Lent: Monday

March 20
Monday
“Den of Robbers”
Mark 11: 12-19

Intro
Lent
Preparation so that we can celebrate
Last week-palm Sunday-2 kingdoms-which one do you serve

This week we’re going to look at what happens on Monday.

Mark 11: 12-19
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.

First let’s talk about the fig tree story-you do need to know that the next day the tree is dead. We get the rest of the story on Tuesday. How many of you have ever read this story before? How many of you have a hard time understanding it? I mean, is it a story about Jesus’ hunger pains? In that he gets so hungry that he curses a tree that shouldn’t have fruit on it anyway? Does this make sense in all that you know about Jesus? Of course not, so there must be something more.

Markean frames-puts stories together with a similar meaning because they should be considered together. Mark uses frames or what I would call bookends to show you where they are located. Does that make sense?

Explain the figs-not in season
So how does the fig tree relate to the scene in the Temple?
Lack of fruit

The fig tree showed promise of fruit, but it produced none. Jesus was showing his anger at religious life without substance. If you, claim to have faith without putting it to work in your life, you are like the barren fig tree. Question for the week-your life shows promise, but does it show fruit?

Moving on to the Temple scene.
Matthew includes this story as happening on Sunday night.
Remember what happened at the end of Sunday. V. 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Which causes me to ask, was Jesus setting up his plan? Is everything in this last week planned? It seems that he is waiting for a better time-the morning was the best times for a demonstration

And what was he upset about? Was it just people being taken advantage of? Or was there something more something deeper?

What is the sin in the Temple?
Let’s break it down.
What is a den?
“Den” is where robbers flee to once they have done their robbing.
Jesus is saying, You are giving crooks a safe place to do business and worst of all it’s the church… How dare you turn my Temple into a safe house for injustice. These robbers come and hold the church and worship hostage-using it for their own good instead of the good of all, the good of the body.…people should be safe when they come to the church.

SuperBowl v. regular game
People take advantage of travelers and big holidays
Profiteering
During Passover may have done the same

Who sat at the tables? Who was getting rich? Religious leaders
The empire had infiltrated the church.

What is involved for Jesus is an absolute criticism not only of violent domination, but of any religious collaboration with it. In that criticism, of course, he stands with the prophets of Israel such as Zechariah and Jeremiah, but also stands against those forms of Christianity that were used throughout the centuries to support imperial violence and injustice.
Temple had lost it’s voice and thus the people had lost the value of why they came
The money exchange system was preventing people from encountering the sacred
It had become a place of profit and convenience
Worship isn’t a substitute for justice.

What does this mean for us? A couple of things-1) The temple showed promise of fruit, but was not producing fruit.

2)we need to ask ourselves, in what ways have we made the church a refuge for ourselves to seek forgiveness, but not repentance or transformation?
Is the gospel of Christ working in you and through you or is it on your to do list?
Den of Robbers-go to the temple and do their sacrifices-cheap grace-if I just show up to church I’m good for another week-instead of making it the fabric of everything I do.

As if the church is the only Holy Ground-God is everywhere.

Finally, what does v. 18 say? The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

I believe this is the precipitating event that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. We have to ask ourselves, what did Jesus do here that caused them to want to kill him? He’s standing up and speaking out against them-challenging their power, their greed, their corruption. These religious leaders have the promise of fruit, but aren’t producing any and worse than that they are preventing others from producing fruit.

The framing fig tree warns us that the framed temple is not being cleansed, but symbolically destroyed and that, in both cases, the problem is a lack of the “fruit” that Jesus expected to be present. Does your life produce fruit or only promise fruit?