Hypocrite Religion
Mark 11:12-21
Message #42
In our last message in Mark, the Triumphal Entry had just occurred, and we looked at Jesus cleansing the Temple in the message called, “A House of Prayer.” And in that message, I said we were skipping over the “fig tree” section because I explained the cleansing of the Temple was inside a sandwich teaching that Mark is famous for. He teaches the fig tree, the cleansing of the Temple, and then the fig tree.
So, today, we’re looking at that sandwich teaching that occurs on both sides of the “House of Prayer” teaching from our last message.
So, we’re actually starting today, the morning after the Triumphal Entry, and the cleansing of the Temple (last message) has not yet occurred. So, Mark 11:12-13 starts it off.
Mark 11:12–13 (NLT)
12 The next morning (after the Triumphal Entry) as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
Notice, verse 13 says this fig tree was in full leaf. That is what a fig tree looks like when it has fruit on it (in full leaf). So, even though it was too early in the season, this fruit tree had all the signs of bearing fruit, and since it had all the signs of actually bearing fruit, it attracted the attention of Jesus. It looked so much like it would have real fruit under its “perfect looking” leaves, but when it was inspected by Jesus, it actually had no fruit. There was only the “outward appearance” of fruit. This fig tree had all the right looks from a distance, but when Jesus got close and inspected it, it actually had no real fruit.
And so, judgment falls from the lips of the One who has been given all judgment.
Mark 11:14 (NLT)
14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.
Now, this is not Jesus getting angry at the tree because he was hungry, which (unbelievably) some “supposed scholars” actually say.
Remember, this is not Jesus writing – this is Mark.
If this was Jesus writing, Jesus would say, “Of course I knew there was no fruit on this tree (omniscience), but it LOOKED SO MUCH like there SHOULD BE fruit under those leaves, that this tree provided an awesome example to my Disciples, and to every person who reads and understands what I am about to do.”
This is a dramatic, living parable – meaning it is a parable acted out by Jesus.
R. Kent Hughes says:
The reason Jesus cursed the barren fig tree was because he wanted it to become a visual parable of what was happening to Israel. In actuality he honored that tree, making it the most useful tree that ever grew! It was, and is, a tree from which thousands have learned about themselves and turned back to God. If one soul has been made to consider its life through that tree, it did not wither in vain.
Jesus was teaching a dramatic, living parable in order to teach us a very critical lesson.
So, let’s catch up the timeline leading up to the fig tree moment. Three years ago (at the beginning of his ministry – John Chapter 2), Jesus made a whip of cords and cleansed the Temple of the worldly business venture it had become. Then, just yesterday, was the Triumphal entry with everyone singing, “Hallelujah’s” and seeming like they were receiving Jesus as the Messiah he was. But at the end of the Triumphal Entry, Jesus went into the Temple to check things out, and he found it exactly the same as it was three years ago.
There were obviously big signs of spiritual fruit in the Temple. Everything about the Temple was magnificent. It was glorious – it awed and enamored people. Everything looked really spiritual. People loved to be there – they loved it. On Passover, which is what is happening right here, maybe two million extra people in the first century would gather in Jerusalem all because they wanted to be in the Temple, and they loved to say they attended there.
And the best part was, you didn’t even have to bring your own sacrifice anymore. You could just come and buy a pre-approved sacrifice while you’re walking into worship. You didn’t have to go out of your way. You didn’t have to be inconvenienced at all. The religious system had provided everything you needed. In fact, it had provided for your “felt needs.” All you had to do was come with your money, and you could have a wonderful, religious experience and you could leave feeling very, very good about yourself.
The religious system that attracted so many to Jerusalem had big, beautiful leaves, just like the fig tree, and it seemed so fruitful, so attractive, anybody and everybody wanted to be there.
On the surface, it all seemed so right. But when Jesus came in close to inspect it, he knew there was actually zero real spiritual fruit.
