I remember working for the YMCA afterschool program during two of my years at seminary. I was part of a staff that supervised children until their parents got off work and picked the kids up. Inevitably, once a month or so, a kid would look me in the eye after I told them to do something and say, “You can’t tell me what to do. You are not my parent!”
If you’ve ever worked in a situation with kids, you’ve probably been told the same thing. It’s a question of authority. The kid is basically saying, “You don’t have authority over me. You don’t have the authority to tell me what to do.”
My response was pretty simple. I’d look that kid straight in the eye and say, “Yep, you are right. I am not your parent, but your parents paid me a lot of money to look after you and make sure you are safe. Therefore, you will listen to me, and if you don’t like it, we will go and call your parents right now.” That response always did the trick. Never even had to pick up the phone.
Jesus didn’t necessarily have that luxury. When His authority was questioned, He had to resort to quite a different method, but it was a method that worked.
Jesus and His disciples returned to the temple the day after Jesus upset the apple cart by turning over the tables of the money changers and those selling sacrificial animals. Remember, in the last two weeks, I explained how the chief priests had sought to tap into the lucrative market for selling such animals. They had allowed merchants to set up in the only available space in the temple–the courtyard of the Gentiles thereby excluding the Gentiles from worshiping the one, true God. Jesus exposed them for their blatant disregard of the commandments of God, their greed, and their desire to have the safety, security, and freedom that money can buy. Jesus showed how the deepest desire of their hearts was not to introduce people to the God of Israel, but the god of wealth and riches. But in exposing this, Jesus had crossed several man-made boundaries.
You see, when it came to activities done within the Temple, everything was cleared or sanctioned by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. This group collectively was called the Sanhedrin. Craig Evans says this about them in his biblical commentary, “The Sanhedrin had a broader legislative and judicial jurisdiction but the high priest and his ranking priestly associates possessed ultimate authority on the Temple Mount, an authority to which in many respects even the Romans deferred.” Think about that for a second. The Sanhedrin exercised such control over the temple grounds that even the Roman occupying forces generally left them alone. That’s quite a bit of power. That’s a lot of power, actually.
And the Sanhedrin exercised that power to the extent that they could literally take another person’s life for violating the temple rules. Remember a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about a sign that was hung on the wall separating the Gentiles area of worship from the Jewish areas of worship. That sign was printed in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin, and it read, “No foreigner may enter within the railing and enclosure that surround the Temple. Anyone apprehended shall have himself to blame for his consequent death.” Nowhere that I know of in our nation is such a thing practiced. I mean, I’ve known of situations in churches where people got really upset for moving a baptismal font or scandalized because someone suggested changing the color scheme or what have you, but I know of no church where someone was put to death for stepping on a particular rule. The Sanhedrin could do exactly that!!
And Jesus didn’t exactly consult with the Sanhedrin when He entered into the temple and upset the marketplace. Jesus didn’t consult with the Sanhedrin when He walked around the temple and taught people in the temple. Jesus wasn’t following the proper procedures. He hadn’t gotten permission. So, a contingent from the Sanhdrin confronted Him. “By what authority are you doing these things? By whose authority are you doing these things?”
At this point, you might wonder why the Sanhedrin was even asking these questions. I mean, if they wielded so much power, why didn’t they just arrest Jesus and get it over with. Remember, this was the festival of the Passover. The city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims there to celebrate. Jesus had endeared Himself to that crowd by his actions, so the Sanhedrin was afraid of the crowd. They were afraid that if they did arrest Jesus, a riot would ensue. If a riot ensued, then the Romans, who usually stayed out of temple business, would make it their business and perhaps remove them from power. Fear is a tremendous motivator, and it causes you to be cautious. The Sanhedrin was being very cautious hoping to trap Jesus with this question. Again, we turn to Craig Evans for some insight here. Evans says, “Either Jesus admitted his conduct was unauthorized, which would have made him publically vulnerable, or he claimed a right superseding that of the ruling priests, a claim that would have made him politically vulnerable. In either case, his conduct would then have provided a basis for a more formal proceeding against him, without fear of the crowd.”
Jesus, of course, sees through the trap. He knows the game. But Jesus is a rabbi. He is a teacher. Everyone knows that, so in true rabbinic fashion, Jesus sets up a counterquestion. “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” Jesus actually assumes a position of power when He asks this question. The question itself is bad enough, but when Jesus says, “Answer me!!” it really comes across as borderline disrespectful. It’s almost as though Jesus holds the Sanhedrin in contempt. But there is a method to Jesus’ madness. There is a reason behind what He says, and we will see that momentarily.
