Jesus enters Jerusalem in triumph – He begins some teaching that will ultimately lead to His death. It’s unwise to put Jesus to the test.
Mark 11: The Triumphal Entry
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
2 and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
3 If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"
4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
5 And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"
6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
8 And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
9 And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
11 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Jesus Curses the Fig Tree
12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, "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."
18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree
20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered."
22 And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.
23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
26
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
28 and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?"
29 Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me."
31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'
32 But shall we say, 'From man'?"---they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
Mark 12: The Parable of the Tenants
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.
5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'
7 But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'
8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not read this Scripture: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes'?"
12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."
16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marvelled at him.
The Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife."
24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong."
The Great Commandment
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
29 Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall 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: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbour as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Christ?
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.'
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts,
40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretence make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
The Widow's Offering
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
Things to think about…
1. It seems when Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the donkey Mark 11:1-11 that the people accept Him as the Saviour. We know this scene fulfils prophecy, even as Zechariah says in Zech 9:9, but the people still had a Messiah of their own making. As we know they later rejected the way the kingdom would be established – through His death, not Rome’s destruction. In what ways do we do the same do you think? We are known by our actions. Submitting to Christ means that we daily take up our cross, which is an identity in Jesus and not in ouirselves.
2. Jesus curses the tree, cleanses the temple and then teaches on what the cursed fig tree means, Mark 11:12-25. The Old Testament sacrifices were the old wine skins and the new wine skins of the new covenant were not going to continue with the OT sacrificial system. Israel is the fig tree that was bearing no fruit. The evidence of this was that the temple was a place of polluted worship, vss 15-19. Jesus turns over the tables Mark 11:15. The new system of worship through Christ and His blood covenant replaced the OT sacrificial system. Any third temple built by the Jews to re-establish the OT Levitical law and sacrificial system will also come to nothing. Jesus has cursed that tree. Pray the Jews see Christ for who He truly is – their Messiah.
3. The chief priests and scribes in their hypocrisy would not answer Jesus’ question regarding John the Baptist’s authority, Mark 11:27-33. Transparent church leadership and spiritual integrity is vital for any blessing to remain upon any given ministry. May we continue to promote open communication and accountability within the church. If our ministry in Christ is not heaven sent then we do not have the scent of heaven over the ministry.
4. The Jews knew Jesus was referring to them in the parable of the Tenants, Mark 12:1-12. They were the shameful tenants who abused the servants (prophets) and killed the Son. He (Jesus) has become the cornerstone. This fulfils the prophecy of Psalm 118:22. They know the parable is about them, Mark 12:12. You can see where the tension is building and who will lead the final revolt to have Jesus crucified. The Jews still receive critical treatment today because of their rejection of Christ – even from professing Christians. Is it warranted in your opinion? As Zechariah tells us, one day they will mourn for their rejection of him, Zech 12:10.
5. Jesus rebukes the Sadducees because they are ignorant of the scriptures regarding the resurrection – Jesus uses first person narrative – “I am the God of Abraham,..” to prove He is the God of the living, but consider how Jesus responds to the man who rightly interprets the ‘spirit’ of the law, Mark 12:28-34. He says the man is ‘near the kingdom’. I think there are many who are near the kingdom. They know what is right but still need that final revelation to commit their lives to serve Christ fully. Let’s encourage those who are on the fringes of the church to take that final step to be ‘in’ the kingdom, not just near it.
6. Jesus teaches that He is Lord and corrects their understanding of the Son of David, Mark 12:35-37. This is something the Jews sadly miss. They are looking for a literal son of David, a Jew to lead them. But here Jesus points out that David calls the Messiah Lord – as such the Messiah cannot be just from the line of David, but must in fact be God Himself, David’s Lord.
7. Jesus says to beware of scribes who like leaches take the best for themselves, Mark 12:38-40 and then contrasts this by pointing out true spirituality with the poor widow giving her all, vss 41-44. Christ centred teaching and a spirit led witness must go hand in hand, otherwise our tendency is to go to one of two extremes, either towards dead letter religion on one hand or a social gospel on the other. Neither of which is of any eternal value.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer Points
1. That we see Christ even as Covid goes through the community.
2. Praise, hope and Joy through this new year.
3. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Visitors last 2 weeks
2. Safety over the Christmas New Years season.
3. Appreciation to all involved in ministry in 2021. Joy in our service. Thankyou for your service.
4. Word of God being blessed at CBC.
Announcements
1. All ministries on break until the end of January
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
