Mark 11:1-19
Dear RTB’ers,
It’s easy for me to say, “God is God and I am not.” I can even fully believe it. I can easily say, “Your will be done.” No problem. I might wonder, but I move on. And when it comes to Jesus, if He said it, I believe it. And if He did it, no problem – He is God and I am not. But when it comes to today’s reading – Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple and His cursing of the fig tree… Here we have Jesus acting strangely – in my Western frame of mind. [Spoiler alert: the fig tree is dead; see Mark 11:20, tomorrow’s reading.]
So, here’s today’s reading, in a nutshell. On Palm Sunday Jesus is lauded as One Who “…comes in the name of the Lord.” Then He comes to Jerusalem in the late afternoon, early evening, looks around at the Temple, and goes back to Bethany. Then on Monday he curses the fig tree on His way to Jerusalem, again arrives at the Temple and proceeds to wreak havoc among the merchants and moneychangers. The Jewish leaders are upset: 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) They wonder, who is this guy??!! What right does He have to do these things? And then He leaves.
So how would we feel if someone were to come into Nathan Hall during Coffee Hour – crashes the coffee pots and trashes the food onto the floor and tells us all that we should be out in the streets proclaiming the Good News that we’ve just heard instead of lounging and laughing and relaxing. Truly, I find some sympathy with the Jewish leaders – the merchants and moneychangers are performing a service for those thousands of pilgrims who have traveled miles and miles to get here to offer their sacrifices at the Temple. What right does this guy have to disrupt these activities?
Does anyone else wonder with me at Jesus’ activities in today’s reading?
Closing note: God is God; I am not. If Jesus said it or did it, I’m OK with all that He says or does. But I do wonder…
Blessings!
See also: