Marcos 11
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Marcos 11
Robertson quips "It is amazing how short a time the work of reformers lasts!" (in this case less than 3 years after the first cleansing) It is intriguing that Jesus began His ministry cleaning out the corruption in the Temple complex and three years later ended His ministry carrying out the same cleansing! Is there a message here for us in America where so many are using their version of "Christianity" to make money and receive acclaim from men? (That's a rhetorical question!) For context let's look at His first Temple cleansing... The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers (2773 - kermatistes = only here = dealer in small money) seated at their tables. 15 And He made a scourge of cords (NOT DESCRIBED AT HIS SECOND CLEANSING), and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers (2855 - kollubistes) and overturned (anatrepo) their tables; (STOP FOR A MOMENT AND IMAGINE GENTLE JESUS FLIPPING OVER TABLES!) 16 and to those who were selling the doves (CHARGING POOREST OF POOR EXORBITANT RATES! READ Pr 22:22-23) He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.” (John 2:13-16+) It is noteworthy that the two Temple cleansings are the only acts of "holy violence" recorded of the Lord Jesus. In this case Jesus revealed Himself as Lord of the temple (cf. Mt. 12:6). Lawrence Richards comments "Herod the Great dedicated 40 years and untold wealth to beautify the Jerusalem temple. That temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world, and drew thousands of Gentile as well as Jewish visitors to Judea. Yet Christ’s anger that its courts had become a “den of robbers” reminds us that the true significance of any house of worship is not found in how it looks but in what happens there." Danny Akin - Jesus saw extortion, bribery, greed and dishonesty at every turn in this religious bazaar and He had enough. He got physical in righteous rage and indignation and He cleaned house! His holy wrath burned with passion and purity as He restored, at least for a moment, the temple of God to its rightful purpose. Here is God‘s greatest High Priest exercising His rightful authority over His temple. Bell quips "This seemed to be the County Fair & the Stock Exchange all rolled into one." and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves - Only Mark and Matthew record the description that He "overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves." The annual tribute of each Jew to the Temple coffers was a half-shekel (Ex 30:13). The money changers in the court of the Gentiles exchange the Jewish money for Greek and Roman coins called drachmé (1406), drachma, and statér (4715), the latter being a coin equivalent to four drachma. The doves (or pigeons) were the sacrificial animal for the poor, so that these ruthless moneychangers were even mercilessly bilking the poorest people. Some estimate the mark up was 16 times the normal price so that 2 pigeons which normally sold say for $0.25 would now cost the impoverished person $4.00. Barclay said, “Outside doves cost as little as 3 ½ pence a pair, inside they were as much as 75 pence a pair.” Hiebert - every male Jew twenty years or over was required to pay yearly a half shekel toward the cost of the religious services in the temple. Foreign coins with their idolatrous images were refused for this purpose. The money-changers were in the temple court to change the Greek and Roman coins of the pilgrims into the Jewish or Tyrian coinage which alone could be used for the payment. We call this the cleansing of the temple, which it is, but it also a condemnation of the Temple. In short, it is Jesus‘ critique of all false religion which He hates! It is surprising that all four Gospels record Jesus' cleansing and yet none have any hint of resistance by the authorities to actually attempt to prevent Him from cleansing the Court of the Gentiles. Is this a manifestation of supernatural power/intervention? We simply don't know, but remember that this area was up to 10 football fields in size and it seems to be a genuine miracle that one Man could accomplish thorough cleansing of such a huge area filled with animals and riff-raff! Of course, this is not just any man but is the God-Man and He is filled with righteous anger and with the Holy Spirit! One writer has even suggested that some of the prophetically knowledgeable Jews might have seen His actions as fulfillment of Malachi 3:1-3+ which says " “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His Temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3“He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness" John MacArthur gives a vivid description of the corrupt, horrific state of the Court of the Gentiles... The Court of the Gentiles had been turned into basically a business center. And the business was selling animals needed for the sacrifices (twice daily and then the Passover). One Passover record indicates 260,000 lambs were slain, so you can just imagine how many animals would have been in the courtyard! And you had to buy other necessities for offerings and sacrifices. Then there were moneychangers. All of this was basically called the Bazaar of Annas (ED: SEE ALFRED EDERSHEIM = "The Temple-market and the Bazaars of the sons of Annas are identical"). Annas and Caiaphas both being high priests ran the operation and became filthy rich selling franchises to people who sold the animals and changed the money and sold the oil and the other things that were used. They sold these franchises for very high prices and then skimmed off a huge percentage of the profit of shop owners, so that the Court of the Gentiles was just jammed with these shops. Lightfoot writes there was always a constant market in the Temple in that place (THE COURT OF THE GENTILES)....One might ask, “Well why don't they bring their own animals?” They should and they could choose the best one in the flock without spot and without blemish. But if you