B-Side - Mark 11:20-25

Recap (up to verse 23):

- Jesus inspects the temple, and just walks away.

- Later he curses the fig tree for appearing to bear fruit but bearing no fruit.

- Then back to the temple, he puts an end to the sacrificial system, calling the temple a hideout for robbers. It had become a symbol for their political revolution, rather than a dwelling place of God. 

On his way back to the temple, we see the fig tree, shriveled; now Jesus tells the twelve how to be fruitful and faithful.

Today's text is about Christian living, being a people of faith!

Before Jesus, Herod wanted to build a fortress south of Jerusalem, but it wasn't on high ground, bad for defense. So they tore down the top of a nearby mountain and brought the pieces to where Herod would build the temple, now known as the Herodium. Herod literally moved a mountain... Jesus says if the Church believes enough, we too can move mountains!

Also, in context, Mark is writing his Gospel to the Church in Rome. They knew about the Herodium. The fig tree was a picture of the temple, which had to be destroyed. The temple itself was built on the Temple Mount, which may be the mountain that can be thrown into the sea (referring to the Gentiles). If the Church has enough faith, the Lord will help them move the mountain.

Leviticus 14... if there's mold in the house: 

1. Priest sees the mold and walks away

2. Priest comes back later and if it's grown, he throws out affected items.

3. On the third visit, if mold persists, the whole house is unclean and must come down! They'd throw its rubble into the Dead Sea.

This is what Jesus did with the temple.

Faith...

Jesus loves his people! He calls us to faith, and shows us what faith can accomplish. Rabbinic Judaism is not the path to joy. Live a life not of law, but of faith! John 15:5-11... he is the vine, we are the branches; apart from Christ, we can do nothing. 

Faithful, fruit-bearing Christians trust and abide in Jesus! This, the road of faith, is the path to joy! Not a joy we seek after and find, but the joy of Christ that has been given to us, and now lives in us!

As we're being conformed into his nature, his joy spills into our joy, and our joy becomes full. Not mere happiness (which may or may not be present), but lasting joy.

When the temple comes down, the Spirit of God will now dwell in his new temple, the people!

Though we may be sorrowful at times, it's tinted with at least a drop of the joy of the Lord.

v24...

The prayers of the righteous are not magic. God is not forced to answer our prayers, no matter what. They will be answered and come to pass when they're aligned with God's will. Faith and prayer are related. You can only pray in faith! We must know that God is able!

A warning: beware teachers who take a verse or two in isolation, and make a doctrine out of it. This passage is often abused in this way. It's false when taken out of its intended context! "If you have enough faith, you'll get to the next level of Christianity," etc. It's simply false.

v25...

Whenever you stand praying, forgive! "Stand praying" means to pray expecting God to answer. Standing, your body's posture is one of expectancy! We should trust and believe!

That's our text. Two things...

1. Repentance...

If someone keeps wounding me, unrepentant, do I need to keep letting them back in? We're called to forgive! But maybe not necessarily if they're not sorry or repentant:

- Peter in Acts 2 says to repent and be baptized in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. There was no salvation until people admitted and turned from their sins.

- Acts 3: repent and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.

- 1 John 1... if we confess, he will forgive.

...All of this is evidence that to be forgiven by God, you must repent. It makes sense that also to be forgiven by a person, one must repent! So we may not be required to forgive someone who is not repentant for what they've done to us. We are called to forgive those who are repentant and seek our forgiveness, and kill the bitterness within us!

If someone is not repentant, we still need to give our hurt over to God, and to forgive them in his sight; that forgiveness is a work of the Holy Spirit. But we don't need to keep letting them back into our lives to continue to hurt us if they are not repentant.

We must do our best to make peace with those who sin against us.

2. Record keeping...

Keep no record of wrongs! Work hard to keep peace and unity in the church! Do our best to keep peace with our family in Christ. We should have love for one another. Love is not resentful! It doesn't keep a record of wrongdoings. Be quick to forgive! Christ was quick to forgive us! We don't deserve the forgiveness we've received, but this is the way of Christ. So we are a people who forgive!