Mark 11:11-21

I always appreciate when you're asked to be seated.

The chairs in the back half, the folding chairs with the pads on them,

! When you guys all sit down at the exact same time, they go...

Have you ever heard that or not?

Just to give you a little insight into my mind,

if you've ever seen a guy do squats and he exhales before he pushes up,

that's what I imagine all the chairs going...

when you guys all sit down on them at the same time.

Like that.

Mark chapter 11.

Mark 11 · chapter mention

I'm going to begin reading to you in verse 11.

And he, being Jesus, 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.

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.

And seeing in the distance a fig tree and 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.

And he said to it,

May no one ever eat fruit from you again.

And his disciples heard it.

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.

And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.

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.

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.

And when evening came, they went out of the city.

As they passed by in the morning,

they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

And people remembered and said to him,

Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed has withered.

This is God's word to us,

written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Let's pray together.

Father God, we do thank you this morning for your word.

And this is the expression,

the physical thing that we gather around today,

because it speaks of Jesus, the word of God.

It points us to him.

And every single word, every verse,

every passage points us to the one, Jesus Christ.

And we thank you for the gospel of Mark

that we have been able to behold the life,

the practice, the words of Jesus here.

And I pray, Father, this morning,

that you will have your way with us

as we sit under the instruction of your word.

That you will shape our hearts.

That you will make us look more like Christ

for your glory and for our good.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So, interestingly, here we find,

in Mark's gospel,

kind of a bookend literary technique.

We see a story framed within a story.

And it would seem that this is meant to help us

interpret both events properly.

There can be some confusion about the chronology of these events.

In Matthew chapter 21,

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

they're not recorded in this way,

in this bookended fashion.

But rather, the temple cleansing happens,

and then the fig tree event happens.

And Matthew records that it withers at once.

Jesus curses it,

and it withers right away.

Some people get very troubled by this,

that the chronology is different

in Matthew's gospel

and in Mark's gospel.

And let me just say to you,

pastorally,

please don't let your hearts be troubled

by such things.

I believe that the chronology

probably happened in reality

the way Matthew records it,

but that Mark,

under inspiration,

records it for us in this way

to highlight the meanings for us,

to help us better understand.

It doesn't mean that the meaning

has changed

by any stretch of the imagination,

but simply that he's trying

to better help us understand

the greater purposes

of these two stories

in the Gospels.

The fact that it happened

is recorded by both Matthew and Mark.

Both of these events

did indeed happen.

And so here we find ourselves

in Mark's gospel account.

Verse 11,

at the end of Jesus' triumphal entry,

he goes into Jerusalem

and into the temple,

and he has a look around.

It's kind of a scouting trip for him.

He goes in to see

what has been happening

in the temple,

but it's late at this hour

and people have gone home

at this time,

and so they return back to Bethany,

to the house of Mary and Martha

is where they're staying

at this time.

And they had back out.

And the following morning

in verse 12,

we see that they had now back in.

And we see this wonderful expression

of Jesus' humanity

that he is hungry.

He's hungry to the degree

that he's rather frustrated

when he doesn't find

the food that he needs

for his hunger.

And we may ask,

does Jesus not eat breakfast

before he heads off

for an important day?

He had a big day ahead of him.

Certainly, we should all eat breakfast

before big important days.

And it's likely that Mary and Martha

and their production of food,

their providing for all

that the disciples needed,

that Jesus missed this

because it was his habit

to go out early in the morning

and to pray.

This is conjecture on my part.

Please hear me.

The text doesn't state this to us.

But I would assume that Jesus,

knowing what was confronting him

that week,

we're in the Passion Week,

the very week that he'll be crucified,

was extra fervent in prayer,

that he was out on his knees

before the Lord,

making sure that he was walking

properly before him.

He also knew what he was about

to go do at the temple.

You remember the evening before,

he had gone in and scouted it out.

He had seen the tables

of the money changers

and those who were selling

the pigeons and the doves.

