The King Is Coming

Amid the questions and the chaos swirling around Jesus, the crowds were partially right in their assessment of His identity. In verse 11 they referred to Him as the "prophet Jesus," which reminds us that He is the prophetic King. This statement may not seem noteworthy, but in the context of Matthew's Gospel it is incredibly significant. Matthew 21 gives us a glimpse of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, as the perfect prophet, priest, and king. We've already seen Him depicted as King (Matt 21:5), and soon Matthew will portray Jesus in a priestly role in the temple (vv. 12-16), foreshadowing the new way to God He will make for sinners. Likewise, Jesus is a prophet, for He is God's Word revealed to men in the flesh (John 1:1, 14).

In addition to His various roles, Jesus is also unique in terms of His character. There are many things we could say about Jesus' character, but first and foremost He is the holy King. Another prophecy made around 500 years before Jesus came witnesses to Christ's holiness and purity. Based on the prophecy in Mal 3:1-4, the Jewish people expected the Messiah to come and purify the temple and the people of Jerusalem. Here is what we read:

Malachi speaks of God's messenger restoring the worship life of the people of God and purifying the priests. But once again, Jesus fulfills these expectations in a way the people never could have expected. He walked into a scene where people were bustling in the outer court of the temple, known also as the court of the Gentiles, a place for the nations to meet with God in worship, praise, and prayer. Instead of such worship, however, Jesus found a commercial business filled with scores of people selling sacrifices and exchanging money. People were282 profiting off of one another and even taking advantage of one another, all while ignoring the purpose of the temple. So Jesus, in righteous anger, drove them all out, overturning their tables and their seats (Matt 21:12). He said to them, "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer.' But you are making it a den of thieves!" In Isaiah 56:7, God says that His house will be called a "house of prayer for all nations." Yet here in Matthew 21, the people of God were preventing the nations from praying.

In the second part of verse 13, Jesus says that God's house has been made into a "den of thieves." This is likely a reference to Jeremiah 7:10, a temple address in which God disciplined His people for offering ritual sacrifices while living in total disobedience to Him. Jeremiah's wider context is worth quoting here:

God's people were offering worship in Jeremiah's day, yet they did not behave in obedience to God. Jesus walked into a similar situation in Matthew 21, and as a holy King, He came to cleanse and to purify God's temple. This hideout for criminals against God needed to be restored to a house of prayer for God. Jesus does not deal with sin lightly, but in righteous anger. This leads to the next attribute of Jesus.

Jesus has the right to cleanse the temple because He is the authoritative King. In this chapter and the chapters that follow, Jesus' authority is put on display. This section of Matthew's Gospel has been referred to as Jesus' final break with Judaism, for He takes the religious leaders of Jerusalem head-on, making claims that they considered blasphemous—claims that would lead them to crucify Him. Consider four different aspects of the authority Jesus demonstrates in this text.

First, He has authority over the temple. Jesus had made clear in Matthew 12:6 that He is greater than the temple. Indeed, He is Lord of the temple, and He has the right to do in it whatever He desires, including throwing it into disarray. It must have been quite shocking for Jewish leaders who prided themselves in religious practices at the temple to283 have Jesus come in and turn it upside down. Who does He think He is? Is He in charge of this place? Yes, as a matter of fact, He is.

Second, He has authority over disease. This is not only a scene of righteous anger, but of divine compassion. Some were welcomed into the temple, including the blind and the lame, individuals who would often sit at the temple and beg for help. These individuals were restricted from going into the actual temple area, being confined to the outer courts (Carson, Matthew, 442). But Jesus did not cast them out; He cared for them and healed them (v. 14). This is the only miracle of healing in Matthew's Gospel that Jesus performs in Jerusalem. He is King, not only over kings, nations, and religious leaders, but also over disease. It's no coincidence that when heaven is described in the book of Revelation, the picture is very temple-like, and there, in the presence of Jesus and the worship of God, there is no sickness, disease, hurt, or pain (Rev 21).

