Mark 11

Mark 11:1-25

Jesus Enters Into Jerusalem As The Prince of Peace, Purifies the Temple, and Withers A Fig Tree With A Word (11:1-25).This passage in Mark is one whole, woven around the acted out picture of the fig tree. After His entry into Jerusalem Jesus goes and surveys the Temple, looking around and considering it, then He goes and surveys the fig tree and condemns it, after which He returns to the Temple, enters it and clears it of traders. Once that has occurred He and His disciples return to the fig tree and find it withered. The symbolism of the fig tree is clear. It represented Jerusalem and its false worship, outwardly promising much and making a great show, but inwardly fruitless. It was now cursed and would be allowed to wither and die, which, as Jesus will make clear in chapter 13, is also the destiny of the Temple. On His final visit to Jerusalem Jesus first reveals Himself to the world as the coming Messiah and King by deliberately fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, Oh daughter of Zion, shout, Oh daughter of Jerusalem, behold your king comes to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on an ass, even on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9). But it only had meaning for those with eyes to see. Many pilgrims were arriving in Jerusalem for the Passover, and some would ride on asses, although they would be the exceptions for it was not usual for pilgrims to ride into Jerusalem at the feast. There was a tradition that at Passover time Jerusalem should be entered on foot. So Jesus was deliberately drawing attention to His uniqueness. However, at Passover time pilgrims generally would be greeted by festive crowds shouting out to God, ‘Blessed is he who comes, in the name of the Lord’ (Psalms 118:26) and ‘Save now’ (‘hosanna’ - a cry for deliverance - compare Psalms 118:25)’, for it was a time of high excitement. Psalms 118 was in fact a Psalm regularly used at the Passover. ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David’, was probably a further excited cry brought about by their enthusiasm as they thought about the coming expected Messianic kingdom, for it was a time when hopes were high. It was always thought possible that the Messiah might reveal himself at the feast. Thus when the great prophet that they had heard about, and many had probably actually seen in action and had dealings with, arrived in this way, they greeted Him even more enthusiastically than they did ordinary pilgrims. But they did not on the whole realise the truth of their words, that the king was now here to bring salvation, although no doubt some probably did cherish such hopes (John 7:31). They rather described Him as ‘the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee’ (Matthew 21:11). To them the whole scene was like a religious carnival. And we must not judge them too harshly, for the disciples did not realise the full significance of the entry either (John 12:16). Mark does not mention that it was an ass on which Jesus rode, but Matthew 21:2 does, and ‘a colt’ was unlikely to be anything else in Palestine. The ass was looked on by the Jews as a noble beast. When kings rode in peace they rode on an ass (e.g. 1 Kings 1:38). Thus the prophecy, and Jesus’ action in riding on an ass, revealed that He came, not as a warrior on His war horse, but as the lowly Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6; Zechariah 9:9). Not the kind of Messiah most Jews were expecting.

Mark 11:4-6

‘And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door out in the open street, and they loose him. And some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”, and they said to them just what Jesus had said, and they let them go.’ The two who had been sent (Mark 11:1) found things just as Jesus had described them, and returned with the colt. Matthew tells us that its mother followed, as would be expected of an untried colt. It was quite a common sight in Palestine to see a mother ass accompanied by its colt. ‘A colt tied.’ In Genesis 49:10 a colt tied is connected with a coming ruler of the house of David (named symbolically Shiloh) to whom the people will gather. But there it is the person himself who ties up the colt ‘Some of those who stood there.’ Not necessarily the owner.

