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Lessons About Faith
This is Monday in Holy Week. From Matthew 21:18 In the morning, when he returned to the city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the side of the road, he went to it and found nothing at all on it but leaves. Then he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they were amazed, saying, "How did the fig tree wither at once?" 21 Jesus answered them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. 22 Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." 23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, "From heaven,' he will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?' 26But if we say, "Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 27 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
I learned to eat figs behind my church in Houston, Texas. El Buen Pastor UMC when located at the corner of 75th and Avenue K, had a large fig tree behind it. It grew some delicious figs and it never occurred to me that this would be a teaching tree for me. I learned how the leaves of that tree would make the teaching in Genesis come to life when God saw that Adam and Eve had made for themselves sand paper underwear. The leaves of the fig tree are very soft on one side but sandpaper rough on the other. And today's lesson about Jesus being hungry and finding a fig tree with nothing on it but leaves made me long for that tree myself. We see Jesus' humanity come out as he says to the tree in anger, "May no fruit ever come from you again!" The gospel records that the tree withered immediately. The disciples were amazed at Jesus' power and authority to do this and talked about it. Jesus answered them and said this about faith: "If you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to this fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask in prayer with faith, you will receive."
Probably your problems and challenges, like mine, do not involve barren fig trees. You face bigger obstacles in your life that are depending on your faith in Jesus to overcome. That verse about praying with faith and receiving what we need is true. Sadly, so many times we will pray after we have tried our own remedies or those of friends, leaving our asking God for help for the very last. But God understands and God still replies and provides that which we need the most. The next part of today's story involves the asking of Jesus' authority in all the things He was doing and saying. The chief priests and elders were still trying to trap Jesus and Jesus asks them a question: "Did the baptism of John come from heaven or of human origin?" These holy men did not know the answer and said, "We don't know." And Jesus said to them, "Then I won't tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
May our faith be bigger and stronger than to question the why behind what we ask and what we receive. May we always know the love behind the answer of God to our prayers, for that is the greatest authority there is. We may not receive exactly what we asked, but God was still with us and loved us in all things.
PRAYER: Lord, on this Monday of Holy Week, speak to our hearts. Grant us time and strength for prayer and grant us faith strong enough to receive awesome and wonderful things from You. This I pray in He who died for me, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed Holy Week in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eradio Valverde
