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Jesus does three things in this chapter - He arrives to take His kingdom - showing the true character of the Creator - humble, coming in peace. But at the same time He blasts the two basic components of the existing religious scene - the legalistic religion of Judaism and the carnal religion of the world.
Mark, as I’ve mentioned, is sort of the Readers Digest version of the gospels - Peter, speaking through (most likely) Jon-Mark - hits the high points. And this certainly is one of those. For a long time we’ve seen Jesus tell people over and over again not to say anything about what He was doing - but now its time for Him to declare openly that He is indeed the Messiah, the coming King.
1 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.’"
Bethphage and Bethany
These two villages were about one mile apart, one and two miles respectively from the eastern wall of Jerusalem, and sat on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Bethany was the home of Jesus’ dear friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
The Mount of Olives is a ridge about two and a half miles long on the other side of the Kidron Valley east of Jerusalem. (photo of Mt of Olives)
The group was probably in Bethphage when Jesus said this - sending two of His disciples on into Bethany where they were to look for a colt - Matthew says there was a donkey and a colt - but Mark focuses only on the colt because here Jesus is fulfilling a very important prophecy found in:
Zechariah 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.
The Jews would have known this prophecy - that it related to the Messiah. It was also important that no one had ever ridden the colt. In Numbers (19:2), Deuteronomy 21:3 and 1 Samuel 6:7 it talks about animals who have never been yoked being used for sacred purposes.
Stealing an animal would been like carjacking today - and the disciples must simply act on Jesus’ words in total faith.
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.
Couple of things here - notice Jesus didn’t just snap His fingers and have a colt appear - or, like Noah, a colt didn’t just show up. Jesus sent the boys to fetch one that belonged to someone else. When the Lord wants something done He doesn’t just do it (though He could) but He tells some of His servants to do something and they are the agents of God’s will.
Secondly - the person who owned the colt let it go willingly when they were told that "the Lord" had need of it. How quick are you to let go of things that Jesus says He needs? Your time? Your talents? Your money? Would we be like the owner of that colt and just say "oh sure, here you go" when the Lord calls on us to help Him accomplish His mission.
By the way, the Lord was the real owner of the colt as He is the supreme master of everything. Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it."
7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,
"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!"
So the colt had no saddle - and had never been ridden. No breaking was required, the animal completely submits to Jesus’ riding its back. The throwing of the cloaks on the back and on the road is a sign of royalty.
In 2 Kings 9:13 when Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat was proclaimed king they threw garments on the steps in front of him.
Jesus was well known by now - and so when people heard He was coming to the Passover feast they started gathering on the road. The branches, probably cut from the fields and trees, were part of the procession as people walked the last way up to the city.
What they said comes out of:
Psalm 118:25-27 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
This would have been a clear sign to the people that Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the Messiah. Its amazing that the King of Kings would come riding up on a baby donkey, or a borrowed burrow - instead of a giant white steed. Instead of swords there are branches - I would think - olive branches - in their hands.
Jesus comes to offer Himself as a sacrifice - a king giving His life for His kingdom and its subjects. Yes, He will come on a white horse to conquer, but not this time.
There is something else that is not mentioned here but is tremendously significant - the timing of this procession. It took place on April 6, 32AD - which was exactly 173,880 days from the day that Ataxerxes gave the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem after the 70 year Babylonian captivity of the Jewish nation.
So what, you say? Well Daniel prophesied in the 9th chapter of his book that on that day, 173,880 days after the decree to restore Jerusalem that Messiah the Prince would come. Talk about advance planning - I’d like to get a look at that dayplanner!
But the point is: this was no accident. Jesus didn’t wake up that morning and think, okay, let’s go into Jerusalem today - maybe on a donkey or something. No, this was totally planned to give more evidence that Jesus is who He said He was.
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
This would be Monday now. The trip was about 2 miles - so not bad. Did you think Jesus never got hungry? He really can understand our needs as humans.
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.
Fig trees were a source of cheap food - in April, the fig trees would have had little edible buds along with the leaves. This particular tree didn’t have any, so there was no food. Does this show that Jesus is mad a tree cause His stomach was growling and He had gotten irritable? No.
In fact, Jesus, like some of the prophets, was acting out a parable. Mark puts this here, with Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in between, to show that Jesus is cursing a religion that on the outside had great show - like the Temple - but inside there was nothing of substance.
Religious show is still the same today - you can have grand cathedrals and magnificent robes and incredible sounding choirs and even a pyrotechnic and electronic performance with no rival - but if underneath there is not sincere faith from the heart that transforms lives by the power of the Holy Spirit - then it is like this fig tree - all leaves and no fruit - all show and no substance.