The representatives from the Sanhedrin begin arguing amongst themselves. This is a very interesting comment that Mark includes. I mean, think about this for just a second. How would Mark know the inner discussions and inner arguments of this group of people? They would not have argued this aloud because it would have been quite embarrassing. How did Mark know what was said? I want you to understand that Jesus did gain a following amongst those who had been on the Sanhedrin. Mark tells us at the end of his Gospel that a respected member of the council, Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus after the crucifixion and put it in his tomb. Mark reports that Joseph of Arimathea was a secret follower of Jesus. In all likelihood, we have the testimony of Joseph or another like him about these deliberations. That’s kind of a side note, but I think a rather neat one.
These deliberations are important though. They show us what the Sanhedrin is really concerned about. We will actually deal with what they deliberate backwards because the former needs a little bit more attention than the latter. The Sanhedrin does not want to say that John the Baptist was not from God because everyone believed John was a prophet. The entire crowd would have stoned this group in a heart beat if they would have denied John’s calling. Fear kept them from going down that route.
Which only left them one other alternative. They would have had to admit that John’s teaching was indeed from divine origin. They don’t want to do that because they know Jesus will respond, “Well, then why didn’t you believe him?” This is where we must take a little bit of time because we need to understand what John the Baptist was proclaiming. John the Baptist was not just proclaiming, “Turn your life around. Get right with God.” That’s only part of what John was about. Let’s turn back several chapters in the book of Mark and hear once again the proclamation of John the Baptist:
From Mark chapter 1: 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
John’s proclamation centered on Jesus as the promised Messiah. John’s proclamation pointed to Jesus!!! If the Sanhedrin admitted that John’s ministry came from God, then they must admit that Jesus is from God as well!! They must admit that Jesus is the Messiah!! They must admit that Jesus’ authority supersedes their authority and that everything Jesus did in the Temple was by divine right!!!
And there was no way on God’s, green earth they were going to do that. There was no way they were going to admit that this Jesus who had just exposed them for the frauds they were, was indeed from God. Their pride was too full. Their self-righteousness was too great. They were not going to allow this upstart to dethrone them from their positions of power and prestige and wealth. They were not going to admit that Jesus had more authority than they did.
And so they copped out. They took the easy way out. They came back with the answer that is not an answer. “We don’t know.” That is a load of B.S. They knew. They just didn’t want to admit. And they would rather face a bit of public embarrassment than submit themselves to Jesus. Evans once again puts it this way:
Ostensibly there to protect the temple as God’s house from arbitrary acts of unauthorized persons and to take action against such persons, these representatives of the Sanhedrin and the ranking priests show their true colors. Rather than defend the temple, they protect themselves. In doing so they betray their own selfish concerns and their inability to respond to and for God, who confronts them in the persons of John and Jesus. Their answer demonstrates their unbelief. At the very least, their admission “we do not know” if taken at face value is an embarrassing surrender of the field. If their admission is not taken at face value but is recognized for the dodge that it is, then it is an embarrassing public display of cowardice.
So Jesus responds appropriately to such cowardice, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” You know, I heard several comments about what Jesus says here, and most of them leave me with a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Several folks spoke about how Jesus washes His hands of the Sanhedrin. They talked about how Jesus reached the limits of His desire to bring them over to faith. I’m not sure these folks are correct. I think this comment is simply Jesus not giving the Sanhedrin what they desire–He’s not going to fall into their trap this easily and give them an out. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring the members of the Sanhedrin to faith. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring these folks into a relationship with Himself. I believe that Jesus wants to help them submit to His authority–the same authority He wants you and I to submit to as well.
You see, we all submit to some sort of authority. Whether we like it or not, we all answer to something greater than we are. Oh, we like to think that we are free–that no one or nothing tells us what to do or how to do it. We like to think that we make our own way that we have nothing putting limits on what we can achieve. We like to think that we are our own bosses. But it is nothing more than a delusion. We are enslaved to authority, and many times we don’t even recognize it.
