Rediscover Jesus: Things Are Not Always As They Appear (Expanded)

Rediscover Jesus:
Things Are Not Always As They Appear

Small Group Sermon Reflections (Expanded)

Scripture Text: Mark 11:4-22
Listen up: Such An Awesome God
Season Preamble
There is an ancient Indian fable. Six blind men, who could not see an elephant, went to touch and feel the elephant. The first blind man touches the leg, and thinks the elephant is a pillar. The second blind man touches the tail and thinks the elephant is like a rope. The third man touches the trunk and thinks the elephant is like a thick branch of a tree. The fourth man touches the ear and thinks it is like a big hand fan. The fifth man touches the belly and thinks the elephant is like a huge wall. The sixth blind man touches the tusk of the elephant and thinks it is like a solid pipe. They began to argue about the elephant and every one insisted that he was right. A wise man who was passing by explained to them, “All of you are right. Everyone was telling it differently because each of you touched a different part of the elephant. The elephant has all of those features you said.” There are four morals of this story: (1) truth is relative to one’s own perspective, (2) we should respect the opinions of others. (3) The broader truth is that none of the blind men. based on their personal experience, sees the full picture of the elephant. (4)“Things are not always as they appear.” Let’s rediscover Jesus, whose appearance is different from our previous perceptions of Jesus, and let us remember that things are not always as they appear.

Freedom from Roman Occupation by celebrating freedom from Egyptian Occupation
The Holy Week or Passion Week was Passover for the people in Jesus’ day. Hundreds of thousands of Jews would return to Jerusalem to celebrate the remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. It appears that this Passover is like all the other Passovers that have been celebrated for over a thousand years. But remember that things are not always as they appear. Rumors were spreading that Jesus was the Messiah. After years of waiting, Israel would be liberated, restored, and free from Roman occupation. The followers of Jesus realize there was something different about this year.

Coming Coup or Religious Royalty
“The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door.  As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and he sat on it” (Mark 11:4-7). The disciples are untying and taking a colt, and some bystanders questioned why. In our day, this would be like someone going into our driveway and taking our car.  This appears to be stealing as the neighborhood watch folks questioned the two disciples. Jesus told them what to say. When the disciples said what Jesus told them to say, they were permitted to take the colt. God’s bigger story moves forward because the colt was part of the fulfillment of prophecy: “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey - riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9). That is exactly what happened! The pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for Passover witnessed Jesus on the colt; they recognized the fulfillment of the prophecy. They spread garments and leafy branches on the ground as was the custom to honor a king.  “Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, ‘Hosannah! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosannah in the highest heaven!’” (Mark 11:9-10). Hosannah is a Greek word derived from a Hebrew word meaning “please save.” It appeared that the Messiah was  saving them from Roman occupation and reestablishing the Kingdom of David on earth right now. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem appeared to be the long awaited coup and revolution they had longed for. For so much of his ministry, Jesus had been quiet about being the Messiah and even told people not to speak of it. But now, with his announcement that he was indeed the Messiah, it appeared that Jesus was ready! Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Messiah, but this was not an upcoming coup, at least not in the way they were thinking. Jesus riding on a donkey was a symbol of peace and honor. On the other hand, horses were regarded as a sign of war, power and military force. Jesus riding a colt revealed that he is a different type of King: a humble king who came to serve, a righteous King with all power and nothing to prove, a liberating King who came to free people for all eternity from the power and oppression of sin in every form, fashion, and expression. The bigger truth we can rediscover is: Jesus is indeed the Messiah, and he rode humbly into Jerusalem as Righteous Royalty. The Kingdom Jesus is ushering in is one of righteousness, justice, peace, and love.

Mark’s Gospel foreshadowing something about the Temple
“So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left because it was late in the afternoon. Then he returned to Bethany with the twelve disciples” (Mark 11:11). Bethany is where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived. It is logical to assume that Jesus and the disciples were staying with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, his dear friends.

