The First Palm Sunday and The Purge Kelly Durant
Mark 11:1-25
2. How many of you like crime stories? It usually begins with a piece of the evidence in front of you, but all the pieces you have to put together so you understand all of what happened. What led up to the incident? Who are the suspects involved? Often the initial evidence makes you think only one event happened, but later when you piece together all the events, things look quite different. The guilty ones at first might appear as good until we discover the bad things they were doing. Many unexpected things come out!
Today is Palm Sunday and it is a special Sunday celebrated by all Christians worldwide! At first glance praising and palms in the road seems all good, most everyone in Jerusalem was praising Jesus. Isn’t that beautiful? In places where church members cannot get palm branches they use other types of branches, or at least they do a special observance of some kind. Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem was something outstandingly phenomenal and this is why all Christians everywhere keep this tradition alive. It is a way for all Christians to relive the honoring of Jesus as the King of Kings, as the King of Jerusalem (the New Jerusalem), and as the promised Messiah from the linage of David.
Let’s follow the series of events as Mark records it in Chapter 11. There is first the grand arrival into Jerusalem, but then there is fig tree that gets cursed because it does not have any fruit? What does that have to do with anything? Soon we will see.
3. Jesus takes the initiative in preparing His entry as His instructions to his disciples were that they should bring Him a colt not ridden before. It was not customary for pilgrims to going into Jerusalem riding an animal, they generally completed the trip to the temple on foot. But Jesus always did things differently! Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus fulfilled all prophetic scripture as He is the King, and the people are jubilant, He rode upon a donkey, and humility and purity were represented. At that time, Jesus knew the messianic significance of his entry and later all could see it for what it was.
The fact that the people shouted, “Hosanna!” or Hoshana (Heb) implies that they knew they were honoring Him as the Lord, as that word of praise was applied for one who would “save”, so they were recognizing His messiahship as the “Savior”! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
4. After all that praise and excitement Jesus and his disciples were hungry and you would expect good spirits, right? But they came upon a fig tree that made Jesus mad because the tree was barren, and Jesus cursed it! Why? If you take into account the Old Testament you can discover how the fig tree and bearing fruit is symbolic. Jesus spoke clearly about bearing fruit comparing it to spiritual fruit. We as Christians must have fruit good or we will die dry and cursed. Those connected to Jesus should be as a flourishing vine that produces good grapes, healthy saved souls.
Jesus was letting the world know that Israel in His day was finished; it was as a dried tree yielding no fruit for God. Look up Jeremiah 8:13 “I will surely consume them,” says the Lord. “No grapes shall be on the vine, Nor figs on the fig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” That is a very clear prophecy! Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
The O.T. prophets used metaphors to illustrate what God was going to do for or against the nation of Israel. Here Jesus does the same; this event has meaning beyond its face value. When Jesus says to the tree in vs. 14 “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”, he basically was affirming that no one would ever get fed spiritually ever again by remaining with spiritually barren Israel. Jesus was the new Israel bearing fruit, and Jews, gentiles, and all nations now were the fruit God accepted through Jesus as the Messiah.
5. The destruction of the fig tree is associated with judgment as we find in Hosea 2:12 “I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them.”
John chapter 15, which was a message after the last supper, makes it clear that we as followers of Jesus are not to be fruitless as Israel was or we are worthy of a fiery judgement. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. Jesus warns there is a purge, a purge for those who have no fruit for God.
I see a contrast here of signals here. For one, Jesus is praised in the streets as never before and Jesus instead of mentioning it or elaborating on it, makes a symbolic point that He wants to be honored not by loud praises, not by coats and palms in the street, but rather by real fruit for God! It reminds me of his words to the Samaritan woman in John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The ones of Jerusalem were not worshipping Him in truth as one week later the Jerusalem crowds yelled to crucify Him!
6. So you may by now see why I connote Palm Sunday referring to it within the context of a purge. We just covered how the next event of the fig tree was a symbolic miracle event to show God’s purge on the fruitless establishment (trees). Now let’s notice, it was right after all that praise going into Jerusalem that Jesus went into the temple of the Jews to purge it of its greediness and worship of money over worship of God.
Jesus was angered that the temple of God, where believers gathered supposedly with the intent to worship, pray and learn from God’s word, had made God’s house a lucrative endeavor. They were there not to worship God but there for the money! He took a whip to the money changers and overturned tables and what did He say? Mark 11:17 (b)“Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves. ” 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.
