Mark 11:15-18 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-19

God's house vindicated. THE TEMPLE WAS DESIGNED AS A RELIGIOUS CENTRE FOR THE NATIONS . It contains the idea of the Divine house, and therefore of the home for all men. II. THE ASSOCIATIONS SHOULD BE SUCH AS BECOME THE PLACE . "Peace and purity should be maintained in the service of God." The Church should be like the home. The associates of traffic and the passions it excites should be shut out. "Let vain and busy thoughts have there no part; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-20

The destruction of the fig tree. I. THE SUFFICIENT REASON FOR THE ACT . 1 . Not an outcome of petulance or disappointment. The idea of Christ being "in a temper" is preposterous! The difficulty as to the phrases, "if haply he might find anything thereon," and "he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs," is for the most part factitious and artificial. Our Lord was not mistaken—first expectant and then disappointed. "He came to the tree, not for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-25

The fruit of the fruitless fig tree. This action of our Lord Jesus is one of the very few he is recorded to have performed to which exception has been taken. It has been objected that the "cursing" of the fig tree was a vindictive act, and unlike and unworthy of the gracious and beneficent Redeemer. In answer to this objection, a distinction must be drawn between a vindictive and a judicial proceeding; the latter having no element of personal irritation or ill feeling. It must not be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-26

Parallel passages: Matthew 21:12-22 ; Luke 19:45-48 .— The blighting of the barren fig tree. I. SYMBOLISM . 1 . Miracles of mercy. Mercy has been called God's darling attribute; judgment is his strange work. The only-begotten Son, who has declared the Father unto us, has manifested the selfsame character. His miracles are miracles of mercy—all save two. Of these two, one was permissive and punitive, when our Lord allowed the devils to enter into the swine of the Gadarenes;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15

And they come to Jerusalem: and he entered into the temple. Not the holy place, nor the holy of holies (into which the high priest might alone enter), but into the temple court; for into that the people went to pray, and to witness the sacrifices which were being offered before the holy place; for this court was, so to speak, the temple of the people. Our Lord was not a Levitical priest, because he was not sprung of Levi and Aaron. Therefore he could not enter the holy place, but only the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15

"And Jesus went into the temple." "Jesus went into the temple." The act was characteristic and suggestive. I. IT EXEMPLIFIED THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN HIS WORK AND THAT OF JOHN . From the beginning to the end of his ministry the Baptist, so far as we know, was a stranger to the temple courts. John was in the wilderness, and the people from Jerusalem and Judea "went out" to hear him. Christ was never apart from his people. He was not a voice crying in the wilderness,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-17

Christ cleansing the temple. The acts of our Lord were not merely intended to accomplish an immediate result. Had they been, they were sadly ineffectual. If, for example, he had simply set before himself the design of clearing the temple of intruders, he could have secured that end more permanently than he did. But he recognized that the noblest thing is not to cut off a public abuse, but to dry up the spring whence it flows, which often lies deep in the human heart. Remedial measures are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-18

The holy house. It is significant that our Lord should have performed the authoritative and symbolical act of cleansing the temple twice—at the commencement, and again at the close, of his ministry. We learn that no real reformation had taken place in the religious habits of the chief priests and the people who frequented the holy place; they continued to practice the abuses which had been already so justly and so sternly rebuked. And we learn also that Jesus, although hated and despised... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-18

The cleansing of the temple. Jesus came to "bear witness unto the truth." One truth was the sanctity of that "house of prayer" which was opened for "all the nations." But have the rightful guardians of that house preserved for it this sacredness, that the feet of the wearied and the heart of the sorrowful of all nations might be allured within its hallowed walls, where in humble penitence and prayer, and with strong cries to the God of heaven and earth, they might find rest and peace and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-19

Jesus cleansing the temple. A second occasion; the first occurring at the beginning of his ministry ( John 2:13-17 ). A fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 , Malachi 3:2 . I. THERE IS A TENDENCY IN THE MOST SACRED INSTITUTIONS TO DECAY AND ABUSE . Most of the abominations swept away by Christ had their origin in immemorial custom, and the demands of the worshippers themselves. Traffic came to assume a religious character, and gain was excused on account of... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-25

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:12-26

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 11:15-19

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