Drew Boswell

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“The Bragging Fig Tree” Mark 11:12-14, 20-33

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“The Bragging Fig Tree”

Mark 11:12-14, 20-33

Introduction

Jesus has entered into Jerusalem on a colt, the people laid down their outer garments in the street, waved palm branches, and shouted Hosanna (save us!) and were anticipating Jesus coming as the Messiah, who would be the new king of the Jews (like David). The following morning Jesus entered the Court of the Gentiles and drove out the moneychangers, the livestock, and Jesus kept people from taking short-cuts through the holy area. While he did all that, He was teaching, specifically against the religious temple leadership, saying, “you have turned this holy worship area into a den of robbers (v.17).”

He may have even been reenacting Zechariah 14:21, “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.” This passage is a reference to the coming Day of Lord, which is a coming judgment. So, the picture of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt was Him declaring, I am the promised Messiah. His driving out the false and corrupted worship was what a king would do, restoring a proper worship of God.

And during these events in Mark’s gospel, he adds an account of where Jesus curses a fig tree. This is not just a side point of frustration of Jesus, “because He was hungry.” This is very specific and important because it is Jesus’ last miracle in the book of Mark. All of the miracles were to prove that Jesus was who He said He was. Here, Jesus’ last miracle makes one final statement, and it would be just for the disciples (not the crowds). Mark puts the stories together in such a way so that one helps to explain the other.

Prayer

Jesus’ Last Miraculous Act (vv.12-14, 20-25)

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.”[1] And his disciples heard it. . . .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.”

Earlier, Jesus told the parable of the fruitless fig tree, and here he is putting the parable into action, Luke 13:6-9 “And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Jesus has returned to Jerusalem, the temple, and is not seeing any spiritual fruit. “Israel was the fruitless fig tree, or the richly-privileged vineyard that brought forth wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-7). Yet, though fruitless, Israel was full of profession, false show of godliness.”[2] They were leaves without fruit, promise without fulfillment.

Jesus is not jumping from the cursed fig tree, to the topic of faith. That was his goal all along. He allowed Peter to discover the cursed tree on his own. Also, remember that disciples had seen Jesus perform miracle after miracle up to this point (raising the dead, calming the sea, casting out demons, healing the sick, walking on water, etc.) yet they are still amazed at Jesus’ performing miracles. Peter says, “, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” The disciples will soon lead the new Christian church, they too could do what Jesus did – but how?

Jesus says in John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” How will they do even greater things than Jesus did?

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.”

Jesus is days from the crucifixion, he has a very limited amount of time left with the disciples to prepare them for what they are about to experience all the things that will happen at his death and burial, and their eventual leadership, so he uses the fig tree to explain to them what it means to have faith.

How We Define Faith is Critical to a Relationship With God.

Mark is very careful and sparse in the details that he gives in every chapter and verse of his gospel. So, to help us understand this passage, it is helpful to point out the details that Mark chooses to include (leaves, the season of the year, etc.) – so it is linked with Jesus’ traveling to Jerusalem and what He finds at the temple.

“Jesus on his initial visit to the temple has found all leaves, but no fruit. His summary verdict on the ‘braggart’ fig tree is a verdict on the failure of God’s people and is of a piece with his developing polemic against the ‘barren’ temple.”[3] From a distance the tree looked great, but when you get close, there is nothing there. From a far the temple gave the appearance of authentic and genuine worship of the One true God, but when you get close, it has become corrupt, divided, and disingenuous.

Jesus is preparing the disciples to take over as leaders, so how does Jesus do what he does – how does he do the miracles? How did he curse a fig tree? (v. 22) “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God” – action, movement, steps in life, live your life in such a way that shows you believe God, and take Him at His Word.

(v. 23) “does not doubt in his heart” – this literally means a divided judgement, it is the word for the number two and judge.[4] It’s having the thought, “it can be done,” and “it’s can’t be done,” at the same time.[5]

Cain And Abel’s Offering

Example of Faith; Cain and Abel’s offering. Adam and Eve’s children, Cain and Abel come to a worship service and present their offering to the Lord. God accepts Abel’s offering, but rejects Cain’s offering because it was not according to the requirements God had established, God says to Cain, Genesis 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Hebrews 11:4 helps us interpret what is going on in the Genesis passage. “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Abel’s actions followed what he believed to be true. Cain’s attitude betrayed him, because it revealed that he did not genuinely have faith in, or believe God.

