Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have perfected praise'?"

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

- Matthew 21:12-22

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt tied with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in animals that were to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins.  Roman coins bore the image of Caesar, an object of worship, considered to be defiling to the temple.  My study bible tells us that the cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  It reminds us that each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19) -- so also a sign that our hearts and minds must be "cleansed" of earthly matters, a focus on the purely material as our aim and goal.  Rather, all things must be put into the perspective of what best serves faith as our highest pursuit.   Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,  'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  My study bible says that the perfect praise of the children is unlike that of the adults -- it is innocent, fitting, unashamed, and from hearts of pure love.  So we are called to praise and glorify Christ in the same spirit.  See also Matthew 18:1-4, in which Jesus teaches the disciples to "become as little children."   My study bible adds that the praise of the adults carried with it earthly expectations and agendas.  When these were left unfulfilled, five days later they rejected and rebelled against Him (27:20-23).   Once again, Jesus quotes from Scripture; see Psalm 8:2.  In Wisdom of Solomon 10:21, we read "wisdom opened the mouth of the dumb, and made the tongues of infants speak clearly."

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  The fig tree is symbolic of Israel and also a symbol of prosperity and peace.  It withers because it is fruitless.  My study bible calls this a prophetic act.  After three years of Christ's preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds are destitute of spiritual fruit.  The cursing of the tree is a warning to every generation of what happens without spiritual fruit -- without listening to His message.  The earlier scene in the temple exemplifies the frustration:  Jesus heals those who need healing, but all the leadership can do is complain of the natural praise from those who can receive His grace.

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  In contrast to the leadership in the temple, the easy ways that people will fall away from their praise, Jesus' word here is a praise to faith, and to its power.

What is faith?  The contrast of the events in the temple and the withering of the fig tree should tell us something important about the nature and reality of faith.  We might ask ourselves how it's possible that the hearts of the leadership -- and later on of the people who will cheer for Barabbas and reject Christ before His Crucifixion -- can be so hardened as to withstand the sight of the healings of Christ we read about.  But I think the text is illustrative of how we can decide what we will accept and what we will ignore.  Sometimes what's sitting right before our faces is much harder to accept than the false comfort of remaining blind.  Faith requires change and expansion.  It will ask us to embrace what changes our world, and to accept responsibility for living up to the thing that enlightens us and asks us to move forward.  Accepting the reality of Christ, in the immediate effects of these scenes in the temple and of the rejection of Jesus by the crowds at the Crucifixion, would involve at least two things we can clearly see.  The temple leadership would have to give up its authority to Him, and the crowds would have to give up faith in the worldly power of the political and material might of rebels like Barabbas.  Faith demands a lot.  Faith in Christ would have meant a "new" way forward; in effect, a return to the faith of those who trusted in God more than in worldly power, might, wealth.  All of this lies in the choice for faith.  In exchange, we seek the power of God.  Jesus' teaching here to the apostles about the power of faith implies the kind of trust that wants only what God asks, and prayers in that spirit of prayer such as leads us forward in faith.  This is how mountains are moved.  But it takes a great deal forbearance, resilience, and the willingness to give up our worldly perspectives instead -- for the one faith leads us to.  Prayer is the greatest weapon we have in this battle, and our faith institutions and practices help to shore up this faith that each one of us must choose.  The apostles will give up everything (with the exception of Judas, who will not take that leap that Christ asks), and they will build a church that will sweep the known world in a very short time.  What we must understand from what we read today is that hearts are capable of staying in denial, remaining "hardened" in the language of the Scripture -- and that faith will call us out of where we are and into new places to adjust to and to move forward within.  This is the crux, and it calls us all to tough choices.  In times of great strain and impending evil, the choices become more stark.  But the power of faith comes with greater rewards, and greater power.