And he knew what he was coming back in

to do.

And so, likely,

again conjecture,

he missed breakfast.

And so he's hungry.

He was a man,

fully human,

and experienced all of the same

pains that we do in life.

So he sees,

from far off,

a fig tree in leaf,

in verse 13.

Now, it's interesting as we read this

because he arrives at this tree

that has no figs on it,

and Mark records for us

that it's not the season for figs.

And so it seems interesting

when you first look at the text

because you say,

how is it that Jesus got upset

at a thing,

created thing,

following its proper order,

that had not created food

for him to eat?

How was it that he was

so upset at it

that he curses it

so that it'll never produce fruit

again,

knowing full well

the case that it should be in?

And the point is,

you've got to look a little bit,

you've got to dig a little deeper,

and you've got to understand figs.

I had to do this.

I don't know anything about figs

until this past two weeks.

A fig tree puts on fruit

before it puts on leaves.

So the fruit is first produced.

The fig puts its energy

into producing the fruit

first,

and then the leaves,

and then the fruit

begins to mature.

Now remember,

this is Passover week.

On our calendar,

March or April,

sometime in this span,

which is when the fruits

would have come on

to the fig tree,

followed by the leaf.

But those fruits

wouldn't have come

to full maturity

until somewhere

between August and October.

So in the fall

is when the ripened fruit

was actually harvested.

However,

people in this day

would eat the green fruit

from the fig tree,

particularly if they were

very hungry.

So what Mark is telling us

is it's not the full time.

It's not the fall.

It's not the fall.

It's the full ripe fruit

shouldn't be on this thing yet,

but the green ones

should have been

because the tree is in leaf.

That's why that is recorded for us

that the fig tree is in leaf.

So Jesus would have expected

that there would have been

small, hard, green fruit

that would have satisfied

his hunger.

So the fruit comes first

and second comes the leaf.

And it's an important thing

to understand

about why he would have

expected fruit.

In verse 14,

when he doesn't find it,

we see Jesus'

only destructive miracle,

that is,

he produced lots of miracles

that were always constructive

or reconstructive,

healing people,

but this is the only one

where he produces a miracle

that actually destroys something

as he utters a curse

against the tree.

We know it's a curse

because down in verse 21

it says,

And Peter remembered

and said to him,

Rabbi, look,

the fig tree that you cursed

has withered.

The curse he utters is,

May no one ever eat fruit

from you again.

It seems a little bit

like a spiteful act

against the tree,

doesn't it?

Like, why is Jesus

so frustrated

and so upset

that he curses a tree?

Is this some type

of random act of anger

on behalf of our Lord?

No.

Of course,

the answer is no

to that question.

Jesus' curse on the tree

was meant to prefigure

the destruction

of the fruitless.

He's displaying something

for the disciples

to see.

Does Jesus ultimately care

about the life of the tree?

No, he doesn't.

Was he so frustrated

that he had to take out

his anger on the tree?

No, he didn't.

He's doing something here

to teach the disciples

and therefore us

something as well.

The coming destruction

of the fruitless,

of those who do not

bear fruit.

Now, our minds,

as the fastidious students,

I'm sure we all are

of the Scriptures,

likely go to

New Testament texts.

Places like

Matthew 7,

the Sermon on the Mount,

verses 17-19.

So,

every healthy tree

bears good fruit.

The diseased tree

bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree

cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a diseased tree

bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not

bear good fruit

is cut down

and thrown into the fire.

Or John 15,

John 15:5

verses 5 and 6.

Jesus says,

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me

and I in him,

he it is that bears

much fruit.

For apart from me

you can do nothing.

So those who are in Christ

produce good fruit.

verse 6 says,

if anyone does not

abide in me,

he is thrown away

like a branch

and withers.

And the branches

are gathered,

thrown into the fire

and burned.

So there's a judgment

that comes on those

in Matthew 7

who don't bear

good fruit,

fruit that accords

with godliness.

