Amen. Well, that was a lot, Dave. Thank you. You know, it never ceases to amaze me that I get to stand here and talk about these things. This is amazing, what has just been read. And so let's mine the depths of what just took place. Everything Jesus did here was intentional. Everything Jesus does here is calculated. Everything that he does here has meaning attached to it. And so let's take a look at this in three scenes. Okay, first scene, his arrival to town. Scene two, his turning over the tables at the temple. And scene three, his reaction to the fig tree, okay? So scene one, now this is commonly the text that is used during the time of Palm Sunday as we approach Easter and Holy Week. In fact, our very first Palm Sunday ever we looked at this text and so some of this may sound familiar to you in act one. Many of you weren't here for that. But then we're gonna move on to scenes two and scenes three because what happens in scene one sets up scenes two and three, okay? So you have to get scene one. His arrival to town, what's sometimes called his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. A few observations of what happens here in scene one. First of all, notice the timing. We know from the context that this was just a few days before the Passover celebration, so it wasn't just Jesus and his little group on their way to Jerusalem. This was hundreds of thousands of people who were traveling into Jerusalem for Passover. This was a high time. Think Saturdays in Ann Arbor in the fall time. Think Ohio State in town, right? The population of Ann Arbor. swell several times beyond what it normally is. Think of the energy, the electricity of Stadium in Maine. I mean, that's what we're talking about here, okay? And among first century Jews, okay, they weren't talking about the Michigan-Ohio State game at Stadium in Maine. There was one thing, actually, that overwhelmed their minds and their conversations during this time of the year. It was the question of whether or not this will be the time when God will finally send the conquering Messiah. Okay? This will be the time that God will send his deliverer because it's Passover. What are they celebrating? They're celebrating the first exodus, okay? And they're looking forward to the one who will lead them out of exile and who will bring a new exodus. And so they were awaiting the Messiah, the Savior, the King who would come and lead them into this new exodus. And so hopes for redemption were bubbling over. This is why the Roman governor added extra security during the week of Passover, because of the hype, all the hype. It was ripe for revolutionaries to try to make a name for themselves, and it was the best time to recruit an attractive following because everyone was anticipating a new and final Passover, okay? A new exodus. Messianic expectations. from the time of David, they ebbed and they flowed. I mean, it was longed for, people wanted it. But after, you know, exile after exile and David's line of kings looking all but defeated at this point in time. It's so important to know the Jewish leaders came to put their confidence in the law and in their ability to attain righteousness through their own obedience. Here's why, here's why that mattered to them at a deeply emotional level, okay? Because in their minds, the Messiah would be almost exclusively a political hero who would come and who would subdue the tyrants who ruled over them, which happened to be Rome at that time. he would reward the obedient with prestigious positions. And so many people still had this idea about Jesus, right? I mean, just before his entrance into Jerusalem in chapter 20, I mean, think back just last week if you were here for the sermon. Do you remember that crazy and hilarious and sad scene that we saw in chapter 20 when the mother of John and James, that is Jesus' Aunt Salome, The mother of Jesus' cousins, John and James, she came to Jesus pleading with Jesus that her sons serve in high position after he conquers. Can one please sit on your right and can one please sit on your left? Remember it made the other 10 angry because they kind of had the same thing in mind and they were mad that they were one-upped by James. And John, you see, this was in their mind. We want to be appointed when Jesus gets his great political victory. Now, others had already concluded that Jesus didn't have what it takes. There's no way that he could really be the savior we're looking for because of this, they wanted, I mean, he just didn't fit the mold, right? He was weak, not powerful. He didn't fit the mold of the political king they were hoping for. And so because this many wanted to wipe Jesus off the face of the earth, Plans were already being devised to do this. It was not a well-kept secret. He was riding in as a wanted man. Jesus knew that. He was riding into the city as a wanted man. And Jesus was aware of this. He knew that he was riding in with a price on his head. Now, that's the timing. Notice also the transportation. This is significant. Now, royal entrances have always been statement-making events. I mean, the pomp of the king matters, right? Their transportation matters. In our world, if the president were to visit Ann Arbor, you'd expect Air Force One and a limo, not a 2016 rusted-out Toyota Senna. I mean, you know, the pomp of the king matters. The same was true in ancient times. For example, just a few hundred years before this, remember, Alexander the Great, he rode into Jerusalem on his magnificent war horse, and