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Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, ‘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.’
And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree
In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea”, and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
‘Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’
Meditation-Rebecca Northington
I have never really liked this passage from Mark. I didn’t get it. Why does our benevolent Jesus Christ curse the innocent fig tree? His impatience with the fig tree establishes an undertone of irritation that carries into the temple scene. It is one of the few times we really see Jesus angry, and it is uncomfortable. The cleansing of the temple marks a shift in Jesus’s ministry. A shift that seals his fate as the religious leadership looks on. His teaching for three years culminates in this moment of impassioned frustration: his people do not understand how to be in relationship with God. This passage wraps up with a dead fig tree and a lesson on praying-it is confounding, and has left me scratching my head in the past.
As per usual, a deep dive into some commentaries and a handful of sermons proves revelatory. So forgive me for some basic exegesis (critical interpretation of scripture), but on the off chance that you too are stumped by this section from Mark-perhaps I can help.
Ripe figs can be found on fig trees about 6 weeks after this first day of Holy week when Jesus comes upon this tree. What can be found in late March, early April, and what Jesus expected to find with healthy fig leaves, are little figlets, the size of an almond, which are edible and often eaten by wandering peasants to help sustain them. When Jesus came upon the tree seemingly healthy with leaves and no figlets, he felt duped. As the Fig Tree has been a symbol for Israel over the centuries there is a direct correlation to Jesus’s experience of the temple, ripe with activity but barren of faith: fruitless. Just as he curses the fig tree, he admonishes the activity in the temple. The outer perception of a healthy life with God, must be actively and honestly pursued. A life of pretense can easily conceal a false faith.
The final segment of this passage warns of such hypocrisy. As Christ’s disciples marvel at their Lord’s power to curse and kill the fig tree, Jesus reminds them of the importance of faith; real, honest, vulnerable faith. Many of the sermons on this piece of scripture point to the danger of churches today; those that pretend to be holy but are in fact just putting on the trappings of being Christ centered, God focused. As with the money changers in the temple, do we as a Church do what is convenient, or what is truly holy?
There can be no argument that some churches are failing today in the same way that the temple in Mark failed to serve God. And likely no argument regarding our own individual inability to put God above all things; faith as central to our daily life. It is this notion of faith that Jesus tries to convey to the disciples. Do we trust in God above science, above the tangible, above material goods, above ourselves? It is God that must be the object of our faith, not our desires. If our prayers convey a complete surrender to our faith and to God, mountains can be moved, all things are possible; because it is in understanding that only through God can all things happen. Prayer should be a turning towards God; and an honest, vulnerable prayer is its own kind of confessional. This is why Jesus asks his disciples to have a forgiving heart-so that God can be forgiving towards us.
On this first day of Holy week, there is an intense feeling of preparation. We know what is to come. Before the joy of Easter comes the abandonment of Thursday and the brutality of Friday. Most of us could take stock today and find that our fig tree is not as fruitful as it could be, our temple is not so clean. This week is a reminder of God’s undying love for us. It is also a reminder that no matter God’s power and glory, but because of God’s power and glory, we are forgiven.
Prayer for the Mission of the Church
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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