Please find a Bible and turn with me to Mark, chapter 11.
Today’s passage recalls the events of the first three days of the last week before Jesus’s crucifixion. In today’s passage, we see what appears to be at face value, some strange behavior and teaching from Jesus. Notably, the cursing of a tree for no apparent reason, seemingly lashing out in anger with violence in the temple, and in the midst of it all, a blank check promise that we can ask for anything in prayer, and if we believe hard enough, we will receive it.
What is going on? There is a lot, but it all goes together. We’ll see how when we break it down by day. Let’s read and find out.
DAY 1: Jesus The King Enters His City
During his three year ministry so far, which we’ve been going over for the first ten chapters, Jesus has been pretty quiet about his identity as Messiah. He’s been teaching and performing miracles in ways that make it undoubtable that this is who he is, but his actions in our chapter today are his first public proclamation that he is indeed the Messiah.
Mark 11:1–11 (CSB)
1 When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, 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 needs it and will send it back here right away.’ ” 4 So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, 5 and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it.
8 Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: 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 heaven! 11 He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
These first eleven verses are full of old testament references to the Messiah. First, he comes into the city riding on a colt. A reference to:
Zechariah 9:9 (CSB)
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The people recognize what he is doing. They’ve been hearing about and witnessing his miracles, they’re pretty sure he’s the Messiah, and now is the time when he will save them, in their minds from Roman oppression, restoring Israel to its rightful political prominence in the world, and so they shout “Hosanna!”
They are reciting part of Psalm 118, acknowledging his status as Lord:
Psalm 118:25–26a (CSB)
Lord, save us! [“Lord, Hosanna!”] Lord, please grant us success!
He who comes in the name of the Lord is blessed.
They are expecting him now to go to the temple, from which he will usher in the age of Messianic rule, and clear out Israel’s enemies from the nation.The prophet Malachi reported God’s words in the last book of the Old Testament:
Malachi 3:1-2 (CSB)
1 “See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach.
What the people do not realize is that they, as a nation, were the ones that needed the refiner’s fire and the launderer’s bleach. They thought that was coming for the gentiles, not them. The Messiah, Jesus, did not come to give God’s people political power over their enemies. He came to rescue them from their slavery to sin and corruption and false worship of God, and to welcome them, and their “enemies” as part of God’s family, for all who have faith in him!
There is some real dramatic irony in verse 11 “He went into Jerusalem and into the temple….” You can almost hear the crowd continuing to cheer as he makes his way through the streets of Jerusalem to the temple, and then fall to silence when “…After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” - Jesus shows up, goes to the temple, just as expected, but instead of ushering in Messianic rule, he looks around, and… …leaves.“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
And he’s bringing his launderer’s bleach with him.
Day 2: Jesus The Prophet, Judges His Temple
Mark 11:12–14 (CSB)
12 The next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard it.
The Fruitless Fig Tree
What is going on with the cursing of the fig tree? Was Jesus “hangry”? It wasn’t the fig tree’s fault it didn’t have any fruit! Why did Jesus curse it? Was he having a bad day?
We have to understand the next two scenes, the cursing of the fig tree and the turning over of tables as prophetic actions. Like prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus was acting out illustrations of God’s judgement on God’s people.
The fig tree had the external appearance of life and health: leaves! But upon closer inspection, it was bearing no fruit. This was the case with the temple system. It had an outward appearance of worship of God, but it wasn’t accomplishing God’s purpose. Jesus’s curse of the fig tree was an illustration that, just as that tree’s time was over, so it is with the temple. Which is why he starts turning over tables, and quoting old testament prophets.
Cleansing the Temple
Mark 11:15–19 (CSB)
15 They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching. 19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
“My house will be a house of prayer for all nations…” this is a reference to Isaiah 56, which is speaking of the inclusion of the gentiles in God’s covenant.
Isaiah 56:7 (CSB)
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
In Jesus’s day, the Jews and their religious leaders had turned the worship of God into an profitable industry. Lots of money had to change hands to buy the things needed for sacrifices. People had to travel to get to Jerusalem, so money changers were there to make things more “convenient.” And we all know about convenience store prices… there’s a markup.
“…you have made it a den of robbers” Jesus is quoting Jeremiah 7.
Jeremiah 7:9–11 (CSB)
9 “ ‘Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known? 10 Then do you come and stand before me in this house that bears my name and say, “We are rescued, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts”? 11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it. This is the Lord’s declaration.
The Jews were presuming on God’s forgiveness. They had the temple, therefore, they assumed, they had God’s favor. They were the chosen and rescued people and so didn’t need to worry about how they lived.
To this Jesus says, no it is not your status as a Jew, nor your prayers at the temple that save you. All nations can be saved, by their trust in God, not their performing of religious duty!Religion does not save. Faith in Christ saves!
And so the next morning, day three, when the disciples come back into the city and see the withered fig tree, and ask Jesus about it, it is almost as if Jesus dodges the question.
DAY 3: Ask for… anything?
Mark 11:20-26 (CSB)
20 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”
Is Jesus saying “hey, you too could tell the tree to wither and it would if you just had enough faith!” You can make magic things happen if you pray right and believe hard!”No. Let’s take a closer look.
