Gospel of Mark Study #36

“Spring Cleaning with a Wire Brush”

Mark 11:12-19

Study #36 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Spring is a time when some of us get kind of itchy, and I am not referring to poison oak, allergies, or hay fever. After being shut-in all winter, when spring finally comes around and the weather starts to improve, we begin getting big ideas. We say, “Ah, now I can finally get out there and weed those flower beds.” Or “I think maybe I’ll clean out the garage next Saturday.” Or for you maybe it is… “My shop (or my sewing room, etc.) is a mess—I’m going to get in there and clean out that rat’s nest and put things back where they belong.”

I remember that my mother used to get spring fever every year. Along about April she would start cleaning out and rearranging the closets. I would come home from school and find her scrubbing and reorganizing all her kitchen cupboards and alphabetizing her spices. Some days the smell of Pine Sol, Clorox, Murphy’s Oil Soap, and Parson’s Ammonia was so strong that it would knock you right over when you walked in the house. I did not really mind her cleaning obsession, of course, except that sooner or later she usually had plans for me too. She would make me go in and clean out my closet and go through all my drawers to put everything in order. I also had a chemistry lab in the basement that tended to get out of control, and she would make me clean all that up. By May she was shampooing the carpets and getting the drapes dry-cleaned. My Dad would eventually catch the spring-cleaning bug too, at Mom’s insistence, of course, and he would drag me out to weed flower beds, edge and fertilize the lawn, and help him clean out and swab down the garage.

Many of you can relate to this. You too were raised by clean-freaks and neatnics. But there are some tricks to the whole cleaning thing. You must learn which products to use and how much force to apply. If you do it wrong, you can mar the wood and do permanent damage. But for the big jobs sometimes you must bring out the big guns. I am talking about those tasks that require total dedication, lots of elbow grease, and a wire brush.

This week we will read about a cleaning job that Jesus took on that called for a wire brush. Soft words would not work; discussing the matter would not get the job done. So, Jesus rolled up His sleeves and went to work. It was time for spring-cleaning at the Temple and He went after it with a wire brush. We’re in Mark 11, starting at verse 12.

TRANSITION:

As you remember from our last study Jesus and His disciples made their way from Galilee in the far north of Israel down through Perea and up the long road to Jerusalem by way of Jericho to celebrate Passover there. They arrived in Bethany late in the day on Friday. Because it was the start of the Sabbath and Bethany was located more than a Sabbath’s journey from Jerusalem, they spent the next 36-hours in Bethany. Early on Sunday morning they made their way the 2½ or so miles to the city where Jesus was welcomed by the crowds and declared to be their King, their Messiah. We call this the Triumphal Entry and we celebrate it every year on Palm Sunday.

Jesus and His disciples then walked throughout the city, just observing. Matthew records that He went up to the Temple and walked all around, seeing everything that was taking place. Then He and His disciples walked back to Bethany where they spent the night again, and that is where we pick up the story. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 12: On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He [Jesus] became hungry. 

• So now we are on Monday of “Passion Week.” Jesus and the boys left Bethany and headed for Jerusalem. But somewhere along the way Jesus’ stomach began to growl. Apparently, they had not eaten breakfast. To their dismay they discovered that there was no Pig-n-Pancake on that road and IHOP and Denny’s were both closed.

Verse 13: Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

• Fig trees in the region of Jerusalem normally budded out with new leaves toward the end of March or in early April, the time of Passover. However, this tree was apparently already loaded with leaves, in which case it was advertising that it had ripe figs on it, even though figs normally did not ripen until June. Jesus saw the leaves at a distance and drew near to see if there was any fruit on the tree.
• Now this is a curious thing. Here you have the Creator of the Universe, the One who invented figs and fig trees in the first place, seeming to be surprised that the tree had no figs yet. Was He naïve? No. Had He forgotten the life cycle of fig trees? No. So, do you honestly think He was surprised by any of this? No, certainly not. And you must remember that the narrative is being written by a person with a totally human perspective. This is how things appeared to Mark. But the key to what was going on here is to be seen in the next verse. It tells me that this was all a show for the sake of the disciples because Jesus was once again setting them up for a life-lesson.

Verse 14: He said to it [i.e., the fig tree], “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. 

• Jesus addressed His remark directly to the tree. That is odd, don’t you think? “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” From that I take it that the tree had borne fruit in the past and would have again if Jesus had not cursed it. His disciples heard every word of this one-sided conversation but evidently did not comment on what had just happened. But I am sure that they must have wondered about it. Only later did it become apparent what Jesus was teaching them. Stay tuned for the rest of the story of the fig tree. We will come back to it in our next study. You’ll just have to be patient.

