Introduction
Jesus’ first full day in Jerusalem has not started off on a pleasant note. He began the morning by cursing a fig tree and ended it by knocking over tables and accusing the Jewish authorities of turning the temple into “a den of robbers.” This got the attention of the crowds, but it did not put him into favor with religious leaders who have begun plans to have him killed.
But far from having to worry about Jesus, he proves himself quite capable of handling whatever may come his way. He proves the power of faith.
Text
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
The first issue for us to address is the matter of why Jesus would curse this poor fig tree. That is not the concern of the text. Jesus doesn’t indicate any concern. He doesn’t respond to Peter’s remark, “Oh my goodness! I didn’t mean to really kill the tree. I better watch what I say next time.”
For that matter, Peter is expressing amazement at the tree’s withering rather than concern about the tree. Matthew makes clear that is the issue, as well as Jesus’ response. And evidently, Mark is not concerned about the matter either.
But it bothers us. Why? Because it seems unfair to make an innocent tree bear the brunt of a curse for doing something it could not do. Let’s read again the incident.
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
Apparently none of the disciples were farmers, for surely someone would have objected! “Jesus, wait a minute. This is a perfectly good fig tree. It is not the season for figs. You shouldn’t curse a tree for acting like a tree.”
So why does Jesus deal so harshly with the tree. I don’t know. I do and I don’t. I know the lesson to learn, but I don’t know the full circumstances or the inner workings of Jesus’ mind. We have no indication that anybody in the story is bothered by the fig tree’s demise. If Jesus was acting in anger, no one seems terrified or discomforted. No one questions the ethics. Apparently we need to accept the fact that this is one of those cases where we had to be there to understand.
I’m comfortable with that. There was a time when I would not have been. I would have thought that I must be able to explain Jesus. It has been a great relief to finally accept that explaining Jesus, i.e. in the sense of analyzing his hidden thoughts and emotions, is the one thing I must not do. How can sinner such as I get into the mind of the Son of God, much less through a document written 2,000 years earlier which merely records what the author wants to teach us? Let’s just accept this as one of those instances in which Jesus reminds us that he is not “safe.”
So what was Jesus accomplishing through his curse and what lesson does Mark want us to learn? I gave the answer last Sunday. Jesus is acting out a parable. Just like a prophet from the Old Testament, he gives an object lesson to convey his message. What’s the message? Think about it. After cursing the tree what did Jesus do next? He attacked the market system of the temple and pronounced the harsh indictment that the temple had been turned into a “den of robbers.” That’s the kind of prophetic action that would have made the prophets Jeremiah and Amos proud! The tree and the temple incidents are about the judgment that is coming against God’s people because they have not born the fruit expected of them. Israel has not born the fruit of being a holy nation that draws the other nations into the worship of God. She has not only failed; she has rebelled against her calling. Was Jesus’ verdict correct? The next morning’s result indicated that it was. Four decades later the judgment would be fulfilled – the destruction of the temple and dispersion of Israel as a nation. The curse of the tree was the act of Jesus has a prophet pronouncing the judgment of God that was and did come upon Israel.
Did the disciples get the message? I don’t know. They are pretty impressed with the actual withering that occurred. You have to wonder about that. It’s not like they haven’t seen Jesus perform miracles before. Perhaps it was the unexpectedness of the incident. Yesterday, Jesus pronounced the curse then walked on; they probably didn’t think anymore about it. Then the next day – “Hey, look at that! How did that happen?” Jesus then takes the opportunity to teach about faith. Let’s see then, what he has to say.
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself 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, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Jesus presents the lesson immediately: Have faith in God. He then speaks of the role of faith in two ways: how it empowers us and how it affects God’s answers to our prayers.
First, consider how it empowers us.
“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”
Wow! That’s one incredible promise! Jesus is looking at Mt. Olivet, most likely, which is really a hill; but still, commanding a hill to travel twenty miles or more and hop in the sea is pretty big accomplishment. We understand, of course, that Jesus is using a figure of speech. I don’t think any of the disciples hung back after Jesus walked on and tried to order Mt. Olivet to “jump in the sea.” They understood, as we do, that he meant we can accomplish whatever needs to be accomplished no matter how great the challenge may seem. As long as we have faith in God and do not doubt his power or promise, we will be victorious.
Jesus then applies faith to prayer. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. This is not the only time Jesus taught his disciples about the efficacy of believing prayer. Other examples are:
12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:12-14).
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (John 15:7).
Perhaps you noticed that though Jesus makes the same promise – whatever you ask you will receive – he adds conditions. The first is that we must ask “in Jesus’ name.” What does that mean? James Boice, preaching on the John 14 passage spells out three elements. It means that we must be identified with Jesus by faith. It is not good enough simply to believe in God. We must know God through Christ and as a follower of Christ. Second, we understand that we approach God on no other basis than on what Christ has done for us. Even as Christians we are prone to seek God’s response through our own qualifications. Because I have been a faithful Christian for so many years, or a church officer or Sunday School teacher, or I tithe, or I’ve been nice to my little brother this past week – whatever the reason we give, we betray that we are trusting in ourselves rather than Christ. Indeed, we betray that we think we have made God obligated to us out of our own righteousness. Third, we must live and pray for things that are consistent with the desires of Christ. It is offensive to ask things in Christ’s name that are contrary to what Christ is about.
