Saturday, October 24, 2020

Fruit, Faith, and Forgiveness - Mark 11:12-26 - October 25, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for October 25th, 2020. We are meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Returning to Worship plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 11:12-26 Fruit, Faith, and Forgiveness

Good morning! Welcome back, welcome to those who are joining us online. We are continuing our study in the Gospel of Mark with chapter 11, verses 12-26, page 847 in the pew Bibles.

Last week we read how Jesus triumphantly entered the city of Jerusalem on the week of Passover, humble and riding on a donkey’s foal, as Messiah King. And again, much to the dismay of those who were wishing for the Romans to be kicked out of their nation by Messiah, he did not go to the palace but instead went into the Temple.

After looking around at everything at the Temple, as it was already late, he went back to Bethany with the Twelve. And this is where we will pick up today, verse 12.

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. 

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying 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 robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city. 

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Let’s pray.

Well, this ought to be fun! Instead of Fig Newtons with figs between layers of cake we have the Temple between layers of fig trees! And since they are layered like that it is safe for us to connect them together as really all about the same thing.

This account takes place on Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, Passover would be observed that Thursday.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, that Scripture can never mean what it never meant, meaning that if the original audience, those who received the Word first didn’t find a particular meaning in the text, that we shouldn’t either. We cannot forget the original audience. This is always true when we come to Scripture, but it is especially relevant with this passage because the original audience, those living in the Mediterranean region in the First Century knew more about fig trees than I bet we do.

But unlike them, we have the internet so we can learn an awful lot without much effort!

Ever heard of the breba crop, or breba figs? Jesus had and that’s why He was not crazy or foolish looking for figs on a fig tree when it wasn’t the season for figs.

12 On the following day [Monday], when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. 

Was this just a case where Jesus’ humanity got the best of Him and He pitched a fit? Or maybe He was just hangry and cursed the fig tree for denying Him breakfast? I don’t think so…

According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “The time of year was Passover, the middle of the month of Nisan [around] April. In Palestine fig trees produced crops of small edible buds in March followed by the appearance of large green leaves in early April. This early green “fruit” (breba) was common food for local peasants. Eventually these buds dropped off when the normal crop of figs formed and ripened in late May and June, the fig season. Thus it was reasonable for Jesus shortly before Passover [near] mid-April to expect to find something edible on that fig tree even though it was not the season for figs.”

Another interesting fact that I learned about fig trees and the breba crop according to permaculternews.org in their article, “Dig the Fig,” the breba crop sprouts from the previous year’s growth where actual figs grow on the shoots of new growth.

The breba crop grows only on the old growth, that’s what Jesus was looking for but found none. He wasn’t crazy, nor was He ignorant of the life cycle of fig trees. He saw a tree in leaf that should have had fruit but it didn’t and He cursed it.

But why? It wasn’t simply because He was disappointed and angry over not getting any breakfast. Nothing Jesus ever did was that random or emotion driven. This encounter with the fig tree only makes sense if you connect it with Jesus cleansing the Temple.

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying 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 robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city. 

I’ve included a picture of the Temple as it was on this day and as it stood throughout the New Testament until it was destroyed in 70 AD. 

The large outside area, called the Court of the Gentiles, is where Jesus confronted the money changers and all those who bought and sold including those who sold pigeons to the poor for sacrifice, where He wouldn’t even let anyone carry anything through.

Why was Jesus so upset? Because twice in one day He found a fig tree covered with leaves but with no fruit.

The Temple was a busy place, full of people, full of activity, but it was not full of faith. It was the religious capitol of the world but was devoid of true worship. The religious leaders had allowed the Temple to become a religious marketplace, they had allowed the Court of the Gentiles, the closest any non-Jewish person could get to the Holy of Holies, to become just as common as any other place in the city.

Here on the Temple Mount, Mount Zion, they took the people’s money and gave them nothing in return. They sold pigeons to the poor for sacrifices, they traded Roman and Greek currency for Hebrew currency so that people could properly pay their annual half-shekel Temple tax, all for profit not for true worship.  

Jesus quoted Isaiah 2 when He called the Temple, “a house of prayer for all nations,” and Jeremiah 7 when He accused them of making it, “a den of robbers.” 

The spiritual capital of Israel was empty, it had become faithless, full of empty traditions and rituals. There was no fruit on the old growth, no breba crop, and the Temple was just as cursed as that fig tree.

Of course the chief priests and the scribes were incensed by Jesus’ attack on their way of doing things. They had already determined that they wanted to destroy Him, now they started to get serious about how to do it.

Jesus stayed there teaching all day, in verse 19, when evening came they went out of the city.

20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

So when the disciples point out to Jesus the withered fig tree, it should read, “withered from its roots,” meaning that the whole thing was withered including the roots, they point it out to Jesus and He immediately explains exactly why He did that and what it means, right?

It doesn’t really look like it, does it?

22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The fruitless fig tree and the faithless Temple are one and the same, but it should not be so with you! That is Jesus’ point, have faith in God, trust God. Don’t get caught up in empty rules and rituals that only make you look like you are justified to other people, have faith in God, a true living trust in the father through His Son.

Matthew Henry wrote: “It is by faith that the world is conquered, Satan’s fiery darts are quenched, a soul is crucified with Christ, and yet lives; by faith we set the Lord always before us, and see him that is invisible, and have him present to our minds; and this is effectual to remove mountains, for at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, the mountains were not only moved, but removed.”

So maybe you’re wondering, if it’s possible to have faith that can move a mountain, why are there still mountains? Why haven’t they all been thrown into the sea by now? 

There are only three possibilities: 1, no one’s ever had enough faith to do it, 2, no one has ever tried it, or, 3, that’s not what He meant.

John Calvin wrote: “This passage shows also that the true test of faith lies in prayer. If it be objected, that those prayers are never heard, that mountains should be thrown into the sea, the answer is easy. Christ does not give a loose rein to the wishes of men, that they should desire anything at their pleasure, when he places prayer after the rule of faith; for in this way the Spirit must of necessity hold all our affections by the bridle of the word of God, and bring them into obedience. Christ demands a firm and undoubting confidence of obtaining an answer; and where does the human mind obtain that confidence but from the word of God? We now see then that Christ promises nothing to his disciples, unless they keep themselves within the limits of the good pleasure of God.”

1 John 5:14-15 says, And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Jesus made this promise on the recognized premise that petitions must be in harmony with God’s will. Our Prayers enable us to have the faith to receive the answers God gives. True faith is trust in God our Father not just acknowledging that He exists.

And the last thing that Jesus says here in our passage, and the most important, 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Here is the connection between the Divine Forgiver and the forgiven. 

If our aim as Christians, as followers of Christ, is to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ together as a family, then training ourselves and others to forgive as we have been forgiven must be our life breath.

Withering trees and moving mountains is nothing compared to forgiveness. It wasn’t physical obstacles that Jesus had in view, it was the faithless mountain called: “offense.”

Father, forgive our trespasses, even as we forgive those who trespass against us.

May we be fruitful, faithful, and forgivenessful.

Amen.