Putting Lipstick on a Pig - aka Paying Lip Service
Matthew 21:10-11
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
And so it begins, the salvation of the people as promised in the Psalm has come to Jerusalem. He comes humbly riding on a donkey, again as prophesied (Zechariah 9:9, Isaiah 62:11).
Psalm 118:26
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord."
The people are celebrating, Jesus is cleansing and healing them. The children are crying out with joy and singing "Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest heaven!" It's a beautiful celebration for the promised Messiah has come to save his people. And the chief priests are having none of it.
Matthew 21:15
When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that he did and the children shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant.
Almost as if he was trying to antagonize them, Jesus goes into the temple and overturns the tables of the money changers and those who sold sacrifices there. He does this because they've polluted the temple with their corrupt commerce.
After spending all day in the temple completely stirring up both joy and anger, Jesus retreats for the night to the town of Bethany, probably spent the night with his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus there in their home.
The next morning Jesus illustrates to his disciples a lesson about giving lip service in your religion. He spy's a lone fig tree along the road that had no fruit upon it. If you've ever owned a fig tree, you'd know that they bear fruit prolifically. But for whatever reason this particular tree was nothing but green leaves. And so to illustrate this lesson Jesus causes it to immediately wither and die.
If you're confused, don't worry it's okay to wonder at this, even the disciples couldn't figure it. But stick with me. File this for a moment and let's move on to a little later that day.
Jesus gets into the city and the temple again, and the chief priests and elders come to him and challenge his authority to do the things he's doing. We've been down this road before. Often really, seems like this is the main sticking point with them. And even today we see this erudite arrogance and contempt for the common people.
So, Jesus tests them with a pop quiz about the source of power and authority that leaders, prophets and preachers have. They fail to answer and so Jesus refuses to answer them because their understanding about spiritual matters is guided only by their politics and political correctness. They have no real power to know the will of God, they have no relationship with The Father. They are erudite political animals, not spiritual people at all. It's all for show. These priests see themselves as superior to the people in all things. They believe they are closer to God by virtue of their station, and so they lord it over them.
And as is his habit, Jesus catches the attention of his disciples and begins to tell them about a parable within earshot of the Chief Priests. Jesus is really speaking to the Chief Priests and elders. Jesus tells them a story about a man who had two sons. One refuses to help his father in the vineyard but relents and eventually he does help. And the other son promises to help but ultimately doesn't keep his promise.
Jesus then turns to the Priests and elders and says,
Matthew 21:31-32
"Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him."
Now look back at that fig tree.
Who is the fig tree?
If you said the chief priests and elders, you'd be right. They promise fruit with all their leafy greenness, but when you come to them, they have nothing. And so, they are good for nothing. They are only good for cutting and burning on the fire.
And if this isn't enough evidence of their worthless religion, Jesus again tells a parable. Again we're studying the theology of fruit production. A man builds a vineyard. He does everything right to set it up for success. He builds fences to protect it from animals. He builds a watchtower so enemies cannot easily approach it. He builds a wine press and hires farmers and winemakers to manage it for him while he's away. And he trusts these men to keep his business thriving.
When the time comes to make a profit, he sends his servant to collect it. Three times he sends servants, but the farm managers beat them, stoned them and killed one of them. The vineyard owner continues to send servants and again they abuse them.
Matthew 21:37-39
Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Imagine the intensity of this moment. Jesus is facing his own death at the hands of these Chief Priests. He's telling them that he knows what they're about. They are the evil farmers who killed the son. And to make matters worse, they know it too.
Matthew 21:45
"When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew he was speaking about them."
Jesus just told them that whoever rejects the Son will be like that fig tree. They'll be rejected, withered, "broken to pieces", and whatever they have will be given to others who will obey the Son.
Matthew 21:41
“He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told him, “And lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his fruit at the harvest.”
Jesus hits home with this message. He's teaching us all that greatness in the kingdom has nothing to do with your education, status, or power. Rather, it involves submission to the will of God, even if this submission includes suffering. The Son, Jesus himself, models this. He modeled it in how he enters the city, in healing and serving the needs of the people, and in sacrificing himself for the salvation of those who love God.
And the chief lesson in all of this is that God demands actual sincere obedience to the faith. He doesn't tolerate lip service. He demands a faith that bears fruit for the kingdom. He demands it and backs up that demand with consequences for disobedience. God is establishing his kingdom rule and will work that out through the community of believers known as "the church", the people who obey Him and abide in Him through faith.
Jesus indicates this rule for the church first in the fig tree, then with the vineyard farmers, and finally with the parable of the wedding feast Matthew 22:1-14.
But let's save that one for the next time.
God bless you today, and as you go about your day, reflect upon this lesson about bearing fruit. Examine all you do spiritually throughout the day. And ask yourself what fruits you are giving, what fruits you are taking, and how you have obeyed the Son today.
#discipleshipmatters