(v. 24) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – This is a faith that prays, “prayer is the source of its power, and the means of its strength – God’s omnipotence is the sole assurance, and God’s sovereignty its only restriction.”[6]

A passage that helps us to understand Jesus’ teaching is Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

This faith in God, resulting in the words we pray are not a blind faith. Our prayers are rooted in our relationship with God, knowing what He desires, based on His Word, and then praying those things back to Him. If our prayer came from the Spirit of God, it stands a much better chance of being answered by God, according to “the will of God.”

1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 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.” We are to ask and pray according to His will.

The Greatest difficulties, facing the disciple’s ministry,

can be removed with prayer rooted in faith.[7]

(v. 24) “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.”[8] – This goes back to how we approach God; We ask in prayer that God forgive us of our sin, therefore He expects us to forgive other people of their sin against us. This goes back to action, and a following of God’s Word while interacting with Him. Also, this teaching on prayer is happening corporately, “the text is not focusing on private prayer.”[9]

Standing while praying “signifies that we honor God as being present, before whom we cannot sit but must stand.”[10]

Now when the mountain has been thrown into the sea (you have prayed and God has moved), don’t wade into the water and dig it back up again. Forgive and move on. All of this is rooted in the work that you and Lord, and your church are doing together – this is not about an individual getting rich, or having fancy cars, or having your best life – it’s the work, the obstacles you face together, and asking God in faith to remove them.

The Religious Leader’s Lack of Action (vv. 27-33)

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.”

(v. 27) “the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,” – there are three groups (high priests, scribes, and elders) that composed the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of the Jews. This is the Jewish high court, and they are appearing to him in person.[11]

(v. 28) “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” – “that you keep on doing these things,”[12] These questions force the reader to ask, “who was speaking for God – the Jewish leaders, or Jesus?”[13] Their question implied that since they had not given it to Jesus, that he then had not right to say that He spoke on behalf of God.

“The honor paid to the Rabbis exceeded even that due to parents. The ‘elder in knowledge’ was revered even more than the ‘elder in years.’ If a person’s father and teacher are each carrying burdens, one must first help the teacher, or if both one’s father and one’s teacher are in captivity one must first ransom the teacher. This respect bordered on honor given to God. ‘Let the honor of thy friend border on the honor of thy teacher, and the honor of thy teacher on the fear of God.’ To dispute a rabbi, or to murmur against him, was as sinful as to murmur against God. The Jew gave preference to his teacher over his father [because] the one gave him temporal life, the other eternal life.”[14]

Jesus even warns of religious leaders who loved the attention and devotion they received from the people, Luke 20:46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, . . .”

Their intention is not to gain information from Jesus, they don’t believe that he has the authority to teach in the temple, drive out people from the Gentile Court, have disciples following him around, etc. They wanted Jesus to stop.

(v. 30) Jesus asks the religious leaders, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” – Jesus is linking his authority as the Messiah to John the Baptist. When John preached “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand,” the religious leaders did not repent, follow John’s preaching, nor were they baptized. Jesus is simply repeating their question back to them, but replacing his name with John’s name, “By what authority did John baptize people?”

Mark 1:1-3 “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” God had sent prophet after prophet to His chosen people, and John was the last prophet that would be sent – and they didn’t recognize him.

 Jesus places the Sanhedrin in the middle of two horns of a dilemma – If John’s authority was from God, then why didn’t you accept him? Why were you not baptized by him? When he was arrested by Herod, why didn’t you say anything? If they say John’s authority was from men, the people knew otherwise and would have punished them (by stoning).

 The religious leaders had ignored John. They did not deny that he was sent from God, to do so would have gotten them stoned.[15] They also, made their decisions and public comments based on the consensus of the crowd. The truth of the Bible doesn’t change depending on what culture feels should be right and what should be wrong.

 (v. 33) “So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” – They are supposed to be the people who know, it was their supreme duty to know, yet they say, “We do not know.” In their own words, the disqualified themselves from being the religious authority.

