Following Jesus (12)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Scripture: Mark 11:1-21
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 3/19/2017
If you’ve been with us since January, you know we began a sixteen-week journey that has led us through the deserts of Palestine, along the shores of Lake Galilee and the Jordan River, and into the cities of Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus. And the Gospel of Mark has been tour guide on this journey, as we strive to see Jesus more clearly.
Last Sunday, in Mark 10, Jesus met a rich young religious ruler who wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus surprise the young man and his own disciples, however, saying that it’s hard—impossible even—for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom. Thankfully, nothing is impossible for God.
As Mark 10 continues, two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, ask if they can sit on his right and left side when Jesus takes his glorious throne. Jesus uses this as a teaching moment to remind the disciples that true leaders must also be servant. Even Jesus himself came not to be served, but to serve others. Upon reaching the city of Jericho, Jesus demonstrates his servant leadership by healing a blind man named Bartimaeus, which wraps up Mark 10.
Mark 11 begins passion week—the final week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. I’d like to break this chapter into three segments as it contains a somewhat strange sequence of events that each reveal an important aspect of Jesus’ nature.
The first event centers on a colt.
• A COLT
As Jesus and his disciples approached the city of Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of the disciples on ahead, saying, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” (Mark 11:2-3 NIV).
The disciples do as they’re instructed and bring the colt back to Jesus, who then rides the young donkey into Jerusalem. As Jesus entered the city, the Bible says,
Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “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 heaven!” (Mark 11:8-10 NIV).
Jesus’ Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem has become one of the most iconic moments of his ministry and it’s still celebrated today in churches all over the world on Palm Sunday. So my question is—why, on such a special occasion, would Jesus choose to make his entrance on the back of a donkey? Wouldn’t an elephant or a camel have been much more impressive? Certainly, an Arabian horse or some striking stallion would have been more suited to the occasion.
Do any of you remember watching the Lone Ranger television? The Lone Ranger’s calling cards were a silver bullet, a black mask, and a mighty horse named Silver. At the beginning of each episode, the magnificent white stallion would rear up with the Lone Ranger on his back, then dash off with the Ranger encouragingly shouting, “Hi-Yo, Silver!” Now can you imagine if Silver was a dopey-eyed donkey? Give the Lone Ranger a donkey and you pretty much ruin the show, right!?
But a simple donkey was just right for Jesus. In the ancient Middle Eastern world, rulers and royalty typically rode horses if they rode to war, but they rode donkeys if they came in peace. A thousand years earlier, a similar celebration took place as Solomon rode a donkey into Jerusalem on the day he was crowned King (1 Kings 1:33) and, of course, Solomon ushered in one of Israel’s longest periods of peace. The prophet Zachariah even prophesied the coming Messiah, saying:
Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch… to the ends of the earth. (Zachariah 9:9-10 NLT)
When the people of Jerusalem saw Jesus riding into town on a donkey, they saw the fulfillment of this prophecy. That’s why they came shouting and singing his praises! That donkey represents the peace that Jesus proclaims.
Peace is an essential part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The angels proclaimed it at his birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14 ESV). Isaiah called Jesus “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Before going to the cross, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27 NIV). If you want more peace in your life, then you need more Jesus in your life!
The peace of Christ is multidimensional. Through Jesus, we can experience peace with God (eternal), peace of mind and heart (emotional), and, eventually, worldwide peace when Jesus comes again (external). And that is certainly something worth celebrating! It’s no wonder that people of Jerusalem shouted and sang praise to God at the sight of Jesus riding that colt. As the story continues, however, the next event centers on a cleansing.
• A CLEANSING
Mark tells us that upon entering the city Jesus went straight to the temple court and looked around. The city brim over with people preparing to celebrate the Passover—one of three annual holidays that required Jews from all around to journey to Jerusalem. But since it was already getting late, he retired to Bethany to spend the night—probably at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—then returned to the city the next morning. That’s when the story takes a surprising turn. Mark writes:
When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” (Mark 11:15-17 NLT)
These days, Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, a philanthropist, or a doting professor. He strikes a plastic—and sometimes pathetic—pose in the minds of many. Some people prefer the meek and mild Jesus who heals the sick, calms fears, and speaks of peace and goodwill. But those things only represent a portion of who Jesus is. Jesus was no mild-mannered Messiah. Jesus may come in peace, but he’s no pushover. He stands up for what is right. He speaks up for those cannot speak for themselves. He doesn’t shy away from conflict and he doesn’t like bullies.