guess what? Lo and behold, that's how he's remembered through history. This depicts how he's remembered, a powerful conqueror. But Jesus' transportation of choice is a donkey, a slow, stubborn donkey, the work animals of the poor. Why, after lifting the secrecy finally, and Jesus is becoming more clear about who he is and what he's all about, why would he choose this as his transportation? Well, he's making a statement. Yeah, he's making a statement here about who he is and how he's going to engage the conflict that awaits him. See, all of this is intentional. I mean, even the code word that he gives to his disciples who are supposed to go pick up the donkeys for him. What are we supposed to say when we get there, Jesus? Say, the Lord sent you, right? That's like the code word. And so they show up and, you know, the Lord sent you. Okay, then the code word works and they get their donkeys. I mean, all of this was set up, all of this was intentional because Jesus was making a statement. He's saying, I am the all-powerful Messiah who came not to be served, but to serve. I came to give my life as a ransom for many. Yes, I'm mighty, and yet I'm going low. Yes, I'm majestic, yet humble. I am Lord, yet servant. That's what his transportation spoke to, the beast of burden that he rode perfectly portrayed. The manner in which God was going to deliver them out of exile and bring about a new exodus. God did not ride into our world on a stallion to cut his enemies down with a sword. That was the statement here. He came to be actually cut down himself. He came to be cut down. So here we have God on a donkey The full significance of this probably wasn't caught in this moment. What's happening here can be called a sort of prophetic symbolism. This is a deliberate claim to be the one of whom it was so clearly written in the Old Testament scriptures. This was an act of symbolic self-disclosure. He's lifting the secrecy. You say, well, how's he doing that? Well, in the second to the last book of the Old Testament, called Zechariah in chapter 9. There's a prophecy to the downcast exiles about the Savior that they can expect. Listen closely to Zechariah chapter 9. The prophet says, rejoice greatly, daughter Jerusalem. See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the pit. The Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land. Isn't that beautiful? They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be. Who is the king who is riding in on a donkey to make this, to make his people sparkle like jewels in a crown? Jesus is saying, it's me. He's me. And then notice his travel route. We're told there, Matthew says, they came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Now, why would Matthew waste ink on this little geographical note? Well, of course, it's not wasted. With this geographical note, Matthew's saying, here's Johnny. Here he is, is what he's saying. Zechariah 14.4, again, the prophet says, the Lord will fight against the nations as on a day of battle. On that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. And Matthew notices that and says, yeah, again, here's Johnny. Here he is, here's Jesus, the king. And Jesus knew this, this was his point of no return. Like Julius Caesar crossing River Rubicon, remember the famous line, the die is cast, it's over, we've crossed the river, the battle is on. The point of no return had reached its climax. In fact, it had been reached and the climactic activity of Jesus' life was about to begin. Notice also this word here about the tree branches that were laid. We're told the crowd cut branches for trees and laid them on the road. And actually John in his gospel in chapter 12 specifies these were palm branches. These were used for royal celebrations. There's many instances of palms being laid for kings and conquerors. It's our version of the red carpet, okay? And notice they laid their cloaks. I mean, these people are coming from long distances. You know, they've got one coat. They're laying their one coat in the mud. I mean, this says something about what was stirring in their hearts. Like, these people are really buying in. Like, this is a big deal, laying their cloaks on the road, laying the red carpet for the king. I mean, that's what's happening as Jesus approached Jerusalem, okay, on his donkey with all these messianic rumors swirling about him. And listen to the tributes from the crowd. We're told these same crowds are also caught up in the shouting of hosannas and various psalms about the son of David, which, okay, this wasn't strange in the sense that these psalms were expected to be sung at Passover, but here was the shocking thing. Now they're being directed at Jesus. These psalms are like a sort of prayer, but they're turned to praise, you know, sort of like, People say, God save the queen. Well, it is a prayer. You do want it to go well with the queen, but you're also saying glory to you. It's prayer and praise that they're offering to Jesus here. Hosanna to the son of David in the highest, they say. Translated something like, please save the son of David in the highest. Save him with the highest resources, God. Pull out all the stops. Bring a high and unusual salvation through him, is what they're saying. And we have to wonder, did God answer that prayer of these people? And the answer is, no he didn't, and yes he did. He didn't answer when Jesus hung on the cross that coming Friday. He didn't save the son of David, but he did answer that prayer on Easter Sunday. And