Dr. Boice also goes on to note a fourth requirement brought out in the phrase so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. Our prayers must reflect the desire to glorify God. We can use the Apostle Paul as an example. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul, who fulfilled all three requirements of praying in Jesus’ name, had his prayer denied. Did he lack faith? Hardly! God chose to glorify himself, however, through Paul’s weakness. Paul’s response: then I delight in my weakness if that is what best glorifies my God.
There are more conditions to answered prayer. John 15:7 says that we must abide in Christ and let his words abide in us. We must be walking with Christ in obedience to him; we must be meditating upon his words, letting them become our teacher and guide.
We must… “Wait a minute!” you might be saying by now. “How did we go from a simple, clear promise to a list of ‘fine print’ conditions that must first be met. Jesus said that if we believe we will receive. He doesn’t add, ‘Read the fine print.’”
No he doesn’t, but he does make an assumption. He assumes that he is addressing disciples who truly want to be faithful disciples. He assumes that they want, not merely to learn a new trick, but to be like him. And the key to grasping what Jesus teaches about faith is to understand how faith operates in him.
I think what amazed the disciples was not the miracle per say, but the manner in which Jesus performed it. Let me give an example. For most of my years at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Robert Carwithen was the music director and organist. He is an extremely accomplished musician, but what would particularly “rankle” me was the ease at which he seemed to play. He would play complex musical arrangements while chewing gum and looking around the room. I would kid him about showing off. “Can’t you at least act like you have to use effort?”
That’s what amazes us with great athletes. They make incredibly difficult moves and plays look easy. So with Jesus. He speaks a word, goes on his way without a second thought, and, presto! the word becomes reality.
How does Jesus do it? Faith. But Jesus does not need to act on faith; he is God’s Son. True, he is God’s Son, but remember that he is incarnate, living on earth in his human nature. Physically, he has the same limitations as we do. But in relation to faith here is where being God’s Son gives him a decided advantage. He knows God the Father, and he knows the reality of the doctrines taught to us – the reality of God and the spirit world, the real battle for the souls of men, the real power of God, the real power of Satan and Satan’s limitations. Jesus has a real relationship with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit that makes faith a matter of certainty.
Of course the tree withered at Jesus’ word. What else would it have done? Of course the little girl came back to life when Jesus spoke to her. Of course the wind stopped at Jesus’ command. Does a commander marvel when a soldier stops at his command? Does a child marvel at his mother tending to his needs in sick bed? Of course not. These things have to do with relationships. Exactly! Jesus is a commander. Why would he not be obeyed? But we are not commanders. Maybe, but if a commander gives a lieutenant orders to carry out, does he not also give the authority to do it? The private has to obey the lieutenant. But we are not divine children of God who are members of the Trinity. No, but we are adopted by God through Jesus and therefore made his children with all its rights and privileges.
The point of the matter is this. The strength of our faith is determined by our knowledge of God and reality, and by the assurance of our relationship with him. This is important point that I want to make clear. We tend to approach the subject of faith and prayer as an exercise or plan to master in order to have an effective prayer life and accomplish “great things for God.” But Jesus did not read the book How to Find Faith and Influence God. He did not develop the “Ten Steps to Assure Answer to Prayer.” He passed on a promise to those who knew God.
The mistake that we make is this. We read such a promise and say to ourselves, “I am going to really start believing. I am going to start praying now and really believe that God will answer my prayer.” But Jesus is not giving a pep talk. He’s not saying to his disciples, “All right, boys, let’s get that faith going! Let’s see some real faith. No, no. You are showing some doubt. None of that. Come on, you can do it!”
Our other mistake is to develop a checklist. “Let’s see, I need to confess sin. Check. I need to ask for what I want based on Jesus’ merit and not mine. Check. I need to be walking in obedience. Check. I need to meditate on God’s Word. Oops, I didn’t do that this morning.”
If you don’t know the Father, getting yourself pumped up does no good, nor does checking off your checklist. If you don’t know Jesus, if you don’t abide in him and let his words dwell in you, all the built-up faith in the world won’t help you out. It’s not about a formula; it is about a relationship, a relationship built on knowledge. Where does that knowledge come from? It comes from God’s Word and from experience proving the Word to be true.
Do you want to have the kind of faith that moves mountains and assures answer to prayer? Then get to know the God who moves mountains and answers prayers. Get to know Jesus Christ for who he really is. If you know God, if you have a real relationship with him in Jesus Christ, then you can’t help but have faith.
Like the American soldiers who had faith that they would retake Kuwait on the day they invaded because they knew the power of the military force behind them, so we can have faith knowing the power of our Almighty God. And like the child who has faith that his father will pick him up in time before the ocean waves knock him down, because he knows his father is strong and loves him, so we can have faith our Father will answer our prayers. But our faith will only be as strong as our knowledge which, again, comes from learning what Scripture teaches and then proving it by experience.
One last thing, if you have a real relationship with God, well then, you will also care about your neighbor. You will understand that you cannot separate love for God from love for neighbor and that you should not expect anything from God that you are not willing to do for your neighbor, specifically forgiving offenses. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
It all comes back to relationships. We get all excited about getting power. What matters is that we get real. We get real with God. We yield to God and to what he wants to do in our lives. We seek, through Christ and his Spirit, to become the kind of persons who love God with all our hearts and minds, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We seek to live for his kingdom. What will come from that is real faith that produces real power.
