Of Figs and Phonies - Mark 11:11-21
Of Figs and Phonies - Mark 11:11-21
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 17, 2010 AM
George Barna does research for Christianity and faith practices in America. Recently he completed a study on the “Diversity of Faith in Various U.S. Cities.” It revealed nothing new, except there are some interesting discoveries. Of course, in the Portland, OR market, which includes Vancouver, WA, we discover that they had one of the lowest shares of self-identified Christians at 71% right behind San Francisco. In fact, 16% of this market identified itself as agnostic or atheist with 42% stating they had not attended any church service within the last six months! Notice that the figures do not add up to 100% and the reason is obvious: While many may consider themselves “spiritual” or even “Christian,” they are unwilling to specifically identify themselves. Are these folks hypocrites, phonies, or just plain ignorant of what faith means?
Interestingly, during Jesus’ day he faced similar problems concerning people’s faith. As he is headed toward the cross, we find Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem, interacting with the religious leaders of the day, and cursing a fig tree. As we read this section, we might ask ourselves, “What in the world do all of these things have in common?” And yet each instance does indeed have a connection to the other. It will become clear as we take a closer look at “Of figs and phonies.”
READ: Mark 11:11-21
How much is there within religion that is manmade? This is a question that has frustrated and inspired the believer for centuries. Whenever this occurs, many have gone back to the focus of looking into the New Testament itself to rediscover the truth of foundational Christianity. The Reformation was an attempt to reform the church of the time to go back to its true religious roots, as was the Puritan movement. Here in Mark’s gospel we find Jesus confronting this very issue. It is…
I. The battle of the temple vs. the temporal!
1. The holy things of God should be kept wholly for his purpose! This section is “sandwiched” between Jesus’ dealings with the fig tree, which we will get back to in a moment. In fact, each episode helps to explain the other. Israel failed to produce righteousness, just as the fig tree failed to produce. And it is here within the temple courts we see displayed the results of their ungodly neglect. Jesus deliberately goes to the temple to look around. He wants to see for himself the fallen nature of his people’s faith. He leaves but returns the next day. As Jesus entered the temple area, he “began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.” Just as Jesus was judging his fellow Jews that day, God would ultimately judge them for rejecting him and his message. In frustration and righteous indignation, Jesus clears the temple area where the non-Jews could come and discover God for themselves. So convoluted had Israel’s faith become that they no longer cared if the rest of the world honored or even came to faith in the one true God! It was Passover, one of the highest holy days of Judaism and many pilgrims, neophytes, and seekers from all over the world would come to Jerusalem to see this festival of the Hebrews. They no longer could find a pace to worship God! The moneychangers had taken all of the available space! So important is Jesus cleansing the temple area that it is recorded in all four gospels! Money from three sources circulated in Palestine in New Testament times: imperial money (Roman), provincial money (Greek), and local money (Jewish). Moneychangers provided the required Tyrian (Jewish) coinage for the annual half-shekel temple tax required of all male Jews 20 years of age and up. Of course, there would be a surcharge. Fraud was rampant and the Court of the Gentiles had become a thoroughfare for trade instead of a place to worship God. Just as in today’s church where Starbucks abound, bookstores ply their trade, and cheap circus theatrics are commonplace, Jesus’ temple had become “a den of robbers.” Notice that on hearing this, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law… began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” The secular had invaded the sanctuary! It was the battle of the temple vs. the temporal!
EXAMPLE: Martin Luther was a brand new priest. He desired to go to Rome and see the Holy city himself. It was the dream of every Christian of his day. Instead of finding a godly and holy city, he found corruption and contempt for the holy things of God. It was the beginning of his spiritual education. Disillusioned Luther went home and began to preach against the vice and corruption he had witnessed and now saw daily in the church he had loved. What could Luther do against a corrupt and huge entity as the Catholic Church of his day? He began to write and his writing was read by others. Unknowingly Luther began a reformation that would sweep the world. Luther took his inspiration from his Master, Jesus, when he swept aside the moneychanger’s tables in the temple. Today there needs to be a new Luther, one who sees the battle of the temple vs. the temporal again and who is willing to call the church back to righteousness. The secular has indeed invaded the sanctuaries of America. Is it any wonder why people in the Northwest can have a greater relationship with a tree than with the living God when the Christian church is caught up in capturing every aspect of the world instead of calling folks out of it? Figs and phonies still exist in our time.
