One of the strange elements we’ve seen at times in Matthew’s gospel that has required explanation along the way is Jesus’ desire, it has seemed, to keep his identity, power, and authority a secret. For example, in Matthew 9:30, after opening the eyes of two blind men, Matthew tells us, “And Jesus sternly warned them, ‘See that no one knows about it.’” Then, after Peter boldly confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Matthew tells us only a few verses later, “Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (16:20).
To this point, you might get the feeling at these moments that Jesus has a certain shyness or embarrassment about his identity or is hesitant to walk in the authority that he possesses as God’s promised Messiah. Maybe he just wants to lay low, not draw attention to himself, and not stir up too much unrest.
And then you get to Matthew 21. Here we see that those conclusions could not be further from the truth. Matthew 21 screams to us that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah (the God-man), who knows his authority, demands obedience, and brings blessing or judgment in accordance with our response to him. Everything in our text this morning stands in complete contrast to Jesus keeping his identity and works a secret. It simply had not been time for the confrontation that would lead to Jesus’ death to begin. But now, Jesus does not hold back. He happily receives the crowd’s praise, willingly lets them declare his greatness, walks into the temple in a very pointed “there’s a new sheriff in town” kind of way, and takes any challenges head on, even initiating the confrontation himself.
If Matthew’s gospel began by focusing on the identity and mission of Jesus, so he brings us back to that point again as Jesus begins the last week of his life. Therefore, this morning I want us to see again who Jesus is, what he demands, and why our response to him is so important. First, then, we see that,
The first place we see this clearly is in verses 1-11, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It’s called the triumphal entry because the crowds are heralding him their Messiah and king, spreading their cloaks or branches on the road for the donkey on which he was riding to step, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (v. 9). The people were praising Jesus as the promised Messiah, the one whom the Lord promised David in 2 Samuel 7 would come from his line and reign as king over an everlasting kingdom. These people were identifying Jesus as God’s long-promised King in the line of David—the Messiah!
So, it’s clear enough that the people were proclaiming that Jesus was (and is) the promised Messiah, but people have been wrong before. But there are two elements that show that it wasn’t simply the people proclaiming that Jesus was the promised Messiah but Jesus who was happily declaring himself to be the long-promised Messiah as well. The first of these is simply that Jesus did nothing to refute or rebuke their cries. He very easily could have said, “No, I’m not the promised king who is to come and reign over God’s kingdom forever. I’m just a man from Nazareth.” But he didn’t. He happily received this declaration of who he was from the crowd.
But the second is perhaps even more powerful. Jesus came riding in on the colt of a donkey. And Matthew tells us that by doing so, he was fulfilling prophecy. Specifically Matthew tells us that Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy from Zechariah 9:9, where the prophet declared, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
Now, this was a clear prophecy about the coming Messiah. In fact, it appears in a section of Zechariah where the prophet tells us that this coming king would “rule from sea to sea” (Zech 9:10). But here’s the big deal in this. Jesus was the one who orchestrated this whole thing. We read in verses 1-3 that Jesus had obviously already set this whole thing up to get a donkey and her colt so that he might ride in on the colt (the mother was probably there to keep the colt calm). He had worked all of the details out so that this moment might take place. In other words, this wasn’t some accidental situation where Jesus ends up being in a position where he is presented as the promised Messiah, who would enter Jerusalem on a donkey. This was Jesus’ very design. Far from keeping his identity a secret, he was putting it out there for all to see. He was (and is) God’s promised Messiah.
But there’s one other detail to keep in mind about the promised Messiah in the Old Testament. Yes, he was to come through David’s line, as we heard read earlier in our service from 2 Samuel 7. And this is why the crowd was saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
However, as you continue through the Old Testament, the promised Son of David seems to become bigger than any man. Isaiah speaks in chapter 9 of the Messiah coming, saying that this one would reign “on the throne of David and over his kingdom,” (Is 9:7), but he also calls him, “Mighty God.” The Messiah would clearly be from David’s line, but also (according to Psalm 110:1) he would be David’s Lord. Thus, the Messiah must be the fully human offspring from David’s line and be one for whom it would be fitting to bear the very title of “God.” This is why we refer to Jesus as the God-man. Being the promised Messiah demands no less than this one who had both a fully divine and fully human nature.
However, just in case you don’t want to follow that argument, Matthew argues for Jesus’ deity even more clearly in verses 12-17. As Jesus goes into the temple and begins “cleaning house,” if you will, some children begin to cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” And the chief priests and scribes, whose tasks were to oversee the worship and goings-on in the temple became indignant, saying to Jesus, “Do you hear what these are saying?” (v. 16).
