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In this part of the Easter story Christ clears the
temple for the second time. He was angry at the
cheating of the merchants and selling of sacrifices
with big profits.
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Mark
11:12-19
Jesus
Clears the Temple Again
11:12
"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
area 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, they went out of the
city."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Christ clears
the temple for a second time
- At first, this passage
really threw me!! After all the cruelty Christ
had experienced from the keepers of the law and
now he is angry at a fig tree??
-
- But as I studied more, it
became evident that Jesus was relating the
cursing of the fig tree to the clearing of the
temple.
-
- The fig tree, like the
temple, made a big promise of food with its
flowing leaves blowing in the breeze. But, it
turned out that a promise was all it offered
because there was no fruit to give.
-
- In the same likeness, the
temple looked promising from the outside but had
no substance. True worship of God had all but
disappeared from inside the temple walls and the
money changers were getting rich from selling to
the visitors who came to pray and
reflect.
-
- Jesus was really upset by
the hollow religious life inside the temple
which bore no "fruit".
-
- We can learn from this
passage. We proclaim to be followers of Christ
but just saying "I am a Christian" is not
enough.
-
- We have to truly believe,
worship, and put faith to work in our lives so
that we will not end with the same emptiness as
the "barren fig tree".
-
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Bob Pardue is a member
of First Baptist Church in Lancaster, SC. He is
ordained from Rich Hill Baptist in Lancaster. The
website is at http://www.makingchristknown.com
Want to
place this passage and commentary on your website
or e-zine for content?
This article about Christ
clearing the temple may be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in any e-zine,
newsletter, blog, or website. The author's name,
bio, and website links must remain intact
and be included with every reproduction of
this report.
Bob
Verses are from Life Application Study
Bible: New International Version
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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