Tuesday was a whirlwind of activity. It probably won’t surprise you that Jesus went back to the temple to teach again. In fact, He spent the majority of that day in the temple.
We’ll talk more about what went down at the temple soon, but here are the bullets of the action that took place on Tuesday.
• Jesus taught His followers a lesson about prayer from the cursed fig tree. (Mark 11:20-26; Matthew 21:20-22)
You’ll remember that on Monday, Jesus had very publicly cursed a fig tree that was in bloom, but completely barren.
On the way back to the temple the very next day, the disciples noticed that in less than 24 hours the fig tree had died + actually withered from the roots (Mark 11:20).
Remembering what Jesus had said to the tree only 24 hours earlier, Peter shouted out, “Teacher! The fig tree you cursed is shriveled up + dead” (Mark 11:21).
It almost sounds as if Peter was surprised.
Jesus used that as an opportunity to teach His closest followers about the power of prayer. Check out Mark 11:22:
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ + does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it + it will be yours. 25 + when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” —Mark 11:22-25 NIV
The “mountain” in Verse 23 is symbolic. Craig Keener notes that “some Jewish texts speak of ‘removing mountains’ as an infinitely long or virtually impossible task [that could only be] accomplished by the most pious . . . Rabbis applied it to mastering tasks that appeared [to be] humanly impossible to master . . . ”[1]
But in Mark 11, Jesus looked at a group of utterly ordinary men + said, “If you have faith in God, you can speak to this mountain . . . ”
The “mountain” most dominantly on Jesus’ mind at that moment was likely the “mountain” of dead religion + a dead temple.
It could be that Jesus even pointed to the temple as if to say, “Guys, see that mountain? That mountain is going to be moved + I came to move it!”
The great news is that ultimately, He did! The mountain of dead religion + a dead temple was moved through the cross of Christ.
When Jesus was crucified, He became the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. His body was placed in a tomb. A stone was placed over the entrance to that tomb, but on resurrection morning, the stone was rolled away!
The mountain of religion was moved + access to God was made available to every man, woman, boy, girl whether rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into the word, “mountain.”
In that era, a “mountain” was a Jewish metaphor for any challenge or situation in life that appeared to be impossible, immovable or beyond our limited abilities.
Think of the drama jammed into this moment. Jesus was just hours from taking on the “mountain” of our sin. He was moments from taking on the “mountain” of dead religion + a dead temple system. So, when the disciples appeared to be surprised over a fig tree He had cursed the day before, it’s almost as if Jesus was looking at them saying, “Really? You think that’s something? You ain’t seen nothing yet! The mountain of your sin is going to be moved + cast in the sea of My grace! The mountain of a religious system that has forgotten its purpose is about to be moved.”
“If I can do all of that, then, regardless of the ‘mountains’ you face in life—whether it’s a mountain of sin, guilt, shame, fear, failure, finances, debt, sickness, disease, some self-defeating habit, some constant, persistent character flaw, anxiety, worry, fear that is crippling, a broken relationship, a marriage on the ropes, a challenge bigger than your abilities or opposition that is bigger + stronger than you . . . It doesn’t matter!
“The size of your mountain can’t compete with the size of your God. If you just have faith in God, you can speak to the mountain + your mountain is left with no option but to move!”
Mark Batterson has written extensively about the power of prayer. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
“The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered because they go unasked . . . ” —Mark Batterson.[2]
Why not start speaking to your mountain today?
“Bold prayers honor God + God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God.” —Mark Batterson[3]
What mountain do you need to begin speaking to today?
Jesus began the Tuesday of the last week of His life by challenging His followers, “Have faith in God. Speak to the mountains in your life. They will move! By the way, remember there’s a direct correlation between the effectiveness of your prayer life + the health of your relational world. Make certain you don’t harbor any unforgiveness. It matters to your Father.”
That’s significant. It reminds us of the priority Jesus placed on His closest followers knowing, believing + activating the power of prayer in their lives.
Jesus + His disciples arrived at the temple some time Tuesday morning + a crowd showed up early to hear Him teach (Luke 21:37-38).
• Jesus taught in the Temple + directly confronted the religious leaders. (Matthew 21:23-23:36; Mark 11:27-12:37; Luke 20:1-44)
Jesus + His disciples arrived at the temple some time Tuesday morning + a crowd showed up early to hear Him teach (Luke 21:37-38).
The religious leaders immediately began to attempt to pick a fight with Jesus by challenging His authority.
Fresh on their minds were the events that took place the day before—that Monday—when Jesus had cleaned out the “Bazaar or Market of Annas” so He could make room for the blind, crippled, poor + children to receive ministry + spend time in His presence.
These leaders probably feared that Tuesday would be a repeat of Monday, so the moment they got a shot, they challenged Jesus:
“By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” —Mark 11:28 NLT
In other words, “Jesus, maybe You didn’t get the memo. You’re not in charge, we are. We have authority over what goes on in the temple. Not You! Who gave You the right?”
There’s a scene in the 2012 movie, Dark Knight Rises where one of Bane’s business associates, a guy named John Daggett, is upset about some of Bane’s activities. Daggett tries to challenge Bane’s authority, barking to one of his underlings, “I’m in charge here . . . ”
At this point, Bane towers above Daggett, places his hand on Daggett’s shoulder + says in that deep distorted, Bane-like voice, “Do you feel in charge?”
Of course, just before the lights go out for Daggett, he realizes he was never in charge at all.
That’s the absurdity of what’s going on in this scene from the last Tuesday of Jesus’ life. These religious authorities had the audacity to believe that they were in charge of the temple that had been created for the glory of God—the God they were actually in the presence of but didn’t even recognize!
They thought they were calling the shots! So, they confronted Jesus + asked Him a question, “Who gave You the right?” Once again, Jesus completely flipped the script. Instead of answering their question, He asked them a question that they couldn’t possibly answer in public without upsetting the crowd + potentially inciting a riot.
Round One of the Tuesday Temple Smackdown went to Jesus.
Today’s Verse: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it + it will be yours. —Mark 11:24 NIV
Today’s Prompt: Do you believe you can move the “mountains” in your life?
Today’s Gratitude: I am grateful that I serve a God who wants to hear my prayers, my pleas + my petitions.
Today’s Prayer: Father, help me have the faith to believe that with You, I can move mountains. Help me grow in my belief + reliance on the power of prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1] Craig Kenner, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, NT, p 166.
[2] Mark Batterson, Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge, Kindle Locations 986-988
[3] Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams + Greatest Fears (Kindle Locations 82-83). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.