Title Matthew 21:18-22 Jesus' Nudge
Contents
Matthew 21:18-22 Jesus' Nudge
- We are looking at the events that took place in the last week of the Lord's life. The text we are going to look at today is what happened when he entered Jerusalem on a donkey on Sunday, toured the temple in Jerusalem with his disciples, returned to Bethany, stayed for one night, and the next day, Monday morning, when he and his disciples visited Jerusalem again. is. It was early in the morning, so I guess I didn't eat breakfast in order not to bother the owner of the house. On the way, he saw a fig tree with a lot of leaves and came to him and looked for fruit, but there was no fruit. Then he suddenly said to the tree that you will not bear fruit from now on forever, but the tree withered away. The disciples who watched this were so amazing, how could this be possible to the Lord? asked. The Lord said, “Not only this, but if you have faith and have no doubts, you may say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea. Whatever you ask in prayer, believing and asking, you will receive it.” Let's take a look at the lessons from this text.
- I came across a book last week. The title of the book is “Nudge.” The word nudge means “to poke at the elbow.” It gently guides people's decision-making in the desired direction, but at a very high level that freedom of choice is still reserved for that person. An example of a urinal at the Amsterdam Airport is a fly sticker on every male urinal at the airport. It is said that with this idea, the amount of urine leaking out of the urinal can be reduced by 80%. There were no warnings to keep toilets clean, or even instructions to target flies, without any bans or incentives, with a proper understanding of human behavior to achieve the desired results. I thought that the Lord was the master of this nudge. God communicates to us through the Bible. The Bible is full of these nudges. The more you read, the more you can't help but admire the deep intentions of God. is.
- Through this incident, the Lord secretly “nudged” the fact that Israel is a tree with only leaves. Those who should have noticed this did not understand, and it is very unfortunate that we who read this Bible became alert after understanding what this meant.
- Before Jesus appeared, John the Baptist had already appeared and urged us to repent because the kingdom of heaven was near. And the people of Israel heard the message to bear fruit worthy of repentance. But his warning was nothing more than a teacup typhoon. Following that baton, Jesus also strongly urged the nation of Israel to repent. However, all these warnings were mere sutras. Why did they fail to change them despite these warnings? You will need to find the underlying cause for this. The cause lies in the leaves. Because of the leaves on their trees, they had no idea that they were sterile trees and that they would soon be judged.
- God has required a fundamental transformation of our lives. He did not say to a tree that could not bear fruit, why did it not bear fruit, but what the cause was and what the alternative was. That is the new tree, that is, I become a whole new person. This is the repentance and regeneration that the Bible speaks of. It is not a simple repentance and a new determination. The person inside me is changing. It's not just about going to church once a week, participating in worship, paying an offering, singing, and listening to the Word. All of this is pointless and doesn't change me in the slightest unless the axis of my thinking changes. It is only growing more and more rebellious against religion.
- Let me explain in detail. The essence of Christianity is a relationship of love with God. No one has ever loved God, but God first came to us and poured out His love for us. The Bible is the evidence that this God's love for mankind is recorded. However, there are some Christians in their superficial life that are rich in religious practices (= leaves) but have no love for God (= fruits) at all. This behavior is called hypocrisy. The Pharisees were the hypocrite. In other words, they do not love God, but instead cover themselves with religious discipline and zeal. So, what is the evidence that we love God? That is “sharing the heart of God”. When I love someone, I will definitely get this disease. If he gets sick, I get sick too. If he's happy, I'm very happy too. If I love God, I will share the heart of God. You will see those whom God loves with loving eyes. Also, when I love someone, I become like him. If you love God, you will imitate God's disposition.
- If it does not bear these fruits, it is a tree with only lush leaves. This is the Bible's warning against these trees, those who do not bear the fruit of God's character in their character. Matthew 3:10 The ax is already at the root of the trees; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Just like ignoring warnings can lead to major accidents, 40 years later, they will pay the price for not turning away from the warnings of countless prophets and not even listening to the warning of Jesus, the Son of God, who was God's last warning. During the Roman invasion, millions of Jews were slaughtered, and the city of Jerusalem and the Temple of Jerusalem, believed to be a stronghold, were completely burned down. The Lord, who had foreseen this, was looking at this Jerusalem and groaned and wept (cf. Luke 19:41-44 / 19:41 when he came near, saw the city and wept) 19:43 The days will come when your enemies will build up mounds around you and lock you up around you, 19:44 and you and your children in the midst of it will be thrown down to the ground, and not one stone will be left on a stone. No, because you do not know the day of your care).
- All of us have lush leaves of faith. Just as he looked for fruit on a leafy tree, so the Lord checks us to see if there is any fruit. Those who have not given up their attachment to this world and are still living in a meaningless religious life cannot bear the fruits that the Lord seeks. Now we need to calm down and go back to the Bible. This is because the Bible is the channel through which we can meet God and hear His voice most correctly. You can hear his voice. You will discover his passionate love, passion, and plans for me. Only this Bible can make me let go of my vain worldly desires. We must diligently study the Bible to find out the mystery of God's salvation and prepare for the kingdom of God that will soon come on this earth (Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. After a person discovers it, he hides it and rejoices.) and goes back and sells all that he owns and buys the field.) I pray that we all become trees that bear abundant fruit.