Mar 11:1
Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples;: Nobody knows for sure who these two disciples were. People believe they were Peter and John, but it's not certain.
Mar 11:2
and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it.: Nobody knows the village here either. A colt is a young donkey. Jesus says that the colt would never have been sat on. This was to fulfill the prophecy of Zec 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey."
Mar 11:3
And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here.": This verse seems kind of like the chicken/egg question. Which came first? Did the owner know he was to have a colt ready for the Lord? Is that why he would readily give the colt to the disciples? We don't know, but it's possible this owner knew who Jesus was and believed that He was the Messiah.
Mar 11:4
So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.: Jesus clearly did this to not only fulfill the Zec 9:9 prophecy, but to prove to His disciples that He was God. Only God could know something like this without having seen it. This shows Jesus's divine nature. He knew all things (Joh 16:30).
Mar 11:5
But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?": This is a normal reaction to some strangers grabbing something that isn't theirs. Luk 19:33 clarifies that these people were the owners.
Mar 11:6
And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded. So they let them go.: In verse 3, Jesus told the two disciples that if anyone asks why they're taking the colt, to tell them that the Lord needs it. They did as told, and the owners let the disciples take it.
Mar 11:7
Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it.: If you've ever sat on a horse without a saddle, you'll understand why they put their clothes on the colt's back for Jesus. It's uncomfortable for both the animal and rider. The clothes are like a saddle.
Mar 11:8
And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.: Joh 12:13 adds the detail that the branches were from palm trees, which is where we get the name, Palm Sunday. This was a kingly entry. The people believed that Jesus was the Messiah and thought He was going to overthrow the Romans.
Mar 11:9
Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!': Hosanna means "save now." The people believed that Jesus was the Messiah and was about to set up His earthly kingdom.
Mar 11:10
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David That comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!": The Messiah was to come from the line of David. Isa 11:1, "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Jesse was David's father. When the people were chanting, "Hosanna in the highest," they were saying that salvation had come from Heaven, acknowledging that Jesus was God.
Mar 11:11
And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.: Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the Messiah, and went into the temple. Matthew expands on what Jesus did Mat 21:12, "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves." When He left, he went a couple miles out to Bethany.
Mar 11:12
Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.: Jesus was fully God and fully human. He did get hungry.
Mar 11:13
And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.: This is a difficult verse. How could Jesus be expecting figs if it wasn't the season for figs? This is just an unfortunate way of saying, "it was a bad season for figs," so they must have had a bad fruit season. Also, fig trees produce fruit before leaves. The fact that there were leaves but no fruit means that this tree didn't produce any fruit but gave the appearance that it had. Jesus would use it as an object lesson for hypocrites.
Mar 11:14
In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.: This tree had given the appearance of producing fruit by producing leaves, but hadn't produced any fruit. Because it didn't produce any fruit, but gave the appearance of producing fruit, Jesus cursed it. We should take that to heart and not pretend. As James tells us, if we have faith, we will produce fruit. There will be many people who put on a pretense of producing fruit that will be very disappointed when Jesus comes for His Church.
Mar 11:15
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.: Jesus returned a second time and the same people had returned that He had kicked out the day before. Jesus again kicks them out.
Here's what was going on in the temple that angered Jesus so much. People were only allowed to sacrifice approved animals that met the requirements in the law. There were vendors there with "approved" animals and people could purchase from them, but at exorbitant prices. The money changers were there because only the Jewish money was accepted for donations and for the temple tax (1/2 shekel paid annually), but people would visit from all over. The people had to change the money for shekels, and the money changers would charge large fees, stealing from the people and God. There's also a lot of evidence that the high priests were involved in these transactions and benefited from them monetarily.
Mar 11:16
And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.: The temple wasn't to be a store, it was a house of worship. Selling animals right at the temple would seem to make sacrifices transactional, sort of like indulgences in the Catholic Church. It's very interesting to see how the world used similar temptations to work its way into two completely different faiths God had established.
Mar 11:17
Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL NATIONS' ? But you have made it a 'DEN OF THIEVES.'": Jesus quotes Isa 56:7 here. This prophecy will be ultimately fulfilled in the Millennial kingdom, when all nations will come to the temple. Seeing the corruption must have been heart breaking for Jesus. Israel was supposed to be a light to the world, but they were using their special position for personal gain.
Mar 11:18
And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.: Why would these religious leaders be afraid? Because Jesus was preaching truth in direct contrast to the religious leaders who were preaching traditions of man. They also must have had some personal gain from these transactions, although it's not specifically said.
Mar 11:19
When evening had come, He went out of the city.: Jesus took his disciples and went outside the city, but the scripture doesn't specify where, although the next verse provides a clue that they had gone back to Bethany.
Mar 11:20
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.: From this verse, we can make an educated guess that they all had gone back to Bethany. The day before when Jesus cursed the fig tree, it had every appearance of producing fruit, and was not dying. It just hadn't produced any fruit, while having the appearance of being a fruit producing tree. To see the tree shriveled up from the roots must have been shocking. I've never seen even a plant die in one day like that, and it was a direct result of Jesus cursing it.