And in John 15,

those who bear

no fruit at all,

who are cut off

from the life-giving

force of the vine,

and wither

and are thrown

into the fire.

The judgment comes.

Now,

the apostles

wouldn't have had

our New Testament text

as part of their scriptures,

but they also,

as students of the scriptures,

would have gone

to their scriptures,

the Old Testament texts.

Ones like Jeremiah 8.13

When I would gather them,

declares the Lord,

there are no grapes

on the vine,

nor figs

on the fig tree.

Even the leaves

are withered,

and what I gave them

has passed away from them.

Jeremiah is proclaiming

judgment on Israel.

Jeremiah 24.

Jeremiah has a vision

of Israel's judgment

in terms of good figs

versus bad figs.

In Hosea 9.10,

Like grapes in the wilderness

I found Israel,

like the first fruit

on the fig tree

in its first season

I saw your fathers.

But they came to Baal Peor

and consecrated themselves

to the things of shame

and became detestable

like the things they loved.

Verse 16 and 17.

Ephraim,

another name

for the northern tribe,

is stricken.

Their root is dried up.

They shall bear no fruit.

Even though they give birth,

I will put their beloved children

to death.

My God will reject them

because they have not listened to Him.

They shall be wanders

among the nations.

So they would have been

very familiar

with this imagery.

They would have understood

that Jesus proclaiming judgment

on the fig tree

was a foreshadowing

of the judgment

that would come

to the fruitless.

In either case,

New Testament or Old,

the theme holds.

Those who are fruitless

will be judged.

And so we must ask the question

at this point,

do you bear fruit?

I must ask the question to myself,

do I bear fruit?

We should examine our fruit.

Now our fruit does not give us

merit before God.

It doesn't give us merit.

It doesn't earn.

I don't have a big basket of fruit

and I have enough fruit,

enough good working

out of my life

that He'll put it on a scale

and say,

your good fruit

outweighs your bad fruit.

Welcome to my kingdom.

This is not what's happening.

We're not meriting ourselves

to Him.

If you are found in Christ,

God is pleased with you

because of the righteousness

of Christ.

This is the beauty

of the Gospel.

Because none of us

are ever going to be able

to amass enough good fruit

to outweigh the bad fruit.

This is not a possibility

for us to earn our way.

But if we are in Christ,

we have been made perfect

in Him.

This is the glorious truth

that God is pleased with us

regardless,

that nothing takes us

out of His hand,

that when He looks at us,

He sees Jesus.

Even when we fail,

even when we bear

the guilt of that,

we know that we've failed,

we know that we don't walk

in the way that we should walk.

He looks at us

and He is pleased.

Beloved,

this is precious

for us to know.

This is what enables us

when we fall flat

on our faces,

when we commit

grievous sin

against God,

to stand back up

and look at Him

to repent,

to enter back

into His presence,

to be back in relationship

with Him

because Christ

has purchased that

for us.

This is the reality

of those of us

who have placed

believing faith

in Jesus Christ.

However,

we are instructed,

we are meant

to test that salvation,

to be sure of it,

to know without a doubt

that we are found

in Christ

by what?

Our fruit.

the outworking

of the reality

of who we are.

Old has passed away.

New has come.

Right?

I am now a good tree.

I was once a bad tree

and I produced bad fruit,

but I am now a good tree

and therefore

I produce good fruit.

But I should examine that.

2 Corinthians 13.5

Paul says,

examine yourselves

to see whether you are

in the faith.

He's writing to the church.

Those that we would all

presume were in the faith.

He says,

examine yourselves.

Test yourselves.

Or do you not realize

this about yourselves,

that Jesus Christ

is in you

unless indeed

you fail to meet

the test?

The test is this

issue of fruit,

which is ultimately

an issue

of worship.

How do you spend

your life?

What do you ultimately

care about?

How do you

align everything

that you have

and all that you do

to show that you

worship the one

true God?

