Archive April 2006

Faith to Move Mountains (10)

v. 22-25

Peter says to Jesus in verse 21, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" Then, in verses 22-25, it appears that instead of saying something relevant in response, Jesus suddenly changes the subject and begins to teach about faith, prayer, and forgiveness. However, although these verses indeed discuss faith and prayer, they can in fact make very good sense when interpreted within the context of the destruction of the temple. Since we have been involved with the temple theme all along, we will first examine these verses from this angle, and then we will discuss the specific applications that they have for faith and prayer.

When Solomon dedicates his temple back in 1 Kings 8, he prays, "May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive" (v. 29-30).

Notice the connection that he makes between the temple and prayer, and the temple and forgiveness. In the mind of a Jew, this is the house of prayer, and the place where he offers sacrifices for his sins. But some have so tied worship, prayer, and forgiveness to this place and its system that it has produced in their thinking not only a false conception of piety, but also a false sense of security. Recall the passage from Jeremiah, where the prophet rebukes the people for oppressing the foreigners, the poor, the orphans and the widows, and for following false gods, and yet they think that no evil would befall them because they have the temple of the Lord.

This returns us to a question that we brought up earlier: But what if God abandons his own temple? How then will the people's prayers be answered? And how then will they find forgiveness for their sins? Verses 12-21 tell us that theirs is a religion with only leaves but no fruit, and rather than tolerating it any longer, God has pronounced a final curse upon it. Within one generation, the temple and its system would be destroyed, and the Jews would be either killed or scattered. What would become of true worship? How will man find contact and favor with God?

Jesus answers, "Have faith in God." No one has ever been justified on the basis of obedience to the law, but the basis of a right relationship with God has always been faith and nothing else. As Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." It does not say that you must please God or come to him through the temple system, but as Paul explains, "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law" (Galatians 3:24-25).

The issue had always been faith, and that was the problem with the Jews. Even though they were going through the motions of prayer and sacrifice, they remained in unbelief. "Therefore," Jesus tells them, "I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Matthew 21:43). Of course, the kingdom of God itself cannot be destroyed, but now the administration of grace is no longer tied to the Jewish temple, but to the Church of God, a temple made without hands, made up of those who are circumcised in the heart by the Spirit (see John 4:19-24).

In addition, the truth is that all the elements of temple worship remain, but now we have them in their full manifestation instead of in the form of types and shadows. There is Jesus our mediator, Jesus our sacrifice, and the heavenly Holy of Holies, to which we have ready access by faith in Christ through the Spirit of God.

The passage indicates that even though we no longer have a temple – that is, the building – our prayers are not weakened. Even without the temple, faith can still go so far as to move mountains (v. 23), and to receive "whatever" it asks for in prayer (v. 24). As for forgiveness, although the system of animal sacrifice has disappeared, the true sacrifice has come and remains, which is Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. Thus forgiveness belongs to anyone who has faith – not the mere appearance of piety, but a true faith rooted in a heart that has been transformed by God's grace, and that can now freely extend forgiveness to others (v. 25; also Matthew 18:21-35).

(to be continued)

Faith to Move Mountains (8)

With this in mind, let us review the story again. When Jesus approaches the fig tree on his way to Jerusalem (v. 12-14), he finds on it only leaves but no fruit, and so he curses it, saying, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." This immediately generates tension in the reader's mind: Why does Jesus do this?

Again, the question is not, or at least it should not be, "What is Jesus' moral justification for doing this?" since no moral justification is needed. A tension requiring moral justification for Jesus' action would only be a tension between the reader's unbiblical assumptions against the perfect righteousness that Jesus always exhibits as he performs his Father's will. Rather, the intended and legitimate tension is generated by the distance between question and answer – that is, it seems that Jesus does not have to curse the fig tree, so why does he do it? He must have a reason. The incident must have some meaning to it. But what is it?

Without relieving this tension that he has created, Mark rushes us forward to the temple at Jerusalem. There Jesus finds a center of religion that is buzzing with activities, but even a causal inspection reveals that they do not constitute or contribute to true worship. More than that, these activities in fact make true worship impossible, and would prevent any sincere seeker from using the temple for its intended purpose. In other words, like the fig tree with leaves but no fruit, there is much noise and movement at the temple, but no spiritual substance. There is an appearance of religious dedication, but there is no reality and no power to it.

