Mark Chapter 11: Lessons from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives

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

The Arrival in Jerusalem

7And they brought the colt to Yeshua, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8And many spread their garments on the road: and others spread stalks branches that they had cut from trees. 9And those that went before, and those that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, that is coming: Hosanna in the highest. 11And Yeshua entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and it was late when he had looked around about upon things, and he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

12And the next day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry: 13And seeing a fig tree in the distance having leaves, he came to see if there was anything on it, but he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not in season. 14And Yeshua said to it, May no one ever eat fruit of you again. And his disciples heard him.

15And they came to Jerusalem: and Yeshua went into the temple, and began to cast them out that sold and bought in the temple, and he overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold pigeons; 16And would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house will be called of all nations the house of prayer? but you have made it a den of thieves. 18And when the scribes and chief priests heard him they sought a way to kill him: but they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine. 19And when evening came, he went out of the city.

Lessons on Faith and Forgiveness

20And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots. 21And Peter calling to remembrance said to him, Master, look! The fig tree which thou cursed is withered away. 22And Yeshua responded to them and said, Have faith in YHWH. 23Truly, I say to you, That whoever will say to this mountain, Be lifted up and cast into the sea, and doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes what he says will happen, it will happen as he said it. 24Therefore I’m telling you, when you pray your desires, whatever they are, believe that you will receive them, and they will be yours. 25And whenever you stand praying, forgive – if you have anything against anyone: so that your Father which is in heaven will also forgive you your trespasses. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

27And they came again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, scribes, and elders, 28And said to him, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you the authority to do these things? 29And Yeshua answered and said to them, I will also ask of you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John, from heaven or of men? Answer me. 31And they reckoned with each other saying, If we will say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? 32But if we will say, Of men; they feared the people: for all believed John was a prophet indeed. 33And they answered and said to Yeshua, We cannot tell. And Yeshua answering said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Arrival in Jerusalem

As you be entered into it, you will find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose and bring him. 3And if any man say to you, Why do you this? say you that the Lord hath need of him; and immediately he will send him hither.

PO It seems probable that Yeshua set this up with the owner of the colt as it was certainly not a matter of imposing his will over the property rights of others.

4And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. 5And certain of them that stood there said to them, What do you, loosing the colt? 6And they said to them even as Yeshua had commanded: and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Yeshua, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

PO That the colt had never been ridden is significant as this would describe a wild animal that would resist being ridden by any ordinary man. CLA: (see, Yeshua, Lord of All) Ocean waves, disease, demons, swine, and now an unruly donkey by nature.

The Symbolism of Palms

8And many spread their garments on the road: and others spread stalks branches that they had cut from trees.

PO The palm was an emblem of joy and victory and was used by the Roman soldiers as well as the Jews as a symbol of peace. (see, Apocryphal books 1 Mac. xiii. 51; 2 Mac. x. 6, 7 and Revelation 7:9). CLA: (see, Apocryphal Books)

9And those that went before, and those that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: (see, Psalm 118:26)

PO This was a recitation from the Tanakh showing the people believed that Yeshua was the fulfillment of its prophecies to them for a promised Messiah.

10Blessed is the kingdom of our father David, that is coming: Hosanna in the highest. (see, 1st Chronicles 11:1-3; 1st Samuel 16:13; Isaiah 11:1; Luke 1:32)

The Messiah was to come from the direct line of King David. CLA: (see, King David). MI “In the name of the Lord” found in the Authorized text is omitted in a number of manuscripts.

PO The Jews of that day were anticipating a Kingdom to come with a Messiah that would be established on earth materially. Without question these who were on the scene anticipated that Yeshua to remain with them, assume the throne, emancipate them from under Roman rule, and introduce God’s Kingdom on earth. They failed to understand that He was going to be put to deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., rise again, and establish a spiritual Kingdom that would be administered in the hearts of people from on high forevermore.

11And Yeshua entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and it was late when he had looked around about upon things, and he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

PO Bethany (also called Bethabara) was about two miles east of Jerusalem and was the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Yeshua appears to have resided there when he was working in Jerusalem.

The Fig Tree and Hypocrisy

12And the next day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry: 13And seeing a fig tree in the distance having leaves, he came to see if there was anything on it, but he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not in season.

PO A trees without leaves is emblematic of religious hypocrisy – of appearing one way but bearing no real fruit. There is a parallel to both Adam and Eve who sought to hide behind aprons of fig leaves (see, Genesis 3:7) and the Nation of Israel at that time which appeared very religious, but were in fact fruitless. CLA: (see, Fruit; Religious Hypocrisy).

14And Yeshua said to it, May no one ever eat fruit of you again. And his disciples heard him.

It is not an accident that referencing this tree, as a symbol for the Nation of Israel, that Yeshua would say in the following verse, “may no one eat of this fruit again.”(see, verse 20) (see, verse 14; see, The Destruction of Jerusalem as Type).

