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

Opening Prayer & Check-in 
Listen Up: Such An Awesome God 
Scripture Texts: Mark 11:4-22
Sermon Preamble
Pastor Tammy began by sharing an image of six (6) blind men touching an elephant and how each of the men described the elephant from their vantage point, while none of them were wrong they were relaying their individual perspectives.  However, they did not have the complete picture or the whole story. Pastor Tammy stated that the moral of the story is that truth is relative to our individual perspectives and since truth is relative, we should respect the opinions of others. She added that there was a broader truth to the story and that while all of the men were right based on their personal experience, there was more to it than that. Therefore, another moral to this story is that things are not always as they appear. Pastor Tammy then had us read Mark 11:4-22.  She noted that up until this part of the story, Mark had provided somewhat of a panoramic view of Jesus, and the Jesus we encounter in this passage appears different.  But remember, things are not always as they appear, especially when you break the reading down into scenes covered below.
Holy Week Like None Other

• It appears like all the preceding Passovers which had been celebrated for over 1000 years
• Rumors of Jesus being the Messiah had spread and hopes were high that the end of Roman oppression was in sight

A Coming Coup or a Righteous Royalty
A colt was stolen
There is something bigger going on here
A prophecy was being fulfilled

• Shouts of Hosanna rain down; Hosanna means: Please save
• Ah, but Jesus rode a donkey which symbolizes a kingdom of peace and humility. He is revealing Himself to be a liberating, righteous king as opposed to riding on a horse symbolizing war and destruction
• His kingdom of peace and love is one that is still unfolding today

Mark 11 is a foreshadowing
Fig Frustration or Fruit Failure

• A different, uncharacteristic Jesus
• The fig tree was in full leaf which means that there should have been small, edible, nutritious buds
• Was Jesus just hangry

Temple Tantrum or Cleansing Core Corruption

• Mark 11:15-16
• Jesus saw this scene earlier when He “looked around”
• What do we do with “this Jesus”
• He displayed righteous anger, wrath (wrath in this scene is a form of love for those having been wronged)
• Jesus was angry for a number of reasons and was passionately cleaning out corruption and setting things right
  • They were selling blemished animals
  • They were charging exorbitant rates
  • They were exploiting the people
• More than meets the eye was taking place here when Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
• Jesus is affirming that God’s house is to be a place of prayer and worship for all nations and not just Jews
• Jesus is also teaching to overturn:
  • A way of thinking
  • A way of life
  • Corrupt systems of greed, prejudice, and injustice
  • What had become status quo and personally profitable for the religious leaders; and
  • He’s teaching for a new day that is coming, a day including prayer and worship for all nations in spirit and in truth
• Jesus’ response was not pleasing to the leading priests and teachers of religious law.  And for that, they plotted to kill Him and four (4) days later, they crucified Him

Fig Frustration or Fruitful Failure

• Mark uses the barren fig tree and the temple scene to tell a bigger story; Jesus is expecting “fruit” in both scenarios
• The judgment of the tree was supernatural in that it was from the root up or from the inside out.
• The spiritual state of Israel was like that of the tree in terms of its leaders who from the outside appeared to be righteous yet, on the inside, were spiritually bereft