At this point, the tension generated by the cursing of the fig tree remains fresh in the reader's mind, since he still does not know what has happened to it. But if he has been paying attention, by now he ought to understand why Jesus curses the tree earlier. Just as he responds with a curse – a pronouncement of final destruction – to the tree with only leaves but no fruit, so he will destroy a religious system that appears active on the outside, but that is lifeless and faithless on the inside.

The juxtaposition of the fig tree and the temple, while the tension created by the cursing of the fig tree is still fresh in mind, leads the reader to perceive the two incidents as one unit. Then, when he comes to verses 20 and 21, he finds out what has happened to the fig tree. The tension is resolved, and as he has identified the fig tree with the temple in his thinking, now he cannot shake the impression that what has happened to the fig tree is also what will happen to the temple. In addition, the fact that the fig tree is actually destroyed (withered from the roots) suggests that Jesus' action at the temple represents something that is greater than it appears, something more destructive and more final – that is, the destruction of the temple itself.

(to be continued)

Faith to Move Mountains (6)

How this part of our passage speaks to the contemporary church! Is the commercialism that is connected with today's Christianity any less blatant and shameless? A book may be theologically weak or even heretical, but if it proves to be popular, then it is repackaged as a daily devotional. After that comes a prayer journal that is meant to reinforce its message. Then come the study guides, greeting cards, posters, calendars, bracelets, backpacks, T-shirts, music recordings, board games, computer games, picnics, dinners, seminars, retreats, cruises, and so on, all riding on the book's popular theme.

Non-Christians laugh at the stupidity and hypocrisy in all of this, and as there is no substance to the movement, some of the followers eventually become disillusioned. But not to worry, for here comes another one. This one will change everything. As in the temple, it is clear that the buyers are at least almost as guilty as the sellers. They enjoy the commercialism. They love to imitate the unbelievers as long as they can put a Christian label on what they sell, buy, and do.

Do professing Christians show any more respect for God and concern for worshipers than these Jews in the day of Christ? Some of them use the church to gather business contacts or to sell their products. Others are there hunting for greedy and gullible people that they can swindle, "Christians" who are just too eager to jump on another scheme to get rich, or to save money by questionable or even illegal means. Sometimes the church leadership knows what is happening, but they are unwilling to do anything about it. But this is one of those things that their spiritual authority is supposed to address. They are supposed to protect the sheep from the wolves, as well as to rebuke the sheep for being worldly, greedy, and gullible.

As for favoring convenience over worship, there are numerous signs of this in today's believers. We will not mention the outrageous and the extreme, but how about something seemingly less significant like answering a mobile phone during a church gathering? It is bad enough to forget to switch off the phone, but if the person actually answers it and carries a conversation on it, however brief, we can tell that he has no respect for God or for the rest of us who wish to concentrate on the things of God. If the person calling is so important, invite him to church! If it is a business call, then he must choose between God and Mammon.

The temple area could not have turned into a marketplace without permission from the priests, who are probably receiving a handsome portion of the profits from the merchants' transactions. Jesus' action and teaching greatly upset these priests, not only because he has briefly disrupted the commercial activities, but because he has exposed their apostasy and undermined their authority. Thus he poses a threat to their economic welfare as well as their social standing.

Instead of being driven to self-examination and repentance, now they conspire to murder Jesus. They think that they have spiritual standing with God because Abraham is their natural ancestor, but he tells them elsewhere, "If you were Abraham's children, then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things" (John 8:39-40).

Although they are Abraham's natural descendents, spiritually speaking, they are nothing like him, but they are like those of their ancestors who killed the prophets that were sent to them. Jesus perceives their hypocrisy, and says to them in Matthew 23, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets'" (v. 29-31). But they are exploiting the temple for financial profit and plotting murder against the one who opposes them. Contrary to their claim, they are exactly like the apostates in times past, whom God punished and exiled from the land.

