Matthew 21b

 We must be careful; I must be careful not to split this lesson up from the last lesson. This chapter is a seamless story, yet time constraints and attention spans led us to pretend to finish a story last week and begin a new one this week. Not so, it’s all one story. 

 It’s time for a recap to show how these smaller stories are really just part of a larger theme. And that theme is that Jesus is arriving in Jerusalem as Messiah and King and, while there are prophecies portending his arrival and there are historical similarities to other kings; really there never has been anyone like him before…nor since. 

 First, Jesus entered Jerusalem with some of the symbols of a king. As his followers spread their cloaks before him, we might have been reminded of the ascension of King Jehu, but he turned out to be a violent usurper who took revenge on the previous king and court. On closer examination, Jesus was instead sending vibes of the sage who was humble and peaceful, the Son of David, King Solomon (Shalom) himself. Which kind of king do we prefer? 

 Second, Jesus immediately entered the temple, the central focus of the city and of the religion of Judaism itself. Now Jesus played the part of a prophet unending the iron grip that the scribes and chief priests had on who could come to worship, where they could stand, how much they had to pay for the proper coinage and approved sacrifices (pigeons and doves, sheep and bulls). The authorities had a real money-maker going on and people either suffered the abuse or could not come to worship at all. God’s ‘house of prayer’ had become a ‘den of thieves’. Look around your church; what kind of obstacles to worship and fellowship have you put up or do you put up with? 

 Now, the temple is opened up to the kind of people that God had in mind from the beginning, those who are marginalized and in need. They have been waiting for this opportunity to find the comfort and healing that they thought God and his servants should provide, so they come right into the temple. 

21: 14: The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them. 

  Why are ‘the blind and the lame’ significant in the story? Why not the deaf and the diseased? It is a matter of phrases that stand for a larger category. Matthew has shown that Jesus was sent to those in need, summarized as ‘the blind and the lame’. 

 Also, ‘the blind and the lame’ were among those that the rulers of the temple had forbidden to go beyond the outer courts of the temple, that is, not into where the sacrifices were made at the altar. Their restrictions were based on the Law…loosely. 

 Leviticus 21: 16-24 did have restrictions, a long list including on people with a blemish, who are blind or lame, who are mutilated in some way, or have skin diseases, or crushed testicles. However, a closer read tells us that these restrictions were to limit Aaron’s descendents who were a special group of priests who would serve in the tabernacle and later the temple. An even closer look tells us that these restrictions did not apply to their carrying out the majority of priestly duties, the only limitation being that they could not “come before the Lord.” That means they could not come up to the altar to offer sacrifices there. This restriction was not written for general worshippers. However, the temple elite extended the ruling to them. 

 When John the Baptist wondered if Jesus was the one, Jesus said: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Matthew 11: 4-6).

 Earlier, as Jesus’ reputation spread, then “Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel” (Matthew 15: 30-31).

 Now Jesus demonstrates that the restrictions were wrong. Caring for ‘the blind and the lame’ was a ministry that Israel itself, and especially the priests of the temple should have been performing all along; but they didn’t. They got tied up in their own politics, business, and survival…and they could not be bothered by those in need. By contrast, Jesus does fulfill these ministries, both outside the temple and now inside the temple. Jesus is disrupting their game, and neither they nor the Romans will sit idly by when their routine is upended.  

21: 15-17.  But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the amazing things that he did and heard the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became angry and said to him, “Do you hear what these are saying?” Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself’?”  He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

 Notice the link between the priests and scribes actually seeing the amazing things that Jesus did, and then hearing the children chanting in the temple “Hosanna to the Son of David.” They are invited here to have an epiphany, a seemingly random juxtaposition of incidents that will make the light bulb go on in their brain. Then they would say: “Wait a minute, maybe they are right, whether they know it or not! Maybe this is God at work.”

 But, they are too locked into their world view for the light bulb to shine in the darkness. Instead, they become indignant about the childish chant. Jesus sees the connection, and there is even a hint in the Old Testament that what is obvious to children, adults sometimes refuse to see. 

O LORD, our Sovereign,   

how majestic is your name in all the earth!                                                               You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of babes and infants

you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,   

to silence the enemy and the avenger. (Psalm 8: 1-2)

 There is something rather interesting here. You will note first that Psalm 8 as a whole, which consists of 9 verses with the last verse same as the first, is purely a psalm of praise. Second, our translation of the Masoretic text of the Old Testament does not say “you have prepared praise for yourself,” but instead “you have founded a bulwark.” Sounds different, doesn’t it? Third, observe that ‘mouths’ produce words, including things like praise. It is the words that give strength to the person addressed.

Fourth, Jesus’ quote is exactly what the Septuagint (aka the LXX) says. The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Old Testament text that was translated about 200 years before Christ. In fact, most quotes in the New Testament follow the Septuagint version. The Masoretic text, which is the official Jewish Bible on which most Christian translations are based, was not finalized after long after Jesus’ time. The oldest Masoretic manuscript that we have is from the late 9th century, about 875 A.D. So, an argument could be made that the oldest and most authoritative text is the 3rd century B.C. Septuagint though it is not written in Hebrew.  

 That was interesting, but where did it get us? We can conclude that Jesus didn’t misquote from the Old Testament. The Greek translation he used came from Hebrew manuscripts from before the 3rd century B.C., texts that we do not have, but they are certainly more than a thousand years older than the Masoretic text from which our translation of the Old Testament came. So, his quote comes from a translation of a more original source. In addition, they aren’t that different since praise that is heard is strength that comes from the mouth. 

 What is also interesting is the reason for the praise found in the part that Jesus did not quote but the chief priests and scribes surely knew. The children’s praise is a bulwark (strong wall) against God’s enemies. So, the chief priests and scribes can take it either way, as a message or as a wall. Looks like it was a wall to them. 

21: 18-22.  In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.”

 This is the only example of an action of Jesus that seems negative, a curse instead of a blessing. Was Jesus’ expectation realistic? There are two seasons for figs, a short one when the leaves come out and a longer one later. Seeing the leaves, Jesus expected figs. However, perhaps the tree is not the point. 

 Ben Witherington calls this an “enacted parable” (Matthew, 2006, page 398). As such, it means itself and something more. If this passage is placed in the historical context of Micah, then it becomes clearer that the fig tree that won’t produce fruit is a metaphor for Israel. So, Jesus is saying that the judgment is near. Indeed, the cross was a judgment on the corrupted system, followed by the absolute destruction of Jerusalem and the displacement of the people of Judea that happened in 70 A.D.. 

Here is a quick summary of this part of Micah which reveals what Jesus had in mind about the judgment of Israel. 

"…the LORD has a case against his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!”

“With what shall I come before the LORD and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? … He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?’ 

Woe is me! For I have become like one who, after the summer fruit has been gathered, after the vintage has been gleaned, finds no cluster to eat; there is no first-ripe fig for which I hunger. The faithful have disappeared from the land, and there is no one left who is upright; they all lie in wait for blood, and they hunt each other with nets. Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they pervert justice.  (Micah 6: 2-3, 6-8; 7: 1-3).

  Finally, we must consider the saying that Jesus uses to close this walking parable. What does a mountain have to do with the fig tree? Only that the disciples at the time are standing on top of a mountain, the most important mountain in Israel and in Jewish thought. But, of course, this is a metaphor. Any obstacle to progress can become a mountain to move. Jesus says it can be done. How will God’s new reign on earth among a people whose hearts and minds have been changed be accomplished by an obscure prophet and his 12 person band? That’s the rest of the story.

More next week, and we will still be in Chapter 21, the same story.