Jesus curses a fig tree for not bearing fruit and cleanses the temple, overturning tables of money changers. This acts as a visual parable representing God's judgment on Israel for their hypocrisy and lack of righteousness. The temple had become a place of business rather than prayer. Jesus declares that his house should be a house of prayer for all nations. His actions foreshadow the destruction of the temple in 70 AD and the change in worship to be "in spirit and truth" rather than at a physical temple. The document provides context and analysis of these passages from Mark 11.

1. Mark 11:11-21
Purifies
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree and Cleanses the Temple
May 5, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
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4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it
all for the glory of God.
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5. May Memory Verse
Exodus 20:12 NIV
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may
live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”

6. “Welcome Summer Party”
FBCJ Adults & Their Guests
Thursday, May 30, 2019
6:00 PM
CLC
Catered by Penn’s – Catfish & Chicken
Advance Tickets Required $15

7. References
•NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing,
1985).
•ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2008).
•Sproul, R.C., St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary on
Mark (Sanford, FL, Reformation Trust, 2011).
•MacArthur, John, Nothing But Leaves, Sermon on
Mark 11:12-21, Grace to You, YouTube.

8. Introduction to the Gospel According to Mark
•John Mark was the writer of Peter’s account of Jesus’
life recorded in the ‘Gospel According to Mark.’
•Gospel of Mark was written in Rome with Peter in 53-
55 AD.
•John Mark was not a disciple or an eyewitness.
•This writing records more details of the events in
Jesus’ life rather than the actual words.

9. Introduction to Mark 11 – Passion Week
Begins
John 12:1-2 ESV
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to
Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised
from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there.
Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining
with him at table.
•Jesus and the disciples are staying in Bethany (2 miles
from Jerusalem) with Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

10. Introduction to Mark 11 – Passion Week
Begins
John 12:9-11 ESV
9 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus
was there, they came, not only on account of him but
also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to
death as well, 11 because on account of him many of
the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

11. Introduction to Mark 11 – Triumphal Entry
John 12:12-13 ESV
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the
feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So
they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet
him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

12. Immediately After the Triumphal Entry into
Jerusalem
Mark 11:11 ESV
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the
temple. And when he had looked around at everything,
as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the
twelve.

13. What did Jesus see when he looked around in
the temple?
•He was looking to see if it was fulfilling its purpose of
leading the people to the true worship of God.
•The Court of the Gentiles had been turned into a
commercial stockyard with selling of animals for
sacrifice.
•Exchange rates to pay the Temple Tax were excessive.
•The Jewish leaders were extorting the people for
personal gain.

14. Tuesday of Passion Week
Mark 11:12-14 ESV
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany,
he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in
leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.
When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it
was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May
no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples
heard it.

15. The Confusion of Mark 11:12-14
•Interpretation has caused much confusion over time.
•This is a parable (analogy) by Jesus of the prediction of
the judgement on Israel and the destruction of the
temple.
•The cleansing of the temple is sandwiched between
the cursing of the fig tree, so the incidents are directly
connected.

16. The Fig Tree

17. The Fig Tree in Mark 11
•One opinion – Fig season in Palestine is in the fall, but
in the spring fig trees produced smaller edible buds
called paggim.
•Another opinion – A few rare species of fig trees in the
area produced mature figs in the spring, and this was
the type tree Jesus cursed.
•Breba crop – Sweet mature figs produced in spring on
the mature stems (prior year’s crop) of the fig tree.

18. Paggim (Early Green) Edible Figs

19. Breba Crop of Figs

20. The fig tree is a metaphor for Israel and their
standing before God.
Hosea 9:10a ESV
10a Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.

21. The fig tree is a metaphor for Israel and their
standing before God.
Jeremiah 24:5 ESV
5 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good
figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah,
whom I have sent away from this place to the land of
the Chaldeans.

22. What did Jesus mean with His statement?
Mark 11:14a ESV
14a And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you
again.”
• The barren tree represented the fruitlessness of Israel in
showing the one true God to all the nations.
• They had turned God into empty rituals and legalism.
• This incident was a visual parable to signify Jesus’ search
for true fruit of worship, prayer and righteousness in the
Jewish nation.
• Israel had leaves (rituals) but no fruit (righteousness).

23. Jesus was addressing Israel’s hypocrisy
Luke 12:1b ESV
1b he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
•Hypocrite = I claim not to do something sinful, but
then you see me do it (actions different than words).
•Sinner = You see me sin, and I admit to it.
•All hypocrites are sinners, but not all sinners are
hypocrites!

24. The reason for hypocrisy is self-interest

25. Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders
Matthew 23:1-5 ESV
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so
do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the
works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them
on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not
willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all
their deeds to be seen by others.”

26. Deception in Hypocrisy
1 John 1:8-10 ESV
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
•Hypocrisy creates a double layer of deception with a
lie and with condemnation.

27. Another meaning of this visual parable
•The fig leaf represents “excuses” and “man’s attempt
at salvation by works.”
•Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin with fig leaves
(excuses) and make themselves presentable to God.
•A blood sacrifice was required, and God provided
garments of animal skins for Adam and Eve.
•The sacrificial system for Israel required an animal
sacrifice and shedding of blood.