Mar 11:21
And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.": Peter was clearly shocked, and in his usual way, he vocalized it.
Mar 11:22
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.: Here is the crux of the teachings of Jesus. Have faith in God. In all things. We have to know that God is in control and that everything is happening according to His plan. As Christians, we have to know that Jesus was the Messiah, He died for our sins, He was resurrected by God after three days, and He will take us to Him at some point, either when we die, or before, and we will be saved. Unlike what most people believe, Christians understand that we are eternal beings that have a temporal shell. When you die, you will take only one of two available paths. Saved or unsaved. Saved means you spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven. Unsaved means you spend eternity separated from Jesus, possibly in the lake of fire. It's a simple matter of faith. Believe or not.
Mar 11:23
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.: This is such a difficult teaching that has lead to many hurtful experiences. For example, if someone in a wheelchair prays to regain the use of his legs, and it doesn't happen, this apparent failure can result in people saying, "Your faith isn't strong enough," as if they're the cause of why they're still in a wheelchair. However, Jesus's words are clear here. There's no ambiguity. If we didn't have any doubts, whatever we asked for would be done. I just don't believe it's possible for us to not have any doubts. We're in temporal bodies trying to understand eternity, examining evidence to develop faith in the unseen. We are going to have doubts, but it is the Spirit that gives us strength.
Mar 11:24
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.: Jesus used to the example of the fig tree, and the impossible thing that took place in His cursing it (for not producing fruit but appearing like it had) to teach that whoever asks for anything, it would be done if they didn't doubt. Jesus doesn't make mistakes, and He made this a very general statement. This is how Elijah called down fire from Heaven. 2Ki 1:10, "And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty." This is how Sampson gained the strength to topple the pillars. Jdg 16:29-30, "Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived."
Mar 11:25
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses: This is another tough teaching. As believers in the Heavenly Father, we are to be so forgiving as to be almost stupid about it. In the eyes of the world, we would be foolish if we were able to fully act this out. Due to our fallen nature, I don't believe it's possible to fully do this, but we can certainly put forward a good effort. This is one way to demonstrate the love of God through our lives. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Forgiveness is a clear demonstration of love.
Mar 11:26
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses: This concept is throughout the Bible. We need to forgive, or God will not forgive us. How can we claim to be forgiven, and know the state we're forgiven from, and not forgive others? If we claim to be forgiven but don't forgive others, it's clear that we don't have the Spirit in us. If we don't forgive, it's clear that we are not believers. Jas 2:26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
Mar 11:27
Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.: Why is it that these guys never come to Jesus unless they're trying to trip Him up, or set Him up? It's so very strange. I wonder if we'd do the same thing today. What man-made traditions do we do in the Church that would anger pastors today? I have some ideas, but I'll leave that to the Spirit to discuss with you.
Mar 11:28
And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?": Mat 7:28-29 explains why the leaders asked this question. Not only had Jesus cleansed the temple from their thievery, Jesus taught as one with authority, and the people were in awe of Him. Jesus had no need to go to previous writers to prove what he was saying was true, unlike the religious leaders, and they're wondering why He would defy them and do these things against what they're allowing. Notice that they're not saying that Jesus was in the wrong, but that they wanted to know where He got the authority. It seems like they're trying to pull rank on Jesus.
Mar 11:29
But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: Jesus wasn't stupid. He knew they were always trying to trap Him. Instead of letting them try to set Him up this time, Jesus turns the tables.
Mar 11:30
The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.": This question simply exposes the deceitfulness of the leaders. There's no way they can answer this truthfully. John went around baptizing people, pointing them to the Messiah. Paul clarifies what John's baptism was in Act 19:4. "Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
Mar 11:31
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?': In this line of reasoning, they acknowledge that they didn't believe John, but also that they understood what he was saying. It's pretty clear from this verse that John's teachings were well known, and were why so many people referred to Jesus as the Son of David, meaning that they believed He was the Messiah. These religious leaders simply didn't believe John, even though Jesus had provided more than enough proof. How much more proof could He provide than bringing people back from the dead?
Mar 11:32
But if we say, 'From men' "—they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.: It seems that the people were closer to God than the religious leaders in this regard. The people at least acknowledged that John was a prophet, and when Jesus came to Jerusalem on the donkey, they praised Him as the Messiah. Besides, shouldn't this have sparked some kind of interest in the leaders? If all the people thought they were prophets, and only you disagreed, wouldn't that at least give you pause? Just something to think about.
Mar 11:33
So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.": Because the leaders could not answer truthfully, they lied and said that they did not know. How could they not be interested in truth? Because they did not believe. These were the career preachers, the people in it for the power and money. It's no different today. And because the leaders refused to answer truthfully, Jesus refused to answer their fake question.
No comments:
Post a Comment