With this mention of Israel's past sins and exiles, we are finally ready to consider the fig tree's significance, which I have already hinted at several times so far. And this ushers us into the next section of our study.

(to be continued)

Faith to Move Mountains (4)

v. 15-19

When Jesus reaches Jerusalem, he enters the temple, probably into the Court of the Gentiles. This is the outer area of the temple, and the only place where non-Jews are permitted to worship. But worship is impossible, since the place has become a busy marketplace.

There we find the money changers, those who are selling doves, and those who carry merchandise through the temple courts. The money changers are there to exchange foreign money into the only currency accepted in the temple area. Many pilgrims come from far away. It would be difficult for them to bring their own sacrificial animals with them, and then risk that they would fail the temple inspection.

In a sense, these merchants are performing a needed service; however, the way they occupy the area is desecrating the temple site, and instead of promoting worship, the way they conduct business actually hinders it. It is likely that they are also taking advantage of the pilgrims, charging high prices for the animals and offering them unreasonable exchange rates.

As for those who "carry merchandise through the temple courts," they are using the temple area as a shortcut as they travel between the Mount of Olives and the city. Of course, their activities do not contribute to worship at all; rather, they are obstructing worship for the sake of convenience and commerce.

Hendriksen remarks that the Lord does not expel only the sellers from the temple, but the buyers as well. They may appear innocent on the surface, and we may even say that they are victims of the greedy and irreverent merchants, but they are not entirely guiltless in that they are willing to tolerate this abomination in the temple. Is this not their God they have come to worship? Then they should be zealous to preserve the honor of his name and the purity of his temple.

Some commentators again become nervous at this point and scramble to offer some moral justification for this "fit of rage" that our Lord exhibits. But the answer is the same. There is nothing to explain, because there is nothing wrong with what he does here. Christ is the Lord of the temple, and indeed "greater than the temple" (Matthew 12:6), and this is what he thinks about what is going on with the place of worship. The culprit is the false impression that Jesus is always a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and even an effeminate kind of person.

In the Gospel of John, as Jesus drives out the merchants from the temple and cries, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" his disciples remember that the Scripture says, "Zeal for your house will consume me" (John 2:16-17). True piety is always accompanied by godly zeal. You cannot be faithful and not zealous at the same time. You cannot call yourself spiritual and stay calm when God's name is blasphemed and his worshipers misled and abused. This is why the temple episode is so shocking to some readers – they have no zeal and do not understand zeal. They have a gentlemanly faith that cares more about social propriety than God's honor. To them, this is Christian character, and it surprises them when Jesus does not act as "Christian" as they do! But there is a time to be gentle, and a time to be harsh.

(to be continued)

Faith to Move Mountains (2)

v. 12-14

Our passage begins as Jesus departs from Bethany and heads toward Jerusalem (v. 12). He sees a fig tree in the distance, but when he reaches it, he finds nothing but leaves. At this, he says to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again" (v. 14). The incident perplexes many people, since it appears to them that the tree here receives overly harsh and even unjust treatment from our Lord.

Commentators typically offer two points of clarification.

The first has to do with the "complicated biology" of the fig. There are two crops of figs gathered in this region. The earlier and smaller figs become ripe in May and June, and the later and larger ones become ripe around late August and September. New leaves begin to appear in March, and along with them would appear many tiny figs, called taksh in Arabic. They are eaten by people when hungry, and often gathered to be sold in the markets. These are not the true figs, but they grow only to a small size and then the majority would fall off.

This incident in our passage occurs at Passover time (14:1), about April, so it is "not the season for figs" (v. 13). However, this particular tree has leaves, and "When the young leaves are appearing in spring, every fertile fig will have some taksh on it, even though the season for edible figs (Mk. 11:13, AV) has not arrived. When the leaves are fully developed the fruit ought to be mature also. But if the tree with leaves has no fruit, it will be barren for the entire season." So the abundance of leaves gives Jesus reason to expect fruit as well – that is, taksh – but when he reaches the tree, he finds nothing but leaves.

Then, the second point that commentators mention is that the fig tree merely functions as a symbol for something else, and the way Jesus treats it is intended as an acted parable. Hendriksen writes, "It is impossible to believe that the curse which the Lord pronounced upon this tree was an act of punishing it, as if the tree as such was responsible for not bearing fruit, and as if, for this reason, Jesus was angry with it."

