Day 29–Mark 11: 12-26
Passage for the Day
12 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 courts 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, Jesus and his disciples 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 “Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and do not doubt in your heart but believe that what you say will happen, it will be done for you. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25-26 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Points of interest:
· ‘as they were leaving Bethany’—Bethany was a suburb of Jerusalem. Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the Passover holiday, and he’s staying with friends in Bethany.
· ‘those who were buying and selling there’—the outer courts of the temple had become something of a bazaar. One of the major things that happened at the temple was the sacrifice of animals, as a form of gratitude to God for provision or for answered prayer. To facilitate these offerings, authorized dealers sold ‘pre-approved’ sacrifices in the outer courts. It made it easier for people who had travelled a long way, plus there was no fear the priests would reject your sacrifice as blemished. The money-changers were exchanging normal currency for the special temple currency. Normal currencies weren’t accepted at the temple because they were stamped with the images of kings or gods, which was a violation of one of the Ten Commandments.
· ‘a house of prayer for all nations’—Jesus is quoting Isaiah 56, our passage from March 20th.
· ‘a den of robbers’—Jesus finds a thieves’ den instead of a house of prayer. There are multiple layers of likely robbery here:
1. Since these temple merchants have what amounts to a monopoly on sacrifices and offerings, they are charging the worshippers exorbitant prices.
2. All of this commerce is happening in the only part of the temple foreigners where were allowed. So, foreigners are essentially being robbed of a place to pray. Their part of the temple has been transformed into a market place.
3. God is being robbed of the foreigners’ prayers and of the full value of the Jewish sacrifices.
By the way, Jesus is quoting another prophet, Jeremiah (7:11). Jeremiah’s listeners are somehow under the impression that being in the temple gives them immunity from punishment for all sorts of bad behavior, including mistreating foreigners. Jeremiah tells them that it instead adds to their offense: besides behaving badly in other ways, they are ruining the reputation of God’s house.
· ‘chief priests and the teachers of the law’—these are the religious professionals of Jesus’ day. The chief priests are specifically responsible for the temple, and would have been the ones to approve of the mercantile activities in the outer courts. They don’t take kindly to what they would see as Jesus’ meddling in their affairs.
· ‘The fig tree you cursed has withered!’—Peter probably thought that Jesus was just venting his frustration the day before, but the tree actually dies. It doesn’t seem quite fair of Jesus to curse the tree when the fruit isn’t even in season. I think he does so to illustrate a point. With the tree, he was looking for fruit, but found only leaves. With the temple, he is looking for prayer, but finds only business. This prayerless temple is as dispensable to him as a fruitless tree.
· ‘if you say to this mountain’—‘this mountain’ would be Mount Zion, the holy mountain so revered by David and Isaiah. Isaiah spoke of Zion as the place from which universal peace would emanate (Isaiah 2, March 15th). Now, Jesus speaks cavalierly of pitching it into the sea. Faith is more powerful and more valuable to Jesus than the temple. Despite all the prophecies about the temple’s importance, Jesus can do without it if he has faith.
· ‘so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins’—the temple was the place Jews went to receive forgiveness. If it were thrown into the sea, how could they be forgiven? Jesus offers a new way: if we offer forgiveness, we receive forgiveness.
Taking it home:
· For you: Jesus once again tells us that amazing things are possible for anyone with faith. Ask God to give you an extra boost of faith today, and then try it out on something you might not normally pray for.
· For your six: Have you had conflicts with any of your six recently? Consider using that conflict as an opportunity to offer and experience forgiveness. Tell God that you forgive your friend for whatever wrong they’ve done, and ask God’s forgiveness for ways you’ve mistreated your friend. Then, pay attention to your interactions with that friend. Can you feel any difference in how you relate?
· For America: Pray against the power of corruption in our country. Ask God to expose corruption in religious institutions, government, and business and to minimize the damage corruption causes innocent or defenseless people.