Last week I was putting the kids to bed, making the rounds from bedroom to bedroom. And I got to Luke’s room and I did what we normally do every night, which for us looks like laying down beside them, chatting briefly, praying, and singing a song. We’ll I did that with Luke and he asked me to lay there for a minute longer, so I did and…I…fell asleep. This isn’t all that strange, I can generally fall asleep anywhere at anytime very quickly…so there I was unintentionally asleep next to Luke. It couldn’t have been for very long though. The next thing I knew was that Luke was tapping me on the chest saying ‘Dad, Dad, Dad…wake up.’ I woke up, was apparently in some deep sleep because I had no idea where I was and I found myself saying to Luke, ‘What are you doing here?’ I was so disoriented I thought I was in my bed and that Luke was waking me up for some reason. Luke looked at me real funny, and laughed and said ‘Dad, you’re in my bed.’ It took a minute to realize what was going on, I laughed too, and finished putting him to bed.
Why go there today? Well, the same disorientation I felt then, is very similar to what most people feel as they read the text of the sermon today. It’s Mark 11:12-25, where Jesus curses a fig tree and then cleanses the temple. The disorientation happens as the text begins. There we read of Jesus getting hungry, seeing a fig tree, He expects figs to be on it, but He finds none. So He curses the tree so that nothing ever grows on it again. At first glance this just seems so unlike Jesus. The kind, gracious, merciful Savior we read of in the rest of the gospels seems so unlike this irritated hangry Jesus in this passage. Even when Jesus is hard and fierce with the religious leaders we can always see a reason for it. Yet here His anger seems so unwarranted, out of bounds, and kind of irrational.
Now, while such a first impression is understandable, it’s not what’s going on at all. Jesus isn’t acting overly moody here, rather, He’s using the fig tree as a symbol for the temple, which is what we see if we zoom out and see the whole context in view.[1] Mark sandwiches the fig tree moment around the moment where Jesus cleanses the temple. So the pattern in the text is this: a – b – a, or fig tree – temple – fig tree.[2] In this there are enormous lessons to learn, all surrounding the two big ideas of true and false religion. Those two ideas will form our two headings today. So see first…
False Religion (v11-21)
“And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
To ensure we get what’s here, I’m going to slowly walk through this.
Notice v11 first. There we see Jesus entering Jerusalem and actually entering into the temple. What did He do after entering the temple? He looked around at everything and left. This small detail exists to set up the scene that follows on the next day, where He’ll go back into the temple and flip the tables. I think its here in v11 where Jesus learns just how bad the corruption in the temple is and comes to decision about what must be done about it.
Next see v12-14. This is the first fig tree moment. Here Jesus and His disciples are coming back from Bethany toward the temple. It mentions that Jesus was hungry in the end of v12. This is a reminder of His true and full humanity. That He had a real human body that felt hunger pangs in His body. That might be surprising to some, that God in flesh must eat, but I don’t think it’s the most surprising thing about this passage. That comes next. In route to the temple Jesus spots a fig tree off in the distance. He comes up to it to see if any figs were on it, but there weren’t any, it only had leaves. Now Mark tells us it wasn’t the season for figs, but most scholars will tell you that by this time of year the fig tree should’ve had small buds beginning to bloom, which are the sign that figs are coming soon.[3] Yet, Jesus only sees leaves so He curses the tree saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” This anger Jesus shows is the most surprising thing about this text. It startles us quite a bit to see Jesus reacting in such a manner. One critical commentator even said that this is an example of “…miraculous power wasted in the service of ill-temper…”[4] But Church remember what we believe. We believe Jesus never sinned, as the NT teaches. We believe Jesus didn’t need food at times, like during His 40 days of fasting, as the gospels teach. And we believe the miraculous feedings Jesus performed where He fed a multitude with scraps. Taking all this information into account and much much more, we know something more is going on than just Jesus being hungry and angry at this plant.
