MARK 11

JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM + CONTINUES TO TEACH

After His teaching and healing, Jesus continues towards Jerusalem. While He is in Bethany near the Mount of Olives, He sends two of the disciples to bring Him a colt or young donkey. The disciples place their cloaks on the donkey and set Jesus on it. As He rides the donkey down the Mount of Olives, He fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah, who claimed that the Savior would enter Jerusalem with humility, mounted on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9).

The crowd places branches and cloaks along the road, paving the way for His entrance. As Jesus draws near, the people rejoice and praise Him, saying “Hosanna,” a plea for salvation meaning “Save us.” After this, Jesus continues toward the temple in Jerusalem.

While Jesus is traveling with the disciples, they come across a fig tree that provides no fruit for them to eat. He curses the tree, saying that the fig tree will never grow fruit again.

After entering the temple, Jesus drives out the people who are selling items for sacrifice. He is protective over this holy place, desiring for it to be a place of prayer and teaching. In righteous anger, Jesus flips over the tables of those who are selling animals inside the temple and condemns them, saying that the house of prayer has been turned into a den of robbers.

After Jesus and the disciples leave the temple, they see the fig tree that Jesus cursed. Peter notices that the tree has withered completely. Jesus encourages the disciples to have faith, so they do not wither like the fig tree. He tells the disciples that faith will provide them whatever they ask for in prayer and challenges them to forgive others like God has forgiven them.

When Jesus is in Jerusalem, He is challenged by the chief priests and the scribes. They ask Him who gave Him the authority to do the miraculous things He has done. Instead of answering directly, He responds with a question, asking if John the Baptist was sent by heaven or sent by man. Causing a dilemma for the religious leaders, they do not know how to answer. If they say John the Baptist was from heaven, they would be confronted for not believing him. But if they said John was sent by man alone, they would anger a large group of his followers. Because they did not answer, Jesus did not reveal the source of His authority. God sent both John the Baptist and Jesus, but many did not believe that God was their authority.