41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44

Periodically we see on the news that a celebrity has given money to a charitable cause. Perhaps a pop star has paid for a high-tech wheelchair for a fan. Maybe an actor donates some cash to save a regional theatre from closure. Sometimes we might even hear that a well-known ‘worship leader’ from a big church has just paid for a new school in some far-flung country. Of course, it’s always great when a good cause benefits from a sizeable donation, but in my cynicism I often wonder when the pop star’s next album is coming out, or if the actor is starring in a film opening soon. I even find myself asking if the ‘worship leader’ has a concert for which tickets aren’t selling as fast as he would have hoped. Too often these gifts, seemingly an act of generosity, are given for ulterior motives. Often these motives are more about raising the profile of the giver than benefitting the recipient. And if we hear about these gifts on the news, or read about them in the paper, then they have served their purpose as far as the celebrity is concerned. Sometimes the actual gift can even be written off against tax, so cost less than we might think. Perhaps I’m being cynical. Maybe I should be rejoicing in the generosity of people such a these. After all, gifts such as these can often transform the lives of the beneficiaries.

In today’s passage, we benefit from Jesus’ teaching on giving. We see him once again in the temple, watching as people drop their gifts into the offering box. Jesus sees the rich bringing their large gifts, and a poor widow bring her seemingly insignificant copper coins. Yet it is not the rich that Jesus commends, but the poor widow.

Jesus recognises that the gift of the poor widow is far more significant than that of the rich people, for she gives everything she has. Her gift is sacrificial. Whilst the rich will go home and not notice that they are a little poorer than they were when they set out, they will still tuck into fancy food in their comfortable homes. The poor widow, however, will really feel the impact of her gift, even though it was small. She gave all she had, and may well go hungry that evening as a consequence. Jesus recognises this, and reserves his praise for the widow. She has shown the extent of the love that she has for God by giving him everything.

Are we more like the rich people or the poor widow? Do we give everything we have, or do we just drop a few coins into the plate on Sunday? We have even more reason to be generous than the poor widow. Jesus gave quite literally everything for us. He left heaven to be with us on earth. He died for us on the cross, taking the punishment that should have been ours for disobeying God. He withheld nothing and gave everything. In return he wants our lives: our money, our time, our gifts, our intellect, everything we have. It is our attitude that is important. Is our attitude one of complete dedication to following Jesus, or are we Sunday morning Christians, turning up to church once a week but otherwise neglecting our relationship with Christ? Do we give for attention, or so that we’re seen to be giving, like the ‘generous’ celebrities, or do we give because we are dedicated to following Christ, to serving him in all that we do?

The poor widow holds back nothing in her gift to the temple. She could have kept one of the coins back in order to buy something to eat on her return home, but she gave everything. As Christians, do we give everything to Jesus, or is there some element of our lives that we hold back? Is there something that we do that we know Jesus would not approve of, or something that we know that we should be doing that we don’t? Perhaps we engage in pre-marital sex. Maybe we gamble. Perhaps we don’t love our neighbours. Maybe we hate our boss. By committing acts that we know displease God, or failing to do things that we know he demands of us, we are holding something back in our relationship with Jesus. We’re not honouring him fully. We’re like the rich people in the temple, creating an illusion of serving God, whilst ultimately we’re holding back. We need instead to be like the poor widow, giving everything we have to God. Until we do that, it will always feel like our faith is lacking something. Of course, honouring God with our whole lives is difficult. It requires a complete shift in focus, but ultimately it will be worth it. Our lives will feel as if they have purpose. We’ll know with certainty that we are destined for heaven, to eternal life in God’s new creation. So let’s strive to be like the poor widow, giving everything she has, rather than like the rich people, holding back so much of what we have to give.

Of course, sometimes it can seem futile bringing our particular gifts to God. We see people who have given everything that they have and think that their “everything” is worth much more than ours. Perhaps we listen to a preacher and think that we could never do that, or read a book and think that nothing we write could ever be that good. If we play a musical instrument maybe we feel inadequate when we listen to people playing at church because they’re so much better than we are. Surely it’s better to leave serving God to people who are better than us?