So what is He up to? Jesus is providing a visible lesson to His disciples about the spiritual state of Israel.[5] Like this fig tree, Israel had the appearance of fruit, but had none in reality. This false religion was exactly what He witnessed the day before in v11 as He entered the temple. The temple should’ve been a place of prayer, having space for Jew and Gentile alike to come in and worship the Lord, but He found something else. The chief priests and scribes had turned it into a money making scheme under the guise of proper religiosity. Which in effect made the temple a circus, a market like bazaar that pillaged the poor worshippers coming in. See then the lesson here. Just as the fig tree’s leaves hid the fact that there was no fruit to eat, so too the temple’s pomp and grandeur hid the fact that Israel was not bearing the fruit of true worship to God.[6] All of this would soon be clear as Jesus and His disciples go off into the city to visit the temple again.
Notice that next in v15-19. As soon as they entered the temple Jesus began driving people out, turning over tables, and wasn’t allowing anyone to carry anything in or out. He was also speaking during all this quoting Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7 which call attention to the temple being a place of prayer but for all nations, yet it has become a den of robbers. What Jesus is saying is that these worshipers in enters the temple though they look devout and righteous, are just as unfruitful as the fig tree He just cursed. And that’s not all. Back in Jeremiah 7 the context was impending exile. In his own day Jeremiah was warning Israel that if they kept up their sinful ways God was going to come and judge the land and the temple and take the people away in exile, which ended up happening. Jesus knows what Jeremiah said in chapter 7, and He applies Jeremiah’s strong words against Israel back then to the Israel of His own day.[7] Meaning, if Israel keeps up their circus like false religion God will come and destroy this temple, which actually happened in 70AD.[8] And so here is Jesus, in Jeremiah-like prophetic form, not just cleansing the temple but cursing the temple as He did the fig tree.[9]
In v18 we see the response of the religious leaders. Jesus had just come and turned over the apple cart, if you will, seriously putting a dent in the earnings of these priests and scribes. Which, as you can imagine, angered them greatly. So even though they feared Jesus and even though all the people were amazed at His teaching, they sought to destroy Him.
Finally see how this first section ends in v19-21. Jesus and the disciples leave the city at evening and when morning comes they pass by the same fig tree. But now it’s all withered up and dead. We find that its Peter who remembered the day before and made mention of how Jesus cursed the tree. Jesus will respond to this but He doesn’t mention the fig tree again. I think we can be sure that the fig tree’s withered state was a visible sermon to the disciples. A vivid display that warned the disciples of where the road of false religion ends. I think the main idea is just that. Having just left the temple and seen all the corruption, the disciples would’ve easily concluded that the worship in the temple and Israel herself was as spiritually withered as that tree.
Before moving on to the second and final heading I’d like to make two comments about what we learn here; one about Jesus and one about us.
About Jesus. In doing all this, entering the temple to see it’s activity firsthand, cursing the fig tree, and cleansing the temple, Jesus is making a big statement. One that would eventually get Him in a lot of trouble. By doing all of this He’s saying the temple has theologically and spiritually gone out of business.[10] Meaning, it is no longer the place where people meet God or come into the presence of God. The temple is done. Where then do we meet God? In Christ. That’s what He’s showing them! Jesus Himself is now the ‘place’ where we meet God and come into the presence of God. The Kingdom has come with Christ, the old has gone, the new covenant has dawned, the temple is done, and never again needs to be the centerpiece of their faith. If it wasn’t clear enough in this moment it will very soon be made very clear at His death when the curtain in the temple is torn in two, signifying that the way into the holy of holies is not through the temple but through this crucified King. And more, Jesus even said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days…speaking about the temple of His body” (John 2:18-21). This is the main thing to see about Jesus here. All that the temple was, now belongs to the person of Christ.
