Carved into a towering cliff in central Afghanistan stood two gigantic statues. Hewn out of the living sandstone rock, they were figures of the Buddha, dominating the Bamiyan Valley which they overlook. The statues stood on the ancient Silk Road, the old trade route which stretched through Afghanistan and right across Asia, and as a result they have long been known far and wide. There they have stood for around fifteen hundred years, a lasting monument to the religious devotion of their builders, surviving invasions, suffering mainly from the slow erosion of wind and weather, and a magnet for tourists and travellers. Or at least, that was the situation until March 2001, when the Taliban were in power in Kabul. They decided that these Buddhas were idols and un-Islamic; they simply had to go. So, against the pleas of the entire international community, they demolished the two statues. It proved harder than they expected, taking a month of intensive effort, but at last the two Buddhas were obliterated. While the rest of the world regards the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas as a supreme act of cultural vandalism, the Taliban simply feel that they have made their point. Judgement has been given. The old order is finished; the golden age of hard-line Islamist rule has arrived. In Mark 11:1–25, Jesus is declaring judgement on the old order. As he arrives in Jerusalem in dramatic procession, he is staking his claim to what belongs to him by right. Then, as he marches into the temple and drives out the stallholders and the money-changers, he is publicly declaring that the temple’s days are finished and something new and wonderful has come. This is no empty act of vandalism. Whereas the Taliban were simply striking out at something they disapprove of, making a statement about what they regard as unacceptable, with Jesus Christ it is quite different. When he declares judgement on the old ways, he is actually bringing it about. These are not acts of frustration; they are acts of decision. This is the judgement of the King. This passage begins a new section of Mark’s Gospel… It forms the prelude to the passion narratives in which Jesus inaugurates the new covenant in his blood (Wilmshurst, S. (2011). A Ransom for Many: The Gospel of Mark Simply Explained (pp. 247–248). Darlington, England: EP Books.).
Many people today are open to a Jesus who they think will give them wealth, health, success, happiness, and the other worldly things they want. Like the multitude at the triumphal entry, they will loudly acclaim Jesus as long as they believe He will satisfy their selfish desires. But like a multitude a few days later, they will reject and denounce Him when He does not deliver as expected. When His Word confronts them with their sin and their need of a Savior, they curse Him and turn away
In this final week, starting with the Triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, which we recall this Palm Sunday, Mark presents who Jesus is coming head to head with our expectations in: 1) The Faithful Arrival (Mark 11: 1– 7), 2) The Faithless Approval (Mark 11: 8– 10), 3) The Faithful Appraisal (Mark 11:11)
1) The Faithful Arrival (Mark 11: 1– 7)
Mark 11: 1– 7 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, 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 has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. (ESV)
As He drew near/approached Jerusalem, He also approached the end of His three years of ministry, which had been preceded by thirty years of obscurity He was about to reach the final goal set before Him by His heavenly Father. As the multitudes followed along with Him to celebrate the Passover, little did they know they were accompanying the Passover Lamb Himself. During a census taken about ten years after this time, the number of sacrificial lambs slaughtered at the Passover was determined to be some 260,000. Because one lamb was allowed to be offered for up to ten people, the worshipers in Jerusalem that week could have numbered over 2,000,000. This was the only time in His ministry that Jesus actually planned and promoted a public demonstration. Up to this time, He had cautioned people not to tell who He was, and He had deliberately avoided public scenes (Wiersbe, Warren W.: The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1989, S. Mt
When Jesus was 12 years old, he went up to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. This was something pious Jews did every year (see Luke 2:41, 42). So we can assume that Jesus made many trips to Jerusalem to observe the Passover. But this time was different. Jesus was very much aware that he was going up to Jerusalem to die. Along the way he told his disciples at least three times that he was going to be handed over to the chief priests and condemned to death but that on the third day he would rise again (see Matthew 16:21; 17:22, 23; 20:17–19).(Albrecht, G. Jerome ; Albrecht, Michael J.: Matthew. Milwaukee, Wis. : Northwestern Pub. House, 1996 (The People's Bible), S. 292)
On Saturday six days before the Passover (John 12: 1), Jesus arrived at the small villages of Bethphage (possibly “house of figs”) and Bethany (possibly “house of dates”), near the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is east of Jerusalem and rising about two hundred feet (61 m) higher than the Temple Mount. This high hill commands a spectacular view of Jerusalem and especially of the temple. In Jesus’ time it was covered with olive trees, but was stripped of them by the Romans during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.( Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p. 1758). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.)
