Matthew 21 - G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

In this cleansing of the Temple for the second time-He had done the same at the outset of His ministry- the Lord revealed His conception of the secret of all civic righteousness and strength. He revealed for all time the laws of civic purity. He came to His city and His Temp1e;which He cleansed so that the very sources of the streams of influence being pure the streams must become pure.

The cursing of the fig tree was the only miracle of judgment that Jesus wrought, and the principal force of it is not direct, but parabolic. He had a perfect right to make what use He chose of the creations of His own power to teach His lessons.

We now come to the beginning of the last conflict. The chief priests and challenged His authority. He met their question with another. He had been baptized by John, and at that baptism had received the anointing of authority for public ministry. Now He asks them what was the authority for John's baptism. They could not say, "Of men," for they were cowards. They would not say, "Of heaven," for they were hypocrites. So, with a calm dignity, conscious of the fact that He had already answered them, He refuses to enter further into the question of authority.

Our Lord now exercised his authority by speaking in their hearing authoritative parables directly applicable to them, as they themselves discovered.