holy. He is holy. He's one who curses fig trees. Verse 19. So hungry Jesus, and seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. I like Mark's, Mark gives more details. He says, he found nothing but leaves. He's expecting figs, but he found nothing but leaves. And he said to the fig tree, let no fruit grow on you ever again. Matthew records, immediately the fig tree withered away. Jesus, in His human hunger, sees a fig tree along the road with leaves on it, and He goes to it, assuming there's figs there. And if you're a fig farmer, you would know the normal pattern would be that there are green figs that appear first, then leaves appear second, and then the figs ripen until harvest. And though the green figs are not so tasty, They are edible, and if you're hungry, they might work for a decent breakfast snack, much like on the Sabbath, crunching the raw oats, if you will, that Jesus and his disciples were doing earlier. If you're hungry, you'll eat things, maybe, that wouldn't be the first thing on the menu, but the fig trees themselves would have green figs appear and then leaves would appear afterwards and then the figs would then ripen to what you'd actually like. And so Jesus sees the leaves and it gives a promise of fruit. You get that, right? That tree has leaves. There must be figs there. There's an outward show of leaves. There must be fruit there. But it was false advertising. Again, Mark says there's nothing but leaves is what he found. But why is Jesus so mad? It almost seems petty, doesn't it? I want my figs. Whap! I don't think that's what he's doing. He doesn't react sinfully or harshly. This is purposeful. What Jesus is doing in this situation is He's making a visible parable, a symbolic action again, a dramatic object lesson for His disciples, but then also for those who would have ears to hear and eyes to see. And what He's doing is similar to what the prophets of the old would do. He's a high priest. He's the king. He's also prophet. You might remember Jeremiah and Ezekiel in particular, some of the things that God called them to do to be dramatic object lessons, some of which we wouldn't really want to do, but if you're a prophet, you do it, and God says so. Some of the things in particular in Jeremiah 13, God tells Jeremiah to take a sash and wrap it around him, and then to take it and bury it in a crevice, in a rock, in a hole in a rock, And then come back much time later and retrieve it. And he does. And he retrieves it and it's ruined. It had rotted. It was no good. It was profitable for nothing. And that was a dramatic object lesson that the sin of the people had ruined the people. They no longer had clung to God as a sash. And they'd become worthless. And so judgment would be coming. In Ezekiel chapter 5, we have one of the many things that Ezekiel is called to do. Some of them aren't very pleasant. They use dung and things like that. We'll use hair in Ezekiel chapter 5, where Ezekiel is told, shave off your hair, which really wasn't something you're supposed to, but if God says so, you do it. Shave off your hair, and take a third of your hair, and burn it, a third of your hair, and strike it, and a third of it, and scatter it. Like, what is that? Well, if you're watching this, you might remember it when it's explained to you later that the third of the hair that was burnt represented that a third of the people would die from disease, and the third of the hair that was struck represented that a third of the people would die in battle, and the third of the hair that was then scattered meant that a third of the people would be a remnant and be in exile in Babylon. So these are dramatic, visible parables, symbolic actions that are used. That's what Jesus is doing here. He's using the fig tree as the third symbolic action in Matthew 21. The entry into the city was one. Cleansing the temple was the second. Now we're cursing a fig tree to make a point with a visible parable. But why a fig tree? Do we like figs? In Kansas and Missouri, we don't see fig trees very often. Well, a fig tree, first of all, is symbolic in the scriptures of Israel herself. The fig tree itself is used often in the scriptures to be a symbol of Israel herself. One place would be, if you look at Hosea chapter 9, and in verse 10, it's written, I found Israel, like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor and separated themselves to that shame and they became an abomination." And so you can speak of Israel being a fig tree and even the fathers being the firstfruits of the fig tree, but yet they departed into sin and there would be judgment coming. And so that leads to the other thing, that a fig tree is symbolic of Israel, but the fig tree is also symbolic of either blessing or judgment. When the fig trees are fruitful, it's a blessing of God, but when they're not, it's cursing, it's judgment. And here, especially with Christ cursing the fig tree, it's a sign of judgment, because the fig tree is dried up. You see an example of this in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah chapter 24, we see that the Jews are then labeled as good figs and bad figs. The good figs are those who are preserved as a remnant who would be in exile. The bad figs are the disobedient ones who resisted and they'd be judged. But turn to Jeremiah chapter 8, please. If you turn to Jeremiah chapter 8. I think this is... appropriate to Jesus cursing the fig tree in Jeremiah chapter 8. If you look in particular in verse 12, we could start earlier, but to save some time. In verse 6 of Jeremiah chapter 8, we see that the Israelites would not repent, and that's a key thing. What's being seen here is the theme of repentance, and fruits of repentance, and the necessity of a good tree having good fruit, but seeing a bad tree giving bad fruit, that's a common theme in Matthew's Gospel. And here in Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 6, they would not repent. And then you go to verse 12, were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush. Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall in the time of their punishment. They shall be cast down, says the Lord. There's no repentance of sin. And verse 13, Jeremiah 8, I will surely consume them, says the Lord. No grape shall be on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree. And the leaf shall fade, and the things I have given them shall pass away from them. So we have in the Old Testament and the Scriptures that Israel is represented by a fig tree, and judgment against her is represented by the cursing of a fig tree, the lack of fruits, the making them unfruitful. And so what we see is Jesus' symbolic action, his visible parable of cursing a fig tree, it's meant to represent judgment on Israel. Judgment on Israel. Israel, and maybe in particular their religious leaders, were all leaves but no fruit. I suppose if you're from Texas, you're all hat but no cattle. They were all leaves but no fruit. They had the outward show of religion, but they were barren. You could say the outside of the cup was clean, but the inside of the cup was filthy. They had profession but no practice. It's speaking of hypocrisy. And even in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 3, Paul would write to Timothy, of those who have a form of godliness, but denying its power, and from such people turn away. And even the temple itself, the temple which they grasped onto, that they couldn't let go of. We have the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, and therefore it had to be destroyed. The temple looked wonderful, but what was supposed to be a house of prayer was indeed a den of thieves. When you look at it, outside the leaves, And then Jesus goes to cleanse the temple if we see the order. After v. 19, actually, that's where Jesus goes and He cleanses the temple, which symbolizes the judgment on the Israelites. It's prophetic of A.D. 70 when Jerusalem and the temple would be judged and destroyed. And so we see that Jesus as Messiah King came for His people, His people who rejected Him as Messiah and His holiness, and they had no repentance. And so He says there's going to be judgment. But Jesus' symbolic action in the Invisible Parable also gives a warning to us all. It's not merely for the Israelites or for Jerusalem. It's for us all, and the warning is to repent, or face judgment. A common theme throughout Matthew is the need for fruit from a changed heart, lest there be judgment. In Matthew chapter 3, John the Baptist says he's baptizing when he preaches bear fruit worthy of repentance. The tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, John the Baptist says this. And then Jesus, in chapter 4 of Matthew, basically says the same thing. Repent! The kingdom of God is near. And in Matthew chapter 7, in the Sermon on the Mount, you know this. A good tree bears good fruit. A bad tree bears bad fruit. But a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, because it has been changed from the inside out. Else it's thrown into the fire, and you'll be known by your fruits. Now, I don't have to say this, but it doesn't mean that if you can conjure up some fruit, you save yourself. That's not the point. The heart is changed, and the fruits flow from it. In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus again says, a tree is known by its fruit. In Matthew chapter 13, we have the parable of the sower. It's the fruit that occurs that shows what's in the heart, lest there's judgment. And we'll see later in Matthew chapter 21, through more parables, the same thought. Turn to Luke chapter 13 for me. If you could turn to Luke chapter 13. It's similar to what you have here. In Luke chapter 13, starting in verse 6, Jesus gives a short parable in Luke chapter 13, starting in verse 6. Jesus says, A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and he found none. I suppose, again, nothing but leaves. All leaves, but no figs. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, look, for three years I've come seeking fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground? What a waste of space. But he answered and said to him, sir, let it alone. This year also we see the mercy of God, the patience of God. until I dig around it and fertilize it, and if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that you can cut it down." It's interesting, Jesus is now in Jerusalem and he's cursed the fig tree. It's like he's saying, time is up. So the question has to be, what about you? Do you have a profession without practice? Have you cleaned up the outside of the cup? but not the inside? Has God not dealt with your sin and given you a new heart to replace the heart of stone? Have you come in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ and know forgiveness