This is the wrong attitude to take, tempting as it may be. Look back at the widow in the passage. She could have thought that her two copper coins were worthless compared to all that the rich were giving, but she gave them anyway. She knew that, though she had little, God could still use it. I know of a preacher who I regard as superb, from whom I’ve learnt a great deal, who really struggles because he thinks that he is useless. He still preaches, though, and God uses him. I’m sure I’m not alone in having been touched by his words. I certainly wouldn’t regard myself as a good writer, but I know that God can use my wafflings and perhaps if I allow myself to be guided by the Holy Spirit as I write, there’s a possibility that something I write could help someone in their faith. God can use us all, and everything we do, no matter how useless, poor or inadequate we feel ourselves to be. Let’s not hold back anything, therefore, but give ourselves entirely to the service of our God.

I bet when that poor widow dropped those two coins into the temple offer box, she had no idea that we would still be talking about her two thousand years or so later. She knew that if she gave all she had, though, that God would use her gift for the glory of his kingdom. And that’s exactly what has happened, because she has been held up as a role model for generations of Christians. Jesus gave everything he had for us, so let’s endeavour to give everything that we have back to him. It may be hard but the reward for doing so is immeasurable.

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” 32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

Do you see yourself as a revolutionary, striding out to radically alter the world we live in?  Do you see yourself as a messenger, bringing a message of hope to the world?  Do you get excited about your faith?  If you’re a Christian, then you should!  The world may see the Christian message as dull, dry and boring.  Some may see the Gospel message we proclaim as irrelevant and pointless.  Many may mock us for what we believe.  The truth is, though, that the Gospel, the good news, that we believe is earth-shattering.  It is immensely powerful.  If every Christian sought to faithfully follow the teachings of Christ as they went about their daily lives, there really would be a global revolution for peace and love, respect and kindness.

In today’s passage, we see Jesus, in a few simple words, teaching one of the most incredible messages of the entire Bible.  We see here Jesus announcing a “love revolution.”

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus is asked by a scribe, an expert on the Jewish law, “which commandment is the greatest of all?” Many over the generations had found themselves tied up in knots trying to decide what the most fundamental of God’s rules is.  Jesus replies with great simplicity that the most important commandment is, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Jesus neatly wraps all of the teaching of the Old Testament, the entirety of God’s message for the world, this simple commandment: just love God. That’s it. Just love him. If you do that, then all the other laws and commandments will be fulfilled.

Of course, loving is not always that easy. If we say we love another person, we put them first in everything, we place their needs above our own, we do everything within our power to make them happy. We certainly don’t betray them, lie to them, cheat on them or neglect them. This is the same attitude we should have with our relationship with God. Do we put him first in everything, or do we neglect him? Is every fibre of our being, our soul, our mind and our strength, dedicated to loving God? Or is loving God something that we do on a Sunday morning, and then forget about the rest of the week? If we really love God, if we really do make loving him our first priority, then our relationship with him will underpin our entire lives; what we do, what we think, what we say. Every waking minute should be dedicated to displaying our love for God; listening to him, talking to him, and striving to live out his commands in our lives.

How do we do this, though? How, practically, do we show that God is our first priority? Jesus addresses this point in the next section of this passage, when he says that the second commandment is, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” If the best way to serve God is to follow his commandments, we can demonstrate our love for God by loving those around us: not just our literal neighbours, those who live near us, but also our friends, our family, our work colleagues, people at our Church, people we see in the gym, people we see as we pay for our parking. In short, we show our love for God by loving all those we encounter.

Sometimes, it can be hard to love our neighbours. How do we love that irritating person in our office? How do we love the person who cuts us up whilst we’re driving? How do we show love to the person in the supermarket who grabs the last bag of Braeburns? At the most basic level we love them by liking them, by not getting irritated or angry, by seeking to serve them. Go for a coffee with that irritating guy at work. Let that driver who is trying to cut us up pull in in front of us. Offer that last bag of apples to our fellow customer. These are all small things, but if we all based our actions on loving our neighbours, if we all sought to demonstrate love in everything we did, the world would be a remarkably different place. Homes would be happier. Offices less stressful. Wars would be a thing of the past. A world in which every action taken is based on love for other people seems like a pipe dream, but as Christians, we are called to be the vanguard. Even if we are the only people in the world who live this way, we can transform it with our actions. There are two billion Christians in the world. That’s a lot of us to bring about a love revolution!

Within this verse, there’s an assumption that is often overlooked. Jesus says, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself,” the assumption being that we love ourselves. Sadly, this is not always the case. Over the last few years, I have met so many people who not only don’t love themselves, but actively hate themselves. They feel inadequate, useless, worthless. They hide themselves away, they tell themselves that they are a burden on those around them, and that no-one could possibly love them. Sometimes they cut themselves, and sometimes they even consider taking their own lives. This is one of the greatest sorrows of the world today.