So this is why here in our Salvation Army we don’t allow people to come in and sell merchandise on Sunday! Some churches sell DVDs and books written by the pastor on Sundays, but we don’t allow any of that. If I write a book now, it is TSA property and no royalties go to me but to TSA. This modern materialistic trend is making merchandize of the people. 2 Peter 2: 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. Some mega churches ask to see your W-2 to be sure you will give 10% of that and your membership is just to finance their luxuries! In John 15 Jesus was speaking to His followers so Christians are forewarned of judgement as well for worshipping money using the name of Jesus! He will say one day to their spirit in the judgement say to them, “I never knew you!”
7. Jesus’ purging out of the Temple is a prophetic sign that the Temple of the Jews, being corrupted, would no longer be needed or relevant. Why? Because in a short time, Jesus was going to die and be resurrected and Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement is a sacrifice that is effective for all time, past, present, future. Heb 7:27 Who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he (Jesus) did once, when He offered up himself.
No longer would there be a need for the animals to be sold at expensive prices and sacrifices be made in their Temple anymore, because Jesus was going to be the sacrifice for all nations forever! And believing on Jesus, praying, worshipping, and studying is something anyone should have cost free! Many people come to our Corps with no money and always our doors are open to anyone, and those who know me, know that I treat those who cannot support with us money get the same respect as those who do!
This purging act has another meaning as well. It is to remind us how God is a jealous God and we are to gather to worship only Him with no other interests! Through Jesus reactive actions we get a confirmation that God violently hates people who are in a temple for any reason other than to pray, worship, and study. Making money is what most everyone does 6 days a week, so to continue to desire profit on the 7th day instead of a time out with God is an offense to Him breaking the law to keep the Sabbath holy. We are not legalistic, but God had reason for all his commands.
8. So the initial evidence, the first event of Jesus going into Jerusalem at first appears to be the highlight of His ministry. He is finally recognized as the promised savior and messiah fulfilling prophecy being a descendant of King David. You would think that going there to get honored with palms and coats was all the picture you needed to see. The disciples and all of us forgot this: Mark 10:33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles
But as I mentioned like in a crime scene, one piece of evidence is not enough, you need all the pieces. The next two events of Jesus were those of judgement and purification. After all, Jesus multiplied fish and bread, He could have just caused figs to grow instantly on the tree but He didn’t. He wanted those who knew the words of the prophets to bear witness to the fact God will totally dry up a fruitless tree. The tree is symbolic of an organism with a central trunk and branches of followers, of a nation, or even an individual life. The disciples were astonished at how quickly the unfruitful tree shriveled up. Remember also Jesus Laments over Jerusalem. Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
9. And after the frustration of going hungry over those who produce nothing, Jesus let explode His Godly wrath against those who were starving others spiritually using the Temple of God for their monetary personal gain in a final act of upsetting the money changers. The temple teachers were useless being, “Blind leaders of the blind” (Matt 15:14) seeking wealth from the people that they were exploiting in the name of God instead of teaching everyone about the love of God.
Not long before Jesus crucifixion he said this to the hypocrites: Matt 22: 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Jesus hates hypocrites who rob God of souls!
So on Palm Sunday here is what we understand: 1) that Jesus is the Son of God, the savior of the world that takes away all sin and praise and submission is due Him; 2) that Jesus will not tolerate and will judge those who produce no good fruit for God, 3) that Jesus gets violently angry when the supposed people of God exploit others for their own material wealth profaning intended places of worship.
10. In conclusion, we know now that many of the praises heralding Jesus were hypocritical as they cried out to, “Crucify Him” a week later. This type of hypocrisy is hard to deal with as the false worshippers sing praises while in church and then they will curse the person who will not let them turn out of the church parking lot! Ask yourself, have I ever been a hypocrite in my worship of Jesus? Do I praise Him always no matter the circumstances, good or bad? Do I praise Him with a clean and honest heart? Praise is not just a “hallelujah’ or a ‘Hosanna’, praise to Jesus is a lifestyle of love and service to God!
We can observe today that many churches and religions do not have sweet fruits to feed the followers, but rather they gather thorns with rude and arrogant personalities. Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Matt.7:20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Each individual must bear fruit but that only comes if they are infused with the sap (the Holy Spirit) from the true vine, Jesus Christ. Ask yourself, am I sweet with good fruit, or am I like a thorn and a dried up tree? Tell us, what are your good works?
And finally, Jesus violently hated the hypocrisy of those whose God was not the true God of love, but rather Mammon, the God of money. Are you angry with the hypocrites and thieves? You should be! There are many out there today! Imagine people not going to a temple to worship God but rather to admire and show off wealth or position and to gain wealth from church members. The replacement of God with the worship of Satan for material gain will not go unpunished. Palm Sunday brought on a purge! Ask God examine your heart and to purge you! so you worship Him in spirit and in truth, bearing fruit for Him in your life, getting clean of hypocrisy loving Him above any riches. Let’s pray…