so on this day, God both denied their request and at the same time, he answered it more deeply than they could ever imagine. The Psalms that were sung for so many years, will finally make sense when people see that it's Jesus who is David's son who came to conquer sin and death, who would force the powers that be, the dark powers, to relinquish, to relinquish their power and to set people free. It was Jesus who came to do this. All these Psalms pointed to him. Now, all this commotion probably didn't last long, and surely the officials would have wasted no time to shut this down, and we see something here that's both beautiful and sad in all this. It is beautiful because Jesus, he knows he's worthy to receive this royal treatment. That's why he allows for it. I mean, think about that for a moment. These people are singing psalms at Jesus, saying, you're the one. Jesus, finally, he's receiving all this. He's taking it. Because he knows, yeah, he's the one who's about to release people from exile. He knows that's what he's gonna do. He's the one that's bringing a new exodus. He's the one who's gonna take his throne. But it's also sad because these same crowds, when they realize Jesus isn't the kind of king they were hoping, they'll be persuaded to shout for his crucifixion in just a few days. And we'll see that in the weeks to come as we continue through Matthew, but you know, I think it's not a bad idea to be aware of the fickleness of our own hearts. We see the fickleness of the crowds. They're excited for Jesus, and then they're not very excited when he's not who they want him to be. And you know, we have those same hearts, and we need to be sobered and aware of the fickleness of our own hearts. We also read that the whole city was stirred. Did you notice that? Literally, the word that's used there is asaiste in the Greek. That's where we get our word seismic, as we talk about earthquakes, right? The city quaked, it trembled. The city hasn't moved like this in about 30 years. Matthew told us at the very beginning of his gospel, he uses this word again. At Christmas, in Matthew 2, 3, when the magi were searching for the newborn king, and it will tremble twice more, you wanna guess when that will be? On Good Friday, and at Jesus' death. in Matthew 27 and then again on Easter Sunday at Jesus' resurrection. And here we see his presence is again causing a stir. They're stirred and they ask, who is this? By the way, one of the greatest questions you can ever ask, who is Jesus? And that's what they're asking, who is this? The crowds respond, it's a prophet from Nazareth. It's a good reminder here again to be careful whenever you're relying solely on what the crowds tell you to believe about God. Consider their source. Is it based on their feelings, their opinion, what they've heard from someone else, or is it based on what God has revealed about himself in his word? If it's based solely upon feelings or opinions, it will always be shallow or a bit twisted. In this case, It is shallow and it's a bit twisted. Yes, he is a prophet, but he's so much more than a prophet. He's so much more. And, you know, we need to be careful as well because one of the easiest things to confuse is the person of Jesus. And there's a lot of confusing thoughts and teachings out there about who Jesus is, and we need to be so careful. And that's one of the reasons this church exists is to present, to proclaim, the whole Jesus, the fullness of who Jesus is and what God's word says about him. That's why I feel such a weight, such a gravity every time I stand before you because I recognize how terrible a thing it is to twist the truth of who Jesus is. I don't wanna mess that up. And so we seek to be faithful to that here. But be careful whenever you're listening solely to the crowds. He's so much more than a prophet. He is the final and the ultimate prophet who reveals the fullness of the one true God. The one true God is actually three persons, the Bible says. And the one riding in on a donkey here is the second person of what we call the Trinity. And the second person of the Trinity has two natures. That is, the second person, who is Jesus, has two natures. He is fully God, and he is fully man, fully human. Jesus doesn't just proclaim a word about God, like an ordinary prophet, he proclaims that he is God. It's amazing. He is the word, and the word was made flesh, and the word made flesh rides to battle on a donkey, as if to say, I'm not just gonna show you who I am, but that I embrace. who I am, and I'm not ashamed of my donkey-riding, pain-ridden humanness." It's amazing. Okay, that's act one. Act two, the scene here at the temple in verses 12 through 17. Jesus is not only the final prophet, he also is the final priest, and we learn something about that here. Now, what did priests do all through the Old Testament? Well, they devoted themselves to God and they slaughtered the sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people. Their problem was, here's the problem, they had their own sins. They had their own sin problem, and so they needed the blood applied to them for their own sinfulness. I mean, how many priests offered how many sacrifices at the Temple Mountain through the years? How many countless, ceaseless priests offering ceaseless sacrifices all through the years? There's no way to count. That's why after Jesus went up to the Jerusalem Mountain, he went to the Temple Mount. But he went not to offer a sacrifice. He didn't offer a sacrifice. I mean, just