One of the things you learn quickly about growing fruit is that fruit trees require constant care; otherwise, they become straggly, unkept, and full of worms. They need to be pruned, fertilized, watered, and protected against pests. A person’s faith can grow the same way if it isn’t constantly taken care of. Just as it is true for the individual, it is true of an entire nation as well. We discover here in Mark’s gospel…
II. The contrast of figs and faith!
1. Fruit trees should bear fruit! We find Jesus involved in something quite ordinary. He was hungry. “Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” This is curious because you would think that Jesus would know there would be no figs on the tree. However, often there would be old fruit still hanging and perhaps he thought he would find even some of this. Yet, on this tree, there was nothing, not even old dried fruit! Evidently, this tree was completely worthless. Then Jesus does something his disciples would remember, he tells the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Why would Jesus do such a thing? There are those who think that Jesus saw this fig tree as a symbol of Israel. While professing to be fruitful, the Jewish nation was fruitless. In fact, it was in the middle of God’s judgment! Rome was there for a reason. We may deduce that by cursing the fig tree, Jesus was showing His rejection of his people and predicting that no fruit would ever come from them. In a few days, they would reject their true spiritual King and crucify Him! This ultimately led to their judgment. In 70 AD the Romans came, demolished the temple, overran the country of Israel, dispersed its people, and ended Israel as a nation (Luke 21:20). Later that day, “when evening came,” Jesus and his disciple are headed out of the city. They go by the same fig tree and find it, like Israel, “withered from the roots!” Peter is amazed and remembers what Jesus had done. He exclaims, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Had Israel’s faith withered so much? In fact, it had. The political rulers were intent upon keeping their power, the religious leadership was interested in personal gain, and the people were being squeezed to death by taxes from both! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? This is why Jesus responded to the Pharisees, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6) They honored God with their mouths, but their actions betrayed their worldliness. I wonder what Jesus would do with many in our day who claim Christ with their lips but their hearts are far from him? Jesus bluntly taught his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2) Jesus did just that with the fig tree and ultimately with Israel. Here in Mark’s gospel we find the contrast of figs and faith!
EXAMPLE: I found it very curious that when the President was confronted about his lack of faith practice and his weak responses about what he believed, the following Sunday we found pictures of him walking arm-and-arm with his family to church a few blocks from the White House. This is nothing new, we saw President Clinton joining a church when he ran for Governor and pictures of him carrying a Bible as President. Some say that while Reagan talked a lot about his faith, he did not attend church very often. There is nothing worse than phoniness depicted in a person’s faith, especially when it is found in our leadership. How sad then when we as believers do not look at our own lives in Christ. Is our faith withered at is roots? Do we try and honor God with our lips, but our actions speak otherwise? Jesus told his disciples, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Then he went on to relate something quite interesting, he asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:43-46) It is a question that contrasts figs and faith. What would your answer be this morning? Israel spirituality had withered and was dying on the vine. It needed the pruning only Jesus, God’s son, could give. Are you going through a rough patch? Perhaps you are being pruned. Fruit trees can be restored just as a person’s withered faith can. God told Isaiah, “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. This is what the LORD says, ‘Your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself… I will restore them…’ He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’” (Isaiah 44:22-24, 26, 28) God did that through Jesus and he will do it with you through him as well, if you come back to him today.
Conclusion:
We learned today that there are figs that do not produce just as there are spiritual phonies who do not as well. In Jesus’ actions of cursing a fig tree and cleansing the temple, we discover 1) the battle of the temple vs. the temporal, and 2) the contrast of figs and faith!
