I have three fruit trees in my backyard. I would not call it an orchard – just three trees – a plum, a pear, and an apple. It’s not an orchard, nor am I an orchardist – or whatever you are when you have an orchard. I think my trees know it too – they get together every winter and say "how are we going to goof up Tom’s ability to grow edible fruit this year?"
I used to have another apple tree – but it grew so crooked that the apples were all misshapen on one side – no, not really. But I was always afraid it was going to fall over – and then there was that half of the tree that broke off. Anyway – I cut that one down. The apple tree that’s left grows a great crop each year – of worms – and tiny little apples that all fall on the lawn so my lawn mower can slice them up and spit apple juice all over me.
Then there’s the plum tree. It produces great plums. Let’s see, this year I think I got three – actually the dog got three. Now each August the tree’s leaves turn yellow and fall off. The pear tree – now that baby produces pears like nobody’s business. The only trouble is, the guy who sold us the tree didn’t tell us about Comice pears – that they have this tough skin that makes them almost completely inedible.
There’s nothing so wonderful as finding a ripe piece of fruit to pick right off the tree and eat. And there’s nothing as frustrating as going up to a tree that ought to have lots of fruit and find nothing. That’s true in trees and true in life. When you find something or someone that really provides sustenance – something you can take away with you, something that really makes your life better – more meaningful – it’s great. Conversely, when you come on something that looks great on the outside but inside its empty – all show and no substance – you feel cheated.
That’s the situation we find today as we continue our study in the book of Matthew. Jesus is living His last days on earth – and it’s time to take out all the stops and draw the real distinction between a dead religion, and an alive Savior – and it all starts with a real live parable.
18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.
I just want to point out the fact that Jesus was hungry. Jesus was human – He got hungry, He got tired, I’m sure He got blisters when He worked in construction with Joseph. Why is this important?
Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Jesus is God – and He is our high priest – our entry to God. And yet He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. That’s why we can approach His throne of grace with confidence – we can be confident that God knows us, identifies with us, understands us – yet loves and forgives us through His unmerited favor – His grace.
So Jesus was hungry – He’s walking along on the road.
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.
Okay – so what’s going on here? Fig trees were a source of inexpensive food in those days. In March, fig trees would put forth edible buds, and then in April the tree put forth green leaves – and then the figs. This took place in April – Jesus expected to find buds, but all He saw were leaves.
Mark actually tells us that Jesus cursed the tree on Monday, and when the disciples returned on Tuesday morning, the tree was withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.
21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, 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."
There is a misconception here about what Jesus was talking about. I’ve heard people say they actually prayed that mountains would be thrown into the sea – but I think Jesus had a much bigger thing in mind – the mountain he was standing in front of was Mount Zion – the mountain on which the Temple stood. I think its very possible that the mountain He was speaking of was the mountain of Judaism, with its system that looked good on the outside, but had nothing of the Messiah on the inside.
And, indeed, Christians used this section to talk about what happened to Jerusalem in 70 A.D. when the Romans tore it down and sent its people scattered into the waters of the world’s nations.
But there is a lesson here for us – what mountains do you face? What impossible tasks or problems are in your life? The key isn’t fretting, the key isn’t in figuring it out – the key to the answer – the ONLY – key – is in communing with God, by asking God in prayer.
Next Jesus gives yet another picture of the coming change from a dead religious system to a live faith.
23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
24 Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism-where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"
I’m going to walk through these fairly rapidly because all three of these stories point to the same fact from different angles.
Here the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus – if He says He’s from God they will arrest Him for blaspheme, if He says He is just operating on His own then the crowds will soon abandon Him – but the way Jesus sends the question back throws them off – again.
They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ’From heaven,’ he will ask, ’Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ’From men’-we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
27 So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know."
Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Jewish religious system in rejecting Jesus as the Messiah has already shown a lack of real fruit – real life. Now it shows that it lacks true authority to judge righteously according to the Scriptures.
So thirdly, Jesus tells a story – trying to get these guys to figure out where they went wrong:
28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ’Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29 "’I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ’I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
This brings up a point – can you admit when you are wrong? Many times once we’ve said something we think it shows weakness to change our minds or admit we were wrong. Don’t fall into that trap – cop to your mistakes, especially before God – and make amends to others. If the Pharisees hadn’t been so stubborn they might here have started to realize their error – but they were too proud – so Jesus goes one step further.
33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ’They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ’This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
"’The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
So instead of repenting, they decided they need to get rid of Him. This was a stinging rebuke against the religious system – and shows how Judaism failed to heed God’s warnings, then rejected God’s Savior Jesus. Even though they couldn’t have understood all of the theological implications that Jesus was bringing up – they didn’t even try to understand.
So again – it’s all about fruit. Jesus warns that without fruit - the plant, the system, the life will wither and die. But fruit comes from recognizing the authority of Jesus as the Messiah, recognizing that God, through the Scriptures pointed to Him as the Messiah, and that rejecting Him was the same as rejecting God.
So it begs the question – what is the state of your heart when it comes to this person Jesus?
Do you believe that the Bible is the revealed Word of the God – true and correct? Or is it just a piece of literature to be studied along with other writings. The problem is that if God’s Word isn’t true, how will you know ultimate truth – because they can’t all be true. Jesus said "I am THE way THE truth THE life – NO ONE comes to the Father except by Me."
Secondly – if you believe the Bible is true, do you believe that the prophets pointed to Jesus as the Messiah? This is really where the Jews have fallen away – they believe the Bible, they just don’t believe the Bible points to Jesus. There are literally hundreds of prophecies that point specifically to Jesus of Nazareth. We talked about some of those last week. Without Jesus as the Messiah, you won’t find life – only a dead religious system.
And finally – do you believe that Jesus has authority – does He rule your life? You can say you know Jesus is the Messiah, but unless He is YOUR messiah it won’t make a difference. It all comes down to relationship.
Matt 7:22-23 Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Don’t miss this opportunity – believe God’s Word as it points to Jesus and make Him your Lord – reach out your heart to Him.
Conclusion
I want to conclude with three thoughts around the idea of producing fruit.
In the passage out of Matthew 7 that I just read – just before verse 22 Jesus said
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
If a good tree can’t bear bad fruit – how do we become a good tree? It happens when we cede our will to God’s and become His child – grafted in to the vine. Have you done that? If not, then you are by nature a bad tree which will only produce bad fruit.
So the first point is: become a good tree.
Looking at this story we might worry that as Jesus passes by our tree – He won’t see the kind of fruit He wants and curse us as well.
What does Jesus do?
He checks to see if we are abiding in Him – that’s where the fruit comes from – not from ourselves but from sticking with Him.
John 15:3-8 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
"Remaining" or "abiding" as it says in the King James is both a command – we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we must receive Him as our Lord and Savior. Then it is also an ongoing process – not of obeying rules and regulations, but having a relationship. Think of the vine-branch analogy – as we take in nourishment and life from Jesus it will naturally bear fruit – but if we cut ourselves off we will dry up. Jesus isn’t out to judge us, but plug us into the source!
So point number two is: Stay connected to Jesus
The third point, simply, is by becoming a good tree and remaining connected to the vine – the size of the mountain you face won’t matter so much anymore – because as we live and act like Him then we have the faith to be in sync with His will and we know what mountains to move.
