Under Who's Authority - Mark 11:27-33 - November 1, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for November 1, 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 11:27-33 Under Who’s Authority

Good morning! Here we are again in the Gospel of Mark, this morning we are going to look at chapter 11, verses 27-33, page 848 in the pew Bibles.

This account takes place on Tuesday of Holy Week, and it is certainly no accident that we are studying it together on the Sunday before the election.

As you remember from last week, Jesus, on the day before had cleansed the Temple and cursed the fig tree, the day before that triumphantly entered the holy city of Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

Peter had pointed out the withered fig tree on the way to the city that morning, and now, Jesus had arrived in the city and was walking and teaching in the Temple.

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Let’s pray.

It’s important for us to understand before we get too far who the parties in play are here. This group described as, “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders,” is not just a nebulous group of unhappy Jews or Jewish leaders. Maybe your flannelgraph pictures, like mine, just paint them as a bunch of cranky old men that just don’t like change, telling Jesus to get off their lawn.

Well it’s a little more serious than that. This group is also called the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council that had jurisdiction over matters of civil and religious life in Israel. These were the guys that were in charge of pretty much everything for the Jewish people, under the Romans, and they were pretty used to people submitting to their authority. 

But then along comes Jesus…

Jesus did not just come along with new teaching, he taught as One with authority, and the people were listening. So much so that Jesus had become a threat to their authority over the people, the more people listened to Him, the less people would listen to them. It was all very political.

And so, after seeing the city in an uproar, and the usual way of the Temple courts literally overturned, they decided to ask Jesus just exactly who He thought He was.

28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”

Now I have to ask you before I go any further, do you think they knew the answer to their questions?

I think they did, all evidence points to the fact that they knew that Jesus was sent by God. Not only did He teach the way of God with authority but His teaching was accompanied by miracles. He was also clearly declared to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world by none other than John the Baptist!

And that’s how Jesus responds to their question, to which they already knew His answer, with a question, to which He already knew their answer.

28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”

This was a well established Hebraic form of debate, but the answer to the question was the same: heaven.

“By what authority do you do these things, miracles, triumphal processions, upending the money changers and the pigeon guys, by who’s authority do you do these things. And the answer is, by heaven’s authority, by God’s authority. They knew that, it was undeniable.

And was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Was John sent by God or sent by himself?

As the Gospel of John records in John 1:6-8, 19-27

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

This group knew the answer to Jesus’ question, it was no secret to them who John was and who sent him. They didn’t like it but they knew.

29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”

So the answer to Jesus’ question was that John’s baptism, whether you take that to mean his entire ministry or just him baptizing people for repentance, it’s the same either way, John’s baptism was from heaven. But that answer would cause considerable problems for this group of questioners. The ramifications of their answer were quite serious, it wasn’t just a theological debate they were having.

So they have a little pow-wow. They got together and said, “Ok, guys, how do we answer this?”

31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. Luke’s Gospel records that they were afraid that the people would stone them if they said John wasn’t sent from God.

They were trapped. They were trapped by fear and by pride, they were trapped by a desire to keep up appearances and a humiliating truth.

If they said that John’s baptism came from God, that John was sent by God as one crying in the wilderness, “prepare the way of the Lord,” they would also have to accept that his testimony was true that Jesus really is Messiah. “If John came from God why don’t you believe what he said about me? He said that I am the Lamb of God, why didn’t you believe him?”

It would be impossible for them to recognize that John was sent from God without recognizing that Jesus was too, and they weren’t about to do that.

But… If they denied that John was sent from God, they were afraid that the people would revolt and stone them to death because it was common knowledge that John the Baptist was truly a prophet from God.

Motivated by envy, trapped by fear and pride. They knew the right answer but refused to give it. Since they were not concerned with the truth and only concerned with their own reputations and safety they simply answered, “we don’t know.” Which, of course was a lie.

33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Jesus knew the answer to their question and they knew the answer to His. They didn’t answer because they were dishonest, Jesus didn’t answer because of their lack of faith. Their refusal to answer Jesus’ question showed that they rejected both John and Jesus, the messenger and the Messiah, which was completely consistent with most of the leaders of Israel throughout history, as Jesus will point out in our text for next week.

So… all that is really interesting, so what? We are not on a fact finding mission here, we are on a disciple making and maturing mission. So what application can we pull from this text?

I agree with Alistair Begg when he said that, “it’s an authority issue.”

If the Sanhedrin had answered honestly, if they had said, “Yes Jesus, John’s baptism came from heaven, from God,” Jesus most likely would have asked them, as they suggested, “Then why didn’t you believe him?”

If they believed John, they would have to believe Jesus. If they believed in Jesus, they would have to submit to Him, to lay down their own authority, whether real or imagined, at His feet.

Jesus will say, in Matthew 28, after His resurrection, “All authority, in heaven and on earth, is given to me. Therefore, go, and make disciples…”

All authority. 