Mark 11:7-9

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem (11:7-9).Jesus now portrayed Himself in terms of Zec 9:9, although Mark does not mention this latter. But in view of his descriptions, which reproduce the signs of the proclamation of a king of Israel, he certainly wants us to see it in terms of the king entering to take possession of what was His. It was, however, a view tempered by his later understanding. There is no suggestion that he sees Jesus’ ‘offer’ as rejected by the people. The people welcome Him. His emphasis will be on His rejection by the Jewish leadership. Analysis.a And they bring the colt to Jesus, and throw their clothes over it, and He sat on him (Mark 11:7). b And many spread their cloaks on the roadway, and others foliage (layers of leaves) which they had cut from the fields (Mark 11:8). b And those who went in front, and those who followed, cried, “Hosanna (‘save now’)! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:9). a “Blessed is the kingly rule that comes, of our father David. Hosanna in the highest” (Mark 11:10). Note in ‘a’ their action in putting their cloaks on the asses colt for Him to sit on, symbolic of the coming of the kingly rule of David in the parallel, while in ‘b’ they spread their cloaks in the way and lay the leaves of trees in the way, symbolic of the acceptance of One Who represents a king coming in the Name of the Lord (YHWH).

Mark 11:8

‘And many spread their cloaks on the roadway, and others foliage (layers of leaves) which they had cut from the fields.’ Matthew 21:8 has ‘cut branches from the trees’, John 12:13 says ‘took the branches of the palm trees’, and speaks of ‘a great crowd that had come to the feast’. Luke 19:37 speaks of ‘the whole crowd of disciples’, clearly using disciples in its widest sense. Thus central to what happened were His followers, and other disciples who had joined them on hearing of their approach, but also joined by enthusiastic pilgrims. For many, however, it was all part of the festival and not a unique occurrence. They knew not what they did. This spreading of things before Him was the regular kind of treatment offered to important personages and was a spontaneous expression of appreciation and respect. Rabbinic literature offers parallels, and Plutarch tells us that when Cato Minor left his troops they spread their clothes at his feet. When Simon Maccabaeus entered in triumph into Jerusalem he was received ‘with praise and palm branches’ and with music ‘because a great enemy was destroyed out of Israel’ (1Ma 13:51). Compare also 2 Kings 9:13 where clothes were lain before Jehu in homage. But the crowd were not on the whole representing Him as the Messiah. They were using this entrance of One Whom they saw as a prophet as a means of expressing their acted out hopes. He was seen by them as prefiguring the future.

Mark 11:9-10

‘And those who went in front, and those who followed, cried, “Hosanna (‘save now’)! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingly rule that comes, of our father David. Hosanna in the highest.” These cries are mainly taken from Psalms 118. ‘Hoshi‘ah na’ - save now’ (Psalms 118:25). ‘Blessed be He Who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Psalms 118:26). These were extracts from a Psalm used at the Passover, and were regularly shouted out at visitors to Jerusalem at the Passover as they streamed into the city. Year after year the same had been done, and the coming of that kingly rule had been seen as being as far away as ever. But it was always a time of enthusiasm and fervour. And at such times there was always hope. Patriotic passions were aroused.

And here it reached a deeper intensity because they saw Jesus as a great prophet, and many of them were disciples. But His entry on an ass helped to dampen Messianic expectations. Zechariah 9:9 was not a favourite Messianic passage, for the Jews did not look for a lowly king. The words of the crowd are presented in a balanced format. a “Hosanna!” b “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” b “Blessed is the kingly rule of our father David which is coming.” a “Hosanna in the Highest.” ‘Hosanna’ means ‘save now’. Compare Psalms 118:25. It was a cry to God to bring about His promised deliverance. They little realised that this One Who entered was about to do exactly that but in a way that they could not even have dreamed of. ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ See Psalms 118:26. All those who came for the feast were seen as coming ‘in the name of the Lord’. We may, however, translate Psalms 118:26 as ‘blessed in the name of the Lord is he who comes’. It was a regular welcome for pilgrims. But this then constantly reminded them that one day a king would come, for ‘he who comes’ was an expression denoting the Messiah (compare Matthew 11:3). So every pilgrim they greeted was a reminder that one day Messiah would come.

