That’s what all of this thick symbolism is designed to say. From riding on the colt, to cursing the false fig tree, to turning over the tables, Jesus is attempting to remind God’s people what the temple was for. It’s not for show. The size was fine. What provoked him was the substitution of hustle and bustle, of all kinds of economic/spiritual activity for the real purpose of the temple, which was to gather people to pray, to worship, to obey the living God.
The Fig Tree, the Temple, and Prayer
Mark 11
June 17, 2018 • Joe Rigney
More from
Mark
Raised for Restoration
July 29, 2018 • Joshua Foster Sr
Christianity’s hope isn’t that we’ll simply go to heaven when we die. It’s not that that’s a wrong statement but it’s just incomplete. The resurrection gives us hope in all those stories that Jesus has told about God’s kingdom, all of those prophecies of old in the scriptures proclaiming that there will be a time when all things will be made right, that there will be a world where there is no death, and where there are no tears.
The Suffering of Jesus
July 22, 2018 • Kevin Kleiman
In these moments on the cross, Jesus is drinking that cup. He’s draining it to the bottom. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that “For our sake [God] made him to be sin,” and in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” So Jesus is being treated by God as Sin itself, as a very Curse to be wiped out. And it is for our sake.
What Gethsemane Says to Us
July 15, 2018 • Joe Rigney
Here is why this matters to you. This is the most faithful human being who ever lived. Beloved son of a happy father. And he’s coming to God, believing. “All things are possible for you.” And he is praying a big, bold prayer to a sovereign God. “If it’s possible, let the hour pass. Remove this cup from me.” And God doesn’t take the cup away. He doesn’t let the hour pass. The man came to Jesus and said, “If you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus said, “I will.” And then Jesus came to his Father and said, “If you will, let it pass.” And his Father said, “I won’t.”