On the next day, Sunday, He attended a dinner in His honor at the home of Simon the leper in Bethany (Matt. 26: 6– 13). On that same day a “large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead” (John 12: 9). According to the geographical organization of Mark, the present account records the first and only time Jesus enters Jerusalem. John, on the other hand, refers to several such visits in 2:13–4:45; 5:1–47; 7:1–10:40; and 12:12–20:31, and Luke suggests more than one such visit to Jerusalem in 13:34 (Stein, R. H. (2008). Mark (p. 501). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)
Please turn to Exodus 12 (p.53)
Christ’s entry into Jerusalem most likely took place (John 12: 12) on Monday of Passion Week, not on Sunday as Christians have traditionally believed. This chronology eliminates the problem of the Gospels having no record of Jesus’ activities on Wednesday, which would be the case if the triumphal entry were on Sunday. It is difficult to explain how there could be a day omitted in the account of the most momentous week of Christ’s life, especially since the events of all the other days are carefully accounted for. Further evidence that the triumphal entry was on Monday comes from the Law’s requirement that the Passover lambs be selected on the tenth day of the first month (Nisan) and sacrificed on the fourteenth day (Ex. 12: 2– 6). The number of animals involved is vast. According to Josephus, at the Passover in AD 66, a generation after these events, as many as 255,000 lambs will be needed for sacrifice (Wilmshurst, S. (2011). A Ransom for Many: The Gospel of Mark Simply Explained (p. 254). Darlington, England: EP Books.)
Notice the directive in Exodus:
Exodus 12:1-6 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt [2]"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. [3]Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. [4]And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. [5]Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, [6]and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. (ESV)
• In the year our Lord was crucified, the tenth of Nisan fell on Monday of Passover Week. When He entered Jerusalem on that day, Jesus came to fulfill the role of the Father’s chosen Lamb (John 1: 29, 36) in much the same way and on the same day as the Jewish people chose their Passover lambs. Completing the parallel, Christ, the one true sacrifice that took away sin, was killed on Friday, the fourteenth day of Nisan, with thousands of other lambs, whose blood could never take away sin (cf. Heb. 10: 4).
On Monday, the Lord sent two of His disciples (perhaps Peter and John; cf. Luke 22: 8), and verse 2 records that He said to them, “Go into the village in front/opposite you (probably Bethphage, since Jesus was likely staying with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany), and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat. Untie it and bring it . The description of the colt as one which had never been ridden is significant in the light of the ancient provision that an animal devoted to a sacred purpose must be one that had not been put to ordinary use (cf. Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3; 1 Sam. 6:7). This detail emphasizes the appropriateness of the colt for the sacred task it will perform and characterizes Jesus’ entry as a symbolic action possessing profound messianic significance (Lane, W. L. (1974). The Gospel of Mark (p. 395). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
The details of what the disciples found there clearly demonstrate Christ’s omniscience (cf. John 1: 47– 48; 2: 25). He told them that they would find a donkey (John 12: 14; cf. Zech. 9: 9) colt (and its mother; Matt. 21: 22) tied. What a wonderful picture of genuine service. These two (disciples) were never named in any of the Gospel accounts.
• If you would serve the Lord, you must be willing to serve without attention. You may not get your name on a gold plate on a church window. You may be obscure, but God knows who serves Him and who does not (Butler, John G.: Analytical Bible Expositor: Matthew. Clinton, IA : LBC Publications, 2008, S. 340).
