February 12– Reading Mark 11:12-25

Read and believe in Jesus

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”  Mark 11:17b

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The Gospel according to Mark 11:12-25

Last time, we saw Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, to the hails of “Hosannah!  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”  The people thought that Jesus was finally going to set up His Kingdom and defeat the Romans.  They didn’t know that by that Friday, Jesus was going to be crucified by those very Romans at the behest of their Jewish religious leaders.

After He came into the Holy City, He went to the Temple Mount, where He looked carefully around at the buying and selling, the noise and the mess, the greed and the hypocrisy.  Then He went with His disciples back to Bethany, possibly to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus for the night.

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Vss.15-19.

The next morning (Monday), Jesus entered the city and went again to the Temple Mount.  A cacophony of raised voices and distressed animal cries assaulted Him. Vile odors filled his nostrils, and where peace and worship should have been, there was hypocrisy, greed, and extortion. Yes, many who traveled a great distance for Passover had to purchase animals for sacrifice upon their arrival. Their Roman or foreign coins were not accepted in the Temple, and they also had to be exchanged (for a fee). But this all should have been done outside the courts of the Temple!

In righteous anger for the sake of His Father, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus began driving out those who sold and those who bought animals.  He overturned the tables of the moneychangers, scattering the coins across the pavement, and He upset the seats of those who sold pigeons. Chaos ensued. Angry shouts and threats followed His actions.

In a loud voice, Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations!'” and Jeremiah 7:11, “But you have made it a den of robbers!”

The chief priests and scribes were furious at the loss of their commerce.  They wanted to destroy Jesus, but feared Him, because the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 

Later, towards evening, when things quieted down, Jesus and the disciples left the city.

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That was the “meat” of this section’s “sandwich.”  You remember Mark’s sandwiches?  Next, we’ll look at the top and bottom “bread” sections.

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Vss. 12-14. (bottom slice)

Early that same morning, Jesus and the men left Bethany. Jesus was hungry. (Perhaps they’d left before Martha could prepare food.)  As they walked over and down the Mount of OLIVES, Jesus saw a green FIG tree in the distance, along the road.  A handful of figs would do nicely for breakfast. But when they got close, they saw the tree had NO FRUIT, despite being fully leafed out. 

(When fig trees end their winter dormancy, they first develop figs, which grow ripe as the leaves come on.  It was early in the year, but if there were leaves, the tree SHOULD have had fruit.)  What a disappointment.

Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Okay, Jesus was not having a temper tantrum. 

Because He spoke “to” the tree, this shows He was personifying it.  The fig tree was frequently an Old Testament “type” of the Jewish nation of Israel. (See Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:7, Nahum 3:12, Zechariah 3:10.)  This was a divine “object lesson” about Israel’s hypocrisy and fruitlessness despite all its advantages.  Jesus’ cursing of it illustrated God’s judgment against the earthly Israel, especially in the rejection of their Messiah.

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Vss. 20-26. (top slice)

Morning again.  It’s Tuesday, and again Jesus and the disciples are leaving Bethany and heading towards the City. They come by the fig tree, which is now completely withered from the ground up.

At once, Peter notices it and cries out, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that You cursed has withered.”

And Jesus answers, “Have faith in God. Truly, I tell 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.”  And, “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

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Now, what in the world was Jesus teaching?  Surely NOT the “Name it and Claim it” doctrine so foolishly taught by some tele-evangelists today.

The expression “rooter up of mountains” was used in Jewish lore about great rabbis or leaders who could solve difficult problems and seemingly do the impossible. 

(NOTE: Jesus never did gratuitous miracles, although the Pharisees demanded Him several times for such a sign to prove He was a Messiah.)   

No, Jesus was telling His disciples that if they sincerely trusted in God and realized the power that is available through such faith in Him, they would see mighty powers at work. 

In His private “upper room discourse” with them (John 14:12-13), Jesus said, “Whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” And, “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the FATHER MAY BE GLORIFIED in the Son.”

And of course, 1 John 5:14. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, He hears us.” (and will give us what we request.)

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Yes, Jesus is still teaching His disciples by words and actions. His time with them is very short.  In two days, what He told them three times  will begin to come to pass:

1. The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes.
2. They will condemn him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles.
3. They will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him … and kill Him.
4. And after three days, He will rise.  (Mark 10: 33-34)