Monday

The gospel writers dedicate some 25% of their writing to the events of Passion Week, a week that represents less than 1% of Jesus’ public ministry. This highlights the importance of the week and provides magnificent detail about each day’s events.

After a restful Sunday night back in Bethany with friends, Jesus returns to Jerusalem this morning to find the streets packed with people and the Temple bustling with Passover activity. Here is Mark’s account:

“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. 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. (Mark 11:12-18)

The cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple provide some powerful lessons on spiritual bankruptcy.

Jesus curses a fig tree because it is not producing fruit. Fig trees are everywhere in Palestine because (1) the fruit is delicious (we have one in our back yard and the figs are great!), (2) the large, dark-green, broad-lobed leaves provide great shade, and (3) they are easy to grow. Since the blooms indicate ‘fruit to come’ and normally appear earlier than leaves, the presence of leaves without blooms indicates that fruit is not present and fruit is not coming. So this particular fig tree is outwardly showy and beautiful (leaves) but it is not producing fruit (no figs). What is the significance of Jesus’ curse upon this tree?

First, the fig tree was a widely-used Old Testament symbol for the nation of Israel.

“When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.” (Hosea 9:10)

Second, Jesus had used the fig tree in an earlier parable to make the point that on-producing fruit trees have lost purpose and should be cut down! (Luke 13:6-8). So the barren but leafy fig tree typifies a showy religious system that was not producing expected fruit and way thus worthy of judgment. This incident sets the stage for the next event of the day – the cleansing of the temple…

Like yesterday’s ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, the cleansing of the Temple is a “billboard event”, i.e. an event that would be seen as a Messianic announcement, fulfilling ancient prophecy (Malachi 3:1-4, Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11). But what specifically was happening in the Temple that needed cleansing?

The cleansing takes place in the Outer Court of the Gentiles, a section constructed to make the Temple a “house of prayer for all nations”, as Mark mentions. This court was as far into the Temple as Gentiles could go. Here Gentile currency could be exchanged for Jewish currency so that taxes could be paid and ritually pure items could be purchased for Passover sacrifices. OK so far. But over time the religious leaders exploited this system by adding unreasonable transaction fees and raising prices, turning the “house of prayer for all nations” into a place of extortion and fraud. The outwardly beautiful Temple had withered into a religious system that was not producing the expected fruit. Judgment was in order.

The cursing of the fig tree and cleansing of the temple offer powerful lessons about spiritual bankruptcy and religious hypocrisy. God keep us from becoming a people who “Honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Mark 7:6).