Perhaps you feel this way about yourself. If you don’t, then I will guarantee that at least one of your close friends does. You’d be surprised at how many people do. The truth is, though, that God loves every single person on this planet. When he created the human race, he saw that his creation was “very good;” everything else he made he thought was simply “good.” He loves us so much that, even though throughout our history we have demonstrated hate towards him, he sent his son to die for us, for you and for me, so that we could once again be brought into his arms. God doesn’t see us as worthless, or useless, or hateful; he loves us, and that is a remarkable thing. It’s also true that, despite what we may think, there are people around us who love us passionately. Our lives have touched the lives of others more than we will ever know. We matter to our family and our friends. We have value and worth in their eyes, even if we can’t see it ourselves.

Sometimes we can get bogged down in theology. We wonder whether women should be allowed to be vicars or bishops. We struggle with how to deal with our best friend who has just come out as gay. We worry about whether we should allow a yoga class to use our Church hall. When we dwell on issues like these, being a Christian can seem really hard, if not impossible. In this section of Mark’s Gospel, however, Jesus condenses all of the teachings of the Church into just two commandments; love God, and love each other. That’s what is at the heart of our faith. Sometimes even fulfilling these commandments can seem hard, but if we all strived to live them out in the world, if we put love at the heart of our lives and everything we do, we could transform the world. If all two billion Christians sought to live out the message of this passage, we really would start a love revolution. So let’s do it!

“Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him. 18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Mark 12:13-27

Last summer, on August 13th to be precise, I married my beautiful fiancee, Claire, at Ballynafeigh Methodist Church in Belfast.  It was the happiest day of my life.  Not only was I marrying the woman of my dreams, but all my family and friends were gathered around me, and, to cap it all off, the weather was stunning, which was certainly not a given in Northern Ireland!  Since we got married in a Methodist Church, after we signed the documentation, it had to be taken to the Belfast Records Office within three days for the wedding to be legalised.  Whilst our wedding was binding in the eyes of God and the Church, the state needed to put their stamp on it before they recognised it.  For us, the most important aspect of our marriage was that the ceremony was solemnised before God, but we recognised the necessity of the state making it “official.”

In our current reading, we see both the issue of marriage and the state being raised in an attempt to trick Jesus.  Two questions are posed that are intended to catch Jesus out in the hope that he would say something that would leave him open to arrest, or show him up in front of the many people who were following him.  As we might expect, both questions failed in their intent.

The first question is concerned with the payment of taxes to Caesar.  The unlikely pairing of the Pharisees with the Herodians was without doubt aiming to cause trouble for Jesus.  They approached him in a very crafty manner, calling him “Teacher,” telling him that they knew he was an honest and trustworthy person, and seeming to ask him to settle a dispute that the two groups had.  Whilst the Pharisees, as devout Jews, would have been dubious about paying taxes to their Roman overlords, the Herodians, who were little more than puppets for the Roman control of Judea, would have advocated coughing up.  Behind this question, however, we can see their true purpose; they were trying to catch Jesus out.  If he said that the people should pay their taxes to Caesar, he would lose face with those who followed him, many of whom were strongly opposed to giving anything to the Romans.  If, on the other hand, he said that people should withhold their taxes, he risked certain arrest for treason.  It seemed to them like they had presented Jesus with a question that would implicate him in one way or another.

Jesus surprised both groups with his answer.  He probably did not have a coin to his name, but he asked them to give him one.  They did just that, and Jesus pointed to the face on the coin.  Whose face was this, he asked?  It was plain for them all to see that it was Caesar’s face.  Well, then, Jesus said, give to Caesar what belongs to him.  To God, though, they must give what belongs to God.  By drawing attention to the image on the coin, Jesus also rather neatly drew attention to our own image; if taxes have to be paid to Caesar because coins are created in his image, what should we give to God?  The answer implicit in Jesus’ statement is that we should give to God what is in God’s image.  Genesis 1:26-27 states:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

We are created in God’s image.  We need to give ourselves to God.  All around him, people were coming to the temple to offer sacrifices to God, but things were changing, that was not what God was interested in any more.  He wanted people to turn to him, obey him, and give their lives to him.  Paul outlines this idea in Romans 12:1 when he states, “therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true act of worship.”

What Jesus is not telling those listening was that they must slavishly obey those who are governing them.  It is true that Paul said:

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.  (Romans 13:1-2).

