A Question of Authority—Reflection for Holy Monday (Matthew 21:18-27)

Matthew 21:18-27 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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.”

²³ When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

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                It is Holy Monday. Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, hailed by the crowd as Son of David. After that entrance, Jesus entered the Temple, causing a scene by overturning merchants' tables and decrying the attempt to make God’s house a den of thieves. The Temple authorities were upset by all of that, especially after they heard the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” That particular aspect of this famous scene caught my eye as if I noticed it for the first time. After that, Jesus left the Temple and returned to Bethany, where he spent the night (Matt. 21:1-17). That’s how Holy Week began.

                Today, we come again to Matthew’s Gospel, where we watch as he returns to Jerusalem. According to Matthew, Jesus was hungry (yes, Jesus got hungry). When he saw the fig tree, he thought he might have a fig for breakfast. Unfortunately, the tree lacked fruit. In apparent anger, Jesus cursed the tree, causing it to wither. Here again, we have a description of Jesus’ human emotions. He gets hungry and frustrated, just like us. When his companions noticed this, they were amazed, wondering how this fig tree withered. Jesus answered with a word about prayer. It’s a word that is troubling because it suggests that prayer without doubt can move mountains, not just cause fig trees to wither. Name-it-and-claim-it teachers love this passage, though I’ve not seen any of them actually move mountains. So, maybe we need to be careful about how we use this passage when it comes to prayer.

                Perhaps it is wise to think in broader terms as to the meaning here. Fred Craddock and Eugene Boring point out that when it comes to the judgment on the fig tree, Matthew not only displays an emotional reaction but also conveys a broader message about judgment on the fruits of faith. They point out that Matthew uses the word “fruits” seventeen times to speak of good works. Thus, in Matthew, fruits are not understood literally, but ethically. Thus,

The Lord comes seeking fruit from his tree; when he finds only leaves, he causes it to wither (see 3:10; 7:16-20). This represents the judgment of God on those who have the external appearance of productivity but no real fruits. The pronouncement is not a smug contrast between “fruitless Judaism” and “fruitful Christianity” but a directed warning to insiders in Matthew’s own community. [The People’s New Testament Commentary, p. 83].

So, we have a word of judgment, followed by a call for faith sufficient to remove obstacles.

                This leads to Jesus’ return to the Temple, where he begins teaching the people. The rest of chapter 21 and chapter 22 convey some of Jesus’ parables and messages, including his word concerning the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:34-40). You know the one about loving God, followed by the command to love our neighbors. Jesus tells us that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. You don’t need to know the Ten Commandments or any other law; just do these two things, and you’ve fulfilled them all. Maybe we should put the second commandment up on the walls of our schools rather than the Ten Commandments!!

                Now, after Jesus enters the Temple and begins teaching, the Temple leaders challenge his authority as a teacher. They have a point. Who gave Jesus the right to enter the Temple and start teaching people without gaining permission? I know that as a pastor, I would want to have some say as to who came to the church to begin teaching. I’d want to check their credentials and have a conversation about what they were going to say. So, I’m sympathetic to the leaders who questioned Jesus’ authority. Jesus refused to answer. Instead, he asked them a question about John the Baptist’s baptism. Was it from heaven or of human origin? If it was from heaven, why didn’t they believe his message? That seems to have stumped them. If they said no, then that would rile up the crowd who considered him a prophet. When they told Jesus they couldn’t say one way or another, Jesus refused to answer their question about his authority and continued with his teaching.

                Here is the question for us on this Holy Monday. What should we do with Jesus’ teachings? Do we listen to him? To follow him? I find it interesting that in yesterday’s Palm Sunday message, Pope Leo XIV declared that God does not listen to war prayers. It would seem that the Pope was responding to prayers offered in the past week by the Secretary of Defense, who prayed God’s blessing on the war effort, suggesting that this is essentially a holy war between good and evil. The Pope, following Jesus, disagreed. So, the question for us this week concerns the degree to which we are ready to listen and affirm the message of Jesus, which includes the call to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.