That inspection of the Temple was yesterday. So now, (the next day), Jesus and the Disciples leave the living parable of the fig tree and head back to the Temple for part two of the lesson.
Mark 11:15–17 (NLT)
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, (after leaving the fig tree) Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
We dug deep into these verses in our last message in Mark. If you didn’t get that message, it was really a critical one called “A House of Prayer.” You can watch, listen, or read at either website (CalvaryNuevo.org; WordByMail.com) or on the Calvary Nuevo or Word By Mail phone app. It’s important – it’s critical because Jesus is judging the Temple, and if you remember the last message, hopefully, you got that. He is judging the Temple, and he continues to judge the Temple until in 70 A.D. he allows it to be destroyed. (Until the Antichrist rebuilds it.) But he allows it to be destroyed.
And then, Mark 11:18 tells us the zeal of the Lord that was eating Jesus up kept Jesus perfectly on the path to the Cross in the next few days.
Mark 11:18 (NLT)
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching. (in the next few days, they’d figure it out)
But today, we are focused on how the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple go together in this sandwich teaching of Mark.
The fig tree looked really good – but had no fruit, and the Temple looked really good – but had no spiritual fruit.
And so, the fig tree was the living parable for what the Disciples would witness as Jesus cleansed the Temple of its worldly influence.
Jesus is trying to show his Disciples there is no spiritual fruit in what is supposed to be the most holy place on earth.
And we have got to understand what Jesus is trying to do here because Jesus has gone to great lengths to make sure this truth hits us right between the eyes. Do we look like we have spiritual fruit, or is there actual spiritual fruit in our lives? I don’t mean to be too dramatic, but the answer to that question could be a matter of spiritual life or death. Jesus is trying to get it across right here. It’s a matter of spiritual life or death. It certainly was for the fig tree, and ultimately, it was for the Temple in Jerusalem.
We see it on the other side of the sandwich teaching.
Mark 11:19-21 (NLT)
19 That evening (after cleansing the temple) Jesus and the disciples left the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up.
21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
This is where it gets dramatic because the fig tree is a picture of our lives. The Temple is a picture of our lives. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Both of these things are pictures of our lives. Because the fig tree looked like it had real fruit but had none, it has now been cursed and died – from the roots up. (Trees typically die from the top down – except by disease.)
And so, to me, this sandwich teaching of the judgment of the fig tree and the judgment of the Temple, Jesus is saying one thing very clearly. There is a judgment for looking spiritual but having no real spiritual fruit.
There is nothing in the Word of God that puts any value or priority on “looking spiritual.” No-where, in no-way does God ever tell us to look like we have spiritual fruit in our lives. I believe this entire teaching is meant to warn us and scare us of one thing – HYPOCRITE RELIGION – which is looking spiritual but having no real spiritual fruit in your life.
Between the judgment on the fig tree and the judgment on the Temple, the Disciples were being confronted by this truth. There is a judgment for “hypocrite religion” – and that truth is meant to be as shocking to us as it was to them.
So, we cannot look at this shocking teaching about “hypocrite religion” without applying it in a very real and practical way – to our own lives. We need to actually, genuinely look in the mirror and say, if the fig tree and Temple had no spiritual fruit and was judged – what about me?
If our spiritual life and death hang in the balance as it did for the fig tree and for the Temple, then we have got to examine our lives in the light of this text, right? Let’s talk about the “how.”
So, first, what is spiritual fruit. “Fruit” is a metaphor for spiritual growth in the Bible used over 150 times to describe the transformation God produces in our lives.
So – question. Is a big, wealthy church with massive attendance considered spiritual fruit? If it is, then Jesus never bore any spiritual fruit, and neither did any of the original Disciples because spiritual fruit is not measured by worldly success in any church or in any person. Spiritual fruit is measured by Jesus Christ. He was the judge of both the fig tree and the Temple.