We’ll see what happens to the tree - and what Jesus will say about religion in general in a moment - but first Jesus has a job to do - and on an empty stomach no less.
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.’"
Okay - this part needs some explanation. The Temple was divided up into various areas - or courts. The outer court was called "The Court of the Gentiles" and was the only place that gentile converts to Judaism could go to worship God.
God told His people to bring sacrifices to Him from their flocks (Duet 12:5-7), but the animals were to be without defect (Lev 1:2-3).
Because people traveled long distances to come to Jerusalem, and didn’t want to chance that their own animal might be found to be defective, the religious leadership set up four markets on the Mount of Olives where the pilgrims could buy doves or lambs or rams. As with most economic endeavors - maximizing sales and profits is important - so the chief priest later authorized a market to be set up right in the Temple courts - the Court of the Gentiles - how convenient for the worshipers and profitable for the priests!
The place was large, but so were the crowds. Josephus estimates that 255,600 lambs were slaughtered on Passover in A.D. 66.
The effect of placing the market in the Temple was to choke out the gentile’s access to worship God. It was sales over sacrifice - profit over prayer - making money over making petition to the Lord.
It’s the classic problem of when the world and worldly values takes over for faith and a walk with God. A relationship with God is so much more important than sales at the tape window or building a new wing on the sanctuary or having a million dollars in the bank.
When we focus on worldly things we crowd out the simplicity of approaching God and having a vibrant, ongoing relationship with Him. Instead it becomes a barrier.
Anyway - Jesus is really upset about this, as Israel was supposed to be a light to the gentiles - not a shopping mall for the chief priests.
So he quotes from Isaiah 56:7 - adding the words "for all nations."
The money changers made big bucks on an exorbitant exchange rate - changing Roman coins in for Hebrew shekels. So Jesus is turning over tables - and blocking the Temple as a thoroughfare for commerce.
Notice something else - Jesus got angry. That’s the second human part of Jesus we see in this chapter - He got hungry, and He got angry. He was fully man - and fully God.
It shows us that there are times to get angry - what really fries the Lord is when anything stands in the way of people coming to Him.
Well, those responsible for all this took notice - how could they not:
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.
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!"
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."
So the religious leaders begin to plot against Jesus life. He is not concerned - He will determine the time and place, not them. They go out and see the tree - its withered from the roots - because empty religion at its root is dead.
Next Jesus starts talking about moving a mountain - I think that standing there outside of Jerusalem that Jesus was talking about the mountain of Judaism - a now dead religious system being replaced by life brought by Jesus the Messiah.
In fact, the mountain, Mount Moriah, on which Jerusalem sat, was destroyed by the Romans only a few decades later.
Jesus is not teaching us to pray that mountains be moved - but He is saying that whatever mountain faces you - if you trust in the Lord, it can be moved. Its not a blank check - our prayers must be in concert with His will - but the more we know Him and our faith is exercised and strong - the more we will know His will and will pray according to it.
27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"
29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism-was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!"
31 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ’From heaven,’ he will ask, ’Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ’From men’ . . . ." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
33 So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know."
Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
By now its Tuesday morning. This was an official delegation representing the three groups that made up the 71 member Sanhedrin, or ruling council. Their question is legitimate, but their motives are evil - that’s why Jesus turns it around on them - making them declare their opinions about the source of John the Baptists’ authority - something they wouldn’t do because they had no real faith of their own, they only wanted to maintain power and not get in trouble with the crowds.
I bet it sounded real pious and knowledgeable for them to simply say "we don’t know." Jesus had them - again.
He had also give them an answer - the people who believed that John was a prophet would know that Jesus’ power came from God - and they would believe.
Conclusions
Which Jesus do you want to meet?
Jesus comes riding into our lives as a humble, giving, Messiah. He gave His life for you. One day soon He will come riding back onto the world scene on a horse with a sword that will slice everyone to pieces. Which Jesus do you want to meet?
Are you covering up your unbelief?
The religious leaders tried to sound so intellectual and spiritual - and they were neither, they simply wanted an excuse for murder. If they had acknowledged Jesus’ true nature, they would have to bow before Him - something they were unwilling to do.
You may have doubts about who Jesus really is - but in reality you may have shrouded your unwillingness to make Him Lord in an intellectual or spiritual mind game.
Look deep into your heart and ask yourself - is Jesus who He said He was? And what is my real problem with Him?