of sin and a new heart and the fruit that comes from that? Our Lord is holy, but He's gracious and merciful, but still judgment will come. Do not wait. Do not wait. but church, brothers and sisters, we must also not be all leaves but no figs. Our lives should reflect our Savior who took on flesh, who took on our weakness, who took on our sin and our wrath that we might then be made like Him with an abundant life that then has fruit and that's lived abundantly for Him. And our world is running into further perversity and sin faster than we can keep track of. It's depressing. All the more, then, we must stand firm and strive forward in holiness and Christ-likeness and in fruits of righteousness to glorify our Lord, to make Him known that sinners might be brought to Him. And Peter tells us in 1 Peter 4, that judgment begins with the house of God. Judgment begins with the house of God. And so does revival. We want to pray for revival, and we must pray for revival in our society, in our country, in our world, but revival starts with the house of God as well. May we raise our standards and be tired of mediocrity, and strive to be leafy, yes, but full of figs, to display Christ to a barren, dry, and cursed generation in the world in which we live. That takes us to verses 20-22. He's human, he's holy, but he's also a helping king. He says, you can move mountains if you believe. What? So verses 20-22, and when the disciples saw it, now recognized chronologically, this is Tuesday morning. It did immediately wither away, but it wasn't seen until Tuesday morning as hungrily He's coming back in with His disciples again. They marveled and they said, how did the fig tree wither so soon? And Jesus answered and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed and cast it into the sea, it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." It's not surprising that the disciples did not get the symbolism. They didn't say, oh, judgment, Israel. No, they said, wow, look at that. How did that tree wither so quickly? That's us. But Jesus, He used the fig tree as an active parable to make His first point, but now He uses their response to give them a solution and an exhortation in response to the barren fig tree. He gives them a solution to the dry, hypocritical, fruitless life and an exhortation to pursue a vibrant, fruitful life. Jesus' curse upon the fig tree was immediate. Mark said it dried up from the roots. Things don't die. You have to wait a while. Is it alive? Does it still poke it? This is immediate. It withered away. God's judgment is final when it comes. And it's justified. It's complete. But remember, His salvation is complete as well in the other direction. And the disciples ask, how did the tree wither away so soon? And Jesus answers personally to them. He's not talking about the tree anymore. He takes it to them. He says, how can you benefit from the same power that destroyed the fig tree? Jesus transitions from the dry, fruitless, lifeless, powerless life of unbelieving Judaism to the way to fruitful, abundant life by faith and prayer and trust in Christ. who is the life and the fruit giver. In a sense, what Jesus is saying here is, you see the power I have to curse a fig tree? You saw that? Place your faith in Me without doubting, without being divided among other things, worldly things, yourself. Have an undivided heart to Me, and you can then step out in faith and trust and pray, and you can become a means to move mountains. You can be the means to see great things by the same power that I did this because I will do that through you. Casting this mountain, and it is this mountain, into the sea probably also refers to, say, the Mount of Olives or the Temple Mount. The idea of casting this mountain into that sea, maybe the Dead Sea, I think is symbolic of the life-giving new covenant by the blood of Christ casting away the dying old covenant Judaism. which again is fulfilled in A.D. 70 when there's judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple is actually destroyed. But I think this even more emphasizes Jesus' proverbial point. It is a proverbial point. We're not actually grabbing mountains and throwing them away. Jesus says, if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. He says other places, if you have a faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains. These are proverbial. He says, this is my body and my blood. Eat and drink it. That's proverbial too. It's not literal. But he's emphasizing the proverbial main point that mountains can be moved. Big things can be done by faith in and obedience to and prayer to Christ. because the power of Christ and His Spirit is behind that. It's not because of me, but it's because of Him working through me. In v. 21, what Jesus is basically saying is, have faith in Me, undividedly, and then step out in obedience to do fruitful, great things for God. Whatever He's called you to do. That could be raising your kids. It could be standing to great persecution. Whatever it is that God has called you to do, In John chapter 14, Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also in greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father. Of course, in the next verse he says, If you ask in my name, I'll do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. What he's saying here is nothing new in verses 21 and 22. Yesterday I was reading