You might think me daft, but let’s think this through for a moment or two, shall we.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, walk away from your job tomorrow. Just quit. Take some time to enjoy life. How many of you would actually do that? Probably very few. Why? Because you have bills to pay. You need the income. You might get your house taken away. Or your car. Or your future. You might be able to do okay for a while, but things would change very fast after that. You know you cant just quit. You are under the authority of the money you make to keep the lifestyle you have. You are submitting to the authority of your lifestyle.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, refuse to pay your taxes this April. You are submitting to the authority of the federal government.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, go slap the other political candidate that is running for office and tell him or her they have no business doing what they are doing. You are submitting to the laws of this land.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, throw your cell phone away. Need I say more about that one?
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, go stand up in downtown Houston and announce that you are either for or against gay marriage. Not going to? Afraid you will get confronted by one side or the other? You are submitting to the authority of societal pressures.
Need I go on? Need I continue to lay out how we submit to authority all over the place? Need I tell you that you are not free? The only question that we must answer as we go through life is which authority we will end up submitting to. The only question that we must answer is which authority we will give our ultimate allegiance to.
And Jesus wants that authority. Jesus wanted that authority from the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. Jesus wants that authority from us. But like those chief priests, scribes and elders, we believe we have too much at stake. We believe we are better off not fully submitting to Jesus. We believe we are freer as we are now that we would be with all those rules and regulations Jesus will impose upon us. And so we pridefully make up all kinds of excuses. We decide to reserve judgement. We put ourselves in embarrassing situations because we think submitting to Jesus is the worst thing we could possibly do.
But here is one thing that Jesus will do for you that no other authority will. Here is one thing Jesus will freely take upon Himself when every other authority will reject you. You see, of all the authorities that are out there, Jesus will die for you even if you hate Him. Jesus will die for you even if you reject Him. Jesus will take your place and face your punishment without a smidgen of regret. In fact, that’s exactly what He did for you on the cross nearly 2000 years ago. Every other authority will turn its back on you, punish you, or leave you high and dry because those authorities demand absolute allegiance from you. They demand you honor them at great cost to you. But if you reject Jesus’ authority, He will continue to love you and wait patiently for the day you turn to Him. He does this because He wants you to freely choose Him; to freely take upon yourself His burden; to freely submit to His authority without regret. And to earn that, He doesn’t make empty promises. He says, “I have already done for you everything. I have already died for you. I have already been raised for you. I have already redeemed you. I have already loved you, and that love will never fail. I have paid a great price for you, and when you submit to me, all the other authorities in your life will have no hold over you. Sure, you will live in this world. You will need money and a home and food and clothing and a cell phone and law and order and government, but these things will no longer rule your heart. I will. And you will find that under me, you have freedom, and peace and security and safety because you know my great love.”
For love is central to Jesus’ authority–a deep and abiding love that is poured out for you and for me. This is why the Gospel in a nutshell is summed up by John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it.” May your heart be moved to submit to Jesus’ authority, for in it you will find freedom. Amen.
Showing posts with label Cleansing of the Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleansing of the Temple. Show all posts
Monday, February 1, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Powerball, Fig Trees, Temples, Curses, and the Relevance of Christianity (Part 1)
I sometimes marvel at how some say that the Christian faith needs to be made relevant to our day and age. After all, these folks argue, the main events of Christianity happened nearly 2000 years ago. How can it still be relevant to what is going on today? Such things make me scratch my head in wonder because Christianity isn’t simply a system and code of ethics–it runs much deeper as it seeks to address the fundamental problem with human nature. And, I would argue that human nature hasn’t changed much in the past 2000 years in the least. How so?
Well, let’s start by hitting the biggest headlines of this past week–the headlines that threw most of our nation into a frenzy. I am talking Powerball. I mean, millions of people were throwing billions of dollars at the chance to win an absolutely huge amount of cash. The thought of 1.5 billion dollars captivated the thoughts and hearts of many people. Why? Why did the thought of obtaining such a huge amount of money hit so many people?
I think most of us know the answer to that question. Despite the cliche that “money can’t buy everything,” we still act like it can. I mean, as a nation, we are a slave to our pocketbooks. Most of us think we never have enough. Most of us think, “If I just had more money, everything would be okay. I would be able to buy the things I want. Do the things I want to do. Not have to be beholden to any one or any thing.” Now, I want to be clear, there are those who do not fall into this trap. There are those who have gotten past such things, but that’s not everyone–not by a long shot. In fact, remember, the payout on the Powerball is based upon how many people have bought tickets. That means 1.5 billion is a small percentage of what people actually spent to obtain tickets. That means people spent billions and billions of dollars on this scheme, and the real winners are the states who have put together the lottery. Oops. Did I just name the state as also wanting money and desiring money to do all sorts of things? Yes, I guess I just did. So, what is happening here? Individuals are captivated by the dollar. States and governments are captivated by the dollar. Individuals, corporations, governments, and the like are all captivated by the dollar. And no one seems to be satisfied with what they have. They all want more.
