Mark 11: The Servant King Has Come

6 February 2015: Carrying the King

Opening prayer: Lord, we need You. We depend on You and rest in You all the days of our lives. When the times get rough, turn our hearts and minds to You, to lift You high in our mess. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 11:1–10

Context: About 3 and a half months have passed since Jesus began His ministry, and now we have an insight on His final week before the cross. He enters Jerusalem in the strangest way possible, and even here we find principles to guide our faith. And His final ministry before the Crucifixion is none other than Jerusalem.

Analysis: Before they enter, however, Jesus sends His disciples to claim a donkey that belonged to someone else. It seemed very specific and overtly random, and highly unlikely, but Jesus wanted them to get the job done nonetheless. And considering what they have been through with Jesus for the past three years, surely their faith have grown to be able to trust that Jesus was right, no?

Well, if I were one them, I would still freak out. What if…Jesus was wrong and I offend the other party? And while it is noble and true to fear God’s disapproval over man’s disapproval, a mindset that we should all take on, it still is a personal challenge for me to overcome. Nonetheless, His disciples did the job and remarkably did it without much of a pickle. The men responded positively when the disciples told them that the Lord had need of the donkey.

And so the Lord rides on the donkey into the Holy City. Herein lies our next principle: the donkey. Think about it: the donkey had been tied up to a pole all the days of its life, and its stubbornness probably motivated it to set himself free from the pole’s not, but to no avail. It tried hard but failed every single time. Finally came a time when two random men loosed it from the pole and released it. After a mighty long time. Why didn’t the donkey run off? It had wanted to run off for years! No, seeing the goodness of the two men, it motivated him to follow them.

It is the goodness of God that lead us to repentance.

But what about discipleship? About taking up our cross and following Him? Firstly, we addressed that in Mark 8 the discipleship command was given to shatter our self-righteousness. Secondly, what are we actually doing when we take up the cross? Well, the donkey, after being set free from the pole, was led to be a seat for the Lord Jesus. God’s goodness that lead us to repentance is the same goodness that leads us to become His disciples and to lift Him high.

But I don’t have the qualifications! I am not eloquent in words! Well, notice that Jesus, as the King, rode on a donkey and NOT a Stallion horse. He could, and in the Second Coming, He would ride on a horse of glory, but in His first coming, He came on a donkey. This is yet another example of how God honours the lowly and resists the proud.

And it is yet another example of Jesus’ role as described in Mark 10:45, that is, to serve and not be served, to give His life as a ransom for all.

This donkey entry have been prophesied since the Old Testament, written 400 years before the birth of Christ, in Zechariah 9:9. Religious leaders probably could not believe it when they saw Jesus entering on the donkey, that this person they condemn with blasphemy is fulfilling Scripture. Yet the people praised Him with palm trees, praising Him with “Hosanna”, or when translated, “Save us!” They called onto Jesus to be their Redeemer from the hands of the Roman Empire. They saw Him as King, not as suffering servant, and these voices that welcomed Him would soon after hail “Crucify Him!” during the Passion. God gave them a rescuer, they didn’t want Him, ridiculed Him, mocked Him and completely trampled over Him, yet God took their atrocity and turned it around as their source of salvation, as with the source of salvation for all.

Jesus came to be Saviour. Jesus is Saviour. He may not yet have won the war from our perspective, but as far as God is concerned, the war against the enemy, against sickness and disease, against death and against sin have been won once and for all through the finished work of our Saviour. And He comes. Jesus is Saviour.

Don’t forget the donkey. The donkey was carrying Jesus into the Holy City. When we lift high Jesus, we don’t get the glory. He gets it all, but it is to our privilege to enjoy the ‘red carpet’, is it not? As Christians, lift Him high. None of us but all of Him (John 3:30)!

Closing prayer: Lord, we are Your donkeys. We want to lift You high wherever You ride us. Be exalted in our midst. Thank You for the blessings that follow, but all glory goes to You and You alone, all the time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

8 February 2015: Boldness Found in Jesus

Opening prayer: Thank You Lord for Your Word that blesses us innumerably and immeasurably. We receive from Your Word and the nourishment that brings. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 11:11–14, 20–25

Analysis: Jesus was not pleased with what He saw in the Holy City. Mark 11:11 records their rest at Bethany and verses 12 and 14 the day after. Jesus was hungry and upon realising that the fig tree, though appearing to bear fruit in the ripe season didn’t actually have any fruit, cursed the fig tree to its roots. I suspect that His disciples were semi–appalled by Jesus, as they probably thought Jesus was out of His mind despite having seen Him do this before (i.e. it’s normal). When Jesus deals with any issue, He tackles the root of the problem. That’s why the ultimate demonstration of God’s love was not the sicknesses alone, which were the leaves, but sin, which was the root of the sickness.