Fig Frustration or Fruit Failure
“The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat your fruit again! And the disciples heard him say it’” (Mark 11:12-14). This seems a bit uncharacteristically harsh from the Jesus we know. But remember, things are not always how they appear! A Snicker commercial showed people turning mean and evil when they are hungry; the tag line was: you’re not you when you’re hungry. Appearances can make it seem like that is happening here with Jesus because the text says Jesus was hungry.
Why was Jesus looking for fruit since the text declares this was not the season for fruit? Since there were leaves on the tree - the text calls it a fig tree in full leaf - there should have been small edible buds that are nutritious and delicious. These buds appear right before the fig fruit season, but when Jesus looked, there were none, and Jesus cursed it for having no fruit. Jesus did not curse the fig tree because he was hungry (it was not a Snickers moment).
This was not simply about Fig Frustration but rather it is about Fruit Failure.

Temple Tantrum or Cleansing Corruption. Jesus clears the Temple.
“When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (Mark 11:15-16). This scene was foreshadowed in verse 11 discussed above. Jesus was looking at the marketplace that was set up in the outer courts. It is the place that was supposed to be for the Gentiles to worship. Jesus comes back to address this denial of worship for the Gentiles, and Jesus is not pleased.

It can appear that Jesus is having a temper tantrum. Many times in bible topic movies, Jesus is depicted like a crazy person who has snapped in anger, turning over tables, and driving merchants away kicking and screaming.
Jesus had every reason to be angry with righteous anger. The religious leadership had set up markets doing business that was quite profitable. The money changers exchanged currencies from people from foreign countries so the foreigners could pay the Temple Tax. If a family brought their own animal, it would be inspected by the religious leaders who would find something wrong with the animal. The family would then have to purchase a “blemish free” animal. The merchants and money changers were known for high prices and exorbitant exchange rates in exploiting the people. Passover had high sales volumes with many Jewish pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem.

There is more to the story. Jesus was not having a wild temper tantrum. Jesus was controlled, deliberate, passionately cleaning out corruption, taking charge and setting things right.  There is more going on than simply how things appeared: Jesus quoting Isaiah 56: and Jeremiah 7:11 says, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves'' (Mark 11:17). We plainly perceive the den of thieves because the leaders and merchants were robbing the people. The house of prayer for all nations is an important point to the bigger story beyond apparent appearences. The merchants and the money changers were conducting business in the outer courts of the Temple meant to be a special and holy space for Gentiles (those not born Jewish) to worship God. The religious leaders were prohibiting God’s house from being a place for all nations by usurping the holy space for Gentiles. They had made God’s Holy Temple a place of exclusion, and Jesus was not having it, because this is not God’s way.
 
In this scene, Jesus is cleansing corruption. Jesus is affirming God’s house as a place of prayer and worship that welcomes all nations, not just Jews. God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him. God extends the covenant of love to all humanity. Since all are welcome into God’s family, it was never meant to be exclusive.

Jesus is continuing to teach them
Jesus is teaching in a tangible way. The NIV translation begins verse 17: “And as he taught them, he said, is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations…” In the Greek original text the word translated taught is in the verb tense of continual teaching. The actions of Jesus in the Temple were deliberate teaching, not a casual pronouncement uttered in the heat of anger. Jesus is teaching to overturn a way of thinking. Jesus is teaching to overturn a way of  life. Jesus is teaching to overturn corrupt systems of greed, prejudice, and injustice. Jesus is teaching to overturn what had become the status quo and personally profitable for the religious leaders. Jesus is teaching for a new day that is coming including prayer and worship for all nations in spirit and in truth.

The religious leaders felt the rumblings of change. They did not understand it all, but they knew things were more than they appeared. They knew that Jesus was about more than a temple tantrum, which is what prompted their diabotical plot. “When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching” (Mark 11:18). They found a way quickly because four days later, Jesus was crucified.