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[1] See also Matthew 21:21

[2] W. N. Clarke, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1950) 163.

[3] R.T. France, The Gospel of Mark, A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002) 441.

[4] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1932) 361.

[5] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 495.

[6] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1984) 729.

[7] Note to self: Don’t be the mountain, that others are praying to be removed.

[8] See also Matthew 6:14-15; 18:35.

[9] Darrell L. Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, The Gospel of Mark (Carol Stream, Illinois; Tyndale House Publishers, 2005) 499.

[10] Lenski, 497.

[11] Lenski, 500.

[12] Robertson, 362.

[13] Bock, 503.

[14] Roy B. Zuck, Teaching as Jesus Taught (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 1994) 37.

[15] See Luke 20:6

Christ’s Power Over Every Need The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series “Regal, Reverence, and Revenue” Mark 11:1-11, 15-19

Christ’s Power Over Every Need

The Gospel of Mark Sermon Series

“Regal, Reverence, and Revenue”

Mark 11:1-11, 15-19

Introduction

Prayer

Sunday; A Day of Triumph (vv. 1- 11)

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 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.[1] 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.

Jesus is entering the last week of his life on earth, it is days from the crucifixion. As he is traveling to Jerusalem, he instructs the disciples to go back to a town they had passed coming in and ask to borrow a colt, “on which no one has ever sat.”[2] This description is important because, “an animal set aside for a sacred purpose was not to be put to ordinary use.”[3] Also, this colt had never been ridden, but the disciples lay garments across it, and Jesus rides it into the city – a miracle in itself.[4]

Jesus has proclaimed that He is God, that He has been sent from the Father, and shown his pronouncements to be true by performing miracles. At this point he has raised the dead, calmed the storm, cast out demons, healed the sick (blind, blood issues, lepers, etc.) Here in Mark 11, he is once again, saying to those looking, and waiting for the Messiah, saying that the kingdom of God is at hand. “The manner He chose for His entrance was very fit for declaring His Messianic dignity to those who were able and inclined to understand and to conceal it from the others.”[5]

Pilgrims coming to the temple and entering into Jerusalem “would customarily enter the city on foot, and (for) Jesus’”[6] “To enter Jerusalem riding on a colt was expressly to declare himself the promised king of Israel. . . now he would declare himself in such a way that his claim could not be misunderstood, and would be either recognized or rejected as the Messiah.”[7]

Jesus in His arrival as the Messiah, entering Jerusalem, was not what the people expected – He arrived humbly. This is why later that they will turn against Him, He was not what they wanted from the Messiah. They wanted might, power, and a conquering Messiah. He gave them a suffering, serving and humble Messiah.

But on this Sunday, the people were running to gather palm branches from the fields, placing them in the street, and they were crying out, quoting scripture, Zechariah 9:9 “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.” Luke 19:35 tells us that it was the people who put Jesus on the colt, “And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.”

(vv. 9-10) “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!” – Hosanna literally means, “save us now.” The pilgrims traveling with Jesus were entering the city, and John tells us there were those that came out of the city to meet him – were excited that the Messiah had arrived and he would set up a kingdom like David.

The disciples nor the crowds understood fully what Jesus was doing, but they understood in some sense that Jesus was fulfilling a prophetic mission. They had just recently observed Jesus’ healing of blind Bartimaeus, and Lazarus being raised from the dead was very recent, and he lived very closely, so they are wanting to honor this prophet.

They are yelling out “Save us,” and Jesus is the Messiah who is establishing His kingdom, but it’s not the way they are anticipating, and He will save them but not in any way that they can imagine. This is the week leading up to the Jewish celebration of the Passover – and the lamb must die at Passover.

(v . 11) on this Sunday, Jesus and the disciples had traveled the [18-20] miles, from Jericho to Jerusalem, “we can see why it was late, why the pilgrims had dispersed, and why Jesus took no further action.”[8]

Monday; A Day of Cleansing (vv. 15-19)

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[9], and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons[10]. 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.