But fortunately, what God calls spiritual fruit is super easy to define from the Bible. In a sentence, we can say, “Spiritual fruit is anything in our lives that reflects the true character and nature of God.” Spiritual fruit is the evidence to those around us that Jesus Christ is living in us and through us. When someone sees Jesus in us, that is spiritual fruit.
And that is the whole point. Spiritual fruit comes only from Jesus Christ truly living in us and through us. You and I cannot produce spiritual fruit – no matter how big the leaves of our fig tree get and no matter how impressive the outside of our Temple is.
Without Jesus Christ truly IN our lives, we can look like there should be fruit under our “good-looking” surface. But one day, Jesus is going to judge us for what is truly under that surface, and this hard teaching today is Jesus helping us get ready for THAT day.
The Good News is since only the life of Jesus can produce spiritual fruit in us, then we know exactly what we need to do to begin to have Jesus produce that spiritual fruit.
Turn over to John Chapter 15. Some time ago, we did a ten-part series called “Abide.” That series came from these verses in John 15.
John 15:4–8 (ESV)
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (a motivational warning)
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (a motivational encouragement)
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (Spiritual Fruit is the proof of being a disciple)
We’ve got to learn HOW to abide in Jesus and how to have Jesus abide in us, and then the life of Jesus will produce true spiritual fruit in us and through us. Learning to Abide in Christ is the beginning of having Jesus produce spiritual fruit in our lives.
There is so much more about what spiritual fruit looks like. But I only have time to suggest some further study. Try these.
“Abide” series
“Alone With God” series
Galatians Chapter 5
Ephesians Chapters 4-5
“James” series
“1 John” series
You can find all of these at either website or the WordByMail app.
But remember, you can’t produce true spiritual fruit – only the life of Jesus in you can. So, to close today, we’ve got to turn this inspection on our own lives.
Spiritual fruit is an attitude or an action in our lives that has been transformed by Jesus Christ living in us and through us. Spiritual fruit is us – in some way – becoming more like Jesus and less like ourselves. And – spiritual fruit is something that is seen by the people around us and brings glory to God in our lives.
I know those are huge tests, but listen carefully to 2 Corinthians 13:5 from the Paraphrase called “The Message.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 (The Message)
5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.
So, today, we’re looking at that sandwich teaching that occurs on both sides of the “House of Prayer” teaching from our last message.
So, we’re actually starting today, the morning after the Triumphal Entry, and the cleansing of the Temple (last message) has not yet occurred. So, Mark 11:12-13 starts it off.
Mark 11:12–13 (NLT)
12 The next morning (after the Triumphal Entry) as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.
Notice, verse 13 says this fig tree was in full leaf. That is what a fig tree looks like when it has fruit on it (in full leaf). So, even though it was too early in the season, this fruit tree had all the signs of bearing fruit, and since it had all the signs of actually bearing fruit, it attracted the attention of Jesus. It looked so much like it would have real fruit under its “perfect looking” leaves, but when it was inspected by Jesus, it actually had no fruit. There was only the “outward appearance” of fruit. This fig tree had all the right looks from a distance, but when Jesus got close and inspected it, it actually had no real fruit.
And so, judgment falls from the lips of the One who has been given all judgment.
Mark 11:14 (NLT)
14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it.
Now, this is not Jesus getting angry at the tree because he was hungry, which (unbelievably) some “supposed scholars” actually say.
Remember, this is not Jesus writing – this is Mark.
If this was Jesus writing, Jesus would say, “Of course I knew there was no fruit on this tree (omniscience), but it LOOKED SO MUCH like there SHOULD BE fruit under those leaves, that this tree provided an awesome example to my Disciples, and to every person who reads and understands what I am about to do.”
This is a dramatic, living parable – meaning it is a parable acted out by Jesus.
R. Kent Hughes says:
The reason Jesus cursed the barren fig tree was because he wanted it to become a visual parable of what was happening to Israel. In actuality he honored that tree, making it the most useful tree that ever grew! It was, and is, a tree from which thousands have learned about themselves and turned back to God. If one soul has been made to consider its life through that tree, it did not wither in vain.
