Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign
[00:00:04] Speaker B: M welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day.
Thank you for joining us as we study the Word of God. Together, we continue our journey through the Book of Mark. And we are now in the last week of Jesus life.
Last time we saw him riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and there were many who recognized him as king. However, as we know, there were some who did not like him or what he was doing. Jesus was a major threat to their system, and they felt the need to stop him at all costs.
Today's lesson is one of the factors that led to his crucifixion.
Our title is Fruitless Religion, and we will look at the extreme reaction of the religious leaders. Why did they have such a strong desire to destroy Jesus?
Here was the Messiah, the one they had been looking for. Yet all they wanted was his destruction. Let's go with J. Mark to Mark, chapter 11 and learn more about this false religious system.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: Some people think religion is a bad word, but it's not.
Its simple meaning is service and worship of God or the supernatural.
And yet we do know that religion can become an empty form, something a person does with little or no internal conviction.
It can become a series of empty rituals, empty of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, and more.
Our text for this time is Mark, chapter 11, verses 12 to 21. And I've titled our study Fruitless Religion. So listen as I read the text, mark chapter 11, beginning with verse 12.
Now, the next day when they came out from Bethany, he was hungry 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.
In response, Jesus said to it, let no one eat fruit from you ever again?
And his disciples heard it.
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.
And he would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
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.
And the scribes and the chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy him, because they feared him. For all the people were astonished at his teaching.
And when evening had come, he went out of the city.
Now in the Morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots and, and Peter, remembering, said to him, rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered away.
This portion of Mark's gospel reveals several warnings about fruitless religion that should cause all of us who profess faith in God to re evaluate our lives.
The first warning about fruitless religion is a desirable appearance.
So after resting in Bethany on Sunday night, Jesus and his disciples walked toward Jerusalem. They must not have had breakfast because Jesus was hungry.
As they walked, Jesus saw a lone fig tree off in the distance. Perhaps the rising sun was glinting off its leaves.
Now, uh, usually when a fig tree has leaves, the fruit is present too, because the fruit appears before the leaves.
So when Jesus saw the tree, he expected to find something to eat, even though, as Mark tells us, it wasn't the time of year for figs. But when the small group of men reached the tree, there was abundant foliage, there were many leaves, but there was no fruit, neither new or old.
And Jesus expressed his disappointment by cursing the tree. He said, let no one eat fruit from you ever again.
What's happening here?
Well, in the Hebrew scriptures, God used the fig tree to symbolize the nation of Israel.
The prophet Hosea wrote these.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first fruits on the fig tree in its first season.
In Matthew 24, 32 and 33 we read, now learn this parable from the fig tree.
When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
So also when you see all these things, know that it is near at the doors.
And so religiously, Israel had a desirable appearance in Jesus time.
Herod had spent many years and lots of money beautifying the temple. It was one of the wonders of the ancient world.
And the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they followed the letter of the law.
The sacrifices and the offerings were offered on the proper days, and they were offered in the correct ways.
But, you know, not everything was well. There were only leaves. There was no real fruit.
And this is the message that Jesus wanted the disciples and us to understand.
The celebration of the previous day, the triumphal entry, was only so much show.
The emotional expectation of the moment faded quickly because there was little or no substance underneath it to support was not yet the time for figs.
Now, I know that what is recorded here primarily deals with Israel as a nation and the disciples of Jesus in particular.
But there's a lesson for you and me too.
Do we have a Fruitless religion that's characterized by good looks. We look good on the outside, like Adam and Eve. Maybe we're attempting to hide our corrupt spiritual condition by covering ourselves with fig leaves, garments of our own making.
Are we going through the motions of worship while our hearts are far from God?
Those questions call for serious contemplation. And they lead us to the following warning that Jesus gave about fruitless religion. That is a devastating appraisal.
So now the scene changes to the temple in Jerusalem. The part of the temple Jesus entered was the court of the Gentiles. That was the largest part. It was about 50 meters by 350 meters. It covered about 35 acres, or 14 hectares.
The temple authorities had prohibited the use of the temple's outer court as a shortcut from the city to the Mount of Olives. But that rule was neglected, and this irreverent conduct stirred the spirit of Jesus.
Mark alone includes this detail.
The religious leaders had turned this area into a stockyard. It was impractical for many worshipers who came from a distance to bring an animal with them. So instead, they brought money that they needed to the market to buy the animal. Now, unfortunately, the animal's prices were inflated because the sellers knew the buyers didn't have many options.
And further, the money that the people carried may have differed from what was accepted in Jerusalem. And so you had a need for money changers.