in our scheduled scripture reading in Judges chapter 6. Kids, have you ever heard of Gideon? I don't know why sheep have fleas. It never made sense to me. Fleas on sheep? I know dogs have fleas. Oh, it's fleece. It's fleece, isn't it? So you have Gideon. I think Gideon has just struck me. This is a perfect example of what Jesus is saying. Was Gideon boisterous and big and loud? He was kind of wimpy, wasn't he? Go read Judges 6, if you haven't. What you have in Judges 6, in verse 12, the angel of the Lord comes, in which is God himself, the pre-incarnate Christ, we assume. And the angel of the Lord comes to Gideon and says, the Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. And you can just picture Gideon going, yeah, I'm a mighty man of valor. And so Gideon says in verse 13, if the Lord is with us, then why is all this bad stuff happened to us? I don't see what you mean about the Lord being with us. And in verse 14, then the Lord replies, go in this might of yours and you shall save Israel from the Midianites. But here's the key word. The Lord says, have I not sent you? In other words, you're going in my power and obedience. You're the means. Be willing to be so. And so in verse 15, Gideon says, How can I save Israel? Me? I'm from the weakest clan in Manasseh. And I'm the least in my father's house? Sounds like Moses. I stutter. Get somebody else to do it. But then the Lord says in verse 16, Surely I will be with you. You get it? It ain't you. Surely, I will be with you. I have sent you. And then you, because you actually have to be obedient, you shall defeat the Midianites. And so it follows in that Gideon petitions boldly before the Lord. I'm not so sure we should be setting out fleece like that, but still he's petitioning boldly before the Lord to gain strength. Then he approaches the Lord with the proper offerings, and they're accepted by the Lord. He's ready, because he's approaching the Lord as he's called him to, and he's being obedient to do what he's called him to do, and God will provide, and he does. This is an example of how we are to get off the couch, to be single-mindedly off the couch for Christ, to be a means for fruitful things to occur in our lives behind the leaves by trusting in and by the power of and the resources of our Lord and for Him in this world. So then in v. 22, then Jesus particularly says, this is in response to a fig tree, He says, but you, if you do these things, and then if you pray by faith and without doubting You can say to a mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea. If you pray believing, you will receive, is what he's saying in verse 22. Have faith in me undividedly and then pray believing, and you will receive great things. And perhaps that's the verse that bothers us. Is God just a vending machine? Hey, if I pray believing, If I pray hard enough, if I squint my eyes enough, if I wrinkle my forehead enough, will God just do what I ask Him to do because I do it? Obviously that's not what we're talking about. But we need to recognize that prayer is a commanded means of obedience that God uses for great things and for fruit to be produced. Do you understand that prayer is a commanded means of obedience? You are commanded to pray. It's used as a means for God to be glorified and for great things to happen. For His glory, for the proclamation of the Gospel, for our good, but it's by His power. This is what Jared was teaching us even last week in 2 Thessalonians 3 v. 1-5. The power behind our prayer is the Lord Himself because He is faithful. That's why we can pray with confidence Jesus singles out prayer because He's just cleansed and restored the house of prayer, the temple. I think there's a comparison here between a dry, powerless house of prayer of the temple and what the prayers of New Covenant believers are meant to be. But Jesus singles out prayer because it's central to the life and blessing and the privilege of a Christian. As a farmer is called to plant the seed and the weed the field, else things don't grow. The Christian is called to pray diligently, fervently, believing. And God uses that as a means because He says so. That's not a vending machine. He singles out prayer because it's central to the life and the blessing and the privilege of the Christian. It's because of Christ's blood and righteousness that we even have access to the Holy of Holies, the throne of God. We're told to go boldly before the throne of grace. Before Christ, we'd be consumed in His presence. So it's won by the blood and righteousness of Christ. And we can and we are commanded to come boldly before the throne of grace to commune with Him the greatest of blessings we have. Scripture tells us to ask in faith according to His will, according to His promises, for His glory. Fervently. Fervent prayers of a righteous man avail much. Diligently, we're commanded to pray persistently. Corporately, we're called to pray with tears. And yes, he'll give us what we ask, not as a vending machine. Is there a God who's full of mercy and grace and power? Yes, like our Lord, we are to pray, and as Calvinists, we do this all the time. I think sometimes we hide behind it. We are to pray with the resolution, but Thy will be done. But even our Lord, when He said that, He did it after He prayed all night, through groanings and bloody sweat, pleading persistently, even our Lord, and then He says, but