All authority over our minds, over our morals, over our attitudes, over our politics, over our mouths, over our keyboards, over our votes…

People reject Jesus today for the same reason that the Sanhedrin rejected Him on that day, because they will not submit to His authority over their lives. Even those of us that declare Jesus as Savior many times reject His authority over our lives as Lord.

Jesus is King.

Supreme over nature.

Supreme over presidents and politicians.

Supreme over us.

And He loves us, and we can trust Him. 

The question that only you can answer is: will you submit to Him?

Amen. 

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.

Full Yet Empty - Mark 11:1-11 - October 18, 2020

These are the Sermon Notes for October 18th, 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 11:1-11 Full Yet Empty

Good morning! We knew it was coming, we knew it was bound to happen. Eventually, if you’re studying the Gospels you’re going to have to deal with texts that are reserved for holidays. Does it really feel like Eastertime to you? Palm Sunday is supposed to come with palm leaves not falling leaves!

Well, we are going to look at the events of Palm Sunday regardless of whether or not it’s actually the Easter season in Mark 11:1-11, page 847 in the pew Bibles.

I admit that it’s hard enough to deal with this event once a year, but of course it’s 2020 so we might as well do it twice!

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 

11 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.

Let’s pray.

Of course, this is an incredibly important event. Jesus is fulfilling prophecy here, words from the Lord given through the prophets hundreds and hundreds of years prior to these events.

Zechariah 9:9 says,

9 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.

Matthew quotes that verse in his Gospel. 

Jesus riding the foal of a donkey tied Him directly to King David who famously a donkey into the city of Jerusalem as well as his sons after him when they were anointed king. In the Old Testament it was only young, unblemished animals that had never been used for labor that were used for sacred purposes. And also, covering the donkey’s foal with coats instead of a saddle once again testified to the humility of Christ the King.

But the words of Psalm 118 were also being fulfilled.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, 16 the right hand of the Lord exalts, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. 18 The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 [Hosanna] O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

These words were finding their fulfillment in Jesus as he entered Jerusalem and in the events of the week that followed.

Also, the words of Psalm 2:1-6 describe what was happening in a little more of a cosmic sense.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

God the father set Jesus, His Son, as King on the holy hill of Mount Zion. That’s the hill that the Temple sat on. This is exactly what was happening when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey that day.

A humble King, more powerful that any king that ever lived, set in place, not in a palace but on the holy hill of Mount Zion. No fancy parade with pomp and circumstance and trumpets, but with the shouts of the poor and humble, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

It seems like every year on Palm Sunday I end up saying things like, “Jesus wasn’t the kind of king that the people were expecting,” and, “the people wanted a political Messiah not a spiritual Messiah.”

These statements are true, the expectations of the Jewish people then were for a political savior; not that people’s opinions are much different nowadays.

But what struck me in my study of these verses this time is actually the last verse in our text.

Jesus enters the city on a donkey like king David did, not with royal trumpets but with the shouts of humble villagers, and instead of marching to the palace to kick out the Romans, He doesn’t go to find Pilate in order to depose him, He went to the Temple.

11 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.

On the surface, this has got to be the most anticlimactic thing that Jesus could have done. In fact, it seems like Jesus didn’t do anything. He went into the Temple, looked around for a while, and left. No speech, no battle, nothing!

So in looking at that verse, I think we are left with a question: What do you suppose Jesus was looking for? 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.

What was He looking for?

Now we know from the verses that follow this what He found. He found the Temple full, full of people, full of activity, there were priests and scribes and sacrifices, people buying pigeons in order to sacrifice them, people exchanging currency in order to make offerings. The Temple was full…but empty. 

He found the Temple full of people, full of activity, full of sacrifices, but empty of faith, empty of true worship.

The Temple once stood as a symbol of God’s presence among His people, but here it stood as a symbol of empty and lifeless religion. Jesus went to the Temple and looked around to see if he could find faith, and He found none.

It’s no wonder that he left and went back to Bethany with His disciples.

I also wonder if this doesn’t stand as a warning to us, His Church, His Church with a capital “C.”

Is the Church of Jesus Christ full of people but empty of faith, full of activity, but empty of true worship?

That’s a big question, maybe too big for us, but does the Church of Jesus Christ start with the masses and work its way down to the individual? No, it starts with each of us.

When Jesus surveys His Church what will He see, what will He find? Full of people but empty of faith? Full of activity but empty of worship?

I can’t answer for the whole Church, capital “C,” I can’t hardly answer for this church, little “c,” but I do pray that when Jesus looks around at everything here that He doesn’t find empty religious practices, or hollow, meaningless traditions, but He would see us as we are, humble sinners who love Him and love each other, totally dependent on His grace, understanding that His death on the cross was for us, that His body and blood were given in our place that by His grace through faith in Him we are saved to the glory of God the Father.

And in remembrance of His sacrifice for us, we are going to partake in Communion for the first time in a long time, way too long!

You were each given a little Communion set on the way in but if you didn’t get one just put your hand up and someone will make sure you get one.

…The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Let’s return thanks and then eat the bread and drink the cup and so, proclaim the Lord’s death for us.