HOFC Sermon Archive: Gospel of Mark Part 64: Cursing and Cleansing

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SERMON TIMELINE

10. Jesus Cleanses the Leper

11. Jesus Heals the Paralytic

12. Jesus and the Tax Collector

13. Jesus Questioned About Fasting

14. Of Wine and Wineskins

15. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath & Resurrection Sunday 2025

16. Hard Hearts and Hard Thoughts

17. Three Responses to Jesus

18. Jesus Appoints the Apostles

19. The Family of Jesus

20. The Unforgivable Sin

21. The True Family of Jesus

22. Parable of the Four Soils

23. How Well Do You Listen

24. Parable of the Growing Seed

25. Parable of the Mustard Seed

26. Benefits of Private Teaching

27. Jesus Calms the Storm

28. Who is Afraid of Jesus?

29. The Touch of Jesus

30. When Familiarity Breeds Contempt

31. Principles of Evangelism

32. Weakness in the Seat of Power

33. The Need for Rest

34. Feeding 5000

35. Jesus Walks on Water

36. Healings at Gennesaret

37. The Danger of Traditions

38. The Source of True Defilement

39. Gentile Blessed for Her Faith

40. He Has Done All Things Well

41. Jesus Feeds 4000

42. Jesus Sighs

43. Beware of Leaven

44. The Blind Man at Bethsaida

45. Who Do You Say That Jesus Is?

46. Mindful of the Things of God

47. The Cost of Discipleship

48. The Value of a Soul

49. Ashamed of Jesus and His Word

50. The Transfiguration

51. The Disciples ask Questions

52. The Unclean Spirit

53. The Way to Greatness

54. Principles of Discipleship

55. God Hates Divorce

56. Jesus Blesses Children

57. The Problem with Wealth

58. The Cost and Reward of Discipleship

59. A Couple Days Before Palm Sunday

60. The Cup and Baptism

61. Greatness in the Kingdom Comes from Serving

62. Blind Bartimaeus

63. Triumphal Entry

64. Cursing and Cleansing

INTRODUCTION – Cursing and Cleansing

As Jesus entered the final week before the cross, His actions became increasingly direct, prophetic, and confrontational.

In Mark 11, the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple are not disconnected events, but two parts of the same divine message.

The fig tree, full of leaves yet barren of fruit, symbolized Israel’s outward religion without true spiritual life.

The temple, intended to be a house of prayer for all nations, had become corrupted by greed, exploitation, and hypocrisy.

Through these prophetic sign-acts, Jesus exposed empty worship and announced coming judgment upon a nation that honored God outwardly while remaining spiritually fruitless.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

Mark 11:12-19

“¹²And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. ¹³And seeing at a distance a fig tree that had leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.

¹⁵Then they *came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; ¹⁶and He was not permitting anyone to carry merchandise through the temple.

¹⁷And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den.”

¹⁸And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

¹⁹And when evening came, Jesus and His disciples were going out of the city.”

I. THE CURSING OF THE FIG TREE

a. Narrative

i. After spending the night in Bethany at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Jesus and His disciples make their way back toward Jerusalem

ii. Hungry, Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves from a distance and approaches to see if there is anything on it.

iii. There were nothing but leaves. Mark noting that it was not the season for figs in verse 13.

iv. In response to what Jesus found, He says to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!”

v. We also read that His statement was heard by the disciples.

b. Observations

i. Fig trees typically produce edible buds in March followed by the appearance of large green leaves in early April. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

1. The early green fruit was common food for the local peasants (ibid)

2. If a tree had the green leaves but no green buds, this meant it would not produce fruit that year.

3. So the fig tree gave the appearance through its green leaves it would offer edible buds and future fruit, but it did not have any.

ii. Considering the was Mark records this event just before Jesus cleansing the temple suggests the connection between cleansing the temple and cursing the fig tree.

iii. In typical scripture interpreting scripture style of the bible, the incident of the fig tree interprets the cleansing of the temple

1. Jesus’ disappointment with the fig tree is like His disappointment with Israel and the temple, her chief shrine (ibid)

2. His judgment pronounced upon the tree is like the promise of God’s coming judgment which would fall upon the city of Jerusalem, which Jesus own words and actions in Mark 11:15-19 prefigure. (ibid)

iv. This cursing of the fig tree is known as a “prophetic sign-act,” familiar to readers of the Old Testament, an action in which a prophet demonstrates symbolically in his message

Isaiah 20:1-6 Yahweh commanded Isaiah to remove his sackcloth and sandals and walk “naked and barefoot” for three years. This sign symbolized the coming humiliation and captivity of Egypt and Cush at the hands of Assyria. Prisoners and exiles were often stripped and led away barefoot. Human alliances cannot save God’s people when divine judgment has been decreed.

Jeremiah 13:1-11 Yahweh instructed Jeremiah to buy a linen waistband, wear it without washing it, then hide it in a rock crevice near the Euphrates. Later, when he retrieved it, the waistband was ruined. The waistband represented Judah and Jerusalem, whom God had intended to cling closely to Him like a garment around a man’s waist. Because of pride and idolatry, the nation had become spiritually corrupted and useless. Covenant people who refuse obedience become spoiled and unfit for their intended purpose.

