…Mark 11:19-21 And when evening came they went out of the city. 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
So now we see more clearly what Jesus intends. It’s not a upheaval, it’s not a renewal, it’s a withering of the root. And if the root is withered, the entity dies. God is putting an end to the temple religion as Israel knows it in order to replace it with something better. This is not a “hey, clean up your life.” This is not a “hey, get your house in order.” This is “hey, burn the thing to the ground, and build a new house with a better foundation.”
And who, is that better foundation?
Mark 11:22-26 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” 26 NAU “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
This almost seems disconnected from the passage, but we know it’s not, because the fig tree and temple are interconnected, and thus also, Jesus’ response to the disciples when they ask about the fig tree after seeing all that they just witnessed, the late night visit to the temple, the cursing of the fig tree, the upheaval of the temple courts, the prophecy from Isaiah, and the withered roots of the fig tree.
Having faith in God comes in as the antidote to the kingdom of Babylon that is taking place in the temple. Have faith in God. What does it mean to have faith in God?