brought your own animal, it was risky because every animal that was sacrificed had to pass priestly inspection. And it was to the benefit of the priests to reject your animal because when they rejected your animal, you had to buy their animal. And you would be forced to do that at an exorbitant price, and a huge percentage would be skimmed off and paid to the chief priests. And if they rejected your animal, some records say you would have to pay ten times the fair price. This is robbery and extortion by the priests. The noise, the filth, the stench of all the animals, the chaos of a stockyard in the Temple of God was nauseating to Christ – the corruption, the robbery, the thievery, by people who had no conscience about bilking the poor. And there were sellers of doves and pigeons because there were some people so poor they could not afford a lamb, so according to Leviticus 12:6,8 the poor people could offer two doves. Doves would be worthy in today's money about a dime each but they would cost about $10 each there. The travesty, the prostitution, the perversion, the corruption was just vile and blatant. Then there were the moneychangers, kollubos is the word that is a part of the word “moneychangers.” It means “small coins.” Every Jew had to pay a half-shekel temple tax near the Passover time. A month before, you could pay it locally, but if you got to Jerusalem and you had not paid it, you had to pay it in the Temple, and you had to pay it with a certain required coinage. And if you did not have the exact amount, then you had to change your money, and they charged you 25% to change money. The whole "Bazaar of Annas" was vile and had become a hangout for every crook, charlatan, conman of all sorts plying their trade. That is where Jesus went. Religion was corrupt. That is where He gave His attention. He was repulsed by what He saw and smelled and heard. Jesus was on His turf. “My house,” He says in Lk 19:46 quoting from Isaiah 56:7, "You have brought your corruption into My house.”...He goes to defend God and God's house against the blasphemers. (Sermon) James Edwards: The enormity of the temple industry [during Passover] may be further appreciated by a comment from Josephus (War 6.422-27) that in A.D. 66, the year the temple was completed, 255,600 lambs were sacrificed for Passover! The money changers: Every male Jew had to pay a Temple tax every year of half a shekel, equal to nearly two days' pay for a working man. A month before the Passover, booths were set up in all the towns and villages and it could be paid there; but by far the greater part was actually paid by the pilgrims in Jerusalem when they came to the Passover Feast. In Palestine all kinds of currencies were in circulation, and, for ordinary purposes, they were all--Greek, Roman Tyrian, Syrian, Egyptian--equally valid. But this tax had to be paid either in exact half shekels of the sanctuary or in ordinary Galilaean shekels. That is where the money changers came in. To change a coin of exact value they charged one maah, which was equal to 1 pence. If a larger coin was tendered a charge of one maah was made for the requisite half shekel and of another maah for the giving of change. It has been computed that these money changers made a profit of between 28,000 and 9,000 British pounds per anum. The sellers of animals: Almost every visit to the Temple involved sacrifice. Victims could be bought outside at reasonable prices; but the Temple authorities had appointed inspectors, for a victim must be without spot or blemish. It was, therefore, far safer to buy victims from the booths officially set up in the Temple. But there were times when a pair of doves would cost as much as 75 pence inside the Temple and considerably less than 5 pence outside. Again it was a deliberately planned victimization of the poor pilgrims, nothing more or less than legalized robbery. Worse, these Temple shops were known as the Booths of Annas and were the property of the family of the High Priest. That is why Jesus was brought first before Annas when he was arrested (John 18:13). Annas was delighted to gloat over this man who had struck such a blow at his evil monopoly. Jesus cleansed the Temple with such violence because its traffic was being used to exploit helpless men and women. It was not simply that the buying and selling interfered with the dignity and solemnity of worship; it was that the very worship of the house of God was being used to exploit the worshippers. Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight. Related Resource: What is the significance of the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem? Was Jesus ever angry? How many times did Jesus cleanse the temple? Why did He cleanse the temple? What does it mean that the house of prayer had been turned into a den of thieves? Alfred Edersheim - The Cleansing of the Temple (based on John 2:13-15) Question 9 Why was Jesus so angry when He drove the money changers out of the temple? What was so wrong about what they were doing (Matthew 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46; John 2:12–17)? In light of today’s church, where we can buy everything from handcrafts to concert tickets in the lobby following the morning service, it does seem a bit excessive. But Jesus wasn’t dealing with anything as harmless as the women’s circle raising money to redecorate the nursery. For over a century the temple high priest had been a political appointee of the ruling classes. The position was a plum that could be, and was, bought by the highest bidder or plucked by the most politically powerful. The rich and powerful didn’t vie for the position out of piety. Generally, what the rich and powerful want more than anything else is more riches and more power. The high priesthood offered an effective means to both. Every Jewish man over the age of twenty was expected to contribute half a shekel every year to the temple. The tax could only be paid in silver coins from Tyre. Changing the coinage of the world