Mark 11 reminds me of the crux of political debate today. Do our rights come from God, or are they granted by the government? Today’s chapter ponders who we trust to lead. It begins with what we often call the Triumphal Entry. “As they approached Jerusalem… Jesus sent two of His disciples… Go to the village… you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here”. While riding into Jerusalem on this colt, “Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields”. Notice the absence of military imagery. This was a peaceful willing surrender by the people. “Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ’Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Hosanna is a compound Hebrew word, meaning “Save, We Pray”. The other titles used signify they were recognizing Jesus as Messiah. Amazingly, the date was Nissan 10 on the Hebrew calendar, the day the Passover Lamb was to be selected. This moment was the fulfillment of the symbol given to Moses during the Exodus. He was both the Deliverer and the Sacrifice at the same time, though few could comprehend that possibility. The people were anticipating a political overthrow of the Roman oppressors, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” Instead His blood would be spread on the horizontal and vertical beams of the Roman Cross. He does not dictate; He offers us a choice.
“Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything”. The next verses offer a clue into His observation. First we read an analogy; the next day, “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”. There is a difference between appearing religious to others, and actually living to honor God. Galatians 5:23 lists some of the fruits that should be present in the life of a believer, “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. Understand, “It was not the season for figs” and yet Jesus judged the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again”. We are not told to only show peace, joy and love to those that are loving and peaceful to us. That would not be unusual. Friend, do you just look religious?
Upon reaching Jerusalem, “Jesus entered the temple courts and 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”. Clearly He had observed the corruption of those entrusted to exchange money and sell offerings to the weary pilgrims arriving to celebrate Passover. I cannot imagine the tone of His voice as he “taught them”, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’” Political division enables corruption, as long as we excuse “our guy”. Clearly none of the crooks resisted His house cleaning. The chief Priests “began looking for a way to kill Him, for they feared Him because the whole crowd was amazed at His teaching”. The next day, “While Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to Him”. They did not debate the benefit of their self-serving actions, instead they asked, “By what authority are you doing these things?” They had so completely lost focus on God that they were afraid to answer His question back to them, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They considered poll numbers associated with their possible responses, and chose the safest non-answer, “We don’t know”. Their only fear was losing power. My friend, who is the highest authority in your life?