Mark 11:12-14, 20-25: Making faith a verb

Sandwiched around the episode where Jesus comes to the temple, is a curious interaction with a fig tree.  There are a number of difficult questions stemming from the interpretation of this passage.  Why Jesus would chose to express himself in such a way?  What does it mean?  What did the poor fig tree ever do to deserve such a fate?

First of all, Jesus often chose to express himself through symbolic actions, actions that were often miraculous in nature.  The gospel of John refers to them as signs.  In this particular instance, Jesus is using the fig tree, and its cursing, to symbolize the religion of his day.  His critique has less to do with orthodoxy, or right belief, than it does with orthopraxy, or right practice.  What does the cursing of the fig tree mean?  What is it supposed to represent?  Quite simply, it is meant to illustrate a religion that gives false hope.

 

What do I mean when I say that the religion of Jesus’ day gave false hope?  It is true that it is hard to make such a blanket statement.  After all, many found a great deal of hope in not only holding the right beliefs, but in adhering to the right practices.  However, for a great deal of society, the national religion had ceased to provide any hope for the future.  This is why Jesus curses the fig tree, to provide a lesson that gives a visual explanation of how contemporary religion falls short.  When we see the fig tree, we see a tree that has leaves, and yet no fruit.  It is promising from afar, and yet disappointing upon closer examination.  When we consider that Jesus cursed the fig tree on the way to the temple, and that the results became evident on his return from the temple, it becomes evident that the fig tree and Jesus trip to the temple are meant to interpret one another. 

Jesus chooses the fig tree to illustrate the fate of the temple, and indeed the old way of doing things, because it was an illustration they would understand.  Indeed, Israelite history is replete with horticultural symbolism pertaining to the health of society and its religious life.  The prophet Hosea would state that “Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit.”  (Hosea 9:16)  In speaking of God’s punishment of the wicked Bildad the Shuite says, “His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.”  (Job 18:16)  Just prior to a call for repentance, the prophet Joel says, “the vine dries up; the fig tree languishes.  Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man.”  (Joel 1:12)  Jesus is attempting to speak the language of the people, and to describe the illness that pervades their religion in terms that they are familiar with. 

Jesus doesn’t just use the fig tree to illustrate the “state of religion” in Israel, and specifically Jerusalem.  He also uses it as an object lesson in what it means to have faith.  In Luke, the apostles say, “Increase our faith!”, and Jesus replies, “if you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘be uprooted and planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”  (Luke 17:6)  Jesus’ response here to Peter’s observation that the fig tree has withered is very similar, as he seems to say that there is often a disconnect between our faith that exists in our head, and our actions.  It would be easy to misinterpret what Jesus is trying to say here, and draw the conclusion that unanswered prayers are in some way our fault.   Is it true that if our prayer goes unanswered, it is because we didn’t believe enough?   It’s tempting to follow that train of thought, but when we look at the life of Jesus, we see that is not the case at all.  Jesus prayed in the garden for the cup of suffering to pass from him, and yet he still had to endure the cross. A better interpretation comes if we notice the sequence of faith and believe.  The reference to one who “believes” in v. 23 points back to faith in v. 22, and ahead to the imperative “believe” in v. 24.  In the original Greek, the connection is more obvious as pisteuein (“believes”, in v. 23), pistis (“faith” in v. 22), and pisteuete (believe, in v. 24) are all from the same root.  Regardless of the language, Jesus is teaching us our faith isn’t tied to miracles, or even answered prayers.  We can take a cue from Jesus in the garden, and trust that even when we don’t get the answer we want, in some way God is still working to bring about good.  When the faith in our head becomes so strong that our belief governs our actions, or to say it another way, when our faith goes from being a noun to a verb, that is when the truly miraculous happens.  

Mark 11:15-19: When Jesus' comes to church...

We almost miss Jesus’ first visit to the Jerusalem temple.  It comes at the end of the story of his triumphal entry into the city.  “And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.  And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:11)  How many people thought he was a sight-seer, or that the way he studied everything meant that he had never been there before.    Some wonder if Jesus’ actions are not like those of the angel, who toward the end of the book of Ezekiel is seen to be sizing up the temple for destruction and judgment. 

While Jesus’ first visit to the temple seems more like an episode of “Undercover Boss”, his second visit is far more eventful, coming on the heels of a curious episode involving a fig tree (which we will examine in the next post).  Jesus’ actions in the temple surely invoke in the witnesses a reminder of Malachi:

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?  For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.  Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”              – Malachi 3:1-4

If Jesus has come to cleanse and refine the temple, and by extension the church, what is the crux of his message?  Does he come to lay out a more exacting moral standard, to remind them of what form of worship is acceptable, or to unveil a new “church growth” plan?  Interestingly enough, Jesus’ focus seems to be on none of the things we often wage internecine war over in our churches.  His focus is on reminding those around him of the temple’s true purpose. 

