In this message we come to Matt. 21:1-22, where three matters are covered: the welcoming of the meek King (vv. 1-11); the cleansing of the temple (vv. 12-17); and the cursing of the fig tree (vv. 18-22).
Chapter sixteen is a crucial turning point in the Gospel of Matthew. Prior to this chapter, the Lord Jesus went to Jerusalem a number of times. But in chapter sixteen, He brought His disciples to the north, far away from Jerusalem, which was in the center of the Holy Land, in the territory of Benjamin. After chapter sixteen, the Lord gradually returned from the north to Jerusalem.
In 16:13—23:39 Matthew gives us a record of the pathway of the Lord’s rejection. In this section we see the Lord’s activities in various regions: before going to Judea (16:13— 18:35); from Galilee to Judea (19:1—20:16); on the way to Jerusalem (20:17—21:11); and in Jerusalem (21:12—23:39). Thus, Matthew 21:1 says, “And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives.” They began the journey from Galilee in Matt. 19:1. They were on the way in Matt. 20:17, and passed through Jericho in Matt. 20:29. Now in chapter twenty-one they have come to the Mount of Olives, which was just outside the city of Jerusalem, in a suburb of that city. This chapter marks the beginning of the Lord’s last week on earth.
The Lord purposely went back to Jerusalem not to minister, preach, teach, or perform miracles, but to present Himself as the Lamb of God to be slaughtered, to be crucified.
According to the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus did not do things to insure Himself a warm welcome. Instead, He was always prepared for rejection. But in 21:1-11 He made some preparations to be warmly welcomed.
The welcome given to the Lord here was carried out under His sovereignty. In verses 2 and 3, the Lord told two of His disciples, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; loose them and lead them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them, and immediately he will send them.” If I had been there, I would have said, “Lord, how do You know there will be a donkey tied there and a colt with her? And how do You know that the man will allow us to take them?” Here we see the Lord’s omniscience and sovereignty. He wanted His disciples to know that He was the sovereign King who owned all things. Thus, the donkey and the colt belonged to Him. The Lord also indicated to them that He was omniscient, for He could see things clearly without physically being in a certain place. In exercising His authority as King, the Lord is both omniscient and sovereign.
Verses 4 and 5 say, “Now this took place that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your King is coming to you, meek and mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” The way the King came into Jerusalem fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The term “the daughter” of Zion in 21:5 means the people of Jerusalem (cf. Psa. 137:8; 45:12). This prophecy was being fulfilled to them.
Verse 5 says that the King came “mounted on a donkey and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.” This signifies the meek and lowly state in which the Lord was willing to present Himself. The Lord did not tell His disciples to get a carriage or a wagon, but a donkey and a colt. He did not even choose to ride on a horse, but on a little donkey. I have spent considerable time to find out why the Lord was mounted on a donkey and a colt. Was He riding on the donkey or on the colt? Why did the Lord Jesus need both the donkey and a colt, a baby donkey? The colt must have been a baby donkey because it is called a foal of a beast of burden, and this beast of burden must have been a donkey. The donkey was probably the mother, and the colt was probably her offspring. Both the mother and the offspring worked together to bear the King, for He was mounted on both the donkey and the colt. Perhaps the Lord rode upon the donkey first and shifted to the colt when He was close to the city. Mark and Luke mention only the colt, not the donkey (Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38), whereas John speaks of a young donkey, a donkey’s colt (John 12:14-15). Thus, the emphasis of the four Gospels seems to be on the colt.
The donkey and the colt together give us an impression of meekness and humility. If the Lord has been mounted only upon a donkey, the impression of meekness would not have been so striking. Suppose a very small sister stands before us holding a tiny baby in her arms. This would give us a deep impression of smallness, for the tiny baby would strengthen the impression of smallness. The significance of the Lord’s riding on a donkey is not smallness, but meekness. The heavenly King came not with haughty splendor, but with gentle, humble meekness. This impression of meekness is strengthened by the colt accompanying a donkey to bear the meek King. The Lord Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem proudly on a horse. He came mounted upon a little donkey, even a small colt. No earthly king would do this. The Lord Jesus seemed to be telling His disciples, “Take the donkey and the little colt. I shall ride upon the beast of burden, but the colt must go along too in order to show My meekness. This will help the people see how meek the heavenly King is.”
The Lord Jesus came not to fight or to compete, but to be a meek King. The presence of the baby donkey testified that the Lord did not care to fight or compete with anyone. Rather, He was humble and meek. I believe that this was the impression the Lord Jesus wanted to convey to the people. Yes, He was the heavenly King, but He had no intention to come as a great King fighting or competing with others. Instead, He came as a meek King who did not fight against anyone or compete with anyone.
