How different is the Jesus being
preached today and believed on today than the true Lord Jesus
Christ of Scripture? I am not hearing preachers in
my day declare the true Jesus Christ of Scriptures as He is,
as the Scriptures declare Him. in his absolute sovereignty,
his absolute power and authority, his words of condemnation and
judgment against religion, his wrath and anger which he unleashed
on some of those religious leaders, as in the story I am going to
deal with today in Mark chapter 11, a story which I have never
heard a preacher deal with. Mark chapter 11 is the story
of the Lord Jesus Christ coming into Jerusalem. In verse 9 and
10, I read, as He was coming into town, they that went before
Him and they that followed cried, saying, Hosanna! Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna means God save
us. God help us. Verse 10, it says,
they cried out, Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that
cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Now they, without knowing it,
are announcing the coming Christ, the coming King, in fulfillment
of God's Word, God's Scripture, which announced his coming in
Malachi 3, the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his
temple, but who shall abide his coming, Malachi said. He'll be
like a refiner's fire and fuller's soap, and not like men thought
he would be, and not like men say he is today. Well, they were
announcing him coming. They did not know what they were
saying. The people did not know what
they were saying. Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. Nor did they really mean that,
because very soon they would all be crying with one voice,
Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Just as many today
who say they believe in Jesus and say much about Him and say
much in His honor and all, but really, will really despise the
true Lord Jesus Christ of Scripture, the one whom I am about to declare
right now to you in this story. Well, in Malachi 3, which I quoted
to you, Malachi said, Who shall abide, who may abide the day
of his coming? Who shall stand when he appeareth? He said he's like a refiner's
fire and fuller's soap. A fire. He said he's like a fire. Well, in our story here in Mark
11, verse 11, it says, when they came into town, verse 11, Jesus
entered into Jerusalem and into the temple. He came into that
temple in the midst of Jerusalem. And when he had looked round
about upon all things, He walked in the temple and looked around
about him at everything that was going on there. And it says,
Now eventide was come and he went out. He left the temple,
went out unto Bethany with the twelve. Our Lord looked round
about upon all things. What did he see? Well, he saw
corruption, he saw abominations, abominable practices, religious
money-making schemes and practices. That's what he saw. This is,
he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. These are the abominations
of desolation which Daniel wrote of, which our Lord in Mark 24
said to beware of and understand. Abomination of desolation in
the temple. Abominable practices, that is. Though highly esteemed among
men. Though men thought these things
were right. It's what they should be doing.
Yet they were abomination to God. Money making tactics in
the name of God. And desolation. That is, it was
desolate of what should be there. God's Word. God's glory. True worship of God in spirit
and in truth. No confidence in the flesh, Paul
wrote in Philippians 3 of 3. Well, verse 11, it says, he went
out. He went in to the temple, looked
around about him, and went out, thus signifying that the glory
had departed from that place. Ichabod was now written over
the door. And for you Bible students, do
you remember that story? Ichabod written over the door,
meaning the glory has departed from the earthly tabernacle.
Scripture says God doesn't dwell in buildings made with hands. The temple? A building? No, where
two or three are gathered in His name. That's where He gathers.
And those who worship Him in spirit and truth, John 4, he
said, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. And that's
where our Lord went. He went to Bethany. That's the
home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. where two or three are gathered.
That's where he is, not in a big elaborate temple or building. His temple is his people, his
church. That is the true temple of God.
Well, verse 12, it says, The next day on the morrow, when
they were come from Bethany, he was hungry. Oh, how our Lord
was tempted and tried in all points as we are. We have not a high priest, Paul
said in Hebrews. who is not touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, but he is touched, is tempted, tried in
all points. God became flesh and dwelled
amongst us. Yet without sin, he was tried
in all points, hungered, thirst, yet without sin, without complaint.
Well, he was hungry. And it says, verse 13, seeing
a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if happily he might
find anything or any fruit thereon. And when he came to the fig tree,
he found nothing but leaves. The time of the figs was not
yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, that is, he spoke to
that tree. He said, no man eat fruit of
thee hereafter forever. And his disciples heard that.