To understand what is going on here it is helpful to understand the temple and how it was laid out. The temple area included the sanctuary – into which only the priests could go, the Court of Israel into which all male Israelites could go to offer sacrifice to God, the Court of the Gentiles – beyond which no Gentile could go unless he were to fully covert to Judaism. Jesus is driving people from the Gentile Court.[11]

“For a long time markets had been set up on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, but there introduction into the temple area itself seems to have been as recently as 30AD, the probable year of the crucifixion.”[12] This set up only lasted for a two or three week period during Passover.[13] True worship and concern for the foreigner, became replaced with a desire for convenience.

At this point, it is Jesus’ cleansing the temple, that is a turning point in the story of the Passion.[14] The consequence of this action is a unifying of the Jewish religious groups against Jesus, even plotting to kill him.

(v. 15) “he entered the temple and began to drive out”[15] – Jesus is purifying the temple, he is driving out people who were doing three things:

1) money-changers – these were people who exchanged the foreign currency of religious pilgrims, so they could pay the temple tax and participate in the religious services. The moneychangers price gouged the people. The exchange rate was way too high.[16]

2) those who sold pigeons, — the poor would purchase pigeons, because it was the lowest they could go to and still patriciate in the religious services at the temple – the poor couldn’t afford what was designed for them to be affordable.

3) Jesus stopped people from “carry anything through the temple.” – People were using this temple court as a short-cut “from the city to the Mount of Olives.”[17] This holy place was being dishonored.

All of these things tell us that this part of the temple was thought less than the real inner court where the real true believers would worship. But the religious leaders, specifically Caiaphas, had turned the court into a shopping bazaar filled with little booths, sitting around on chairs at tables selling their goods, which would have made it really impossible for Gentiles to worship, and seriously pray in that place. This was the only place that Gentiles could go to worship.

While Jesus was cleansing the temple, He was also teaching, (v. 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’?” Jesus is quoting Isaiah 56:7 “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

When Solomon originally dedicated the temple many years before in 1 Kings 8:41-43 we see God’s intention of the temple to be a place for the world to come and worship “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.”

It’s not the sales of doves, and animals, and the exchanging of currency that Jesus has a problem with, after all the pilgrims needed these things to participate in the worship. It was that those actions (while not of themselves bad) were allowed to corrupt the place that should be completely devoted to prayer and worship of God.

“But you have made it a den of robbers[18]” – The consequences in the Jeremiah passage that Jesus is quoting here, is very significant. It is an indictment against the religious leaders who were allowing these things to happen, they may have even been profiting from it.

The fact that the Jewish leadership specifically allowed this to happen, and that they allowed it to happen in the Gentile Court, is showing how the Jewish leadership saw themselves as the only true and genuine followers of God, God’s chosen people – others are of little significance. The world worshipping God was not as important as them worshipping God. Jesus is redirecting their mission back to God being available for the nations, “uninhibited by Jewish restrictions.”[19]

Typically, we think that Jesus when he says, “den of robbers” is focused on the money-exchangers robbing the pilgrims with an exorbitant exchange rate – but Jesus’ focus is on the religious leaders by allowing this court to be crowded with all these conveniences were robbing God of the worship and prayer from the Gentiles. Mark’s gospel was specifically written to the Greeks (Gentiles), he is pounding home that Jesus was the promised Messiah of the One true God – who calls all nations to a relationship with Him. We see this when Jesus is born, “

Also, thieves think they are safe in their den (den of thieves), just like the religious leaders thought they could do anything, treat people any way, engage a holy God in any manner – because they were in the temple. They would argue that they are good with God because they have the temple, and they are going through the motions of worship. Church, we must not fall for this same trap – as long as we are in church on Sunday, we can live like the world Monday through Saturday – we will be held accountable.

Jesus entering into Jerusalem and his cleansing the temple are both messianic acts. Many people don’t mind the Jesus who comes humbly riding into Jerusalem on a colt, but the Jesus who “drives out” and “overturned the tables,” are acts of force. “This picture of Jesus does not sit well with those who regard the Lord merely as the “gentle Jesus,” because they cannot understand the holy indignation that made Him act as He did here. Their Jesus is all love and no righteousness, but this is not the Jesus of the Bible!”[20]

The Bible tells us that God is a jealous God (Ex. 34:14) – He commands that we are to have no other gods before Him, and He alone is worthy to be praised (Psalm 95:1-7), and as God, He chooses and instructs how He is to be worshipped. We don’t get to worship God any way we see fit; we worship God according to His Word.

