Forget the Former Things: A New King is in Town

Introduction

Connect Palm Sunday and Jesus riding on donkey (as image of king) with what occurs next. Jesus is truly the king; he has absolute authority, even and esp over the Temple. And he is going to tear it down.

1. Cursing the Fig Tree (11:12-14)

The Fig Tree (v.12-13)

Mark 11:12–13 NASB95

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

How a fig tree grows: After the harvest of figs in August to October, buds sprout that remain undeveloped until spring. The buds become small green knops.

Then, in the spring, the fig knops are present before the leaves grow in spring. But once leaves are present, one expects to find sorts of pre-mature figs, which can be eaten.

The point: Jesus does not find any pre-figs (if you will) to eat. The [fig] tree turns out to be deceptive; it is has green foliage but no pre-figs growing on it.

“It is a tree with the signs of fruit but with no fruit.” [Edwards, Mark] I.e., the tree was not a good tree. That which was expected to give fruit did not. The tree even appeared to be a good tree, but it was not.

Not finding any figs, Jesus curses the tree.

On the surface, this seems kind of odd or out of place. What is Jesus doing? Is he just getting angry at a dead fig tree for not producing figs, and so he curses it?

Not at all:

Jesus, as is typical, uses an object as a symbol to teach a lesson.

Fig tree symbol of God’s judgement:

Jeremiah 29:17 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

Hosea 2:12 “I will destroy her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, ‘These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them.”

Here, the point is this: a judgement is coming. And Jesus is using the fig tree as a picture of what is to come. As we will see, the fig tree is a symbol of the Jewish Temple: just as the fig tree has numerous leaves but no fruit, so the Temple with its numerous activities, sacrifices, and worshipers is deceptive; it has no fruit.

But what kind of judgement specifically does Jesus have in mind? A cursing:

The Cursing (v.14)

Mark 11:14 NASB95

He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

“curse” = to invoke divine harm or evil upon someone or something [Lexham Research Lex of the Gk NT]

This is Jesus, not cussing (this is not what cursing means here), but casting God’s judgment upon the fig tree. And so the symbolism becomes more clear: the fruitless fig tree, representing the Jewish Temple and (and technically the Jewish leaders also) is going to be cursed—brought under divine judgment.

The specific judgment: “may no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

This is definitive judgment. It is a declaration of God ending the Temple and its worship forever: “no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Lit. = “No longer, to the age, from you no one eat your fruit.”

This is an emphatic statement; repetition for emphasis

“to the age” = eternally, forever

John Butler, Mark, Analytical Bible Expositor (Clinton, IA: LBC Publications,2008):

Mark 2. The Curse in the Punishment (Mark 11:13, 14)

The judgment was severe, for it was permanent. The tree lost its place of service “for ever.”

Jesus, as the new King of Israel, is prophesying that the old things—the Temple and its practices—is about to come to an end. And it is going to come to an end because it was fruitless. “Fruitless” in that it did not produce the kind of faith and repentance required to be God’s people and that would lead to good works.

In other words, Jesus is saying to forget all these former things concerning the old covenant. It could not change the person: a new king is here and a new covenant is coming.

Application

Do you have fruit, or are you being deceptive like the fig tree?

Jesus has saved us so we can bear fruit.

Do you look good on the outside but on the inside you are corrupted by sin?

Do you meet with the church on Sunday while demanding others do what you want?

Do you attend a Bible study and then gossip or slander people in the church?

Are you involved with a ministry in the church but lack self-control and then yell, curse, or lose your temper with others?

Do you say that you are a Christian but refuse to submit to the church leadership and the decisions they make?

Does our marriage on Sunday look good to others but then you go home and abuse your spouse verbally or otherwise?

Let us ask ourselves whether we are deceiving ourselves and the people around us. We may look good going to Bible study, Sunday worship, etc. but when it comes to fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), do we have any?

In short, have we been changed by the Spirit of God or not?

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.”

Matthew 23:25–26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

It is about a change of heart, changing our sinful nature. If we have been truly changed, then we ought to be bearing fruit. We ought not be like the fig tree that is deceptive.

Just like Jesus was telling his disciples to forget the former things and that a new way is coming, we too need to put off our former self and let the HS make us new.

That Jesus is making way for a new covenant—a new beginning—is evidenced by what Jesus does next:

2. Clearing the Temple (11:15-18)

The first thing noted is that Jesus and his disciples enter the Temple.

The Temple and Its Grandeur (v.15a)

Mark 11:15 NASB95

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple. . . .

Slide: Model of Jerusalem

The temple at the time of Jesus was the third one to be built. It was being built by Herod the Great. Herod’s temple was immense and was not completed until AD 66 (it was begun in 20 BC).

The Gospel according to Mark The Destruction of the Temple (13:1–2)

The immense thirty-five-acre enclosure could accommodate twelve football fields.

Slide: Temple on Temple Mount

The Court of the Gentiles, the largest part of the Temple, measured 500 yards long x 325 yards wide. In this Court, sheep and doves for sacrifice were sold and currency exchanged.

The amount of business completed there was large, and the Sanhedrin had oversight of it all (and made a lot of money from it).

The Jewish historian, Josephus, (War 6.422–27) said upon the Temple’s completion in AD 66, 255,600 lambs were sacrificed for Passover!

The Temple was magnificient and glorious. It was, and always had been, the center of the Jewish/Israelite worship. It was the place God manifested himself and exemplified God’s presence among them. All of Jewish life centered around the Temple.

Even Jesus’ disciples marveled at the Temple:

See Mark 13:1–2 “As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

Note Jesus’ prophecy here just like the one about the fig tree: the Temple will be destroyed.

But there is more to Jesus’ prophecy than merely the foretelling of God’s judgment and destruction of the Temple. He shows that he is the actual King who has authority over the Temple.