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 17, 2010 AM
George Barna does research for Christianity and faith practices in America. Recently he completed a study on the “Diversity of Faith in Various U.S. Cities.” It revealed nothing new, except there are some interesting discoveries. Of course, in the Portland, OR market, which includes Vancouver, WA, we discover that they had one of the lowest shares of self-identified Christians at 71% right behind San Francisco. In fact, 16% of this market identified itself as agnostic or atheist with 42% stating they had not attended any church service within the last six months! Notice that the figures do not add up to 100% and the reason is obvious: While many may consider themselves “spiritual” or even “Christian,” they are unwilling to specifically identify themselves. Are these folks hypocrites, phonies, or just plain ignorant of what faith means?
Interestingly, during Jesus’ day he faced similar problems concerning people’s faith. As he is headed toward the cross, we find Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem, interacting with the religious leaders of the day, and cursing a fig tree. As we read this section, we might ask ourselves, “What in the world do all of these things have in common?” And yet each instance does indeed have a connection to the other. It will become clear as we take a closer look at “Of figs and phonies.”
READ: Mark 11:11-21
How much is there within religion that is manmade? This is a question that has frustrated and inspired the believer for centuries. Whenever this occurs, many have gone back to the focus of looking into the New Testament itself to rediscover the truth of foundational Christianity. The Reformation was an attempt to reform the church of the time to go back to its true religious roots, as was the Puritan movement. Here in Mark’s gospel we find Jesus confronting this very issue. It is…
I. The battle of the temple vs. the temporal!
1. The holy things of God should be kept wholly for his purpose! This section is “sandwiched” between Jesus’ dealings with the fig tree, which we will get back to in a moment. In fact, each episode helps to explain the other. Israel failed to produce righteousness, just as the fig tree failed to produce. And it is here within the temple courts we see displayed the results of their ungodly neglect. Jesus deliberately goes to the temple to look around. He wants to see for himself the fallen nature of his people’s faith. He leaves but returns the next day. As Jesus entered the temple area, he “began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.” Just as Jesus was judging his fellow Jews that day, God would ultimately judge them for rejecting him and his message. In frustration and righteous indignation, Jesus clears the temple area where the non-Jews could come and discover God for themselves. So convoluted had Israel’s faith become that they no longer cared if the rest of the world honored or even came to faith in the one true God! It was Passover, one of the highest holy days of Judaism and many pilgrims, neophytes, and seekers from all over the world would come to Jerusalem to see this festival of the Hebrews. They no longer could find a pace to worship God! The moneychangers had taken all of the available space! So important is Jesus cleansing the temple area that it is recorded in all four gospels! Money from three sources circulated in Palestine in New Testament times: imperial money (Roman), provincial money (Greek), and local money (Jewish). Moneychangers provided the required Tyrian (Jewish) coinage for the annual half-shekel temple tax required of all male Jews 20 years of age and up. Of course, there would be a surcharge. Fraud was rampant and the Court of the Gentiles had become a thoroughfare for trade instead of a place to worship God. Just as in today’s church where Starbucks abound, bookstores ply their trade, and cheap circus theatrics are commonplace, Jesus’ temple had become “a den of robbers.” Notice that on hearing this, “The chief priests and the teachers of the law… began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” The secular had invaded the sanctuary! It was the battle of the temple vs. the temporal!
EXAMPLE: Martin Luther was a brand new priest. He desired to go to Rome and see the Holy city himself. It was the dream of every Christian of his day. Instead of finding a godly and holy city, he found corruption and contempt for the holy things of God. It was the beginning of his spiritual education. Disillusioned Luther went home and began to preach against the vice and corruption he had witnessed and now saw daily in the church he had loved. What could Luther do against a corrupt and huge entity as the Catholic Church of his day? He began to write and his writing was read by others. Unknowingly Luther began a reformation that would sweep the world. Luther took his inspiration from his Master, Jesus, when he swept aside the moneychanger’s tables in the temple. Today there needs to be a new Luther, one who sees the battle of the temple vs. the temporal again and who is willing to call the church back to righteousness. The secular has indeed invaded the sanctuaries of America. Is it any wonder why people in the Northwest can have a greater relationship with a tree than with the living God when the Christian church is caught up in capturing every aspect of the world instead of calling folks out of it? Figs and phonies still exist in our time.