At the cross, God also dealt with the power of sin: the Law (1 Corinthians 15:16), where the Love of God paid ransom to the justice of God, where grace overpaid law. Today, we live in God’s unclouded favour because the root of the problem, sin, have been tackled once and for all. Sin have been punished at the core, on that cross, that our human flesh may die completely. And following sin is the new life that God gives us, also from the root, that produces works of life and not dead works. We are new creations from the core (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) not because we pruned our leaves, but because God gives us a new beginning, a new root, and that root is Jesus Christ!

The event when the fig actually withered was a few days after it had been cursed. In other words, the tree did not wither the moment Jesus cursed it, but having been cursed by its roots, it was only a matter of time before it would wither. Transformation should begin from the root, not the leaves, and Jesu cursing the fir tree at the root is an antitype of the root-first transformation He works in us.

Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 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. 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.” [Mark 11:22–25]

Why the counsel? It seems that Jesus is saying that as long as you can believe, you can do anything. And that is indeed the clear message we have here. However, this declaration more than just believing. Jesus said this after cursing the fig tree. Now, the first occurrence of fig leaves occurred back in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve, in an attempt to hide from God, made clothes of fig leaves (Genesis 3:7), expressing their shame when meeting God. The fig tree symbolised pretentiousness, and God wants none of it. We come to Him as we are, not by trying to be someone else, and He takes our brokenness, place us in Christ and renew us by reminding us of the finished work of Jesus. That’s why Jesus declared that we can have whatever we believe and say, because we have right standing with God and can stand boldly before Him (1 John 4:17) rather than in shame.

And because we can have boldness in God, we can unashamedly forgive others. Because God has first forgiven us, we can forgive others. Here, the order is reversed, because this was said before the cross, such that the law required our forgiveness of others before God forgives us. Now, however, in the age of grace, God gives us the gift of complete forgiveness, and His love compels us to forgive those who have trespassed us.

Ultimately, in Jesus do we find boldness and power to essentially do the impossible. Salvation is impossible by us but is possible by grace through faith in Jesus. Life-transformations cannot be triggered by us alone, but the God that works in us, through us and for us. And the lives that God impacts through us isn’t by us; it’s by God. We can live boldly knowing that it’s none of us but all of Christ, and whatever we ask for is ours, not because we want it, but because God places His desire and His heart in ours, that we may pray out and by faith declare the will of God.

When we serve Jesus, lifting Him high like the donkey, we have His boldness to follow His path and let Him lead us, resting assured that He will take us to where we need to be for the advancement of His kingdom.

Closing prayer: Lord, we receive Your empowerment to speak out in faith Your will. Thank You for transforming us from our root and filling us with Christ. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit to discern right from wrong and to impart grace to others in our walks of life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

9 February 2015: Steel and Velvet

Opening prayer: Thank You Jesus for coming for us, for saving us in spite of our complete unworthiness. We receive Your unmerited favour and choose to consciously live in You, where it’s none of us but all of You. In Your name, Amen!

Scripture: Mark 11:15–19

Analysis: Jesus and His disciples have officially entered Jerusalem: the Holy City of God, the dwelling place of His chosen people. These were the ones whom Jesus was primarily sent to redeem, for they were given the prophecies of the Coming Messiah.

Unfortunately for them, that was not what Jesus realised. For 400 years ever since the prophecy of the Messiah, no Messiah came. And perhaps over the course of many generations, the people have lost hope in the prophecy and, perhaps, would want to get on with their lives without it. They have been accustomed to the sacrifices as a religious practice, rather than a picture and type of their Saviour. May we not lose sight as we read the Scriptures, that in everything, Jesus is to be lifted high and to be worshiped, praised, adored, magnified (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Jesus’ arrival, however, shocked the whole region. Attracting multitudes to be fed and healed, Jesus’ name being famous was but an understatement. It garnered great attention, even that of the Pharisees, who in light of the political power and rule they had over the common people of the land were threatened by Jesus’ message of hope and liberty. Their economy had a sizeable portion found in the sales of temple sacrifices, and Jesus did not like it. One either worships God or money, but never both (Matthew 6:24). It’s humanely impossible to do both. It goes against the sinful human nature to honour both God and money. And yet it was precisely this trait that was revealed in the temple.