The authorities had set up vending booths inside the precincts of the temple as if the main reason for the temple’s existence was to make money.  These vendors weren’t there for convenience, as archeology has shown that there were several markets for exchange located on the Mount of Olives, making the temple market redundant.  More than likely the temple market was set up for the express purpose of competing with these local markets, since they fell under the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin rather than the chief priests.  The prophetic witness of those same chief priests warns against the temple becoming a commerical battleground.  The prophet Jeremiah asks the question, “has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?  Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.”  (Jeremiah 7:11)  The last part of the book of Zechariah states “and there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.”  (Zechariah 14:21)  It’s hard to imagine how the chief priests, those entrusted with the spiritual care of Israel, could be so blind to the warnings in their own scripture.  And yet, isn’t that what money does?  It diverts our eyes from what is truly important, from our purpose in this world. 

If the purpose of the temple wasn’t to make money, what was it?  The answer is probably fairly obvious, but its purpose was to be a house of prayer, a place where people commune with God.  We can go back to the founding of the temple to see its original intent:

“When Solomon is dedicating the temple, this is what he says: “Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place.  And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place.  And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”  – I Kings 8:28-30

And this house of prayer was not just for Israel, but for all nations.  Jesus angst was probably partially due to the fact that by making the court of the Gentiles a market, the authorities had taken away the one place where “the nations” could worship.  This flew in the face of God’s intention, and again, of Israel’s scriptures, as we see from this passage in Isaiah:

 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant- these 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 peoples.” – Isaiah 56:6-7

Israel had forgotten that its vocation was not to be the only people of God, but rather the first among many of God’s children.

Before we are too hard on Israel, maybe we should turn an introspective eye to the churches where we gather for worship each and every Sunday.   I wonder what Christ thinks when he enters our midst as a church.  Does he see us welcoming others who wish to worship God and glorify the name of the Lord, or does he see us throwing up barriers?  If we are honest with ourselves, it’s probably a little bit of both.  May the Lord continue to “come to church”, till we are refined, purified, and empowered to be the house of prayer for all nations that God has always desired.   

“Lord, help us to be a community that seeks to welcome in those whom you have drawn to yourself.  Let our presence in this community always be an encouragement to others, and never a barrier to their coming to you.  Amen.”

Mark 11:1-11: "You can't always get what you want..."

In 1969 the Rolling Stones released a song whose lyrics are helpful in interpreting this part of the gospel of Mark.  The hook to their famous song “you can’t always get what you want,” concludes the title line with, “but if you try sometime, you might just find, you get what you need.”  Though written around two thousand years after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, it would be difficult to find words, sacred or secular, that better describe what the world wanted in Jesus, and what we actually got. 

One some levels, Jesus’ journey is exactly what we would expect, particularly if we are versed in the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.  Jesus journey was a sacred one, reflected by his ceremonial usage of an unused colt.  Why an unused colt?  In Numbers, when describing the animal to be brought for sacrifice according to the laws of purification, the Lord spoke to Moses and specified that a red heifer should be used “on which a yoke has never come.” (Numbers 19:2)  According to Deuteronomy, when the community is making atonement for an unsolved murder, the elders are to sacrifice “a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled a yoke.” (Deuteronomy 21:3)  When the Philistines are returning the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites, they are told to use “two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke” to pull the cart. (I Samuel 6:7)  Beyond the special utilization on an unused colt, this is also the only time in any of the gospels when Jesus is said to be riding, and not walking.  There is clearly something significant, and in some ways expected, about Jesus arrival at and entry into Jerusalem riding on an unused colt. 

In addition to being sacred, Jesus’ entry is also triumphant.  Compare Jesus’ reception, and his entry into Jerusalem with that of some of Israel’s past kings. 