You see, each year Jewish families came to the Temple to offer sacrifices for Passover. They offered sacrifices for sin, fellowship and worship. It was an opportunity to renew their communion and commitment to God. Originally, God commanded them to bring a sacrifice from their own flocks (Duet. 12:5-7). However, these animals—either lambs or doves—had to be inspected and approved by the priests. The priests always managed to find the animal unacceptable in some way, forcing the families to buy “pre-approved” animals at exorbitant prices from local merchants. But the local merchants only accepted local currency, so the families would have to exchange their foreign currency at inflated exchange rates. And all of this happened right inside the outer court of the Temple. It was like a massive flea market wrapped all the way around the Temple designed to line the pockets of the money changers, merchants, and ministers. They were bullies, taking advantage of the underprivileged and outsiders.
Jesus confronted these profiteers, peddlers, and parasites and kicked them out of the Temple courtyard. The cleansing of the temple represents Jesus’ passion—his righteous indignation. While it’s wrong to get angry over personal insults and petty irritations, not all anger is sinful. Remember that Jesus didn’t just fly off the handle here; rather, he came by and surveyed the situation the night before. This was a controlled display of righteous anger.
Similarly, the Bible urges us, “Be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26 ESV). Sometimes an infusion of sanctified anger may be the very thing the church needs. Anger at injustice in various forms. Anger at abuse. Anger at bullying. Anger at rape. Anger at persecution and prejudice. Anger at human trafficking. Anger at world hunger and children in poverty. Anger at hypocrisy and hardheartedness. Anger at the sin within our own hearts. All too often, we remain passive about these issues. But following in Jesus’ footsteps means being passionate.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle put it this way: “Anyone can become angry—that is easy. But to become angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy.” That’s precisely what Jesus did.
So the colt represent the peace of Jesus and the cleasing represents the passion of Jesus. Now, bracketed around the cleansing of the temple, Mark records one last event involving a curse.
• A CURSE
On their way back to Jerusalem, before Jesus cleansed the temple, Mark records an unusual incident:
The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. (Mark 11:12-14 NLT)
Now, if you think that’s a little strange, just wait. There’s more. After Jesus chased the money changers and merchants out of the temple, Jesus and his disciples headed back to Bethany for the night. Again, Mark writes:
As they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” (Mark 11:20-21 NLT)
So what do we make of this bizarre incident? Was Jesus just hangry or is there something more going on here? Well, simply put, fig trees are for making figs. We plant apple trees because we want apples, peach trees because we want peaches, orange trees because we want oranges, and fig trees because we want figs. So what do you do with a fruit tree that doesn’t produce fruit? You might as well cut it down. Or curse it, as Jesus did.
But there’s much more to it than that.
In the Old Testament the fig tree often stood as a symbol for the nation of Israel. A fig tree full of fruit (Hosea 9:10) symbolized Israel’s blessing and prosperity. On the other hand, a barren fig tree (Jeremiah 8:13) symbolized judgment and rejection. Symbolically, this fruitless fig tree became an object lesson that represented the spiritual deadness of Israel, which—while very religious outwardly with all the sacrifices and ceremonies—was spiritually barren because of their sins.
Jesus cursing the fig tree—causing it to wither and die—represented punishment, specifically, Jerusalem’s condemnation and impending destruction. Jesus, himself, describes Jerusalem’s judgment in detail in Mark 13. As he and his disciples pass by the Temple, one of them exclaims, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.” And Jesus answers, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” (Mark 13:2 NLT).
The fulfillment of this prophecy was the most cataclysmic event in Hebrew history. In 70 A.D., the Roman army invaded the city of Jerusalem. They shattered the walls, smashed the temple, and (according to Jewish historian Josephus) slaughtered nearly a million Jews in the process. Significant for us, is that the devastation and destruction of Jerusalem is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ Second Coming, when he judges the whole earth.
So the question we need to ask is—am I bearing fruit? Are you bearing the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control? Are you bearing fruit by sharing the Gospel and producing more disciples? Or are you like that fruitless fig tree that withered and died?
Conclusion
As Jesus begins his last week here on earth, this extraordinary sequence of events highlights some important aspects of his role in our lives and the world.
• The colt reminds us that Jesus is a man of peace, who offers that peace to the whole world.
• The cleansing reminds us that Jesus is a man of passion, who stands up for what’s right.
• The curse reminds us that Jesus is a man of power, who plans to punish sin.
One day, Jesus will return. His entry into our world will be more triumphant than his entry into Jerusalem. We have a choice. We can be like the merchants, ministers and moneychangers, who were, like the withered fig tree, spiritually dead inside and experience punishment. Or we can be the ones shouting and singing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” and experience peace.
Invitation
Next week, we’ll continue following Jesus through the Gospel of Mark.
In the meantime, if you haven’t accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow him yet, do it today. I’d love walk you through the process—you can talk to me after church, call me at home, or come forward now as we stand and sing. Let’s sing together.