Jesus was teaching a dramatic, living parable in order to teach us a very critical lesson.
So, let’s catch up the timeline leading up to the fig tree moment. Three years ago (at the beginning of his ministry – John Chapter 2), Jesus made a whip of cords and cleansed the Temple of the worldly business venture it had become. Then, just yesterday, was the Triumphal entry with everyone singing, “Hallelujah’s” and seeming like they were receiving Jesus as the Messiah he was. But at the end of the Triumphal Entry, Jesus went into the Temple to check things out, and he found it exactly the same as it was three years ago.
There were obviously big signs of spiritual fruit in the Temple. Everything about the Temple was magnificent. It was glorious – it awed and enamored people. Everything looked really spiritual. People loved to be there – they loved it. On Passover, which is what is happening right here, maybe two million extra people in the first century would gather in Jerusalem all because they wanted to be in the Temple, and they loved to say they attended there.
And the best part was, you didn’t even have to bring your own sacrifice anymore. You could just come and buy a pre-approved sacrifice while you’re walking into worship. You didn’t have to go out of your way. You didn’t have to be inconvenienced at all. The religious system had provided everything you needed. In fact, it had provided for your “felt needs.” All you had to do was come with your money, and you could have a wonderful, religious experience and you could leave feeling very, very good about yourself.
The religious system that attracted so many to Jerusalem had big, beautiful leaves, just like the fig tree, and it seemed so fruitful, so attractive, anybody and everybody wanted to be there.
On the surface, it all seemed so right. But when Jesus came in close to inspect it, he knew there was actually zero real spiritual fruit.
That inspection of the Temple was yesterday. So now, (the next day), Jesus and the Disciples leave the living parable of the fig tree and head back to the Temple for part two of the lesson.
Mark 11:15–17 (NLT)
15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, (after leaving the fig tree) Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
We dug deep into these verses in our last message in Mark. If you didn’t get that message, it was really a critical one called “A House of Prayer.” You can watch, listen, or read at either website (CalvaryNuevo.org; WordByMail.com) or on the Calvary Nuevo or Word By Mail phone app. It’s important – it’s critical because Jesus is judging the Temple, and if you remember the last message, hopefully, you got that. He is judging the Temple, and he continues to judge the Temple until in 70 A.D. he allows it to be destroyed. (Until the Antichrist rebuilds it.) But he allows it to be destroyed.
And then, Mark 11:18 tells us the zeal of the Lord that was eating Jesus up kept Jesus perfectly on the path to the Cross in the next few days.
Mark 11:18 (NLT)
18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching. (in the next few days, they’d figure it out)
But today, we are focused on how the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple go together in this sandwich teaching of Mark.
The fig tree looked really good – but had no fruit, and the Temple looked really good – but had no spiritual fruit.
And so, the fig tree was the living parable for what the Disciples would witness as Jesus cleansed the Temple of its worldly influence.
Jesus is trying to show his Disciples there is no spiritual fruit in what is supposed to be the most holy place on earth.
And we have got to understand what Jesus is trying to do here because Jesus has gone to great lengths to make sure this truth hits us right between the eyes. Do we look like we have spiritual fruit, or is there actual spiritual fruit in our lives? I don’t mean to be too dramatic, but the answer to that question could be a matter of spiritual life or death. Jesus is trying to get it across right here. It’s a matter of spiritual life or death. It certainly was for the fig tree, and ultimately, it was for the Temple in Jerusalem.
We see it on the other side of the sandwich teaching.
Mark 11:19-21 (NLT)
19 That evening (after cleansing the temple) Jesus and the disciples left the city.
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up.
21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
This is where it gets dramatic because the fig tree is a picture of our lives. The Temple is a picture of our lives. We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Both of these things are pictures of our lives. Because the fig tree looked like it had real fruit but had none, it has now been cursed and died – from the roots up. (Trees typically die from the top down – except by disease.)