imagine this scene. Jesus, okay, enters Jerusalem. Now he goes to the temple. This is the nerve center. I mean, this is, Jesus isn't just going into the big house. Like, he's going into the coordinator's offices. Like, he's grabbing laptops. I mean, can you imagine that? There'd be quite a commotion, right? If somehow you found your way into like the nerve center of the big house on game day and you're getting into the computers and the playbooks and all that kind of stuff. I mean, Jesus is going into the nerve center here. And amazingly, some received him. Some were excited for what he was doing. Mainly, we're told, the outsiders, the blind and the lame, and even the kids. The kids were like, yeah, Jesus, go. You do your thing. Again, the kids were crying out praises to Jesus, but the pastors and the teachers and the rulers and the serious people, they were indignant, we're told. And they turn to Jesus and they say, do you hear what these people are saying to you? I mean, do you hear these kids expecting Jesus to be like, oh yeah, they shouldn't do that. I mean, do you hear them? And Jesus responds, do you guys know how to read? Never gets old to hear Jesus say that. Jesus, don't you hear what they're doing? Yeah, don't you know how to read? You know your Bibles, don't you? Look at Psalm 8. Jesus quotes Psalm 8 out of the mouths of infants you've prepared praise. But that Psalm is directed to God. I mean, don't you realize to claim that Psalm is about you, you're claiming to be God. Jesus says, yep, yep. It is about God, and it is about me. So Jesus entered the temple, he drove out, we're told, all who sold and bought in the temple, overturned the tables of the money changers. Now, it's important to say a couple things about this. First of all, Jesus wasn't making a violent attempt to take over the temple by force. That's not what's happening here. He also, he wasn't making a protest about people exchanging money. Okay, that's not what this was about. I mean, you realize, right, people traveled long distances. And they couldn't bring with them their own pure animals on the long journey. They needed to purchase lambs and doves, pigeons, that were worthy of sacrifice from the temple. And so the temple provided these pure, worthy animals to be offered as sacrifices. But since the temple insisted on its own special coins, money had to be exchanged, because these people are coming from all these different places, and there's different currencies, and so you needed a temple currency, and so to offer a sacrifice, you needed to exchange money. But the point all along for these sacrifices, ever since they were instituted, there was one clear message to the people, one clear message, and here was the message. You're dead. That's the point of these sacrifices. You're dead. You're dead because of your sin. You don't have God. You're not acceptable. You don't have his blessing. His promises don't work for you. You don't have eternal life. You are cursed, but here's what the sacrifice is. Here's the point. Through a sacrifice, being cursed in your place, through a sacrifice, being cursed in your place, you can be made acceptable. And you can have eternal life and the promises of God. And the point of that was meant to change your heart. point of that, of realizing, wow, what an amazing promise, what an amazing thing God has done that He would be merciful in this way. It was meant to change your heart, to fill you with a genuine love for God that overflowed with gratitude and amazement and worship. It was meant to change your life into a life that was singularly devoted to the worship and to the purposes of God. This is what was supposed to take place in the temple, that people so overwhelmed by the provision God has made to be right with him, to be acceptable to him, to be forgiven, to have a relationship with him, to have life, that they would be so overwhelmed by him and who he is that their lives would be so transformed and made to be devoted to the worship of God. This was the point of the temple. And Jesus came to the temple looking for that kind of fruit, Instead, he saw the showy leaves of religious activity, not people consumed by the glory of God. He saw fruitlessness, fake spirituality, people going through the religious motions, people who were untouched by God, untouched by His Word, untouched by His grace. And that's why Jesus quotes from the prophet Jeremiah. You know, when Jesus says, This is to be a house of prayer, not a den of robbers. He's quoting from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter seven. And so it's important to get the context of what Jesus quotes. Let me just read to you from Jeremiah seven. We read, this is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Stand at the gate of the Lord's house. Ah, notice, at the temple. Stand at the gate of the Lord's house and there proclaim this message. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. You see, that was what they were doing in Jeremiah's day. We'll live any way we want, we're not. concerned with the holiness of God and walking with the Lord, we're going to do our own thing, but we've got the temple, we're safe, like we're part of the church, right? I mean, I serve at the church, the church, the church, I go to church, we're safe. That's what they were saying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. If you really change your ways and your actions, Jeremiah says, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods, then the Lord says, I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave you. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury and follow other gods and then come and stand before me in this house which bears my name and say, we are safe? The Lord says. Will you really do that? Safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house which bears my name become a den of robbers to you? The Lord says, I have been watching. I will thrust you from my presence." That's Jeremiah 7, and that's what Jesus is quoting because he's saying, hey guys, you're doing the same thing. You're doing the same thing they were doing in Jeremiah's day. My house shall be called a house of prayer, Jesus says, but you make it a den of robbers. House of prayer. Jesus means this is a place to know God. It's a place to have relationship with God, to enjoy Him, to worship Him. Instead, you think it's a safe hideout for mobsters. I mean, that's what a den of robber was, right? It's this, let's go find a cave, a place to hide out and scheme and do our thing and to hide. You think this has become a hideout for mobsters. You think you're religious, Jesus is saying, and of course, folks, He's talking to us as well, and so we need to pick this up. You think you're religious, but you're actually hiding from God. You're using the temple to hide from God. How amazing is that? I mean, it's just superstitious to you. You think you're safe because of the sacrifices. You think you're good to go about your life without any real spiritual fruit, without true worship, without concern for God's kingdom. Instead, what you're all about is personal comfort in the politics of Rome. That's what animated them. You're just looking for a political savior to crush your enemies and to line your pockets with gold. See, they turned the temple into a clown show for people who politicized and commercialized God. A clown show for people who politicized and commercialized God. Can you imagine such a thing? How sick it is. to walk into a church where God is commercialized and politicized, where the talk is not about God, but politics. Folks, please check your political affiliation at the door. Of course, we're human. Of course, some of you come from different countries, and you have all kinds of different politics we don't even understand. And surprise, surprise, we're a church that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ, and so many people from many different backgrounds and lives and political thoughts and influences through the years gather here. And of course, we're something about something so much bigger and greater, and so we're careful not to draw those lines in this place and to politicize the things of God. Red Tree is not a safe place, I wanna say. It's not a safe place for politics, but a safe place from politics. It's not a place to hide from God, to be stimulated with political rhetoric, but a place to be filled with awe and filled with the talk of King Jesus. That's our hope, is that this will be a place, of course, we have our thoughts and opinions and involvement, all those things are just fine and responsible, actually, as stewards of your citizenship, but in this place, this is a safe place from politics in order to get caught up in the glory and the awe of the gospel. But I digress. Jesus, when he turns over the tables, what's he doing here? What's he doing here? This is so important. When he turns over the tables, here's what he's saying. He's saying, no more sacrifices. That's the point of this. He's putting an end to the whole sacrificial system. You see, the sacrifices can't continue without the exchange of money. People can't get the animals to sacrifice. Jesus is saying, no more sacrifices. He's bringing into question the very reason for the temple's existence. Oh man, is this electric what he's doing here? He's bringing into question the reason for the temple's existence. He's saying, it all pointed to me. All the way along, it all pointed to me. You see, when Jesus entered the temple, he entered as the embodiment of Israel. He entered as the embodiment of the sacrifices and as the first and last priest ever who was without sin. He didn't need blood to atone for his own sins. He was the first and the last that that was true of. He turned the tables over to say the old order is gone. In a very dramatic fashion, that's what he was saying. He's saying everything the sacrifice has pointed to is here now, it's me. I'm the only priest who has perfectly devoted himself to God, but I will also offer myself as the final sacrifice for sinners." That's why he didn't bring a sword to the city, because he came to fall under the sword for you. Folks, that's the point. no matter the weight of your heart, no matter the darkness of your sin. That's why there's a Savior who stands and he says, come to me. I dealt with your sin and your place, I took the sword. Come to me and know the love of God, know a relationship with God, know life. But you come to Jesus, that was the point of all this. You don't go to the temple, you don't go to the sacrifices, you go to Jesus. And that's true for you sitting here right now. If you wonder what's it mean to be a Christian, that's what it means. It's repenting from every other thing you've ever trusted and it's turning to the person of Jesus Christ and trusting in the work that he accomplished for you by going to the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for your sin. And we rejoice in that. And so that was the point of scene two in the temple. Scene three, in the final scene, the fig tree. I mean, this is amazing. Jesus has just made it so clear that he himself is God. And he wakes up the next morning, and here's the one that we've just come to realize, this is God, and his stomach's growling. That's amazing, isn't it? His stomach's growling. He's hungry, he's walking along, he sees a fig tree with leaves. Now normally the fruit came before the leaves or perhaps at the same time, but there should have been fruit there with the way the leaves looked. And Jesus is picking around and he realizes there's no fruit, it's only leaves. Now, notice this, okay? Because this can be like kind of a really weird moment. We're like, why did Jesus hate that tree? I mean, it's strange, it withered, and what's going on here? Remember, it's very intentional, right? Everything here has a purpose and meaning attached to it. Jesus, catch this, Jesus was looking for fruit, but he found fruitlessness. and then he hated on the tree, cursed it, and it withered. Does that sound familiar? Does that sound familiar? He's doubling down on the message he just tried to get across at the temple. What was he saying at the temple? I hate the showy, fake leaves of religion without real fruit. That was the point of the temple. Jesus is doubling down now with this little incident with the fig tree. I hate the showy, fake leaves of religion without real fruit. Now again, guys, you have to realize, Jesus is so steeped in the word of God, he is the word of God. So again, you have to, when you see something like this, you have to wonder, is there something in the Old Testament that Jesus is doing here or sort of acting out? And the answer is, yeah, yeah, there is. Let me just share with you from one of the prophets, Micah, chapter three and chapter seven. Surely Jesus had this on his mind. This comes from Micah. Listen, the prophet says, What misery is mine? I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard, but find none of the early figs that I crave. Ah, I get up, I'm hungry, and I look for figs, the prophet says, but there's no figs. My stomach still growls. Hear this. The prophet says, hear this, you leaders of Israel, who distort all that is right, who build Jerusalem with wickedness, her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, her prophets tell fortunes for money, yet they look for the Lord's support, and they say, is not the Lord among us? Again, we'll live any way we want, but hey, we're safe. The temple, the temple, isn't the Lord among us? The Lord says, no, disaster will come upon you. Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become like a heap of rubble, and the mountain of the house, that's a word for the temple, the mountain of the house, Micah says, will become a mound overgrown with thickets. And the disciples marvel, the disciples marvel. Jesus says, if you have faith, you can say to this mountain, be taken up and thrown into the sea, and it'll happen. All right, let's talk about this. Absolutely, yes, prayer is powerful. And I hope you are a praying people and that we are a praying church because God powerfully works through prayer. But I wanna say, what we find right here is not some generic teaching on the power of prayer, okay? This isn't any kind of health, wealth thing where Jesus says, Hey, say to that mountain, go, and it'll jump into the sea. Say to that cancer, go, and, you know, if you believe strongly enough, and sadly, there's so many people deceived into that kind of thing and that live with a guilt because they don't see their prayers answered and they think, maybe I don't have enough faith, maybe I don't believe strongly enough, and I just want you to be delivered from that. That's not what Jesus is saying here, okay? This is another coded message connected with what just happened at the temple. Guys, this isn't all disconnected stuff. These aren't separate puzzle pieces. This all fits together. This is connected with what happened at the temple. Think about this, okay? Jesus says, if you have faith, say to that mountain, go jump in the sea and they'll jump into the sea. Here they are on the mountain. Think about this, here they are on the mountain, Jerusalem, next to the mountain, the temple, the mountain of the Lord, as it's called in the Old Testament. They're next to this mountain that Jesus had just cleared and made clear its reason for existence is no more because I'm here, okay? They're standing next to that mountain, Mount Zion, where heaven connects with earth. And Jesus says, it will be thrown into the sea. It's done. And so what Jesus is saying here is, yeah guys, really believe it. I'm gonna do something so big, this mountain and all that it ever stood for, it'll be thrown into the sea. It's no longer needed because why? The fulfillment of everything that the temple was ever intended to accomplish is here. The one who connects heaven and earth is here. The one who takes away your sins is here. The one worthy of your worship is here. It's me. Jesus again is shouting from the rooftops, anyone who trusts in the temple or the sacrifices or any false gods or religion is cursed and fruitless. Everything that anyone ever hoped to find in the temple, you find it in me. Jesus is saying, you want God, you find it in me. You want his promises, you want life, eternal life, you want fruit, put your faith in me. And if there's a double meaning here, we also see in the Old Testament, mountains often stand for obstacles in the way of