I. Greetings:
II. Introduction: It was near ten years ago I sat in a parked car outside of St. Agnes hospital trying to have faith. One of my best friend's wife was dying of cancer, had, I was told, two days to live. I was there to pray for her healing. I prayed I would have faith and tried to pump myself up with as much positive feelings as I could muster. However, by the time I arrived at the 5th floor to enter the intensive care unit all confidence was gone. She is alive today, over eight years later, but it was certainly not due to my overriding faith. I had much to learn!
I believe such faith is to be part of the believer, and Jesus addresses this issue on the last week of His life.
Note: Jesus is a master teacher. He was then and is now. He knows how to seize the moment and use metaphors or concrete images to get across His points.
III. Working With Trees (Metaphor): Mark 11:12-14
>>>> Have someone read Mark 11:12-14
Q Why is Jesus in Jerusalem? What will happen this week?
An = This begins the passion week, the week of His death. It is His last chance to teach the disciples key truths.
Q Assuming Jesus understood the proper season for figs, why did He approach the tree in the first place?
An = Mark wants to point out at the end of 11:14 c "And His disciples heard it." This is a strange occurrence and Mark seemingly does not interpret it for us. Even today, God does things that seem strange and are not understandable to us. However, He is God, and He knows what He is doing.
IV. Justice: Mark 11:15-19.
>>>> Have someone read Mark 11:15-19
Q Why is Jesus so upset?
An = The holy temple of God has been defiled, but in a most horrible manner.
Note: It is a matter of injustice! People came from all over the world to pray to the God revealed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Many were not Jews but had been deeply attracted to the Jewish conception of God: All power, unlimited power was in one Person (monotheism) and this power was Just and Loving. At the heart of the Universe was an unmitigated power that was both just and loving; good news indeed! That justice and power combined was the greatest religion ever heard of on the planet!
Jesus was angry because at the very place on earth where one should have expected justice and loving treatment was the seen of robbery. People would come to buy a proper sacrificial animal or grain only to find they had to use temple currency and the rates of exchange were corrupt, or the animal, grain, etc. was found to be deficient so a temple approved animal had to be bought at exorbitant prices. This was "unrighteous". In Hebrew, the definition of "righteousness" is usually best understood as "what is appropriate." Cheating defenseless pilgrims, many who had traveled for months for a once-in-a-life-time experience of worship is inappropriate. They were cheated at the very threshold of the God of Justice and Love.
Jesus was deeply angry and when he was through with the temple thieves a lot of money had been lost, and so Jesus was not the only people angry that day. Jesus had threatened the power structure of His day.
RQ However, what does this have to do with fig trees out of season?
V. Trees and Faith: Mark 11:20-24
>>>> Have someone read Mark 11:20-24.
Note: Peter is obviously surprised and points this out.
Q #A What does faith have to do with fig trees? How does the tree story in 11:12-14 and 20-24 relate to the temple story in 11:15-19?
Q Why did Mark interrupt his tree story? How does a lesson of faith and justice belong together?
Q Even more alarming, is not Jesus' definition frustrating?
Q Are not definitions like the one in 11:24 the cause of some much grief and pain like the experience I had in the parking lot of the hospital?
QQ Have you experienced such frustration?
Q #B How do we gain such faith?
VI. Trees, Justice, Faith and the Key to gain Faith: Mark 11:24-26.
A. Looking More Closely At Verses 23-24.
Note: To answer these questions, lets examine Jesus' speech more closely. In 11:22 one is commanded to have faith.
In 11:23 there is an "If...then" structure to the verse. Mountains are put into the Sea "if" one speaks, with no doubt, and believes in one's heart (or mind or consciousness for that is more accurately what heart means in Hebrew) what he speaks, "then" it will be accomplished. Mountains could mean several things, but one thing is given in this context of the fig tree. It would certainly include physical miracles (see Mark 16:17,18).
In 11:24 we have the conclusion/interpretation. If anything is believed, then it shall be.