You don't worship

yourself.

You don't worship

the things of this world.

You worship God.

This is what God

is concerned about

in the Old Testament.

Obedience to the law

was ultimately

an act of worship.

Aligning the Old Testament

peoples,

aligning themselves

with God,

worshipped Him

by obeying His law.

This is what God

is concerned

within the New Testament.

This is what Jesus

is concerned about.

It's heart worship

worship that matters.

He could have spoken

about all kinds

of things.

We're now in the

11th chapter of Mark.

We've come through

10 chapters already

and we've seen Jesus

teach on numerous

occasions.

He could have spoken

about lots of things.

Political issues,

social issues,

there were troubles

in this day.

He could have spoken

to all of those things.

He would have had

wisdom for all of

those things,

but He instead spoke

repeatedly about

heart worship.

He knew that if we

would align ourselves

with God,

that all those things

would begin to sort

themselves out.

The primary thing

reigns over those

secondary things.

Jesus constantly

pressed at people.

You were created

for something.

God is calling you

back to Him.

Worship Him

from the heart.

It's not merely

the exterior that

matters,

but the interior.

Let's look at one

example.

We should turn back

to Mark chapter 7.

Mark 7 · chapter mention

There's one example

of His teaching on this.

Begin reading in verse 14.

And He called the people

to Him again and said

to them,

Hear me,

all of you,

and understand.

There is nothing

outside a person

that by going into Him

can defile Him,

but the things that

come out of a person

are what defile Him.

The fruit, right?

And when He had

entered the house

and left the people,

His disciples asked Him

about the parable.

And He said to them,

Then are you also

without understanding?

Do you not see

that whatever goes

into a person

from outside

cannot defile Him

since it enters

not His heart

but His stomach

and is expelled?

Thus He declared

all foods clean.

Mark's little

parenthetical

addition

commentary.

Jesus is saying

all of these regulations

about food,

don't you see that

this isn't what

changes your heart

because it just goes

into your stomach

and goes back

out of you.

Verse 20,

And He said,

What comes out

of a person

is what defiles Him?

For from within

out of the heart

of man

come evil thoughts,

sexual immorality,

theft,

murder,

adultery,

coveting,

wickedness,

deceit,

sensuality,

envy,

slander,

pride,

foolishness.

All these evil things

come from within

and they defile a person.

So the evidences

of someone's heart

not being shaped by God,

not being made new

in Christ

is the bad stuff

that's coming out of them.

Those things

that are not

fruits of the Spirit

but are rather

fruits of the flesh.

This issue

is pressed

constantly throughout

the Gospel account.

It's pressed in all

the Scriptures

as a matter of fact

that true worship

of God

is an issue

of our hearts.

That works out

in proper ways.

Hear me say that.

It works out

in proper ways

but it's primarily

about our hearts

and the fruit

is the way

in which

we test this.

The issue

is continued

in Jesus' activity

in the temple

picking back up

in verse 15.

You see,

the temple

was at the heart

of Israel's worship.

Metaphorically,

it was the heart

of the nation.

Just as proper worship

now proceeds

from our hearts

figuratively

and in a practical sense,

proper worship

proceeded from the temple.

If the leaders

of the temple

were corrupt

then the people

of God

were also corrupted.

This was a truth

in this day.

The apostasy began

at the temple

and this is what

Jesus is going in

to sort out

and to cleanse

from this place.

This is why

and this is much debated

I'll tell you

but this is why

I believe

that Jesus

started His ministry

with the cleansing

of the temple

and then ends it

here

as He's wrapping

things up

with a second

cleansing

of the temple.

