Hollow Religion

Mark 11:12-14, 20-21

Before we jump back into Mark’s Gospel, let me clarify the sequence

of events so you’ll know where we’ve been and where we are

-Jesus has just entered Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, to the

delight of an adoring, shouting swarm of Jews

--it was the day we now remember as Palm Sunday...and we

know in five short days, Jesus will be crucified

Mark tells us that when the procession ended, Read Mark 11:11

-it is the events of the next two days—Monday and Tuesday—that

we focus our attention this morning

--Read Mark 11:12-21

---He then goes on in the next several verses to highlight the

critical interactions between prayer, faith, and forgiveness

-that’s great stuff, but we first need to figure out what in the world

Jesus is doing when He kills this innocent tree

Frankly, this is one of those Jesus stories that’s made me more than

a little uncomfortable...it’s kinda’ embarrassing, really

-on the surface, anyway, Jesus comes across as being a whiny,

immature, selfish toddler...it’s like He kills the Bambi of fig trees!

--Jesus doesn’t get what He wants so He flies off on this temper

tantrum and this fig tree takes the brunt of His rage

-but think about it for a moment, if that’s what it was, then don’t

you think Mark would have opted to leave it out of the story?

Three weeks ago we discussed what happened in the Temple...how

that Jesus wasn’t so much “cleansing” the Temple, but was actually

declaring it and the whole Old Testament sacrificial system null/void

-well, ol’ Mark is doing a literary trick here, using a method known

as an inclusio

--it’s how he starts a story—cursing the tree—and then inserts

another story—the ruckus at the Temple—and finally returns

to wrap up the first story about the poor, little, cursed fig tree

-Mark’s not doing that solely for the sake of style (so 2000 years

later we’d say, “Ah, that Mark, whatta’ writer.”)...no! he’s doing it

because the two interwoven stories are related and they help to

provide clues for interpreting both of them correctly

When Jesus goes into the Temple on that Monday, I’m convinced

he’s doing something more significant than housecleaning

-He declares the entire old system invalid...it’s empty...it’s hollow

--their old religion required a person to bring or to pay for the

sacrifice that would be offered for his sin

--what God had established as a faith relationship had spiraled

downward into essentially a financial transaction in some futile

attempt to get to God

--it was the clearest picture of religion in its purest form...men

trying to pay for their own sins...using priests to offer the

sacrifice...and the whole ritual must be continually repeated

-and so on that Monday, Jesus overturns more than tables, He

overturns the whole Temple

And it’s from the events in the Temple that we gain what I believe is

the key to interpreting “Jesus versus the fig tree”...and the fig tree is

also key to interpreting the Temple brouhaha

-the danger in that—as I hope you’ll realize—is that you can find

yourself doing an “interpretive dance” around the text...and you

can use one misguided explanation to lead you to another and

soon you can rationalize chopping down your Methodist

neighbor’s trees and flipping over tables at bingo night

--so let’s remain prayerfully cautious as we journey together

The most important thing is to be careful to stick to the context

-some have said that Jesus is condemning personal phoniness

-some have said that Jesus is expecting to find some early figs and

this story is only about Jesus being hungry and disappointed

-but this entire chapter is about the Temple and Jesus’ authority

--plus, Mark makes it a point that this is not the time for figs...and

my guess is Jesus knows that, especially considering He’s lived

in Israel for 33 years (not to mention He is the Son of God)

---so I’m going to go out on a limb here (no pun intended!) and

say that Jesus is not shocked to find a fig-less fig tree

OK...so what is going on, here?