for the acceptable coin of the temple was one of the functions of the temple money changers. Since Jesus himself paid the temple tax, and since the money changers served the useful purpose of making it possible for others to pay theirs as well, the existence of money changers in the outer court of the temple couldn’t have been what excited His wrath. Another wrinkle may play a part here. The Law of God required that the animals offered for sacrifice be without spot or blemish. Whether people were offering the poor person’s sacrifice of a sparrow or the rich person’s sacrifice of a bullock, the priests had to inspect and approve the animal. The high priests wanted to insure a steady flow of income from their positions, so what better way than to provide approved sacrificial animals bearing the high priest’s seal of approval. Since Tyrian silver coins were the official money of the temple, purchases from this convenient source would have to be made with the assistance of the money changers. Yet even this would not account for Jesus’ behavior, since the temple was merely providing a service to make the prescribed worship more convenient. But what if the priests set the price sky high? Many of the people coming to make a sacrifice were pilgrims from far away or city dwellers who had no livestock of their own to bring. So the priests had a captive audience and could charge as much as they wanted. The Mishna, an ancient Jewish holy book that records incidents of price-gouging for the animals, supports this idea. If the temple charged exorbitant rates for the sacrificial animals, and then charged exorbitant rates for the exchange of secular money for temple money, the poor would be excluded from worship. This justifies Jesus’ accusation that they were turning God’s house into a den of thieves (Matthew 21:13) and is a suitable explanation for His anger. A religious establishment that turned the act of worship into a device for wringing money out of the devout deserved God’s wrath. Although it isn’t a certainty, this scenario may explain the violence of Jesus’ response. (David O'Brien - Today's Handbook of Solving Bible Difficulties) Oswald Chambers - The Temple of God Desecration And Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought [rv] in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers. . . . (Mark 11:15; cf. John 2:13-17) We bring to the New Testament a sentimental conception of our Lord; we think of Him as the “meek and mild and gentle Jesus” and make it mean that He was of no practical account whatever. Our Lord was “meek and lowly in heart,” yet watch Him in the Temple, meekness and gentleness were not the striking features there. We see instead a terrible Being with a whip of small cords in His hands, overturning the money-changers’ tables and driving out men and cattle.††† Is He the “meek and gentle Jesus” there? He is absolutely terrifying; no one dare interfere with Him. Why could He not have driven them out in a gentler way? Because passionate zeal had eaten Him up, with a detestation of everything that dared to call His Father’s honour into disrepute. “Make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise”—the deification of commercial enterprise. Everything of the nature of wrong must go when Jesus Christ begins to cleanse His Father’s house. If you have been laid hold of by the Spirit of God don’t think it strange concerning the spring-cleaning God is giving you, and don’t clamour for anything because it will have to go. The setting apart of my body by the Holy Ghost for a temple of God†† is a terror to everything in me that is not of God. Sensuality and sordidness lurk about the bodily temple until Jesus Christ cleanses it. Sensuality is that which gratifies my particular senses, it is the working of my body in connection with external circumstances whereby I begin to satisfy myself. Sensuality may be unutterably disgusting or it may be amazingly refined, but it is based on the wrong thing and has to go; it can have nothing to do with the temple of God, i.e., with man as God created him. My body is designed to be a “temple of the Holy Ghost,” and it is up to me to stand for the honour of Jesus Christ in my bodily practices. When the Spirit of God comes in, He cleanses the temple and does not let one darling sin lurk. The one thing Jesus Christ insists on in my bodily life is chastity. As individuals we must not desecrate the temple of God† by tampering with anything we ought not to tamper with; if we do, the scourge of God will come. Immediately the Spirit of God comes in we begin to realise what it means—everything that is not of God has to be turned clean out. People are surprised and say, “I was told God would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him; well, I asked for the Holy Spirit and expected that He would bring me joy and peace, but I have had a terrible time ever since.” That is the sign He has come, He is turning out the “money-changers” and the “cattle,”††† i.e., the things that were making the temple into a trafficking place for self-realisation. We soon find why the Gospel can never be welcome. As long as we speak winsomely about the “meek and gentle Jesus,” and the beautiful ideas the Holy Spirit produces when He comes in, people are captivated, but that is not the Gospel. The Gospel does away with any other ground to stand on than that of the Atonement. Speak about the peace of heaven and the joy of the Lord, and men will listen to you; but tell them that the Holy Spirit has to come in and turn out their claim to their right to themselves, and instantly there is resentment—“I can do what I like with my body; I can go where I choose.” The majority of people are not blackguards and criminals, living in external sin, they are clean-living and respectable, and it is to such that the scourge of God is the most terrible thing because it reveals that the natural virtues may be in idolatrous opposition to God. “. . . and the seats of them that sold doves.”