Chapter 11 is very important, as it perfectly describes the difference between God and man, salvation vs death, and mercy vs law.
But before we can understand this Chapter, we need to set the stage by a brief recap of the previous 10 Chapters of the Gospel of Mark, then only we can understand Chapter 11.
The first 10 Chapters are all about man and the law vs God – with His mercy; that is, mercy vs the law. Law is the opposite of mercy.
We the people of the world (ie., of the law) are divided by every small detail of human ideology such social, economic, religious, political beliefs and technological development. All these ideologies spring from one doctrine – Law – which defines all our human wisdom (thoughts of man). There is only one other doctrine – mercy – or the Word as originating from God. This alone saves and unites.
By Word alone (God’s mercy) Jesus fed the multitudes. He had no home, never married or owned a house or garden. He calmed the stormy sea, walked on water, was born of God’s Spirit, gave life (discipleship) to the dead and also condemns all those who reject His mercy. Both doctrines (Law vs Mercy) are mutually exclusive.
By Word alone (Mercy), the colt was released and people spread their garments on which Jesus walked.
The crowd welcomed Jesus as the most blessed and divine ruler who has ever lived and walked on earth. Why? Because He brought the doctrine of God’s mercy – salvation to mankind; while human wisdom – “Law” (the world) – with all its wonderful ideas and technological advancements is but strife, conflict and death which Jesus refers to as “a den of thieves” or flesh and blood.
Mercy is the divine saving power in God’s kingdom – salvation to mankind, while human wisdom (the Law) is the sin of the world – which produces death.
Human wisdom, which consists of all our human decrees, learning (education), all our consumable products, etc., has selfishly and cunningly divided our human existence, not only into competing small groups, but has broken up even the smallest unit, our families, with divorce, hatred, malice, imprisonment, penalties (including death); and on a larger scale, brought about wars and worldly conflict. All this is the work of human wisdom (the Law) which breeds enmity instead of unity.
Those of the Law walk according to the traditions, social, economic dictates of the world – hence the conflicts of our many ideologies (the Law).
A summary of God’s mercy is presented by St. Mark in Chapters 7 to 10; an outline is given below:
Chapter 7: Good conscience – Fear of God (reception of mercy) is the beginning of God’s wisdom – producing a good conscience
Chapter 8: Mercy is the truth which produces discipleship as opposed to law which produces flesh and blood (the sin of the world) – no unity
Chapter 9: Discipleship – more details are given about discipleship
Vs 1-27: Entrance into the kingdom – consisting of death to flesh and blood (human wisdom) and the reception of Jesus’ teaching (the resurrection) both termed as death and resurrection
Vs 28-41: Prayer (knowledge of God) – which results into the reception of one another in Jesus’ Name; which is the supreme purpose of discipleship – producing unity – the spiritual body
Vs 42-50: Fasting – Turning from the world, no entrapments which occur when laws become the norms of our human existence instead of God’s mercy.
Chapter 10: Justified and made holy – which brings about
- Spiritual body – Vs 1-16, Having received the truth (mercy)
- Liberty to the captives – Vs 17-31, Released from the law
- Libertines – Vs 32-52, Service (an even deeper knowledge of God)
Here in Chapter 11, more details are presented. Jesus directly confronts human wisdom by presenting Himself as constituting mercy – salvation to mankind to bring about One faith, One spiritual body, One Baptism.
1. Salvation: Vs 1-18 (One faith)
Judaism represents all human existing political systems and courts of Law in every land; be it capitalism, communism, socialism, etc. They all have one thing in common – “paganism” (human doctrines and ideologies) that is; reliance on human wisdom (Laws) instead of God’s mercy.
Law in every land represents the green leaves of the fruitless fig tree, soon to be cut and put to death.
Law is opposed to the truth (mercy). To be blunt, it is lies. It is generally believed that laws control human behavior, and that there would be anarchy without law. This has been proven to be a lie. Anarchy occurs when human wisdom (law) rules, not where God’s mercy rules.
Furthermore, laws are generally abused and used to protect the status quo of the few at the apex of every administrative structure, while those at the bottom (the masses) remain in dire poverty, ignorance and isolated from the rich.
Such a state is completely reversed in discipleship with Christ at the bottom of the inverted apex of the pyramid, giving spiritual power to all those of faith in Christ.