And who knew whether that one might be he? Indeed Luke renders it, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord’ (Luke 19:38). Thus the enthusiasm of the crowds and of the disciples turned the thoughts of many to the coming Messiah, which is why they added, ‘Blessed is the kingly rule that comes, of our father David.’ Those who were close to Him, and later very definitely saw Him as the Messiah, would later think of the shouts in those terms. But it seems that they did not at this point in time, for John declared, ‘His disciples did not understand these things at the first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him’ (John 12:16). Thus it would seem that His dampening words to them had squashed, at least temporarily, their false ideas concerning Messianic hopes (Mark 10:32-45; compare Acts 1:6). Once they did understand it, however, that day would be seen as a day to sweep away all gloom. ‘Blessed is the kingly rule that comes, of our father David.’ The people were looking forward in hope to the restoration of the Davidic kingship under the Messiah and all the festivals in which they participated brought this to the fore in their minds. Thus for most this was a cry of hope for the future rather than an anticipation of what Jesus was going to do. ‘Hosanna in the highest.’ Probably a cry to God meaning ‘save now You Who are in the highest’ or something similar. A stereotyped phrase easily shouted by the crowds as one. We may in passing consider the effects all this excitement would have had on the untrained asses colt. Yet it apparently remained calm throughout, for the One Who rode it had authority over all things. To summarise then, what are we to make of all this? Firstly we must emphasise it was not a general recognition by all that He was the Messiah. Had it been so it would certainly have been cited at the trial. Of course it may have been, and simply not mentioned in the Gospels, but as they were looking for solid evidence, and this would have been solid evidence if the crowd as a whole had seen Him as the Messiah, it is unlikely. Furthermore if such a crowd had really seen Jesus as the Messiah entering in triumph things would have got totally out of hand, to say nothing of the fact that an excited crowd acclaiming a Messiah would also have caused the Roman soldiers, present in Jerusalem in large numbers at the Passover, to intervene at once. Outwardly, as Matthew makes clear (Matthew 21:11), this was therefore the welcome of a popular prophet into Jerusalem in the time honoured way, although we need not doubt that there were some in the crowd who would like to have stirred Him into Messianic action. There were very mixed views about Him (John 7:12; John 7:26-27; John 7:31). But that it had not raised great expectations comes out in that He was able quietly to go into the Temple seemingly without the crowd following. Most of them moved on in order to greet more pilgrims, not aware of the deeply significant things that were now happening. To the closest disciples it was obviously more than this, but they still clearly saw it as puzzling. They knew He was the Messiah because He had virtually said so (Mark 8:29-30), but they also remembered His severe words on the subject of what was to happen to Him and what He had come to do (Mark 8:30-31; Mark 8:34-38; Mark 9:12; Mark 9:30-31; Mark 10:42-45). They must therefore have been in two minds. For they did not then connect what happened here with Zechariah’s prophecy (John 12:16), and it could hardly be seen as a call to rise up in arms. We are left to imagine what their present thinking might have been. They had been warned not to reveal Him as ‘the Messiah’, so they would to some extent be restrained, and yet they were probably both exalted and puzzled at the same time, not knowing what to make of it.

However, they would have been to the feast too often to be mistaken about the mood of the crowd and the excited cries. They knew that much of it was mere festal enthusiasm. On the other hand they were aware that Jesus had carefully planned it. What then was He about to do? There can be no doubt it would have raised some kind of expectation in their hearts. That they too, however, did not associate it with Zechariah 9:9 until later, after His resurrection is clear from John’s Gospel (John 12:16). To Jesus it was a deliberate portrayal to Jerusalem and all who would see it, that He was the King of Peace promised in Zechariah. In a sense He was offering Himself to them, and especially to the leadership, but only if they were willing for their whole approach to God being purified, as He demonstrated by what He did in the Temple. But it was not with any expectations of His being accepted, for He knew perfectly well what was going to happen and was under no illusions about the condition of their hearts, as He has already made clear. He knew that His hour had come (John 13:1). It was all part of His self revelation which to others would later mean more than it did then. He was deliberately and symbolically riding in as One Who would be rejected.

Israel and its leaders must have its opportunity of recognition, but as He had been making clear to His disciples, He had no doubt as to what was to come. He knew that He was riding to His death, and all that would follow. Thus this was a prophetic sign, rather than in any sense a real offer.

