Daily Bible Reading (Thursday, February 22nd)

10

Mark 11 (ESV)

 

The Triumphal Entry

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesusa]">[a] sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

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.

Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

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.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

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. 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 theyb]">[b] went out of the city.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

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.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have receivedc]">[c] it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”d]">[d]

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Footnotes:

  1. Mark 11:1 Greek he
  2. Mark 11:19 Some manuscripts he
  3. Mark 11:24 Some manuscripts are receiving
  4. Mark 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses

10 Comments

Starting in verse 27, the leadership of the Jews questioned Jesus' authority. It's still the same today. We live in a culture that constantly questions His authority. The real question is, do we recognize the authority of Jesus in our own lives. As Bruce says, being a Christiana means that Jesus gets to call the shots. I pray that Believers Fellowship is a church filled with people who let Jesus call the shots.

The orchestration of the colt being ready, and an owner willing to release it for his service, is a great example of God's orchestration of time down to the seemingly smallest detail. Nothing can interrupt his plan, and in my own day all is set just so in his plan for me. What a relief to know God is in ALL the details of life!

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Prayer was an important part of Jesus' earthly ministry and He often taught on this subject. Here, Jesus hits on 2 elements necessary for prayer - belief and forgiveness. I desire to learn from the Master about prayer and to more faithfully practice prayer in my life.

Theme Summary: Jesus drew near to the temple mount of Jerusalem and was greeted as the coming King, yet found the temple lacking the fruit of righteousness and he cleansed it. As a symbol of what would come upon Jerusalem and the temple, Jesus curses a fig tree that lacked fruit, and taught the disciples that if they pray in faith even for this mountain to be taken up and thrown into the sea, it would be done for him. Yet even in praying for judgment (such as on the Pharisees plotting to kill Jesus and challenging his authority), the disciples are taught to forgive others whatever they had against them, that our Father would forgive the disciples their sins.

This makes me think on how we are now temples for the Holy Spirit. A temple is a place dedicated to worship. What things am i adding into my temple causing noise and distractions, just as the the sacraficial animals and money changers. They in and of themselves were not bad, but detracted from the Holy worship.

This old fig tree is a stark reminder:
"Any that does not bear fruit will be bundled up and cast into the fire."

We need to encourage one another to bear good fruit in keeping with repentance. We may not be certain if anyone is saved, except ourselves but we should get serious about digging into the lives of our brothers and sisters. Encouraging, admonishing, more and more. There's a stark reality, that the one barren of fruit will perish, and I want to bear good fruit and help others to bear good fruit as well for His Glory.

Reading the triumphal entry make me long for Jesus’ real triumphal entry when he returns, not on the back of a “beast of burden”, but on his white war horse, ready to judge the earth and set up his kingdom. Maranatha.

The cleansing of the temple stood out to me today. As believers we are the temple of God. What would Christ find in His temple now that He disapproved of? What in my life needs to change to be more God honoring/worshipful?

We learn in verse 18 the chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to destroy him because they feared him. This was by no means a righteous fear but instead a jealous worldly fear. God I pray that in my heart I would properly fear you with awe and reverence. Continue to refine my heart so that any bit of doubt is removed.

Mark 11:17
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.” Father, just as Josh Stanley asked and as we prayed in our prayer service, please raise up prayer warriors in BF who will faithfully pray.

Leave a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.