Matthew 11

So imagine that you are, for some reason, flying in a helicopter above my house.

And you see me come out carrying a set of golf clubs.

And your first thought is likely that I plan to use those clubs to play golf.

Seems reasonable.

This idea is strengthened as you fly above my car and I drive to a golf course.

And the logical conclusion is again that I intend to play golf.

And I even unload my clubs and enter the clubhouse.

And even if you see me delay for an hour or so at each month or something, you still will

suspect I have done all of these things with the ultimate purpose of playing golf.

Now, to be honest, I haven't played golf in years and I actually don't have a car in London.

But the point I want to make is that we assume when people go somewhere, they go there for

a purpose.

We know that people have goals in traveling to a destination, even if they sort of delay

that goal.

Sometimes, though, we have these odd habits when we come to read our Bible.

For years, for example, I made no real effort to ask questions of our text.

Any text, but this one in front of us in particular.

You know, we stop reading wherever our English Bible has a new heading printed in between paragraphs.

And we assume that a particular given story ends there.

But that approach would produce a really odd understanding of our text today.

And so in the beginning of our text, we see what has been called Jesus's triumphal entry into

Jerusalem, where he rides this donkey into the city in order to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah

9.9, that the king of Israel will come into his city riding on a donkey.

But so many times we neglect the full account of Jesus's triumphal entry, that he goes not just

through the gate, but into the temple.

Why does he go to this temple?

And what was his goal?

And you might suspect that we're going to find our answer in Mark 11, 1 to 25.

Just like you would assume that I had a goal of playing golf and traveling to a golf course,

we would be right to assume that Jesus had a real and significant purpose in entering the

temple, even though we find out that he delayed his purpose until the next day.

So the main point this morning is that when God enters the scene, he renders judgment.

But for Christians, that judgment is in our favor.

When God enters the scene, he renders judgment.

But for Christians, that judgment is in our favor.

We're going to think about this in three points.

The four word to fruit, the false fruit, and the faith fruit.

So first, the four word to fruit.

So if you spend any time in the gospel of Mark, the question ringing throughout this book is,

who is Jesus?

Crowds of people constantly gather to him and yet seem to miss the point.

Over time, his disciples at least come to understand that he truly is the Messiah.

But they are still confused as he tells them about how the Messiah must be killed and rise from the dead.

That's not what they expected from their Messiah.

They expected the Messiah to ride triumphant into Jerusalem and crush the enemies of God's people,

whom they identified as the Romans.

The celebration surrounding Jesus' entry, triumphal entry into Jerusalem,

is because he was finally taking on some expected behavior of what people thought the Messiah would do.

So again, we think about how I mentioned Zechariah 9.9.

It predicted the king of God's people would ride into the city on a donkey.

And it's clear in this text that the people understood Jesus to be taking on that prophesied role.

That's why they're celebrating this event.

But the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, however,

comes in startling contrast with the way that Jesus leaves Jerusalem.

He comes into the gates, hailed as king,

and he goes out of the gates carrying the cross that would kill him.

This surprising change in how he was treated happened because of what he did inside the city.

He did not continue to act like the expected Messiah.

He does not kick out the Romans.

But he turns his blows against the Jews themselves.

So as Jesus entered the temple at the end of verse 11,

he looked around.

See that?

But not like a tourist.

Like a judge assessing the scene upon which he would render his verdict.

And the judgment that would come from that verdict.

And that sets the stage for this encounter with the fig tree

and Jesus' return to cast out the money changers.

When he looked around as he entered the temple,

he laid eyes on the corruption inside it.

And when he returned,

he would complete the goal he came to do in the first place.

The point has been so far to show

that often when God enters the scene,

he intends to render judgment.

But think about this.

Judgment is not always a bad thing.

And we have to keep that in mind.

Because judgment can be rendered in your favor.

But most of the time,

in Scripture,

when God comes in judgment,

it's not a pleasant thing.

In Malachi 3.5,

we read,

Then I will draw near to you for judgment.

I will be a swift witness against

the sorcerers,

against the adulterers,

against those who swear falsely,

against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages,

the widow and the fatherless,

against those who thrust aside the sojourner,

and do not fear me,

says the Lord of hosts.

We see here how,

again,

when God comes upon the scene,

he renders judgment.

Think even of Genesis 3.8,

all the way back there,

which occurred right after

Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God

walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

And the man and his wife hid themselves

from the presence of the Lord God

among the trees of the garden.