This cleansing would have gone on for hours, but “the change must have been astounding; all the turmoil was gone, no one was even carrying things across the court; everything was quiet and decorous as it should be in God’s House.”[21] He seems to remain there to enforce that it stayed this way. As the hours continued, He was teaching, cleaning, and putting things back the way they should be.

(v. 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” – The people are looking at Jesus as a hero, as the Messiah. And while they didn’t fully understand how Jesus varied from their understanding of the Messiah, etc. Jesus’ popularity protected him for the time being. The Jewish leaders had to figure out a way to arrest Jesus without starting a riot.

The chief priests and scribes were seeking to destroy Jesus because he was taking away their glory. He shows again and again how their following and worshipping of God was false, corrupt, and empty. Jesus is fighting for the one who should be receiving the glory, while taking it away from the those that shouldn’t. Their fear was that Jesus’ teachings would take hold of the people’s hearts and they would see Jesus as the authority, and not them.

There is also something about this scene we need to understand; “Jesus did not want to reform the temple but to abolish it.”[22] It would not be long after this that the church “soon came to be recognized as the new temple (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17).

______________________

[1] Zechariah 9:9 “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.” (ESV)

[2] Other examples of where animals were used in religious contexts that were animals that had never been worked would be Num. 19:2; Duet. 21:3; 1 Sam. 6:7.

[3] James McGowan, Twenty-First Century Biblical Commentary Series, Mark (Chattanooga, Tennessee; AMG Publishing, 2006) 154.

[4] “This declaration invokes a custom known as angaria (Matt. 5:41; 27:32), in which a person of significance (most commonly an officer of the Roman government) could take possession of someone else’s property or require them to perform a task.” Darrell Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, The Gospel of Mark (Carol Streams, Illinois; Tyndale House Publishers, 2006) 497.

[5] Vincent Taylor, The Gospel According to St. Mark (New York, New York; St. Martin’s Press, 1959) 452.

[6] Larry W. Hurtado, New International Biblical Commentary, Mark (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1989) 179.

[7] W.M. Clarke, An American Commentary on the New Testament, Volume 2 (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Judson Press, 1881) 161.

[8] James A. Brooks, The New American Commentary, Mark (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1991) 180.

[9] See Zechariah 14:21

[10] When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus to the temple, this was the temple tax they paid. Luke 2:25 (Clarke, 164).

[11] Hurtado, 182.

[12] Brooks, 184.

[13] Bock, 499.

[14] Taylor, 461.

[15] In John’s account he fashions a whip and drives them out, here there is no mention of an implement – just Jesus’ righteous disdain for what they are doing.

[16] The Tyrian shekel was required for the annual temple tax imposed on all Jewish males (Exodus 30:11-16) (Brooks, 185).

[17] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Publishing, 1930) 359.

[18] Jesus is quoting Jeremiah 7:11 “Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?”

[19] Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1984) 728.

[20] McGowan, 158.

[21] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1964) 488.

[22] Brooks, 183.

Things Are Not As They Appear 1 Samuel 17:41-58

Things Are Not As They Appear

1 Samuel 17:41-58

Introduction

Review of Last week.

Prayer  

When Things Appear Simple – They Usually Aren’t (vv. 41-44)

And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

(v. 41) It wasn’t until Goliath drew close to David that he truly got a good picture of his opponent, “And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David.” Goliath despised David because the defeat of a boy, would not sound very good on a veteran champion’s résumé. What an insult to Goliath to send a young lad with no armor and a stick! Is this how seriously they take him? Do they think so little of his ability that they would send him someone like this? Goliath is mad about how this is obvious easy victory is going to make him look.[1]

Out of this anger, Goliath then begins to insult David.  He makes fun of his shepherd’s staff saying it was only fit for hitting dogs.  Then he cursed David by his philistine gods.  Then he says that he would feed the animals with his body.

David on the other had is mad that this “uncircumcised Philistine” would dare to curse God or his people.  Leviticus 24:16 – “Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.”[2] Whoever curses or blasphemes the name of God was to be stoned.  This may be why David chose to attack the giant with the weapon that he did.  David choose the sling and a stone for two reasons.  One, that was the weapon that he was used to using.  Secondly, he just may have remembered this passage of Scripture.

