Mark 11:12-21. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on July 5, 2020.
Today, we will look at the Gospel of Mark and follow the actions of Jesus during the days following his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Jesus was ready to force the point, or rather, the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Is Jesus truly savior and king, or is he a despised thing to be cast aside?
In reading the scriptures, it is easy to see the faults of Israel and its religious leaders. However, the lesson is intended for us to search our own hearts and ferret out those inevitable aspects of our flesh that would undermine true worship of God. This is important because there is a lot of lip-service that is given to justice and righteousness in our society, and yet, they really are important. Am I just a loud noise that internally has no substance? Do I cry for justice, but then turn around and abort? Do I cry for justice, but then dishonor my neighbor? Do I cry for solutions, but won’t lift a finger to embrace the solution that God has already placed in front of me? I could go on, but let’s look into our passage and allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts because God is looking for people who will be a fruitful tree, rather than a thorny bush in these last days.
It is clear that the Triumphal entry happens on a Sunday, or the first day of the week. We are told that Jesus had retired that evening to a small town called Bethany that was less than a mile east of Jerusalem. We must remind ourselves that this is the week before the Passover Feast, which means that more and more pilgrims were arriving in the city every day. Our passage opens on Monday morning, and Jesus is leading his disciples back into busy Jerusalem.
On the way, there is an episode involving a fig tree. Why did Jesus leave Bethany without eating something? Why can’t he wait until he arrives in Jerusalem to get some food? We have no answer to these kinds of questions. However, the logistics of this episode are not the issue because there is clear symbolism in what happens. I am not saying that Jesus was faking his hunger just to make a point. Rather, the situation becomes parabolic of Israel as a nation. The disciples are recording this for that reason, and not just because it was a spectacular miracle.
This was an area that had many fig trees. In fact, a nearby village called Bethphage literally means house of unripe figs. However, it was not yet time for the trees to be ripe. We are told that Jesus sees a fig tree that has leaves, and that draws his attention. This is because those trees grow the fruit first and then grow leaves. In other words, the fact that there were leaves was an indication that there would be some fruit. Yet, when Jesus gets to it, it has none.
At this point, Jesus curses the tree with the phrase, “Let no one eat fruit from you again.” This may make Jesus look petulant, but the issue is not really about his hunger. Israel was created by God so that they could be fruitful for the purposes of God. It had all manner of outward signs that signaled that it should have fruit, but when God came to inspect, He found none. Notice that this is not a rejection of the fruit, but the lack of any fruit altogether.
Other scriptures using the image of an olive tree give a more nuanced picture that recognizes that there was a fruitful remnant within Israel. This was despite the work of the nation’s religious leaders.
Jesus moves on and enters Jerusalem with his disciples. They then go into the temple compound. When we talk about Jesus entering the temple, a word is used here that does not refer only to the inner-most building that housed the Holy of Holies with the Ark of the Covenant. It actually refers to the whole temple compound, which had a series of courtyards and porches built around it. For our purposes, it would be good to get a rough sense of where this situation is happening.
The inner-most building could only be entered by the priests with only the High Priest on one day of the year able to go into the Holies of Holies. Outside this structure was the courtyard of priests where all the sacrifices took place. Just outside of this was an area that was called the courtyard of men. This was the closest that Israelite men could approach. Outside of this walled off area, there was another courtyard called the courtyard of women. This was the closest that an Israelite female could approach. Beyond this walled off area, there was a large courtyard that was north, east, and south of the closer courtyards. This was called the courtyard of Gentiles. This was the closest that a non-Israelite person could approach. It is most likely here that the event takes place.
We are told that Jesus begins to drive out those who were buying and selling in the courtyard. They were selling guaranteed pre-approved animals and birds for the sacrifices. This would be convenient for people who were traveling longer distances, even some by boat. Yet, they paid an exorbitant price for the convenience. It had become a money making scheme most likely given in nepotism, or through bribery. Thus, a whole industry had been built up that made money off of the activity of religion, just as there were others built around the activity of government. The trade is not illicit, but the ways in which it was generally being done was. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to recognize similar things that exist today.