Right now we will not discuss what this symbolic interaction between Jesus and the tree conveys – that is reserved for later. At this time, our focus is on the typical ways in which commentators attempt to provide moral justification for how Jesus treats the fig tree. When it comes to this, we must declare that although both points are true, both of them fail as moral justification for Jesus' action.

Regarding the first point, although Jesus has reason to expect fruit on the tree because of the leaves, this in itself cannot justify cursing it just because the tree fails to satisfy such an expectation. Would these commentators say that anyone else in a similar situation would be justified in doing the same? Would they not appeal to the teaching of Scripture and say that one should exercise patience, gratitude, and contentment instead? We are not permitted to curse something just because it fails to meet what appears to be a "reasonable" expectation.

Regarding the second point, it is irrelevant whether or not the tree functions as a symbol of something else, or whether or not Jesus is acting out a parable. A person's action is not automatically justified just because it is symbolic. If it is wrong in itself, then it is wrong no matter what. I am not permitted to murder someone just as long as my intention is to make a point about something else. I am not permitted to steal from someone just because I am acting out a parable.

So both points fail to provide moral justification for Jesus' action. The real problem is that the commentators have assumed a man-centered reference point as they read the passage, and so they apply to divine actions and commands a human standard – a standard that is itself subordinate to and judged by divine actions and commands. The proper reference point ought to be God-centered, and that is the sovereign right and power of God. What God performs and what God commands are righteous by definition. Rather than requiring moral justification or explanation by our standard, the reverse is true – his actions and commands constitute the standard by which our actions are judged.

(to be continued)

Collected Works, March 2006 Edition

Collected Works, Vols. 1-5
March 2006 Edition

Our Collected Works set is now available in five volumes, and in both hardcovers and paperbacks. For a complete listing of our books, please CLICK HERE. Individual volumes of the Collected Works set are displayed at the bottom of the page. As we continue to produce new materials, there will be many more volumes added. So this set is marked the "March 2006" edition to distinguish it from future editions.

To purchase all of our books separately would cost you $163.14 (not counting shipping), but the paperback set would cost you only $86.37. This is a substantial saving, and one of the main reasons why we decided to release our materials as a set. If you want something more attractive and durable, you can purchase the hardcover set for $133.77. This still costs less than if you were to purchase the books separately. The hardcover books from this printer are excellent. The paper, binding, and glossy hardcovers are better than many of the those released by commercial publishers.

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Volume One
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The Bible, the Preacher, and the Spirit (15)

Dependence on the Spirit entails that we stop trying to enforce the Bible with our flesh. What do I mean by this? To mention one aspect of this, some preachers use a sing-song, whiny, teary, begging voice when they speak. Some lower their voices and try to sound mysterious. Still others are very loud and exuberant for no reason. Besides being artificial and annoying, these attempts at enforcing the divine words of Scripture add nothing to the substance of the message. There is no real power, because there is no dependence on the Holy Spirit, but they are trying to make the hearers respond to the message with these silly devices.

The truth is that when we tell people, "Believe this," they will not – unless the Spirit gives them faith. And when we tell people, "Do this" or "Stop that," they will not – unless the Spirit grants them repentance and obedience. We deliver the message, but we need the Spirit to cause the proper reaction in the people, and to inject the necessary inner strength into them to perform the things required of them. This is what we are counting on. We will only make matters worse when we try to produce that which only the Spirit can generate.

Perhaps some preachers think that they are supposed to sound like they do in order to exhibit a sense of earnestness. But if this is the intent, then let there be a genuine overflow from the spirit instead of just a demonstration of poor acting. It would be better for the preacher to open up to a passage of Scripture, read it three times, and then send everyone home with a prayer for the Spirit to act, than for him to try to produce spiritual power and effect with his flesh.

