Mark 11:25

Mark 11:25 says, And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses,  Verse twenty-six adds,  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. These two verses apply to how we should pray, and I should have covered them with the last few verses about the power of prayer when we are praying in accordance with God's will.  We are told here that when we pray, we are to forgive everyone that we have any problem with, so that God can forgive us of our trespasses against Him.  There is no room for grudges in those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Jesus did not say if they have asked for our forgiveness that we are to forgive them, but simply said we are to forgive them because He has forgiven us.  They were also told that if they didn't forgive others, God would not forgive them.  The next few verses concern the scribes and Pharisees questioning Jesus's authority as He was teaching in the temple, which they saw as their domain.  Verse twenty-seven states, And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, Verse twenty-eight adds, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?  Though the people of the world may question the authority of Jesus, we as Christians never should.  I believe that when we do not live by faith instead of sight that we question Jesus's authority.  For example, if referring back to forgiving others, if we say that God doesn't understand how badly they treated us so therefore He cannot expect us to forgive them, we are questioning the authority of Jesus Christ, because He told us to forgive them.  Also, when we gather together to worship Jesus, we should not see ourselves as the authority but should acknowledge that God is.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Instead of answering them, Jesus asked them a question, and said He would answer their question when they answered His.  We are never going to outsmart Jesus.  Verse thirty states, The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.  Jesus asked these scribes to Pharisees by whose authority did John the Baptist baptize people.  He was not sent by the religious leaders but was sent by God.  We need to worry less about who in the church organization has sent someone to preach and more about whether they were sent by God or not.  The scribes and Pharisees represented the religious organization in that day, and they didn't want Jesus to upset that organization.  We should never allow religious organizations to lead us to question God.  Verse thirty-one adds, And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?  Verse thirty-two continues, But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.  The scribes and Pharisees were in a dilemma.  If they said, Of God, then Jesus could ask why they didn't believe John.  If they said, Of man, meaning John was not a true prophet of God, they were afraid of what the people would do since they acknowledged him as a prophet sent by God.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.  The scribes and Pharisees said they could not tell which John was.  That in itself is a sad commentary on the religious leaders of that day.  We today as Christians should know beyond a doubt that both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ were doing what God called them to do.  Jesus then told the scribes and Pharisees that He would not tell them Whose authority He did these things by.  They, as religious leaders, should have known.  Unless they put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they would never know, and neither will anyone today. 

 

 

 