So,

think about that for just a second.

They heard the sound of God coming

and hid themselves

because they knew the judge was coming

and that they would fail his judgment.

The four words of fruit

is that Jesus' arrival at the temple

was not a sightseeing trip,

but was God the Son

coming to render judgment

on how his people

were using his temple.

That brings us to our second point,

the false fruit.

So,

Jesus' triumphal entry

into Jerusalem

forms a sort of prologue,

if we could put it that way,

to the stories about Jesus

and the fig tree

and cleansing the temple.

The point of the triumphal entry

was truly that God

had entered his temple

to render judgments

and the accounts

that follow in the entry

explain

what judgment Christ rendered

and why.

Mark's gospel

as a whole

uses this interesting

storytelling technique

called sandwiching.

And this means

that Mark begins

to tell one story

and then he interrupts it

by telling another story

and then he comes back

to finish

the first story

after he

tells that second.

So,

you get the one

story in the middle

of the two bits

like a sandwich.

You get it.

I'm sure.

And here,

in this instance,

the account

of cleansing the temple

comes in between

the beginning

and the end

of the fig tree

account.

So,

this is one example

of one of these

sandwiched passages

and the middle story

tells us something

important

about the meaning

of the whole passage.

That's how we figure out

what the purpose

of Mark

telling us

both these stories is

by putting them

together.

So,

if we think about

verses 12 to 14,

if you turn your eyes there,

many find these verses

troubling,

that Jesus would react

so viscerally

to the lack of fruit

on the fig tree.

Especially considering

that this text itself

tells us

that it was not

the season

for figs.

And there's

a curious thing.

There's another detail,

however,

that should give us

pause.

And

that is that

the tree,

the fig tree,

was in full leaf.

So,

when I was

in theological school

studying to be a minister,

the church where I interned,

there was a guy

who was one of the world's

leading experts

in figs.

Which is sort of

an interesting thing.

I didn't know

that that was

sort of a field

of study,

but I'm not really surprised.

But,

I asked him about

this passage

at one point,

we were discussing it,

and he told me

there are

breeds of fig trees

that grow

figs

before

they grow

leaves.

Or,

you know,

at least

the leaves

come so close

in time

to the figs

that it appears

as though the figs

come before the leaves.

Cash is out

the same way.

So,

the point

for our text,

though,

is that

full leaves,

full leaves,

you know,

it's not just some.

Full leaves

means

that this tree

is claiming

that it has

ripe fruit.

The leaves

are an

advertisement

for

fruit.

So,

if you're

driving

down the road

and you

see a cart

with a sign

beside it

that says

fresh fruit,

you expect

to find

fruit

in the cart.

Right?

And by being

in full

leaf,

this tree

announces

that it has

fruit for

the taking

and eating.

And yet,

this tree

is

false

advertising.

fruit,

although it

claims to

have fruit,

it's

barren.

And in light

of that,

it is

startling

how Mark

smashes

this account

of the

barren

fig tree

falsely

advertising

fruit with

the account

of Jesus

cleansing

the temple.

We saw

already

that Christ

came to

render

judgment

and then

he

rendered

judgment

against

this tree

and cursed

it

so that

no one

will ever

partake of

its fruit

again.

And then

Christ

entered

the temple

and cleansed

it of

the

mind

changers.

What is

even more

striking

here is

whom he

indicted.

In verse

18,

Jesus

does not

even

convict

those who

were

selling

in the

temple

courts,

but instead

the chief

priests

and scribes,

the religious

leaders of

Israel.

A quick

reading of

any of

the gospels

shows that

Jesus is

compassionate

for sinners

who are

broken and

repentant and

come to him

for help.

It also

shows how

he has

no patience

for

hypocritical

leaders.

And I'll

text clearly

demonstrates

why he

so vehemently

opposed

them.

Notice

how Jesus

did not

politely

ask the

money

changers

to leave.

He

drove

them

out.

There's

a violent

aspect

to this.

In fact,

John's

account of

this

event

tells of

Jesus

making a

whip

fit to

drive

them

out.

The

religious

leaders

and the

whole

temple

setup

had

become

like

that

fig tree

that

advertised

fruit

but was

in fact

barren.

Which is

exactly why

Mark

sandwiched

these

passages

together.