And so, to me, this sandwich teaching of the judgment of the fig tree and the judgment of the Temple, Jesus is saying one thing very clearly. There is a judgment for looking spiritual but having no real spiritual fruit.
There is nothing in the Word of God that puts any value or priority on “looking spiritual.” No-where, in no-way does God ever tell us to look like we have spiritual fruit in our lives. I believe this entire teaching is meant to warn us and scare us of one thing – HYPOCRITE RELIGION – which is looking spiritual but having no real spiritual fruit in your life.
Between the judgment on the fig tree and the judgment on the Temple, the Disciples were being confronted by this truth. There is a judgment for “hypocrite religion” – and that truth is meant to be as shocking to us as it was to them.
So, we cannot look at this shocking teaching about “hypocrite religion” without applying it in a very real and practical way – to our own lives. We need to actually, genuinely look in the mirror and say, if the fig tree and Temple had no spiritual fruit and was judged – what about me?
If our spiritual life and death hang in the balance as it did for the fig tree and for the Temple, then we have got to examine our lives in the light of this text, right? Let’s talk about the “how.”
So, first, what is spiritual fruit. “Fruit” is a metaphor for spiritual growth in the Bible used over 150 times to describe the transformation God produces in our lives.
So – question. Is a big, wealthy church with massive attendance considered spiritual fruit? If it is, then Jesus never bore any spiritual fruit, and neither did any of the original Disciples because spiritual fruit is not measured by worldly success in any church or in any person. Spiritual fruit is measured by Jesus Christ. He was the judge of both the fig tree and the Temple.
But fortunately, what God calls spiritual fruit is super easy to define from the Bible. In a sentence, we can say, “Spiritual fruit is anything in our lives that reflects the true character and nature of God.” Spiritual fruit is the evidence to those around us that Jesus Christ is living in us and through us. When someone sees Jesus in us, that is spiritual fruit.
And that is the whole point. Spiritual fruit comes only from Jesus Christ truly living in us and through us. You and I cannot produce spiritual fruit – no matter how big the leaves of our fig tree get and no matter how impressive the outside of our Temple is.
Without Jesus Christ truly IN our lives, we can look like there should be fruit under our “good-looking” surface. But one day, Jesus is going to judge us for what is truly under that surface, and this hard teaching today is Jesus helping us get ready for THAT day.
The Good News is since only the life of Jesus can produce spiritual fruit in us, then we know exactly what we need to do to begin to have Jesus produce that spiritual fruit.
Turn over to John Chapter 15. Some time ago, we did a ten-part series called “Abide.” That series came from these verses in John 15.
John 15:4–8 (ESV)
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (a motivational warning)
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (a motivational encouragement)
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (Spiritual Fruit is the proof of being a disciple)
We’ve got to learn HOW to abide in Jesus and how to have Jesus abide in us, and then the life of Jesus will produce true spiritual fruit in us and through us. Learning to Abide in Christ is the beginning of having Jesus produce spiritual fruit in our lives.
There is so much more about what spiritual fruit looks like. But I only have time to suggest some further study. Try these.
“Abide” series
“Alone With God” series
Galatians Chapter 5
Ephesians Chapters 4-5
“James” series
“1 John” series
You can find all of these at either website or the WordByMail app.
But remember, you can’t produce true spiritual fruit – only the life of Jesus in you can. So, to close today, we’ve got to turn this inspection on our own lives.
Spiritual fruit is an attitude or an action in our lives that has been transformed by Jesus Christ living in us and through us. Spiritual fruit is us – in some way – becoming more like Jesus and less like ourselves. And – spiritual fruit is something that is seen by the people around us and brings glory to God in our lives.
I know those are huge tests, but listen carefully to 2 Corinthians 13:5 from the Paraphrase called “The Message.”
2 Corinthians 13:5 (The Message)
5 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it.