Jesus also overturns the tables of the money-changers. Pilgrims would arrive from all over the Roman world with Gentile money. All adult males were required to pay an annual temple tax. This was to be paid with an Israeli Shekel. This too was exchanged at exorbitant rates that were not fair. Even if there had been no overcharging, Jesus objects to the location of the activity as well.
Jesus takes time to teach the onlookers why he was doing these things. He first reminds them of the stated purpose for the temple compound. It was not just for Israel, even though Gentiles were prohibited from entering into the inner courtyards. It was intended to be a house of prayer for all nations. This means that the courtyard of the Gentiles would be would be the closest place where a believing Gentile could come to God’s temple and pray to Him. This is important. The religious leaders did not care for the praying of the Gentiles. They only cared about the money they could make from the convenience to the Israelites that God had required to offer sacrifice. Making things convenient is not necessarily bad, but when it runs counter to God’s stated purpose, it is. The Gentiles would have to pray in the middle of a marketplace filled with smelly animals and loud commerce, which is anything but conducive.
Secondly, Jesus uses a phrase from Jeremiah 7 to highlight that they are not only affecting God’s purpose for this area, but they are also robbing people. He calls it a “den of thieves.” It is bad enough to squelch a good purpose, but it is inexcusable to also encourage a bad purpose. God does give us commands, but he does not intend those commands to be over-burdensome. It is important for us to always keep in mind what God’s purpose is for things, or places, even our own lives. We must first refrain from that which is counter to God’s purposes. We must then embrace and perform the good purpose that He does intend. This is not just about what happens in a church building. Don’t you know that you are the temple of God? It all begins with a proper understanding and worship of God within our own hearts and lives. Everything else flows out of that.
Mark states that this so enrages the chief priests that they seek to destroy him. It was mentioned prior that the religious leaders had already determined to get rid of Jesus. However, they did not want to do it during the feast. There would be way too many people around to witness the distasteful necessity (in their eyes). Yet, Jesus is clearly forcing their hand by all that he is doing and teaching in the temple. They are not so much afraid of what Jesus can do to them (though they should have been), but that the people might listen to Jesus and follow him. They are afraid that they will lose their power over the people, and even that the Romans would step in.
Whether as religious leaders, or as parents with the duty to train our kids to worship God, we must always remember that we are not to dominate the spiritual life of another person. We are to be a help and a benefit for them to connect with God, but we must be careful not to become a hindrance. When the heart of an authority figure is not in the right place, they will always be threatened when those under them come into relationship with the Truth. This is a dynamic that is always at work in the hearts of us all. It takes humility and repentance to avoid this pitfall.
Again, they retire to Bethany that evening. They return again the next morning, which would be Tuesday. At this point, Peter recognizes that the fig tree is completely dead, down to the roots. Jesus takes advantage of the opportunity to deal with Peter’s amazement at the miraculous effect that the command of Jesus had on the fig tree. However, we will leave that for our next sermon.
Let us end by recognizing that the picture is for us to see that hypocrisy will not only lack good fruit, but it is destined to be cursed by God. Jesus reminded Israel that Isaiah had prophesied well about them when he stated that they were a people who drew near Him with their mouths and lips, and yet their hearts were far from Him. It is not enough to have the outward appearance of a fruitful and worshipful life. Israel had all the trappings of worship that God had commanded them to have, but most of them did not have a heart that worshipped God. Let us remember that, in this sense, Israel is no different than the Church, or you, or me. We are all tempted to hypocrisy because we all have a sinful nature. It is only through introspection and humility that we can keep our own hearts as a clean house, a place where true worship and prayer can occur.
Am I a fruitful tree or a tree that only promises fruit? One will be blessed and the other will be cursed. Humility and repentance is the only way that we can be a fruitful tree.