Thy will be done. So we should pray, emboldened, believing, trusting in God to hear, and for Christ to give accordingly. We're not talking about praying for a shinier car. Do I have to go through all of that? I'd like to think that's already known. This is praying according to the desires, the will, the glory of our God and our Savior. And then we watch as our leaves are adorned with fruit. Figs appear in our lives and great things are done for God. May it not be when we stand before our Lord that our Lord says, yeah, I know I'm sovereign. I appreciate you recognizing that. But you had not because you asked not. And you had all the motivations and all the reasons to and you didn't. I don't think that's going to happen that way. But it's a sobering thought. And so, in closing, our three main points. Jesus is the God-Man-Savior-King, who's fully human, but fully God, who humbled Himself to become like us, to live in our place, to die in our place, to be raised to life for us to have life. He calls us His brethren. He knows our weaknesses. He knows our temptations. He knows our needs. And He lives forever to intercede for them. So may we love in response. May we love Him and praise Him and seek Him and seek to be like Him. He who became like us to save us and to sanctify us to be like Him. May that be what we pursue. And secondly, Jesus is holy. And even here He comes in judgment on His people, the people of Israel, in the sense of judging their lifeless, hypocritical Judaism. And ironically, he took the judgment of his own people, those who'd repent and believe on the cross. Judgment was indeed carried out on Jerusalem in AD 70, further solidifying the new covenant church of Jew and Gentile, all those who would bow before Christ. And this Christ who is holy, he still abhors hypocrisy. He still abhors fruitlessness. And he's coming again in final judgment against sin and sinners. And the question has to be, are you ready? If you're outside of Christ, are you ready when He comes? If you're in Christ, will you hear thy good and faithful servant? Are you ready? And then lastly, Jesus is our helper who empowers His people to live for Him as a means to glorify Him and to further His kingdom. He empowers us and exhorts us to boldly live for and to pray to Him for His glory. We have no excuse. We have everything to gain in seeking and serving Him boldly, asking with competence and persistence by His power to have His desires and His will be done, and then for us to live and respond accordingly. May we get off the couch, cast aside the trapments of this world, and take the eternal blessings that we've already been given in Christ Jesus and live for Him, obediently and prayerfully. We look at the world around us in sorrow and almost in horror, do we not? It's almost a depressing thing to wake up in the morning and say, what's the headlines this morning? Yikes. But let us remember that judgment and revival begins with the house of God. Let us be a people who are confident in Christ and prayer, believing and living and not doubting. Let us let loose of earthly distractions and look to lay up heavenly treasures. Let us not have not, because we have not asked, and that persistently. But if we have not, let it be because God has chosen to give us better gifts than those things that we persistently pled with Him to have. resulting in our having more fruit for Him and more glory for Him. May we be a people of faithful prayer, individually and yes, corporately, in obedience to Christ, so that Christ would be known in and through us for His glory and for the salvation of souls. Let us pray. Lord, I can't shake some old Keith Green songs. The world is sleeping in the dark, but the church just can't fight because she's asleep in the light. Lord, you have blessed us with eternal and abundant blessings. You have blessed us with abundant life. May we live our abundant life abundantly for you, for you, by the power of Christ and according to his word. Make of us a means to further your kingdom and to further the cause of Christ. Lord, if you've called us to move mountains, may we stand up and say, here I am. May the room of Christ be clear in our lives, in our marriages, in our homes, in our church, in our neighborhood, in our workplace, and wherever you've called us to serve you, May we be a people of obedient prayer with our faith, our heart focused upon You, O God. Give us a heart that is enlarged for Christ. Don't allow us to be satisfied with anything else. Lord, take away our ambivalence. Take away our ability just to get by and be okay with that. May we not be those who are satisfied with mediocrity, but we'd be consumed with a love and a praise and a thankfulness for Christ. And You would empower us, Lord, by prayer, by Christ, in the church, to live for Christ. That He would be made known and revival would begin. And we would be used by You in whatever means You take us to to be a means for you and to make a difference for Christ, and it's the only real pathway to true joy and abundant life. May it be so with us. I pray, Lord, that those who are outside of Christ, that today would be the day of salvation for them, that they would see their need for Him in the judgment that comes, and it is deserved, that they'd see that He has taken the judgment of sinners who repent and believe in Him. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.