Mark 11:12-19
Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” Other than the incident with the fig tree, there was one item surprisingly different between Matthew and Mark – Jesus’ healings and miracles in Matthew vs. Jesus’ teachings in Mark. In Matthew 21:14 …the blind and the lame came to Him and He healed them, leaving the chief priests and scribes indignant at “the wonderful things that He did” and the children singing out. In Mark 11:17 there are no healings and miracles, only Jesus’ teaching. But that set the Jewish leaders off: 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. (v. 18) So there is a difference between the Jewish leaders being indignant over the healings and miracles that He did and fearing Jesus for the crowds following His teaching. Both His deeds and His words got Him in trouble with the authorities.
As to the fig tree… Does anyone else wonder that the incident with the fig tree makes Jesus look bad? It’s not even the season for figs, yet when Jesus finds no figs He curses the tree never to bear fruit again. So, does Jesus look bad in this incident? If so, to me it’s just another reminder that the Gospel writers were not writing stories just to make Jesus look good. They were writing truth, making Him looking like the fully human being that He was.
Slava Bohu!
Good morning, Fred. On the fig tree: I chewed on that yesterday and was helped by my Bible study note. The fig tree is right before and after the cleansing of the temple. Jesus appears to be reacting to religious actions but no fruit at the temple. And a fig tree that looks good on the outside but bears no fruit. Then the words about faith and prayer. Religious life without substance and faith without putting it in action. Christ’s prayers are for “God’s will, not mine”. That prayer can move mountains.