NOTES for Mat 21:12-20

Today's composite passage from the Gospel of Matthew tells of two similar actions of the Lord Jesus Christ that caused no small astonishment among those who witnessed them. Both of these moments - the driving of the merchants from the Temple and the withered fig tree - fit within the framework of the "prophetic actions" well known in the Old Testament. These actions are performed at God's command and serve as a kind of visible parable. The prophets performed them in order to convey some revelation to their contemporaries, and to do so in a way that would be remembered for a long time.

The driving of the merchants from the Temple is directly the fulfillment of what was said about Christ in the Psalms and the prophets. This action is interpreted quite unambiguously as the fulfillment of prophecies, and therefore literally the next day the chief priests and elders ask Christ: "By what authority are You doing these things?" The Lord does not give them a direct answer, but His disciples, as the evangelists testify, understood Him well and remembered forever.

The withered fig tree most often raises the question: "for what?" The fig tree, of course, is guilty of nothing, but from ancient times the tree was a symbol that the prophets also used often. They spoke of Israel as God's planting, needed exclusively in order to bear fruit for God. If this does not happen, the existence of this planting loses its meaning. This is what the Lord directs His disciples to.