Fig Frustration of Fruitful Failure
Mark connects the scene of the fruitless fig tree around the scene of Jesus in the temple. The fig tree scene and the temple scene are related. Jesus looks for fruit on the figtree, but there is none. Jesus then curses the fig tree and says it will never bear fruit again. Then he clears the corruption in the temple and makes a way of worship for all nations. Jesus and the disciples pass the fig tree again, but something has changed. “The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree the previous day and exclaimed, ‘Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!’” (Mark 11:20-21). Withered from the root speaks of its supernatural demise from the inside out.

Both the fig tree scene and the temple scene speak to God’s judgment for failure to bear the fruit God expects. It is a symbol for the coming destruction of the Temple and the spiritual nature of Israel, especially the religious leaders. These religious leaders looked righteous on the outside, but at their core, they were without fruit, barren, and spiritually dead. Even when Jesus seemed angry or frustrated, there was always more than what appeared. Jesus’ intention, mission, focus, plan, and purpose for people out of unconditional love never waivered. Even when we don’t understand or recognize Jesus’ method or we are not hearing Jesus well, we can rest assured that Jesus never changes. Jesus is always working fulfilling a master plan. Jesus stayed the course and fulfilled his mission, purpose, and promise all the way to the cross.

Life Application of Sermon Principles to Good Works - Blind following the wise man, Jesus. No matter how things seem to us, we can still be of good cheer because things are not always as they appear to us. We are like those blind men at the beginning of our message today; that is why the Bible instructs us to walk by faith and not by sight. We have Jesus, an all seeing wise man, who sees the entire elephant of our lives and simply says, “follow me.” How are we going to follow Jesus, the only one who can truly see?



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Coming Coup or Religious Royalty
  • We rediscover Jesus riding into town on a colt, not as one initiating a coming coup. What is the significance that Jesus is riding on a colt, not a military style horse? For example, riding on the colt symbolizes royal righteousness and a humble servant King who came to free people from something far greater than the political tyranny of the Romans. The people had the expectation of freedom from Roman rule, but God was working on something broader. 
-What expectations do we put on God, maybe even get mad at God about?
-Is it possible that God is working on something different, perhaps even better and bigger than what I’m asking about or waiting for? What might that be?
-Are we recognizing that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to God’s purpose (Romans 8:28)? How can we make this promise reality in our life?
Fig Frustration or Fruit Failure
  • We rediscover Jesus pronouncing death on a fig tree, not because he is not being himself out of hunger or frustrated looking for figs, nor finding even the beginning stages of fruit as buds. Rather Jesus is looking for metaphorical fruit in anything and anyone who is to be faithful to God. We can wonder about our own fruitfulness. Is it time for a fruit inspection?
-Do we see fruit in our lives?
-Do we see growth?
-Do we see the manifestation of God at work in us?
-What might our fruit or the lack thereof suggest about our relationship with God?
-What might we need to attend to, cultivate, or fertilize?
Temple Tantrum or Cleansing Corruption. Jesus clears the Temple
  • We rediscover Jesus in the Temple, not throwing a tantrum, but with premeditated passion and purpose, cleaning up corruption and making room for all nations, not just the Jewish nation..  
-What may Jesus want to clean up in our lives?
- What needs to be toppled over and made right?
-Where might we need to make more room in spaces we have squeezed God out?
Jesus is continuing to teach them
  • In the tangible way that included overturning tables, what lessons is Jesus teaching?
Fig Frustration of Fruitful Failure
  • In what ways are the fig tree scene and the temple scene related events. 
  • How does the fig tree scene speak to God’s judgment on people or things that do not metaphorically have any fruit from their lives?
  • How does the temple scene also speak to God’s judgment on people or things that do not metaphorically have any fruit from their lives?
Life Application of Sermon Principles to Good Works - Blind following the wise man, Jesus.
  • In the next few days, weeks, and months, how are we going to follow Jesus, the humble, servant  King of Kings, Savior/Messiah, and wise man as the only one who can truly see?

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