Mark 11:11-25

The Temple and the Fig Tree (11:11-25)Having made clear to those with eyes to see both Whom He was and the spirit in which He had come, meek and lowly and in peace as far as politics was concerned, Jesus moved on to the Temple, and there we are significantly told that ‘He looked around’. Remembering what He had previously done as a young firebrand (John 2:14-17) this gains in significance. But that is not specifically what Mark has in mind. He has more in mind an examination that looks around and is angry at what it sees (compare Malachi 3:1-2), just as He will shortly examine the fig tree in the same vein. In fact this whole passage is a mixture of symbolism and reality. He is hungry, because He sees the crowds in their hunger, and wants to meet their need.

But He is angry with those who are responsible for their continuing hunger, those who see themselves as the fig tree who should be feeding His people. And He wants to demonstrate that the Temple can no longer meet the needs of the people and must be replaced by a spiritual Temple. And he does it by parallelism For as mentioned above the Temple and the fig tree are closely interwoven here. His careful scrutiny of the temple is paralleled with His scrutiny of the fig tree, He finds fruitlessness and deadness in both, and His subsequent action in the Temple is to be explained in terms of the withering of the fig tree because of its barrenness. In a sense He was giving the leadership the opportunity to put things right. But He knew that they would not. Pruning would not be sufficient. The fig tree/Temple was only fit to be destroyed. Judgment must inevitably fall on Jerusalem because it too was withered and dead. Analysis.a And He entered into Jerusalem, into the temple, and when He had looked round about upon all things, it being now evening, He went out to Bethany with the twelve (Mark 11:11). b And on the morrow, when they were come out from Bethany, He hungered (Mark 11:12). c And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if perhaps He might find anything on it, and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs (Mark 11:13). d And He responded and said to it, “No man eat fruit from you henceforward for ever.” And His disciples heard it (Mark 11:14). e And they come to Jerusalem, and He entered into the temple, and began to cast out those who sold and those who bought in the temple (Mark 11:15 a). f And He overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves (Mark 11:15 b). e And He would not permit that any man should carry a vessel through the temple (Mark 11:16). d And He taught, and said 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 den of brigands,” and the Chief Priests and the Scribes heard it (Mark 11:17-18 a). c And they sought how they might destroy Him, for they feared Him (Mark 11:18 b). b For all the crowd was astonished at His teaching (Mark 11:18 c). a And every evening He went forth out of the city (Mark 11:19). Note that in ‘a’ having entered Jerusalem and surveyed the Temple, He went out of the city, and in the parallel He went out of the city every evening. He had come to minister there, but the city was not for Him. In ‘b’ He was hungry, and in the parallel the people on whose behalf He hungers hear His teaching with ‘astonishment’. In ‘c’ He finds nothing but leaves on the fig tree, and in the parallel those represented by the fig tree reveal their barrenness by seeking to destroy Him. In ‘d’ He condemns the fig tree’s fruitlessness, and His disciples heard it, and in the parallel He condemns the Temple’s fruitlessness and the Chief Priests and Scribes heard it. In ‘e’ He cast out the dealers who profaned the Temple, and in the parallel He prevented from proceeding through the Temple those who profaned it by using it as a short cut. In ‘f’ He dealt with the profaner’s tools of trade.

Mark 11:12-14

Jesus Surveys the Fig Tree and Declares It Barren (11:12-14).

Mark 11:14

‘And he answered and said to it, “No man eat fruit from you from now on for ever.” And his disciples heard it.’ There are no grounds for suggesting that Jesus was angry. It was a straightforward declaration. Nor did he ‘curse’ the fig tree in any bad sense. Rather He destined it to failure because of its outward profession which was not accompanied by fruitfulness. It may well be that He recognised that the fig tree was past its best and would no longer produce fruit. But what He was wanting to portray justified His performance of the miracle in His hastening its end by His word.