In other words, they’re saying to Jesus, “These children are declaring you to be nothing less than God’s promised king who would come and reign over his kingdom forever. Therefore, since we think that’s a ludicrous declaration, you should stop them from saying this.” But, Jesus, far from rebuking their praise and thus suggesting he might not be the Messiah, instead doubles down and makes clear that he is the God-man. He answers them, “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise?’” (v. 16).
What’s so amazing about this quotation is that it’s from Psalm 8 where the Lord speaks of babies and infants declaring praise to God. Now, that argument only works if Jesus is declaring that he is himself God, the Son. Jesus’ answer makes absolutely no sense if he is saying less than that.
Therefore, throughout this book of Matthew we’ve seen Jesus keep his identity close to his vest, but now, he is disclosing himself to the world as the Messiah, God’s promised King who would reign from sea to sea, the God-man. Someone may refuse to believe Jesus, but there’s no mistaking that he’s making very clear that this is who he is. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the God-man.
But we don’t only see who Jesus is in this text, we also see what he demands, specifically we see that,
Now, if you think that Jesus’ self-disclosure of his identity in his actions and words is a bit bold, just wait till you see what he does next. Matthew tells us that after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus enters the temple and “drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons,” saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers’” (vv. 12-13).
Again, to this point in the book, you might not expect Jesus to do this. Sure, he’d have arguments with those he confronted and always came out on top. But this wasn’t just out-smarting and out-arguing his opponents. He’s driving people out of the temple, overturning tables and seats. This isn’t a Precious Moments figurine set. This is a violent action of judgment. What’s going on?
Well, first let’s examine why these money changers and sellers of animals were there in the courtyard of the temple in the first place. At this time of year individuals traveled to the temple from very long distances in order to pay the temple tax and offer sacrifices. However, it would be very inconvenient to bring the sacrificial animals with them for the journey, so individuals would sell animals at the temple site itself.
Moreover, the temple tax would be paid in a particular currency that individuals might not have, so money-changers would set up stations for currency exchange. Thus, each of these actions (changing out currency and selling animals) was a service. So, what was wrong?
Well, here’s the problem. By setting up these things in the area known as the Court of the Gentiles, which was an area where people from all nations could come and pray to the one true God, these merchants and money-changers were actually inhibiting the very thing that God established this area of the temple for—prayer! Thus, Jesus notes that what God intended to be a house of prayer they had turned into a den of robbers (which may also hint at the possibility that these men were also seeking to profit off of these who had traveled long distance to worship at the temple).
In other words, Jesus is not only bothered by the fact that the chief priests, who were to oversee the worship at the temple, weren’t ensuring that prayer was able to happen in the Court of the Gentiles, Jesus sees himself in a position of authority to be able to do something about it. That is, he doesn’t simply ask the chief priests to correct the problem; he goes and knocks over tables and drives out the merchants himself.
He, as God’s Messiah, who is jealous for God’s glory demands sincere obedience to God’s Word. It is not enough to reason that you are doing a good thing (as the merchants and money-changers might have reasoned). Jesus demands precise and sincere obedience to God’s Word.
And we can also adds that he demands belief in himself as God’s Son. We’re told in verse 23 that as Jesus entered the temple again “the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” Now, in light of what Jesus had just done in the temple courtyard, this is a reasonable question, isn’t it? They’re no doubt thinking, “Who does this guy think he is, acting like he owns the place?”
But Jesus, instead of answering their question in a straightforward fashion, instead asks them a question, saying, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things” (v. 24). And here’s the question he asked them: “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” Now, by what they do shows us why he answers their question with this question.
Earlier in Matthew I compared Jesus’ enemies to those on a quick recall team who huddle together after Jesus asks them a question and reason among themselves why they don’t know what to answer because he’s got them again. Well, that’s what happens here. The chief priests and elders get together and discuss the question, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.’” Therefore, after all their discussion, they come back with the answer, “We do not know.” So, Jesus answers, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (v. 27).
You see, the reason why Jesus refused to answer them is because they weren’t in a position of seeking truth so that they might even bow down and worship Jesus upon hearing that he acted with the authority of God. They had already established themselves in a position of unbelief. They weren’t seeking to know the truth, believe God, and obey. They were simply looking to build up themselves.
That’s what the question about John revealed. They weren’t sincerely discussing what might be the answer to Jesus’ question. They were discussing what would help them look best, realizing ultimately that no answer would. Jesus was revealing that their problem wasn’t that they didn’t know the obvious answer to the question they were asking but that they refused to believe what was obviously true – Jesus is the promised Son of David, God’s promised Messiah and king.
In other words, Jesus is showing not only who he is, but he is also showing in this text that he demands belief and obedience to his Word. As the God-man, he must be believed and he must be obeyed. Again, Jesus leaves us no wiggle-room on this point.