-the leafy fig tree looks wonderful from a distance...it gives everyone

the impression that there is abundant fruit to be found there

--the Temple gives the same appearance...extravagant religious

activity giving the impression there’s actually life found here

But the Temple, like the tree, is all show and no substance

-it’s not the tree’s fault—it really is not the season for figs

-and it’s not like God established something bad when He set up the

sacrificial system of animals and priests...but the old system has

served its purpose and there’s now something infinitely better

Just like there is no reason to keep a fruitless fruit tree, Jesus is

declaring that the time for the end of Temple and all of its empty

rituals has finally arrived

-it’s as if He’s saying, “it is no longer the season for the Temple”

Read Mark 13:1-2

-Mark uses a word in v. 2 that means more than “look”...instead, it

means to look with perception and understanding...in other words

à Guys, look deeper...look past the brilliant marble...look beyond

the large crowds...pay no attention to the size of the Temple...

none of that means anything...in fact, there’s soon coming a

day when this will all be a distant memory...not only will the

Temple be destroyed, but this entire way of doing religion will

be replaced with something that can give salvation, life, fruit

When Peter exclaims, Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has

withered!...notice Jesus doesn’t even mention the dead fig tree

-instead, what does He say?

--Read Mark 11:22-23

---this is a pretty dramatic promise—mountains splashing into

the sea—so we often interpret v. 23 to mean that if we

have an obstacle or a difficulty in our life (a “mountain”)

and we have enough faith, God will remove it

---the only problem is that Jesus does not talk about “faith to

move mountains”...rather, Jesus specifically refers to “this

mountain”

----that’s not just in our English translations, it’s in the

Greek, too

-ok...so which mountain is “this” mountain?

--well, we know from earlier in chapter 11 the disciples are just

outside of Bethany...and they are now heading northwest

toward Jerusalem

---it would be logical, I’m convinced, that Jesus is pointing

across the Kidron Valley and up to the Temple Mount

Again, Jesus isn’t pronouncing the Temple as some evil place

-He is saying, however, the same thing He shows us about the fig

tree—there is no place for a tree or a Temple or a religion that

doesn’t produce any fruit...and He is saying that their religion is no

longer even capable of do so

--why? because the Temple and its elaborate system of

continual animal sacrifices are about to be replaced

Read Hebrews 10:1-18 [The Message]

So Jesus has gone to the cross, has been raised from the dead, and,

in doing so, rendered the old religious system completely powerless

-after all of that, can you believe we would even think of returning

to a lifeless, hollow religion?

--sure, it may look good...it may even appear to produce fruit...

but like the tree and the Temple, there is no substance

---as the Church, we are always susceptible to turning our

back on faith alone in Christ alone...and substitute for it

a religion that disregards or disbelieves the grace God

offers through Jesus

More than a century ago, G. Campbell Morgan issued this timeless

warning à The Church of God apart from the Person of Christ is a

useless structure. However ornate it may be in its organization,

however perfect in all its arrangements, however rich and increased

with goods, if the Church is not revealing the Person, lifting Him to

the height where all men can see Him, then the Church becomes an

impertinence and a sham, a blasphemy and a fraud, and the sooner

the world is rid of it, the better.

How close are we?

-would the world be better off without the Church in its present form?

--could we ever get to the point where we wither and die because

we are not producing fruit, but instead offering the world only a

hollow religion?

The San Jose Mercury News à James Kelley of Washington, D.C.,

is one of a small group at his local church who are enthusiastic

Episcopalians, but who do not believe in God. Said Kelley, "We all

love the incense, the stained-glass windows, the organ music, the

vestments and all of that. It's drama. It's aesthetics. It's the ritual.

That's neat stuff. I don't want to give all that up just because I don't

believe in God."

Now before you start thinking, “Well that’s just like those

Episcopalians. That would never happen in Baptist churches...and

certainly never here.”

-really?

--isn’t it possible that people attend Baptist churches all over the

country because of the excellent music or the entertaining,

pick-me-up “talk” offered by the pastor or the activities

provided for children and students or because it looks good or

because it eases their guilt that their lives aren’t quite what

they should be?

-boy, I don’t know...but I’d suspect a conservative estimate would

be in the thousands (if not more)

--of course, the more important questions—those we can

actually do something about—what about us?

---what about me?

---what about you?

--how close are we to going through the motions?