He wanted to portray the most solemn of messages, the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (chapter 13). In Jeremiah 24:2 good and bad figs depicted blessing on the captives in Babylon and punishment on those who remained in the land (compare also Micah 7:1). While the application is different it illustrates the use of the product of a fig tree to denote judgment on ‘Israel’. ‘Now and for ever.’ Temple worship would never rise again. It was finished. ‘And his disciples heard it.’ Mark wants us to know where his own information came from. It came from the disciples. But the phrase also parallels ‘and the Chief Priests and Scribes heard it’ in Mark 11:18 indicating a connection of the ideas.

Mark 11:15-20

Jesus Enters the Barren Temple and Purges It (11:15-20).Having declared His sentence on a barren fig tree, Jesus now turns His attention to something even more barren, Jerusalem and The Temple.

Mark 11:17

‘And he taught and said 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 brigands’ cave.” In John His action had merely been to clear the Temple, telling them not to turn the Temple into a shop, but here He not only did that but also ‘taught’ and drew the attention of people to the full situation. The quotation is a combination of two Scriptures, made up of Isa 56:7 ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’ and Jeremiah 7:11, ‘is this house, which is called by my name, become a brigands’ cave in your eyes?’ ‘For all the nations’ was particularly relevant because it took place in the Court of the Gentiles. That was where the God-fearers, non-circumcised Gentile believers, could come to pray. Jesus’ first concern was thus that the Temple was intended to be a house of prayer where all people could come and meet with God. But what chance were the Gentiles being given here? However, to call that part of the Temple a shop, as He did the first time, was one thing (no one could really deny it), to teach that it was ‘a brigands’ cave’ was quite another. That involved the very highest authorities in dishonesty. They were being accused of swindling the people. How far the swindling and profiteering went we do not know for certain, but some of the High Priests had a reputation for greed and avarice, (one 1st century High Priest, Ananias, was called ‘the procurer of money’ by Josephus) and anyone who suggests that all was straight dealing does not know human nature, especially as regards Jewish businessmen. In fact Rabbinic evidence points to the excessively high price of the doves, and the avarice and hatred in connection with the Temple is mentioned in T.Menahoth. Everyone, of course, knew of the feared brigand’s caves in the country between Jerusalem and Jericho. It would not be a nice thought to be associated with them.

Mark 11:18

‘And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought how they might destroy him, for they feared him, for all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.’ The chief priests, who ran the Temple and controlled its ministries, were inevitably angry because He had hit at their pockets and at their reputation. And the problem was that they knew that everyone believed it was true. The scribes here might be Sadducean scribes who naturally sided with the leading Sadducees, the chief priests. But we need not doubt that many scribes of the Pharisees were also willing to side with them as well in this particular case. Jesus’ teaching was getting too uncomfortable and as a result some of the people were beginning to question their authority. There was only one answer, and that was to destroy Him. Mark has already described the same intention in Galilee (Mark 3:6). Now the rot had spread through the whole country. ‘They feared Him.’ Because He was undermining their authority and revealing the inadequacy of much of their teaching.

Mark 11:19-25

The Lessons Of The Fig Tree Which Has Withered (11:19-25).When Peter calls Jesus’ attention to the fact that the fig tree has withered, Jesus uses the fact to draw a number of lessons. Firstly that anything is possible to the one who has faith, secondly that even the mountain that they could see before them (symbolic of the withered Temple) could be cast into the sea (symbolic of judgment) by faith, and thirdly of the necessity for forgiving and being forgiven if they too were to avoid becoming withered. a And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots, and Peter calling to mind the situation says to Him, “Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away” (Mark 11:20-21). b And Jesus answering says to them, “Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). c “Truly I say to you, Whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be you taken up and cast into the sea’, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says comes about, he shall have it” (Mark 11:23). b “Therefore I say to you, All things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them” (Mark 11:24). a “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one, that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). Note that in ‘a’ Peter calls attention to the withered fig tree, withered because it represents the unspirituality of Jerusalem, with its unforgiving and arrogant behaviour towards sinners and Gentiles, and in the parallel Jesus provides the basis on which the ‘new Jerusalem’, His church, can avoid becoming withered, by being based on the twin pillars of forgiveness and being forgiven. In that way it will avoid the curse that has come on Jerusalem. Forgiveness was always intended to be central to God’s deliverance and salvation (compare Matthew 6:14-15; Matthew 18:15-35; Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22). In ‘b’ He tells them to have faith in God, and in the parallel He exemplifies this by describing how faith works. Centrally He depicts the downfall of Jerusalem and the Temple as flowing from His faith as expressed in the destruction of the fig tree.

