BIBLE STUDY LESSON 18

SERIES S --- THE SON OF YHVH

THE RIGHT OF RULE

THE BARREN FIG TREE

From Matthew 21:12, 13, 18, 19; Mark 11:12-18; Luke 19:45-48; John 12:20-50

As Yeshua came from Bethany toward Jerusalem the next morning, He was hungry. At a distance was a fig tree filled with leaves, so He took His disciples there to see if there were also figs. But there was nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. [No one will eat fruit from you again,] He spoke to the fig tree. When they arrived in Jerusalem later, Yeshua entered the temple and began to throw out the merchants from their places, and to upset the tables of the moneychangers, as well as the seats of the dove merchants. He would not even let a person carry a vessel through the temple. Then Yeshua told the people, [Doesn’t YHVH say in the Scriptures that His house is a house of prayer? But you have made it a den of thieves.] The chief priests and scribes heard this and tried to think of some way to destroy Him, but they could not, for they feared Him. They recognized what the people might do, for they listened intently to every word He said. Some Greeks who were at the Passover came to Philip, from Bethsaida, and said, [Sir, we want to see Yeshua.] The suggestion was that they wanted to become His disciples. Philip told Andrew, who went with Philip to tell Yeshua. Yeshua answered, [The time has come for Me to enter into the glory of sacrificial death. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. If you love your life so that you cling to it, you will lose life forever; but if you recognize your earthly life as something of far less value than your heavenly life, you may give it up in exchange for life everlasting. [Whoever serves Me must follow Me, so that wherever I am, My servant will be also. The Father will honour anyone who serves Me. My soul is deeply troubled as I enter into this agony, but should I ask My Father to save Me from it? For this purpose, I came to earth. Father, honour Your Name through this.] A voice came from heaven and said, [I have honoured My Name and will honour it again.] The crowds heard the voice but some thought it was thunder. Others said that an angel had spoken to Him. [The voice was not for My sake, but for yours,] Yeshua told the people. [The time of judgment has come, when Satan will be defeated. When I am lifted up to die on the cross, I will draw all people to Myself.] He said this to show how He would die. People in the crowd asked, [We thought the Law of Moses teaches that the Moshiach will live forever. How then can You say that You will he crucified? Are You really this Moshiach?] [The Light I bring will shine on you for a little while longer,] Yeshua said. [Walk in My Light while it is here, for it will be snuffed out shortly and you will not know which way you are walking. While the Light is with you, believe in Him, so that you may become the sons of light, taking it to others.] After Yeshua said these things, He left and hid from the people. Even though the people had seen Him do many wonderful miracles, many still would not believe that He was the Moshiach. Isaiah the prophet had predicted this when he said, [Who will believe what we say, Adonai, even though Your mighty works have been revealed to them?] Isaiah also predicted this unbelief when he said, [Adonai has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they may not perceive what they see or understand what they know, and be converted to Adonai Who would heal them.] Isaiah was speaking of Yeshua in these prophecies, for YHVH had shown him the glory of the Moshiach Who would come. Many of the religious leaders were now believing in Yeshua, but few were confessing Him publicly, for they were afraid they would be expelled from the synagogues. They still loved the praise of men more than YHVH’s approval. Yeshua cried out for all to hear, [Whoever believes in Me believes in Him Who sent Me. Whoever sees Me sees the One Who sent Me. I have come into this world as a Light, so that whoever believes in Me will not live in darkness. Whoever hears what I say, but rejects it, will be judged on the Day of Judgment by the very truths I have spoken, not by Me, for I have come to save the world rather than judge it. I tell you these things because they are from My Father, and not just from Me. He has told Me what to say to you, and I say it, for I am certain that His Words will bring you eternal life.]

COMMENTARY

BANKERS AND MONEY-CHANGERS

In Bible times, there were no public bank buildings like those today. Bankers usually sat at tables in the marketplace and competed with the merchants for the attention of passersby. It was not uncommon to find the banker’s table standing between the baker’s loaves of bread and the fish vendor’s catch. Bankers in Yeshua’ time offered simplified versions of the same services offered by banks in the modern world. They paid interest on money deposited in their care. They also lent money for mortgages and large purchases, and made personal loans as well. Jewish bankers were forbidden to charge other Jews interest on these loans, but in practice they did, often getting extremely high interest from both Jews and Gentiles. Bankers of the time even offered an early version of traveller’s checks. Money paid to a banker in one city could be reclaimed from a banker in another city by presenting a receipt. That made it possible to travel without carrying large amounts of money, which might easily be lost or stolen. Most bankers preferred not to involve themselves in the business of changing coins. This was left to the professional moneychangers. Money-changers conducted their business both in the marketplace and in the temple court. For a fee, they would change large coins for smaller ones, foreign coins for local ones. But their major business was in the temple courtyard. It was forbidden to make a donation to the temple or to pay the yearly temple tax in anything other than Jewish coins. Jews coming to the temple from other countries would be carrying foreign coins. These were exchanged for acceptable Jewish money at the money-changers’ tables in the temple court.