Now I'll tell you

there's a lot

of argument

about this kind

of thing

but John

records it

very early

in his gospel

account

John chapter 2

John 2:13–17

verses 13

through 17

it seems

that Jesus

goes and makes

a side journey

takes off

goes to Jerusalem

does some temple

cleansing

in that account

we see that

He makes a

whip of cords

I love this one

He's so frustrated

that He braids

up something

and drives people

out in this

account here

there's a different

record of what

said to Him

and what proceeds

after what happens

in the actual

temple event

so I think

He began it

here

He spends

three years

ministering to

the people of

Israel

and He comes

back now

and I think

this is why

He went in

to scout out

what was going

on

He's back

again

on the Passover

week

He's going

to see if

they've sorted

things out

in Israel

or not

He's sorely

disappointed

so He goes

in to cleanse

it once

again

an interesting

parable that

he tells

which I think

gives us

some clue

to the

validity

of my stance

here

is Luke

Luke 13:6–9

chapter 13

verses 6

through 9

he says

and he told

this parable

a man had

a fig tree

planted in his

vineyard

and he came

seeking fruit

on it

and found

none

first cleansing

he came

seeking fruit

on it

he found

none

and he said

to the

vine dresser

look

for three

years now

I have

come

seeking fruit

on this

fig tree

and I

find

none

cut it

down

why

should

it

use

up

the

ground

and he

answered

him

sir

let it

alone

this

year

also

until I

dig

around

it

and put

more

on

manure

then it

should

bear

fruit

next

year

well

and

good

but if

not

you

can

cut

it

down

so

you

see

this

three

year

gap

he even

speaks

about

in this

end

why

because

he had

taught

them

the way

they

should

align

their

hearts

he taught

them

the proper

fruit

that should

proceed

and they

had yet

to do

it

so he

does at

the beginning

he concludes

the ministry

with his

miracles

cleansing

the temple

we've got

one more

miracle

which is

the miracle

of the

resurrection

but except

for that

we don't

see any

other

miracles

in

Mark's

gospel

account

this is

the last

one

except

for

the

resurrection

that he

does

Jesus

was upset

about the

improper

use

of the

court

of the

Gentiles

this is

the

outer

court

of the

temple

of the

worship

the

Gentiles

were allowed

in this

arena

of the

court

we see

that there

are money

changers

there

they were

turning

various

currencies

into

Tyrian

coinage

this was

the coinage

that was

accepted

in temple

worship

they were

selling

pigeons

or

doves

which were

required

for

sacrifice

Leviticus

5

7

says

but if

he

cannot

afford

a

lamb

then

he

shall

bring

to

the

Lord

as his

compensation

for the

sin

that he

has

committed

two

turtle

doves

or two

pigeons

one

for a

sin

offering

and the

other

for a

burnt

offering

so

these

activities

would have

been

things

that

needed

to

happen

people

would have

needed

to

purchase

a

turtle

dove

or

purchase

pigeons

they

would have

needed

their

coinage

to see

that

Jesus

actually

drives

out

both

those

who

sold

and

those

who

bought

so

it

would

actually

seem

that

the

activity

itself

wasn't

so

sinful

that

these

things

were

permitted

to

happen

but

not

in

this

place

they

had

come

into

a

place

that

was

meant

for

something

altogether

different

and

they

had

turned

it

into

a

place

for

the

exchanging

of

money

for

the

extortion

of

God

the

court

was

also

not

to

be

used

as

a

thoroughfare

he

stopped

people

from

cutting

the

corner

around

the

temple

and

cutting

across

this

temple

court

on

the

outside

and

then

we

get

some

clue

that

it's

possible

that

there

was

some

unfair

trade

happening

because

he

says

in

verse

17

at

the

end

but

you

have

made

it

a

den

of

robbers

so

lightly

there

was

beyond

the

fair

exchange

of

money

and

selling

of

these

sacrificial

animals

they

were

extorting

