Mark 11 - The Day Jesus Got Really, Really Mad!

Click Here to Read or Listen Mark 11 

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

Jesus makes an unusual request to two of his disciples to go into the next town. There they would find a colt, who had never been ridden before. They were to untie it and bring it to Jesus. If anybody questioned what they were doing they were simply to say, "The Lord needs it". 

Jesus is setting the scene for his triumphal entry. Sure enough the disciples found the colt right where Jesus had told them. And sure enough some people asked them why they were untying the colt. The disciples told them what Jesus told them to say and they had no issue. 

He deliberately chose a young donkey, not a stallion, not a horse, and not coming on foot. This is because in that day, to come riding a colt – as opposed to a mighty war-horse – was to come as a man of peace. Jesus didn’t come to Jerusalem as a conquering general, but as a suffering (though triumphant) servant.

Do you get the feeling that these events have been orchestrated? Are we getting a glimpse of who is really going to be in charge of the last week of Jesus' life? The Sovereign God was bringing all things into place that would set up Jesus entry into Jerusalem. Today we call this Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. 

The people let the men take the colt when they found out that Jesus needed it. The people seemed to know the true identity of Jesus, or at the very least he was a prophet.  As Jesus came down the road on the colt, the foal of a donkey, the people laid their coats on the road and cut and placed palm branches along the way. They were paving the way befitting for a king.

"On this day, they lavished attention and honor on Jesus. They used their clothes as a saddle for Jesus and as a red carpet for the colt He rode on. Considering the expense and value of clothing in that day, this was generous praise." 

On either side of the ever burgeoning parade, the people "Hosanna. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!" "Hosanna" which means, "God saves". It is a shout of victory. A shout of triumph. This is a quote from Psalm 118 in the Old Testament. 

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts 

As Jesus left Bethany he saw a fig tree that was supposed to be full of fruit. Jesus rebuked the tree saying, 

“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” 

This was symbolic of the people of Israel, who were supposed to be bearing fruit but were barren. The true vine of God was withering. In the New Testament Jesus says, "I am in the Vine and you are the branches. If anyone remains in me and I in them will bear much fruit. Without having a connection with and to me, you can't bear any fruit". John 15:5

Then Jesus entered the temple and he was ticked off by the people using the temple courts for their own profit. People who had come from other nations had to exchange their currency for the Jewish currency in order to pay the tax. Those who didn't have any means could buy doves for their temple offering. He drove them out of the court area and flipped over their tables. Yes, Jesus was very anger. 

I thought it was wrong to get angry? It depends what you are angry about. In this case you could call Jesus' anger, "righteous anger". He was angry and jealous for God's name's sake not for selfish reactive reasons. God's house was meant to be a house of worship. A place that honored God. The temple court was a place to prepared one to come into God's holy presence. But the very people in charge were using this situation to make money off of the faithful pilgrims. 

The temple area was filled with profiteers who worked in cooperation with the priests and robbed the pilgrims by forcing them to purchase approved sacrificial animals and currencies at inflated prices.

Every Jewish male had to pay a yearly temple tax – an amount equaling about two days’ pay. It had to be paid in the currency of the temple, and the money exchangers made the exchange into temple money at outrageous rates.

Are there ways today we turn God's house into a den of robbers? Most churches probably don't do this in intentional ways, but I wonder what ways we might unintentionally do this? Can our sanctuaries become idols? Can we worship the pastor rather than the one who the pastor is preaching about. Can worship become all about us? The music I like, sitting in the seat or pew tI like, hoping the pastor I like preaches. Notice it is all about "I". We might say is is "me centered worship!" These are subtle ways that we might make God's house not about what it was intended to be. 

The chief priests and teachers knew Jesus was indicting them, so they went from hating Jesus to looking for a way to kill him. Meanwhile Jesus left the city and when they passed the fig tree it had completely withered to its roots. Peter connected the judgment and anger in the temple with the cursed fig tree. 

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Jesus came back into the temple and this time the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders confronted him right way by asking him, "By whose authority are you doing these things." They weren't going to give Jesus a chance to expose their hypocrisy and greed this time. Instead of answering them, Jesus asked them a question. He asked them, 

I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

The Pharisees were beaten at their own game once again. They were busy trying to trap Jesus and in the meantime set their own trap. I'm sure they walked away that day madder than ever at this man named Jesus. Every time they thought they had him in their sights, he escaped their grasp!