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Contrasting Rejecting and Accepting Hearts
Matthew 21:12-19, John 12:20-26
Everyone is religious and moral to a certain extent. They go to church, worship, and give offerings of money. They try to keep God’s laws. Other religions have rituals too - sacrifices, incense, fasting, and special prayers. They also try to be moral - to abide by their religion’s laws. Even those who don’t follow religion are also religious. They observe life rituals - like paying it forward or giving to charity; they even have a set of morals to observe - to be compassionate, upright, kind, generous, etc. But despite this, there’s hypocrisy. Religion is corrupt. The medieval church sold forgiveness of sins for money to build bigger churches. Similarly, funeral rites in some religions cost a bomb. But people willingly pay to pray their loved ones into heaven. Even non-religious people expect honor for their good deeds, but behave dishonorably when they don’t receive honor. This is also hypocrisy. And this is the hypocrisy Jesus Christ came to address. He taught true religion wasn’t about outward ritual - which can be corrupted - but about a penitent heart, a knowledge of sin, and desire for mercy; to ask God to save you. This is how any sinner can be saved - not by his own good works or rituals, but by repenting and trusting another to save him.
But his message was not popular. Religious people are vested in rituals. Moral people refuse to admit their immorality. But rituals don’t save. Neither does morality. Only a God who forgives can save. And only those who humbly seek forgiveness will be saved. That’s God’s way of salvation. What’s your way? Will you have a rejecting heart that holds to rituals and morality? Or an accepting heart - coming to God on his terms alone? To explore this theme, we see three divisions in our passage. Firstly, rejection by hypocritical hearts. Secondly, acceptance by seeking hearts. thirdly, rejection of hypocritical hearts.
Firstly, rejection by hypocritical hearts. Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. This was on the first day of the week - Sunday. Many people had come to welcome him - they shouted “Hosanna” - meaning save us now. They wanted him as deliverer. But as he entered the temple, he saw the hypocritical way some treated spiritual matters. And he responded. Verses 12-13 say he threw all those who bought and sold out of the temple, overturned the tables of the moneychangers, and seats of the bird sellers. He rebuked them for turning God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers. Why? What had they done? Well, we see that they treated the temple as a means of gain. As Christ said, the temple was a house of prayer. Jews would come from all over the known world to offer their sacrifices 3 times a year, but at least at Passover. But they couldn’t bring a sacrificial animal all the way from home - it would probably be injured from the trip. And they needed to offer an animal without blemish. So they purchased their animal in Jerusalem instead. Now, this was an opportune time for people to make money. Set up stall in the temple, with high demand and low supply, you could charge handsomely for it. But before they could buy their animals, they needed to change money - from their local currency, to shekels in Judea. And so now, the money changers could have a currency exchange to their own benefit. And the pilgrims also needed to pay the temple tax - but the temple tax couldn’t be paid in pagan currency with the face of pagan kings and gods - so they also had to change money to the Tyrian shekel, which had a silver purity of 97%. And that cost money.
And they needed a place to transact. They couldn’t do it in the temple grounds itself, so they did it in the Court of the Gentiles - an area where the Gentiles or non-Jews could enter. At that time, the family of Ananias, the High Priest, had turned this court into a bazaar, renting the grounds out at extortionate prices, therefore forcing the merchants themselves to cheat the pilgrims. But this was not mere greed, it was theological exclusion. This court, which was the only place the non-Jews could pray to the God of Israel, was now a den of robbers. So hypocrisy treats holy things as commodities. So while the priests said this place was for worship, it was really for profit.
What also demonstrated their hypocrisy was their lack of mercy on the needy. In verse 14, many blind and lame came to Jesus, where he healed them. In those days, to be a widow or fatherless was to be destitute. There was no income earner. Similarly, the lame and blind couldn’t work. They had to beg. In our past sermons, we’ve learned of Christ’s mercy - healing a man crippled for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda; he also healed blind Bartimaeus. These were beggars. But for all the wealth this priestly family had earned from years as institutionalized landlords, they hadn’t used their money to minister to the truly needy who’d come to the temple. Instead, there was rejection. Yes, the law was clear in Leviticus 22:20-22, that offering a lame or blind animal for sacrifice was forbidden as such defects rendered the animal unacceptable. The sacrifices to God had to be without blemish, representing the best rather than defective leftovers. But they transferred this attitude to people who were blind and lame - viewing them as unwanted individuals who created ritual impurity and defiled the temple. In fact, in verse 15, when Jesus healed these blind and lame, and the chief priests saw these wonderful things, they were very unhappy. But the temple was never meant to be a museum for the flawless, but a hospital for sinners.
