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. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:21-22 NIV
On the way back to Jerusalem, Jesus and the disciples passed the fig tree that had immediately withered when Jesus said to it, “May you never bear fruit again.” Again, it was not anger or entitlement that caused Him to do that. He was on a teaching mission. When they saw it again, the disciples were amazed at how completely and instantly it had withered. Jesus took this as an opportunity to school them on faith, faith that He knew they were going to need as never before very shortly. He was going to live out a demonstration of faith and faithfulness they would not understand until after He had paid the full price and won the victory.
Back in Jerusalem, Jesus again was no longer staying out of the public eye. Mark records that the religious leaders accosted Him in the Temple and challenged His authority. They were trying to entrap Him. He challenged them in return. He began teaching in parables and told a story about a vineyard owner who leased his farm to the evil tenants who wanted to steal it for themselves. He sent servants to the farmers to collect the money they owed, but they killed every servant who came. Then he sent his own son, and they killed him too. Jesus said, “What do you think the owner of the vineyard did then?” The religious leaders were enraged because they knew the story was about them – they wanted to arrest him right then, Matthew 23 tells us. But they were afraid of the crowd of people, so they simply kept trying to get Jesus to say something so shocking that they could easily turn the people against Him.
However, His answers continued to amaze everyone. He taught about truly giving sacrificially from the heart as He compared a widow’s tiny offering of everything she had with a wealthy man’s prideful, much larger gift that was without sacrifice. He taught on hypocrisy and authentic faith.
Later that afternoon, Jesus left Jerusalem again and went with His disciples to the Mount of Olives, east of the Temple overlooking Jerusalem. Jesus taught them about end times, His second coming, and the final judgment. Their minds had to be boggled. He prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed and the Temple torn down, no stone left standing. He spoke directly and with parables.
After an exhausting day of confrontations and future warnings, Jesus and His men again returned to Bethany to stay the night. I wonder how the disciples slept.
- Jesus’ teachings on this day are often called the Olivet Discourse. It and the tumultuous events they endured are recorded in Matthew 21:23–24:51, Mark 11:20–13:37, Luke 20:1–21:36, and John 12:20–38. Find some time to read them, and consider the courageous, undeterred love of Jesus for you.