There was a commercial on television several years ago. An elderly woman approaches the counter of a Burger restaurant and orders a burger. When the burger was delivered to her, she proceeded to open the buns and look inside. As she looked inside she coined a phrase that became world widely famous; “Where’s the beef?” We need to ask ourselves the question, what caused this lady to ask that question. The answer lies in her expectations. She was expecting there to be a certain amount of beef on the buns and when she wasn’t satisfied with the service she proceeded to ask a quite normal question “Where is it?” God has some expectations of us as Christians and it is important that when He comes looking that we produce fruit. There are times in our lives when we need to bear fruit.
Mark 11:1-7 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, "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. 3 If anyone asks you, ’Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ’The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’" 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, "What are you doing, untying that colt?" 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it.
One time we need to show fruit is when Jesus asks something of us. Jesus asked His disciples to go into the town and get a colt. The disciples had no guarantee that it would happen just as Jesus said, but they went obediently and did as He said. This is the kind of faith that we need to have as Christians today - the kind of faith that doesn’t ask questions but does God’s will trusting that He knows best.
Have you ever asked someone to do something for you and it didn’t get done? I can remember once when I was younger, my mother had gone away for a while. While she was gone, as you would expect in a house full of men, the house got a bit messy. We liked to have the house looking good for when she returned so we would split up the chores and each do something to get it ready. I straightened up the living room, and kitchen, and as I was going out the door, I asked my brother to wash the dishes before my mother got back, and he agreed. So I went away with the confidence that they would be clean for my mothers arrival. When I came back, my mother was there and so were the dirty dishes. It wasn’t the end of the world, but I would have really liked to have had that little bit done so everything would have been perfect. I felt like my brother had let me down. It is so important that we as Christians don’t let the Lord down when He asks us to do something.
The Lord asks us to preach the gospel into all nations - including our neighbors (Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost) The Lord asks us to be faithful disciples (John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.)
Another time that we need to bear fruit, is when God is expecting something from us:
Mark 11:12-19 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. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "’My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ ? But you have made it ’a den of robbers.’" 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city.
Something that happens at my house a lot is this: There will be a nice full container of soy ice cream in the freezer. Now I’m not the craziest guy in the world when it comes to ice cream, but I do enjoy some every now and then. Well that ice cream sits there for a few days, and I finally get the urge to go get some, only to open an empty container that somebody left in the freezer instead of throwing away! How disappointing it is when you go to get something and it’s just not there. This is Jesus experience as He sees this fig tree off in the distance. Before we just look at the surface and see Jesus curse a fig tree for not having any fruit, let’s take a deeper look at something that is really significant. Mark is notorious for sandwiching an event between another event to make a point. Look at verses 20 - 25, you see there is the fig tree again. So we look at the event that is sandwiched in between, and see what significance we can gain. The event we find in the middle is the cleansing of the Temple. Because of all the noise of money changers and the sales of animals, it was an impossible place to worship. Jesus seeing this tips the tables over showing His disapproval. Not only did Jesus disapprove, but He was sending a message, that the gospel would now go on to the gentiles, because Jesus own people, the Jews did not receive Him just as prophesized by Jerimiah: “When I would gather them, says the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them” (Jer 8:13) So just as the fig tree did not produce fruit, neither did the Jews. Jesus was expecting them to accept Him, and they did just the opposite.
So you can see how important it is for us to produce fruit when Jesus comes looking. We must accept Jesus into our lives, into our hearts, and allow Him to completely change us.
Another time we need to show fruit is at the judgment.
Mark 11:20-25 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!" 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."
If you are going to enter a pumpkin contest, you can’t just wake up the morning of the contest and plant the seed on the way. Growing a pumpkin takes time, energy and a lot of care. The same is true with our relationship with God. We cannot wake up the morning of judgment and decide that we want a relationship with God. It is something that once we decide to let God into our lives, takes time, energy and a lot of care. Notice how in this text, if you look deep, Jesus is actually pronouncing judgment on Jerusalem. In the Bible times, the “sea” is considered the dwelling place of evil spirits. We see this illustrated when Jesus casts the evil spirits into the pigs and they run into the sea, and there are other illustrations that also show this point. Jerusalem was commonly referred to as the temple mount. Jesus tells His disciples that if they have enough faith, they can say to this mountain, be cast into the sea, and it will be. What a sad thought that the Jews had not produced the fruit and judgment was pronounced on them. Pray that the same does not ring true with us.
We also see in this passage the key to avoid letting this happen. That key is faith. Faith is what brings us to God, it is what keeps us strong in the Lord, and above all else it is faith that brings us to heaven. It is important that we don’t put our faith in earthly things but in Him who saves us through that faith. Like the great hymn written by Edward Mote:
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
When Jesus comes to the cosmic fast food store and orders a disciple to go, don’t let Him be found looking in our hearts and saying: “Where’s the fruit?”
