SERIES: WALKING WITH JESUS
“WHO IS THIS SERVANT?”
MARK 11:1-12:44
OPEN
Today we begin to look at the last week of Jesus’ earthly life. In chronological time, we are only a few days from his crucifixion. We learn more about Jesus and how people responded to him in these events than we do anywhere else.
THE SERVANT KING
Mk. 11:1-6 – “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will
find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, Why are you doing this? tell him, The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, some people standing there asked, ‘What are you doing,
untying that colt?’ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go.”
At this point, Jesus begins to change how he does things. In every other recorded instance, Jesus either walked to where he wanted go or rode in a boat to cross water. At least in one instance, he even walked on the water.
Now he gives orders to two of his disciples to retrieve the colt of a donkey on which he would ride into Jerusalem. Jesus has specific purposes in mind. First, it’s a fulfillment of prophecy. Zech. 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Mark does not mention this prophecy because he is writing to a Gentile audience with no background in Old Testament prophecies.
Second, Jesus declares himself publicly to be the Messiah. In other instances, Jesus instructs his disciples to remain quiet about who he is. He now wants it made public.
We have two excellent examples of obedience in this event. First, the two disciples do what Jesus asks them to do without question. They simply do what Jesus requests. How often do we respond to what Jesus is asking us to do in simple obedience without fuss and without complaint?
The second example of obedience is found in the owners of the colt. Their simple obedience brought glory to God. If Jesus said today, “I have need of what you have,” would you let him have it? Would you be willing to surrender it like the owners of this donkey? Would you let him take it and use it for however long he needed it or would hold onto it because you might need it?
Mk. 11:7-10 – “When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people
spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead
and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the
coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!’”
It was customary for people in Israel to welcome a king by laying their outer garments on the road. It would be similar to our concept of “rolling out the red carpet.” Another custom was to wave palm branches. It was a symbol of Jewish patriotism..
The people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” The word Hosanna means, “Save now!” It comes from Ps. 118:25-26a – “O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” Psalm 118 was considered a Messianic psalm – meaning it pointed to God’s Promised One.
Jesus allowed the crowd to welcome him in this way because he was affirming his kingship as the Son of David. In our day, we do not think of a donkey as the preferred transportation for royalty. But in biblical times, it was. In 1 Kings 1, David announces that Solomon has been chosen to replace him as king of Israel. David orders that Solomon be placed on a donkey to ride to his anointing as king. In biblical times, a king would ride a horse when he came as warrior. He would ride a donkey when he came as an ambassador of peace.
The people shouted, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
Although the crowd greeted Jesus as their king, they didn’t understand his kingship. His was a spiritual kingdom, not a physical one. They expected their Messiah to rid their land of the rule of the Romans and to re-establish the glory of Israel as it was in the days of David and Solomon.
When the crowd cried, “Hosanna – save us now!” I wonder if Jesus thought, “That is exactly why I am here. I have come to give my life as a ransom for many. My blood will be your salvation.”
Next we see a bit of a baffling statement. Mk. 11:11 – “Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He
looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.” Doesn’t that seem to be an anti-climax of the day? After his royal greeting, Jesus comes into Jerusalem and goes to the temple. He just looks around but decides it’s late and went to Bethany to spend the night. Understand that Jesus is not done. There is much more to come.
THE SERVANT JUDGE
Mk. 11:12-14 – “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig
tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it
was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it.”
Here is more behavior that seems out of character for Jesus. But here we have what we have referred to earlier as a “Markan sandwich”. This passage is the top layer of two stories into which a third story is inserted. Things will become clearer in a moment.
Mk. 11:15-19 – “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 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.’ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for
they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city.”
This is the second time that Jesus cleans the temple. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he came to Jerusalem at Passover time. We see this particular visit recorded in Jn. 2:13-22. Jesus did the same thing at the beginning of his ministry as he did at the end. But it didn’t take the religious leaders very long to allow the status quo to return to practices at the temple.
Jesus was upset about two things. The first thing was that the temple was being used to cheat people. All Jewish males were required to pay a temple tax. That tax had to be paid in the Jewish currency and not the Roman currency. When the money was exchanged, a high fee was charged and the chief priests got a cut from the operation.
Also, sacrifices had to be made. The animals brought to the temple for this purpose were usually found to be blemished for some reason or another. Proper animals could be bought from merchants there at the temple. Again, the cost of these animals was much higher than bringing your own or purchasing one to bring. And again, the chief priests got a cut of this enterprise.
The second thing that upset Jesus was that these enterprises were being conducted in the Court of the Gentiles. Remember that the temple was constructed out of several courts. The first court was the Court of the Gentiles. Everyone could come to this outer court. This where the Gentile could learn about the one true God and could pray to this one true God. The disregard of this area of the temple as a place of worship and prayer was a bad witness to the Gentiles.