Verse 15: Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the Temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the Temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 

• “Then they came to Jerusalem.” It does not take long to walk 2 or 3 miles, and those guys were very accustomed to walking long distances.
• “And He entered the Temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the Temple.” You may not know it, but Jesus purged the Temple on two separate occasions. This is the second time. The first occasion is recorded in John 2:13-17 and occurred right at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. That time Jesus made a scourge (whip) out of leather cords and went after the culprits in a big way. He literally drove the merchants from the Temple courtyard and sent them scurrying like rats. John 2:17 records an interesting detail. It says, “His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Thy house will consume Me.’” This quote comes from a Messianic Psalm (Psalm 69:9). For the disciples this was one more indication that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah.
• You must picture this in your mind’s eye. Mark is not saying that the buyers and the sellers were doing business in the Temple proper. No one entered there except for the priests. He is talking about the huge area encircling the Temple—what was called the Temple courtyard. And even that was subdivided into several smaller sections including the Court of the Women, the Court of the Israelites, the Court of the Priests, etc. However, in the area immediately in front of the main Temple gate was a huge area called the Court of the Gentiles. That area was primarily a giant bazaar, with vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, sacrificial animals, food, clothing, etc. There were even tourist guides that provided tours of the premises for the pilgrims arriving in the holy city. There were also currency-changers, exchanging Roman money for Jewish money so that people could pay the annual half-shekel Temple tax, although usually charging exorbitant added handling fees (i.e., ágio). Many of these merchants and moneychangers were secretly in the employ of Annas and the high priestly family. They were getting rich from all this business. And of course, the priests, called cohanim, dressed in their white linen robes and wearing strange tall hats, were everywhere, directing visitors where to go and telling them what kind of sacrifices needed to be performed. It could perhaps be argued that the moneychangers and animal venders filled necessary roles because the people arriving needed animals for sacrifice, and they needed to exchange their foreign currency. On the other hand, these merchants had grown money-hungry and manipulative and had lost sight of the holiness of God’s Temple. This is what really angered Jesus.
• This event is recorded by three of the four Gospel writers: by Matthew (21:12-17), by Mark (11:15-19), and by Luke (19:45-47). In all three accounts you discover that Jesus went after those guys with everything He had in Him. He was furious! He was filled with holy anger and righteous indignation.

Verse 16: and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple. 

• This just goes along with His forbidding the merchants to sell their wares and carry on their business in the Temple area. 

Verse 17: And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.” 

• Jesus was not a radical lunatic. He was not barking-mad. He was not a raving maniac. There was always a good reason behind everything He did. This was no exception. Jesus used this opportunity to teach the people the truth, to educate them about what was right and wrong. He confronted the merchants and moneychangers about their behavior, but He zeroed in on their motivations. He chose for His text Isaiah 56:7 where the prophet declares the Lord’s house to be a house of prayer, a place set apart for holy purposes that bring glory to God. Jesus accused them of desecrating the Lord’s Temple by using it as a place of commerce. And to make it even worse He said that they were guilty of dishonest gain because of the outrageously unfair prices they charged. This was His point when He quoted this phase, “a den of thieves/robbers.” He pulled it from Jeremiah 7:11, which says, “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight?” 

Verse 18: The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. 

• “The chief priests and the scribes heard this…” Do you remember a few moments ago when I told you that Annas, the high priest, and his family ran much of this dishonest business? That is who we are seeing here. They listened to everything that Jesus said and chose to ignore or discount every word of it. They were livid and began plotting together how they could destroy Him, and the sooner the better.
• “But they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.”  These religious dudes were in a tough spot. They wanted to kill Jesus, but they knew that the common people loved Him. Therefore, they had to be incredibly careful that their plot should go unnoticed and not backfire on them. This was a delicate situation and had to be handled with a great deal of finesse.
• This verse reveals the two basic ways that people responded to Jesus: (1) Some loved Him and were amazed and astonished at His wonderful teachings; while others (2) Despised and rejected everything about Him, hoping that He would die soon, and did not believe a single word that He said. Many people today show this same kind of fear of the real Jesus. He is God, not a pet that we can control. This Lion of Judah “is not a tame Lion,” as C.S. Lewis wisely observed. People should be afraid of Him if they have chosen to reject and oppose Him!

Verses 19: When evening came, they would go out of the city. 

• They had lodgings in Bethany so each evening they walked those 2.5 miles back to where they were staying, probably at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, although the text does not deny or confirm that theory. Then each morning of that week they trudged back to the city where they would spend the day. 

CONCLUSION:

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AND DISCUSS:

What applications can we make of this story of Jesus cleansing the Temple?

• Is there a time and place for us to display righteous anger? When and under what circumstances?
• How does this text apply to the Church of today? To your church specifically?
• What does it say about how we should view the church building and facilities?
• Do the same rules that applied to the Temple also apply to the church building?
• Sometimes when musical groups come to our churches to sing and play, we allow them to sell their CDs and DVDs in the lobby. Is that wrong? Or how about bazaars, bingo nights, and fundraisers at the church? What do you think?