·         During Absalom’s revolt, a woman comes seeking help. “When the woman of Tekoa came to the king, she fell on her face to the ground and paid homage and said, “Save me, O king.” – II Samuel 14:4

·         When the Israelites were under siege, we read of the following encounter:  “Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” – II Kings 6:26

·         Similarly, when Jehu rose up and took power not long afterward, we read of the response of the people.  “Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.” – II Kings 9:13

And yet, Jesus’ intentions are totally different from what the crowd expects.  They expect bold military leadership.  They think they are getting their kingdom back.  They shout, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!  Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:10)  In reality, Jesus is bringing them salvation, and the kingdom not of David, but of God.  It’s the fulfillment of a promise found in the heart of their own scriptures, when the prophet Zechariah prophesies saying, “Rejoice, greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  (Zechariah 9:9)  Their king has come, but not to bring a kingdom, as odd as that may sound.  He brings something even better, something more eternal, salvation. 

It’s a dangerous thing to upset the expectations of a nation.  But it’s a more dangerous thing to fix our eyes on what we want, to the exclusion of what we need.  Praise God that the words of that Rolling Stones song ring true in the person of Jesus Christ, “we can’t always get what we want, but if you try sometime, you might just find, you get what you need.”   

Mark 10:46-52: seeing like the blind

The story of blind Bartimeaus is one of the more personal ones in the gospel of Mark.  He is one of only two “minor characters” whose name is actually used (the other being Jairus).  Why is his name remembered?  It’s impossible to say.  Perhaps Bartimeaus, or the son of Timai, was known by those whom Mark was writing for.  Maybe there was no reason, and it’s just a coincidence.  More important than Bartimeaus’ name, and why it’s remembered when so many others are forgotten, is Bartimeaus’ story.  What we learn from his story tells us more about who Jesus’ is, and how in his mission Jesus’ surpasses all of Israel’s, and indeed our messianic expectations. 

It’s interesting to compare Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to that of his ancestor, David.  We recall that II Samuel shows us that at least metaphorically, the blind and the lame resisted David’s entry into Jebus, the city which would ultimately be named Jerusalem:

“And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, ‘you will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off’- thinking ‘David cannot come in here.’  Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.”  – II Samuel 5:6-7

When we then look at Jesus entrance, we see something entirely different.  Instead of being opposed by the blind and the lame, Jesus’ is enthusiastically welcomed by them.  It’s a fulfillment of a prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah:

“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” – Isaiah 34:4-5

Jesus entrance into Jerusalem is something great, even greater than that of his ancestor David.  David removed the blind who opposed him as he entered the city.  Jesus removes blindness itself.  It’s a sign that Jesus is not here to conquer physical territory, or even people, but rather the evil that manifests itself in sin, death, and disease. 

Recognizing who Jesus’ is, Bartimaeus has a request.  While James and John requested power and prestige from Jesus, Bartimaeus simply asks for health, for the restoration of his sight.  Those who walked with Jesus every day, James and John, failed to understand who Jesus was.  There is great irony in a blind man, Bartimaeus, being the one who sees Jesus for who he truly is.  Indeed, he is the only person other than Peter to use a messianic title for Jesus, referring to him as the Son of David.  Once Bartimaeus’ request is granted, he has to choice to make.  How should he respond?  Bartimaeus response is one motivated by a grateful heart, not by an attempt to earn anything from Jesus.  Unlike the rich young man, he is able to leave his coins behind and follow Jesus.  Maybe it’s because he is sincerely grateful.  Maybe it’s because he is leaving less behind.  I think ultimately it’s because Bartimaeus recognizes that all gifts come from God, while the rich young man still thinks of his wealth as being something he has “earned”.    Bartimaeus’ physical blindness has had the fortunate side-effect of helping him to recognize his total dependence on God. 

So what can we learn from Bartimaeus?  For one, as we just saw, he is aware of his need for God.  How many of us can say that we have truly accepted our dependence on and need for God?  He also persistently calls on Jesus for help, refusing to be deterred or put off.  Perhaps our level of persistence in prayer is a good way of separating our needs from our wants.  Another important lesson to learn from Bartimaeus, and one that we often forget, is that gifts come as signs of God’s grace, not our merit.  James and John on some level think that they have earned places at Jesus’ left and right side, whereas Bartimaeus knows that the granting of any blessing from God is an act of mercy and grace.  “Son of David, have mercy on me!” is his plea, and in it he not only recognizes God as merciful, but recognizes Jesus for who he truly is, the Messiah.  If we learn anything from Bartimaeus, it should be that our eyes are of no use in gaining knowedge of Jesus’ true identity.  As the author of Hebrews states, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)  Even in his blindness, Bartimaeus had the ability to see with his heart.  He recognized in Jesus Christ the fulfillment of what he, and Israel, had always hoped for.  This recognition created in him a deep conviction, a conviction that led him to leave everything behind and follow the Messiah.  May we all be blessed with the ability to see as this blind man did, with our hearts rather than with our eyes.