Before we look with disdain at the Jewish religious leaders for their practices, we need to examine our own. Do the outsiders in our community think of our building as a house of prayer? Are all nationalities welcome here? If the Lord Jesus were to show up in our house of worship, what changes would he make?
Mk. 11:20-26 – “In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter
remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’”
Now we learn the message of the fig tree. This passage is the bottom layer of the “Markan sandwich.” As we said earlier, the cursing and death of this fig tree seems out of character with what we know about Jesus. Besides the pigs in the events of the healing of the demon-possessed man in Gerasene, this is the only time in his earthly ministry where Jesus does something that produces death.
When we look at the cursing of the fig tree, the events that take place at the temple, and what happens here, we see Jesus’ lesson. The fig tree symbol of temple: lots of activity, the appearance of life, but no fruit.
The fig tree and the cleansing of the temple demonstrate the sad condition of the nation of Israel. Despite its many privileges and opportunities, God’s people were outwardly fruitless and inwardly corrupt.
In the Old Testament prophetic books, the fig tree is consistently presented as a symbol of Israel. Jesus was telling God’s people that they were nothing but leaves. They had dried up from the root.
Jesus instructs us in Jn. 15:5-8 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in
me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory,
that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Jesus teaches another lesson in this section. It concerns faith and prayer. It seems what will dry us up faster than anything is a lack of faith and prayer.
Faith in God means that you believe that nothing is impossible with God. In ancient times, mountains signified something strong and immovable – a problem that stand in the way. We talk to God believing he can do anything. Real prayer is part of our constant communion with God and our continuing worship of God.
Of course, we can’t forget that this is the only lesson on prayer that Jesus taught. We must be consistent with the rest of the word of God. Our prayers must be according to the will of God. The concept of prayer is that we are trusting God to do what is best and we are seeking to do the will of God.
Jesus also teaches us that faithful prayer also involves forgiveness. Remember, he taught in the Sermon on the Mount, that we are to pray “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus then explained that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.
THE SERVANT PROPHET
Mk. 11:27-33 – “They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ‘By what authority are you doing these
things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you authority to do this?’ Jesus replied, ‘I will ask you one question.
Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism—was it from heaven,
or from men? Tell me!’ They discussed it among themselves and said, ‘If we say, From heaven,' he will ask, Then why didn't you believe him? But if we say, From men....’ (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, ‘We don't know.’ Jesus said, ‘Neither will I tell you by
what authority I am doing these things.’”
When our kids were smaller, the older ones would tell the smaller ones what to do. The younger ones would respond, “You’re not the boss of me!” That’s what was happening here. These members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, came to challenge Jesus’ authority.
Surprisingly, they were doing their job. They had the right and responsibility to check out anybody who claimed to be sent by God. They just didn’t do their job with the right attitude or with sincere motives. They were simply looking for a way to discredit Jesus and provide a means for them to arrest him.
Jesus basically says, “I’ll answer your question if you answer one of mine.” Then Jesus asks them about John the Baptist. Would they say that his authority was from heaven or from men?
Instead of trapping Jesus, they saw that any way they answered, they were stepping into what seemed to them a trap. Mark says they talked about what they should answer. They recognized if they said that John’s ministry was authorized from heaven, then they would be confronted with the fact that they had failed to heed John’s teaching.
Worse than that, if they admitted that John’s teaching came with heaven’s authorization, they would have to recognize that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus could simply point out that John had publicly recognized Jesus as the Promised One of God and “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” And if John’s teaching had heavenly authorization, Jesus needed no further credentials.
If they said John’s ministry was not heavenly authorized, they would have to deal with the wrath of the people because they believed that John was a prophet from God. So they simply declared themselves to be agnostics in the matter. They said, “We don’t know.” Jesus basically replied, “If you won’t answer my question, I’m not going to answer yours.” Before they could get away, Jesus told them a parable that illustrated where their sins were leading them.
Mk. 12:1-12 – “He then began to speak to them in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall
around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit
of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, They will respect my son. But the tenants said to one another, This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven't you read this scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’ Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.”
Like the fig tree, the vineyard was a common Old Testament symbol of Israel. In this parable, God is the owner. The vineyard is the people of Israel. The tenant farmers are the leaders of Israel. The servants are the prophets. And Jesus is the son.
Jesus clearly predicts his own death in this parable. Thinking they will get rid of the problem, they kill the son. But Jesus warns them that the owner of the vineyard would bring justice for what had been done.
Jesus then returns to the Messianic psalm quoted by the crowd as they greeted his entrance in Jerusalem – Psalm 118. They had not only rejected the Son, they had also rejected the Stone. The rejection of Jesus meant the rejection of God’s plan. Mark describes that the Jewish leaders understood Jesus’ meaning in the parable and sought to arrest him but were afraid of the crowd.
Mk. 12:13-17 – “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, ‘Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because
you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you
trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.’ They brought the coin, and he asked
them, ‘Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar's,’ they replied. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.’ And they were amazed at him.”
