Mark 13: No temple? No problem.

Mark 13 is one of those passages that preachers try to avoid.  Predictions, prophecy, apocalyptic sounding scenarios; few preachers relish having to explain it all.  The easiest thing to do is to avoid it altogether, but I would argue that even if we don’t totally “get it”, we can still learn some very valuable things from what Jesus says in this chapter of Mark’s gospel. 

First of all, the church’s true location is not the building where it meets, but Jesus Christ, and those who follow him as disciples.  By predicting the destruction of the temple, Jesus is showing that faith is about much more than a building.  It was a prediction that would cost Jesus dearly, as it comes up at his trial in 14:58 and at the cross 15:29 (where his words are distorted).  When he says “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down”, it strikes a very unpatriotic claim.  And yet, when the Roman general and future emperor Titus burned the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD, unfound reserves of gold melted and ran between the cracks, leading the Roman troops to literally pry the stones apart to get to the gold.  The destruction of the temple rocked Judaism to its core, to the extent that the temple was never again rebuilt.  It is true that the Jewish faith survived in synagogues across the Middle East, and even Europe.  But things were never the same.  Contrast this to the church, whose locus is not a geographical point on a map, or a sacred building.  Rather, the church finds its home in the person of Jesus Christ.  We always view buildings as being much longer lasting than individual people, however, when Jesus Christ defeated death, he provided for us a foundation for our faith that will last for eternity.  I preached this text on the 90^th anniversary of our church meeting at its current location in Glenmora.  We’ve spent those years in two different buildings, which have undergone renovations or additions.  We’ve even added a family activity center.  All of those buildings are great tools for ministry, but our celebration wasn’t about the church building, it was about the church.  It was to mark 90 years of the church assembling, of Christians assembling for worship, in one location.  Churches sometimes perish in fires, tornadoes, or hurricanes; sometimes they have to be torn down and replaced because of age or wear-and-tear, but so long as the church locates itself in the life of Jesus Christ, it has a home impervious to destruction. 

Secondly, the church will witness great calamities, and yet remains as a faithful witness to God’s mercy and grace.  Jesus words in this chapter are haunting and foreshadowing all at once:  “when they lead you away, handing you over.”  They are words that would have spoken to the experience of the first Christians to likely receive this gospel, the church in Rome.   Many of the calamities were man-made, a result of false messiahs and prophets:

“Anyone might make himself king as the head of a band of rebels who he fell in with, and then would press on to the destruction of the community, causing trouble to few Romans and then only to a small degree but bringing the greatest slaughter upon their own people.” – Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews

There would be wars, and rumors of wars.  Think again of the Christians in Rome, undergoing persecution and at the same time hearing rumors of the war in Judea, the birthplace of their faith.   Think of the struggle of churches to remain faithful in Nazi Germany, where speaking against the evils of the regime was fraught with danger.  Think of what some of our fellow Christians have witnessed, in wars fought around the globe. 

Some of the turmoil would be from “natural disasters”, earthquakes, famines, and the like.   Just a few years after this gospel was written, Pompeii was obliterated by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.  I think of what churches in New Orleans and the surrounding area experienced with Katrina just a few years ago, as a city of hundreds of thousands was ravaged by incomprehensible forces of nature.  Think of what Christians in Japan endured with the earthquake, tsunami, and resulting destruction.  Yet despite all these things, the church remains.  In fact, it is usually the church that is found working in the midst of it all, to show mercy and compassion, testifying to the love of God, when there is very little hope for people to cling to.  Jesus was often found in the midst of illness, suffering, and death, and so the church that finds its home in him must locate itself there as well.   

Finally, the church’s mission is to set its eyes firmly on Jesus Christ, rather than the events of this world.  Jesus attempts to get his disciples to focus less on the things that will happen, and more on the one who will bring them about, the Son of Man.  The future will be determined less by signs on the earth, and more by signs in heaven.   One time in New England, a solar eclipse led to an uproar at the state house, where some assemblymen even moved to adjourn.  One man rose and said, “Mr. Speaker, if it is not the end of the world and we adjourn, we shall appear to be fools.  If it is the end of the world, I should choose to be found doing my duty.  I move you, sir, that candles be brought.”  His example is a good one.  What do we want to be found doing when Christ returns, spectating or working?  Make no mistake about it, when Jesus returns we won’t have to sit around and read the tea leaves to figure out what’s going on.   C.S. Lewis once said that when the author himself comes on the stage, the play is over.   In other words, when Jesus returns, it will be unmistakable.  Perhaps instead of lamenting the things taking place in the world around us, we should spend our time looking to the Son of Man, who has the ability to govern events both on the earth and in heaven.  Only then will we have the proper perspective to love in the midst of calamity, and go to the places most in need of God’s love. 

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.”