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Mark 11
Mar 15, 2010 14:35:36 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Mar 15, 2010 14:35:36 GMT -8
Post your comments/ questions/ discussion starters on Mark chapter 11 as replies to this post.
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Mark 11
Mar 16, 2010 21:52:43 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Mar 16, 2010 21:52:43 GMT -8
20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" 22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
Well, that action seems to have a dual or triple purpose. On one level, Jesus uses it as a lesson in faith. On another level, it symbolizes national Israel's failure to produce fruit and the coming judgment God was bringing against the priesthood and Temple cult.
Even further, some see the reference to the "mountain being thrown into the sea" as a reference to Daniel 2's prediction that the Messiah's kingdom of God would be "a rock that struck the statue [of pagan empires] and became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth." (Dan. 2:35)
So, Jesus may be alluding to the fact that though it might seem impossible, the kingdom of God could be transplanted to the Gentile world (the Gentile world is elsewhere in Scripture described as "the sea").
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Mark 11
Mar 27, 2010 20:12:29 GMT -8
Post by Josh on Mar 27, 2010 20:12:29 GMT -8
Some notes on my mini-lesson for tomorrow's Palm Sunday service:
On the donkey:
-Jesus’ requisitioning of the donkey echoes the authority of Roman soldiers, who were by law able to commandeer such animals, except Jesus' authority is not abusive- the donkey is returned.
-Matthew Henry points out that Jesus used a borrowed boat, a borrowed upper room, a borrowed sepulcher, and a borrowed donkey: “Let not Christians scorn to be beholden to one another, and, when need is, to go a borrowing, for our Master did not.”
Some quotes from the early church:
"[Jesus' life] began with a manger and finished with a donkey" (Ephrem the Syrian)
"instead of our garments and branches, let us spread our hearts before him" (Methodius)
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