When

Jesus

entered

the

temple

he

found

corruption

in how

this

area

of the

temple

had been

filled

with

those

who

had

turned

God's

house

into

a

pawn

shop.

While

the chief

priests

and scribes

carried

themselves

as the

holiest

in the

world

they

were in

full

leaf.

On the

inside

they were

dead

and far

from God.

They had

no fruit.

They were

polished on

the outside

and making

every claim

to bearing

fruit for

God but

on closer

examination

proved that

they were

barren

and fruitless.

And we

think of

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 me.

The point

is

God

does not

take kindly

to those

who claim

to serve

his kingdom

and yet

prove to

be fruitless.

God

will reject

those who

root

themselves

among

his

people

but

bear

no

fruit.

Christ

came to

his temple

and found

them to be

covered

in lush

leaves

on the

outside

but there

was no

fruit to be

gathered.

the religious

leaders had

covered

themselves

in

ceremony

but had

taken

no care

to see

that their

hearts

bore fruit

of true

love for

God

true

repentance

over sin

or true

brokenness

for other

people.

And that

should address

us today

as well.

There are

many

there are

so many

undue

criticisms

against

the church

that she's

full of

hypocrites

which is

interesting

because we

do claim

to be

sinful

and then

prove it

so we're

not

hypocritical

in that

sense

but

there are

some times

when it

strikes home

doesn't it?

Maybe not

here I doubt

that but

broadly

speaking

and at

least at

the individual

level we

feel that

sting at

times.

There are

times in

our lives

when we

struggle with

sin but

but rather

than opening

up about it

and seeking

help we

clean ourselves

up for the

world.

It's not

that bad.

it can be

easy to

forget

that the

church is a

hospital for

sinners

and start

to think

everyone else

has it

together

and so we

should look

to part

two.

Usually

when we

start to

buy that

lie we

put on a

face and

try to

convince

everyone

that we've

got our

affairs in

order

and it's

not impossible

that even

someone here

can think

that going

through the

motions of

going to

church and

sounding like

a Christian

is enough.

It's not

difficult to

build an

external

religion and

set aside the

matters of the

heart.

but this

text shows

us that

Christ does

not care

about your

leaves.

And if you

wave your

leaves about

pretending to

be in full

fruit when

Christ comes

to the

fruitless

trees he

will find

that he

never knew

you.

The temple

adorned the

nation of

Israel as

her majestic

leaves.

Yet Christ

found Israel

Jerusalem

itself

barren.

And so

Israel and

the fig tree

were left

in the end

cursed and

without fruit

or leaves.

God said

of spiritual

adulterers in

Hosea 2

12

and I

will lay

waste her

vines and

her fig

trees of

which she

said these

are my

wages which

my lovers

have given

me.

I will make

them a

forest and

the beasts

of the field

shall devour

that.

the false

fruit was

then the

outward claim

to have

inner fruit

of love

and service

to God

which proves

to be a

sham.

Which brings

us to our

third point

the faith

fruit.

So

I mean

right it

can make us

really

uncomfortable

to discuss

how Christ

curses

those who

make false

claims to

bearing fruit

for him.

I get

that

because it

might

cause us

to question

what means

to have

fruit in

our lives

or if we

have enough

fruit

we begin

to worry

if we

are the

fig tree.

fruit in

and I'm

trying to

let that

discomfort

sit for

a few

minutes

on

purpose.

It's

good at

times to

let the

law have

its full

effect so

that the

gospel is

all the

sweeter.

And

although my

second point

drew attention

to how we

should be

convicted

by our

tendencies to

develop a

false sense

of security

based on

external

religion

at times

fortunately

our passage

doesn't end

with the

barren temple

and the

cursed fig tree.

In

verses 20

and 21

as the

disciples

pass

this

cursed

fig tree

they point

out to

Jesus

how it

is now

dead

withered

from its

roots.

And this

brings one

aspect of

the story

to a

head.

A tree

without fruit

is dead

and those

who would

block people

from true

worship of

God by

filling his

house with

vending

tables are

likewise

dead.

But how

does Christ

respond

to that?

In

verse 22

Jesus

pointed them

to have

faith

and then

recounts

the incredible

things that

can be done

in faith

and the

blessings that

we receive

by faith.

I mean

sometimes

biblical

texts become

familiar to

us and we

don't really

pause and

read them

slowly to

think about

them.