Third, in addition to Christ's authority over the temple and over disease, He has authority over all people. Children in the temple cried out, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (v. 15). It's a real problem for these religious leaders when children all over the temple begin shouting, "Save us, Messiah!" Indignantly, the chief priests and scribes asked Jesus, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" (v. 16). How could Jesus stand there and accept such blasphemous praise? Jesus responded to them by quoting Psalm 8:2: "You have prepared praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants" (Matt 21:16). Psalm 8 is all about praising God, and it begins, "Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!" (Ps 8:1). Jesus is deliberately accepting praise that God alone is due.

Fourth, in Jesus' cursing of the fig tree we see that He has authority over all creation. Though Mark tells us this wasn't the season for figs (Mark 11:13), this fig tree had leaves, which usually indicates that fruit is there. But Jesus found no fruit on this tree, so He cursed it, not because He was angry at it, but in order to make a point.

The cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree are closely related; in fact, Mark brackets the story of the temple cleansing with references to the fig tree (Mark 11:12-25) to make the same point. Jesus was commenting on the religious life and worship of God's people, particularly Israel's leadership. They had leaves, so to speak, on the outside, but on the inside there was no real fruit. There was a lot of man-centered religious activity completely devoid of God-centered spiritual productivity. These spiritually dead individuals claimed to worship God284 in the temple, all the while rejecting Jesus, who was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14), the new and greater temple (John 2:19). Jesus had no tolerance for such hollow worship and hypocritical religion.

To summarize what we've seen so far, Matthew is presenting Jesus as a royal figure. He is the coming King, and this is presented in two stages. He came the first time humbly riding on a colt, bringing peace through His shed blood. That was His purpose for coming to Jerusalem—to rescue sinners. He came to be crucified as King, not to deliver Israel from the power of Rome, as so many thought the Messiah would do. He came to deliver all people everywhere from the power of sin.

In Revelation 19 Jesus is no longer pictured coming on a donkey, but on a warhorse. Here is John's vision of the coming King:

King Jesus came the first time humbly riding on a colt, but He will come the second time sovereignly reigning on a horse. That final day will be very different from the one we see in Matthew 21. If you have not already given your allegiance to this King on that last day, it will be too late. He will come not to rescue sinners but to rule sinners. He will not come to be crucified as King; He will come to be crowned as King.

Matthew 21:20-22

There are a number of exhortations for us based on what we've seen so far in Matthew 21. First, let us give Jesus praise. That praise begins as you gladly surrender to this King today. Second, let us prioritize prayer. Praying to God was one of the purposes of God's house, the temple, in285 the Old Testament, and though God doesn't dwell in a physical building today, He inhabits His people. We need to continually seek this King every day through prayer. In a day when we are bombarded with Christian commercialism, consumerism, and materialism, when our religion is filled with so much stuff and so much activity, let us not neglect to commune with God through Jesus the King. Third, let us bear fruit in our lives. We don't want to be like Israel of old, having all the signs of outward religion, but lacking real spiritual fruit. Jesus curses superficial religion throughout the Gospel of Matthew and throughout Scripture. He hates profession without practice. We shouldn't have songs on our lips without surrender in our lives, for we cannot separate outward acts from inward affection. This King desires—and deserves—more than hollow worship and hypocritical religion. Let us be on guard as a result of this text, and let us bear fruit in keeping with faith.

After all of these things, Jesus uses the cursing of the fig tree (based on the cleansing of the temple) to bring the discussion back to prayer in verses 20-22. Jesus speaks of telling a mountain to be lifted up and thrown into the sea. This is obviously a figurative expression to illustrate a spiritual reality. The point is not that we must muster up enough faith; rather, the point is that if we have faith in God, then we will receive what we ask, even when something seems too difficult, humanly speaking. What seems impossible to us is possible with God in prayer.

In these verses the verbs are all plural, so while these truths certainly apply to individuals, Jesus is specifically giving this promise to the community of disciples. So what is your church asking God for that can only be accomplished by His power? Have you asked Him to give you an impact on nations, such that He alone gets the glory? These are prayers that God will answer. If we ask and believe, we will receive these things, so let us have faith as His church. We have every reason to be confident in Jesus, no matter what lies ahead. This King can—and will—do the impossible when we ask.