## Missed Opportunities

## Matthew 21:18-22

Read Text:

We've all heard the words of the poet who wrote, "The saddest words of tongue or pen are simply these, It might have been." How often do we miss opportunities to witness for Christ …miss opportunities for service …miss opportunities to worship Him? In our text this evening we have one of the most perplexing event in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: the cursing of the fig tree. We wonder:

- Why He treated the tree as if it were a moral agent. It's kind of like blaming a tire if it goes flat.
- How could He have expected figs from it when Mark expressly says, "It was not the time for figs."?
- And why does He walk toward the tree expecting to find something to eat? Since He was the Son of God, surely He would have known that it did not have figs.

Jesus Christ was and is the all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present God of the universe. He never spoke or acted on impulse, but rather He always had a determined purpose in His action. Every time Jesus did something, it was to either to teach man or to help man. His actions here were not an exception. He is teaching His disciples, the nation of Israel, and us some very important truths.

I. Jesus Christ has absolute power over all the physical universe.

A. He demonstrates this power in three ways.

1. His expectation: fruit

a. The tree looked healthy and full of leaves.

b. He was hungry and expected to find fruit on the tree. c. The tree professed to offer fruit.

2. His disappointment: no fruit

a. The tree was not dead...

b. It had everything it needed to produce fruit...

c. Its purpose was to bear fruit...

3. His judgment upon the tree: no fruit, ever!

a. From that moment, the fig tree began to wither away.

b. His disciples took note and were amazed.

c. This is good, because it was done for their benefit.

B. Remember this was Jesus' last week.

1. It was just days before He was to be crucified on Calvary.

2. He had to do all He could to prepare His disciples for His death and for all they were to bear through the ensuing years.

3. He had only a few days left, so He had to strengthen them all He could.

4. This was an opportunity to teach a powerful lesson to His disciples, and to us.

C. A lesson of His great power.

1. In just a few days, the disciples would see Him taken, beaten, and crucified at the hands of ungodly men.

2. But this demonstration was that they might understand the greatness of His power.

3. He had the power to keep from being killed.

4. He was not about to die out of weakness, nor was He going to die because of the plots and intrigues of men.

5. He was dying because the death of God's Son was the way of salvation.

(John 10:17-18) "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. {18} No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."

II. The Symbolism of the Fig Tree.

A. First it was symbolic of Israel.

1. Israel had great opportunity, but failed miserably to bear fruit.

2. There was an appearance of righteousness but that was only outward.

(Mat 23:27-28) "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. {28} Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

3. He saw the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy concerning Israel.

(Isa 29:13) "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"

4. God judged Israel for their failure.

B. It was also symbolic of our unfruitfulness.

1. The tree had a purpose, it was to bear fruit!

2. We have a purpose…to bear fruit!

(John 15:8) "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."

3. One day, the Lord will examine our lives, just as He examined that fig tree.

4. He will be expecting to find fruit!

5. He will be disappointed if none is found.

(Rom 14:10b) "…For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."

(Rom 14:12) "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

(1 Cor 3:13) "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."

III. What are the lessons that we can learn?

A. The greater the privileges, the greater the responsibility.

1. That was true for the nation Israel, and it is also true for us.

2. "To whom much is given, much is required." Cf Luke 12:48

3. How many Bibles do we have in our home?

4. How many opportunities does God give for us to pray, to witness and to share the good news?

5. We will be held accountable for all of these privileges.

B. The greater the responsibility, the greater the judgment.

1. It would certainly be better not to have known the Lord's will than to know it and not to do it.

2. Here, of course, the fig tree was entirely cursed from the roots up.

3. The Jews had bee n given awesome privileges, with many assurances and promises from the Lord God.

4. But because of their neglect of the inner life, they were severely judged by God.

5. Of course, as believers, we shall escape the wrath of God, but the Judgment Seat of Christ will be a very serious matter.

6. For some, it will be a time of shame, a time of weeping. The reason? Because of missed opportunities.

C. The greater the judgment, the greater the regret.

1. Today our memories may fail.

2. Things that we have done or not done have long since left us.

3. But the time is coming when every one of us, whether Christian or not, shall have a memory that is completely accurate and clear.

4. The events of the past will immediately be present to the mind.

5. We will remember the opportunities that God gave us, and we will see the way that we have wasted them.

Two Verses:

(Rev 20:15) "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

(Rev 21:4) "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

I believe the tears will be there because we realize how we have failed our Savior. When we see those who we could have led to Christ, be cast away into eternal darkness. When we realize just how much time we wasted on things that will mean absolutely nothing in eternity. The opportunities of life will some day be gone forever. Where does this leave us tonight?