The King and His Authority (v.15b-18)

Mark 11:15–18 NASB95

. . . And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say 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 robbers’ den.” The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

Not only, then, were the disciples to forget the former things, but there is a new king, or authority, it town. And his name is Jesus. He has the authority to overthrow the Temple. He has the authority to drive out the money changers and disrupt business. The Temple is his house, after all.

Illustration

I recently hired a lawn care service. What I was doing with the lawn was not working. I worked on it last year with fertilizer, weed killer, etc. but all I have again this year is a mess. So I got tired of it and decided to hire the professionals.

After the first application, I thought the lawn service was just as bad as I was at caring for a lawn. Everything began dying, including the grass. But after several weeks, it began to look better. The weeds died, and the grass began to turn green and grow.

In a sense, the lawn care service had to clear away the old lawn, prep it, and make way for the grass to grow.

Application

In the same way, if we are going to be made new, we must let first let go of our sinful past and our current sinful selves and then let God clear away the former way of things and prepare us for what is new and what is to come.

We must no longer cling to our past sinful self.

Luke 9:62 “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

AW Tozer, Pursuit of Christian Maturity, 28:

“If we live in the past, God has nothing to do to help us along. How can anyone change the past? . . . Let us not worry about the past. Let us not look back to see what we might change or improve. While there’s no way we can change the past, there is a way we can affect our future.”

We must be willing and ready to let go of ourselves so we can make Christ our all, the absolute center of our lives.

But we must also be willing to give up not just ourselves, but everything we hold dear—everything.

Luke 14:26–27 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

Examples:

We must not get caught up in the aesthetics, the frills and thrills of our corporate worship building, our activities and programs, and even our music.

To do so would be to repeat the same Pharisaical sin of making the Temple and its activities central. It would be the same sin of those who marveled at the glory of the Temple.

Are we marveling and glorifying God and Christ, or are we glorifying our buildings, assets, programs, and music? What kind of Christian people are we going to be? Will be known for our buildings? Programs? Music? Or will be we known for our strong faith and discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Don’t misunderstand, some of these activities may be significant and permissible. But they are nothing but rubbish compared to the person of Jesus.

It’s about our priorities; it’s about what is most important. Our focus must be upon Jesus, not our activities and traditions.

Jerome (known for his translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin - aka Latin Vulgate) in his commentary on Isaiah:

“For if, according to the Apostle Paul, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God [cf. 1 Cor 1:24], and the one who does not know the Scriptures does not know the power of God and his wisdom, [then] ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

Christ desires to make way for himself to be our God and Savior: the most central part of our lives. And we must allow him to clear the path to do this.

But note the final thing that Christ must do:

3. Cutting Down the Fig Tree (11:19-22)

The Fig Tree and The Old Temple (v.19-21)

Mark 11:19–21 NASB95

When evening came, they would go out of the city. As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.”

“withered from the roots up” = it was dead

And what does one do with a dead tree? You pull it up root and branch. And this is what happened to the Temple in AD 70. Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans.

AD 70 event - Josephus:

The Gospel according to Mark The Destruction of the Temple (13:1–2)

“Caesar [Titus] ordered the whole city and the temple to be razed to the ground.… All the rest of the wall encompassing the city was so completely leveled to the ground as to leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it had ever been inhabited” (War 7.3).

The Temple and the old covenant God had made with Israel had served its purpose, and now these former things were done away with.

Hebrews 8:7 “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.”

Hebrews 8:13 “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”

The former, old ways were replaced with a new king and a new temple:

The New King and The New Temple (v.22)

Mark 11:22 NASB95

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God.”

The response that Jesus desired for his disciples to have about this news is to have faith in him.

Jesus, as the new king, would save them. And he would create a new temple: namely, us Christians, the church:

1 Corinthians 6:19 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”

Illustration/commentary

Change can hurt, can’t it? I imagine the disciples being so distraught, confused when some of them saw the destruction of the Temple and the leveling of the Jerusalem walls. Everything they had ever known as it relates to their faith in God had been destroyed. The Israelite worship that had been practiced for thousands of years was now gone.

But you know what? It made possible the new covenant—a relationship we can have with Christ our God. It brought us salvation.

Change can be difficult, but it is God making the change in us, it brings blessings.

Hebrews 10:4–10 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure. “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O God.’ ” After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Application

We must allow Jesus to entirely uproot our way of life and our sense of self in order to replace them. I.e., our identity is no longer about the Temple, vocation, sports star, etc. It is in Jesus Christ. He is the center of our daily lives.

Listen hear: this is serious. We are talking about Jesus uprooting and destroying the whole root and branch: our plans, future, thoughts, way of life, and our self (ego).

CS Lewis:

 "Christ says, 'Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.'"

It is time to stop “going to church” and start “being the church.” It is time to quit sounding and trying to look good on the outside like the fig tree and to have an actual inner change so that we can become like Jesus.

Let Jesus take your old self out.

Quit gossiping, slandering, being pushy, venting anger, verbally or physically abusing people, disobeying the elders, being controlling, bitter, arrogant, boastful, manipulative, conniving, and proud.

Let Jesus change you into a new creation!

Romans 6:6 “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (So why are we continuing to act the same way we did the day we gave our life to Christ?)

Colossians 3:9 “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.”

Conclusion

There is a new king town, folks. And he is clearing the way for a new kind of life. He is prepared to take you and crucify your old self and make you new.

But are you prepared?

This is not just about those who have not decided to follow Christ yet. It is for all of us. We do not become a Christian and then everything is fine. No. We we become a Christian it is only the beginning. We are to be working on ourselves to become more like Christ—rather, we are to be allowing the Holy Spirit to help us and form us into being just like Jesus.

Romans 8:29–30 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”