So What Do We Discover

• This was not a coup but royal righteousness on display
• We too can misplace our expectations on God and miss out on the fact that He has a broader plan in mind
• It is time for a fruit inspection of our lives and the systems around us
• We must make room for His righteousness
• We must ask ourselves, what is it that God wants us to see 
• For even when we don’t “see Him” we can rest assured that He is working all things for our good and His glory
• We have an-all seeing wise Man who sees the entire elephant of our lives and simply says “Follow Me”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Head 
  • Looking back over your life, what expectations have you perhaps wrongly placed on God that He in your opinion, did not meet? How might looking at the outcome from God’s broader perspective change your opinion of what took place?
  • Hosanna is a Hebrew expression meaning to: “Save!” The people cried for Jesus to save them. What did they need to be saved from? What is going on in your life that you need Jesus to save you from?
  • From what you know of other portions of Scripture and from what else occurred during the week leading up to Jesus’ death, what kind of Messiah do you think the people wanted and expected? What kind of savior do people want today – what do they want relief from? How does Jesus exceed those expectations?
  • The fig tree is a parable for the temple, but the temple is also a parable for all of us (humanity). Jesus not only condemns the temple, but He will also absorb God’s condemning wrath against the temple. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. What does this mean for you personally? For us as a church?
  • Jesus condemned the temple for three reasons; Consumerism, they made the temple about meeting their own needs. Cultural elitism, they prevented Gentiles from worshiping (blocking the Court of Gentiles with their marketplace). And comfort, they ignored the poor and needy and did not provide justice. Which of these stands out to you? Do you see this in SBCC or the big C church at-large?
• Heart
  • How can you and I today continually make sure that what we think and/or believe about Jesus is actually consistent with who He really is?
  • If Jesus were to perform a fruit inspection of your life, would He be pleased? If not, what actions are you going to take to self-inspect and how can your small group help hold you accountable to do so?
  • In what ways is Jesus overturning your way of thinking, your way of life? What systems of things is He overturning around you? If the answer to these questions is no, what do you sense Jesus wanting to overturn in and around you?
  • Read John 15:1-17. What kind of fruit is Jesus referring to in John 15:5? Where is God using your life to produce fruit for the Kingdom of God? How can you avoid a similar fate as fruitless Israel? How can you help others produce fruit?
• Hands 

The Bible is filled with different ways to worship the Lord: singing songs, giving, listening to songs, confessing sin, serving, and praising God’s name are just a few. What will you focus on in order to worship the Lord this week?  


YOUTH & YOUNG ADULT

• Head 
  • Looking back over your life, what expectations have you perhaps wrongly placed on God that He in your opinion, did not meet? How might looking at the outcome from God’s broader perspective change your opinion of what took place?
  • Hosanna is a Hebrew expression meaning to: “Save!” The people cried for Jesus to save them. What did they need to be saved from? What is going on in your life that you need Jesus to save you from?
  • From what you know of other portions of Scripture and from what else occurred during the week leading up to Jesus’ death, what kind of Messiah do you think the people wanted and expected? What kind of savior do people want today – what do they want relief from? How does Jesus exceed those expectations?
  • The fig tree is a parable for the temple, but the temple is also a parable for all of us (humanity). Jesus not only condemns the temple, but He will also absorb God’s condemning wrath against the temple. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. What does this mean for you personally? For us as a church?
• Heart
  • How can you and I today continually make sure that what we think and/or believe about Jesus is actually consistent with who He really is?
  • If Jesus were to perform a fruit inspection of your life, would He be pleased? If not, what actions are you going to take to self-inspect and how can your small group help hold you accountable to do so?
  • In what ways is Jesus overturning your way of thinking, your way of life? What systems of things is He overturning around you? If the answer to these questions is no, what do you sense Jesus wanting to overturn in and around you?
  • Read John 15:1-17. What kind of fruit is Jesus referring to in John 15:5? Where is God using your life to produce fruit for the Kingdom of God? How can you avoid a similar fate as fruitless Israel? How can you help others produce fruit?
• Hands 
  • The Bible is filled with different ways to worship the Lord: singing songs, giving, listening to songs, confessing sin, serving, and praising God’s name are just a few. What will you focus on in order to worship the Lord this week?  

CHILDREN

• Head
  • Parents, share with your children the value of performing periodical fruit inspections of our lives and how this fits with John 15:1-17
• Heart
  • Share with your children the significance of Jesus’ arrival in Bethany riding on a colt and not a horse and use a present-day analogy to help make this stick
• Hands
  • Spend time in family prayer and praise in order to demonstrate a model for your children worthy of being emulated