Mark 11

Review

As we discussed last week, all petitions are prayers, but all prayers are not necessarily petitioning the Lord

Prayer is simply communicating with God. There may be outlines we can follow when we pray like ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication), but there are no formulas we can use to ensure that our prayers are answered the way we would like for them to be. Jesus is not some Ginny in the bottle who stands at our beck and call to grant all of our desires.

We also saw how motives can influence our prayers - especially our petitions. When driven by selfish desires, we don’t receive. James 4:3 “3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Reminds us that we do not receive because we ask with wrong motives.

When we come to the Lord with prayers that are in alignment with His will, we can have confidence that our prayers will be heard and answered. What type of prayers align with His will? One of the key things that we know God wants to do and He is always at work doing deals with salvation. God is always at work, according to John’s gospel, and it is our aim to understand and discern where He is working and join Him there. I firmly believe that we are no more like Jesus than when we are interceding on behalf of someone. Romans 8:34 “34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.” Tells that Jesus sits at the right had of God and intercedes for us.

Praying is a spiritual discipline. James states that, “the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.” (James 5:16b). However, there are may obstacles which can impact our prayer life and our prayer time with the Lord. What are some obstacles we may face when it comes to praying?

Busy schedules / too tired

Not enough time - job, family, leisure demands

Misplaced priorities

Don’t know how to pray

Prayer was extremely important in the life of our savior. So prayer should even be more important to us, yet the average Christian prays about 7 minutes per week. Almost everything else we do on a regular basis supplants prayer in the amount of time we spend doing it per week.

As we turn to look at Chapter 11 of Mark this week, we will see that the matter of prayer and worship is of utmost importance as well. This chapter begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. You may recall from last week that Jesus was making His way to Jerusalem - to His disciples, they were amazed by this, and to the crowd, they were afraid. Hold onto that phrase for Mark is going to use it again in this chapter but for different people.

Read Mark 11:12–19 “12 The next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And his disciples heard it. 15 They came to Jerusalem, and he went into the temple and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves!” 18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching. 19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.”

Cleansing of the Temple

What is the first thing we see in this passage? Jesus curses the fig tree. Have you ever wondered why this story is captured in Scripture? Why would Jesus curse a fig tree when He knew (as Mark shares “it was not the season for figs”) there would not be any figs? First of all, Jesus doesn’t do anything in Scripture without purpose behind it.

Micah 4:4 “4 But each person will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the Lord of Armies has spoken.”

Zechariah 3:10 “10 On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.” This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.”

What is Jesus trying to tell His disciples? Did they understand the symbolism? I believe they did. The fig tree had long been a symbol of Israel’s peace and security. Jesus’ curse upon it meant that Israel would not again be the primary instrument of accomplishing God’s purpose. Even before Jesus makes His way to the temple, he stops to curse the fig tree which is telling the disciples and those around Him that Israel’s place in the continuing advancement of the Gospel and purposes of the Gospel is changing. This is also a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy when he prophesies about Israel and Judah in Jeremiah 8:13 “13 “I will gather them and bring them to an end.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.””

Jesus goes into the Temple. I don’t think it was a coincidence either that He comes from cursing the fig tree to the court of the Gentiles. It is here where Jesus throws those out buying and selling. He overturns the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and He does not permit anyone to use this courtyard as a shortcut, a pass through the temple. What were these people selling that were so bad? What obstacles were they placing in front of the people that kept them from experiencing the temple as a house of prayer?

Sometimes even “good” things or things we perceive to be necessary for proper worship can be a hindrance to prayer. After throwing out these people and overturning the tables, Jesus returns to teaching His disciples by quoting Isaiah 56:7 “7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”” and Jeremiah 7:11 “11 Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers in your view? Yes, I too have seen it. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

Mark (B. True Worship and True Fruit (11:12–22))

The rest of the passage in Jeremiah prophesies God’s destruction of Solomon’s temple. The hearers most certainly noted this and the veiled threat it implied. It is no wonder that the rulers feared him.

Jesus’ mention of a house of prayer for all nations signifies that he had in mind the Gentiles. They had been pushed out of the outer court of the temple area by the proliferation of merchandise. Gentiles were allowed to worship in the temple, although only in its outer circle. “With the conversion of the court of the Gentiles into a bazaar with all its noise and commotion and stench, they were deprived of the only place in the temple where they could worship. By clearing out the traders Jesus literally and symbolically provided a place for Gentiles in the temple of God” (Brooks, Mark, p. 186).