And this is crucial for us to remember when we live in a world where the culture around us seems to want to try to be wiser than God at every point. They want to redefine what is right and wrong, good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable. And the thought is that should surely approve of our choices. But the witness of the Bible is that Jesus is Lord and demands belief in him and obedience to his Word. This isn’t a picture of Jesus asking for suggestions but demanding obedience. And to craft Jesus as something less than one who demands faith in him and obedience to him from every man on the face of the earth is to craft Jesus in some image that we want him to fit, not in accordance with the Scripture.
This, then, brings us to our final note from the text, namely, that,
We’ve already seen that Jesus perfectly fits the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Well, in one of these prophecies of God’s coming king, his Son, from Psalm 2:12 we read, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.” Yes, Jesus deals gently with us as seek to obey in our weakness, but he will not ultimately tolerate unbelief and rebellion.
He illustrates this with a fig tree. We read in verses 18-19 that Jesus was hungry as he was returning to Jerusalem (as each night he retreated to Bethany), but that was okay because he saw a fig tree that had leaves on it. Now, Mark tells us in his parallel account that it wasn’t the season for figs. So why then would Jesus approach this tree, looking for fruit? The answer is because it had leaves.
You see, typically, the tree would leaf out like this in conjunction with the arrival of figs. This tree, however, had leafed out but had no figs. Something has caused it to leaf out prematurely. Therefore, Jesus uses it as an object lesson. After inspecting it for fruit and seeing that it had none, he cursed the tree so that, Matthew tells us, “It withered at once” (v. 19).
Now, what’s the point? Well, it was a parable of sorts. Jerusalem was filled with all kinds of appearance of religious life all around, but when you looked closely, what was missing was the fruit of obedience to the Lord and his Word. Consequently, the Lord was going to bring judgment. They advertised fruit from a distance but had no fruit, just as this fig tree. Therefore, though a seemingly harsh action in cursing this tree, it was a gracious warning of what was to come. Jesus, as God’s promised King, will bring judgment on all who do not believe and obey him.
On the other hand, as the disciples wonder at Jesus’ power in cursing the fig tree so that it withered at once, Jesus tells them that this power will be available to them through prayer. He says, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (vv. 21-22).
Now, this isn’t Jesus promising to us that if we work up ourselves into a position of mind over matter, we can ask and get anything we want. Still less is it Jesus affirming that if we lack health or wealth when we’ve asked for healing or provision in prayer, we only have our doubting selves to blame. That is an abusive reading of this text that has been used for evil. Jesus is simply saying that inasmuch as we pray in accordance with his will (as revealed to us in his Word) we have access to amazing power and will see the Lord do through our prayers things much greater than the withering of a fig tree.
Don Carson tells a story about praying with a friend one Monday night for a girl they knew named Diane, who had been diagnosed with leukemia. She’d written Don to ask him for prayer, but as Carson recounts, “her letter overflowed with bitterness, fear, self-pity, anger.” As Don and his colleague then gathered to pray for her, they looked at the Word and noted that God has promised to keep and preserve his people. Therefore, they gathered that night and prayed that the Lord would fulfill his promises in regards to Diane. Mold her in accord to the image of Christ, strengthen her for obedience.
Carson writes, “That was Monday night. Thursday I received a letter from Diane, written on Tuesday. She said she had awakened with joy, and found herself singing hymns. She had come to find rest, deep rest, in the Lord’s perfect will; and she was looking forward to going home to be with him, if that was what he wanted. Diane’s letter suffused a deep love for and a resting faith in the Lord Jesus. She died a few weeks later, but not before she exercised a remarkable influence in that hospital.”1
Seeing a woman filled with bitterness, fear, self-pity, and anger at a fatal diagnosis turned into a woman with joy, singing hymns, at rest in the Lord, and ready to go be with him if he desired—that’s that blessed power through prayer that Jesus has promised to those who believe and obey him.
So, I know this truth is simple. Jesus is who he claimed to be. He’s the promised Messiah, the God-man. He demands that we believe in him and obey him. And if we believe and obey, he blesses us with forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and experiencing his divine power as we walk with him in prayer. And if we refuse to believe and obey, we will face his judgment.
I doubt that this is anything most of you didn’t already know when you walked into this building today. But in a world with all kinds of pressures to turn from our Lord, try to be wiser than he is, and try to do and believe other than what he’s commanded us to do and believe our knees may well start to buckle. But the one who lived, died, and was raised for us was gracious enough to make us come face-to-face again and again in his Word with the truth of who he is, what he demands, and why his demands are so important to us. Therefore, let us corporately and visibly proclaim once more this morning as we come to the table, that our answer to the Lord is, “We’ve heard you Word, and we will obey in faith, by your grace. Amen.”