Mark - Lesson 11C

• Last week, we spent some time walking through the cursing of the fig tree and how its resulting physical condition was a manifestation of Israel’s internal spiritual condition.

  • That where the fig tree, prior to being cursed, blossomed with a myriad of foliage, it lacked in fruitful production, especially for that time of year.

    • What looked to be a tree full of fruit and promise, exteriorly, turned out to be fruitless and lacking in substance, internally.

    • This very reality for the fig tree, which symbolized Israel and their leaders, nationally, now resulted in “promise without fulfillment” – for a time.

  • We witnessed this heart condition with Jesus in the temple chasing out the money changers and the sellers.

    • The temple, the very heart of worship for Israel, had turned into a den of thieves.

    • That where people should have been coming to commune and worship the Creator God, they chose to engage in deceit and extortion on all levels.

    • Their hearts became calloused to the things and ways of God all in exchange for pleasures of their own liking.

  • Jesus’ example of the fig tree’s condition the following day spoke to Jesus’ seriousness of Israel’s heart condition and their rejection of Him as Messiah.

    • For Pharisaic Judaism professed a righteousness in which they could not uphold.

    • There was a desire to be righteous and an attempt at looking holy, yet inside they were corrupted and rotting with no true hope.

  • The only way in which these hearts could be turned over was by the intervention of God Himself.

    • It would take God the Father sending His Son in the form of a human being, to die on our behalf, so that we could be made right with God.

  • So, although the cursing of the tree seemed like a harsh picture of Israel’s heart, this cursing would not be an eternal one, just for “the period of an age”.

    • For there would come a day, in the future, in which Israel would be restored to its intended Glory and that day would come when (Israel’s) Messiah would “truly” be coronated as King.

  • Tonight, we find ourselves picking up where we left off which was on Tuesday morning, the 12th of Nissan.

    • We arrived to the close of the “Markan sandwich”, where Peter and the disciples are reminded of the fig tree that once had life but was now dead.

    • It will be at this pick up in the text where we will see a private teaching on prayer, faith, and forgiveness for the disciples.

    • And on the other end, we will see a public confronting of Jesus and the religious leaders, as they ask Jesus a deeply rooted question regarding His authority and from whom it comes.

  • As we approach tonight’s text, I want to provide us with an outline of thought as we flow through the teaching.

    • We are going to see the following things:

      • 1. An Assured Trust (v.22-26)

      • 2. A Battle of Questions (v.27-30)

      • 3. A Blatant Rejection of Truth (v.31-33)

  • If I were to put a tag on tonight’s text it would be: “Prayer, Faith, Forgiveness, and Authority”.

    • With that being said, I invite you to open a copy of scripture and meet me in Mark 11:22-33, however we will pick up reading at verse 20 for context.

Mark 11:20 As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 
Mark 11:21 Being reminded, Peter *said to Him, “Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.” 
Mark 11:22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 
Mark 11:23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 
Mark 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 
Mark 11:26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
Mark 11:27 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, 
Mark 11:28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 
Mark 11:29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Mark 11:30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 
Mark 11:31 They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 
Mark 11:32 But shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. 
Mark 11:33 Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

• Let’s Pray

Mark 11:22 And Jesus *answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. 
Mark 11:23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 
Mark 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 
Mark 11:26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

• As we pick up in tonight’s text, I want to review where we are on our timeline within Jesus’ Passion week occurring during the Passover festival.

  • It was in verses 20-21 that Peter and the disciples were reminded of what Jesus said to the fig tree, the day prior.

    • Now Tuesday morning has arrived and the disciples witness what is now a withered Fig Tree from the root up.

    • What began as a simple statement spoken by Jesus, regarding the tree’s illusive traits, was now a reality.

  • It is from this very scene that the disciples seem to be fixated on this very miracle before them.

    • For it’s almost as if in verse 22, that there seems to be some sort of omission of detail from Peter’s initial statement, reflecting on the tree, to Jesus answering the question about what they’re witnessing.

    • There obviously had to be a question that was asked for Jesus to respond the way that He does in verse 22.

  • So, although Mark’s account doesn’t fill in the space for us, we find our answer in Matthew’s account.

    • Turn with me to Matthew 21:20-22 where we find the question asked regarding the fig tree.