†I may not be giving way to sensuality and sordidness, but I may be crooning a dirge of self-pity—doves in a cage are always cooing—“Oh it is so hard for me, you don’t know what I have to give up; doing the will of God is such an enormous cost.” Consecration by the Spirit of God means merciless dealing with that kind of thing, He has no sympathy with it. How can we be of the slightest use to God if we are always whining about our own condition? The compromise arising from self-pity is quite sufficient to extinguish the whole purpose of God in a life. “. . . and would not suffer that any men should carry any vessel through the temple.” The Spirit of God will not allow me to use my body for my own convenience; the whole limit must be God’s. I am not to serve my own ends with my body, I am to serve the ends of Jesus Christ and be a devoted disciple of His. Lust (the spirit of—I must have this thing at once) can have no part or lot in the house of God. So many spend their time in educating themselves for their own convenience—“I want to educate myself, and realise myself.” I must not use the temple of God†† for the convenience of self-love; my body must be preserved from trafficking for myself. One of the hardest scourges of God comes just here. “And He taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. Have I been doing this? What has my soul been busy with during this past year? What have I been thinking in my mind and imagination? I may have been talking about holiness, but what has it meant to me? Is my body the temple of the Holy Ghost†† and am I taking care to see that it is? Is my imagination, and reasoning, and thinking regarded as the house of God? or am I making it a house of merchandise—making it more for me and mine? wanting to go through this in order to grasp something for myself? God does not use us as an exhibition of what He can do. Jesus Christ said, “I am . . . the Truth”; therefore the temple of my body must be consecrated to Him. The Temple was to be the house of prayer for all the nations,††† and my personal life is to be the same. God will bring some extraordinary people to traffic through our temple. Think how we have trafficked through Him! Natural affinities do not count for anything in the spiritual life, but only the affinities produced by the Spirit of God (cf. 1 John 1:7). Mark 11:16 and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. Mark 11 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JESUS BLOCKS THE "THOROUGHFARE" Thoroughfare describes a main road or public highway, a place of passage from one location to another or heavily traveled passage. And He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple - Jesus is clearly demonstrating His authority in this action. This refers to people using the Temple as a shortcut, passing through with no intention of worshiping. Talk about lack of reverence for the holiness of God! These short-cutters had no respect for God's and were treating the Holy Temple as profane and common, not as holy and separated from the common.
Marcos 11
Robertson - That was the lesson for the disciples from the curse on the fig tree so promptly fulfilled. Steven Lawson on this faith Jesus is calling for in His disciples... the imperative of faith – divine command; not a suggestion the object of faith; not have faith in faith = positive thinking movement the exclusivity of faith – this is all that Jesus required of them – for salvation; sanctification; not faith plus anything else; sola fide the responsibility of faith – each and every person is responsible before God to exercise their own will; parents cannot believe for their children The urgency of faith – right now; not when you can get around to it or feel like doing it
Marcos 11
Robertson on doubt - The verb diakrino means a divided judgment. Wavering doubt. (THE PRAYING PERSON SHOULD NOT HAVE) a single act of doubt (DOUBT IS IN THE aorist tense - ACTION AT A POINT IN TIME IN THE PAST), but continued faith. In a passage presenting a similar truth James writes But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But (Term of contrast) he must ask in faith without any doubting (SAME COMBINATION AS IN Mk 11:23), for the one who doubts (continually - present tense) is like (simile) the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For (term of explanation) that man ought not to expect (present imperative) that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded (dipsuchos - "two minds"!) man, unstable in all his ways. (Jas 1:5-8+) Doubt (1252)(diakrino from diá = separation, "thoroughly back and forth" + kríno = decide, judge) literally means "to separate throughout", to judge "back and forth" between two options which can either (positively) refer to close-reasoning (discrimination) or negatively "over-judging" and thus vacillating or wavering as must be excluded in the prayer in this passage. vacillating). One author says diakrino is pictured by the idea of divided in one's mind. This person is the one who is vacillating between two opinions or decisions. But - Term of contrast. Here doubt is clearly contrasted with belief. Doubt will "defuse" so to speak the efficacy of the request so that the request is ineffective. Believes - Believes is pisteuo in the present tense denoting one's continuing attitude of trust that his petition will be granted. Believes is not believing one has enough faith (that is self-focused), but speaks of firm assurance and confidence in the One to Whom the request is presented, i.e., God (that is God-focused). As Hiebert explains below, Jesus is not giving a "Name it, Claim it" formula for getting whatever one asks of God. An affirmative answer to the prayer is assured only if the request is in the will of God and for the glory of God. And I agree with Hiebert that this type of praying is intimately related to being saturated with God's Word (which gives us His will) and filled with the Spirit. A synonym (in my opinion) would be "praying in the Spirit." I love