They heard this take place. Our Lord cursed this fig tree. Now, why did he do that? Why
did he curse that fig tree? Was he in a state of anger at
the tree? No. This goes back all the way
to the garden. This is the omniscient Lord,
the omnipotent Lord, the sovereign Lord who predestines all things. He determined this tree not to
have figs on it in order that he might display something to
us, show us something. This fig tree goes way back,
all the way back to the garden. All the way back to Genesis 3,
you remember the story of Adam and Eve who rebelled against
God Almighty, who sinned against God Almighty, and they found
out they were naked. They became guilty sinners, and
they were naked. They were ashamed of themselves
and their nakedness before God, and what did they try to cover
themselves with? Do you remember? fig leaves together for an apron
or a covering to try to cover their nakedness before the all-seeing
eye of God Almighty. Can you imagine how ignorant
they were in trying to do that? Well, and incidentally, people
believe that Adam and Eve ate an apple tree or something. It
could have been a fig tree as another symbol of this that we're
speaking of this morning, fig tree, fig leaves. Well, they
tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, but that won't
cover, that won't cover their nakedness before the eye of God
Almighty. And it wouldn't, why were they
hiding? You know, they had a covering,
they had these aprons, but yet they still hid from God. All
of this is a picture. of man's goodness, morality,
that is his righteousness which he tries to produce to cover
his sin, to cover his guilt, to cover his naked soul before
God Almighty when it will not cover. No goodness, no morality
that we produce, no righteousness that we try to come up with. Isaiah said it's filthy rags. Isaiah also said, we all do fade
like the leaf. You've heard people say, well,
he's going to turn over a new leaf, a new fig leaf. He's going
to try to change. He's going to try to cover up
what he is. That won't satisfy God. God looks
on the heart. Neither will it cover our guilt
or satisfy our conscience. And there's no fruit in that
for the glory of God. No fruit to be found. Well, only
Jesus Christ, His righteousness imputed to us, will cover us. Only Jesus Christ, His perfect,
holy, spotless righteousness imputed to His people. Only Jesus
Christ's blood can put away the sins of His people. Well, Christ
cursed that tree, telling us that no one can eat fruit from
that tree ever, ever again. No fruit. from the fig tree,
and no covering from its leaves." I hope you understood that. Paul
dealt with this in Romans 10 about his fellow Jews who were
going about to establish their own righteousness, but had not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Have you
ever read that? Do you understand what Paul is
talking about? He said his fellow Jews, his religious Countrymen
had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge because they were
going about to establish their own righteousness. They were
trying to cover themselves with their good works and even the
law, but that won't cover. That won't cover. There's only
one thing which God accepts, and it's absolute perfect holiness,
and no man can produce that. only Jesus Christ did. That's
why He came. To establish that perfect, righteous,
holy life in order to charge that or impute that to the account
of His people. That's Romans 4. Have you ever
read that? Imputation of righteousness.
The whole fourth chapter of Romans deals with that. And Paul said
in Romans 10, verse 4, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believeth. I hope you'll go and learn what
that means. Well, our Lord cursed that tree,
symbolic of what we were just talking about, fig leaf righteousness. Verse 15, they came to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went into the temple. Now He comes back to the temple,
and He began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple. and overthrew the tables of the
money changers, and the seats of them the sold doves." In Matthew's
account, it says that he plaited a whip before he went into that
temple. He made him, he sat outside and plaited or made a leather
whip. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ, or
the one whom some call gentle Jesus, meek and mild, plaited
a whip. and went into the temple and
began to kick tables over and unleash that whip on those who
bought and sold in the temple, threw their tables over and cast
them out of there, cleansed out his temple like a refiner's fire
and fuller's soap, cleansing his temple of all the abominable
money-making practices. Men and their money-making religion. Does that sound familiar? Kicked
over the tables. What table was supposed to be
in that temple? There was only one table. Do
you know what table it was supposed to be in there? The table of
showbread. One thing was supposed to be
served up in that temple. It was not to be a money-making
thing, but it was supposed to be the bread of God, which is
the Word of God. Christ said, Not by bread alone,
but by every word. God's Word. The Gospel is the
only thing that's supposed to be served up in the temple. Not
a money-making place. A table of truth. That's what's supposed to be
served to the people. And it says in verse 16, he would
not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the
temple. No one was allowed to bring anything
in there anymore. except what was supposed to be
in there. He cast out all those men and
their money-making merchandise and wouldn't allow anything in
there but what was supposed to be there, what was truly supposed
to be in the temple. And he said, my house shall be
called a house of prayer. You've made it a den of thieves. My, my, there's only one thing
supposed to go on in God's church, programs and schemes and tactics
and money-making, this and that and the other, and bake sales
and rummage sales and singles programs. The preaching of God's
Word and the gospel, the glory of God, is the only thing supposed
to worship of God. Well, may the Lord use this Word
for His glory and for your understanding. Amen. and put no confidence in nor
practice anything having to do with the flesh. I hope you understand
and believe this. Until next Sunday, good day.