Love to hear
your word today oh! Lord. Reveal yourself to me today, in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth I pray.
The fig tree's
curse and the temple's cleaning are related not just in chronology, but also in
symbolism. Because it's not the correct season, there's no fruit for Jesus to
eat. He enters the temple to satisfy his spiritual hunger, but there is no
nutrition there – it's simply a profit-driven marketplace. The season is
incorrect. The wilting of the tree and the overturning of the tables are both
related.
The 'cleaning of
the temple' is frequently shown as a symbol of Jesus' wrath. He loses his cool,
and rightfully so. However, there is no mention of this in Mark's Gospel. It's
more akin to a surgical procedure; there's no emotion involved. It's only
judgment: the temple isn't fulfilling its mission, and it ought to be modified
or closed down. When the Romans conquered Jerusalem in AD 70, the temple was
destroyed, and that was the end of it.
The story is
quite depressing. It reminds us of our own mission. 'Surely you know that you
are God's temple and that God's Spirit resides in you!' Paul says to the
Corinthian church. (GNB, I Corinthians 3.16). 'Don't you know that your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?'
he adds later to individuals. (6.19).
We may be judged
if we fail to achieve our goal. It's possible that our lives or our churches
will be cleansed in a painful way. It's possible that we'll be summoned to
repentance. We may find ourselves useless to God if we do not respond to the
call.
I thank you for
this word and bless me this day. Amen.