Jesus had not been to Bethphage, nor had He sent anyone to arrange for the colt to be available. The detail that the colt was one on which no one yet had ever sat provides further evidence of His omniscience, as does His knowledge, as verse 3 notes, that the disciples would be asked as they untied the colt, “Why are you doing this/untying it?” (Luke 19: 31). The Lord also knew that when they replied, “The Lord has need of it,” the colt’s owner (evidently a believer in Jesus) and the bystanders would permit them to take it. Events unfolded just as the omniscient Lord had said they would. There is some ambiguity regarding the word that is translated as “Lord” here, kurios. It can mean simply “sir” or “master.” It also can signify “the supreme ruler and sovereign” over the people. Only rarely does Mark use this term with respect to Jesus, but here Jesus used it for Himself. It seems as though He was not simply saying, “Tell them the Master needs it,” but rather He was saying, “Tell them that the Sovereign One, the King of the Jews, requires that donkey (Sproul, R. C. (2011). Mark (First Edition, p. 280). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust).
• Christ prepares the hearts of those to whom He will have us minister. He puts plans and people in motion before we even realize it.
Verse 4 records that when the two disciples went away and found a colt tied at a/the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. As Jesus had predicted, verse 5 notes that some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” Verse 6 records that the disciples spoke to them what Jesus had said, and they let them go/gave them permission.
• How clear it is from events like this that Jesus knows the difficulties we will encounter and gives us the words to speak. We do Christ a disservice and loose our strength when we attempt to make His words more palatable or think we know how to handle a situation better and soften the approach. If we would just use the words and approach the way Jesus instructs, we would be astounded as to the life changing result. When we try our own way with our own words we really fail to be properly used by Christ.
Verse 7 concludes this section by recording how the two men brought the colt to Jesus (most likely back in Bethany) and spread/put their cloaks/coats on it, forming a makeshift saddle so that the Lord would not have to ride bareback, and He sat on it. It is true that David rode a mule (1 Kings 1: 33, 38, 44), which Solomon also rode to his coronation (1 Kings 1: 32– 40). But by riding the donkey colt, Jesus was not merely identifying with Davidic tradition. Instead, “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold your king is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden”’” (Matt. 21: 4–5). Matthew was referring to a prophecy made centuries earlier by Zechariah, who wrote, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9: 9). That Jesus meekly rode a donkey’s colt signifies the reality that in His first coming He came not to reign but to die. It seems strange and totally inappropriate that any king, much less the King of kings, should make His triumphal entry mounted on a donkey rather than a beautiful white stallion or in a regal chariot. Riding on . . . a colt, the foal (lit., son) of a donkey was not the normal manner in which kings arrived, for they usually came as conquerors riding on horses. A colt was a symbol of peace (Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985, S. 2:67).
• As Isaiah 9:6 specifies, Christ is the “Prince of Peace”.
• In the ancient world when a king rode a horse, it symbolized war. When he rode a donkey, it symbolized peace. The people missed the symbolism. They expected Him to lead a rebellion against Rome, and when He did not, the shouts of “Hosanna” quickly became the cry of “Crucify Him.” (Richards, Lawrence O.: The Bible Readers Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton : Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996, S. 623)
Illustration:
The Lone Ranger’s calling cards were a silver bullet, a black mask, and a mighty horse named Silver. Give the Ranger a donkey and you’d ruin the show. But a simple donkey was just right for the Son of God. Jesus shunned earthly power (and its symbols) in order to demonstrate a kingdom of love and peace. The Messiah entered Jerusalem on the back of a borrowed burro. In that picture, there is poverty, humility, and majesty: “Yet for your sakes he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). There is no shame in being poor. Today, when some flaunt symbols of financial success, remember the donkey. If your own dreams include rising above the brutish pack to a place of wealth and comfort, remember Jesus’ limousine: a seat of sweaty overcoats on a one-gear beast of burden. We must fulfill our responsibility to serve him with whatever financial resources he has chosen for us. (Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (p. 314). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
2) The Faithless Approval (Mark 11: 8– 10)
Mark 11: 8–10 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “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!” (ESV)
As Jesus approached Jerusalem, the crowd’s excitement intensified. Many of the people spread their cloaks/coats on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. Spreading their cloaks/coats on the road in front of Jesus was a customary way of expressing submission to a monarch. It acknowledged that the king was elevated above the common people, and symbolically affirmed that they were under his feet. Superficially and momentarily at least, the crowd was acknowledging Jesus as the messianic king. The leafy branches of palm trees (John 12: 13), which others in the crowd had cut from the fields, symbolized joy and victory.
