The Gospel Of Matthew Chapter 21 Part 5 Resurrection Power And Proper Prayer

Matthew 21:18-20  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. 19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. 20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 

We learned that the barren fig tree is a picture of Jesus examining our lives to see if we are producing fruit for His kingdom.

A fig tree with full foliage but no fruit, pictures a religious hypocrite. 

It is a person who professes faith in Christ or has some external religious appearances but lives just like the corrupt culture that surrounds us.

Those who are barren fig trees are consigned to remaining barren and they will hear the Lord say "Depart from me ye workers of iniquity."

Those fig trees who bear fruit for Christ's kingdom will hear the Lord say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Matthew 21:20-22  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! 21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

Jesus' disciples marvelled at the suddenness of the fig tree's demise saying "How soon is the fig-tree withered away!" 

This helps us understand that the tree did not die over a long period of time from some insect infestation or fungal disease.

Rather, its demise was swift, noticeable and complete.

Genesis 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

Genesis 1:9  And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 

Perhaps the disciple's thoughts returned to the creation narrative where we read "And God said...and it was so" six times in the opening chapter of scripture (See Genesis 1:1-31).

God spoke and whatever He said was done just as He said.

Jesus spoke and this tree withered away quickly just as He commanded.

John 1:1-3  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

John's gospel begins by telling us that Jesus is the Word of God.

He then tells us that Christ, this same Word was with God in the beginning and that He is God. 

He tells us that this Word created in the beginning and that He created all things.

The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus upholds, governs and controls all created things by the Word of His power (See Hebrews 1:1-3).

Thus, Jesus inspected the fig tree for fruit as He had every right to do, since He is creator and sustainer of all life.

He found none and pronounced judgment upon it. 

Jesus' judgment was quickly executed, causing His disciples to be awestruck by the swiftness and severity of Christ's words.

Jesus then tied this aspect of the fig tree's demise to the fervent, effective prayer of a righteous man.

He did this to prepare His disciples for carrying out their apostolic ministry.

Luke 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 

Acts 1:7-8  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Using the fig tree as an example, Jesus demonstrated to His disciples the kind of power they would be given, after His resurrection and ascension.

The texts above contain the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples before He returned to heaven to His Father.

The end of Luke's gospel finds Jesus telling His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they were "endued" with power from on high.

The "endued" means to put on or sink into and is used when Paul tells Christians to "put on" the whole armor of God (See Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:10-20).

Jesus promised that they would receive power from on high, power to perform miracles like Jesus did. 

He promised to give His apostles power to effectively preach the gospel of Christ, and power to withstand all opposition to the gospel.

Genesis 14:18-20  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

This is the very first time we hear the words "most high God" and it is connected with Abraham, the father of our faith.

This God enabled Abraham to take his own 318 armed servants to pursue and overcome much larger armies that took his nephew Lot captive.

Melchisedek, himself a type of Christ, was a king and priest of the most high God.

This most high God blessed Abraham and He is creator and owner of all things in heaven and on earth.

Psalm 7:17  I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

Psalm 9:2  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

The most high God is a God of perfect righteousness and holiness.

He is also the God who is full of lovingkindness toward all who repent of their sins and trust Him for salvation.

All those who know God find true joy and happiness and they respond to His mercy with songs of praise and worship.

Psalm 83:18  That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Those who know the most high God learn of His wonderful name Jehovah, the self existent God who created and sustains all things.

Jehovah most high is the sole source of grace and mercy and the forgiver of sins to those who repent and trust Him.

Jesus' name literally means Jehovah savior.

Psalm 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Those who know the most high God run to Him for He is our strong tower of protection from the storms of life and our evil enemies.

They dwell with Him and He with them and this relationship sustains the believer throughout all trials, troubles and afflictions.

Psalm 92:1  A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

Psalm 92:8  But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore.

The most high God is worthy to receive all worship, honor and blessing because of His mighty salvation for all who trust Him.

It is good for us to give thanks to Him for His daily  providential care and provision for us, and for His never failing love and mercy given to each repentant sinner.

This is the source of power that Jesus speaks of and that His disciples when be responsible to use when the become His apostles who preach the gospel.

Luke 9:1-2  Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2  And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. 

Jesus gave this power to His disciples earlier in his ministry.

He sent them out to preach the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and to confirm preaching the Word with power from on high.

Thus, devils were cast out of afflicted people, and they healed all manner of deformities and diseases.

What kind of power is Jesus talking about?

It is the same power that created all things when God spoke and it was done.

Romans 1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2  (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 

It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Paul says that the gospel of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ is the good news that says Jesus is the Son of God.

The gospel declares this truth with power, the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead.

It is the same power that regenerates the soul of a repentant sinner who trusts Christ.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 

It is the same power that can break through sin hardened hearts like wicked Saul on the road to Damascus and bring him to repentant faith in Jesus Christ (See Acts 9).

