“Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” (Mark 11:11 NIV)
I love reading the Bible over and over again because I notice different aspects of scripture on each trip. I suppose it’s because I’m a different person each time I come across the same text – a year or two or three older – hopefully more mature and maybe a bit more molded into my Master’s image.
This morning’s text is tucked between the Palm Sunday parade and the Monday morning Temple cleaning caught my attention. Jesus descended into Jerusalem amidst happy fans and went straight to the Temple. It seems He did a preliminary walk-through, like a modern-day speaker or recording artist visiting the venue before their production. This is interesting, because Jeuss had been there before. He’d been in and out of the Temple His entire childhood and multiple times throughout His ministry. It was not an unfamiliar place for Him. But on this particular visit, we get a glimpse of the authority having become full grown in Him. We get the impression that He had business to do in the Temple that night, but because ‘it was already late’ He went to Bethany for the evening instead.
If we keep reading, we realize that Jesus was mad. Enraged, really; at the circus that corporate worship had become. It was definitely a righteous anger and Jesus was going to act on it. He seemed to realize though, with holiest restraint, that that Sunday evening was not the time or place.
If Jesus had turned over the tables and the Temple that night, it might have been considered vandalism. Think about it: no security cameras documented the worshipers from the corners of the room. Only a few stragglers might have seen and heard Jesus’ words. The scribes and Pharisees would have written it off as a random (and likely Roman) act of antisemitism. Temple security measures would have increased and the corrupt Temple leadership would have wound with even more control over God’s house. Nope, Jesus recognized that this was not the time or place to express His outrage. He went back to Bethany and waited for the sun to come up and the crowd to return. His message wouldn’t fall on deaf ears.
I can’t help but wonder how Jesus slept that night? Was it hard for the Holy One to let the sun go down on His anger? We know He hadn’t completely calmed down, because the next morning, on the nearly two mile commute back into town, He cursed a fig tree.
“The next day as they were living Bethany, Jesus 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. Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And the disciples heard Him say it.” (Mark 11: 12-14 NIV)
I don’t think Jesus was hangry, as we might assume. I do think He was still seething over what He saw in the Temple the night before. The house of worship had become a marketplace and the priests were profiting from religious racketeering. Jesus didn’t randomly curse a fig tree, He symbolically cursed a fig tree.
Remember what I said about maturing as we study God’s word? The passage of time + scripture + God’s presence should eventually result in spiritual maturity. Mature believers produce fruit. But the Temple leadership – men who spent their entire lives in God’s house, studying His word, leading the way in worship – well, they were fruitless. Seasons would continue to pass, but they were spiritually barren. They would never produce the harvest that God expected.
It’s interesting to note that Jesus only cursed a fig tree, not all fig trees. We realize that while Jesus condemned current Temple leadership, He still allowed for Church leadership, while upholding the expectation of spiritual fruit production.
Again, if we keep reading, we get a picture of a righteously angry Jesus overturning tables of illegitimate merchandise. He demonstrated a fully-developed Kingdom authority, carefully cultivated by His ever-deepening relationship and obedience to His heavenly Father. We also see that this Temple purification is a tipping point for the Temple leadership.
“The chief priests and teachers of the law heard this and began to look for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him, because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching.”” (Mark 11:18 NIV)
The Pharisees had toyed with the idea of offing Jesus previously, while He was only a nuisance. But now He had come in their house and interfered with their livelihood. They knew that He knew exactly what they were up to. As long as Jesus lived, their extortion scheme had an expiration date. This ongoing altercation with the itinerate Preacher suddenly got real. The Temple leadership was ready to pull the trigger and get Jesus out of the picture.
We can pull back from the Bible story and see two parties operating in anger:
Jesus’ anger was just. He was upset for a righteous cause and He expressed it appropriately; in the right time and the right way. His response to His feelings contributed rightly to the Kingdom.
The chief priests and scribes anger was self-serving. They were upset because they were caught red-handed. They reacted with spite and malice, ready to take out any opponent that threatened their balance of power and wealth.
Sovereign Jesus knew full-well what His temple tirade would set into motion, but His loyalty to the Kingdom and His someday inhabitants was greater than His commitment to personal comfort.
We can learn from this.
First off: self-examination is in order. What makes us angry? Is it righteous or is it self-serving? What do we do with that anger? Are we mature enough to put it off until the appropriate time and way? What about the branches of our life? What are we producing? And lastly, are we willing to subtract our self out of the equation and operate with Kingdom best interest in the forefront of our minds?
Lord, we continually fight our flesh. It is encouraging to read of Your victory over self and Your commitment to the Kingdom. Please grow us up. May our trips around the sun and through Your Word make us spiritually mature. We want to be fruit-producers and Kingdom defenders.