Category: Mark 11

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Luke Luke 20 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

When you’re too proud to admit you’re wrong

The gospels

It’s hard to admit when we’re wrong. I know I struggle with it at times. The reason? Pride. It takes a great deal of humility to simply say, “I was wrong.”

But if we want relationships that last, relationships with others and with God, we need that kind of humility.

This was exactly what the religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not have. Time and again, Jesus clearly showed them they were wrong, and they simply could not bring themselves to admit it.

We see this several times over this last week of Jesus’ ministry before he went to the cross.

It starts here, however. The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders all came up to Jesus asking by what authority he had come to the temple and cleared it out.

Jesus, as was typical, answered their question with a question.

John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin? (Matthew 21:25)

Immediately, these men were in a quandary. If they said it was from heaven, then Jesus would say, “Why don’t you believe his words that I am the Messiah, then? If, however, you do accept them, then you know exactly where my authority comes from.”

On the other hand, they didn’t want to say it was from men because everyone else in Israel believed John was a prophet and would not stand for them denigrating him.

So, they answered, “We don’t know.”

And so Jesus said, “Fine. You don’t answer my question, I won’t answer yours.”

Then he told them a parable of two sons. One was asked by the father to do something, and he said “Sure,” but ended up doing nothing. The other refused his father’s request at first, but later changed his mind and obeyed.

This of course was a contrast between these leaders and the “sinners” Jesus ministered to.

Outwardly, these leaders were “righteous.” But in truth, they rebelled against God.

They saw John and immediately dismissed him as a kook.

But then they started to see the impact he was having, and all the lives that were changing because of John. They had to know in their hearts that he really was from God, but in their pride, they rejected him anyway.

Then they saw Jesus, they saw all his miracles and heard all his teaching. Despite all this, they rejected Jesus too.

Even when he shredded all their arguments and left them speechless, they still clung to their old way of thinking.

On the other hand, these “sinners” the leaders despised had outwardly rebelled against God, ripping people off and selling their bodies for sex.

But then John and Jesus came, and as a result they repented of their sins. They were humble enough to recognize their wrong, and so turned from their sins.

And so Jesus told these leaders,

Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. (Matthew 21:31)

How about you? Are you so proud that you can’t admit when you’re wrong?

It’s bad enough when that pride tears apart your relationships with others. It’s worse when it keeps you from a relationship with God.

So let us have hearts that are humble and soft to correction. That can admit when we are wrong.

Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves in the same position as these leaders. Separated from others and separated from God.

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Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

How much faith do I have?

The gospels

Faith. It’s something I must admit I struggle with, particularly in prayer. When I pray, do I pray in faith? And what does it mean?

When the tree Jesus cursed withered, the disciples were amazed and asked how it could wither so quickly. Jesus answered,

Have faith in God. (Mark 11:22)

Have faith in God. What does that mean? What are we believing about God?

We’re believing first that he is a good God. That he is a loving Father that only gives good gifts. That if we ask him for bread, he will not give us a stone. Or if we ask for a fish, he will not give us a serpent.

We’re believing that he hears us. That even the tiniest prayer we breathe, he hears. No matter how big, or how insignificant our problem may be, he sees and hears our cries.

We’re believing that he has the power to do what we ask. That no thing we ask is too big for him.

We’re believing that he wants to bless us. That he won’t withhold what is good from us for no good reason.

We believe that he has an overriding plan for our lives. And that plan is good.

With all this in mind, Jesus then says,

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. (Mark 11:23-24)

Some people take this verse to mean that whatever we ask God for, he must give it to us.

But sometimes we ask for something thinking it’s bread, thinking it’s fish, when in reality it is a stone or a serpent.

We pray, for example, to marry that girl or guy at school and ten years later, we are thanking God he didn’t give them to us.

Or sometimes we pray for something good, but God has something even better planned for us. For example, we pray for a certain job, only to have God give us an even better one.

So to just pray believing God will give us whatever we want does not guarantee we will get what we ask for.

My problem, however, is not believing God has to give me whatever I want. My problem a lot of times is believing that God might actually say yes.

I think about my current job that I just got back in April. It is in almost every way much better than my previous jobs over the past 8 years.

Yet because of all the difficulties I faced in getting the job, I was wracked with doubt as to whether God would give it to me. I suppose it didn’t help that I had applied for that very job a few years back and didn’t get it.

So many times I had prayed for things and was disappointed. I suppose it’s a testimony to the grace of God that I got the job anyway.

Another friend I know is facing terminal cancer. It looked hopeless. The doctors said it was hopeless. My friend asked for prayer.

I prayed, but with little hope. Certainly not praying, “believing I have received it.”

Do I believe that God has the power to heal? Certainly. I guess it’s just that I saw him choose not to heal another friend of cancer (she passed away a year ago) that makes me doubt. And yet, God does seem to be healing my friend now.

What am I trying to say? First, God certainly responds to faith, and is pleased by it, but he is not restricted by how strong our faith is.

But second, I should pray with more hope. With more confidence. Because God can and will answer prayer.

As one man once said, “Lord, I believe. Lord increase my faith.”

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Luke Luke 19 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

Fruitless

The gospels

This is a story where it is a little hard to understand the actions of Jesus. Why would he curse a tree that wasn’t bearing fruit though it was not even the season for it?

There does tend to be disagreement on the answer.

