Day of Authority!

   Last night Jesus went back to Bethany where his dear friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived to eat and spend the night. This morning all those years ago while Jesus walked out of Bethany He was hungry. He saw a fig tree with leaves on it. A Fig tree is different than other fruit trees, the figs bloom before the leaves appear.  If a Fig tree has leaves , it should have fruit.  This Fig tree had lots of leaves, and no fruit. Like other times Jesus used things the people could relate to and understand, He used this Fig tree to teach the disciples something very important. His time was at hand and He wanted to teach them everything they would need to know when He left at the end of the week. Jesus said to the Fig tree, “May you never bear fruit again!”   When the disciples saw the fig tree withered and dead the next morning they were perplexed and asked Jesus about this. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, make the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the lame walk.  They had seen Him raise Jairus’ daughter, a widows son and Lazarus from the dead.  All that was very amazing indeed!  But, they had never seen Jesus curse anything.  This made a big impact on the them. When  Jesus spoke to them about the Fig tree, He was using it to show His disciples how the people of Israel were behaving, well - misbehaving.  They looked like they were doing right and were living for God, but they did not accept God’s Son,  Jesus.  They were fake.   Jesus was showing them that religious pretenders did not and would not ever bear fruit.  Just like the fake and fruitless Fig tree, these people were cursed. They knew He was very serious about the lesson He was teaching them.  The disciples did not want to be empty and fake on the inside and only pretending to be living for God on the outside.  They would listen very carefully from now on to everything Jesus had to say.  Then, they would do what He said.  They wanted to be good men that Jesus could call His friend.   

   But, so like Jesus it did not stop there. Jesus told them something that is great news for us still today that believe Him and have made Him Lord of our lives. He told the disciples that if they really have faith in God, and would not doubt Him or His Word, they could do things like this and more.  If it is God’s will, we can have whatever we ask for.  We have to know what God says we can have, and we can find that in our Bible.  All we have to do is just believe what God says is true, ask for it and receive it.  That is how we receive salvation and everything else from God. What wonderful news!!!!!!!  Jesus was telling the disciples that the authority He had, they would have too.  He was going to leave that power with them, with us. It is the power from the victory we will see at the end of the week. Tonight Jesus will go back to the Mount of Olives and sleep.  That is where He went to stay when He had to get out of the public’s eye after He had raised Lazarus from being dead.  He knows this night is one He must get rest because tomorrow will hold much for Him to do.

   Thank you Father for the patience you showed us through Your Son Jesus with every parable and lesson You taught us!