February 8
Mark 11: The Meaning of the Cursed Fig
Genesis 41; Mark 11; Job 7; Romans 11
We have seen Mark use the sandwich technique before (see Mark 3 and comments on February 3). In Mark 11 Jesus has just entered Jerusalem. In other gospels, the Triumphal Entry leads immediately to Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (see for instance Matthew 21). But here, Mark inserts the detail that Jesus went home and returned the next morning.
On the way he notices a fig tree that was not producing fruit. Jesus curses it, forbidding it from ever producing figs again (14). Why did he do this seemingly arbitrary thing?
Enter the cleansing of the temple (15-19). People had to travel from long distances to make their temple sacrifices , and the distance prevented them from bringing their sacrifices with them. They needed to purchase them on arrival. Furthermore, they brought local currency, and the Jews running the temple would not accept it. They required the worshiper’s money to be changed into Jerusalem currency - and charged a tidy fee for the privilege.
More than that, the moneychangers were occupying the largest part of the temple grounds: the court of the Gentiles, which was reserved for all the rest of the nations to gather and worship Yahweh. But all of it was taken up by religious extortionists.
Now, Jesus had already cleansed the temple once, recorded for us in John 2:13-22. Keen readers of the Old Testament will note that this follows the pattern of the inspections done by the priest when corruption - “disease” - was found in a house. The house would be cleansed and then inspected by the priest. Then the priest would return later to see if the corruption had been removed (Leviticus 14:33-53). If the corruption persisted, the house was to be torn down and taken outside the city as unclean.
The passage Jesus quotes - Isaiah 56:6-8 - speaks of God’s house being a place of prayer for ALL the peoples. But the corruption remains, so the Great High Priest condemns the house.
The temple cleansing now explains the cursed fig tree. Israel had not produced the fruit desired by its Creator. So it is cursed, never to produce fruit again. But when the disciples answer, Jesus’ answer is bent towards hope. It’s not that there will be no temple. It’s that the location of the dwelling of God’s Spirit will move, from the building, to God’s people.
Thus Jesus’ disciples will walk by faith, and that faith will move mountains and nations. They won’t need to go to a temple to pray; the Spirit in them will be enough. When forgiveness is necessary, no temple sacrifice will be needed. This transfer of the Spirit’s home will happen at Pentecost.