Jeremiah 19:1-13 Jeremiah purchased a potter’s earthenware flask and brought the elders to the Valley of Ben-hinnom. There he shattered the flask before them. The broken vessel symbolized Jerusalem and Judah, which God would destroy because of persistent idolatry, child sacrifice, and covenant rebellion. Persistent rebellion eventually reaches a point where judgment becomes unavoidable.

Ezekiel 4:1-15 Ezekiel performed several connected symbolic acts:

1. He drew Jerusalem on a brick and staged a miniature siege against it.

2. He lay on his left side 390 days for Israel’s iniquity.

3. He lay on his right side 40 days for Judah’s iniquity.

4. He ate rationed food and water.

5. He baked bread over dung, later changed from human dung to cow dung.

6. These acts symbolized the coming siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, the long guilt of Israel and Judah, famine conditions during the siege, and ritual uncleanness in exile. Jerusalem’s sin would bring siege, scarcity, exile, and defilement.

v. Not to be taken as simply a rash act of anger, but a solemn prophetic word pronounced for the benefit of the disciples and for their readers (ibid)

II. CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE

a. Narrative

i. Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and enters the temple

ii. Overturning the tables of the money changers, seats of those who sold doves, not allowing the merchants to carry their merchandise through the temple

Matthew 21:13 “And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.”

“Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares Yahweh.” Jeremiah 7:11

1. In Jeremiah’s context, the people committed injustice and idolatry while treating the temple as a religious shelter that guaranteed safety. Jesus applies the same indictment to His own generation.

2. The issue, then, was not merely commerce itself. It was corrupt worship, exploitation under religious authority, desecration of sacred space, and the illusion that outward religion could coexist with unrepentant sin. Jesus’ cleansing was therefore both a moral rebuke and a messianic act of judgment against a corrupted worship system.

iii. What do we see in many churches today?

1. Selling “anointed” objects as spiritual items

2. Fundraising tied to promised miracles or blessings

3. “Seed-faith” giving schemes guaranteeing financial return

4. Paywall prophecy, healing or deliverance ministries

5. Treating ministry as a branding enterprise

6. Excessive monetizing of conferences

7. Lavish lifestyles funded through spiritual manipulation

2 Peter 2:3a “And in their greed they will exploit you with false words”

1. Movements that elevate spectacle above biblical truth

2. Staged healings

3. Emotional manipulation presented as revival

4. False prophecies

5. Claiming direct revelation that overrides scripture

6. Encouragement of modern apostles or prophets rather than Christ

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

7. A major distortion occurs when God is presented chiefly as a means to wealth, success, or influence.

8. Equating faith with financial prosperity

9. Teaching that suffering indicates weak faith

10. Promising miraculous wealth through donations

11. Measuring spiritual authority by visible success or luxury

“…men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.” 1 Timothy 6:5

12. Jesus repeatedly rebuked outward religiosity disconnected from holiness.

13. Entertainment replacing reverent worship

14. Emotionalism without repentance

15. Ministry centered on celebrity culture

16. Platform charisma valued above doctrine and character

17. Worship gatherings designed more for spectacle than God’s glory

“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.” Matthew 15:8

18. The temple courts were meant to welcome the nations, yet corruption crowded out genuine seekers.

“Woe to you… because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people.” Matthew 23:13

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” John 4:23

I believe there would be many tables Jesus would overturn today.

Jesus exclaims that they had made the temple something it was never intended to be. When He rebuked them, the chief priests and scribes heard this and wanted to kill Jesus. They feared Him though because the people were astonished at His teachings.

b. Observations

i. The “temple” was the court of the Gentiles

ii. An outer-court where Gentiles were permitted.

iii. The Gentiles were not able to get into the outer-court because of all the sales booths set up there. The priests were keeping the Gentiles from entering so they could make money.

iv. Jesus being angry at this is not out of character for Him

1. Jesus had been righteously angry before, and would be again soon

a. Mark 3:5; Matthew 23:13-36; Romans 2:4-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

v. When it came to personal attacks, Jesus remained meek (Isaiah 53:7; 1 Peter 2:23)

vi. But when God or the temple were maligned, especially by hardhearted and self-righteous religious leaders, the Jesus acted with righteous indignation in defense of God’s honor

vii. In most cases today, we see people quick to defend themselves rather than God, which is self-righteousness

CONCLUSION

The moral and religious depravity of the religious leaders prompted Jesus’ actions. Righteous anger.

Both the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple were prophetic sign acts that foretold the impending judgment upon the nation of Israel that would occur with the destruction of Jerusalem.

This was fulfilled in 70 AD

Mark 13:1-2 “And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ²And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

FINAL THOUGHT

The tragedy in Mark 11 is not merely that corruption existed in Israel, but that corruption existed under the appearance of worship.

The fig tree had leaves but no fruit. The temple had activity but no holiness.

Jesus was not impressed with religious appearance, crowded gatherings, or outward success. He looked for truth, repentance, reverence, and genuine worship.

The same warning stands today. Churches may have influence, platforms, money, and emotional excitement, yet still lack the fruit that honors God.

Christ still searches His temple. He still opposes false worship, spiritual exploitation, and religion without holiness. And He still calls His people to become a house of prayer, truth, and fruitfulness for the glory of God.

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Saturday, May 23, 2026

Gospel of Mark Part 64: Cursing and Cleansing

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