Now, about us, the Church. As Jesus saves sinners you know what He does with those sinners? He gathers them in, saves them, and builds them into a holy temple, built on the cornerstone of Himself. And in this new temple, that is us, there is to be no false religion. There is great warning for us here. We must ever be on guard against the same kind of hypocrisy in ourselves that was present in Israel back then.[11] What do I mean? I mean that we must never be content to have just the appearance of religion while not bearing true fruit ourselves. Like the fig tree we can easily deceive others by our outward religious activities. As wonderful as worship is, with its praise, prayer, preaching, baptism, confession, communion, etc., … no religious practice can be used as a cover up for a wicked life. God sees through it all. Perhaps I can put it like this. Are you abundant in the leaves of outward religion, while being barren in the fruit of the Spirit?[12] Church, many people and many churches look big and good shiny and healthy and compelling on the outside, but what are they on the inside?[13] If we ignore this warning and keep up a hollow religiosity, we can only expect one thing from God: curse.
This leaves us with a big question. Since the cursed and withered fig tree and temple show us false religion, what then does true religion look like? That’s exactly what Jesus speaks of next.
True Religion (v22-25)
“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
At first I’m sure the disciples were confused at what this had to do with the fig tree and the temple. But Jesus goes here in v22-25 because in the face of the corruption in the temple, true worship might seem impossible, yet here Jesus reminds us of the God who can move the largest mountains.
Jesus describes this in two ways, the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical of true religion has our relationship with God in view, and at the center of this is a faith filled prayer. See that? At first you might think of how verses like this can be abused, and they can, you’re right. But don’t believe something is evil simply because that thing is misused. See this for what it is. We ought to pray about anything and everything with great confidence and boldness, not because our prayers are so good or so strong, but because we know who God is. He cares for us, He provides for us, He withholds nothing from us that He desires us to have, He longs to and loves to bless us. As long as we pray in line with the God’s Word and in submission to God’s will, we can pray with great faith, knowing God will hear us and answer us. The early Church father John Chrysostom once said prayer is “…a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobstructed by clouds, a have unruffled by storms. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand promises.”[14]
When we pray like this, the fires of true worship will blaze in us.
Lastly see the horizontal of true religion has our neighbor in view, and at the center of this is forgiveness. Curious that Jesus would go here next, right? What does this have to do with the fig tree and the temple? How is forgiveness part of true worship? Well, perhaps the biggest mountain to get in the way of true worship is an unforgiving heart. I think the point of this is clear. To be in right relationship with God is to be in right relationship with our neighbors.[15] How can we sing of God’s grace toward us when we have so wronged Him, if we deny that grace to others who have wronged us? We must have the heart of a brother toward all our neighbors on earth, if we’re to have God as our Father in heaven.[16]
Conclusion:
In contrast to all the busy religious activity in the temple and its shiny appearance of devotion and fervor, they lacked these very things. They lacked a true faith-filled prayerful posture that trusts in God alone. And in their scandal and abuse of poor worshipers they lacked a true love for others. For these things they heard the curse of Christ.
Where are you Christian? Do you just have the appearance of loving the Lord and following His ways? Or do you love Him, follow Him? And where are we SonRise? What’s our fruit look like? Do Sunday’s here just have the appearance of busy religious activity? Or do we actually possess, in our hearts and souls, what we profess?
Has the gospel so come to us in power, and transformed our lives, that we resemble a true worship, that honors God and loves our neighbors?
May the withered fig tree that pointed to a withered temple be as much a lesson for us as it was for them.[17]
[1] Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27-16:20, WBC (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 152.
[2] William L. Lane, Mark, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 400.
[3] Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Expository Reflections on the Gospels: Mark (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024), 331.
[4] T.W. Manson, quoted in R. Kent Hughes, Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior, Preaching the Word Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2015), 271.
[5] O’Donnell, Expository Reflections on the Gospels: Mark, 332.
[6] Lane, Mark, 400.
[7] Evans, Mark 8:27-16:20, 152.
[8] Evans, 160.
[9] O’Donnell, Expository Reflections on the Gospels: Mark, 334.
[10] O’Donnell, 336.
[11] O’Donnell, 334.
[12] J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2015), 183.
[13] Hughes, Mark: Jesus, Servant and Savior, 272.
[14] John Chrysostom, quoted in O’Donnell, Expository Reflections on the Gospels: Mark, 338.
[15] O’Donnell, 338.
[16] Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark, 189.
[17] Lane, Mark, 409.