Some Christians suffer under persistent doubt, and many struggle with stubborn sins. They need to know that one cannot just take the Scripture's exhortation to believe and produce faith in himself by himself. A person cannot just decide to believe something that he does not in fact believe. Just as we cannot even make our own hair white or black at will (Matthew 5:36), still less can we transform our own hearts at will, including the impossible task of changing our will at will. Likewise, a person does not progress in holiness just because he decides that it should happen. Paul writes, "It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). Failing to grasp this point, many people try to manufacture what the Scripture demands by sheer willpower, and then of course they become disappointed and disillusioned.

What is the right way? We must have no confidence in the flesh, but we must expose ourselves to the Bible, immerse ourselves in its words and its teachings, and then pray for the Spirit to render it effective in our lives. The flesh is impotent and counts for nothing. The life and power are in the Scripture and the Spirit. Of course it is right to strive and to struggle, to exert effort in the Christian life. But only the Spirit can change the human heart, including your own. Even a right striving and a fruitful struggling must come from the Holy Spirit. It is he who grants us holy spiritual effort, and then it is he who blesses it in us.

(end of series)

The Bible, the Preacher, and the Spirit (13)

Based on what we have said about the Bible, the preacher, and the Spirit, let us now consider some applications.

God has given to the Bible a central role in human history. He rules by it. He judges by it. He saves by it. And his Spirit works with it to summon the elect to faith, to mature the saints, and to harden the reprobates. By its various effects, it even influences the fate of nations. It follows that the Bible must occupy a place in our ministry that is consistent with the authority and worth that God has ascribed to it. What is its authority? What is its worth? If we have a proper view of this book, then when we refer to "the Bible," it is only a shorthand for the revealed portion of the divine mind. From this perspective, the Bible carries the very authority of God and the very worth of God.

The negative application is that we are to allow nothing that would compromise or substitute the place of the Bible in our ministry. The Bible can shatter rocks, scatter demons, and call down fire from heaven, and yet some of us think that we need cheap gimmicks to reach people. What an insult it is to God to think that the Bible is more effective when it is presented by puppets, through cartoons, novels, and movies, or other devices produced by human creativity.

Spurgeon says to ministers, "If you are not conscious of a supernatural power and presence with the Word of the Lord, let it alone….Now, if your gospel has not the power of the Holy Ghost in it, you cannot preach it with confidence, and you are tempted to have a performance in the schoolroom to allure the people, whom Christ crucified does not draw. If you are depending on sing-song, and fiddles, and semi-theatricals, you are disgracing the religion which you pretend to honour."

This is what I am talking about. There is power in the Word. There is power in the Spirit. And it is this divine power that I count on when I minister, whether I am preaching, writing, or counseling. It is futile for me enforce it with the flesh. This dependence on divine power removes any pressure on me to produce that which man can never accomplish in the first place. We are to proclaim, persuade, and plead, then refute, rebuke, and remind. And that is enough. But not everyone will believe – some are foreordained by God for destruction.

Think with me how you have been using the Bible – or rather, how you have not been using it. Sometimes we have replaced the Bible with something else without being aware of it. Perhaps you have debated evolution with a friend on several occasions, trying to convince him of its error. But now that you think of it, you have dealt with him entirely on the basis of science, using scientific arguments alone. Suppose he now continues to think about his discussion with you, and even comes to the conclusion that evolution is false. Now what is he supposed to believe? You have not told him anything. You have only refuted inferior human speculation with superior human speculation.

That is the true nature of science – mere human speculation, and you have brought in something so infinitely inferior to divine revelation in an attempt to reinforce the Bible. Do we care if the idiot approves of the genius? What does it matter if the villain vouches for the saint? And so what if the irrational vindicates the rational? Even if the testimony of the former is not completely useless, let us hear more from the latter. A ministry becomes powerless if in its very attempt to vindicate Scripture, it is at the same time distracted from proclaiming it.

The Bible is sufficient to both assert and defend its own teachings. It is a mighty sword, and we must develop the skill to wield it. However, most people must first develop a confidence in it before they would even consider it their primarily weapon, let alone their exclusive one. Only then will they stop depending on substitutes and alternatives, and stop looking at the Bible as something helpless that they must desperately protect by extra-biblical methods. Once they learn to respect the Bible as what it is, they will begin to see it as the divine weapon by which all oppositions are slain.

(to be continued)