Faith in God, Not in Prayers
Where is he directing you to place your faith? In the fervency and sincerity of your prayer? No, in the God who hears. Have faith in God, not in your prayers, your ability to believe hard enough to will something into existence. Have faith in God who is able to do even the impossible.
Even in the Face of What Seems Impossible
Jesus does not tell us to limit our prayers to what we think is possible. “Moving mountains” was (still is) a popular idiom for seemingly impossible tasks. Jesus doesn’t say “only pray for what you think is reasonable” - but rather, pray for the things you need, even if it seems impossible. From a human standpoint.
Friday morning, I got to hear about a friend’s unbelieving family member finally coming to faith in Christ, after years of praying, even to the point of feeling like “this is never going to happen.”
I hope you have situations in your life like that, where you are praying, hope against hope that God will come through, even when it seems there is no humanly way it will happen. God wants you there. He wants you trusting in his grace, not in your effort, even effort in praying.
Trusting in God’s Grace
Notice the emphasis on “it will be done FOR you…” and on “receiving it” rather than you making it happen. That emphasis is intentional. We’re trusting in God’s grace, not in our religious effort.
And finally, Jesus directs our prayers here.
Emphasis on Forgiveness
Verse 25 is a mountain of a verse that we must pause on. Whenever you pray to God. Whenever you come to worship. Whenever you’d approach Him with a request, if you are harboring something against someone in your own heart, you are to release it. How many of our prayers go unanswered because we are unforgiving?
Does Jesus Mean It?
This passage on prayer - asking for anything - is a challenging passage. It’s almost unbelievable! Is it true? Does Jesus mean it? Are there limits? It sure doesn’t sound like it? I think it is important to remember that these verses do not constitute the whole Bible’s teaching on the matter of prayer.
Mark’s gospel does not contain “The Lord’s Prayer” the famous passage where Jesus’s disciples as him to teach them to pray, and he gives them the famous words: “Our father in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”That’s not in Mark.
We did a series this past summer on what the Bible teaches on prayer, I’d encourage you to go listen to the series if you haven’t and are wanting to know more about prayer. Prayer is such a central part of the Christian life. Speaking to God in prayer, hearing from Him in His words in the Bible. That’s the core of our relationship with God.
But even though Mark’s gospel does not contain the Lord’s prayer, there is one more moment in chapter 14 where we see Jesus pray, that adds such an important ingredient to the Bible’s teaching on prayer.
If I could summarize our passage’s teaching on prayer today, it would be “Trust God! Ask him for ANYTHING, and don’t doubt that he can do it! Even the seemingly impossible!”But chapter 14 adds the only balance that I think needs to be added to that teaching:
Jesus Models The Kind of Prayer He Means
Mark 14:36 (CSB)
“Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.”
The heart that is willing to trust God for anything, and to acknowledge that God is all powerful over everything - and also is willing to submit their desire to His will. This is the kind of faith-filled-mountain-moving powerful prayer that God is after.
Pray for that answer that you so desperately need in your life, while you’re doing it, forgive anyone you have anything against. And then place your desperate request trustingly in His hands and say “but you know best what I truly need, and that’s really what I want after all.”
I think that Jesus teaches the disciples this in response to their noticing the withered fig tree because of what is about to go down over the next several days. Like the fig tree’s time coming to an end, so is the time of the temple coming to an end. Jesus is going to end the old covenant system, and usher in the new covenant, and the disciples are going to need to pray desperate prayers, and cling to their faith in God as they carry out the mission he is going to give them.
And so it is with us still down to this day.
Epilogue (day 3 part 2): By what authority?
Our passage today ends on a cliffhanger, mostly because the scene Mark intends here goes in to chapter 12, with Jesus telling a final parable. We’ll go in to that next week, but today we’re looking at the first of four encounters with the religious elite.
Mark 11:27–33 (CSB)
27 They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came 28 and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.” 31 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ ”—they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought that John was truly a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The religious authorities came to Jesus and demanded an answer. “Who gave you authority?” It wasn’t an honest question. There was no secret here. Jesus has been teaching and performing miracles for an ever growing crowd for three years now. He just got done riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. There is no question that he has authority because he is the Messiah even these leaders claim to be waiting for! Jesus comes in the name of The Lord!
He owes them no answers, but mercifully, he asks them question that cuts to their heart and shows that they’re not actually in authority at all, they are slaves. Slaves to fear of the crowd’s opinion, slaves to fear of being wrong about Jesus, but most of all, slaves to their unbelief. They are unable to answer his question without revealing their slavery.
For Us Today
There is much for us to consider in today’s passage, so as we go from here, search your heart and reflect:
- Are you like the crowds, not quite sure who this Jesus is, but willing to go along as long as he’s meeting your expectations, but abandoning him at the first sign that he isn’t.
- Are you like the moneychangers in the temple, profiteering from all this religion.
- Are you like the disciples at this point: still convinced that Jesus is a means to personal gain in terms of influence and political power.
- Are you like the pharisees, caught in your fear of man’s opinion, and unbelief that Jesus is who he claims to be in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
Jesus is the promised Messiah, he is the one who comes in the name of the Lord to bring blessing to his people, judgement on sin, mercy for the repentant, and to support those who come to him with their needs in faith and trust.
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