Again, the exchange rates were exorbitant, and the money changers grew wealthy at the expense of the worshipers.
These exchanges of animals and money were taking place in the court of the Gentiles.
Jesus saw all of this taking place, and he was deeply moved.
This was the substance behind the cursing of the fig tree. It was religious activity that produced no fruit of righteousness in the lives of the people.
And so Jesus assumes and exercises his messianic authority and opposes this religious and financial abuse.
He enters the temple, he drives out the buyers and the sellers. He overturns the money changers tables, and he upset the chairs of those who were selling doves. And he forbade anyone from carrying merchandise through the temple court.
And then he quoted an Old Testament scripture, Isaiah, uh, 56, 7.
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
But he wasn't finished. He issued this devastating appraisal. You have made it a hideout of robbers.
Now, some translations, even the one I read at the beginning, say, a den of thieves. But Mark chose the word for robbers. And this fits what Jesus describes, because that's what was happening in the temple market.
Jesus said that all nations should have access to this house of prayer that goes all the way back to God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to the whole world.
The Gentiles were being excluded from the house of God by the corruption of the covenant people of God.
And Jesus was not pleased.
Is this possible in our time?
Can those who profess to be the people of God hinder the irreligious from learning to know God in a personal way?
The final warning then, about fruitless religion is a dramatic reaction.
As you know or maybe can imagine, Jesus actions triggered a dramatic reaction.
The religious leaders kept looking for a way to destroy him.
And you know, this desire to kill Jesus began very early in his ministry. If we go all the way back to Mark, chapter three, after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees plotted how they would kill him.
These leaders were afraid of Jesus and they were afraid of the people.
The triumphal entry had shown his appeal to the ordinary people. And even now the people in the temple are astonished at what Jesus is doing and teaching.
And so the leaders knew that if they tried to arrest Jesus openly, there would be a riot. And if that happened, then they would have to give an account of their failure to control the crowd to the Roman authorities.
After Jesus and the disciples had spent the night in Bethany, they returned to Jerusalem the following morning.
And on their way they passed the fig tree that Jesus had cursed.
And Peter remembered the incident. And he said, rabbi, look. The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.
It was withered down to the roots. In other words, it had dried up completely. The disciples saw that the tree Jesus had cursed had shriveled up at its roots.
It was worthy only of being cast into the fire. It would never bear fruit again.
The only possible use of it, as John the Baptist prophesied, would be for firewood. Cut it down, burn it. And that burning was not far off for the nation of Israel.
We see that the people of Jesus Day provoked him to righteous indignation. He entered the temple and he was furious at what he found there.
He cared what these people were doing. And so his condemnation provoked a violent reaction.
Now, sadly, instead of taking Jesus message to heart and allowing that message to change them, they m plotted to kill him.
In a few days, the religious leaders would mock Jesus while he hung on the cross.
They thought they were finally rid of him and his band of zealous followers.
But you know and I know they were mistaken.
In a few short decades, the fruitless fig tree was cut down. Burned in the fire and it lay lifeless for centuries.
But I must tell you, that's not the end of the story.
God has a plan for Israel's future.
But I ask, how is it with you? Do you have a desirable religious appearance?
Is there fruit to be found or is it just leaves?
What is Jesus appraisal of your worship?
Is your hypocrisy keeping others from seeking and finding Jesus?
What's your reaction to the appraisal of Jesus?
Are you willing to allow him to change you through His Spirit and His Word?
If not, your experience will be like the Pharisees. You will be in danger of being cut down, cast into the fire.
Now is an appropriate time to consider whether my religion is fruitless or bears the fruit of the Spirit. As it's detailed for me in Galatians chapter five and, uh, verses 22, 26.
It is worth your consideration also.
[00:13:06] Speaker B: Those are good questions for us to think about. Thank you. J. Mark as we look back on those religious leaders, we can see how they were mistaken.
Can we also take a step back and look at our culture? Is there a dangerous system in place?
Every culture must come to Jesus and allow him to fix us. When the Spirit convicts me, how do I respond?
God help us. Take the example of these religious leaders to heart and then do the exact opposite.
If you'd like to respond to any of these questions, or if you have anything you'd like to share with us, we'd love to hear it. You can contact us by email or online.
Our Email address is hopeheraldsofhope.org and our website is heraldsofhope.org we look forward to hearing from you.
This was hope for today, and we're glad you were with us for today's lesson. Today we heard a lot about being fruitless.
I'll close with the verse from Galatians that describes the fruit we should be producing.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.
Against such there is no law.
Go and be fruitful.
