Slices
Prepare
Ask God to open your heart and your mind to what he has to say to you now.
Bible passage
Jesus at the temple
12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘“My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it “a den of robbers.”’
14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ they were indignant.
16 ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ they asked him.
‘Yes,’ replied Jesus, ‘have you never read,
‘“From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise”?’
17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.
Jesus curses a fig-tree
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig-tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. ‘How did the fig-tree wither so quickly?’ they asked.
21 Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’
Explore
One of the reasons adults enjoy the Toy Story films as much as children is their deliberate referencing of classic lines and scenes from iconic movies. Awareness of this opens up additional levels of appreciation of the films.
Similarly, to fully appreciate the significance of Jesus’ actions in these verses, readers need to be familiar with the Old Testament stories and prophecies referenced in them. Jesus’ clearing of an area in the Temple courts (vs 12,13) enacts the prophecy of Zechariah 14:21, even as he quotes from Isaiah (56:7) and Jeremiah (7:11). His welcoming and healing of the blind and the lame to the Temple (v 14) counters the policy of exclusion that had been in place since the time of David (2 Samuel 5:8). And the cursing of a fruitless fig tree (v 19) recalls various Old Testament references concerned with the inevitability of the judgement of fruitless Israel, not least Micah 7:1–6.
Jesus’ actions and words declare that ‘time is up’ for Israel, that judgement is imminent and will result in the Temple itself being rendered redundant. Would God’s people set aside cherished traditions, and embrace Jesus as the ultimate fulfilment of God’s promises? A question as relevant for us now as it was for the people of Jerusalem back then.
Respond
What are your habits of spiritual formation? What changes this year might result in greater fruitfulness?
Deeper Bible study
‘Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.’1
After entering Jerusalem, Jesus went, as would be expected, to his Father’s house.2 His action in clearing out the traders and moneychangers is prophetic, targeting the social injustice of Israel’s religious system.
The context is Isaiah 56:7, where God speaks of foreigners becoming his people and the nations gathering in his house to pray.3 Now, not only had the Temple become a retail outlet but, tragically, it had become a bastion of racial prejudice, shattering God’s dream intercultural worshipping world. In this place, Jesus enacted inclusivity, welcoming the blind and lame who were considered unworthy of entry.4 It was thus a provocative challenge to Israel’s leaders, obsessed with ideas of ritual purity. Jesus’ healing of these people fulfils messianic hopes.5 It also sees them included in God’s worshipping community. Matthew describes Christ’s healings as ‘wonderful things’ (thaumasios); the children, no doubt delighted at Jesus’ healing power, continue to sing ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ (v 15).6 Instead of joining the children’s impromptu choir, however, the leaders are angry (aganakteō). This response of the leaders partly fulfils Jesus’ own words in Matthew 16:21 and 20:18.
After a night at Bethany, Jesus returned to the city. Matthew’s simplified version of the cursing of the fig tree shows Jesus’ genuine humanity. Seeking food, he curses the tree, causing it to wither instantly. This event symbolically enacts the withering of Judaism in rejection of its Messiah. Jesus does not develop this idea, however, but uses it as an opportunity to teach on the power of faith-filled prayer to move mountains. Implicitly, we readers are called to pray with faith.
Has your church become, in any way, a ‘den of robbers’ (v 13), or a bastion of monoculturalism and ethnocentrism? With faith, ask God how to move this mountain.
1 Ps 8:1,9 2 Luke 2:49 3 Isa 56:3,6,7 4 Donald Hagner, Matthew 14–28, WBC Vol 33B, Zondervan, 2012, p601 5 Isa 29:18; 35:5; 42:7 6 Ps 8:2
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Genesis 20,21; Matthew 8
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for Gemma Willis in her role as Head of Development Hub. Ask God to give her insight and wisdom as she makes decisions about where to prioritise capacity and resources in developing new material for those working with the 95.