Spurgeon's prayer for this genre of praying. Indeed, may the prayer of the Prince of Preachers also be our frequent prayer so that our praying will avail much for the King and Kingdom... Lord, teach us to pray. Put the thoughts into our minds, the desires into our hearts, and the very words into our lips, if it be Your will, that so all through it we may be praying in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Related Resource: In depth discussion on Praying in the Spirit Hiebert reiterates the qualifying statement regarding "mountain moving" praying writing that "Jesus set no limits to the possibilities of prayer, but such successful praying must have a true foundation. The one praying can only have such confidence if he is sure that what he is asking is in harmony with the will of God and furthers His purpose. Such confidence is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit through the Word." That what he says is going to happen - In other words, the praying person is fully convinced that the request will be granted. it will be granted him - It is granted because of the intimate union of our faith tapping into God's power. We see similar truth taught in the OT and in other NT passages such as Psalm 37:4+ Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart (BECAUSE WHEN YOU DELIGHT IN HIM, YOU ARE ABIDING IN HIM AND YOUR DESIRES BECOME "SYNCHRONIZED" WITH HIS DESIRES.) John 14:13+ “Whatever you ask in My name (ASKING EVEN AS "I JESUS" WOULD ASK!), that will I do, so that (NOTE THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THIS PRAYER IS THAT) the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 15:7+ “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you (NOTE THE TWO CONDITIONS), ask whatever you wish (BECAUSE WHAT YOU ASK WILL BE IN SYNCH WITH WHAT THE SON WOULD ASK AND WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS IN THE WORD OF GOD), and it will be done for you. Akin adds "An important point of clarification: True and believing prayer is not attempting to get God to change His will to fit our plans. It is a passionate pursuit to see God‘s plans accomplished in us! Prayer is not conjuring God up like some ―genie in a bottle‖ obligated to grant us whatever we wish. Read Matt 6:9-10; Mark 14:36; John 14:13-14; 15:7; 16:23-24; and 1 John 5:14-15 before you draw such a foolish and erroneous theological conclusion. Let Scripture interpret Scripture as you apply ―the analogy of faith." Praying in faith with mountain moving faith, our God will give us what we need to glorify His name. Here is a ―house of prayer‖ you can bring your petitions to! In one of his hymns John Newton said it like this, ― Thou are coming to King! Large petitions with thee bring! For His grace and power are such— none can ever ask too much! (Be blessed by Matt Foreman's beautiful vocal version - God enable us to make the entire hymn the prayer of our heart. In Jesus' Name. Amen) So when we pray we trust not only His power to give us what we ask, but also in His wisdom to give us what we need! I trust Him enough to have Him say no and turn me down if that is what He chooses. That means ―we may receive answers we do not want, find things we are not looking for, and have doors opened [and closed] we do not expect.‖ (Garland, NIVAC, 449). Swete “The Twelve were crossing the Mount of Olives; below them, between the mountains of Judaea and the mountains of Moab, lay the hollow of the Dead Sea. ‘Faith, cooperating with the Divine Will, could fill yonder basin with the mass of limestone beneath their feet.’ The metaphor was in use among the Rabbis.… Faith is regarded as the normal attitude of the heart (ED: believes in present tense = CONTINUALLY PRESENT IN ONE'S HEART) not a sudden emotion or isolated act. Faith contemplates the effect as potentially accompanying its exercise, though the actual fulfillment may be delayed.” ILLUSTRATION - CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO WORLDS - Once when the Cleveland Symphony was performing The Magic Flute by Mozart, an electrical storm caused the lights to go out. Undaunted by the difficulties, the members of the orchestra knew the music so well that they completed the performance in the dark. At the end of the performance, the audience burst into thunderous applause, and a stagehand illuminated the orchestra and conductor with a flashlight so that they could take their bows. It is much the same in the spiritual realm. If you know the Master, you can play His music even in the dark. You can live a holy life in an unholy realm. When caught between two worlds, the secret is learning to see beyond the style of this world to the substance of the next. (Discipleship Journal, May/June 1987) PRAYER - May our prayer daily be like the words of the devout Puritans in the Valley of Vision - "If Thou seest in me any wrong thing encouraged, any evil desire cherished, any DELIGHT that is not Thy DELIGHT, any habit that grieves Thee, any nest of sin in my heart, then grant me the kiss of Thy forgiveness, and teach my feet to walk the way of Thy commandments. Produce in me self-despair that will make Jesus precious to me, DELIGHTFUL in all His offices, pleasurable in all His ways, and may I love His commands (delight yourself) as well as His promises (desire fulfilled). Give me the saving lamp of Thy Spirit that I may see Thee, the God of my salvation, the DELIGHT of my soul, rejoicing over me in love (Zeph 3:17+)." Amen Take My Life and Let It Be Take my life and let it be, Consecrated Lord to Thee. Take my moments and my days And let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee Take my voice and let me sing Always, only for my King Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee Take my silver and my gold; Not a mite would I withhold; Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou shalt choose, Every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine. It shall no be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thy own. It shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love; my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure-store. Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee, Ever, only, all for Thee. 🙏 THOUGHT - It is "easy" to sing these beautiful words of this prayer to God, but not so easy to follow up these words with the attitudes and actions about which we have just sung. The only way is by depending on the Holy Spirit to carry through with what we have just offered to God. And while we will not achieve "perfection" in keeping our offerings to the Lord, it is not about perfection (that is called glorification) but it is about direction (steady, upward progressive sanctification) As an aside, if you are serious about this short life, this hymn would be a great prayer to offer up to the King! What do you do when you don't desire to delight in God? Clearly this is an important question so I would strongly encourage you to watch the 6 part series by Dr John Piper on what do I do… "When I Don't Desire God" 🙏 THOUGHT - What do you do when you don't desire to delight in God? Clearly this is an important question so I would strongly encourage you to watch the 6 part series by Dr John Piper on what do I do… "When I Don't Desire God" Mark 11:23 - "Nothing Wavering" But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. James 1:6+. The man who lacks wisdom is promised it, but he must ask in faith and not be like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. Our Lord said we could move mountains if we commanded them to move and did not doubt in our hearts (Mk. 11:23). The positive side of that is in the next verse, which says, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye recveive them, and ye shall have them." Abraham "staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith." There we have the negative and positive again (Rom. 4:20). Some are saved from sin but not from staggering. "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." Positive and negative! Are you walking by faith or wobbling in doubt? "We lie to God in prayer when we do not rely on God after prayer." James is very clear: "Let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord." Asking without believing marks a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (Vance Havner) Togetherness - Selwyn Hughes I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes ... it will be done for him.—MARK 11:23 Just as the deer's perfect correlation between its front and rear feet allows it to make its way swiftly and safely to the mountaintop, so the Christian who has perfect coordination between the head and heart will rise to new heights with God. For you see, unless a person's head and heart are properly coordinated and move purposefully together, it is possible to miss one's step on the steep slopes of Christian experience and become a spiritual casualty. I have known many Christians in my time who, because they lack coordination between what they ask for with their lips and what they want deep down in their hearts, stay in the same place spiritually year after year. They are not bad people; they just lack the spiritual coordination of the mature Christian, and thus they never know what it is to ascend into the mountain peaks with God. Perhaps nowhere in Scripture is this truth more clearly portrayed than in the verse before us today. We are told that things happen in the spiritual realm when there is perfect coordination between what we ask for and what we believe. When our mind and our heart are in alignment, when they track together with the sure-footedness of a mountain deer, then nothing shall be impossible to us. How many of us, I wonder, miss our step on the slopes of the Christian life because our hearts and minds are not properly and perfectly coordinated? Prayer Gracious and loving Heavenly Father, slowly I am beginning to see the truth that underlies Your promise to make my feet like deers' feet. Show me how to be as coordinated in the spiritual realm as the deer is in the natural realm. Amen (Every Day with Jesus) MARK 11:23–24—Did Jesus promise to give literally anything we ask in faith? - Norman Geisler (When Critics Ask) PROBLEM: On the face of it, this verse seems to be saying that God will grant any request we make of Him as long as we believe. On the other hand, Paul asked God three times to be relieved of his thorn in the flesh, and God refused (2 Cor. 12:8–9) SOLUTION: There are limitations on what God will give, indicated both by the context and by other texts, as well as by the laws of God’s own nature and the universe. First of all, God cannot literally give us anything. Some things are actually impossible. For example, God cannot grant a request of a creature to be God. Neither can He answer a request to approve of our sin. God will not give us a stone if we ask for bread, nor will He give us a serpent if we ask for fish (cf. Matt. 7:9–10). Second, the context of Jesus’ promise in Mark 11 indicates that it was not unconditional, for the very next verse says “If you … forgive” your brother then God will forgive your trespasses. Thus, there is no reason to believe that Jesus intended us to take His promise to give us “whatever things” we ask without any conditions. Third, all difficult passages should be interpreted in harmony with other clear statements of Scripture. And it is clear that God does not promise, for example, to heal everyone for whom we pray in faith. Paul wasn’t healed, though he prayed earnestly and faithfully (2 Cor. 12:8–9). Jesus taught that it was not the blind man’s lack of faith that hindered his being healed. Rather, he was born blind “that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3). In spite of the Apostle Paul’s divine ability to heal others (Acts 28:9), later he apparently could not heal either Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25ff) or Trophimus (2 Tim. 4:20). It clearly was not unbelief that brought Job’s sickness on him (Job 1:1). What is