You can tell the Jewish leaders have worked on this plan. They think they’ve got Jesus cornered. If he supports the Romans, he loses his followers who oppose the Roman government. If he speaks against the Roman government, he can be arrested and tried by the Romans. Jesus, of course, recognized the trap.
The question concerns paying taxes. Paying taxes has never been popular but it has always been necessary. Jesus asked for a coin and then asked about whose portrait and inscription were on the coin. They had to admit that it was Caesar’s portrait and inscription. Jesus simply told them, “If it belongs to Caesar, then give him what is his due.” The Bible clearly teaches that government is a necessary and God-ordained.
But Jesus also said, “You must also give to God what is his due.” Jesus said basically that there are things that we owe the government as citizens of whatever country we live in. But he also reminded us that we have obligations to God as well.
Mk. 12:18-27 – “Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the
resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?’ Jesus replied, ‘Are you not in error
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor
be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising—have you not read in
the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!’”
This is the only place in the Gospel of Mark that mentions the Sadducees. They were a group among the Jews who only accepted the Law of Moses (the first five books of the Bible) as their religious authority. This group also had some thing they did not believe. They did not believe in the existence of the soul, life after death, resurrection, final judgment, and angels and demons. Most of the Sadducees were wealthy aristocrats who belonged to the families of the chief priests.
One of their problems was that they were ignorant concerning the power of God. God has the power to resurrect anyone he chooses. Jesus had brought back to life Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widowed lady from the town of Nain, and of course, Lazarus, after he had been dead four days.
Their other problem is that there were ignorant concerning the Scriptures. They thought they knew what it said but they really didn’t. Since the question had to do with the resurrection, the Sadducees thought that their reason disproved the resurrection. Jesus points out to them that the very books of the Bible they recognized as being authoritative taught that there was life after death. God is not the God of dead people. God is the God of the living. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive.
Mk. 12:28-34 – “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most
important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ ‘Well said, teacher,’ the man replied. ‘You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all
your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him,
‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”
There is a teacher of the law who hears Jesus’ discourse with the Sadducees. He is intrigued by how Jesus answers their question. He wonders how Jesus will answer his question.
The Jewish rabbis had determined that the Jews were obligated to obey 613 commandments – 365 negative ones (thou shalt nots) and 248 (thou shalt…).One of their favorite things to do was to discuss which one of these commandments was the greatest.
Jesus responded that the greatest commandments had to do with love. Loving God with everything you have and everything you are. The second most important was love others the way you love yourself. In another gospel account, Jesus adds the statement that all of the other commandments are dependent on these two.
This teacher of the law was impressed by what Jesus said. He saw the wisdom of God. Jesus told him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Jesus was telling this man that he now knew what he needed to know. Now he had to make a decision. Do I follow what I know to be right? In the next passage, Jesus tells us what is right – to accept him as God’s Son and our Savior.
Mk. 12:35-37 – “While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that the teachers of the
law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. David himself calls him Lord. How
then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him with delight.”
Again, Jesus quotes from a psalm connected with the coming of the Messiah. David’s son (the Messiah) would also be David’s Lord. Jesus was God come to earth in human flesh.
Jesus’ question here is the most important question of all – far more important than any question asked by his enemies. Who is the Messiah? What do you think of him? Peter had answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”
Mk. 12:38-40 – “As he taught, Jesus said, ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around
in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and
the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.’”
Jesus points out the hypocrisy of those who thought they had it all together. I had it all together one time but I forgot where I put it.
Mk. 12:41-44 – “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow
came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him,
Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave
out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’”
A.W. Tozer: “Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done but by how much I could have done!... In God’s sight, my giving is measured not by how much I have given but how much I have left after I made my gift… Not by its size is my gift judged, but by how much of me there is in it. No man gives at all until he has given all! No man gives anything acceptable to God until he has first given himself in love and sacrifice.”
CLOSE
In our study through the Gospel of Mark, we have seen the biggest question that people have had to answer for themselves is, “Who is this Jesus?” Many answers have been given. Very few have been right.
One of the problems is that we have tended to make Jesus into the Jesus we want. Jared Wilson in Your Jesus is too Safe: “No man is probably more misunderstood than Jesus…We’ve spent decades selling a Jesus cast in our own image…The quasi-Puritan Jesus liked to smack you on the knuckles with a ruler when you got out of line. Later, we received Postcard Jesus – the Coppertoned, blond-haired blank-stare Jesus of the gold-framed portrait, a bland two-dimensional portrait occupying moral tales that help us to be better people. This flat portrait evolved into a Get-Out-of-Hell-Free Jesus, and this Jesus has inspired millions to say a prayer to get his forgiveness – and then go on living lives devoid of his presence….Today we have an amalgamation of all – and more – of these Jesuses running rampant in the world and in the church…We’ve settled for the glossy portrait. We’ve used him, made him into types and stereotypes, taken his message out of context and made it about being a better person or being cool or helping us to help ourselves.”