Let’s break for a moment and see just how Jesus’ encounter with a fig tree and his cleansing of the temple tie in with this just beautifully. Let’s look and see how the Bible is still as relevant to today as it was when Jesus walked the earth.
Last week, we saw Jesus enter into Jerusalem hailed as the Messiah–the King of the Jews. We saw how Jesus walked into the temple, looked around, and as the hour was late, walked out and went camping. It was kind of anti-climatic, and I talked last week how Jesus was interested in a different temple and a different throne–the temple of our hearts and the throne of the cross. Today, we see just how Jesus begins to make that clear in His teaching and His actions.
In the morning, Jesus and His disciples are headed back to Jerusalem, and Jesus gets hungry. He sees a fig tree in the road ahead that is all leafed out. Jesus approaches the tree in hopes of finding a bite to eat, but when He gets to the tree, there is no fruit. The gospel writer Mark the tells us, “it was not the season for figs.” Perhaps, much to our surprise, Jesus invokes a curse on this fig tree. “May no one ever eat from you again.” What has happened to Jesus? Has He suddenly been overcome by natural human emotion and anger? Shouldn’t the Son of God have known it wasn’t the time for figs? Why curse this poor, little tree for not having figs when it wasn’t supposed to?
Now, if you don’t know anything about fig trees or the ancient Jewish culture, you would think exactly that. You would think Jesus positively cruel and petty. But there is more than meets the eye here. Personally, I wouldn’t have known such things without doing a bit of homework, but here is what I discovered in my studies this week. You see, fig trees actually have two times when they bear fruit. They actually begin producing their first crop of fruit before they leaf out in the spring. This fruit is called paggim in Hebrew.
Let me read to you what Mark Edwards says in his commentary about this encounter:
After the fig harvest from mid-August to mid-October, the branches of fig trees sprout buds that remain undeveloped throughout the winter. These buds swell into small green knops known in Hebrew as paggim in March-April, followed shortly by the sprouting of leaf buds on the same branches, usually in April. The fig tree thus produces fig knops before it produces leaves. Once a fig tree is in leaf one therefore expects to find branches loaded with paggim in various stages of maturation. This is implied in 11:13 where Jesus, seeing a fig tree in full foliage, turns aside in hopes of finding something edible. In the spring of the year the paggim are of course not ripened into mature summer figs, but they can be eaten, and often are by natives. (Hosea 9:10, Cant 2:13) The tree in v. 13 however, turns out to be deceptive, for it is green in foliage, but when Jesus inspects it he finds no paggim; it is a tree with the signs of fruit, but with no fruit.
And what kind of tree is it that bears signs of fruit but has no fruit? Well, let me rephrase the question: what good is a fig tree that leafs out and looks beautiful but produces no fruit? You know the answer. It’s a worthless tree–especially in an arid, rocky climate like Palestine. Jesus knows by the lack of fruit that this tree is rotten. There is something wrong with it. On the outside, it looks great, but on the inside, it is no good. “May no one ever eat fruit of you again.”
Is it any coincidence then, that immediately following this encounter with the fig tree, we move to the Temple? Well, it really isn’t. For the two stories are intimately related. The Temple of Jerusalem at this time was a thing of beauty. It took up roughly 1/3 of the entire city of Jerusalem. The stones were massive. The columns were huge. It was the center of Jewish worship and life. Throngs of pilgrims visited every year–not only Jews, but Gentiles as well. Jesus looks at what is going on in the Temple, and blows a fuse. He enters into the temple and disrupts the sacrificial system overturning tables, scattering coin, and preventing people from bringing any sort of goods into the temple. The question is why?
I mean, when I was in college, I took a class on Judaism, and the professor, who was Jewish was apologetic toward the buying and selling that was going on in the Temple. After all, the rabbi argued: the Bible was very clear on what kind of animals needed to be used for sacrifice. The Bible was also very clear about what kind of money could be used to pay your temple tax and give your tithe. The sellers and money changers were providing a service to the people who were there to sacrifice. The fact that they would make a little bit of money off the sales and exchanges was just good business. Jesus really didn’t need to get so angry and disruptive!