When Things Appear Insurmountable – A Solution Will Appear (vv. 45-51a) 

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

 (v. 45) “Then David said to the Philistine” – David’s words are not just for the Philistine, but for all the army to hear – they are missional words. It is a renewed call to depend upon the name of the living God. It is a proclamation that there is a God in Israel. It is a reminder that God has been faithful in the past, and He will be faithful today – for He does not change.[3]

Acts 3:6-7 “But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.”

David knows if he fights armor against armor, brute strength against brute strength, he will fail – so David allows a champion to go before him, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts.”  There will never be a time when the world can unveil anything stronger than “the name of the LORD Almighty.”   The world may have the spears, the javelins, and the shield-bearers but these are nothing compared to God who is over all things.

David says, “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head.”  All he is carrying is five stones, a shepherd’s staff, and a sling.  What is he going to cut his head off with?  David doesn’t have so much as a pocket knife – God would provide what he needed.

David’s goal is not to defeat Goliath, but to defeat Goliath and the entire Philistine army! “Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.”  David’s vision for his life goes beyond the giant that he is running towards, and sees the thousands standing behind the giant. God has the giant before, but our battles don’t stop.

(v. 47) “the LORD saves not with sword and spear” – There is still a God who saves, but He does it His way. The church cannot compete with the world, but the world cannot compete with the church. (Church and Disney Illustration).

David knew that while he would stand with only some stones and sling, he needed two others.  “for the battle is the LORD’s.”  David knew that in order to defeat Goliath and the entire Philistine army, he desperately needed the Lord to win the battle for him, David also needed the army standing behind him.  “and he will give all of you into our hands.”  (not my hands, but our hands)

We, like David, need these same two groups.  We need God to guide us, to empower us, to strengthen us, to give us courage! And we need our church to fight alongside of us in order to beat the army.

It is in our grow groups that we are able to fight battles through reaching out to our neighbors, praying for each other and to share our life’s concerns.  We need God’s people to surround us and help us to win the battle.  You can find a list of our small groups at the welcome table and on the web site – get in one.  We were not designed to stand alone.

David’s reason for defeating the whole Philistine army was so that “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”  David’s victory over Goliath is known the world over, they have heard of God’s working through the weak to defeat the powerful.

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine rand took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.

As the battle begins what we thought were advantages for Goliath actually are not advantages at all.[4] Something prevented Goliath from clearly seeing David until he drew close to him (impaired vision). He simply stood (which meant he was resting or sitting); while David moved quickly around, Goliath moved slowly because of his heavy armor (over 100 pounds). Goliath even says, “Come to me.”

David’s sling (a leather strap with a pocket in the center) and a tennis ball sized stones gave him the ability to attack at great distances (up to over 100 yards) at a rotation of 6-7 spins per second; All of Goliath’s weapons are for close range combat. Our interpretation of the situation is all wrong.

In ancient times armies typically had three main sections. Cavalry, heavy infantry, and projectiles or slingers. It was like the game of rock paper scissors. The archers or slingers could defeat heavy infantry, but calvary moved too quickly for them to aim, up close heavy infantry beat archers or slingers, with long pike infantry can stand up cavalry, etc. we see an example of this in Judges 20:16 “Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.”

Goliath was prepared to fight a battle as he had always fought battles. He expected to fight one-on-one close quarters, as heavy-infantry, where he assumed he had the advantage. Goliath had won many battles fighting man-to-man in armor in close quarters, . . .

“he could no longer conceive of any alternate armament; and he believes that this armament was invincible. He feels assured that any Israelite who has the hardihood to accept his challenge will likewise be a spearman armed cap-a-pie, and that any such competitor in his own panoply is bound to be his inferior.”[5]

But what happens if we change how we fight the battle? “Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness.”[6]

The story of David and Goliath is typically described as a small person fighting a big person, against all odds, overcoming the impossible. But it could also be a story of a zealous person, changing the rules, using his advantage (what he knows), and seeing the massive weaknesses of his enemy.