The crowd’s enthusiasm stemmed in large part from “all the miracles which they had seen” (Luke 19: 37). Those miracles included the recent bringing Lazarus back from being dead for four days, and the healing of the two blind men at Jericho. Expressing their excitement and hope, verse 9 records how the people were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” The exclamation Hosanna (“ Save now”) was a messianic accolade, which Matthew links to the messianic title Son of David (Matt. 21: 9, 15; cf. Mark 12: 35). The expressions Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord (cf. Ps. 118: 26) and Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David also express messianic praise and hope. In considering who was saying this, there is some dispute. Some wonder if it was the Galilean pilgrims who shouted ‘Hosanna’ as they approached the city; while the Jerusalem crowd shouted, ‘Crucify him’ (France, R. T. (2002). The Gospel of Mark: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 430). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press.).
Please turn to Psalm 118 (p.511)
The Galilean pilgrims were crying out for Messiah’s deliverance in saying “Hosanna in the highest!”, pleading, in effect, “Save us now, great Messiah! Save us now!” They were quoting from a popular praise psalm from the Hallel (Psalms 113–118), in particular Psalm 118, which was also a psalm of deliverance, sometimes called the conqueror’s psalm. The significance of this is that Psalm 118 is the last psalm of the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113–118). Hallel means “praise,” and the Egyptian Hallel was the collection of praise psalms sung at the great Jewish feasts: the feast of dedication, the feasts of the new moons, and by families at the yearly observance of the Passover. At Passover two of the psalms were sung before the meal and four afterward. In fact, they were probably the psalms sung by Jesus and his disciples in the upper room just before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26) (Boice, James Montgomery: The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Books, 2001, S. 437).
“We will read Psalm 118 in its entirety as a call and response. I will read the first part if you could read the second part which is in bold”
Psalm 118:1-29 [118:1]Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! [2]Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." [3]Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever." [4]Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures forever." [5]Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. [6]The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? [7]The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. [8]It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. [9]It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. [10]All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! [11]They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! [12]They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! [13]I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. [14]The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. [15]Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, [16]the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!" [17]I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. [18]The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. [19]Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. [20]This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. [21]I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. [22]The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [23]This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. [24]This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [25]Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! [26]Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. [27]The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! [28]You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. [29]Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
• The righteous refers to God’s own people (because they have God’s righteous laws; (Deut. 4:8), especially the faithful, who keep those laws. But it also foretold Christ’s rejection (v.22-23) by the nation Israel. The powerful figures who rejected Jesus (esp. the Jewish leaders) were no wiser than the world powers that thought so little of Israel. Israel ought to recognize Jesus as one who brings the salvation of God (Matt. 23:39). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1092). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
The crowd’s exclamation, “Hosanna in the highest!” was the supreme expression of praise. “Hosanna in the highest,” the crowd was calling on the heavens to join the earth in praising the Messiah, and perhaps calling on Him to save from the highest heavens. (MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Mt 21:9).
The people, however, were not pleading for salvation from sin but for blessing, prosperity, and deliverance from Roman rule and oppression. They sought the fulfillment of all the promises connected with Messiah’s reign. And when Jesus did not deliver those promises, which will be fulfilled in connection with His second coming, their faithless approval would turn to hostile rejection. They would reject Him, and in response God would bring down on themselves devastating judgment at the hands of the Romans, resulting in the destruction of the nation. The Romans were godless and cruel oppressors, and the Lord would not allow them to survive indefinitely. But they were not His people’s greatest enemy. Their greatest enemy was sin, and from that they refused to be delivered.
Illustration:
The Romans were experts at parades and official public events. We call this event “the Triumphal Entry,” but no Roman would have used that term. An official “Roman Triumph” was indeed something to behold! When a Roman general came back to Rome after a complete conquest of an enemy, he was welcomed home with an elaborate official parade. In the parade he would exhibit his trophies of war and the illustrious prisoners he had captured. The victorious general rode in a golden chariot, priests burned incense in his honor, and the people shouted his name and praised him. The procession ended at the arena where the people were entertained by watching the captives fight with the wild beasts. That was a “Roman Triumph.”