Jesus wrecked the place. He wrecked the marketplace of sacrifices, where the rich would buy luxurious animals to sacrifice and the poor would be extorted of all that they have left for sacrificial pigeons. It was a place of social status, not one of worship. Jesus would have none of it. He overturned the money-changers’ tables and wrecked their shops. He forbade them all from continuing their transactions and declared the reason for the sole existence of that place: as a place of worship, not a place of commerce. The temple was to be a house of prayer, for all nations, yet, it became a den of thieves, where people stole.

The Pharisees were very displeased with Jesus. He was stealing the limelight. People’s respect turned away from the religious authorities and were turning to Jesus, the Hope of all the earth. And the Pharisees really did not like it. They needed to be honoured, or else their ruling position could very well be stripped away from them by the Roman Empire. And in stylish wisdom, Jesus and His disciples retreated to rest. Jesus knew that it was not yet time for Him to die. He would, but not now. When Jesus gave His life, He wasn’t stripped of it, but that He laid it down. He chose to die, to give us the choice to live.

Jesus is so cool. He is King, yet Servant. He is well-known, yet choose to be alone when possible. He is firm as a rock but in the face of sinners unleashes His waves of grace and mercy. In Him at the cross we see the ultimate expression of God’s love for the sinner and God’s fiery indignation against sin. Steel and velvet, He is our Lord.

Closing prayer: We love You, Jesus, for You first love us. And we read in Your love and embrace, now and forevermore. Let our actions be none of us but all of You. May everything we do bring glory to You and You alone. None of us but all of You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

10 February 2015: Jesus Our Wisdom

Opening prayer: Thank You Lord for giving us the time to spend in Your Word, that You refresh us and redirect our hearts and minds to You. Bring our eyes to see Jesus and make us more like You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Scripture: Mark 11:27–33

Analysis: Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem. On the way there, they saw that the fig tree that Jesus cursed a couple of days earlier had withered, and Jesus taught them about faith. To speak out what they are believing for in boldness and not in pretence. Now in Jerusalem they get confronted by the church leaders of the day.

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” [Mark 11:27–28] In other words, “Who gave you the right to wreck the temple? Who gave you the authority to teach? Who gave you the power to heal?”

Broadly speaking, Jesus had two answers: man or God. If He were to say, ‘man’, that is, another religious leader elsewhere or perhaps authority figures of the land, then perhaps the Pharisees might let Him off, or not, but either way, He would lie. That was not His nature. Jesus had no ability to lie. Yet again, if Jesus said “God”, then the Pharisees then and there have a justified reason to kill Him immediately. And at this point in time, Jesus would not be killed. In wisdom, He did not answer the question but instead challenged the intent of the question by exposing the motives of the chief priests, the scribes and the elders.

Did John’s authority to baptise come from heaven, or was it merely human?

Now, the Pharisees were in a dilemma. By now, John the Baptist had already been killed (Mark 6), but Jesus was not, so the Pharisees by acknowledging John would acknowledge that John spoke truthfully with regard to Jesus. However, if they admitted that John had his authority given from God, which was indeed true in accordance to the Scriptures, then they would be self-contradictory in their action, acknowledging John’s role as prophet but denying the One he prophesied about. On the other hand, by saying that John was given authority from man would be to go against the vast majority, who held the former true. Their reputation was at stake.

“We don’t know.”

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

And thus their trap failed yet again. Jesus wasn’t interested in the question but how to carefully evade the trap. Many a time, when scholarly people ask about the Bible or challenge Christianity, they aren’t interested in the questions but hope to trap the Christian in tricky ground, and sometimes even though the questions remain unanswered, the questioner walks away changed in some way. Perhaps an afterthought in the discussion. But ultimately, the believer is kept safe and rested.

And Jesus spoke wisely. Earlier on, His words were harsh (to the fig tree) and motivational (to the disciples). Here, He spoke firmly and truthfully. We will see more in the next chapter, when Jesus unleashed on the crowd a full blow of the indictment of the religious authorities in their perception of Him. But when Jesus speaks firmly, we can just watch in awe of His amazing wisdom and rest in Him for ours. Jesus is our wisdom in the pickle. Let us engage Him in all of our life, for our lives revolve around Him, and He being wise will supply His wisdom freely to those who ask.

Closing prayer: Thank You Lord for Your wisdom. Surely we can place our hope in You, especially in the pickle. When we do not know what to say, we look to You for our supply of wisdom. You are our supply. Give us the right things to say, not to win the argument per se but to win the soul. And give us Your grace to advance Your Kingdom too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.