September 27,2010 Matthew 21:18-22 A Fruitless Tree Withers

18 In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. 19 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. 20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 21 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. 22 Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive."

(Fruit tree effected with fire blight-hypp pathology)

Thoughts: This is a reminder of John 15:2- "He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit."  The fig tree in Jesus' day was a symbol of Israel.  As Jesus was about to die in Jerusalem at the hands of the leading authorities of Israel and Rome, he once more- in a different way- was prophecying the withering or destruction of Israel (in A.D. 70). Historically, when the Church has failed to bear fruit for God, it withers and must be re-made.  Today the Church in the West is in a spiral of disbelief and wonders why it has no power or fewer followers/practitioners.  The Church needs to bear fruit- the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 6), the fruit of obedience, and the fruit of a bold witness to the power of Christ to change things- and lives.
The overall point, however, is the greatness of the power of God.  God can wither trees immediately or cause mountains to be moved.  Jesus, was teaching his disciples how to harness the power of God through prayer.  The caveat is that prayer must be made in faith- so whatever we pray must submit to God's will.  Faith is the switch that turns the power of God on in life.  It is what is missing in the skeptical, questioning, doubting Church today. 

Prayer: Lord, may my witness be bold and powerful for you.  Today, we pray for your Church that it would bear fruit that would be pleasing for you.

John Calvin abridged: Mark and Matthew differ as to when they discovered the withered tree, but it is only that Mark gives more detail.  Jesus here uses his human hunger as an opportunity to bring glory to the Father.  His point was to show the end that awaits hypocrites, and at the same time to expose the emptiness of their ostentation. This passage is useful in pointing out the power and nature of faith.  Faith is a certainty relying on the goodness of God, and does not allow doubt.  The true test of faith lies in prayer. Faith leads to prayer, and true prayer is an outpouring of faith.  If some say that we do not see mountains being thrown into the sea, the answer is that Christ does not give a loose rein to the wishes of people, that they should desire anything of their pleasure.  The Spirit holds all of our affections by the bridle of the Word of God.  Christ demans a firm and undoubting confidence in an answer, and where else is that found other than in the Word of God.  Christ promises nothing to his disciples unless they keep themselves within the limits of the good pleasure of God.

1/17/10 Matthew 17:14-21 Combining Prayer with Faith

1/17/10- Matt 17:14-21 Combining Prayer with Faith


14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." 17 "You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20-21 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Calvin abridged: A father here appeals on behalf of his only son and urgently and humbly appeals to the compassion of Christ. Christ does not rebuke the disciples or the father, but the religious leaders of the day. It is probable that the scribes asked the disciples to help if they had any power. The disciples made an attempt but were not able to help the child. It is likely that the scribes then claimed victory and ridiculed the disciples. It is also likely that the man was made deaf and dumb not naturally but by a spiritual malaise. “Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mt. “All things are possible to him who believes”).

Thoughts: The key to spiritual healing is to come to Jesus or let Jesus come to us. To think we don’t need Jesus cuts us off from God’s power to help us. The reason the boy could not be healed was that unbelief was prevalent. When most pray for God’s help they don’t really expect it. Like when the disciples were praying for Peter to get out of prison- when he did they didn’t believe it was him (Acts 12). Too many look for an excuse to not believe God can help them. Too many don’t want to believe He can-- lest He disappoint them and they somehow lose their faith. In our day we separate faith from everything—even prayer! Several years ago there was an article in Time Magazine about prayer. It talked about how so many in America pray- more pray than actually profess to believe! The article even featured prostitutes praying (separating prayer from obedience), But effective prayer in scripture combines prayer with obedience and with faith (“If I had cherished sin in my heart the Lord would not have heard me” Ps. 66:18). We become God- if God always has to say yes to us. Yet, we should not be afraid to pray- with faith and obedience- and let God filter out the yeses. A spam filter- filters out the things that are useless or not good for us. God does the same with our prayers. We should not be afraid to ask- and ask believing. Perhaps we are an unbelieving generation worst than the one in Jesus’ day. We should learn from the past to pray- and pray with faith.

Prayer: Help me to have faith and use me to move mountains- making this world a better place- and glorifying you today. Bless the worship service today, Lord. Bless those who come and those who lead.