Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Things aren’t always what they appear to be. And in life, some things are not what they seem to be. For example, we can make assumptions about things or people, and we steer clear of them because it seems like something we don’t like. Maybe there is a food you would never try because of the way it looks or what you’ve heard about that food.

But if you were to actually try the food or befriend the people, we might realize the assumption we made was wrong and “Appearances Can Be Deceiving.”

This morning I want to talk about “Appearances Can Be Deceiving” as Jesus exposes the fruitless faith and the worthless worship of the nation of Israel.

Text; Mark 11:12-19

Mark 11:12–19 NKJV

12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. 15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.

1. The Fruitless Fig Tree; 12-14

The cursing of the fig tree might be seen as Jesus using His deity [power] to curse something because He was upset that there was no fruit when He was hungry. That is not the case! This is the only judgment miracle Jesus performs in the Gospels. It is clearly symbolic of what was to come of the nation of Israel.

In the Old Testament, Israel is often associated with the fig tree and a vineyard.

Jeremiah 8:13 NKJV

13 “I will surely consume them,” says the Lord. “No grapes shall be on the vine, Nor figs on the fig tree, And the leaf shall fade; And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.” ’ ”

Hosea 9:10 NKJV

10 “I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved.

Nahum 3:12 NKJV

12 All your strongholds are fig trees with ripened figs: If they are shaken, They fall into the mouth of the eater.

Fig Tree- Fig trees were just as important in Israel as the olive trees. Figs were a staple in the Jewish diet, they produced early and late crops [sometimes a third crop], figs were used for medicinal purposes, the trees provided shade from the heat, and if needed it would be used for fuel [very rare]. The fig tree was a symbol of blessing and prosperity for the nation of Israel.

Figs trees are also one of the few varieties of fruit trees that put on fruit [buds] before the leaves appear. So a tree in full foliage indicated that their must be fruit, even though the time of figs to be fully ripe was not yet come.

Jesus curses the tree, not because He didn’t get breakfast, but because the tree did not do what He created it to do, bear fruit!

The outward appearance, said, “Come here! I have fruit that will meet your needs.” However, when Jesus arrived, He realized he had been deceived. It was all show with no substance.

Symbolism- Israel was just like this fruitless fig tree. They had all the signs of spiritual life, but they had no fruit. Israel had been given every advantage that could be afforded to any people. They had received the personal attention and redemption of Almighty God. They had been planted in a good land. They had the Word of God, the prophets of God and the Temple of God. They had everything they needed for a spiritual bumper crop, but they remained fruitless.…

Isaiah 5:1–7 NKJV

1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. 3 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4 What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? 5 And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will lay it waste; It shall not be pruned or dug, But there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds That they rain no rain on it.” 7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.

The curse of no one eating fruit from that tree is symbolic of the curse on Israel today, being blind to their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and not bearing any fruit for the kingdom of God. Jesus was showing His anger at religion without faith.

Charles Spurgeon said, “The great majority of persons who have any sort of religion at all bear leaves, but they produce no fruit” (“Nothing but Leaves”).

Christ has turned the fruit bearing over to His church to do what Israel would not. I hope that we are doing a better job!

2. The Temple Cleansing; 15-17

The temple grounds covered 35 acres with the court of the Gentiles being the outer perimeter. This outer area was a place that those who were not Jews, but desired to worship Yaweh, this was their only area of worship. [The Ethiopian Eunuch that Philip ministers to in Acts was able to worship in this area].

Now when Jesus enters this area of the temple grounds He does five things because of His anger of what was happening in the house of God.

Jesus drove out the merchants who had set up the outer court as a market place to purchase animals for sacrifice. Originally there were four markets set up on the Mount of Olives for those who needed to buy animals for sacrifice. But Caiaphas [Sadducee] and Annas [priest] moved it to the court of the Gentiles to disrupt foreigners from coming and also to make a profit off the sale of the animals.

Jesus then overturned the moneychangers tables. Those who came from foreign countries had to have their money changed into Jewish currency [shekel] because this was the only money the merchants accepted and the only money accepted for payment of the temple tax. The Roman drachmas had the image of Caesar on it and he was an idol worshiper and the was blasphemy to the Jews. The exchange rate was 10-12% from the drachmas to the shekel. Extortion.

He scattered those who sold doves.The dove was one of the few sacrifices that the poor people could afford. It was the sacrifice Joseph and Mary brought when they dedicated Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:24). Even the poor people were victimized by the merchants in the temple, and this grieved the Lord Jesus.

He stopped people from traveling through the temple using it as a shortcut into the city. The temple grounds covered 35 acres and there were 7 or 8 gates to the temple. Many would take a shortcut from the city to go to the Mount of Olives or visa versa. This was a disruption to those Gentiles who came to worship God.

He taught them. When Jesus had finished getting things straight and had the attention of the people, then He taught them what the temple was meant to be, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Isaiah 56:6–7 NKJV

6 “Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— 7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

The temple, where all nations were welcome to come and worship the LORD, had now been turned into a “den of thieves.” A den of thieves is compared to what we would call “organized crime” today.

Jesus had just come from Jericho a few days before, along a road known for its dangerous bands of robbers that preyed on travelers. (In the story of the Good Samaritan, the man was robbed on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho—Luke 10:30.) No organized band of robbers along that stretch of road between Jericho and Jerusalem, could possibly match the thievery/robbery going on in the temple, orchestrated by the religious leaders. The merchants had turned the temple into their den of desecration.

Campbell Morgan points out that “a den of thieves” is the place to which thieves run when they want to hide. The chief priests and scribes were using the temple and its religious services to “cover up” their sin and hypocrisy.

The house of God has a specific purpose for the people of God and the lost world.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NKJV

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Jesus had brought the nation of Israel to a crossroads. They could either accept Him as their Messiah or reject as an imposter. Jesus went out of the city, separated as the Passover lamb of sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world!

Close;

Our Lord’s condemning of the tree and cleansing of the temple were both symbolic acts that illustrated the sad spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. In spite of its many privileges and opportunities, Israel was outwardly fruitless (the tree) and inwardly corrupt (the temple).

Christ seeks fruit from His church, just like He did from His chosen people Israel. We need to examine ourselves and our ministries to see if we are producing fruit or making merchandise of the Gospel. We must cultivate our spiritual roots to bear fruit and not simply settle for “leaves.”