SCRIPTURE: Mark 11
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
And as he taught them, he said, “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.’” [Mark 11:17]
Why does Jesus curse the fig tree?
The tree wasn’t at fault, it wasn’t the season for fruit.
Is the mounting pressure as they approach Jerusalem getting to Jesus?
Does He have anger management issues?
Look at Him in the temple, what about patience or self-control as the fruit of the Spirit?
The answer lies in who Jesus is (the messiah, authorized by God to judge and restore Israel), and where He is (Jerusalem, God’s fig tree [Hosea 9:10; Micah 7:1-4; Nahum 3:12], from whom God expected the fruit of faith and obedience).
The cleansing of the temple is sandwiched between the cursing of the fig tree, and the discussion regarding the withered fig tree.
This is an acted-out parable, a picture of God’s anger and frustration with His people.
The temple as a den of robbers is the exact opposite of what God intended it to be, a place of blessing for the nations.
God sets up Israel to be a place where all people can be restored to God.
The house of prayer for all nations is another way of saying that God’s desire is that all people be restored to Him in loving fellowship.
But Israel (and the church today) often become barriers to God’s blessing.
They hinder, rather than help, people from finding God.
They are focused on their own advantage, blessing.
They see their selection by God as a privilege rather than a responsibility.
The fruit that God expects from us is grace, mercy, love, compassion, generosity, justice.
Instead we are often as self-centered, self-serving, self-motivated as the world around us.
And though God is often patient, the time does come when He releases His anger and justice, and punishes His fruitless, loveless people.
Today we need to ask ourselves whether the church (modern day Israel) is a place for the nations, or a den of robbers?
Being a house of prayer is not just a call for the church to pray, but a call to reach out to the nations so that they too can be restored to God.
This includes prayer on the part of the church, but involves so much more – sharing the blessing of God with all people! Question, is church as we experience it more focused on serving its own needs, or on sharing the blessings of God with others?
PRAYER:
Lord, make us fruitful, blessing everyone we meet everyday, with Your love.
Growing, but . . . no fruit.
The Christian must produce good fruit as described by the fruit of the Spirit. Yet the practices of the day in the church by the religious leaders were far from the fruit it needed to bear. God’s house was being used for business – making a profit by selling goods and exchanging money. The religious leaders saw Jesus as competition and they started looking for ways to kill Him. They were rooted in themselves and not in His Word. Just as the fig tree withered from the root up so too the church leaders.
In order to grow, I need to be rooted in the Word like the tree planted by the riverside being fed by the living water. Then I can live in the JOY principle – Jesus first, Others second and myself last – so that my way in never self seeking but I am a SONseeker.
I saw a tree by the riverside one day as I walked along.
Straight as an arrow and pointing to the sky growing tall and strong.
“How do you grow so tall and strong?” I said to the riverside tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.
I saw a tree in the wintertime, when snow lay on the ground.
Straight as an arrow and pointing to the sky winter winds blew all around.
“How do you stay so tall and strong?” I said to the wintertime tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.
I saw a tree in the city streets, where buildings blocked the sun.
Green and lovely I could see it gave joy to everyone.
“How do you grow in the city streets?” I said to the downtown tree.
This is the song my tree friend sang to me:
Chorus:
I’ve got roots growing down to the water,
I’ve got leaves growing up to the sunshine,
and the fruit that I bear is a sign of the life in me.
I am shade from the hot summer sundown.
I am nest for the birds of the heavens.
I’m becoming what the Lord of trees has meant me to be:
A strong young tree.