28. Another meaning of this visual parable
•Jesus’ curse on the fig tree, “May no one ever eat fruit
from you again” was a preview of what was about to
happen with His death and resurrection.
•The sacrificial system was about to be abolished by
Jesus shedding His own blood for all of mankind.
•Man would now be saved by only Jesus’ blood, and no
further sacrifice is needed.

29. Next scripture lesson – The Cleansing of the
Temple by Jesus in Mark 11:15-19
•John 2 records a similar cleansing just after Jesus’ first
miracle.
•Matthew, Mark and Luke only record the cleansing
during the Passion Week.
•Jesus used a whip of cords in the first cleansing, but
there is no mention of a whip in the second.
•Sandwiched between the 2 cleansings is Jesus’
ministry where He was calling Israel to true worship.

30. Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Mark 11:15-16 ESV
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the
temple and began to drive out those who sold and
those who bought in the temple, and he overturned
the tables of the money-changers and the seats of
those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow
anyone to carry anything through the temple.
•Think about the strength and authority Jesus exerted
to do this and no one stopped him.

32. The intended purposes of the temple
•Represented the presence of God among the people.
•Symbolic of God’s calling and blessing on Israel.
•Place for the sacrifices for sins.
•Place of prayer, teaching and worship.

33. The temple in Jerusalem
• 1st Temple
• Built by Solomon on Mt. Moriah, the site where Abraham
was told to sacrifice, his son, Isaac.
• Solomon’s Temple was destroyed 350 years later by the
Babylonians in 586 BC.
• 2nd Temple
• Rebuilt in 516 BC.
• Renovated and expanded by King Herod beginning in 12
BC.
• Present during Jesus’ day.
• Destroyed in 70 AD.
• Never rebuilt.

34. Current Remains of Temple Western/Wailing Wall

35. Building of future temples?
•Tribulation Temple
•Daniel 9 describes a temple where the ‘abomination
of the desolation’ will occur during the tribulation
period on earth.
•Millennium Temple
•Ezekiel 43 describes a temple where Jesus will rule in
His glory during the millennium period.

36. Solomon’s Temple – 1 Kings 5-8

37. 2nd (Zerubbabel’s) Temple – Ezra 1-8

38. Herod’s Remodeled Temple

40. Why did Jesus cleanse the temple?
•This temple had become a pretense of true worship
with Judaism spiritually bankrupt.
•The whole system was cursed by God because of what
it had become.
•Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV
15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your
God or be careful to do all his commandments and his
statutes that I command you today, then all these
curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

41. Mark 11:17-19 ESV
17 And he was teaching them and saying 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 den of
robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard
it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they
feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his
teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of
the city.

42. Jesus’ Statements in Mark 11:17
•Is it not written?
•A way to reference the Old Testament.
•Isaiah 56:7c ESV
7c “for my house shall be called a house of prayer for
all peoples.”
•My house
•Jesus claims the temple as His house since he is God
in the flesh.

43. “My house shall be called a house of prayer for
all of the nations.”
•House of prayer
•Requires quietness without distractions
•Psalm 27:4 ESV
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

44. “My house shall be called a house of prayer for
all of the nations.”
•For all of the nations
•Gentiles were restricted to the Court of the Gentiles
in the temple area.
•Where else could the Gentiles go to worship God?
•God’s plan was to include ALL THE NATIONS in the
plan of salvation which would occur with Jesus’
death and resurrection in just a few days.

45. “But you have made it a den of robbers.”
•Jeremiah 7:11a ESV
11a Has this house, which is called by my name,
become a den of robbers in your eyes?
•As thieves hide in caves and think they are safe, so
the people of Judah falsely trust in the temple to
protect them in spite of their sins.
•False prophets in Jeremiah’s day were telling people
that God could not see outside the walls of the
temple.

46. “But you have made it a den of robbers.”
•The people were being robbed by the unfair trading
going on in the temple courtyard.
•The Jewish leaders were literally hiding in the temple
and robbing the people.

47. The cursed fig tree
Mark 11:20-21 ESV
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig
tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter
remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree
that you cursed has withered.”
•The tree was completely dead in just 24 hours.
•This was a vivid warning and illustration about the
judgment that would come in 70 AD when the temple
was completely destroyed.

48. What is the lesson and application for us?
John 4:23-24 ESV
23 “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and
truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship
him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
•It’s all about our worship of God!

49. Worship changed at Jesus’ death &
resurrection.
Mark 15:37-38 ESV
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top
to bottom.
•When the curtain was torn and the Holy of Holies was
exposed, worship of God was no longer possible in the
temple, but was now only possible “in spirit and
truth.”

50. Worship changed at Jesus’ death &
resurrection.
•With the coming of Christ the separation between the
Jew and the Gentile was no longer present.
•The centrality of the temple for worship was not
relevant.
•Worship became a matter of the heart, not external
actions, and directed by truth rather than ceremony.

51. Closing Thoughts
Hebrews 4:14, 16 ESV
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has
passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let
us hold fast our confession.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne
of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to
help in time of need.
•Jesus, our High Priest, has removed the barrier
between God and man.

52. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16 ESV
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him.”
John 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

53. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 3:23 ESV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a ESV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

54. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Revelation 21:8 ESV
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake
that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8, will
experience the “second death” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to turn away
from sin and to come to Jesus.
Romans 5:8 ESV
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

55. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 6:23b ESV
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 ESV
7 “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I
will be his God and he will be my son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.

56. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 10:9-10 ESV
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is
justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”

57. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/