Matthew 21:20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 
Matthew 21:21  And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 
Matthew 21:22  And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

• So, the question asked by the disciples, Peter, more specifically, is: “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”

  • So, with that in mind let's go back to Jesus’ answer in Mark 11:22.

  • He answers the question by saying, “Have faith in God.”

  • The question that should arise at this point is: “Why does Mark omit the question that Matthew includes in his account?” Why such an abrupt shift in focus?

    • Well, it seems that with Jesus addressing matters of faith in verse 22 and the disciples being fixated on the miracle itself, that the disciples have misunderstood the point.

    • Where they see Jesus telling them, in Matthew’s account, that they will be able to do what He has done to the fig tree, their focus becomes fixated on the miraculous rather than mundane.

    • In other words, it became about what they could accomplish rather than the One who makes all things possible.

  • Instead of the miracle being the content of the conversation, it is faith that was to be both the content and context.

    • Therefore, we see Jesus respond in the way He does: “Have faith in God!”.

  • So, Jesus redirects the disciples from their intrigue of the miracle to their need of dependency upon the Source by which the power was provided to curse the tree.

    • It is God who is the source by which all things that seem or look impossible, become possible.

    • This very statement that Jesus makes provides the believer with the true source of all power, truth, and authority.

  • I love the “Complete Jewish Bible” translation for verse 22, it reads this way: “Have the kind of trust that comes from God”

    • If I were to say it differently: If God is the object of our faith, then we must be willing to trust that He alone is the source for all we need.

    • This type of trust is an assured trust. One that does not waver because God alone is the source of all things, not a religious position, not beautiful edifices (temple), or even perceived righteousness (external lavishness).

  • Again, Israel’s leaders esteemed their works/deeds, their religiosity, and control as their means of power and authority. (Like the fig tree full of foliage yet no fruit)

    • All the while rejecting the reality that Messiah, promised centuries ago, was before them.

    • So, it’s after this statement that Jesus elaborates on what becomes possible as we behold the object of our faith and trust Him for all the things that seem impossible to do.

    • Check out verses 23-34 again:

Mark 11:23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. 
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 

• Jesus reinforces the notion of the impossible becoming possible by means of emphasizing trust/faith in God is necessary – it’s essential.

  • Remember, the backdrop of the conversation was the withered fig tree.

    • Now, Jesus moves to speak using Hebraic hyperbole by using objects of great familiarity.

  • As Jesus mentions “this mountain” being cast into the sea, it’s important to note where they are standing.

    • They are on the Mount of Olives which is approximately 2,700 feet above sea level; it stands about 300 feet over the city, past the edge of the Temple Mount where the terrain dips into the Kidron Valley

    • From the very top of the Mount of Olives, on a clear day, you can view the Dead Sea, 15 miles to the east—beyond the Judaean desert with the mountains of Moab on the horizon (Finegan, The Archeology of the New Testament, 170).

  • So with the geography in mind and Jesus speaking hyperbolically, it’s clear that He is speaking about the things that are impossible for man are possible with God. (Mark 9:23)

    • That when we seek the Lord in prayer, we must seek the things in which are in His will and not our own.

    • For if we pray for our own means and will to be accomplished, it will always lead to ineffective results.

    • I believe John said it best in 1 John 5:14. Check out the text:

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

• • Don’t miss the keyword here: His Will

  • If we are not careful with our understanding of this passage (v.24), it can be made to become a misguided mystical formula by which people aim to plug in their request to receive whatever their hearts desire.

    • There are many people who assume that whatever they ask, using Jesus’ name, that they can receive it.

    • This “name it and claim it” teaching is not only distorting the gospel, but it makes a mockery of God.

    • For the moment that these “prayer requests” don’t come to pass, the individual feels let down and walks away from the faith.

  • Friends, this is not the point of Jesus’ teaching here. The point made is that our prayers and petitions must be “in harmony with God’s Will.”

    • The moment that our prayers move outside the purview of God’s purposes and plans, we find ourselves ineffective.

    • For experiencing the true power of God always comes through and by communion with knowing His will, by way of the scriptures and yielding to the Spirit.

  • Therefore, we must check our heart’s motives against what the scriptures require.

    • James 4:2-3 says it this way:

James 4:2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 
James 4:3  You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

• Have you considered the fact that you might not be seeing God move in a particular way because you are in your own way?

  • Our prayer time should be heavenly focused with the intent of partnering with God to accomplish His work in the earth.