Therefore, the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation to all sinners who hear it, believe it, repent and trust Christ.

Preaching the cross of Christ is the power of God to them that are saved (See 1 Corinthians 1:18).

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

It is the same power that makes a new believer in Christ into a brand new creation who can now walk by faith in newness of life with Christ. 

Our old sinful habits, our old circle of sinful friends and our old lust driven pursuits fade away and are replaced with a heavenward orientation.

Matthew 21:21-22  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. 

This power of God is appropriated with an unwavering faith in God. 

All doubt must be removed because doubt leads to unbelief.

Jesus said that this power could cause mountains to be moved from one place to another, if that was the will of God.

This is the apostolic power granted to Christ's chosen disciples on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came and the church was born.

This power enabled the apostles to preach the gospel in foreign languages that they never learned.

Acts 3:4-8  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5  And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God

This power enabled them to do many miracles, to heal the sick, make lame people to walk again, and even to raise the dead as Jesus did.

Peter and John encountered a certain man who was born lame, and was reduced to begging for alms at the Temple entrance.

Peter and John turned to this man and said "Look on us" and the man did, hoping to receive some alms.

Peter commanded the man born lame to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus and he did!

He was immediately healed and leaped up, walked and gave loud and long praises to God!

Mark 16:19-20  So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20  And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. 

There is a clear purpose for this kind of power.

It is to authenticate the apostles as God's spokesmen.

It is to prove that the gospel of Christ is from God and that it must be heard and heeded by men.

The end of Mark's gospel corresponds with Acts 1:7-8.

This power from on high was given specifically to confirm the word of the gospel.

In the Old Testament, God's prophets always confirmed their authority and the Word of God with signs and wonders.

In the New Testament, Jesus' apostles confirmed their authority and the gospel they preached with signs and wonders.

This apostolic power is no longer wielded by men on earth, because there are no more apostles and no more prophets.

Acts 1:21-22  Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22  Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. 

Those who falsely claim to be apostles are liars because they cannot meet the scriptural qualifications for an apostle.

Those who claim to be prophets are liars and are guilty of adding to the Word of God, something that God commands against (See Deuteronomy 4:32; 12:32; Proverbs 30:5-6; Revelation 22:18-20).

Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit to lead the early church to select another man to take the places of Judas the betrayer.

An apostle must have been with the twelve since the very beginning of Christ's ministry at the baptism of John and they must have remained faithfully present from that moment unto Jesus was "taken up from us."

It is obvious then, that no man can ever claim to be an apostle because no one since that early time could meet those qualifications.

Thus, when the apostles died, this wonderworking power was withdrawn.

Therefore, when televangelists claim to heal people, they are faking it For example, Benny Hinn's nephew was very active in his uncle's ministry.

When he challenged them to go to hospitals to heal the sick and afflicted, they refused to do so.

Costi Hinn then made a video to show how the healings done by his uncle were fake. 

The Youtube link for this video is inserted below.

https://youtu.be/6BEqzb-L7s0?si=KM0yZ11cX1ZC6T9i

Thus, this apostolic power is no longer used by men in a manner like the apostles were enabled.

The apostolic power had a specific purpose of confirming gospel preaching by Christ's apostles.

Yet, this same power is still very much evident when a sinner repents, trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, and is regenerated by the Spirit of God!

This same power is evident when a Christian matures and is made more like Christ as the gospel and God's Spirit  works in his or her heart.

This same power is evident when God answers prayer or when He purges out dross from our lives, so that we lean on Him more each day.

God will still heal people today in accord with His perfect will, but this is through the fervent effective prayers of God's redeemed people (See James 5:15-16).

As always, when we pray and cast our cares upon the Lord, and we must do so in faith, trusting that He will answer in the way that is best for us.

We must follow the prayer pattern that Jesus provided.

We must seek for the Father's name to be hallowed in our own lives, by having right thoughts, speaking right words and doing what is right according to His Word.

We must make our prayers asking for His kingdom to come and for the will of God to be done on earth just as it is in heaven.

We must bring our temporal needs to the Lord and we must seek forgiveness from our Father when we confess our sins to Him.

We must ask for strength and grace to forgive those who have wronged us.

We must ask our Father for His power to overcome temptation and lusts that seduce us to sin.

We must conclude our prayers by asking for the Father's help such that all we think, say and do will honor and glorify to God, and for His kingdom to come.

Let is pray confidently knowing that the indwelling Spirit of God will help us (See Romans 8:26).

Let us pray that we do no evil (See 2 Corinthians 13:7).

Let us pray that we learn to love one another more (See Philippians 1:9).

Let us pray without ceasing (See 1 Thessalonians 5:13).

Let us pray for all those whom God has placed in authority over us, that we may lead a peaceful life and that the rulers might hear the gospel and be saved (See 1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Bob