Mark 11:12-25
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
In preparation for today’s passage, read Isaiah 56:1-8. Then read Mark 11: 12-25.
Mark 11:12-25 is a highly symbolic passage in which Jesus condemns the prevailing socio-religious system of the day. Read the passage recognizing the fig tree as a symbol of a system that had become corrupt and had failed to bear the fruit for which it was created - a unjust system that benefitted those with wealth and privilege and exploited the poor and the foreigner.
If you’ve been following along from the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, you’ve seen Jesus upending the social order of his day over and over again by dignifying women and children, healing the sick, restoring the physically disabled, and freeing both Jews and non-Jews from the oppression of demonic forces. Jesus has shown repeatedly that all people are equal and created in the image of God and therefore worthy of respect and dignity.
Sandwiched in-between the beginning and end of the fig tree story we see Jesus literally upending a system that exploited the poor and the foreigner.
The temple was meant to be a “house of prayer for all the nations,” but the money changers and dove sellers have turned it into an opportunity to take advantage of others. It isn’t the provision of sacrificial animals or even the currency exchange that’s the problem, it’s that these functions are being provided at an exorbitant cost placing an undue burden on those who need the services. The temple of God has become a den of thieves.
In turning over the tables, driving out the money changers and putting a stop to buying and selling, Jesus proclaims that God will not tolerate injustice and will not bless a system in which the privileged and powerful exploit the disadvantaged.
Read Mark 11:12-25 again focusing in on Jesus words in verses 22-25.
What are some of the systems in the world today that, though they may have been established with good intentions, have become mountains of injustice that benefit the powerful and privileged and exploit the disadvantaged among us?
Do you see yourself more as one who is privileged or one who is exploited by such systems?
Throughout the biblical story, people have been able to experience the presence of God – first in the garden, then in the tabernacle, and then in the temple. When Jesus came to earth, God’s presence dwelt in him because he was God in the flesh, so to be in the presence of Jesus was to experience God’s presence.
If you are a follower of Jesus, the Spirit of Jesus now dwells in you, so you are continuously in the presence of God whether you are aware of it or not. And because Jesus dwells in you, you are the presence of God to others as well. Your body, and the collective bodies of all who follow Jesus are the temple, and the temple is meant to be a house of prayer for all the nations.
How is it going spending time in the presence of Jesus regularly? Has your awareness of his presence with you during the day increased?
How are others experiencing the presence of Jesus through you?
End your time by praying for an end to the mountains of injustice that you identified earlier and talk with Jesus about the part he wants to play in bringing his kingdom to earth.
Are you finding these meditations to be helpful? If so, please forward them to a couple of friends. Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