And the

thing is if

we're paying

attention to

this interaction

between Jesus

and the

disciples it

can seem

like a

really odd

transition on

Jesus' part

which he does

frequently.

Jesus look at

that dead

tree you

should have

faith.

So what do

we do with

that?

He is making

a profound

point.

He formed

a contrast

in this

response

between

dead

external

fruitless

religion

and living

by faith.

People can

be very good

at building

a religious

facade

even ones

that seem

very godly.

And what

Christ said

in contrast

to this

is not

that people

need to

try harder

or that

they even

need to

do

different

works

but that

they need

to believe.

This is

what the

gospel calls

us to do

is it not?

Let go

of our own

works because

none of them

measure up

anyway.

Let's be

honest.

and come

to Christ

by faith

to receive

salvation.

For those

who are

in Adam

the law

demands

perfection

and breathes

fire

and offers

only damnation.

For those

in Adam

the gavel

of God's

covenantal

courtroom

has sounded

and screams

guilty

and the

recompense

is death.

For those

who claim

to the

law

and remain

cordially

attached to

their own

efforts

to be

acceptable

to God

there's

no hope.

But

one of the

best words

in the

Bible

right

but

for those

who have

come to

Christ

by faith

Christ

offers to

us the

forgiveness

of all

of our

sins.

In

Christ

we are

able

to look

not to

our own

works

but to

make appeal

to the

cross

as the

reason

that God

should

forgive

us.

As the

Father

has poured

out all

of his

wrath

due to

sins

there.

we can

point to

Christ's

perfect

life

and point

to him

as our

representative

who stands

in heaven

to plead

our case

before the

throne of

God's

court.

For the

Christian

the gavel

has also

thundered

but for

those who

cling to

Christ

by faith

the verdict

does not

ring out

guilty

but

justified.

No one

can read

the list

of your

offenses

to God's

courtroom

because someone

has poured

blood on it.

Just one

final note

about our

text here

in Mark.

Many

have

suggested

that the

place

where these

money changers

were selling

their goods

was in

the

outermost

section

of the

temple

property

and this

area was

set aside

for

Gentiles

because

they were

not allowed

to enter

the innermost

parts

of the

temple

where only

Jews

could go.

By

setting up

these

sales

tables

the

nations

were

effectively

blocked

from

coming to

worship

God.

And yet

we read

in

Isaiah

56

6-8

and the

foreigners

who

join

themselves

to

the

Lord

to

minister

to

him

to

love

the

name

of

the

Lord

and

to

be

his

servants

everyone

who

keeps

the

Sabbath

and

does

not

profane

it

and

holds

fast

to

my

covenant

these

I

will

bring

to

my

holy

mountain

and

make

them

joyful

in

my

house

of

prayer

their

burnt

!

offerings

and

their

sacrifices

will

be

accepted

!

on

my

altar

for

my

house

shall

be

called

a

house

of

prayer

for

all

peoples

the

Lord

God

who

gathers

the

outcasts

of

Israel

declares

I

will

gather

yet

others

to

him

besides

those

already

gathered

God

longs

to

bring

the

nations

to

his

house

of

worship

and

the

good

news

is

that

each

and

every

person

is

welcome

to

come

and

trust

in

Christ

by

faith

God

will

deny

no

one

entrance

into

his

kingdom

if

they

come

to

Christ

and

trust

in

him

and

Christ

will

drive

out

those

who

would

block

you

from

coming

to

him

all

of

us

here

should

rejoice

at

that

invitation

whether

you

need

to

trust

Christ

today

for

the

first

time

that

could

be

and

this

is

the

moment

to

do

it

or

you

simply

need

to

hear

the

promises

of

the

gospel

anew

to

refresh

your

faith

come

to

Christ

now

and

drink

from

the

fountain

of

life

giving

water

the

life

that

he

offers

us

is

eternal

Christ

came

to

the

temple

in

judgment

and

he

cursed

it

just

as

he

triumphantly

entered

Jerusalem

Christ

will

triumphantly

come

again

at

the

last

day

he

will

render

judgment

and

will

issue

curses

for

all

those

who

have

trusted

in

false

religion

but

for

those

who

trust

in

him

he

will

render

the

verdict

of

not

guilty

and

will

welcome

us

what

a

striking

word

isn't

it

welcome

us

into

the

new

creation

where

we

will

be

given

a

crown

of

life

and

loved

by

him

forever

let's

pray