In verse 7 we see that the disciples put their garments on the donkey and the colt, and verse 8 says, “And most of the crowd spread their own garments in the road.” Garments signify the human virtues of people’s conduct. The disciples honored the lowly King by putting their garments on the donkey and colt for Him to ride on, and the crowd honored Him by spreading their garments in the road for Him to pass through. The people honored the Lord with their clothing, that is, with whatever they had. No matter how poor a man is, he at least has some clothing with which to cover himself. We need to honor the Lord, the meek King, with whatever we are. No matter what our condition may be, we have something with which to honor Him. I do not believe that the garments put on the donkey and on the road were splendid or beautiful. Nevertheless, the people used what they had. Although we are sinful, pitiful, and even evil, the Lord likes to be honored with what we are. Even sinners can honor the Lord with what they are, if they have a heart to honor Him.
Verse 8 also says, “Others cut branches from the trees and spread them in the road.” The branches are the branches of the palm tree (John 12:13), signifying the victorious life (Rev. 7:9) and the satisfaction of enjoying the rich produce of this life as typified by the feast of tabernacles (Lev. 23:40; Neh. 8:15). The crowd used both their garments and the palm tree branches to celebrate the lowly King’s coming. A palm tree, signifying the victorious life, is rooted deeply in hidden springs and grows prevailingly upward into the air. This signifies the victorious life. In honoring the meek King with whatever they were, the people recognized that He was the One with the victorious life.
Verse 9 says, “And the crowds who went before Him and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” The Hebrew word Hosanna means “save now” (Psa. 118:25). The title “the Son of David” was the royal title of the lowly King. In the warm welcome of the heavenly King, the people shouted out a quotation from Psalm 118: “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 26). According to Psalm 118, only the One who came in the name of the Lord was qualified to be praised in such a way. Thus, the spontaneous praise of the people sovereignly indicated that this meek King came not in His own name, but in the name of Jehovah. Those who welcomed the King indicated through their praise that He was the One sent by the Lord, thus the One who came in the name of the Lord.
When the heavenly King entered into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, but the crowd still said, “This is the prophet Jesus, who is from Nazareth of Galilee” (v. 11). On the one hand, the crowds praised Him as the Son of David, the One who comes in the name of the Lord; on the other hand, some still recognized Him in a natural way as a prophet from a despised city.
Verse 12 says, “And Jesus entered into the temple and cast out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling the doves.” When the Lord entered the city of Jerusalem, the first thing He did was cleanse the temple. Any earthly king, upon entering the capital, would immediately have ascended to the throne. But the Lord did not do this because He was not for His own interests, but for God’s interests. His heart was not for His kingdom, but for God’s house.
It is the same in principle with us today. When we welcome the Lord into us as our King, He does not go immediately to the throne; rather, He goes to our spirit and cleanses it. Many of us have experienced this. When we received the Lord as life, we also received Him as the King. On the day He came into us to be our life and our King, He did not enthrone Himself, but cleansed God’s temple, which today is our spirit, the habitation of God (Eph. 2:22).
Our spirit should be a house of prayer, but because of the fall it has been made a den of robbers. But when Jesus comes into us He drives all the robbers away and cleanses the temple of our spirit. After the cleansing, the Lord healed the blind and the lame in the temple (v. 14). This indicates that His cleansing of the temple causes people to have the sight to see and the strength to move. It is the same with us today. Verse 15 says that the children were “crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David.” At least a few times the Gospel of Matthew mentions children, for this book stresses that the kingdom people need to become as children. Only those who have become children will praise God. This was after the healing of the blind and the lame. When our blindness and lameness are healed, we also shall praise the Lord as little children.
The stubborn chief priests and scribes were indignant, even after they saw the wonders the lowly King performed. Their indignation was due to their pride and jealousy, which blinded them from seeing any vision concerning the heavenly King.
Verse 17 says, “And leaving them, He went out of the city to Bethany and lodged there.” In His last visit to Jerusalem, the Lord remained there only during the day for His ministry. Every evening He departed to lodge in Bethany, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives (Mark 11:19; Luke 21:37), where the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and the house of Simon were (John 11:1; Matt. 26:6). In Jerusalem He was rejected by the leaders of Judaism, but in Bethany He was welcomed by His lovers.