  • If there was anyone who understood the power of communing with the Father, it was Jesus, Himself.

    • Even when it came down to Jesus being betrayed by Judas and handed over in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was praying.

    • And although He prayed and asked if there could be a different way, being totally submitted to the Father’s will, Jesus says, “Not my will, but thine will be done”

  • Friends, if we desire in knowing God’s will, we must be willing to grow in knowing His word.

    • Notice what Jesus says in conjunction to prayer and faith being essential in seeing God doing the impossible.

    • He states that there are conditions to our prayers being answered. Check out verses 25-26, again.

Mark 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 
Mark 11:26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]

• Mark’s account tells us that answered prayers are intrinsically conditioned on forgiveness.

  • Jesus mentions that as we stand in a posture of prayer, trusting that the Lord will respond to our request, that we must approach in a posture of humility and forgiveness.

    • That where transgressions have been committed, we are moved to forgive, just as God through Christ has forgiven us.

  • Friends, forgiveness becomes foundational in the believer’s prayers being answered.

    • For how can we expect God to respond to our prayer request if we hold ourselves in a pseudo-position of authority, as if we are the judge and executioner?

  • Where there is no forgiveness, the true issue at hand, pride, emerges – and God’s sole means of response to pride is it being crushed.

    • Therefore, forgiveness becomes the inseparable link by which the forgiven believers recognize that he or she has been graciously forgiven by the Divine Forgiver.

    • And because He has forgiven us, for our prayers to be answered, we too must forgive.

  • This very point becomes the emphasis of Mark’s bracketed section in verse 26.

    • As a side note, the scribes inserted this here, as it parallels seamlessly with Jesus’ statement in Matthew 6:15 and Matthew 18:35.

    • It is at this point that Jesus and the disciples proceed to Jerusalem following this powerful moment of teaching regarding prayer, faith, and forgiveness.

    • Check out verses 27-30.

Mark 11:27 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, 
Mark 11:28 and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” 
Mark 11:29 And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Mark 11:30 Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” 

• As was Jesus and the disciples’ pattern during Passover week, they left the Mount of Olives and now arrive in Jerusalem.

  • And as was custom for Jesus, His first stop was the Temple where He would teach. (Matthew’s account mentions this detail.)

    • Based upon Matthew’s account, we can see that while Jesus is teaching the people in the temple, He is approached by two of the three major religious groups – the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

    • And we know this because the chief priest and the elders were members of opposing political systems.

  • So with these opposing groups coming together in unity in an “official capacity” to confront Jesus, it spoke to their growing desire to end Jesus.

    • And as they confront Jesus, they inquire about His credentials as a Rabbi.

  • It’s in verse 28 that they ask Him, “By what authority are you doing “these things” or under who’s authority are you doing these things?”

    • This question was critical and addressed two things: Authority and Truth.

  • In that day, for rabbis to teach, especially within the temple, it required an “official appointment”.

    • In other words, one needed credentials to teach as a rabbi, and it needed to be authorized by a sage of that day.

    • As a matter of fact, these types of credentials exist today. Some churches require men to be licensed or ordained and to have some form of seminary education from an accredited institution.

  • During the 1st century, the teachings of the sages were passed down from one rabbi to the next, as tradition.

    • And the only means of changing these teachings was based only upon the recommendation of well-known rabbis.

    • So, for anyone who did not have the official “seal of approval” from these rabbinical schools of thought were considered non-trusting and pseudo-teachers.

    • Therefore, the religious leader’s current inquiry towards Jesus became one of ill-will and contempt.

  • Two questions emerged from their inquiry:

    • 1. What authority are you doing “these things”?

    • 2. Who gave you this authority to do “these things”?

  • However, there is another question that the text begs to be asked and that is: What are “these things” referring to? Let’s answer this first.

    • “These things” are potentially referring to Jesus’ authoritative expelling of the money changers and sellers out of the Temple because the Temple belongs to Him – it is His Divine Right.

    • However, if these religious leaders recognized who He was, this question wouldn’t even be a concern.

    • Secondly, “these things” are in direct connection with His Divine authority to teach because He (Jesus) is the very word of God.

  • So at the core, the religious leaders’ question is in regards to authority, more specifically, who authorized His teaching and works.

    • The very basis of their question drips with pride as if they were the establishers of the Law.