You see, true spirituality is not about ritual. The heart of true spirituality is neediness and repentance. Jesus once said - blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. You’re not spiritual or good because you keep rituals or keep your own morality, because you can’t. True spirituality is admitting your neediness. The Lord Jesus attacked the hypocrisy by removing the dishonest merchants and disrupting the extortion of the money changers. And he articulated the heart of true spirituality - “It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer!” He was quoted from Isaiah 56:7 - “for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” It was a house of prayer - not a house of performance or profit. It was for sinners to seek God for forgiveness, not to show how good they were. And it was for all nations - not just the Jewish elite of Jesus’ day. Why people came to the temple was to pray for forgiveness and receive it. It was for all who acknowledged their neediness - that they need something outside of themselves to save them. The temple was the place for all the spiritually lame and blind, and unclean peoples. And he healed the blind and lame.
But to this, as we’ve seen, there was a hypocritical response. There was displeasure - when he saw them being healed and heard the children shouting save us now, they became angry. Their religious system was false. Rituals do nothing. Keeping outward laws, but breaking them inwardly also avail nothing. Notice what verse 15 says - when they saw these wonderful thing he did, they were very angry. There was no denying these acts were wonderful. Jesus healed completely. And it showed 2 things - he was powerful like God and he was merciful like God. But who gets angry with mercy? They did. And they were angry at how the children were asking him to save them. So Jesus used their response to rebuke the priests in verse 16. Even the children know! They understand what you the scholars missed - that I am savior! You see, they didn’t get angry that his teaching was false - because it was true; neither because his miracles were fake - they were undeniable, but because hypocritical hearts are never glad when sinners are saved unless they control the process. This is why Jesus was rejected by them. But it’s same thing with many of us. We want praise for our religious adherence - that we come to church, we know the Bible, we don’t do anything really wrong. Or that we’re moral people because we’re generally good. But do we not also despise others? Are we not also deficient in our mercy? Do we not also feel offended that we need someone to save us?
But on the other hand, we see the acceptance of Christ by seeking hearts. This is the second point. After this episode at the temple, we learn in John 12 that there were Greeks who came to seek Jesus. So remember, they were in the court of the Gentiles - the only place they were allowed to pray. They were genuinely seeking spiritual things - forgiveness and salvation. They had abandoned their idols and embraced the system of forgiveness for salvation. But what they were met with was restriction. They were second class. They were not allowed into the temple. And their court was filled with merchants, animals, and money-changers. Just imagine the noise. There was even a wall in the temple that separated the court of Gentiles from the inner court - and there was a sign in Greek - “No outsider shall enter the protective enclosure around the sanctuary. And whoever is caught will only have himself to blame for the ensuing death.” They were saying to the Greeks - stay out. But when they heard Jesus speaking, quoting Isaiah 57 - that it’s a house of prayer for all nations, they sought Christ out. This is the heart of true religion - they don’t ask for the temple or traditions, they asked for a person. That’s the mark of a seeking heart - not religion but Christ. They came with the hope that they’d be forgiven of their sins, to seek God’s mercy - but they were met with a wall. And here was the demolisher of walls - all are welcome because God’s mercy is for all in need.
And we see they demonstrated the heart of true spirituality. These men had no priestly pedigree, no sign they were God’s people, they didn’t have temple privileges. By every human measure, they were outsiders. And yet God had drawn them. Their spiritual didn’t begin with their status, but their emptiness. And they addressed Philip respectfully in verse 21 - “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” There was no demand for mercy, no expectation of salvation, no presenting of themselves as worthy - but only the request to see Jesus. They’d seen the same wonderful things he did; and they’d heard the same wonderful words he spoke. That mercy was also for them.
