Monday Devotional: The "Cleansing" of the Temple? (Mark 11:12-25)
Jesus' prophetic condemnation
On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
Then they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written,
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?
But you have made it a den of robbers.”And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching. And when evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
“Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:12-25).
External religious practices such as sacraments, worship, and the reading of Scripture can function as means of grace in our lives. In other words, they can be conduits by which we receive the work of the Holy Spirit, who makes us into the people we were always meant to be. And yet we can resist such grace. It is possible to go through the motions of religious ritual without allowing God to change us. We can have the outward form of godliness while denying its power (2 Tim 3:5). It is just such an attitude that Jesus condemns in this passage.
The story of the cursing of the fig tree frames the story of the condemnation of the temple. Mark commonly uses this structure, called an intercalation, for stories that he wants us to interpret in light of one another. For example, the healings of Jairus’s daughter and the woman with a hemorrhage are structured this way (Mark 5:21-43).
At first, Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree might seem unreasonable. Why curse the fig tree when, as Mark tells us, it isn’t the season for figs? The action is symbolic. As in Jeremiah 8:13, the fig tree represents Israel (see also Jer 24; Hos 9:10). Jeremiah 8 particularly indicts Israel’s leaders. “They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jer 8:11). As we will see, here in Mark 11, Jesus’ words about the fig tree apply primarily to the temple system and its relationship to the people of Israel.
The next verses (11:15-17) describe what is commonly called the “cleansing” of the temple. Yet Jesus is not somehow purifying the temple by his actions, but speaking prophetic judgment over it. He drives out those who are selling animals for sacrifice and overturns the tables of those who exchange Roman coins bearing the image of the emperor for local currency. Christians have at times depicted those doing business in the temple as engaging in nefarious dealings (for example, Jesus Christ Superstar).
The key to understanding Jesus’ prophetic action, however, lies in his words, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Here he combines two passages of Scripture. The first is from Isa 56:6-7:
And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
God’s promise is to extend the covenant beyond Israel to all the nations. In Jesus, he fulfills this promise.
The second is from Jeremiah 7:1-11, and particularly vv. 8-11:
Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!” —only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight? You know, I too am watching, says the Lord.
In other words, the people rely on the temple system to atone for their sin, but they engage in no real repentance. They show no change in behavior. Jesus’ words indicate that the situation remains the same in his day: rituals of atonement without repentance are an affront to a holy God.
When Jesus and the disciples return to the fig tree the next day, it has withered. Coupled with his prophetic action in the temple, the withering of the fig tree symbolizes the end of one “season” and the beginning of another in Israel’s salvation history. It is no longer the season for the temple, which will be destroyed in A.D. 70. Rather, through his death, Jesus will initiate a new covenant, and his sacrifice will render all other sacrifices meaningless. The new covenant is characterized by repentance from sin and faith in Christ as the keys to salvation. The writer of Hebrews picks up these themes and develops them extensively.
It is important to bear in mind, however, that Jesus’ actions are not a condemnation of the Jewish people as such. His desire is that Israel would repent and turn to God. He and all of his followers are Jewish, and the movement that followed him only makes sense in light of its Jewish lineage. The nations of whom Isaiah prophesies will join in the covenant that God has already made with Israel. Jesus’ condemnation is of a particular religious system, but not of the people of Israel as a whole.
When the disciples marvel at the withered fig tree, Jesus explains the occurrence as a result of faith. One could mistake his words for a kind of prosperity message: just have enough faith, and you will get what you want. For Jesus, however, faith in God is not simply belief. It is trust in God’s plan of salvation, including the call to repentance from sin. “Have faith in God” is an admonition to trust God with one’s whole life, to live in keeping with God’s will even when it is costly. Those who have such faith will do great things in keeping with the will of God.
The final verse of this passage, which commends forgiveness, is consistent with such an understanding of faith. Forgiveness is central to discipleship. It is an act of obedience to God. Those who cling to their desire to get even, who take an “eye-for-an-eye” attitude toward wrongdoing, cannot follow Jesus with all their heart. Rather, Jesus’ followers must trust that his ways are better than any other way. He shows them the way of righteousness. God is doing something new in Jesus Christ, and it requires a new way of living.
Prayer: God, create in me a heart that follows you. Sanctify me and teach me how to live in obedience to your will.
Questions:
What are some explanations you have heard of Jesus’ “cleansing” of the temple?
How does the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross relate to the temple system of sacrifice?
What does faith involve for you? How does it come to bear on your day-to-day life?