It is clear from Peter and John’s example in Acts, however, that there are limits to this.  When the Sanhedrin warns the apostles not to speak any more of Jesus, they reply:

“Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him?  You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20).

They know that the Sanhedrin has been established by God, but they also recognise that when it is running contrary to God’s will, they need to resort to the higher authority; God himself.  It’s a bit like a department manager at work telling you to do something that runs contrary to the wishes of the CEO – the CEO’s word is final.

So, just as when Claire and I had to follow the law of the land and register our marriage at the registry office, even though we were already married in God’s eyes, since the law did not run contrary to Biblical teaching, we had to obey.

Marriage is the topic of the next question that Jesus was posed, this time by the Sadducees.  The Sadducees had some interesting beliefs.  They based their whole religion on the pentateuch, or the five books of Moses.  Luke records in Acts that, “the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things” (Acts 23:8).  By asking Jesus about the resurrection, the Sadducees were testing Jesus to see which side of the argument he came down on, and, specifically, to see if he sided with their arch rivals, the Pharisees.  The question they asked relates to a levirate marriage, which obliges a brother to marry the widow of his childless deceased brother, as per the instructions of Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and Genesis 38:8.  Surely, the Sadducees imply, if this is an instruction that God has laid down for his people, there can’t be a resurrection?  Otherwise who would the woman be married to?

Once again, though, Jesus manages to confound his audience with the response he gives.  He turns the question right back on the Sadducees and tells them that they are completely wrong and that they have a weak understanding of the power of God, and a poor knowledge of Scripture.  This last accusation would have hurt, since it was Scripture that they believed they had based their beliefs on.  Jesus refers them to the time when Moses encountered the burning bush, and God told him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6).  God didn’t say that he was but that he is. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were clearly long dead, but in God’s eyes they were still in some sense alive, otherwise how could he be their God now?  God is not the God of the dead Jesus said, but the God of the living.

The idea of resurrection that the Sadducees present to Jesus is, Jesus explains, totally false.  They’re viewing heaven in a particular way, but that way is inaccurate.  There won’t be any marriage in heaven.  When the dead rise, they will be like angels.  Jesus does not fully elaborate here what this means, but there is no doubt that this statement would have further infuriated the Sadducees who, as we have seen, not only did not believe in resurrection, but did not believe in angels either!

In this one passage, we see Jesus tackling two questions that were designed to catch him out, but he does not fall into either trap.  In answering the first question, he tells us that we have to give to God what is God’s.  Since he identified the coin as belonging to Caesar since it bore his likeness, he implies that, since we are created in the image of God, we have to give ourselves to God.  Our first loyalty is to him.  When there is no contradiction between God’s commands and the commands of those in authority over us in this life, we also have an obligation to be good citizens, and to respect our rulers.  In the second, Jesus demonstrates the danger of bringing our own, earthly understanding to the ways of God.  If we rely on our own understanding rather than trusting in God, we will generally come to the wrong conclusion.  If we trust in God, we accept that there are things that we do not understand, but, since he wants what is best for all of us, he will not let us down.  I find that rather reassuring; I love my wife, and the thought of not being married to her in the resurrection is a little disappointing.  Ultimately, though, I know that God has great things in store for us, and that heaven will be even better than being married!

 Header image © copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

By Whose Authority?

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” 29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!” 31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) 33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Mark 11:27-33

As a regular at the cinema, I object to the outrageous price of Pick ‘n’ Mix that cinema chains charge, as you might have seen if you read the last article in our “Mark Marathon” series.  Now, imagine if one day I got so angry about the issue that I started turning over the sweet counter and tipping over the cash desk.  I should imagine that if I did this, it would not take long for the cinema manager to come over and demand to know what I thought I was doing.  They’d think I’d gone mad and tell me that I had no right to act in this way.  If I told them that I was a senior executive of the company and that I was unhappy with how they were ripping our customers off, they would be in a bit of a quandary.  Surely a senior executive would not act this way in a cinema, would he?  If they didn’t believe me, they might face the wrath of their boss if I was telling the truth.  Do they believe me and accept that they have been ripping off their punters, or do they think I’m bluffing?