And when Jesus heard this, his response was mindful, thoughtful, reflective. He announced the hour of his death - verses 23-24 - “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Jesus said the time where he’d be sacrificed would be soon. And when he died, he’d bring forth much fruit. Now, what does this mean? You see, the temple system showed the need for sacrifice - that sinners need something else to take their place in judgment. The penalty for sin is death and judgment. The religious system taught that only another sinless, blemish free, righteous substitute can take your place. But instead of looking for that sinless savior, the people started to trust ritual. And it caused them to be hypocritical. It bred a system where people were proud of their righteousness by their ritual keeping. What was needed was a better sacrifice. And these Greeks understood that. They wanted to see him. What they wanted, they couldn’t get from the temple system. Jesus knew his own sacrifice would open the way for people to receive mercy from God. That by his death, many will be saved from sin - “If it dies, it bears forth much fruit.” And so the answer to these Greeks who wanted to see Jesus was simple. If you want mercy, and salvation, and access to God, you must look to Christ’s sacrifice. Only he saves you by dying a sacrificial death to atone for your sin. These outsiders in need of mercy, wanted to see him - and see him they will. But the religious hypocrites rejected him - and this was something they’d been doing. What would Jesus do to them?
He’d reject these hypocritical hearts. That’s the last truth from the passage. Matthew 21:17 says that after this, Jesus left the temple. He returned to Bethany. The next morning, Jesus made his way back to Jerusalem. On the way, he was hungry. He saw a fig tree with leaves but with no fruit. And we see that he cursed it, and it instantly withered. Why? Now, to be clear, Jesus was not “hangry” - he was not angry hungry. He wasn’t reacting in a petty manner. He was enacting a lesson to his disciples and using this occasion to teach something important. He was hungry, and a fig tree with leaves should’ve borne fruit to satisfy his hunger. The fig tree is one of those trees whose fruits emerge before the leaves. And if you saw a tree with many leaves, you’d expect the tree to have many fruits as well. His demand was satisfaction. He required fruit. And this is something we’d expect too. For example, you’ve gone to school all these years, you should know your multiplication table. Or you’re a religious teacher, surely you’d pursue holiness. There’s a reasonable demand. But the tree had no fruit, despite having leaves. The abundance of leaves was a promise of fruit - but alas, there was none! So he cursed it. He cursed it to make a point.
You see the fig tree wasn’t just any kind of tree. It was significant as a symbol of the Jewish people. God used the tree in the Old Testament to denote them. For example, the emu and kangaroo are the national animals of Australia - they can’t move backwards only forwards; the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid is the national flower of Singapore - a resilient hybrid to symbolize the nation’s multiethnic and resilient spirit. So the fig tree was the symbol of the Jewish people - highly drought resistant and fruitful. But this tree had leaves without fruit. It mirrored what the people in the temple had become - a people with religion, but no righteousness. When Jesus came to the temple, he saw lots of bustling activity, but no real spiritual life. Instead, there was hypocrisy. They weren’t humble, nor sought forgiveness through sacrifice. They didn’t want Jesus.
Similarly, many have a sense of morality - we talk a good talk - we know what’s right and wrong; we post our opinions on social media on what should be done. But we don’t do them ourselves. We fail. And try correcting someone online for their views. There’s no humility. So despite all that talk, there’s no fruitfulness. The Bible says that all our righteous works are dirty rags. We don’t only have to repent of our sins, we must repent of our damnable righteousness.
So Christ cursed the tree. He rejected its barrenness. Notice, he didn’t pray for the tree to recover, nor fertilize it. He rejected it. But he receives all who see their sins, humbly come to him for forgiveness, knowing they need a savior outside of the themselves - like these outsiders, these Greeks who were prevented from entering the temple. Those who come to Jesus acknowledging their sins, find a perfect sacrifice and perfect forgiveness.
Friends, what kind of heart do you bring with you this evening? The hypocritical hearts says - I will bring my religious works, my rituals, my respectability, my goodness.” But Jesus overturns those tables. The seeking heart says, “I have nothing; I only want to see Jesus.” And He answers, “Come and die. Follow Me. For where I am - crucified, risen, glorified - there my servant will be.” Those who trust him alone will be saved from their sins and the judgment of God. May we all see Jesus, then follow him, even to the death of our own self-righteousness. For that death brings with it the fruit of forgiveness and eternal life.
1. Rejection by Hypocritical Hearts (21:12-16)
A. The hypocritical way some treat spiritual matters (12,14)
B. The heart of true spirituality (12-13)
C. The hypocritical response to Jesus (15-16)
2. Acceptance by Seeking Hearts (12:20-26)
A. The genuine way some treat spiritual matters (20)
B. The heart of true spirituality (21)
C. The mindful response of Jesus (22-26)
3. Rejection of Hypocritical Hearts (21:17-19)
A. The demand of Jesus
B. The significance of the fig tree
C. The rejection of barrenness
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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