the kingdom of God. That's why the prophets talk about the Lord clearing the mountains. And so Jesus is saying, now that I'm here, the temple and all that it stood for is no longer needed. It can jump into the sea, but also, right, you want to pray? You can pray that any obstacle will be overcome for this mission. We are on our way. This news is getting out, this mission of my name and my glory going forth, my saving work, and so pray. You wanna pray by faith that there will be no obstacles for the mission of the good news of me going forth? Okay, let's pray that. The mission we're on is the mission of recognizing that Jesus is the one and he is the life and the savior and the Lord And so the temple can jump into the sea and Jesus says there is no mountain that will stand in the way of this mission we have to reach the ends of the earth. That is the mission we are on here at Red Tree, folks, and we pray toward that end. And this is a warning, not only for them, but for us. Folks, let's just close this out with a couple practical thoughts. This is a warning, not only for them, but for us. If you treat Jesus like they treated the temple, if you treat Jesus like they treated the temple, you're under a curse. You'll be destroyed. That's one of the strong messages here. What did they do? Well, they twisted and they distorted the temple. They used it as a place to hide from God, not to worship God. You know, we can do that with Jesus. We can distort Jesus in all kinds of ways. Someone might say, well, I want the nice Jesus. I want the warm, fuzzy Jesus, not the confrontational Jesus, right? And you twist and distort Jesus according to the figment of your imagination. Some people may say, well, I want the tough, confrontational Jesus. I don't want that soft, lovey-dovey, like, grace Jesus. You know, I wanna be a soldier. And you're twisting and you're distorting who he is, because the full Jesus, he is confrontational, and some people don't like that. And we see it here. Yeah, there's a Jesus who can be quite aggressive. But that's not all that he is. Yeah, he's also the Jesus who rode in on a donkey and fell under the sword, went to the cross in his humility to save you because he loves you. He loves you. And he's kind and he's tender. And so we too easily distort the true Jesus to serve our own selfish ends, and we need to be warned about that. We need to long to see Jesus as he is and to receive him as he is, to put our faith in the true Jesus and to bear fruit, and if you do this, You will live. You say, well, what fruit? Jesus obviously hates fruitlessness, right? That's the point here, the temple and with the fig tree. So what does it look like to bear fruit? What's it look like to be fruitful? Does that mean you have to have it all together? Does that mean you don't struggle with sin anymore? Is that what kind of fruit you need to bear? That you have no failures, no struggles, no sin. No. Here's what Christian fruitfulness looks like. In your struggle, in your failures, in your sin and your brokenness, it's letting Jesus confront you. Actually, it's wanting Him to confront you, to convict you. It's wanting Him to do that and with His help to seek to throw off everything that displeases Him. and then to bask in his love, to bask in his grace that is greater than your sin. That's the ultimate fruitfulness of the Christian life, is it's having a heart that is so responsive to Jesus. It's going to him, it's wanting him, it's wanting him to confront you, it's basking in his presence, it's loving him, it's being in awe of him. That's the fruit, it's turning to Jesus, not hiding from him, but going to him. How important is this? Fruitfulness, how important is it for you to bear fruit? Well, listen to Jesus' words on another occasion. This is from John chapter 15. Jesus says, I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener. Listen to these words. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. There's Jesus again talking about fruitfulness. He cuts off every branch of me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Oh man, sometimes He's at work in your life doing His pruning work, and pruning hurts because there's clips and there's cuts and there's suffering and there's surprises and there's things that humble you, and that's the Lord pruning you, and He's bringing you to a place of desperation for Him. And so the Lord is, why do certain things happen in your life? The Lord, one of the purposes, he's pruning you to bring about a fruitfulness. He's the gardener, he's doing his gardening work in your life because he loves fruitfulness. And he wants your fruitfulness. Jesus goes on, he says. Yes, he cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Jesus says, I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you'll bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing, Jesus says. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Think again of the fig tree. is cursed, it withers. Is that what you want of your life? Then don't abide in Jesus, he says. You'll be thrown away and wither. He says such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. This is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples, he says. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Red tree, let's abide in Jesus, not with fake showy leaves of religion, but a real spiritual fruitfulness. Let's abide in Jesus, let's bear good fruit and discover true joy. Apparently that's what Jesus wants for you, to know his joy, amen.