Mark 11:1-25

Jesus Enters Into Jerusalem As The Prince of Peace, Purifies the Temple, and Withers A Fig Tree With A Word (11:1-25).

This passage in Mark is one whole, woven around the acted out picture of the fig tree. After His entry into Jerusalem Jesus goes and surveys the Temple, looking around and considering it, then He goes and surveys the fig tree and condemns it, after which He returns to the Temple, enters it and clears it of traders. Once that has occurred He and His disciples return to the fig tree and find it withered. The symbolism of the fig tree is clear. It represented Jerusalem and its false worship, outwardly promising much and making a great show, but inwardly fruitless. It was now cursed and would be allowed to wither and die, which, as Jesus will make clear in chapter 13, is also the destiny of the Temple.

On His final visit to Jerusalem Jesus first reveals Himself to the world as the coming Messiah and King by deliberately fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah, “Rejoice greatly, Oh daughter of Zion, shout, Oh daughter of Jerusalem, behold your king comes to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on an ass, even on a colt, the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

But it only had meaning for those with eyes to see. Many pilgrims were arriving in Jerusalem for the Passover, and some would ride on asses, although they would be the exceptions for it was not usual for pilgrims to ride into Jerusalem at the feast. There was a tradition that at Passover time Jerusalem should be entered on foot. So Jesus was deliberately drawing attention to His uniqueness. However, at Passover time pilgrims generally would be greeted by festive crowds shouting out to God, ‘Blessed is he who comes, in the name of the Lord’ (Psalms 118:26) and ‘Save now’ (‘hosanna’ - a cry for deliverance - compare Psalms 118:25)’, for it was a time of high excitement. Psalms 118:0 was in fact a Psalm regularly used at the Passover. ‘Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David’, was probably a further excited cry brought about by their enthusiasm as they thought about the coming expected Messianic kingdom, for it was a time when hopes were high. It was always thought possible that the Messiah might reveal himself at the feast.

Thus when the great prophet that they had heard about, and many had probably actually seen in action and had dealings with, arrived in this way, they greeted Him even more enthusiastically than they did ordinary pilgrims. But they did not on the whole realise the truth of their words, that the king was now here to bring salvation, although no doubt some probably did cherish such hopes (John 7:31). They rather described Him as ‘the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee’ (Matthew 21:11). To them the whole scene was like a religious carnival. And we must not judge them too harshly, for the disciples did not realise the full significance of the entry either (John 12:16).

Mark does not mention that it was an ass on which Jesus rode, but Matthew 21:2 does, and ‘a colt’ was unlikely to be anything else in Palestine. The ass was looked on by the Jews as a noble beast. When kings rode in peace they rode on an ass (e.g. 1 Kings 1:38). Thus the prophecy, and Jesus’ action in riding on an ass, revealed that He came, not as a warrior on His war horse, but as the lowly Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6; Zechariah 9:9). Not the kind of Messiah most Jews were expecting.