This passage from Mark’s Gospel sees the religious leaders facing an even more problematic situation.  Jesus has just gone through the Temple, tipping over tables, shouting, and generally causing trouble.  There is no doubt that they would be enraged by this; they would have suffered embarrassment, and would almost certainly have lost money as a consequence of Jesus’ actions.  Just who did this man think he was?  He had no right to do this!  It didn’t take too long for representatives of the Sanhedrin, which comprised the chief priests, teachers of the law and the elders, to approach Jesus to demand what gave him the right to act the way that he had.  For them, it was a matter of authority.  They had been given authority to run the Temple, and this guy lacked any authority to act in the way that he had.

Jesus answers them with a question: were the actions of John the Baptist from God, or was he acting solely on his own initiative?  This presented the Sanhedrin with a problem.  John the Baptist was a hugely popular figure, attracting significant numbers of followers.  Indeed, Mark tells us that “the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him” (Mark 1:5).  His popularity was not really surprising; he was regarded as the first prophet for over a thousand years, and was building up expectation of the imminent arrival of the promised messiah.  John was a thorn in the sides of the religious leaders – he spoke out against them, memorably describing a group of Pharisees and Sadducees as a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7), but was clearly popular with the people.  If the Sanhedrin answered Jesus by saying that John was not from God, they faced a huge backlash from their people who would be outraged that their own religious leaders did not accept John’s identity.  If they accepted that John was indeed a representative of God, then they faced an even more difficult situation; they would effectively be accepting that Jesus was also of God.

At this stage it’s worth turning back briefly to the beginning of Mark’s gospel.  Here we witness the ministry of John the Baptist.  He announced the arrival of the messiah, proclaiming “prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him” (Mark 1:3), and stating that “after me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:7-8).  A little later, Jesus himself appears and is baptised by John.  Immediately after his baptism a voice announced from heaven, “you are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11).  All of this activity pointed to the fact that Jesus was the promised messiah, whom the Jewish people had been eagerly awaiting for centuries.  The problem for the religious leaders of the day is that they had not responded to John the Baptist’s call to “repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15); instead, they had continued in exactly the same manner that they had always done, ripping off the people and corrupting the Temple, which is what aroused Jesus’ anger that we witnessed in the last article on this series.  The greater problem, though, was that John had pointed to Jesus as the messiah.  If John was indeed a prophet of God, then Jesus must in fact be the messiah, and so he would indeed have authority over the religious leaders and the Temple.

Facing a lose-lose situation, the Sanhedrin fudge the issue and avoid giving in answer, preferring the non-committal “we don’t know” that we see in verse 33.  Since they refused to answer Jesus’ question, he refuses to answer theirs.  Instead, he speaks to them in a parable, which we’ll reflect on in the next article in this series.  From this incident, though, it is becoming clear to the Sanhedrin that Jesus is going to be a real issue for them; they simply do not know how to respond to him.  If they accept that he is who he says he is, then they lose face and risk their elevated positions in Jewish society, since their behaviour will be revealed.  If they dismiss him, they risk enraging the people whom they claim to lead and, potentially, if Jesus was the Christ, risk losing their salvation.  What is clear, though, is that Jesus is not going to go away, and sooner or later they were undoubtedly going to have to make a decision; they could not fudge the issue for ever.

The issue for us here is that we are in a position not too dissimilar to the Sanhedrin.  Do we accept that Jesus is the messiah, that he is the Son of God?  If we do then we have to face up to the mistakes that we’ve made previously, admit to God that we’ve not lived in the way he would have us live, and ask for repentance.  We also have to change the way that we live our lives, striving to follow the teachings of Jesus.  That is by no means an easy decision to make; none of us like admitting that we’ve been wrong and owning up to our mistakes.  The other option is to go the other way, dismiss the evidence that we have presented to us, and regard Jesus as a fraud, who has no authority over our lives.  Alternatively, we can go the way of the Sanhedrin, and fudge the issue, saying that “we don’t know” who Jesus is.  Just as the religious leaders would surely have to make a decision sooner or later, however, the time will come when we have to nail our colours to the mast, and declare who we believe Jesus to be.  As Jesus said, “whoever is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30).

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. 20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26]

Mark 11:12-26

I never used to go to the cinema, but in the last couple of years or so I’ve started going quite a bit. I really enjoy watching movies on a big screen, and, of course, all cinemas are kitted out with fantastic sound systems that really help to bring the experience to life. The whole pleasurable experience is topped off with a big bag of Pick ‘n’ Mix and an ice cold Coke. What does irritate me, though, is the rip-off prices that cinemas charge for their food and drink. Once, when I went with a friend, he took his own bag of Minstrels with him, but was caught by the cinema manager. The manager told my friend that he could not take his own food in to the movie with him. When my friend asked why, the manager told him that the food and drink that they sold in the cinema had been specially selected because it would not damage their upholstery. My friend queried how the Minstrels that the cinema sold were any different to the ones that he had brought with him, but the manager was not prepared to continue the discussion any further, and confiscated my friend’s sweets.