I can appreciate my professor’s need to defend the practices of those within his faith, especially in a Christian college environment. But my professor left off a few details–details that I only came across this past week in my studies. William Lane, in his commentary points out that the selling of sacrificial animals in the temple was not a long-standing practice. Historical evidence shows that the buying and selling of sacrificial animals in the Temple was begun by the High Priest Caiaphas sometime around 30 A.D.–which, coincidentally(?) is right around when Jesus began His public ministry. Why would Caiaphas institute such buying and selling in the Temple? There was really no need considering that there were four certified market places for the selling of sacrificial animals right outside the city of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. Why sell animals in the Temple when there were perfectly good markets right outside of town?
Well, think about this for a moment: during Passover, hundreds of thousands of Jews made their way to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. That’s a lot of sheep, goats, and doves to be offered. That’s a load of animals that needed to be bought. Why shouldn’t the Temple benefit from those sales? Wouldn’t it be good business for the Temple authorities to allow businesses to come in and set up shop to sell their animals–especially if the Temple authorities charged a fee or received a portion of the sales money to line their pockets? Doesn’t this make economic sense for the Temple? You would think so, but remember this: the priests actually got paid by receiving a part of the sacrifice that was offered. The priests therefore, during Passover had more than enough meat and leather and such to sell and gain income. The priests were rolling in dough, but they wanted more.
So they allowed merchants to set up shop in the Temple. Of course, there was only one place for these merchants to set up: the courtyard of the Gentiles. Please remember, the Temple was set up in tiered layers for worship. First, you had the court of the Gentiles where all people were allowed to worship. Second, you had the court of women where ritually cleansed women were allowed to worship. Then you had the court of Jewish men. Finally you had the court of the priests which surrounded the Holy of Holies where only one person was allowed to enter once per year. Now, think about that tiered system, and then think about which layer you would use–as a Jew if you were going to allow the buying and selling of animals.
Of course, you are going to use the court of the Gentiles. It’s the largest area, and it’s also the “least important” area for Jews. Who cares about the Gentiles who have come to worship and pray. They are the least of all in God’s eyes. The Jewish people were of the most import–after all, they were the chosen ones. This was reinforced by signs that appeared on a wall separating the courtyard of the Gentiles from the rest of the Temple. Mark Edwards says again, “The sanctuary was separated from the Court of the Gentiles by a wall, called Soreq, on which the following warning was posted at intervals in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic: “No foreigner may enter within the railing and enclosure that surround the Temple. Anyone apprehended shall have himself to blame for his consequent death.”
Think about this for a moment. Think about the attitude expressed on that sign. Think about the attitude the Temple authorities had toward the Gentiles by setting up a marketplace in the only place they were allowed to worship. Does it sound like they were really trying to get people to worship God? Do these actions really show that the Temple authorities had a heart for helping people–even foreigners come to know the living God? No. Not in the least. As N.T. Wright said, “The Temple had been intended to symbolize God’s dwelling with Israel for the sake of the world; the way Jesus’ contemporaries had organized things, it had come to symbolize not God’s welcome to the nations but God’s exclusion of them.” Is it any wonder why Jesus goes berserk? This Temple, which was supposed to be a house of prayer for all people had just been commandeered to take money from those selling sacrificial animals on the Mount of Olives and exclude the vast majority of the world’s people from praying in a holy place. Den of thieves indeed!
And, of course, Jesus’ actions were a direct assault on the Temple authorities. They were a direct condemnation and judgement of their actions, so they sought to kill Him. Jesus had dared challenge them. Yet, in reality, Jesus had just exposed them. The wonderful, beautiful Temple, had just been exposed as a profiteering scheme instead of a place of worship. And when you are exposed as committing great wrong, you either admit your mistake or silence the one who is pointing out your mistake. The Temple authorities made no bones about what they intended, but they feared the crowd because the crowd knew Jesus was right.
The next day, Jesus and His disciples are walking by the fig tree, and Peter notices that the tree is withered and dead. “Look,” Peter exclaims. “The tree that you cursed is withered from the roots up.”
There is an obvious lesson here. The fig tree and the temple share the same problem. From the root, it is bad. From the root, both will wither. Both may have looked great from the outside, but once the inner workings were revealed, they were found to be corrupt. And that corruption will lead to death.