Mark 11:20

‘And as they passed by in the morning they saw the fig tree, withered away from its roots.’ ‘They passed by.’ Possibly, but not necessarily, the day after the cleansing of the Temple. The point is that they saw it when they were re-entering the city whose end it portrayed, which was probably the next morning. ‘They saw the fig tree withered away from its roots.’ It is emphasised that its roots were dead, just as the supposed source of religious sustenance for the Jews was dead.

Mark 11:21

‘And Peter, calling to memory what had happened, says to him, “Rabbi. See. The fig tree which you cursed is withered away.’ As usual it was Peter who spoke up on behalf of the group, even though they had no doubt been pointing it out to each other (for Jesus replied to ‘them’). Note that it is Peter, and not Jesus, who speaks of the fig tree being ‘cursed’. That was the ‘popular’ way of looking at it. Interestingly the lesson that Jesus draws from this is one of the power of faith, and He supplies an outstanding example of what faith can accomplish. It can enable the casting of ‘this mountain’ into the sea. Overtly this is just an example of a remarkable accomplishment of faith, but a moment’s thought brings out that it goes deeper than that. For ‘this mountain’ is probably the Temple mount, and being ‘cast into the sea’ is pictorial of judgment (compare Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2 where the one who causes little children to stumble would be better to be thrown into the sea, which suggests that being ‘cast into the sea’ was a symbol of judgment (compare Exodus 15:4; Jonah 1:15; Jonah 2:3). Notice that Peter saw Jesus as having cursed the fig tree, although neither Matthew or Mark actually say that Jesus cursed it. Jesus’ quiet word of power was clearly seen by His disciples as a curse, bringing out the awe in which the disciples now held Him. Little did they then at that stage realise that by it He had in fact ‘cursed’ Jerusalem. And later Jesus will draw attention to the fig tree which had a great show of leaves but was barren. For in Mark 13:28-29 He says, “Now from the fig tree learn her parable. When her branch is now become tender and puts forth its leaves you know that summer is near, even so you also, when you see these things happening (including the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple) know that He is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you this generation will not pass away until all these things be accomplished.” Once again the fig tree and its leaves were to be seen as a sign, a sign paralleled with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Mark 11:22-23

‘And Jesus answering says to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you that whoever will say to this mountain, ‘be you taken up and cast into the sea’, and shall not doubt in his heart but will believe that what he says happens, he will have it.’ Jesus’ reply to Peter and the others was that, as He Himself had demonstrated, they must have faith in God. He was pointing out the lesson of what faith can accomplish. The one who truly has confidence in God can not only wither fig trees but can even remove mountains. This general idea of moving a mountain was one that Jesus used fairly regularly. See Matthew 17:20 (but not there cast into the sea); and compare Luke 17:6. This kind of faith was in complete contrast with those who had turned the house of prayer into a haunt for brigands. They had turned from faith to worldliness, and that was why they could be seen as withered. Any true faith was dead. But the faith that had enabled the withering of the fig tree was available to all who truly believed God. So if the leaders of the people were preventing the Temple from being a house of prayer, His disciples must not make the same mistake. Rather they must demonstrate their faith in God, and it is prayer of this kind that will prevent them from withering. Then impossible things will be possible. For when men trust God fully they will be able to cast a mountain into the sea with a word. Certainly we may see His promise here as including the fact that their Father could deal with any and all difficulties that they met, if their faith was strong, and Jesus may well have had in mind Zechariah 4:6-7 where for Zerubbabel ‘the great mountain shall become a plain’ through the action of God’s Spirit. There the idea was of the great mountain was of difficulties removed. And so, He promised, it will be for all who serve Him fully and pray believingly. There may also be some truth in the comparison often made with Jewish writings where a great teacher who explained difficulties in Scripture was called a ‘mountain remover’. They too would through faith in God become ‘mountain removers’. But in this context we must see it as pointing to more that that. For when He said ‘this mountain’ He may well have indicated the Temple Mount. Isaiah 2:2 had spoken of ‘the mountain of the Lord’s house’, and Isaiah 2:3 had paralleled ‘the mountain of the Lord’ with ‘the house of the God of Jacob’. This would indeed explain why He spoke of it being ‘cast into the sea’ (there was no sea near enough to be significant), for being cast into the sea was a picture of judgment. In Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2 to be cast into the sea was the fate envisaged for sinners (compare also Mark 5:13; Exodus 15:4; Jonah 1:15; Jonah 2:3). So in the context of the withering of the fig tree and His actions in the Temple He must surely have been hinting here at the future that lay in store.