One of the things you learn quickly about growing fruit is that fruit trees require constant care; otherwise, they become straggly, unkept, and full of worms. They need to be pruned, fertilized, watered, and protected against pests. A person’s faith can grow the same way if it isn’t constantly taken care of. Just as it is true for the individual, it is true of an entire nation as well. We discover here in Mark’s gospel…
II. The contrast of figs and faith!
1. Fruit trees should bear fruit! We find Jesus involved in something quite ordinary. He was hungry. “Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” This is curious because you would think that Jesus would know there would be no figs on the tree. However, often there would be old fruit still hanging and perhaps he thought he would find even some of this. Yet, on this tree, there was nothing, not even old dried fruit! Evidently, this tree was completely worthless. Then Jesus does something his disciples would remember, he tells the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Why would Jesus do such a thing? There are those who think that Jesus saw this fig tree as a symbol of Israel. While professing to be fruitful, the Jewish nation was fruitless. In fact, it was in the middle of God’s judgment! Rome was there for a reason. We may deduce that by cursing the fig tree, Jesus was showing His rejection of his people and predicting that no fruit would ever come from them. In a few days, they would reject their true spiritual King and crucify Him! This ultimately led to their judgment. In 70 AD the Romans came, demolished the temple, overran the country of Israel, dispersed its people, and ended Israel as a nation (Luke 21:20). Later that day, “when evening came,” Jesus and his disciple are headed out of the city. They go by the same fig tree and find it, like Israel, “withered from the roots!” Peter is amazed and remembers what Jesus had done. He exclaims, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” Had Israel’s faith withered so much? In fact, it had. The political rulers were intent upon keeping their power, the religious leadership was interested in personal gain, and the people were being squeezed to death by taxes from both! Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? This is why Jesus responded to the Pharisees, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” (Mark 7:6) They honored God with their mouths, but their actions betrayed their worldliness. I wonder what Jesus would do with many in our day who claim Christ with their lips but their hearts are far from him? Jesus bluntly taught his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2) Jesus did just that with the fig tree and ultimately with Israel. Here in Mark’s gospel we find the contrast of figs and faith!
EXAMPLE: I found it very curious that when the President was confronted about his lack of faith practice and his weak responses about what he believed, the following Sunday we found pictures of him walking arm-and-arm with his family to church a few blocks from the White House. This is nothing new, we saw President Clinton joining a church when he ran for Governor and pictures of him carrying a Bible as President. Some say that while Reagan talked a lot about his faith, he did not attend church very often. There is nothing worse than phoniness depicted in a person’s faith, especially when it is found in our leadership. How sad then when we as believers do not look at our own lives in Christ. Is our faith withered at is roots? Do we try and honor God with our lips, but our actions speak otherwise? Jesus told his disciples, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Then he went on to relate something quite interesting, he asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:43-46) It is a question that contrasts figs and faith. What would your answer be this morning? Israel spirituality had withered and was dying on the vine. It needed the pruning only Jesus, God’s son, could give. Are you going through a rough patch? Perhaps you are being pruned. Fruit trees can be restored just as a person’s withered faith can. God told Isaiah, “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel. This is what the LORD says, ‘Your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself… I will restore them…’ He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundations be laid.’” (Isaiah 44:22-24, 26, 28) God did that through Jesus and he will do it with you through him as well, if you come back to him today.
Conclusion:
We learned today that there are figs that do not produce just as there are spiritual phonies who do not as well. In Jesus’ actions of cursing a fig tree and cleansing the temple, we discover 1) the battle of the temple vs. the temporal, and 2) the contrast of figs and faith!
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2010 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
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