The enemy of this world is a defeated foe. He knows his days are numbered, and Satan eventually will be cast into a lake of fire – so he wants to pull as many people as possible with him. He has since the beginning tried to corrupt the creation of God. When this world seems overwhelming, and life is at its darkest – remember it may not always be as it seems. The hard road you are on now, may be your greatest strength tomorrow.

Go back to Saul sitting in his tent; he feels hopeless. He is the king of the Israelite army, “the army of the living God.” Yet he can’t see past his own armor. He is dependent upon something other that God’s protection. Ultimately, this is what it means to be a follower of God – either you depend upon yourself, or you depend upon God. When the problems come, do you reach for the armor to strap on, or do you cry out to God for your protection.

David already knew how the battle would, go “I will strike you down and cut off your head.” Vision can be defined as being able to see what should be done, developing a strategy, and having the courage to do it. Change to way things are done. Overthrow the tables. Do the unexpected. Turn the world upside down.

It was typical to prove the enemy was dead, the victor would strip the enemy of his weapons, and decapitate the opponent. David was giving undeniable proof that Goliath was dead.[7]

When Things Appear Unbelievable – Stop “Going through the motions” (vv. 51b-58)

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. 55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

1 Samuel 17:20 “And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.” Do you think that the shouts were the same?  No way, the first shout was a shout of going through the motions, the first shout was when they were standing still. 

The second shout was one given on the run, chasing the enemy.  The second shout was one filled with the excitement of a victory!  A shout of God moving forward with them.  They chased the Philistines for over 10 miles, shouting!

This morning when you worshipped the Lord in song, was your shout to the Lord one of going through the motions?  Are you spiritually standing still or are you running forward.  The two cries to the Lord are not the same.

When you have your quiet times, is your time just going through the motions – or when you lift your song to the Lord is it is a victorious cry, is your shout one filled with victory in the Lord’s name?

It was one little shepherd boy’s faith that drew an army forward and caused another army to run in fear.  That whole battle was changed by one person.  Don’t wait for someone to come to you to see what you could be doing in the church, you step out from the line and say “hand me a stone.”  You step in front of the line and say “I will fight the enemy.”  “In the Lord’s name I will defend his army!”

“and he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.”  If David looked silly with Saul’s sword around his waste, how much more with Goliath’s sword.  But would you have said anything to him?

“The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.” 57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head . . .” Do you remember Saul’s words to David? “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy.”  The king had told him that he could not do it, but here David stands with Goliath’s head in his hand.  David never said anything – he just held the head.

Later David will have to run from Saul because he desired to kill him, 1 Samuel 22:10 “Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him [David]; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.” David would carry Goliath’s  sword for most of his life.  The sword was bigger than life, and it would always be a reminder to David of God’s deliverance.   Everywhere we went people would have seen the sword and known that this was the Giant slayer.

Saul asks “Whose son are you, young man?” in other words he is asking, “Whose are you?”  This morning if someone were to ask “whose child are you?” What would you say?  God created you, and He has a plan for your life.  He desires to make you his child.  But there is something that separates us from Him.  It is our choice to rebel and turn form His ways – the Bible calls this sin.

It is like the Grand Canyon with man on one side and God on the other, no matter how hard to jump, you will never be able, in your own strength to get across.  God in his love has provided a bridge across the divide.  Jesus died on the cross, and God took sins penalty off of us and placed it upon His Son.

He did this as a free gift.  This morning if you would like to receive this gift, to be forgiven of all of your sin, and to become His child you can say a prayer something like this:

“Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness.  I believe that You died for my sins.  I want to turn from my sins, I now invite You to come into my heart and life.  I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior.”  In Jesus’ Name

If someone were to ask you – “whose child is this,” what would you say?

 
 

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[1] Robert D. Bergen, The New American Commentary, 1 & 2 Samuel (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman and Holman Publishing, 1996) 195.

[2] Bergen, 195.

[3] Walter Brueggemann, Interpretation, First and Second Samuel (Louisville, Kentucky; John Knox Press, 1990) 132.

[4] Reagan and Mondale presidential debate, where sitting president Reagan’s age was brought up, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoPu1UIBkBc

[5] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 2 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1982) 979.

[6] Malcom Gladwell, David and Goliath (New York, New York; Little, Brown and Company, 2013) 6.

[7] Bergen, 197.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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