Matthew chapter 21, NKJV titles:

  • The Triumphal Entry
  • Jesus Cleanses the Temple
  • The Fig Tree Withered
  • The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree
  • Jesus’ Authority Questioned
  • The Parable of the Two Sons
  • The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

The gospels: NOT a series of chronological and disconnected stories with no relation to one another. There’s a connection and a progression.

The withered fig tree connects to the stories that come before and that follow. The most obvious connection is “fruit”

The lesson Jesus seems to give is the “fruit” – or results – of faith: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to curse fig trees and move mountains:

“Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (vv. 21,22)

BUT … both the following stories take place in the vineyard:

  • The fruit of obeying the father’s command, rather than the agreement to obey.
  • The wicked vinedressers

Finally, the chief priests and Pharisees get the message:

“Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.” (Matthew 21:45,46)

The entry into Jerusalem, clearing of the temple, the fig tree, the parables, all relate to THEIR SPIRITUAL STATE.

Fig and VINE – WHY different fruit?

“… the “vine” is used in the Word to signify spiritual good, and the “fig-tree” natural good …” (Arcana Caelestia, 217)

Fig – natural actions:

  • What you can see and measure
  • What the chief priests and pharisees are doing in spades

Vine – spiritual good:

  • The intelligence that lies behind it (and beyond that, the love, motivation, intention)

What does any of this have to do with finding fulfilment?

JESUS’ AUTHORITY QUESTIONED (vv. 23-27): “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (verse 23)

Jesus wasn’t saying anything new. He wasn’t creating a problem for a religious system that was working, He was exposing its flaws.

Ahab said to [Elijah], “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.” (1 Kings 18:17,18)

A HARD LESSON: What is in the Heart IS ALREADY FULFILLED! If the results you want aren’t there, or aren’t working, you HAVE TO LOOK at what lies behind them.

“Let no one suppose, therefore, that the Lord dwells in those who merely adore Him, but that He dwells in those who do His commandments, thus who do things of use.” (DLW 335)

There is a difference between loving to do God’s Will, and loving the IDEA of doing God’s Will. We are a mess of – sometimes contradictory – loves.

Our challenge is to bring that mess into alignment with what we say we want. If we look at our lives with dissatisfaction, you can KNOW where the problem lies.

“… love and wisdom apart from use are only abstractions of the mind, which fade away unless they are applied to use.” (TCR 67)

Think about SUCCESS, and what success means:

  • We are attracted to the IDEA of success, what we see as the EFFECTS of success,
  • We are not at all interested in what success actually requires – the hard work, the dedication, the single minded pursuit of the thing we want to be successful in
  • Because in all this talk of success, we’ve forgotten that in order to be successful, one has to be dedicated to some ideal MORE than one is dedicated to success

How do you find fulfilment? Success?

  • PURPOSE: Find the thing that we are actually going to fulfil, and dedicate our lives to that principle.
  • PUT ASIDE THE DISTRACTIONS – it’s easy to waste time!
  • SET ASIDE IDEAS OF FULFILMENT AND SUCCESS – they are themselves distractions!
  • TO BE OF “USE” – work single mindedly towards that goal.

EXAMPLE – Testing and reporting in education – what are their purpose?

  • If it’s proving who’s the best, then you’ve missed the point. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE “BEST”!
  • It’s about finding how to improve on what you’ve learned, how to get even better at what you do – for the students and for the teacher
  • Make a mistake? Fail? Learn from it, move on, and do it better next time.

IN EVERY ENDEAVOUR, to look or feel successful, fulfilled, happy, the answer is NOT TO SEEK success, fulfilment, or happiness.These CAN ONLY ever be byproducts of other, deeper processes, commitment to a value greater than self. TO BE OF USE.

Recorded on Sunday 7 January 2024