I wish I could tell you this morning that such corruption does not affect you and I, but that whole lottery think this past week proves otherwise. We too are corrupt within. We too are rotting from within. We too have put our trust in external things and do not depend upon God. We too work to make sure our outside looks great, but we hide the inner workings of our hearts and personal lives to disguise our own short comings.
Let me point at myself here using the example of the lottery. You see, I remember very well the first time I played the lottery. It was in my hometown, and I bought a scratch off ticket. It was a football themed one, and I actually won $20. So, what did I do? I cashed the ticked and resolved to give the money to the church. Sounds very cool from the outside, doesn’t it. Well, let me reveal to you the inner workings of my heart.
You see, I figured if I showed God how generous I was; if I showed God that I was going to give these first fruits to Him; then He would let me win more. Of course, I would give some of those winnings to Him, but I would keep the vast majority for myself. I had some really selfish motives because I was centered on myself. I wanted the safety, security, and freedom that money could by, and I was going to use God to get it. Is it any wonder why I rarely won anything more than a dollar whenever I tried to play the lottery after that?
You see, human nature doesn’t change much. Even after thousands of years, hearts still do not change. Hearts still want the safety, security, and freedom that money buys. The false idol of money still rules over many, many hearts. The question is, if the false god of safety, security, and freedom that money can buy rules the temple of our hearts, and Jesus wants to be in that temple Himself. How can He displace that false god? How can He make sure we know that we have safety, security and freedom without money?
Well, next Sunday, we will delve into this as we deal with those last few verses. Those verses will lead us straight to the cross and to God’s wonderful love that He showed there through Jesus. We will hear the Good News that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.” We will see how this news cleanses our hearts and gives us even more than money can buy. Amen.
Well, let’s start by hitting the biggest headlines of this past week–the headlines that threw most of our nation into a frenzy. I am talking Powerball. I mean, millions of people were throwing billions of dollars at the chance to win an absolutely huge amount of cash. The thought of 1.5 billion dollars captivated the thoughts and hearts of many people. Why? Why did the thought of obtaining such a huge amount of money hit so many people?
I think most of us know the answer to that question. Despite the cliche that “money can’t buy everything,” we still act like it can. I mean, as a nation, we are a slave to our pocketbooks. Most of us think we never have enough. Most of us think, “If I just had more money, everything would be okay. I would be able to buy the things I want. Do the things I want to do. Not have to be beholden to any one or any thing.” Now, I want to be clear, there are those who do not fall into this trap. There are those who have gotten past such things, but that’s not everyone–not by a long shot. In fact, remember, the payout on the Powerball is based upon how many people have bought tickets. That means 1.5 billion is a small percentage of what people actually spent to obtain tickets. That means people spent billions and billions of dollars on this scheme, and the real winners are the states who have put together the lottery. Oops. Did I just name the state as also wanting money and desiring money to do all sorts of things? Yes, I guess I just did. So, what is happening here? Individuals are captivated by the dollar. States and governments are captivated by the dollar. Individuals, corporations, governments, and the like are all captivated by the dollar. And no one seems to be satisfied with what they have. They all want more.
Let’s break for a moment and see just how Jesus’ encounter with a fig tree and his cleansing of the temple tie in with this just beautifully. Let’s look and see how the Bible is still as relevant to today as it was when Jesus walked the earth.
Last week, we saw Jesus enter into Jerusalem hailed as the Messiah–the King of the Jews. We saw how Jesus walked into the temple, looked around, and as the hour was late, walked out and went camping. It was kind of anti-climatic, and I talked last week how Jesus was interested in a different temple and a different throne–the temple of our hearts and the throne of the cross. Today, we see just how Jesus begins to make that clear in His teaching and His actions.
In the morning, Jesus and His disciples are headed back to Jerusalem, and Jesus gets hungry. He sees a fig tree in the road ahead that is all leafed out. Jesus approaches the tree in hopes of finding a bite to eat, but when He gets to the tree, there is no fruit. The gospel writer Mark the tells us, “it was not the season for figs.” Perhaps, much to our surprise, Jesus invokes a curse on this fig tree. “May no one ever eat from you again.” What has happened to Jesus? Has He suddenly been overcome by natural human emotion and anger? Shouldn’t the Son of God have known it wasn’t the time for figs? Why curse this poor, little tree for not having figs when it wasn’t supposed to?