---how close are we to taking great pride in the building and

the size of the crowd...and crowding Jesus out of our

church and out of our lives because He’s simply too

demanding...and, frankly, it’s a whole lot easier to

practice an empty religion rather than to follow Jesus

I agree with Larry Crabb’s critique of the modern Church à Feeling

better has become more important to us than finding God.

When Sadhu Sundar Singh left India to visit America in the early

1920, was appalled by the materialism, emptiness, and irreligion he

found everywhere. He was unable to determine the cause.

He later wrote à Once when I was in the Himalayas, I was sitting upon the bank of a river. I drew out of the water a beautiful, round stone and smashed it. The inside was dry. The stone had been lying a long time in the water, but the water had not penetrated the stone.

It is just like that with the "Christian" people of the West. They have for centuries been surrounded by Christianity, entirely steeped in its blessings, but the Master's truth has not penetrated them. Christianity is not at fault; the reason lies rather in the hardness of their hearts. Materialism and intellectualism have made their hearts hard. So I am not surprised that many people in the West do not understand what Christianity really is.

Allow me to offer just a few personal observations about how some of

us have already allowed our hearts to become hardened and we’re

chasing after a hollow religion...and also how the rest can quite

easily follow us down that same, destructive path

First, focus on maintaining a good religious facade...forget about your

relationship with Christ...fool yourself into thinking you can fake the

“heart” stuff by constantly working on keeping up appearances

-Revelation 2:4 à I hold this against you: You have forsaken

your first love.

Another very popular option is to turn your back to Jesus and give it a

go on your own

-in John 15:5 Jesus says à I am the vine; you are the branches.

If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart

from Me you can do nothing.

--this is at the core of empty religion...trying to make it without

Christ...all our efforts kick up a lot a lot of dust, but we’re just

spinning our wheels and getting nowhere

Another sure way to embrace a meaningless religion is to turn

worship into a mindless ritual

-warning: don’t write this one off because we don’t follow a liturgy

--Baptists take great pride in the fact that we don’t read pre-

written prayers, we don’t preach sermons prepared by

someone else, and we do have some variety in our worship

---so we like to criticize the Catholics...accusing them of

unconsciously going through worship...

--hopefully, you see where I’m going with this...liturgical worship

can be just as alive and vibrant as the most cutting-edge,

contemporary worship out there

---and, of course, churches with every worship style

imaginable—from Celtic to cowboy—have people who

are going through the motions...and their minds and their

hearts are as empty as the Royals’ win column

-Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:24 à God is spirit,

and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

Try this one: listen to preachers and teachers who always tell you

what you want to hear...instead of the truth you need to hear

-Paul describes false teachers who will, among other things, have

a form of godliness but denying its power. He goes on in 2

Timothy 3:5 à Have nothing to do with them.

This isn’t a complete list, but let me offer one more—it’s related to the

last one and it’s one, I must admit is a pet peeve of mine

-listen carefully to the warning in 2 Timothy 4:1-4 [Read]

--what is supposed to be preached? the Word...now I realize you

can say you’re preaching the Word and completely distort it

so that it’s unrecognizable

--still, the point is this: we must proclaim Jesus Christ as He is

revealed to us through the Scriptures...we teach the Bible

---we don’t, as one church I know, use Chicken Soup for the

Soul as our youth Sunday School curriculum

---we don’t, as one church I read about, preach (and I’m

quoting) “a 4-week sermon series based on Making

Room for Life by Randy Frazee”

----while I’m sure it’s a fantabulous book, I’m also sure

that it is not inspired...and it is not what Randy

Frazee nor God ever intended to be the text for a

gospel message

Notice: none of these appear to be vicious, horrible, noticeable sins

-in fact, you can be guilty of all of these and still come off as a saint

--but all of these are sin...and because they concern the heart,

they aren’t real evident to those around you...and that’s the

danger, because these sins are silent killers...

Our only hope is to repent, to abandon our hollow religion...and to

return to our holy God who promises: Ezekiel 36:26 à I will give

you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you

your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.