One idea is that during the time of the Passover, fig trees in Palestine usually produced crops of small edible buds.

These buds were often eaten by local peasants, and it was perhaps this that Jesus was looking for. But if there were no buds growing at that time, it was a sign that there would be no fruit at all from the tree.

I don’t know if this is the answer, but it seems as reasonable as any other explanation I’ve heard.

At any rate, sandwiched around the cleansing of the temple as it is in Mark, it seems Jesus was making a point. That just as judgment came upon that fig tree for not bearing fruit, so judgment was coming upon Israel for not bearing spiritual fruit.

This was clearly seen in the temple and the people running it.

Early in his ministry, Jesus had cleansed the temple, casting out the merchants and money changers from the court of the Gentiles.

As I mentioned before, this was the only area where the foreigners could come and worship God within the temple courts.

But the priests had turned it into a market, and not only that, a “den of thieves” where people who came there were cheated of their money. And this was the temple. The very center of Israelite worship.

All of their religious acts, all of their zeal, was proven to be corrupt by what was happening in their temple. Particularly in the fact that they not only rejected Jesus as Messiah, but plotted to kill him.

And because of that, judgment came when Titus tore down the temple for the final time.

To this day, it has not been rebuilt. Why? Because for all the time and love God poured into Israel, ultimately, they proved to be fruitless.

But none of God’s actions are fruitless. Through the Jews’ rejection of Christ, the gospel spread to the world. And in time, the Jews too will come to Christ. (Romans 11)

The question we need to ask ourselves, however, is what fruit is coming out of our lives?

The Bible calls our lives the temple of God. As his temples, are we bearing fruit? Are we making a difference in the lives around us?

Or have we let ourselves become corrupted by the world? By a love of money as the priests had, or by other things?

If so, then we will stop bearing fruit and all that we “accomplish” or “achieve” will eventually be burned.

Let us not be fruitless, but fruitful. Filled with God’s Spirit, and touching the lives of all he puts in our path.

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John John 12 Luke Luke 19 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

What would bring us peace

The gospels

Lots going on in these passages, and as you look at all four gospels, you really get an idea of the frenzy going on due to Jesus’ entrance in Jerusalem. People are shouting,

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven! (Matthew 21:9)

And,

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! (Mark 11:10)

And again,

Peace in heaven and glory in the highest! (Luke 19:38)

And ultimately,

Blessed is the king of Israel! (John 12:13)

Because of the frenzy some people were asking, “What’s going on? Who is this guy?” And others replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:11)

We see from John that one of the reasons for all this frenzy was that people were still talking about Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead. (John 12:17-18)

At first, the Pharisees tried to stop all of this, even trying to get Jesus to stop his disciples from crying out all these words of praise. But when Jesus refused, they muttered to themselves,

This is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him! (John 12:19)

But for all the frenzy surrounding Jesus’ coming the most poignant moment comes just before Jesus enters the city. In the midst of all the cries of joy from the people, Jesus wept when he saw Jerusalem, saying,

If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.

They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.

They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:42-44)

And that’s exactly what happened in AD 70 when Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem and its temple.

Why did this happen? Because they “did not recognize the time of God’s coming” to them.

And because of that, they missed the peace that could have been theirs. Peace within themselves. But more importantly, peace with God.

The same is true with us. God comes to each of us at some time in our lives.

According to Romans chapter 1, even the one who has never heard of God knows about him.

And when they gaze into the sky or see all the nature around them, I believe the Spirit speaks to them saying, “This cannot be an accident. This was designed. You were designed. Seek the Designer.”

For others, the call is much more direct. It comes at church or through a friend telling them about Christ.

And at that point people reach a crossroad. What will they do with this call? Will they listen and follow? Or will they reject it? To follow is to find peace with God and eternal life. To reject it means judgment and eternal death.

How about you? If you are reading this, God is calling you now. Now is the day of salvation. Won’t you receive him today?

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John John 12 Luke Luke 19 Mark Mark 11 Matthew Matthew 21

The Lord needs it

The gospels

We have now reached the home stretch of the life of Jesus, his final week.

As I read this passage, one phrase struck me. Jesus was instructing his disciples to do something very unusual, to go into the village, and just take a colt and donkey that they found there. And if anyone challenged them, they were to simply say, “The Lord needs it.”

The disciples did as they were told, and when the owners saw this, they immediately asked,

Why are you untying the colt? (Luke 19:33)

The disciples responded as Jesus had commanded, and immediately the owners acquiesced.

The question that came to my mind was, “When the Lord says to me of something, ‘I need this,’ how do I respond?”

If Jesus, for example, were to say, “I need you to give some money to this person. They are in need.” Would I immediately say, “Yes Lord?”

Or if I were headed somewhere, and I happen to run into someone, and Jesus were to say, “I need some of your time. Stop and talk to this person,” would I do so?

Or if God were to tell me, “It’s time to leave Nishinomiya. I need you elsewhere for another work,” would I say yes?

Or would I instead cling to what is mine?

Honestly, I don’t know, and probably too often, the Lord has told me, “I need this from you,” and for whatever reason, I said no.

“I’m too busy.”

Or,

“I need that money for other things.”

The disciples brought the colt to Jesus, set him on it, and honored him as king. And we need to do the same.

When Jesus says to us, “I need this,” we need to bring it to Jesus, setting him above it, and honoring him as our king over all.

Do I?

Do you?