15And they came to Jerusalem: and Yeshua went into the temple, and began to cast them out that sold and bought in the temple, and he overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold pigeons;

PO The Critical text replaces the Authorized text use of “dove” with “pigeon.” This is an improvement on interpretation. Even though doves and

Pigeons and Doves in Religious Context

Pigeons are from the same family, they are different on a significant way – pigeons are monogamous and are very slow to take another mate (in the event theirs dies or disappear) where doves will unite with another quickly. It is probable that the Jews of Jesus day were insensitive to this fact (though it is alluded to in one place in the Tanahk) and sacrificed pigeons mindlessly, thereby leaving its mate to suffer.

16 And would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying to them, Is it not written, My house will be called of all nations the house of prayer? but you have made it a den of thieves.

Materialism in Religious Practices

PO YHWH related to the Nation of Israel for some 1500 years materially – through material temples, and material priests, genaologies, animal and other material sacrifices; YHWH blessed them materially when they were obedient and cursed them materially when they were rebellious. A result of this the Nation took an increasingly materialistic approach to Him – which was not His desire (see, Micah 6:7-8). By the time Yeshua walked the earth, most of the Nation was ensconced in materialism, which included vile merchandising in the temple. (see, Spiritual verses Material Approaches to God). At the destruction of Jerusalem, all material approaches to religion were abolished, as YHWH, in the Old Testament and Apostolic Record, promised to relate to all who are His through the heart and mind of each individual, insuring that material religionA fulfilled system of temples, rituals, and laws—replaced by direct spiritual relationship., and its demands, was forever dead (see, Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 12:26-27).

18 And when the scribes and chief priests heard him they sought a way to kill him: but they feared him, because all the people were astonished at his doctrine.

Yeshua taught without fear, taught with the authority of God and not as the men of religion did in his day (see, Mark 1:22). As a result, he posed a direct threat to the established religiosity and the powers that be – therefore they wanted him dead. In every case, Yeshua’s teachings worked toward the emancipation of people from bondage – whether it be the bondage of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., the bondage of fear, or of men using God to put others in religious chains (see, Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18). His efforts to free these people specifically resulted in a constant effort by the religious leaders to take his life. These principles continue today as the most religious continue to try and socially assassinate those who seek to bring people to total freedom in Yeshua. CLA: (see, Religious Bondage)

19 And when evening came, he went out of the city. 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots.

The drying up of the fig tree “from its roots” is a picture of the Nation of Israel and the coming destruction it would experience in totality. (Matthew 13:40; Matthew 22:7; John 15:6; Revelation 18:8)

21 And Peter calling to remembrance said to him, Master, look! The fig tree which thou cursed is withered away. 22 And Yeshua responded to them and said, Have faith in YHWH.

Teachings on Faith and Forgiveness

Verses 22-26 are specific teachings Yeshua gave to His apostles alone. They were to bear the Church-bride forth and these words were to them in that capacity. Spiritually some of these principles may apply to believers today but these verses cannot be taken and mandatorily imposed on all believers. This response appears to be in relation to Matthews surprise at the quick death of the fig tree. Yeshua was pointing out to them that through faith in YHWH, all things were possible (see, verses 23-24).

23 Truly, I say to you, That whoever will say to this mountain, Be lifted up and cast into the sea, and doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes what he says will happen, it will happen as he said it. 24 Therefore I’m telling you, when you pray your desires, whatever they are, believe that you will receive them, and they will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive – if you have anything against anyone: so that your Father which is in heaven will also forgive you your trespasses.

BGT the Greek term, paraptoma, used here by Yeshua toward his apostles, is purposeful as he does not use hamartia, the Greek term for sin. Paraptoma better means slip ups or side issues and this seems to be teaching the apostles to

The Importance of Humility and Forgiveness

Be humble before men in their ministry and to forgive them of everything so that YHWH would extend mercy to them in everything they do – including their mess ups or failures as apostles.

26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

MI The Critical Text removes the passage altogether while the Authorized retains it. (see, Major Issues) There are sixteen passages that have either been added by the Authorized translators or removed by the Critical text translators. They are Matthew 17:21; Matthew 18:11; Matthew 23:14; Mark 7:16; Mark 9:44: Mark 9:46: Mark 11:26: Mark 15:28; Luke 17:36; John 5:4; Acts 8:37; Acts 15:34; Acts 24:7; Acts 28:29; Romans 16:24; and 1st John 5:7.

Even though the context of these words was to the apostles, Paul passes the same principle on to the Church-Bride in his ministry (see, Colossians 3:13).

Authority and Recognition

27And they came again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, scribes, and elders. 28And said to him, By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you the authority to do these things?

Interestingly, Yeshua, had no recognizable priestly authority – so much so, he could not have even gone into the temple holy of holies. His authority was from on high, from God in Him, which was preeminently superior to earthly powers. Those questioning him seem to do so under the auspices of care for the religious well-being of the Nation, but all together missed the fact that YHWH, in the Man Yeshua, needed no earthly authority. As a means to put them in their place, Yeshua turned their question into silence.

The Question of Authority

29And Yeshua answered and said to them, I will also ask of you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John, from heaven or of men? Answer me. 31And they reckoned with each other saying, If we will say, From heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? 32But if we will say, Of men; they feared the people: for all believed John was a prophet indeed. 33And they answered and said to Yeshua, We cannot tell. And Yeshua answering said to them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.