The groom’s hands are trembling, the ring slips and falls between the boards of the deck, sometimes even the most familiar script fails. So begins a reflection on Jesus, who rides into Jerusalem like a king, yet instead of a coronation curses a fig tree and overturns the tables in the temple (Mark 11). The sermon shows that Jesus does not follow our scripts: he is not looking for a facade of religiosity but for the fruit of faith, and he invites us to pray for God’s justice and to forgive. Listen and discover that his script always surpasses ours.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Mark weaves together the fig tree and the clearing of the temple (Mark 11:12-21). What connects a tree with leaves but no fruit to a temple that looked magnificent on the outside?
- The crowd shouted "Hosanna", meaning "save us", and expected a coronation in the temple. Which expectations of the Messiah did Jesus not meet, and why did that disappoint people?
- What is your own "script" for how God should act in your life, and how do you respond when something happens outside of it?
- In Jeremiah's day people said, "We have the temple, we are safe." What might you rely on for a false sense of security instead of the fruit of faith?
- Jesus speaks of prayer that moves a mountain into the sea in the context of judgment on the temple. How does seeing such prayer as a cry for God's justice and His coming kingdom change the way you pray?
- Desmond Tutu prayed both for justice and for forgiveness for the perpetrators. Whom do you need to forgive this week before you stand to pray?
