If you Believe
An
old man sees a beautiful twenty-year old woman. He has been sad for the last
fifteen years after loosing his wife and many close friends. “She will make me
happy,” he thought. He prayed to have this woman. If he prayed hard enough, he
believed he could have this woman. Matthew 21:18-22 relates to what this man
believes as verse 22 says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask
for in prayer” (NIV). Prayer deals with submission of oneself to God in the
purest form. This old man is not following what God intended in this passage as
it relates to prayer. There are many things this old man has wrong.
The
book of Matthew was written by Matthew, an ordinary sinner and tax collector.
He was transformed by God and called one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He writes
mostly to the Jewish reader to provide an account of Jesus. He provides
information about Jesus’ birth, John the Baptist, Jesus’ ministry, His death,
resurrection, and ascension. His focus is mostly on Jesus’ teaching through his
parables and metaphors (Quest).
One
of these famous metaphors shows up in Matthew 21:18-22. Jesus walks with his
disciples, spots a fig tree that had no fruit, and tells it to die. The
disciples wonder what this is about and Jesus explains that if one has faith he
can do more than bear fruit. He speaks of this faith and prayer a person can
use to do anything.
Matthew
21:19, “Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it
except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!”
Immediately the tree withered” (NIV). Immediately. The Message Bible says the
tree “withered on the spot, a dry stick”. A tree, like faith, grows slowly in
order to produce good fruit. Once a tree begins to die, or a person doubts, it
serves no purpose. A person cannot be used to further the gospel without faith.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary wrote about faith and doubt saying, “Jesus used
this event to teach a lesson in faith, for if they had genuine faith in God
they not only would be able to do miracles…The Lord was teaching the importance
of faith rather than doubting or simple marveling. By contrast the nation of
Israel had failed to exercise faith in Him” (Walvoord).
God requires full belief, which serves a full purpose, not doubt or lack of
producing fruit.
Furthermore,
verse 22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer”
(NIV). If you believe. The Amplified Bible words this verse, “having faith and
(really) believing” (Amplified). Belief, or “real belief” is added to this
prayer, which goes beyond a week “bedtime prayer” that many participate in.
Matthew 17:20 can help the reader understand this belief. “He replied, “Because
you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (NIV). Believing a person can
move a mountain takes a lot of “real belief”. Belief, or this kind of pure
belief, is not rooted in itself. It is through belief in God, that this
“mountain-moving” kind of belief is possible. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
writes about this passage saying, “This kind of faith, however, will only ask
those things that it knows to be God’s will” (Pfeiffer).
The
old man that desires a twenty-year old woman is not seeking God’s will. He
follows his desires and prays for what he wants. He does not ask God if he can
have this woman, but rather demands that God will give him this woman. The old
man has another problem. He has been depressed for many years and seems to be
looking to this woman to fix his problem by making him happy. He is not seeking
God first. If his desire were fulfilled, there’s no telling if he would seek to
love God with what he has been given because he can’t serve God with what he
was originally given.
The Life Application Study Bible provides
insight on Matthew 17, saying, “The power of faith is illustrated by its
ability to remove this mountain…Scriptural faith is a trust in God’s revealed
Word and will. Hence faith to move a mountain can be exercised only when God
reveals that to be his will” (Life). In many situations God allows
individuals to have others in a romantic way, but in a God-fearing
relationship, the individual must ask what God’s will is before he begins to
ask for what he desires. A Godly prayer, also known as the Lord’s Prayer, is
outlined in Matthew 6: 10-14. It begins saying “Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be thy name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
(NIV). For the desires of man will change as he recognizes and commits himself
to God’s desires and will.
The
statement in verse 22 of Matthew 21, “If you believe” is significant. It says
“if you believe” not “if you desire”. It does not simply state, “Pray”. Believe
and pray.
There
are two stories surrounding this fig tree metaphor in Matthew 21. The story
that precedes it is Matthew 22:12-17. In this story, Jesus overturns tables and
expresses his frustration with people selling sacrificial animals outside of
the temple. Jesus says in verse 13, “My house will be a house of prayer, but
you are making it a den of robbers” (NIV). He proceeds to heal a blind man is praised by children. When
children are mentioned in the Bible, they are often shown for their faith. One
example is in Matthew 18:3, “"Truly I say to you, Unless You turn around
and become as young children, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of
the heavens" (NIV). Matthew includes this segment about children to lead into another
passage about faith.