In this passage from Mark, we see Jesus getting angry at the way in which the Temple was trying to rip off people who had gone to offer sacrifices to God. He watched with horror as he saw people who had brought doves to offer as sacrifices were told that they were not suitable, and were sold replacement by the High Priest’s family at greatly inflated prices. He could not believe it when he saw the Temple insisting that fees were paid using their own currency and watched as people were ripped-off as they tried to change their money. The scene that Jesus saw was so far from the ideal of the Temple as a “house of prayer” that he was moved to action. He overturned the tables, and accused those present of turning his father’s house into a “den of robbers.” Those who sought to honour God were being ripped off. Those who should have known better, and were tasked with running the Temple had corrupted it and were using it as an opportunity to get rich themselves. God’s people were being abused by their religious leaders. It’s no wonder that Jesus was angry!

Jesus’ anger goes beyond the commercialisation of religion, however. This scene took place in the Court of Gentiles, the only area of the Temple in which non-Jews were permitted. What should have been a “house of prayer for all nations,” a quiet place where anyone could come and worship God, had become a busy, noisy, and smelly location where the emphasis was on making money rather than listening to God. The Gentiles were not able to enjoy the privileges that they had been promised because of the evil ways of the Temple priests.

The rather confusing incident with the fig tree is perhaps a living parable of what was happening at the Temple. Jesus looked at the fig tree, and whilst it had leaves, there was no sign of any fruit. Jesus curses the fig tree; without fruit, it was useless. To many this seems absurd; Mark tells us that it “was not the season for figs,” so surely Jesus should not have expected to see fruit. It was normal, however, that when a fig tree began to leaf, small fruits would appear that would then fall off prior to the proper figs growing. These fruits, although not particularly tasty, were often eaten by people working in the fields. If a tree lacked this early growth, it was a good indication that the tree was not going to bear fruit at the correct time. Jesus, knowing such detail, would be well aware that the tree was destined not to bear fruit when the proper time came.

Jesus often spoke about fruit in his teaching since this was something that those listening to him could easily relate to. In Matthew’s Gospel, for example, Jesus tells his disciples that “by their fruit you will recognise them” (Matthew 7:16a). He goes on to say that “every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” The fig tree that Jesus encountered, however, wasn’t bearing any fruit, and the signs of it ever doing so were not good. In the same passage, Jesus says what should be done to such a tree: “every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The fig tree on the way to Jerusalem, therefore, deserved to be destroyed. The same could be said of the Temple; it was not currently bearing any fruit, since it was corrupting the experience of worshipping God, and all the signs suggested that it would never bear any fruit. If this was the case, if it wasn’t pointing to God, it was no longer fit for purpose, and deserved to be destroyed.

Jesus next speaks to his disciples about prayer. Prayer is something that many of us struggle with. We know that we are told to do it continuously (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but most of us fall way short of that instruction. Jesus tells us that “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” This is quite a remarkable statement to make! There are a couple of requirements that go with this bold statement, however. The first is to “have faith in God.” We have to bring ourselves in line with God, to be faithful to his will, and to seek to serve him. If we do these things, then we will desire what God wants and our prayer will be answered. We also have to ensure that we are not nursing any grievances against anyone. Jesus tells us that before we pray, we have to forgive anyone who has hurt us. By doing so, God will forgive us too, and then our prayer will be answered. Jesus perhaps was thinking of the scene that he had just witnessed in the Temple; he knew that it was necessary to forgive those who had offended him, no matter how great the offence they had caused him.

This passage is by no means an easy one to understand and interpret. What is clear, however, is how Jesus hates those who seek to make it difficult to follow him and to worship his Father. Are there things that we do, as individual Christians or as Churches that make it difficult for people to worship Jesus, or to listen to God? Do we need to “clear our temples” in the same way that Jesus did in order to return to a pure and perfect relationship with God? If we are known by our fruit, are we bearing good fruit, bad fruit or none at all? What about how we pray? Do we forgive those who offend us before we pray to God? When we pray, do we have faith in God? Do we have the confidence for a mountain to be thrown into the sea it will happen? I know that I find this really difficult, and will be praying that God will help me to get better. How about you? Will you join me?