Mark 11:15

Mark 11:15 says, And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;  When Jesus got to Jerusalem He went to the temple, and found it had been turned into a place of commerce.   As Christians, when we gather together in God's name, He is there with us, so what will He find?  Have we allowed worldly things to invade our worship service?  Jesus began to cast our those who bought and sold in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and those who sold doves, which were used in the worship service.  They did these things to make a profit themselves and not for God.  We need to make sure that the things that we do in the church today are for God's glory and not for our benefit.   Verse sixteen adds, And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.  Jesus would not allow them to carry any vessel that was used for profit through the temple.  This doctrine has not changed today.  If we are somehow attempting to use the church for our benefit materially, we may be able to do so, but one day Jesus will cast out all that we have profited by it.  Anything that we do for profit, especially when we are gathered together in God's name, will never last.  Not only that, but I believe it will often stand between God and us.  Verse seventeen declares, And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Jesus said it was written that His house would be a house of prayer and said instead they had turned it into a den of thieves.  I believe that whenever anyone begins to emphasize giving to profit themselves, even if they profess it to be for God's glory, that they are not following God's word.  Prayer and sincere worship of God and fellowship with our fellow believers should be at the center of our worship service and not materialism.  Verse eighteen adds, And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.  The scribes and chief priests then began to plot about how to destroy Jesus, because He was hurting their authority and profit.  These were the religious leaders of God's chosen people, and we need to pray that the leaders of the church do not become the same way today.   The scribes and priests feared taking action against Jesus, because the people were astounded by His doctrine.  Are we still astounded by God's doctrine today, and are people afraid to act against us because of our relationship with Jesus Christ?  Verse nineteen says, And when even was come, he went out of the city. Verse twenty adds, And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots When Jesus and the disciples left Jerusalem to return to Bethany where they were staying it was dark, so they evidently didn't see the fig tree that Jesus had cursed, but returning the next morning, they did.  Matthew Henry says the fig tree represented Israel which had been the productive people of God, but whose faith was now dried up and worthless.  We should never stop being productive in God's kingdom because our faith has dried up.  Verse twenty-one continues, And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.  Peter noticed the fig tree had dried up and was startled by the fact.  He did not have faith to believe that Jesus had power to really cause this to happen.   As Christians, we should never doubt the power of God.   Verse twenty-two states, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. Jesus told Peter and the disciples to have faith in God.  Once we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should never live in doubt again.  Verse twenty-three adds, For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Jesus then said if they had faith, they could command a mountain to move, and it would move if that person had enough faith.  Matthew Henry says the mountains were figurative for any seemingly impossible obstacle that stood between the disciples and God.  He said this applies to all disciples, which includes us as Christians.  Verse twenty-four adds, Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.  Jesus then said that whatever they desired when they prayed if they had faith, they would receive it.  Some people believe that anything that they want and ask God for by faith as Christians that they will receive it.  I believe that the key is that we are to pray by faith, and if we do, instead of asking God to give us what we want in faith, that sincere pray will align our wants with God's determination of what we need.  I also believe that moving a mountain by faith means that it would need to be moved in order for us to do what God asks us to do.  It would never be simply to bring attention to our power but would be done in order for us to do God's will in our life and for His glory.  We may spend all our time trying to move a mountain by faith when God only wants us to climb over it by faith in Him.  Jesus said what we desire when we pray that we are to believe, and we will receive it.  This is different than seeing and desiring something then praying that God will give it to us, even if we have faith.  By prayer, we should determine what God wants for us and then have faith to believe that is the best thing for us, even if it may not be what we desire.   One thing God will always want for people is to restore them to a relationship with Himself through putting their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. 

Mark 11:11

Mark 11:11 says, And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.  When Jesus got to Jerusalem, He went into the temple and looked around on all the things going on there.  He could have decided that He liked being adored and have wanted to change His mission, but He didn't.  We might get caught up in the praise and adoration of people as Christians and decide that we like that better than being a simple servant of Christ, but we had better pray that we never do.  That evening, Jesus went to Bethany with the twelve disciples, leaving the adoring crowds behind.  If we start to get too caught up in the praise of man, we need to get alone with Jesus once more and seek His guidance.  He did not immediately pass judgment on what was happening there, but in the evening, returned to Bethany, where He had a place to stay.  Jesus is still observing what is going on in the church today, and He may not immediately pass judgment on things that are being done that are not in accordance with His will, but one day He will.  For now, He has returned to His heavenly home and not a borrowed place to spend the night as He did then.  Verse twelve adds, And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:  The next morning, Jesus and the disciples left Bethany and returned to Jerusalem, and Jesus was hungry, which gives proof of the fact that He was human.  We cannot make Jesus any less human than we are, or He would have only been going through the motions of defeating sin and death without really being able to give in to temptation.  Verse thirteen states, And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet;   Jesus saw a fig tree that had leaves, and thought He might find some figs to eat, but He found nothing but leaves.  By appearance, the fig tree should have had fruit, but it did not.  By appearances, people who profess to be Christians should be bearing fruit, but sometimes their profession of faith is only for show so they never bear fruit, and we are told that by our fruit we will be known as being His.  It is then stated that the time of the fruit was not yet come.   It could be that this meant that this tree alone had yet to produce fruit, or that it was too early for all fig trees, and I believe that it applied to this fig tree alone.  Still, it was not time for anyone to bear fruit for Christ, because His time was not yet come.  Verse fourteen adds, And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.  Jesus then said that no one would ever eat of this tree again, which is why I believe He wasn't referring to all fig trees.  We are individually judged by our own relationship with Jesus Christ and the fruit we bear, and not by the relationship of anyone else.  The disciples heard what Jesus said, and so must we today.