The
passage following the metaphor of the fig tree is Matthew 21:23-27. This is
where Jesus’ authority is questioned. Many authoritative figures question what
gives Jesus the authority to perform miracles and such. Just like man cannot
move a mountain on his own, Jesus must have faith in God. This passage outlines
the power of God and the need everyone has to submit to him in order to do his
will.
The
metaphor of the fig tree lies about two-thirds of the way through the book of
Matthew. This is one of the later lessons of Jesus. Many stories surrounding
this one follow the same theme of faith. It foreshadows faith that needs to
come later in Matthew and becomes more and more important as Jesus’ thoughts
and actions reveal his submission to God’s will. In Matthew 26: 39 Jesus prays,
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My
father, if it is possible, may this cup [of death] be taken from me. Yet not as
I will, but as you will” (NIV). Jesus’ will aligns with His father’s.
The
New Testament has been viewed by many as a delightful form of literature. Every
passage is organized in a poetic way. The metaphor of the fig tree is no
different. Just like a student writing a paper to explain an idea: the metaphor
is stated, questions are asked, and the metaphor is explained. Then, faith is
talked about and foreshadows the faith that comes about further in Matthew,
this constant surrender.
This passage
speaks many volumes about God. He is all-powerful as he is the enabler. As an
individual believes in him, he is able to move mountains in God’s name. Matthew
21:21 says “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not
doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but you can say to
this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea” (NIV). Humans choose to be
faithful, but they must choose to be faithful to God, proving God is the
enabler, the all-powerful one. In the passage following the fig tree passage,
Jesus shows that God is the enabler by saying “John’s baptism--- where did it
come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” (NIV). He doesn’t straight out say
he has his authority from God, but from the fig tree passage, the reader can
infer it is saying God is the omnipotent one.
God listens
to an individual’s requests. Verse 22 in Matthew 21 says a person can receive
whatever he asks for in prayer through his belief. Furthermore, Philippians 4:6
states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
petition present your requests to God” (NIV). By God asking people to present
their troubles and desires to Him, He is making Himself available to listen,
and he does.
This passage
also reveals God as a transformer. He changes hearts. In verse 21 of Matthew 21,
Jesus says a person, in his belief, can tell a mountain to move and it will
move. The faith a person initially has changes to a stronger faith that can
move these mountains. Likewise, the passage Matthew 14:22-35 shows this kind of
transforming faith. Peter, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples sees Jesus walking on
water and walks on the water to meet Jesus. After walking a little ways, he
becomes afraid and begins to sink as he begins to doubt. This is one form of
transformation. Peter does not allow Jesus to transform him as he sinks into
the water. When he chooses to believe; however, he is able to walk on the
water. He is transformed by God to do something that is scientifically impossible.
God transforms others all throughout history. Take the author of this book,
Matthew for example. He was once a tax collector, hated by much of society, and
was transformed into one of Jesus’ disciples. He went on to write about this
great faith.
This passage
speaks volumes about people as well. Jesus uses a fig tree in his metaphor and
compares people to this tree. This tree has the potential to produce good
fruit, but it does not. People have the potential to do unimaginable things
things, but when they doubt they wither away like this fig tree.
Hebrews 11:1
says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see” (NIV). God is an omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God. He is not
always around in a physical sense or present in ways people expect him to be,
but he calls individuals to trust him anyway so our desires can be aligned with
his desires.
God calls
people today to have faith, just like he called Peter to walk on water through
faith. He enables people to have in faith in order to prevent them from
withering away. It takes a lot of faith to believe in a Jesus that existed many
years ago, but he asks that people will believe in him in the different ways he
will work today, so they and others they will influence can trust him in what
is to come.
An old man,
desiring love and affection can find it through Christ. He may not feel loved
in a physical or expected sense, but his desires can change with the purity of
his heart. The all-powerful God can make him desire to pray for this young
beautiful woman. He may seek to be a fatherly figure for her and show her God’s
love. He may be transformed through God’s love. If he has enough faith. If he
prays earnestly with a pure heart. If he listens to God’s will. If he has
belief beyond what he can see with his human eyes. And this passage foreshadows
something else that came true in the end of Matthew and continues to be proven
today: God exceeds expectations.
Works Cited
Life
Application Study Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Steam [sic], IL: Tyndale
House, 2007. Print.
Pfeiffer,
Charles E., and Everett F. Harrison. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Moody,
1980.
Print.
Quest
Study Bible NIV.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge
Commentary. David V Cook,
1989. Web.