This mighty Temple and this great city were to be ‘cast into the sea’ of judgment because they were spiritually barren. And it was at His word, as He had demonstrated with the fig tree. Jerusalem would be destroyed and its house would be left to it desolate (Matthew 23:38; Luke 13:35). To ‘have faith in God’ in this way is to trust God fully, it is to walk in His ways and be fully taken up with His will. This promise is not therefore for the sensation seeker but for those who are dedicated to Him and will shy from asking for anything that is not in accordance with His will. Note what is required. ‘Shall not doubt but will believe that what he says will happen.’ There is no doubt that Jesus knew that He could have cast the Temple into the sea had it been necessary, but that would have been contrary to His mission. He had not come to do the spectacular. Rather His prayers would carry forward into future history when the Temple would indeed be destroyed. Nor was He suggesting that others should do so either. His point is that nothing is impossible to the one who truly prays. But in the end it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the destruction of the Temple was in Jesus’ mind, for the mountain is ‘cast into the sea’.

Mark 11:24

“Therefore I say to you, All things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them and you will have them”. This and the following verse could well be a teaching of Jesus which Mark knew of and put here in order to provide it with a context. It could be seen as a more general saying rather than as fitting the context directly. In that case it is a promise to the dedicated follower of Christ that whenever, in His service for God, he or she has a great need, they can come with confidence to the Father to meet that need. But note that their spiritual state must be such that they can come with confident faith. Then their confidence will be reflected by the certainty that they have that their prayer will be answered, and thus it will be. This is no promise to be used lightly for personal benefit or for trivialities. It is for those who are seeking first the Kingly Rule of God and His righteousness. But again it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that its context indicates that included in the idea of the response to faith as exemplified here was what Jesus had Himself demonstrated, that just as the fig tree had withered at His word, so also finally will the Temple.

Mark 11:25

‘And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.’ This is another saying of Jesus which at first sight appears to be even more ‘unattached’. Looking at it from this point of view it is a reminder that if we want our prayers to be answered our hearts must be right with God, and that means having a right attitude towards our fellowman. As we have the heart to forgive, so will we be forgiven (compare Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14-15, and note the reference here to ‘your Father Who is in Heaven’ which connects with the Lord’s Prayer). And the corollary of this is that those who are unforgiving cannot expect God to answer their prayers, for they are unable to receive the forgiveness of God. The centrality of such an idea for prayer comes out in that it is such an essential part of the Lord’s prayer. But if we think about it further we can see that Jesus may well have a specific purpose in mind in bringing in the need to forgive here. For such willingness to forgive, together with its parallel of being forgiven, is elsewhere central to Jesus’ view of what He requires from His new people. It is stressed in connection with the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:14-15), and it is seen as basic to His instructions to the new community (Matthew 18:15-35). Thus in the context of the idea of the spiritual failure of Jerusalem there is good reason to see this as being the alternative that could succeed in enabling the church to triumph where Jerusalem had failed. They were to be the house of prayer. And the secret of true spirituality and prayer lay in forgiving one another and being forgiven by God. Such people would never suffer under His curse, and would be able to pray in faith, knowing that they would be heard.