Now, if you don’t know anything about fig trees or the ancient Jewish culture, you would think exactly that. You would think Jesus positively cruel and petty. But there is more than meets the eye here. Personally, I wouldn’t have known such things without doing a bit of homework, but here is what I discovered in my studies this week. You see, fig trees actually have two times when they bear fruit. They actually begin producing their first crop of fruit before they leaf out in the spring. This fruit is called paggim in Hebrew.
Let me read to you what Mark Edwards says in his commentary about this encounter:
After the fig harvest from mid-August to mid-October, the branches of fig trees sprout buds that remain undeveloped throughout the winter. These buds swell into small green knops known in Hebrew as paggim in March-April, followed shortly by the sprouting of leaf buds on the same branches, usually in April. The fig tree thus produces fig knops before it produces leaves. Once a fig tree is in leaf one therefore expects to find branches loaded with paggim in various stages of maturation. This is implied in 11:13 where Jesus, seeing a fig tree in full foliage, turns aside in hopes of finding something edible. In the spring of the year the paggim are of course not ripened into mature summer figs, but they can be eaten, and often are by natives. (Hosea 9:10, Cant 2:13) The tree in v. 13 however, turns out to be deceptive, for it is green in foliage, but when Jesus inspects it he finds no paggim; it is a tree with the signs of fruit, but with no fruit.
And what kind of tree is it that bears signs of fruit but has no fruit? Well, let me rephrase the question: what good is a fig tree that leafs out and looks beautiful but produces no fruit? You know the answer. It’s a worthless tree–especially in an arid, rocky climate like Palestine. Jesus knows by the lack of fruit that this tree is rotten. There is something wrong with it. On the outside, it looks great, but on the inside, it is no good. “May no one ever eat fruit of you again.”
Is it any coincidence then, that immediately following this encounter with the fig tree, we move to the Temple? Well, it really isn’t. For the two stories are intimately related. The Temple of Jerusalem at this time was a thing of beauty. It took up roughly 1/3 of the entire city of Jerusalem. The stones were massive. The columns were huge. It was the center of Jewish worship and life. Throngs of pilgrims visited every year–not only Jews, but Gentiles as well. Jesus looks at what is going on in the Temple, and blows a fuse. He enters into the temple and disrupts the sacrificial system overturning tables, scattering coin, and preventing people from bringing any sort of goods into the temple. The question is why?
I mean, when I was in college, I took a class on Judaism, and the professor, who was Jewish was apologetic toward the buying and selling that was going on in the Temple. After all, the rabbi argued: the Bible was very clear on what kind of animals needed to be used for sacrifice. The Bible was also very clear about what kind of money could be used to pay your temple tax and give your tithe. The sellers and money changers were providing a service to the people who were there to sacrifice. The fact that they would make a little bit of money off the sales and exchanges was just good business. Jesus really didn’t need to get so angry and disruptive!
I can appreciate my professor’s need to defend the practices of those within his faith, especially in a Christian college environment. But my professor left off a few details–details that I only came across this past week in my studies. William Lane, in his commentary points out that the selling of sacrificial animals in the temple was not a long-standing practice. Historical evidence shows that the buying and selling of sacrificial animals in the Temple was begun by the High Priest Caiaphas sometime around 30 A.D.–which, coincidentally(?) is right around when Jesus began His public ministry. Why would Caiaphas institute such buying and selling in the Temple? There was really no need considering that there were four certified market places for the selling of sacrificial animals right outside the city of Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives. Why sell animals in the Temple when there were perfectly good markets right outside of town?
Well, think about this for a moment: during Passover, hundreds of thousands of Jews made their way to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. That’s a lot of sheep, goats, and doves to be offered. That’s a load of animals that needed to be bought. Why shouldn’t the Temple benefit from those sales? Wouldn’t it be good business for the Temple authorities to allow businesses to come in and set up shop to sell their animals–especially if the Temple authorities charged a fee or received a portion of the sales money to line their pockets? Doesn’t this make economic sense for the Temple? You would think so, but remember this: the priests actually got paid by receiving a part of the sacrifice that was offered. The priests therefore, during Passover had more than enough meat and leather and such to sell and gain income. The priests were rolling in dough, but they wanted more.