more, if faith of the recipient were the condition for receiving a miracle, then none of the dead Jesus raised would have come back to life, since the dead cannot believe! Finally, when the rest of Scripture is taken into consideration there are many conditions placed on God’s promise to answer prayer in addition to faith. We must “abide in Him” and let His Word “abide in us” (John 15:7). We cannot “ask amiss” out of our own selfishness (James 4:3). Furthermore, we must ask “according to His will” (1 John 5:14). Even Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup [His death] pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). Indeed, on all except God’s unconditional promises, this “if it be your will” must always be stated or implied. For prayer is not a means by which God serves us. Rather, it is a means by which we serve God. Prayer is not a means by which we get our will done in heaven, but a means by which God gets His will done on earth. "Nothing Wavering" And shall not doubt in his heart. Mark 11:23. Doubting nothing. Acts 10:20. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. James 1:6+. It is a powerful phrase, and the word shows up elsewhere (Mt. 21:21; Rom. 4:20; 14:23). A. T. Robertson says, "It is a vivid picture of internal doubt." We must not only believe God, we must believe we believe God. Like the silly habit of going back to see whether you really did lock that door, an unsettled state of spiritual indecision is developed by doubting souls. They never "close the gate" behind them, they are forever reconsidering their decisions. They are never sure of their conversion or their consecration. They are ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. When you have made any covenant with the Lord consider it final. If you did it honestly in the light you had you insult Him and your own intelligence by going over it all again. It becomes a vicious habit, and you can never be sure of anything. You never stand firmly on any point for fear you may be wrong. Close your gates behind you and move on, "nothing doubting," "for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." (Vance Havner) Matthew 11:23 - Got Any Mountains? Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23. Can we confidently claim and expect the conversion of our loved ones? Well, it must be in God's will. "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us" (Jn. 5:14). Does He will the conversion of every one? "The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Pt. 3:9). Then He will remove this mountain, but we must expect the mountain to move. "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Mt. 21:22). And the verse following our text says, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." We pray hoping, but hoping is not faith. Faith takes God's word for the deed and in its geography lists the mountain as "disappeared." Got any mountains you think are unsinkable? (Vance Havner) Martin Luther said, "Faith alone which commits itself to God can sing the song of triumph before the victory, and raise the shout of joy before help has been obtained." Faith Moves Mountains? Of these sayings, or varieties of an original saying, emphasizing the limitless possibilities open to faith, Mark’s form (followed in Mt 21:21) has a life setting in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, during Holy Week; Luke’s form may be from the Q collection, in which case the form in Matthew 17:20 (an amplification of Jesus’ words to the disciples after the healing of the epileptic boy at the foot of the mountain of transfiguration) combines features from Mark and Q. In any case, Jesus illustrates the power of faith by analogies from the natural world. If faith is present at all, even if it is no bigger than a mustard seed, it can accomplish wonders: think what a large plant springs from something as tiny as a mustard seed. “We are not afraid when the earth heaves and the mountains are hurled into the sea”—so Psalm 46:2 (NEB) describes a convulsion of nature that leaves men and women of God unshaken because he is their refuge and strength. It may be that Jesus is using such a form of words figuratively to describe the incalculable effects of prevailing faith. But in Mark’s account there may be some more explicit point in the form of words. In that account the words are addressed to the disciples after the incident of the cursing of the fig tree. There may not seem to be much to connect that incident with a lesson on the power of faith. The connection, however, may be provided by the place where, according to Mark, the words were spoken. They were spoken in the morning, as Jesus and his disciples made their way from Bethany to Jerusalem, crossing the Mount of Olives. So, in Mark’s account, “this mountain” in the saying would be the Mount of Olives. Now, in current expectation regarding the time of the end, the Mount of Olives played a special part. It would be the scene of a violent earthquake on the day of the Lord. “On that day,” said one of the prophets (referring to the day when the God of Israel would take final action against the enemies of his people), “his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south” (Zech 14:4). If Jesus had this and related Old Testament prophecies in mind on his way across the Mount of Olives, his meaning might have been, “If you have sufficient faith in God, the day of the Lord will come sooner than you think.” (Walter Kaiser, et al - Hard Sayings of the Bible) Mark 11:23 - Better Than Moving Mountains - Mountains were once regarded as symbols of the steadfast and unmovable, but not any more. With his monster bulldozers, man can level peaks into plains. But, great as are his feats in moving the mountains of earth, he is not doing too well in the realm of the spirit. There he is playing with molehills. Our Lord would have us see miracles in mountain-moving. He said: "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith" (Mark 11:23). Evidently our Lord expected