Essential Skills for Our Journey with Jesus
Reading the Bible Well (Pt. 8) A deep dive into Mark 11:15-17.
“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.” -Mark 11:15-16
After Jesus gets angry and curses the fig tree1 we jump to the story of Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. If we are expecting Jesus’ mood to pass we will be disappointed. Things only get worse.
The story of the fig tree and the story of Jesus at the Temple have one thing in common; Jesus’ irritation. Jesus switches from verbally cursing the fig tree to actively shutting down the Temple.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
Don’t we say actions speak louder than words? So what is escalating Jesus’ irritation to the point of violence?
Some who read this passage say that economics is the key. Jesus is upset because economic transactions are taking place in the church. Therefore, we should get nervous when money changes hands on church property. However, these readers are jumping to conclusions. By applying our four Bible-reading skills, we will take the steps needed to understand the story's true meaning.
Essential Skills to Read the Bible Well
Skill #1: Abandon ourselves to the storyline of the passage.
Skill #2: The more we know the Bible the more we will understand it.
Skill #3: Embracing the “dissonance” between the Bible and the world we live in today.
Skill #4: Ask our questions of the text
Remember, to read the Bible well we must let the passage take us into the story, asking the questions the text wants us to ask. If we take a step back, we find that the story of the fig tree and the story of the Temple are tied together. “Hollowing out” one story and placing another story within it is a literary form called intercalation. It is used several times in the gospel of Mark to encourage the reader to interpret each story in interaction with the other. The story of Jesus in the Temple is in the middle of the story of Jesus and the fig tree. The idea that these stories are held together to teach that Jesus hungers for an “economic-free” zone in churches doesn’t fit. There must be something else.
So, let’s review what we have so far. From the first story we have learned:
Jesus wanted figs.
The fig tree didn't have any figs.
Jesus becomes angry at the fig tree and curses it.
That all seems a bit too “human” for Jesus. Worse when the phrase “for it was not the season for figs.” is added. We could have said, “Well, it is a bit crazy that Jesus gets mad at a plant, but the plant should have been producing fruit so I get it.” But the fig tree not only didn’t provide what Jesus wanted but couldn't provide what Jesus wanted because it wasn’t fig season and Jesus got mad at the tree anyway. Our story doesn’t try to smooth over or excuse the dissonance. The tension is meant to keep us reading in pursuit of answers that make sense of the situation.
In our second story, the tension only grows:
Jesus comes to the Temple in Jerusalem, the central place of worship for his people.
He forces people out of the Temple courts and overturns their tables.
He won’t let anyone sell the animals for sacrifice which essentially shuts down the Temple.
What is going on? We have no answers so far. Mark is keeping us hungry for an answer that will satisfy us. Read on in the next post to see how these two stories relate to each other.
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Randy, the way that you are breaking down the two stories as well as highlighting how one is encased inside the other is making it very intriguing to me. I'm looking forward to reading your next email breaking this down even further!