Our Lord’s “triumphal entry” was nothing like that, but it was a triumph just the same. He was God’s anointed King and Saviour, but His conquest would be spiritual and not military. A Roman general had to kill at least 5,000 enemy soldiers to merit a Triumph; but in a few weeks, the Gospel would “conquer” some 5,000 Jews and transform their lives (Acts 4:4). Christ’s “triumph” would be the victory of love over hatred, truth over error, and life over death (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 149). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.).
3) The Faithful Appraisal (Mark 11:11)
Mark 11:11 11 And he 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. (ESV)
Mark’s anticlimactic statement reinforces the reality that this was no true coronation. At the same time, it foreshadows the Lord’s assault on the temple, which would take place the following day (Tuesday). The object of Jesus’ triumphal procession is not Jerusalem in general but specifically the temple (Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark (p. 337). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.)
Having come into the temple, Jesus, after he had looked around at all the corruption there, left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late in the day. Jesus looked around at everything in the temple area, not as a pilgrim but as the sovereign Lord who “will suddenly come to his temple” (Mal. 3:1). He looks around this center of Jewish religious life to see if it is fulfilling its purpose of leading people to true worship of God This seems somewhat pointless until we read of Jesus’ actions in the temple the next day (Mark 11:15–17) and understand that Jesus had already cleared the temple of these racketeers on an earlier Passover week (John 2:12–25), only to find here that they had returned. He probably would have acted right then except that it was already late. So he and the disciples returned to Bethany for the night, perhaps to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus…The twelve disciples were probably a bit confused by this. They most likely thought, with the prophecy-fulfilling arrival of Jesus and the celebration parade, that the kingdom was coming and that Jesus had been all wrong about predicting his death. Yet, as far as they could see, no kingdom had been inaugurated. Instead, the crowds dispersed and they went home. (Barton, B. B. (1994). Mark (pp. 317–318). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
Please go forward to verse 12 of Mark 11 (p.847)
The majority of those who proclaimed Hosanna would not worship Him, the majority in the temple would not worship Him and now Jesus’ first actions, after being hailed by the people as King, are to pass judgment on Jerusalem figuratively through the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple, which highlight Jesus’ zeal for true worship of God (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1918). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
Mark 11:12–14 12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13And seeing in the distance a fig tree in 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. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. (ESV)
Since the fruit of the fig tree begins to appear about the same time as the leaves (or a little after), the appearance of leaves in full bloom should have indicated that fruit (in the form of green figs) was already growing. Jesus’ actions here have symbolic importance, signifying the hypocrisy of all who have the appearance that they are bearing fruit but in fact are not. The specific reference, though, is to Israel, since in the OT the fig tree often serves as a metaphor for Israel and its standing before God (e.g., Jer. 8:13; Hos. 9:10, 16; Joel 1:7). Here the cursing of the fig tree signifies the judgment of God on the “fruitless” Jewish people (cf. Mark 7:6), who had turned away from God into empty ritual and legalism (cf. Hos. 9:10–17). It is a visual parable to signify Jesus’ unrequited search for the true fruit of worship, prayer, and righteousness in the Jewish nation and its religious practices (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1918). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Like the fickle crowd, sinners will turn on Jesus when He does not satisfy their selfish whims. False coronations like the one described in this passage take place every day. Unscrupulous false teachers promise their deluded followers that Jesus will make them rich, heal them, fulfill all their dreams, and grant all their desires. When such unbiblical, selfish, man-centered promises fail to come to pass, and trouble comes into their lives instead, many grow disillusioned and turn against Jesus. The redeemed, on the other hand, acknowledge Jesus as their sovereign King (Acts 17:7; cf. Rev. 17:14; 19:16), worthy of their complete submission (1 Peter 3:15; cf. 2 Cor. 4: 5) and reverent worship (Matt. 14: 33; 28: 9, 17; Luke 24:52; John 9:38; cf. Heb. 1:6).
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, John F. (2015-03-17). Mark 9-16 MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Macarthur New Testament Commentary Serie) (p. 130). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.)