believing prayer to do wonders. Moving a mountain is a mighty feat, any way you look at it. We glory in what our machines can do but the church sits today before a range of obstacles and studies ways to tunnel through or climb over or detour around. It does not seem to occur to some of the brethren that there is another way to clear a path—by faith and prayer. Of course the collective body of believers fails because we fail as individuals. Have you come to a halt before a forbidding wall? Have you become reconciled to limitations that could be removed? Are you studying ways to circumvent the mountain when God says you can consign it to the sea? At any rate, we are trying to drill our way through by clever ingenuity or climb over by sheer determination or go around by dodging the issue. It is time for a miracle. One sits in religious gatherings and hears all kinds of clever schemes for moving mountains with ecclesiastical machinery. He hears little about going to our knees in prevailing prayer. We pay respect to prayer and coin pious phrases about faith, but the mountains are not moving. If only some of our convocations would turn in desperation to the Saviour's formula! The history of the church abounds in records of mountain-movers who faced the impossible and ordered the mountain into the sea. They did not accomplish it with bulldozers. The weapons of their warfare were not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Having said all this, let me remind you that, wonderful as moving mountains may be, it is not the supreme accomplishment. "... though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity [love], I am nothing" (I Corinthians 13:2). We Americans glory in the spectacular and sensational but there is something better than getting into headlines, even because of mighty faith. The greatest mountain-mover, without love, is nothing. Here is another scale of values. The manifestations of love outlined in I Corinthians 13 sound very homely: Love is longsuffering, kind, does not envy, is not proud; love behaves itself, is not easily provoked, not self-seeking, keeps no account of evil, does not rejoice in iniquity but in the truth; love bears all things, believes, hopes, endures all things. These are plain virtues the lowliest may practice in the home, the shop, at work or play. Love looks commonplace beside throwing mountains into the sea, but it rates high with God. One may do both of course, but we are suffering most today not so much from the presence of mountains that ought to be moved as from the absence of love that ought to be manifested. Our Saviour wrought miracles, but what means most to us today is His love. His love shed abroad in our hearts will mean more than all the mountains we move. (Vance Havner) The Sea and the Mountains - Henry Morris "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith" (Mark 11:23). On the third day of redemption week, the sight of the withered fig tree led to an instructive lesson on faith in God, the Lord Jesus assuring the disciples that real faith could even move mountains into the sea. In parallel, on the third day of creation week, He had literally called the mountains up out of the sea (Gen. 1:9-10)! It was also on this day that the Lord had to severely rebuke the Pharisees and Sadducees, beginning with two parables about a vineyard (Matt. 21:28-43). He reminded them that they had been placed in charge of God's vineyard on the earth, and had failed. Like the fig tree, there was no fruit for God from their service, and they must be removed. Likewise, on day three of creation, the entire earth had been prepared as a beautiful garden, with an abundance of fruit to nourish every living creature (Gen. 1:11-12). It has been placed in man's care (Gen. 1:28-30; 2:15), but he has failed. Before the earth can become a beautiful garden again (Rev. 22:2), it must be purged, and the faithless keepers of the vineyard banished. This third day of Passion Week was climaxed with His great discourse on the Mount of Olives, in which the Lord promised He would come again some day in power and great glory (Matt. 24). It was appropriate that He should then spend the night with His disciples there on the mountain, for the mount would call to memory that far-off third day of creation week when He had drawn all the mountains out of the sea. Also, the little Garden of Gethsemane—on its slope—would bring to mind the beautiful Garden of Eden and the verdant world He had planted everywhere that same day. Now, because of what He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem, the ground would some day be cleansed of its Curse and the world made new again. (Days to Remember) Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. What: Mt 7:7-11 18:19 21:22 Lu 11:9-13 18:1-8 Joh 14:13 15:7 Joh 16:23-27 Jas 1:5,6 5:15-18 1Jn 3:22 5:14,15 Mark 11 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage Matthew 21:22+ “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” 1 John 5:14-15+ This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. See also the passages quoted above which relate to praying in the will of God. Therefore - "The word “faith,” therefore, indicates the logical connection between the contents of verse 23 and this verse. The idea is that since faith is the criterion of success in spiritual matters, therefore faith should be the constant attitude of the mind when one prays." (Wuest) I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask - See the comments above on the qualifying aspects of this prayer. Hiebert says "pray and ask for, both present tenses, picture the practice. Pray suggests reverential communion with God as the giver of the answer, while ask for, in the middle voice, points to the personal interest of the petitioner in his request. All things sets no limits to the requests, but they must be in harmony with the purpose of God."
Marcos 11
Robertson says: “That is the test of faith, the kind that sees the fulfillment before it happens.”