  • In their eyes, they held the political, social, economic, and religious power.

    • However, despite the power struggle at play here, Jesus provides a counter-question that is meant to push these men into a corner they couldn’t escape.

  • This question addresses the authority question they seek, yet the question Jesus retorts with will be one that they must face, head on.

    • What I love about Jesus and the Gospel message is that it confronts us all with transcendental truth that cannot be avoided.

    • One will either respond to truth in full submission or they will push against it in blatant rejection.

  • So, in verse 29, Jesus responds by saying, “Was the Baptism of John from heaven, or from men?”

    • In other words, was the baptism of John of heavenly origin or of human origin?

  • To understand where Jesus is getting at regarding the Baptism of John, I want to briefly go back a few chapters to see what the baptism of John was.

    • Turn with me to Mark 1:4-5.

Mark 1:4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 
Mark 1:5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

• This Baptism of John was a Baptism of repentance (Capital R). This baptism was central in the people being made ready to receive their Messiah.

  • Remember, this repentance is dealing with a “change of mind”, meaning that there is recognition of the things in which you have done and a set position of the heart that is contrary to God’s ways and will.

  • Once that is recognized, based upon the illumination of God’s Spirit in light of our own selfish nature, it causes us to seek forgiveness.

  • In other words, we recognize that wrong has been done and that we must be made right with Holy God.

  • So being that we have a refresher on what the baptism was, we must now understand the significance of John’s ministry and why John is key to this question of who’s authority Jesus is coming in.

    • John’s gospel speaks boldly to who John the Baptizer’s ministry was pointing to and from whom that authority came from. Check out John 1:6-13.

John 1:6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 
John 1:7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 
John 1:8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 
John 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

• John’s Gospel states that he was sent from God.

  • The Baptizer’s role in his ministry was to prepare the hearts of the people to receive their King.

  • We also see God as the Initiator and Supreme Authority speaking about John the Baptizer as “a messenger preparing the way of the Lord” in Mark 1:2-3.

Mark 1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way;
Mark 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.’”

• When we understand historically that the very last voice of the prophets was over 400 years prior, John’s very message of a coming Messiah and preparing to make way for Him, was a Messianic sounding alarm.

  • So, with the people seeing John as a prophet introducing Jesus as the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world, the people held him in high regard.

  • As a matter of fact, this was the hesitancy of Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist, because he knew that John was well known, yet Herod himself refused to submit to the message or repentance that John proclaimed.

  • Therefore, how the religious leaders handled the ministry of John would determine where their hearts were, even now regarding Jesus’ ministry.

    • Watch how the religious leaders respond to Jesus’ question. Check out verse 31-33.

Mark 11:31 They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 
Mark 11:32 But shall we say, ‘From men’?”—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. 
Mark 11:33 Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

• Notice that the religious leaders’ discussion regarding this counter-question is not done publicly, but rather it is discussed amongst themselves, in secret.

  • What we should find most interesting is that the content of their discussion is divorced from truly answering correctly.

    • It is almost as if they’d rather plead the fifth than face the truth.

  • There are only two responses that exist:

    • 1. Either respond by acknowledging that John’s ministry was of heavenly origin thereby admitting that Jesus is Messiah and stand self-condemned.

    • 2. Deny that John’s ministry is of heavenly origin all the while risking their credibility with the people (who believe John to be a prophet) while also standing self-condemned for rejecting God’s messenger.

  • It was a situation that these men were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    • The reality was, these religious leaders should have been the ones leading the people into right knowledge and supporting John’s ministry, not condemning it. (Discrediting themselves)

    • So with this trap question Jesus gives, it forces their hand.

  • Friends, the Gospel always demands a response! You will either come to the realization that Jesus is who He is, or you remain in darkness.

    • There is no in-between.

    • Denying the very ministry of John the Baptist was ultimately denying the means by which God prepared to send His Son to the people of Israel.

  • I want you to understand the big thing that is happening in Mark 11.

    • There is both anticipation but also coming movement of great rejection by the people who do not want to submit to truth.

    • Even today, everybody wants their own truth, not to respond or submit to THE truth.

      • We do it our way, says Frank Sinatra.

      • Let’s pray for us to accept God’s truth.

Citations:

• Nathan Brasfield, “Olives, Mount of,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

• John D. Grassmick, “Mark,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 159.