Mark: The Good News Of Jesus – Chapter 11
Reading — Mark 11:1-33 NKJV
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” – Mark 11:20-26 NKJV
With Jesus there is a message in everything.
There is a message beyond the fig tree.
When you speak to your mountain, it is NOT about the mountain!
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6 NKJV
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. – Mark 11:22 NKJV
Know your destination.
See yourself beyond the mountain.
Mark in 3 Acts:
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- Act 1: Galilee: —
- Chapters 1-8b —
- Who Is Jesus?
- Chapters 1-8b —
- Acts 2: On the Way —
- Chapters 8b-10 —
- What does it mean for Jesus to be Messiah?
- Chapters 8b-10 —
- Act 3: Jerusalem —
- Chapters 11-16 —
- How Jesus became King.
- Chapters 11-16 —
- Act 1: Galilee: —
Chapter 11 basic themes:
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- Jesus’ Royal Entry “Son of David”.
- Jesus asserts authority over the temple.
- Jesus condemns Israel’s Leaders.
His first three acts are disruptive:
- He asserts His authority – Triumphal Entry (Mark 11:1–11)
- Curses a fig tree—a symbol of Israel—(Mark 11:12–14, 20–25)
- Attacks the temple money-making industry (Mark 11:15–19)
They saw an ‘EARTHLY’ Kingdom and didn’t realize that God’s Kingdom would be established to be a positive impact in all Kingdoms.
“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” – Daniel 2:31-47 NKJV
The cursing of the tree displays Jesus’ power and the power of FAITH CONFESSED or SPOKEN being coupled with a full belief in God.
He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. – Luke 13:6-17 NKJV
The fig tree represents the ‘old’ regime and will not be sufficient to supply or feed the coming church!
God chose during this time that His manifold wisdom would be expressed and made known through the Church!
…to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,… – Ephesians 3:10 NKJV
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- Jesus ‘Viewed’ the Temple status — Mark 11:11
- The cursing of the fig tree, — Mark 11:12-14
- The cleansing of the temple, — Mark 11:15-19
- The withered fig tree, — Mark 11:20-25
- Jesus’ authority questioned, — Mark 11:27-33
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This is a literary technique that Mark uses throughout his gospel to convey a deeper meaning beyond the story’s simple face value.
There was an appearance of spirituality but absent of fruit.
All hypocrites are sinners!
But not all sinners are hypocrites!
If I claim to never sin but do, then I am a hypocrite.
Are we living out the life that God has called us to?