B. Answering Question # A, What Do Trees and Faith Have To Do With Each Other?
Q What do trees and faith have to do with each other?
An = Let them answer without comment by you and then note that Jesus is not through speaking but says one or two verses more (depending on their translation).
>>>> Have someone one read Mark 11:25-26.
Note: There is a text-critical problem with 11:26 and some English version leave the verse out, but the deletion of the verse does not affect the argument (see Matt. 6:15, 18:35).
Q Why is this here? Is Jesus' interpretation of the mountain a lack of forgiveness?
Q Is great power needed to forgive in certain situation?
Q Are brothers (physical or christian ones) harder to forgive than others? What do you think?
Q What do our churches need most: physical miracles or for their members to forgive one another?
An = Perhaps there is a logical progression here in Mark.
* It is appropriate (righteous) for fig trees to have figs.
* It is appropriate for justice to be found in the temple of the God of Justice.
* It is appropriate for forgiveness to be found in Christians.
There is more logic implied here, and it is frightening:
* Trees that do not act appropriately are withered.
* People who cheat others at the temple are thrown out.
* Christians who do not forgive are not forgiven.
C. Gaining Faith: Applying Verse 25-26 To Verses 12-24.
Perhaps we now need to look at Q #B again. How do we gain such faith? Perhaps, we can start with something very near to us.
Q Do we forgive? Is this where Jesus wants us to start in our quest for faith?
Q If we started forgiving our enemies, would the faith to do healing be present?
An = Jesus seems to put a priority on forgiving, rather than physical healing. Maybe these are the mountains He is most concerned with. This is not to knock physical miracles. The church has experienced them in every age, and they are often signs or acts of compassion that God sees fit to give. However, our real problem is what Jesus brings up. We often do not forgive because we do not have faith.
Q Why does it take faith to forgive?
An = Let me offer two reasons.
1) One is we do not forgive because we doubt God will judge our persecutors/enemies. Psalm 108:12-13 says differently. However, it does take real faith to believe justice will take place in the end. It does seem the wicked prosper.
2) Second, we are often in doubt whether He can take the feelings of anger/hatred/etc. away.
Q Let me ask you, even if we do forgive in our minds, could we ever be free in our feelings?
An = The fact is that we cannot get rid of these feelings, but He can. Physical miracles are not done by our faith, they are done by God. Our feelings, and the freedom we need from them, will not be accomplished by our faith, but by God. For that matter, so will the judgment of our enemies. Our faith is demonstrated when we do not take matters into our own hands. >>>> Have someone read Psalms 37:34-40
Note: A last word from our brothers/sisters of long ago.[1]
"A brother who was hurt by another brother went to the Theban Abba Sisois and said: `I want to avenge myself on a brother who has hurt me.' The old man begged him? `Don't my son: leave vengeance in the hands of God.' But he said: `I cannot rest until I avenge myself.' The old man said: `My brother, let us pray.' The old man stood up and said: `O God, we have no further need to think of Thee, for we take vengeance of ourselves.' The brother heard it and fell at the old man's feet, saying: `No longer will I quarrel with my brother: I beg you to forgive me.'"
Another word from the desert fathers....
"They said of a monk, that the more bitterly anyone injured or assailed him, the more he was well-disposed to him; for he said: `People like this are a means to cure the faults of serious men. We often need troublesome people to help us get cured before the last call, the last blast of the trumpet. I deeply appreciate those who treat me justly and lovingly, but I must admit that the jerks of the world can be the means of my growth in grace and, according to Jesus, my growth in faith.'"
![I perceived that innovations had already begun, and that there were a great many very much elevated in hopes of a revolt from the Romans. ... [I] Persuaded them to change their minds...and this I said with vehement exhortation, because I foresaw that the end of such a war would be most unfortunate to us. But I could not persuade them; for the madness of desperate men was quite too hard for me.5](http://www.biblestudyauthor.com/Articles/EF25FB47-4A4E-40AD-BD31-2044917CF4FD_files/shapeimage_1.png)
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