Mark
Copyright © 2008 Darroll Evans

CHAPTER 11

Mark 11:1-7
1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2 And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.
4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

As they came near Jerusalem, in the area of Bethphage and Bethany between Jericho and Jerusalem at the Mount of Olives, Christ Jesus sent two of his disciples into one of the small villages.

Christ told them, “Go into the village and as soon as you have entered into it, you shall find a colt tied there. Untie him and bring him to me.”

If anyone asks, “Why are you doing this?”

Tell him, “The Lord needs him and he will send him here.”

So, they went and found the colt tied by a door in a place where two roads came together. And they untied him.

Then someone asked, “Why are you untying the colt?”

They answered in manner Jesus ordered, and were allowed to let go on their way.

The disciples brought the colt to Jesus, and threw their garments over it, and Jesus sat upon him.

This was how the Kings of Israel were to present themselves to the people. Jesus is the King of kings!

Mark 11:8-10
8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

Many spread their garments along the road in a sign of respect. Others cut branches off the trees, and laid them in the roadway.

They also shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

That was a preview of what shall happen when He comes again in His glory.

Mark 11:11-14
11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Jesus entered Jerusalem, and went to the temple. At sundown, He went to Bethany with the twelve. And, the next morning when they were come from Bethany, Jesus was hungry.

Seeing a fig tree in the distance that had leaves, He came upon it in hopes of finding some figs to eat. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves. The time of figs was not yet.

Jesus came to Israel, but the time for His acceptance had not come!

Jesus told the tree, “No one shall eat your fruit in this age!” That is a literal rendering of His recorded words. Then Mark tells us, “His disciples heard it.” They witnessed Jesus rebuke of the tree (Israel)! That statement still stands. To this day, none has been fed by Israel! All people without Christ are spiritually malnourished by the Holy Spirit within the true Church! It is now the Church that brings spiritual nourishment to all who accept Christ Jesus!

Mark 11:15-18
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.

Again, they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the Temple. There, He began to cast out those that sold and bought within the Temple. He overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the sales booths of those that sold doves for sacrificial offerings.

Christ would not allow anyone to carry a vessel through the Temple. He told them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer!’ But, you have made it a den of thieves.”

How many so-called churches (lower case “c”) today sell stuff within the walls of their church? They are not Churches, just churches!

When the scribes and chief priests heard about it, they tried to find a way to destroy Him, because, they feared Him. Meanwhile, the people were astonished at His doctrine.

Christian doctrine consists of what you do, and not just what you say! We are told to be “doers of the word.”

Mark 11:19-26
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

That night, Christ left the city.

The next morning, as they passed by the fig tree, they saw that it had dried up from the roots. The power in Jesus’ words is beyond many to understand.

Peter, recalling what happened said, “Master, look, the fig tree, which You cursed has withered away.”

Jesus replied, “Have faith in God! Truthfully, I tell you, whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be removed, and cast into the sea,’ and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says shall happen, he shall have whatever he says. Therefore, whatever you desire, when you pray, believe that you’ll receive (Gr. elabete-elabete) them, and you shall have (Gr. estai-estai) them, they shall come into existence (literal Greek). In addition, when you pray, forgive. So that if you have any grudge against another, your Father which is in heaven, may forgive you. But, if you do not forgive, neither will your Father, which is in heaven, forgive your trespasses.”

The precepts taught in that short declaration are extremely important.

Matthew presents another view.

Instead of our having unforgiveness directed against another, the unforgiveness is directed toward us.

Matt 5:23-24
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

No matter how it is directed hate will destroy someone! We can only try to reconcile to one who hates us, but we can offer our feelings to God and ask Him to deal with our internal feelings of unforgiveness.

Mark 11:27-33
27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem, and as they were walking into the temple, the chief priests, scribes, and elders approached Christ.

They demanded to know, “By what authority do You do all these things? And, who gave You that authority?”

Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you one question, and if you answer me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ‘Regarding the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?’ What is your answer?”

At that point they knew that once again Christ had outdone them. They reasoned with themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ then He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But, if we shall say, ‘Of men, the people will respond negatively. After all they thought that John was a prophet.’”

So they refused to answer Jesus’ question. Instead, they choice to say, “We cannot tell.”

And then, Jesus reacted, “The neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Chapter 12
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