Mark 11:27-33

Members of The Sanhedrin Challenge His Authority (11:27-33).Mark has made abundantly clear the stir that Jesus has caused since approaching Jerusalem. He has been demanding that all notice His arrival, and He is doing so as One with the right to proclaim Himself and to exercise His authority. He is making quite clear that He has come from God as God’s chosen One, with a view to setting right what was displeasing to God. It was therefore inevitable that the religious leaders would challenge Him. Indeed they could hardly have allowed these events to pass without comment. So at this point the whole Sanhedrin come to challenge Him. Analysis.· And they come again to Jerusalem, and as He was walking in the Temple there come to Him the Chief Priests and the Scribes and the Elders, and they said to Him, “By what authority do you do these things, or who gave you the authority to do these things?” (Mark 11:27-28). · And Jesus said to them, “I will ask of you one thing (Greek - ‘word’), and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John. Was it from heaven or of men? Answer me” (Mark 11:29-30). · And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we shall say, from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But should we say from men -” - they feared the people, for all truly held John to be a prophet’ (Mark 11:31-32). · And they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know” (Mark 11:33 a). · And Jesus says to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Mark 11:33 b). Note that in ‘a’ they ask for His authority, and in the parallel because of their refusal to answer His question He refuses to give His authority as they have proved themselves unable to judge it rightly. In ‘b’ He puts His question and calls for an answer, and in the parallel they admit that they are unable to supply an answer. Centrally in ‘c’ are their grounds for being unable to do so.

Mark 11:29-30

‘And Jesus said to them, “I will ask of you one thing (Greek - ‘word’), and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John. Was it from heaven or of men? Answer me.” ’ . Jesus knew what they were up to and His reply was subtle. All knew that He had been associated with John the Baptiser. Thus if John, who had acknowledged Him, was from God, He was from God. And His question deflected the emphasis from His own claims to the claims of another, to one of whose credentials the crowds had no doubt and who had proved it by martyrdom. But if they declared John and his work to be from God (‘heaven’ was a euphemism for God), they would be validating His own claims, and He could go on to point out what John had said about Him. And if they did not they would be discredited before the crowds. The very question was an indirect demand for recognition that He was sent from God. ‘The baptismof John.’ Even more subtle. They were surrounded by people who had been baptised by John, who would not be pleased to have their cherished baptism called in question, and it would remind many that Jesus and His disciples had baptised alongside them.

Mark 11:31-32

‘And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we shall say, from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him? But should we say from men -” - they feared the people, for all truly held John to be a prophet.’ The deputation knew what the crowds believed about this, and they did not know how to answer. So they began discussing the matter among themselves. The reasoning was probably muttered and whispered. The sudden break and words unspoken are psychologically effective. They dared not even think of the consequences of not acknowledging John as a prophet before all these people. It would infuriate them.

Yet they could not admit that John was sent from God, for that would mean that they had to believe what he had said about Jesus, and would lay themselves open to the question as to why they had not believed in him. But to deny that he was —, they dared not even think of it because of the temper of the people. For the people were in an excitable state because of the feast and their confidence in the fact that John was a prophet was unquestioned. As they pondered the question they could see that the crowd were already won to Jesus’ side.

Mark 11:33

‘And Jesus says to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.” ’ Jesus’ final refusal to answer because of their failure would win the crowd over to His side even more, for they were disillusioned with the answer they had heard. And His reply held within it a certain level of contempt. These ‘authorities’ had shown themselves not worthy to be given an answer on such matters, for they were not willing to face up to what all knew to be true. By His reply Jesus was setting Himself up as a higher authority, answerable only to God, because they had demonstrated that they were incapable of judging. The whole incident was reminding the people of what John had said about Him. It was a veiled reminder that He was the Coming One, a reminder that He then goes on to amplify in the parable of the wicked tenants and vinedressers.