[From my commentary],Brooks goes on to note that den of robbers does not mean a place of dishonest dealings, although it may have been that. This phrase probably referred to a refuge for unjust persons. The Jews of the day felt secure in God’s acceptance because of their rituals and laws. They were like a tree in full foliage that bore no fruit.

Continue to look at verse 18. Who is it that is now afraid? The chief priests and scribes. Who is it that is now astonished? Marks says “the whole crowd.” Why, why would the crowd have been astonished? Jesus is teaching as one who has authority. He brings Isaiah and Jeremiah’s prophecies full circle, and the crowd is astonished. They have seen Him make room, something the religious leaders would not have done, for Gentiles to have place to worship in the temple.

Mark tells us that the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to kill him. They weren’t looking for ways to discredit His teaching. No, they knew that Jesus possessed an authority they did not have. They needed for Him to be gone. Before they carry out their devilish scheme, however, they will try to challenge His authority.

Read Mark 11:20–31 “20 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown 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, everything you pray and ask for—believe that you have received it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.” 27 They came again to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came 28 and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then …”

Authority Challenged

Mark (B. True Worship and True Fruit (11:12–22))

Peter’s astonishment at the withered fig tree was not because Jesus had worked the miracle. After all, he had seen dead people revived by Jesus. His astonishment arose from the fact that the miracle took place so quickly. There may also have been a note of horror that Jerusalem’s judgment would come soon—as indeed it did in A.D. 70. Mark’s mention of the tree being withered from the roots up points to its total destruction.

Jesus’ parable is clear. The religious system of the day had plenty of leaves but no fruit... The foliage of the religious leaders offered much promise but no fulfillment. As the figless tree could not satisfy Jesus’ appetite, so the religious system could not satisfy the spiritual hunger of the people.

We have looked at the importance Jesus placed on the temple as the house of prayer. Now, here in verses 22 thru 25, Jesus is teaching on the importance of faith when we pray. What do you think Jesus is referring to when he says, “if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea’”? Does He intend for us to rearrange the landscape? No, He did not intend for Christians to try to move literal mountains. But He did expect us to believe that our prayers can overcome great difficulties. We must have faith when we pray. But our faith is not in the strength of our prayers, nor in the size of our faith, but in the One who can help us overcome!

This is not Jesus’ only teaching on prayer as we know. As we discussed earlier this morning, our prayers must align with the will of God. John reminds us in 1 John 5:14–15 “14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.” Therefore, God’s will is a prerequisite of the prayer of faith. We know that God’s will is for us to forgive as we have been forgiven. If we cannot forgive, then we are not praying in God’s will.

Mark tells us earlier that the chief priests and scribes were fearful of Jesus, yet they do muster courage to approach him in this last passage in Mark 11. Jesus is not a chief priest, nor a scribe, nor an elder, so they are wondering about the authority He has to do “these things.” What are the things they are referring to? Probably the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple. Also, they would also say in other gospels, only God has the authority to forgive sins, so who are you to tell people to forgive others’ sins?

Jesus meets their question about His authority with a question of His own. “Was John’s baptism from heaven or human origin?” How do they answer? We don’t know. The word used for know here is the Greek word, oida. This word means to know experientially, to discern, in the East Tennessee vernacular we would say something like, “I know that I know that I know.” In other words, this knowledge is “complete” meaning you don’t need to have any more information or data to know the truth. The other word for “know” in the New Testament is ginosko. This word is used when we come to know something or perceive something to be true or know by observation. I would have expected the religious leaders to come back with this word in their response to Jesus. However, they used a word which indicates the depth of their blindness if you will. They have been shielded from the complete knowledge.

Discuss two examples of the Greek word “know” used in the NT to further drive home this point.

James 3:1 “1 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.”

1 John 5:13 “13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Key Takeaways

From today’s study:

Prayer is of utmost importance in the life of a Christian

Effective prayer is driven by faith - not in ourselves but in the One who is the author and perfecter of our faith

We should strive to remove any obstacle which impedes our ability to pray - even if those items are “good”

Jesus provides complete knowledge to those who believe in Him and are called by His name. He does not want us to be in doubt but to know that we know we have our security in Him!