#1343 Mark 11 An Authority On Fruit

 

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Mark 11 ESV

Mark 11

The Rabbis of Jesus’ day had several different theories regarding how the Messiah would come to Jerusalem. Based on Daniel 7:13, some thought the Messiah would come as a majestic conqueror. Based on Zechariah 9:9, some thought that the Messiah would come in a lowly and humble way, riding on a colt.

ii. In the days of Jesus, some Rabbis reconciled these by saying that the Messiah would come humbly to an unworthy Israel but mightily to a worthy Israel. Since Israel considered itself worthy, they only looked for a triumphant, conquering Messiah. - E Word

On which no one has ever sat - Jesus is coming as a peace offering this time, the only Way of reconciling the lost relationship between God and man. He is sitting on an unbroke colt though, and any of Mark's early readers would realize that this is not normal either. Only God could sit on a green animal, and walk through noisy crowds with people shouting.

9Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.… Zechariah 9: 9-10

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David - They were praising God for bringing the Messiah, acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of David, and Jesus was willingly receiving this title now. In Luke we find that the Pharisees flipped out about this and asked that Jesus rebuke His disciples, but note His reply, He is either a liar or the Messiah.

…39But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40“I tell you,” He answered, “if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” 41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it… Luke 19: 39-41

And when He had looked around at everything - This is His Father's house and so His, and He is looking around the gentile court which He will disrupt because they have turned it to a den of thieves.

Paul Apple on looking around - “looking around” - Looking comprehensively – not missing anything - Looking with insight – a penetrating look – seeing into the hearts and motives - Looking with sadness. Where was the crowd? What had happened to all that excitement and expectation?? What were the disciples thinking? Certainly they had expected more than this to occur after such a grand entrance. Look at how Jesus approaches the vast majority of people today – - at religious holidays like Christmas and Easter – great anticipation; then largely apathy followed by certain judgment - in the revelation of His Word -- - in the testimony of His people -- Don’t ignore Jesus and cause Him to depart Look at how Jesus will approach the world from the Mt. Olives in the Last Days – that will truly be the Triumphal Entry. Simple celebration isn’t discipleship. Enthusiasm isn’t faith. Have you responded to Jesus as your King and Sovereign? When have you seen excitement surrounding Jesus but without genuine submission and worship?

Excitement Over Jesus That Stops Short Of Worshiping Him As King Over All Quickly Fades Away

-- Paul Apple

May no one ever eat fruit from you again - Through Him all things were made, and so all things are brought subject to Him.  He need only say the words. 

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations - This was the city set high on a hill, and the temple told the story of redemption, but they had turned it into something of outward majesty but inward decay. It was a corrupt place of unjust balances, of mafia type religious leaders, those who prey on the sheep they were supposed to guard. He says nations, it was a place that was supposed to preach not just to the eyes but convict the souls also of everyone who saw this great place. Israel was to conduct themselves as God's ambassadors to a lost world. 

…7I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. 8Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. 9You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery.”… Psalm 2: 7-9

…7My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music. 8Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing Your praises among the peoples.… Psalm 57: 7-9

…10Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth. 11Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.… Psalm 2: 10-12

Have faith in God - Look at this within the context of what occurred as well. Jesus examined the temple, the place that was supposed to honor God. God's spirit had left the temple in the time of Ezekiel, right before the Babylonian captivity, when the leaders were worshiping God falsely and worshiping other gods. They removed those idols but replaced them with greed, with things much like the indulgences of the Roman Catholics. It was a place of prayer turned into a place of commerce, and crooked dealings at that. Now God is back, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, and they want to kill Him. Jesus looked at the place and found it still unrepentant, the people there, and this is a place that is to reflect His glory, yet He is holy and it is wicked. Next we see He curses the fig tree for not having fruit, and then He goes back and clears the temple. This same temple will be destroyed in 70 AD. These leaders did not reflect the glory of God, did not lead men to repentance, did not honor His word by staying faithful in it's teaching and practice. Where is the fruit? Instead they had become a mountain blocking the door to salvation, a spring of poisoned water spilling over with bad, damning doctrines. In every age pray for this sort of fog to be removed, stand up for righteousness, love the truth even if it means exiting this life sooner than you thought, for that is only the door to eternity. Pray for the mountain to be removed in your own life, the things that block the light of God's eternal glory, and may your light shine for all to see the fruit of the Spirit of God within you. We are the temple.

Steven Lawson on this faith Jesus is calling for in His disciples... the imperative of faith – divine command; not a suggestion

the object of faith; not have faith in faith = positive thinking movement

the exclusivity of faith – this is all that Jesus required of them – for salvation; sanctification; not faith plus anything else; sola fide

the responsibility of faith – each and every person is responsible before God to exercise their own will; parents cannot believe for their children

The urgency of faith – right now; not when you can get around to it or feel like doing it - Precept Austin

…7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.… Matthew 3: 7-9

…12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. … Matthew 23: 12-13

We do not know - They played the game, like reeds blowing in the wind, if I say this then these will be mad, if I say this than I concede that John was truly a prophet, and John pointed to Jesus. What do we do? Um, tell the truth, say what you really think, do you fear the crowd more than God? This is why you can't see Him standing in front of you, why it takes a blind man to cry out, "Son of David, have mercy on me."