After the Lord Jesus comes into us and cleanses our spirit, we may sense that He leaves us, just as He left Jerusalem for Bethany after cleansing the temple. The Lord may come into you, cleanse your spirit, which is the temple of God, and leave for another place. Perhaps you will say, “This is not my experience. My experience is that after the Lord Jesus has cleansed my spirit, He stays with me.” If this is your experience, then you must be one of the lovers of Jesus like Mary, Martha, Lazarus, or Simon. However, after many Christians receive Christ into them and experience His cleansing of their spirit, they do not love Him. Thus, in their experience the Lord leaves them to lodge in another place, a place called Bethany.
According to the New Testament, Bethany is the place of the Lord’s lovers. In the New Testament we read of two houses in Bethany: the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and the house of Simon the leper. All these dear ones were lovers of the Lord Jesus. During the last week of His life on earth, He went every day into Jerusalem, but every night He went out of Jerusalem and lodged in Bethany. Jerusalem was the place where He was examined, tested, and slaughtered; but Bethany was His lodging place.
In a very definite sense, today’s religion is a Jerusalem to the Lord Jesus; it is not His lodging place. The lovers of Christ are not in Jerusalem, but in Bethany. Are you in Jerusalem or in Bethany? We should not be the Jerusalem people, but the Bethany lovers. If you are among the Jerusalem people, Jesus will come to be tested and examined by you. But if you are among His lovers in Bethany, He will come to lodge with you. If the Lord Jesus comes into you and cleanses your spirit, yet you still do not love Him, it means that you remain among the Jerusalem people. You are not one of the Bethany lovers. Although He cleanses the temple in Jerusalem, He does not lodge there. Rather, He goes out of the city to lodge in Bethany. How meaningful this is!
Verse 18 says, “Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He was hungry.” This signified that the Lord was hungry for fruit from the children of Israel that God might be satisfied.
Verse 19 says, “And seeing one fig tree on the way, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves only.” Just as the eagle is a symbol of the United States, so the fig tree here is a symbol of the nation of Israel (Jer. 24:2, 5, 8). The fig tree the Lord saw was full of leaves but fruitless, signifying that at that time the nation of Israel was full of outward show, but had nothing that could satisfy God. According to the Bible, leaves are an outward show, but the fruit is something real and solid to satisfy God and man. At that time, the Lord Jesus came from God to Israel hungry for some fruit to satisfy God’s hunger. However, instead of fruit. He found only leaves.
Verse 19 also says, “And He says to it, Let there no longer be fruit from you forever. And the fig tree was instantly dried up.” This signifies the curse on the nation of Israel. From that time, the nation of Israel was truly dried up. According to history, from the last few days the Lord Jesus was on earth, there has been a curse upon the nation of Israel. As we shall see, the fig tree is mentioned again in chapter twenty-four, where the fig tree signifies the restoration of Israel, which took place in 1948.
According to our experience, we can testify that first the meek King comes into us, and we welcome Him. However, He comes in not to be enthroned, but to cleanse the temple of God, because He cares for God’s house. Caring also for God’s satisfaction, He desires fruit from God’s people. But most of His people cannot afford Him any fruit. As a result, they are dried up. Many of us have experienced this. The meek King came into us, we welcomed Him, and He cleansed the temple of God. But because we did not bear fruit, we were dried up. Perhaps you will say, “Isn’t the Lord merciful and gracious? Since He is merciful and gracious, how could He curse us in such a way?” Nevertheless, when we do not bear fruit, we are dried up.
Most Christians today have become dried up. Although they have welcomed the heavenly King and He has cleansed their temple, they have no fruit for God’s satisfaction, and thus they are dried up. How many Christians today are living and bearing fruit? Very few. Whenever someone is dried up, his spirit does not function. Hence, there is no temple and no fruit, no proper worship and no satisfaction to God.
The concern of the meek King is for God’s house and God’s satisfaction. He cleanses us that we may offer proper worship to God, and He deals with us that we may bear fruit for God’s satisfaction. In the practical kingdom life in the church today, Christ must be welcomed as the King. Then He must cleanse God’s temple, that is, He must purify our spirit. Then we, as the kingdom people, shall bear fruit for God’s satisfaction. Otherwise, we shall be cursed until the day of restoration. This was the situation with the nation of Israel when the Lord was on earth, and it is the situation among Christians today. Because the nation of Israel was dried up, the kingdom was taken away from them and given to another people. If we are not cleansed in our spirit to offer God the proper worship and to bear fruit for His satisfaction, the kingdom will also be taken away from us and given to others.
Verses 20 through 22 indicate that the Lord cursed the fig tree by faith. Faith can move the frustrating mountain through believing prayer.
