This Morning:

Passion Week: Jesus Arrives At Jerusalem (Mark 11:1-21)

Three Scenes:

1. The King Enters the Capital. (v.v. 1-11)

2. The Prophet Pronounces Judgement. (v.v. 12-14)

3. The Priest Cleanses the Temple. (v.v. 15-21)

Reminder: Passion Week is the wonderful plan of God for the redemption of humanity … not some Greek Tragedy.

The King Enters the Capital. (Mk 1:1-11)

1As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to

the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus

sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” he

told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey

tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it

and will return it soon.’”

4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street,

tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some

bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that

colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were

permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and

threw their garments over it, and he sat on it.

8Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of

him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields.

Note: Up to this moment, Jesus is living out the Messianic expectations of the people, and they are responding in kind. HE IS THEIR COMING KING!

• Their new ‘David’ is riding towards his coronation.

• the religious leaders will come under his rule.

• the Romans will be expelled.

• the new era of Jewish expansionism will begin.

The crowds welcoming Jesus are reciting Hallel, a Jewish prayer consisting of Psalms 113-118, sung as a single unit of praise on joyous occasions, including Passover.

The Prophet Pronounces Judgement. (Mark 11: 12-14 )

12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was

hungry.13He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he

went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only

leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then

Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!”

And the disciples heard him say it.

To understand the fig tree, we must understand the Temple’s role in Jewish O.T. Life … it was where God made His dwelling.

3 Key Truths:

1. You measure the strength of a nation by its worship.

2. You measure the worship of a nation by its leaders.

3. You measure the leaders of a nation by their integrity.

1. You measure the strength of a nation by its worship.

• The Temple worship of Israel was corrupt … and this

was not the first time . . .

• 1st Temple: destroyed 586 B.C.

• 2nd Temple: desecrated by Antiochus.

• 3rd Temple: a cash cow for the religious leaders.

Note: this is the 2nd time Jesus cleans up the temple.

• John 2 – beginning of His ministry

• Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19

Truth: Worship in Jerusalem had been replaced by commerce, and the leaders were getting rich!

1. The sacrifice - a lamb or dove without blemish.

…“and we’ll be the judge of that!”

2. The Temple tax.

…“local currency only, please!”

3. The Location - the Gentile section . . .

…“we don’t want to disrupt the worship.”

2. You measure the worship of a nation by its leaders.

• The Leaders of Israel had become corrupted by power,

wealth & pleasure.

… how they “ran” the Temple merely illustrated the

truth and stated the obvious.

Matthew 23 – The State of Worship In Israel.

1Jesus said to the crowd, 2“The teachers of religious law & the Pharisees

are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey

whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t

practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious

demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide

prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra

long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in

the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful

greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

13 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s

faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either …

15 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then

you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!

16 “Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! . . . .

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your

herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—

justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the

more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you

won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the

dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You

blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the

outside will become clean, too.

27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.

Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the

outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of

impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly

your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

3. You measure the leaders of a nation by their integrity.

• their integrity had become corrupted by the politics of self-preservation.

• their “issue” over what to do with Jesus illustrates the corruption of the religious leadership.

The Point: Jesus is not cursing a fig tree … He is pronouncing judgment on a nation and it’s leaders who have led it astray.

• the Jewish nation has abandoned God’s unique Covenant with them – to bless the entire world through their worship of the Living God.

Then Jesus told this story, “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and

came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was

always disappointed. Finally he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three

years and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking

up space in the garden.’

“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it

another year and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If

we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.”

Luke 13:6-8

37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets & stones

God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather you together as

a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 38 And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate.”

Matthew 23:36-37

The Priest Cleanses the Temple. (Mark 11: 15-21)

15When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple

and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for

sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and

the chairs of those selling doves, 16and he stopped everyone from

using the Temple as a marketplace. 17He said to them, “The

Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for

all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

“Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie and

burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours and then

come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are

safe!” – only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you

yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become

a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the

LORD, have spoken!”

Jeremiah 7:9-12

It is not difficult to see what angered Jesus. Pilgrims – hundreds of thousands of them – journeyed days to see God, to witness the holy, to worship His Majesty. But before they were taken into the presence of God, they were taken to the cleaners . . .

Want to anger God? Get in the way of people who want to see Him. Want to feel His fury? Exploit people in the name of God . . .

“I’ve had enough,” was written all over Jesus’ face. Doves flapped, tables flew, people scampered and traders scattered . . . This was not a temper tantrum. It was a deliberate act with an intentional message.

Max Lucado

18When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard

what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But

they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at

his teaching.

19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city.

20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed,

the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter

remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day

and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered

and died!”

Message In A Sentence:

God takes what is done in His Name very seriously . . . because it’s called Worship.

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices, says the LORD . . .

“Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts . . . Wash yourselves and

be clean, get your sins out of my sight, give up your evil ways.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the

cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”

Isaiah 1

Note: because the leaders were corrupt, the nation was corrupt; and

because the nation was corrupt, their worship was corrupt.

Their Covenant with God had failed, and was about to be

replaced by something more beautiful and infinitely better . . .

Jesus, the Messiah!

• There was no need for the Temple any longer.

• it was destroyed in A.D. 70.

• it has never been rebuilt again.

Challenge today: How is your worship?

• Is your heart consumed with Jesus?

• Does your life reflect Him?