So they allowed merchants to set up shop in the Temple. Of course, there was only one place for these merchants to set up: the courtyard of the Gentiles. Please remember, the Temple was set up in tiered layers for worship. First, you had the court of the Gentiles where all people were allowed to worship. Second, you had the court of women where ritually cleansed women were allowed to worship. Then you had the court of Jewish men. Finally you had the court of the priests which surrounded the Holy of Holies where only one person was allowed to enter once per year. Now, think about that tiered system, and then think about which layer you would use–as a Jew if you were going to allow the buying and selling of animals.
Of course, you are going to use the court of the Gentiles. It’s the largest area, and it’s also the “least important” area for Jews. Who cares about the Gentiles who have come to worship and pray. They are the least of all in God’s eyes. The Jewish people were of the most import–after all, they were the chosen ones. This was reinforced by signs that appeared on a wall separating the courtyard of the Gentiles from the rest of the Temple. Mark Edwards says again, “The sanctuary was separated from the Court of the Gentiles by a wall, called Soreq, on which the following warning was posted at intervals in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic: “No foreigner may enter within the railing and enclosure that surround the Temple. Anyone apprehended shall have himself to blame for his consequent death.”
Think about this for a moment. Think about the attitude expressed on that sign. Think about the attitude the Temple authorities had toward the Gentiles by setting up a marketplace in the only place they were allowed to worship. Does it sound like they were really trying to get people to worship God? Do these actions really show that the Temple authorities had a heart for helping people–even foreigners come to know the living God? No. Not in the least. As N.T. Wright said, “The Temple had been intended to symbolize God’s dwelling with Israel for the sake of the world; the way Jesus’ contemporaries had organized things, it had come to symbolize not God’s welcome to the nations but God’s exclusion of them.” Is it any wonder why Jesus goes berserk? This Temple, which was supposed to be a house of prayer for all people had just been commandeered to take money from those selling sacrificial animals on the Mount of Olives and exclude the vast majority of the world’s people from praying in a holy place. Den of thieves indeed!
And, of course, Jesus’ actions were a direct assault on the Temple authorities. They were a direct condemnation and judgement of their actions, so they sought to kill Him. Jesus had dared challenge them. Yet, in reality, Jesus had just exposed them. The wonderful, beautiful Temple, had just been exposed as a profiteering scheme instead of a place of worship. And when you are exposed as committing great wrong, you either admit your mistake or silence the one who is pointing out your mistake. The Temple authorities made no bones about what they intended, but they feared the crowd because the crowd knew Jesus was right.
The next day, Jesus and His disciples are walking by the fig tree, and Peter notices that the tree is withered and dead. “Look,” Peter exclaims. “The tree that you cursed is withered from the roots up.”
There is an obvious lesson here. The fig tree and the temple share the same problem. From the root, it is bad. From the root, both will wither. Both may have looked great from the outside, but once the inner workings were revealed, they were found to be corrupt. And that corruption will lead to death.
I wish I could tell you this morning that such corruption does not affect you and I, but that whole lottery think this past week proves otherwise. We too are corrupt within. We too are rotting from within. We too have put our trust in external things and do not depend upon God. We too work to make sure our outside looks great, but we hide the inner workings of our hearts and personal lives to disguise our own short comings.
Let me point at myself here using the example of the lottery. You see, I remember very well the first time I played the lottery. It was in my hometown, and I bought a scratch off ticket. It was a football themed one, and I actually won $20. So, what did I do? I cashed the ticked and resolved to give the money to the church. Sounds very cool from the outside, doesn’t it. Well, let me reveal to you the inner workings of my heart.
You see, I figured if I showed God how generous I was; if I showed God that I was going to give these first fruits to Him; then He would let me win more. Of course, I would give some of those winnings to Him, but I would keep the vast majority for myself. I had some really selfish motives because I was centered on myself. I wanted the safety, security, and freedom that money could by, and I was going to use God to get it. Is it any wonder why I rarely won anything more than a dollar whenever I tried to play the lottery after that?
You see, human nature doesn’t change much. Even after thousands of years, hearts still do not change. Hearts still want the safety, security, and freedom that money buys. The false idol of money still rules over many, many hearts. The question is, if the false god of safety, security, and freedom that money can buy rules the temple of our hearts, and Jesus wants to be in that temple Himself. How can He displace that false god? How can He make sure we know that we have safety, security and freedom without money?
Well, next Sunday, we will delve into this as we deal with those last few verses. Those verses will lead us straight to the cross and to God’s wonderful love that He showed there through Jesus. We will hear the Good News that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.” We will see how this news cleanses our hearts and gives us even more than money can buy. Amen.
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