people

above

and

beyond

what

they

should

have

been

to

do

this

thing

but

he

is

altogether

displeased

with

what

is

happening

in

the

court

and

he

drives

them

out

people

could

have

been

there

so

the

fact

that

he

drove

people

out

probably

mean

he

kind

of

herded

them

out

and

that's

something

I

would

have

loved

to

have

seen

both

the

account

with

the

whip

and

then

him

flipping

over

tables

in

his

anger

and

pressing

people

out

of

this

place

I

mean

one

man

couldn't

have

done

this

by

his

own

human

physical

strength

it

was

probably

because

he

was

mean

that

we

have

righteous

anger

we

could

wrongly

do

that

the

main

point

of

this

text

now

I

would

exhort

you

that

at

times

speaking

the

truth

in

loves

means

turning

over

a few

tables

there's

actually

not

enough

of

that

in

our

culture

today

people

who

are

willing

to

contend

for

the

truth

people

who

are

willing

to

toss

a

table

now

and

then

and

stand

up

for

the

Lord

we

need

more

of

this

we

need

mighty

men

right

not

mansy

pansy

Christians

but

people

who

will

stand

firm

on

the

word

of

God

and

do

what

is

necessary

to

correct

doctrine

at

times

in

love

these

things

should

be

done

we

should

not

primarily

make

Jesus

action

here

about

setting

an

example

for

our

zeal

although

true

we

shouldn't

make

it

primarily

about

that

I

want

you

to

!

me

to

the

Old

Testament

book

of

Nehemiah

I

want

to

share

with

you

a

story

that

I

particularly

love

I

realized

in

this

past

few

weeks

that

when

we

preach

through

the

book

of

Nehemiah

that's

now

been

two

summers

ago

which

just

kind

of

made

my

head

explode

Nehemiah

is

a

prophet

of

God

who

has

returned

to

Israel

he

has

been

the

cup

bearer

for

King

Artaxerxes

the

Persian

king

and

King

Artaxerxes

has

begun

to

let

the

Israelites

go

back

to

the

nation

and

they

have

yet

to

rebuild

Jerusalem

so the

major

activity

of

Nehemiah

is

he

goes

back

and

he

leads

the

people

in

rebuilding

the

city

which

was

the

visible

way

in

which

people

saw

the

glory

of

God

like

how

are

the

people

of

Israel

doing

so

he

went

back

and

he

built

the

wall

they

rebuilt

the

temple

at

this

time

and

he

had

some

antagonists

all

throughout

the

story

one

of

those

antagonists

was

a

guy

named

13

we

see

that

Nehemiah

goes

back

to

King

Artaxerxes

for a

time

and

some

things

transpire

in

that

time

beginning

in

verse

4

now

before

this

Eliashib

the

priest

who

was

appointed

over

the

chambers

of

the

house

of

our

God

and

who

was

related

to

Tobiah

prepared

for

Tobiah

a

large

chamber

where

they

had

previously

put

the

grain

offering

the

frankincense

the

vessels

and

the

tithes

of

grain

wine

and

oil

which

were

given

by

commandment

to

the

Levites

singers

and

gatekeepers

and

the

contributions

for

the

priests

now

these

things

are

storehouses

built

prescribed

to be

built

and

there

were

things

put

in

them

to

care

for

those

who

were

leading

people

in

the

worship

of

God

right

instead

of

that

Eliashib

clears

a

mountain

gives

it

as

a

house

to

Tobiah

verse

6

while

this

was

taking

place

I

was

not

in

Jerusalem

for

in

the

32nd

year

Artaxerxes

king

of

Babylon

I

went

to

the

king

and

after

some

time

I

asked

leave

of

the

king

and

came

to

Jerusalem

and

I

then

discovered

the

evil

that

Eliashib

had

done

for

Tobiah

preparing

for

him

a

chamber

in

the

courts

of

the

house

of

God

and

I

was

very

angry

and

I

threw

!

the

household

furniture

of

Tobiah

out

of

the

chamber

then

I

gave

orders

and

they

cleansed

the

chambers

and

I

brought

back

there

the

vessels

of

the

house

of

God

with

the

grain

offering

and

the

frankincense

so

he

comes

back

and

the

house

of

God

had

been

used

for

something

that

it