Mark 11:12-21:
Jesus Clears the Temple
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:
“‘My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations’?
But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
19 When evening came, they went out of the city.
The Withered Fig Tree
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
My Understanding: The other day, my husband and I were praying concerning our need of a local body of believers with whom to meet on a regular basis for the teaching of the word, for fellowship, for the breaking of bread and for prayer, as well as for the exercising of spiritual gifts, and for the purpose of being a functioning body of believers as our Lord intended (See Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35; Romans 12:1-8; I Corinthians 12; and Ephesians 4:1-16). When my husband began to pray, he said he heard the sound of a train. It immediately brought to his memory a particular local institutional church where we had visited for a while, and that triggered in his memory, and in mine, other institutional churches where we had previously attended. We talked about those particular local congregations together, as we were examining, in our minds and hearts, before God, where we had been previously and what message the Lord might have for us by the image he gave my husband of a train.
The evening prior to this, the Lord had given me a tune. I recorded the tune. I struggled with finding the right chords to go with the tune and even with the tune itself, but it finally came together. Then, I sat down to hear from the Lord concerning what lyrics he had for the song. He was silent. So, I went to bed with no lyrics for the tune, trusting that he would give them to me when the time was right. The next morning, my husband and I had the discussion together about the meaning of the train. Later in the day, after my husband and I had this discussion about the image of a train in relation to previous churches we had attended, I was praying, again, concerning lyrics to this tune, when I heard clearly in my mind, “The Train.” So, that evening, while my husband was busy with something else, I sat down and prayerfully inquired of the Lord concerning lyrics to this tune. Then, he gave me the words to “The Train,” which is about much of today’s institutional church.
The image the Lord was giving me of the train was that it was being powered by man and man’s teachings, marketing schemes, philosophies, etc., instead of by the word of God. The cars represented individual institutional church congregations. They were all interconnected, intrinsically linked together, and were all together on a set of tracks following the same engine car powered by man. A train presents a very interesting illustration, because if the Lord had shown us a caravan of automobiles, it would be completely different. If you are in a caravan of autos and are traveling a road, following a lead car, you can turn off in another direction and you can easily leave the caravan, plus you are the one in control and your auto is individually operated. Train cars, though, do not have their own engines, they do not have their own steering mechanisms, and they are linked securely together and are on railroad tracks with no way of escape. They are all powered by the same exact engine, and it is not God. And, they are all headed in the same direction, which is to judgment of God.
That brings me to today’s passage of scripture. The fig tree was illustrative of Israel. Today, true Israel is comprised of true believers in Jesus Christ. We are God’s chosen people, a holy priesthood of believers, set apart to God and to his service. The fig tree should have at least had buds on it, indicating that figs would come in season, but it only had leaves. This was a picture of God’s people without any evidence of fruit or even of the possibility of fruit. From a distance, the tree had the appearance of being a fig tree that would bear fruit, but on close examination, it was obvious that fruit was not going to come from this tree, so Jesus said to the tree that it would never bear fruit again. This was symbolic of the coming judgment on the nation of Israel for their stubborn and rebellious hearts in refusing to listen to and obey God and to recognize Jesus as their promised Messiah. And, this is also a picture of much of today’s institutional church, which has the appearance of being religious and of doing all the right things, but many are not truly bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, but are cars in this train, all linked together, and all following the same man-powered engine. And, their destiny is judgment, because they are followers of man instead of followers of God.
Jesus entered the temple area and saw that they had turned it into a marketplace. Today, the temple of the Lord is in the hearts of true believers in Jesus Christ. Collectively, we are called the church. The true church, in reality, is not an institution of man, it is not a denomination, it is not a building, and it is not a corporation under the government of the USA or of any country. The sanctuary of God is not in a building. A building, called a church, is not the house of God. We do not enter the Lord’s house when we enter a building. The Lord’s house is in the hearts of those who truly believe. We are the temple of God.
So, when we, the people of God, meet together, we are meeting together as the church. So, when men turn those meetings, gatherings, fellowships, etc. into big business, elaborate buildings and programs of men, marketing schemes of men, et al, in order to attract the world to the church, and/or to provide a Christian form of entertainment, they are doing the same things as these cattlemen and moneychangers were doing in the temple area. God’s church is for the purpose of prayer, true Christian fellowship in the Lord, the breaking of bread in communion and fellowship, and for the teaching of the word of God, as well as it is to be a functioning body as Christ intended. Instead, much of what we call church today has little resemblance to the church in the book of Acts or that is spoken of in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, as well as in Ephesians 4.
We, as the Lord’s church, need to get disconnected from these other cars and from following a man-powered engine and from captivity to this train on these tracks, which is heading to judgment, and we need to learn what church really is about and to be the church as God intended us to be. We need to be in God’s word daily, listening to Jesus at his feet, obeying what he teaches us, following his teachings, learning what it means to be the body of Christ, and then we need to meet with other believers in Jesus Christ in the way in which God intended for us to meet and to function, not as a business, not following man, but under the power and control of the Holy Spirit of God allowing him to lead, guide, counsel and direct us in the way we should go. It won’t be popular. People may not like us because we are not on the train, yet we will be at peace with God and we will function as his body in the way he intended his body to function. May we all hear from the Lord in this matter today.
The Train / An Original Work / July 17, 2011
The train is coming down the tracks.
It captures all who in faith lack.
The engine is controlled by man;
Leads each captive to ruin.
The cars, they are God’s holy church,
Which follows men who are on the search
To trap the church in their own snare;
For Christ they do not care.
The track, it leads to God’s judgment
For those who are not repentant,
But follow, each his own stubborn way,
And Jesus they do not obey.
So God is calling to His bride
To turn from sin and in Christ abide;
Stop placing their trust solely in man;
Trust Christ for His forgiveness.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Link to the Song
He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-8).
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