Jesus sent some of His disciples to bring a colt. The specification was that this be a colt that had never been ridden. (significant in light of the ancient rule that only animals that had not been used for ordinary purposes were appropriate for sacred purposes - Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3). The two disciples walked the colt back to Bethphage. The colt, having never been ridden, did not have a saddle, so the disciples threw their garments (coats) on its back so that Jesus could sit on it. The action of placing the garments on the donkey and Jesus riding it denotes majesty.
When Jesus mounted the colt and headed toward the city, they recognized that he was fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. All pilgrims walked the final ascent to Jerusalem; Jesus’ riding was a clear sign. The crowd’s spontaneous celebration honored Jesus. They spread their coats on the road for him to ride over, and cut leafy branches from the fields. These branches were used as part of the pilgrimage into Jerusalem.
The crowd chanted words from Psalm 118:25-26. “Long live the King” was the meaning behind their joyful shouts because they knew that Jesus was intentionally fulfilling prophecy. The expression, the coming kingdom of our ancestor David, recalls God’s words in 2 Samuel 7:12-14. This was Jesus’ announcement that he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah.
The next morning was Monday. Jesus and the disciples got up and headed back into Jerusalem. They spent the nights in Bethany and went into Jerusalem during the day. Bethany was about two miles outside of Jerusalem. Somewhere along the way, Jesus mentioned that he felt hungry. In March, the fig trees had small edible buds; in April came the large green leaves. Then in May the buds would fall off, replaced by the normal crop of figs. This incident occurred in April, and the green leaves should have indicated the presence of the edible buds which Jesus expected to find on the tree. However, this tree, though full of leaves, had no buds. The tree looked promising but offered no fruit.
Jesus did not curse this fig tree because he was angry at not getting any food from it. Instead, this was an acted-out parable intended to teach the disciples. They didn’t know that Jesus was on his way to once again cleanse the Temple of the people who were desecrating it. By cursing the fig tree, Jesus was showing his anger at religion without substance. Jesus’ harsh words to the fig tree could be applied to the nation of Israel and its beautiful Temple. Fruitful in appearance only, Israel was spiritually barren.
Jesus and the disciples arrived in Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple. He had some “cleansing” to do, and he began to drive out those who were buying and selling there.
The money changers did big business during Passover. Those who came from foreign countries had to have their money changed into Jewish currency because this was the only money the merchants accepted and the only money accepted for payment of the Temple tax. The inflated exchange rate often enriched the money changers, and the exorbitant prices of animals made the merchants wealthy. Jesus became angry because God’s house of worship had become a place of extortion and a barrier to Gentiles who wanted to worship.
Obviously Jesus’ actions stunned the many people crowded into the Temple area. Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56:7 and explained God’s purpose for the Temple: a place of prayer for all nations. These were important words in light of Jesus’ concern for the Gentiles who had come to worship, and considering the Gentile audience to whom Mark was writing. God welcomed the Gentiles into his Temple to worship, but they were unable to do so because of the animals bellowing and merchants haggling. This was a horrible desecration. No wonder Jesus was so angry.
The leading priests were mostly Sadducees (the wealthy, upper class, priestly party among the Jewish political groups); the teachers of religious law were usually Pharisees (legal experts). These two parties had great contempt for each other. That these two groups could agree on anything was highly out of the ordinary. But Jesus was becoming a real problem: undermining their authority in the Temple, performing great miracles of healing, and teaching the people in ways they could never dream of. So these religious leaders began planning how to kill him. But Jesus was so popular with the crowds that they dared not make a move immediately. In short, they were afraid of him.
With the religious leaders plotting to kill him, Jerusalem would hardly be a safe place for Jesus to spend the night. So when evening came on that Monday night, Jesus and the disciples left the city and most likely returned to Bethany as before. The next morning, Tuesday, Jesus and his disciples passed by the same fig tree they had passed the day before. Jesus had cursed the tree, saying that no one would ever eat from it. By the next day, in the morning light, they could see that the tree had withered. This parable of judgment foreshadowed what awaited spiritually dead Israel.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
A few nights ago at UCOV, we looked at the church in Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6). Jesus had some some things to say to this dying church. He told them to WAKE UP, to repent and to begin obeying the scriptures once again. Lord, protect me, protect my family, protect our church from spiritual apathy, spiritual atrophy and spiritual deadness. Everyday wake us up to the joy of our salvation. Everyday draw us to Your word. Everyday give is a sensitivity to our sin. Everyday, break our hearts with the things that break Your heart. Everyday, give us a love for otherts. Everyday, help us die to self. Everyday, Lord, everyday.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE SPIRITUALLY ALIVE OR DEAD?
"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." Revelation 3:1-3 (NIV)
Were the people in Sardis dead physically? NO. They’re alive physically. So he’s not talking physical death here. He’s talking about spiritually death. You have a reputation for being alive but spiritually, you’re dead.
So let’s look. Do a spiritual inventory of your life with that in mind. He says to them, you have a reputation for being alive but you are – what? – you’re dead. How do you spot a dead man?
#1. There’s no signs of life. (spiritually, no signs of life)
#2. There's no movement. (no spiritual movement - probably hasn't been for some time)
#3. You're not hungry or thirsty. (for spiritual things. No hunger for the word or fellowship or worship. No thirst for the things of God)
#4. You develop rigormortis. (hard to the things of God and the will of God and hard to the people of God)
#5. You begin to decay.
#6. You begin to stink. (the smell of death is upon you and it's obvious to everyone around you)
#7. Dead people hang out with other dead people. (if you're spiritually dead, the last thing you want to do is hang out with spiritually alive people)
#8. Dead people bring pain and sorrow to the living.
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:26 (NIV)
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Sometimes we become overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment for what we do and forget that it is God that enables us to do what we do and it is He that gives us the strength and power. I love the comment one author made - what if when Jesus entered the city on the donkey and all the crowd were cheering - the donkey thought that the applause was for him - and in this passage I thought - what if this little colt had that some idea.
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