Were it not for God’s great mercy, who supplies all human need; the rains, the sun, the air, protection from disease, epidemics, poverty, dictators etc., there would be no man alive today.
Judaism and every political, religious, or any other human discipline, separates – creates enmity; no matter how beneficial, it is still flesh and blood. It is sin. The proper definition of Law (human wisdom) is sin – opposed to God’s mercy, enmity to one another.
Vs 17: “It is written, My House, (my created earth) – shall be called of nations, the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” – (by your human wisdom)
A den of thieves – is what law (human wisdom) has done to the world in every land or country.
A den of thieves is not used for robbing but a refuge for robbers as a result of law. The evils of Law are visible everywhere – wars, divisions between the rich and poor, white and black, the ugly and the beautiful, the educated and uneducated, etc. Law (human wisdom) without Christ is deadly.
The supremacy of God’s mercy puts all these different groups, into one kingdom, one faith; and makes them disciples of all nations without any legal distinction; under one King, Christ, one nation, as one house by prayer (discipleship) and not a den of thieves as all our countries are today.
Discipleship breaks all the ills of the wisdom of men and this is God’s salvation to mankind by His mercies alone. These mercies produce God’s holiness in the hearts of men.
2. Holiness: Vs 19-26 (One spiritual body)
Holiness is the standard proceeding from God’s mercies
Vs 20 – it is a new day, the third day in a row, in the morning. Jesus enters the capital city again to reveal the standard produced by God’s mercy – holiness – compared to the product of the human wisdom (which is flesh and blood) the sin of the world.
St. Paul writes to the Corinthians in 1 318-20
“If any one among you seems to be wise, (having all the tradition and modern education, wealth, religious and technological power, etc) let him become a fool (a disciple) for he may be wise” – that is – be filled with God’s mercy – the faith of believers (holiness from God) – Chapter 9.
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”.
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, they are futile and fruitless. Thus, Jesus condemned the fruitless fig tree and by the morning the disciples observed that the fig tree had dried up from its roots.
The same remark is repeated by Peter Vs 21, “Behold, Peter exclaimed, the fig tree which thou cursed is withered.” No resurrection!!
Mercy is divine power and it saves (brings holiness) but it also condemns on rejection – death.
Jesus has only one solution to the world – “Have faith in God” – Vs 22 & become His disciple – Chapter 9:
- The resurrection
- Prayer
- Fasting.
With faith, (discipleship) the disciples will have all the spiritual power needed to transform this world from paganism to disciples of Christ – salvation to mankind which is God’s holiness, forming one spiritual body.
This holiness of God to humankind has three characteristics:
- Spiritual power
To remove all the curses of law “whosoever shall say to THIS mountain” – Vs 23 – Jesus must have pointed with his finger to the Temple with its clerics, Scribes, Pharisees, etc., the people of the Law; “be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea, and it shall be done” – it shall come to pass – it will happen.
The word in our hearts, is holiness, God’s standard.
- The 2nd character of holiness; The things desired in the disciple’s heart is prayer
The prayer of the disciple – Vs 24
- All having the truth in our hearts
- Holiness from God’s mercy alone, not under Law
- Libertines (service) arising from discipleship.
These are the things which disciples constantly make as their prayer (the Word).
Reception of one another in Jesus’ Name (Liberty and Libertines) produces forgiveness of one another and so our Father in Heaven also constantly removes our sins, our trespasses.
When you stand to pray, prayer is not a litany of petitions for our needs as such but liberty and libertines. It is constant growth in spiritual knowledge of all that divides humanity – laws and human wisdom; which should be replaced by prayer, the forgiveness of one another.
“But if you do not forgive … neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
We get the true meaning of forgiveness as liberty and libertines.
3. Baptism – Vs 27-33 (Once Church)
Baptism therefore is the big change from the wisdom of men – Law (paganism) to the New life in Christ arising out of the reception of God’s mercies – the holiness of God – oneness in the Kingdom.
The educated people of the Law asked Jesus, “By what authority doest thou these things?”
It was a most appropriate answer for Jesus to make reference to John’s discipleship which presented God’s salvation and holiness. This is what Judaism had rejected. At this time, they were just about to reject – God’s salvation – by God’s Son in the same manner they had rejected John the Baptist.
They rejected and murdered John the Baptist just as they rejected and murdered Christ
Indeed, they were the fruitless fig tree, how about us today?
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