SEE (head)
Jesus is heading into Jerusalem. Along the way he sends two of his disciples into Bethany which, situated about two miles southeast of the city, was home to Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (and the place where Jesus raised Lazarus back to life). There the disciples fetch a colt for Jesus to ride, and along the road to Jerusalem Jesus receives a royal welcome, complete with the ancient equivalent of a red carpet and shouts of acclamation. After arriving in Jerusalem, Jesus goes into the temple, looks around, and then retires to Bethany for the evening.

Jerusalem (v. 1). Mark 11 begins the events of the final week leading up to Christ's crucifixion - "extending from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday." [ref] Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem is often described as his "triumphal entry." Such entries were actually not uncommon - although, of course, Jesus' was much more significant than any other. Aside from those associated with  Roman officials, "Jesus' celebrated entry is one of as many as twelve similar entries, as recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees and in Josephus." [ref] (1 and 2 Maccabees are "[t]wo deuterocanonical books that cover the period of Israel's history from 167 BC to 100 BC. The books are named after Judas Maccabeus, who initiated the Jewish revolt in 166 BC against Rome. The chief value of these books is that they provide historical accounts of Israel's struggles during the time between Malachi and the time of Christ." [ref] Josephus was a "Jewish military officer and historian" who lived during the first century AD. "His works illumine the period in which the church came into existence - especially concerning the religion, politics, geography, and prominent persons of the early Christian era." [ref])

"The departure from the Mount of Olives, in order to enter Jerusalem, mounted upon a colt, is the beginning of a series of elements drawn from Zechariah": [ref]

• Mount of Olives = Zechariah 14:4
• a young donkey/colt = Zechariah 9:9
• merchants in the Temple = Zechariah 14:20-21
• a mountain moved/leveled = Zechariah 4:6-7

Although he had done so before, this occasion marked Jesus' official presentation of himself as Israel's deliverer, the Messiah who would bring much-anticipated peace to God's people. Christ was identified as the Messiah at his baptism; authenticated as the Messiah at his temptation; glorified as the Messiah at his transfiguration; and presented as the Messiah at his triumphal entry. [ref] The colt on which Jesus rode was emblematic of peace, and the fact that it had not been ridden before was in keeping with "the ancient rule that only animals that had not been used for ordinary purposes were appropriate for sacred purposes (Numbers 19:2; Deuteronomy 21:3; 1 Samuel 6:7)." [ref]

The crowd (v. 8). The occasion was Passover, and participants crowded in and around the city of Jerusalem, swelling its population to more than three times the norm. [ref] "Pilgrims to the feast were typically welcomed by crowds already there," and the shouts of joy offered to Jesus were actually a regular part of the festivities. [ref] To be sure, some in the crowd did recognize and accept Jesus' presentation of himself as the promised Messiah. [ref] As the apostle John brings out, these included witnesses to Jesus' miraculous raising of Lazarus (see John 12:17-18). [ref] In fact, it appears that there were actually two crowds: "One had assembled in Bethany to see Jesus and Lazarus raised from the dead, and this crowd started to Jerusalem with him; the other came out from Jerusalem to meet him when it got word that he was coming. The crowd that met him was thus the one that was in front. From Luke 19:37 we learn that this crowd joined the other near the top of Olivet where it slopes down toward Jerusalem. And here the shout arose and continued which acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah." [ref]

That said, probably most of the people who greeted Jesus were simply caught up in the moment. As one source puts it: "For most people, then, this moment of jubilation was simply part of the traditional Passover celebration - it did not alarm the Roman authorities or initiate a call for Jesus' arrest by the Jewish rulers." [ref]  And so the Roman guards, on special alert because of the occasion and the unusually large number of people present, saw no reason to stop Jesus or prevent him from entering Jerusalem - something they surely would have done if they had suspected him of being a political activist. [ref] [ref]

Shouting (v. 9). According to the NASB: "Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: 'Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!'" (Mark 11:9-10).  As one source brings out: "The chiastic (a-b-b'-a') arrangement of these verses suggests antiphonal chanting by two groups - those who went ahead of Jesus and those who followed Him. They chanted Psalm 118:25-26. At the annual Passover festival (cf. Mark 14:1), the Jews chanted the six 'ascent' psalms (Psalms 113-118) to express thanksgiving, praise, and petitions to God." [ref]

He left (v. 11). After surveying the temple, Jesus returned to Bethpage for the night. (Jerusalem's city gate was closed and locked at sunset. [ref]) Accommodations were scarce at this time of the year: it would have been difficult to find and/or afford lodging within Jerusalem. [ref] What's more, it was probably not safe for Jesus to stay in the city, as the religious leaders were plotting his death. [ref] As with everything else, in this regard Jesus leaves us a good example for us to follow: "Jesus never acted in a foolhardy way; he always used proper prudence. Although he knew that no one could lay hands on him until his hour would come he never presumed on this and disregarded danger." [ref]

HEAR (heart)
It Makes All the Difference

On a crowded street of one of our large cities, a young man was snatched from the path of a speeding truck, his life saved by a venerable-looking man. Still breathless from fright, the youth thanked the one who saved his life and then was lost in the crowd.

Two weeks later in a crowded courtroom, an anxious young man stood in the prisoner's box to be sentenced for murder.

"Young man, have you anything to say before the sentence of death is passed upon you?" "Why! Yes! Yes, Judge," the youth responded, "you know me." A silence moved like a shock wave over the courtroom. "I'm sorry. I cannot place you."

"Yes. Surely you remember. Two weeks ago. At Main and Seventh Streets, you saved my life. Surely, Judge, you can do something to save me now." A silence pervaded the courtroom. "Young man, now I do remember you. But that day I was your savior. Today I am your judge."

Today the Lord Jesus Christ wants to be your Savior. If you refuse Him and His grace, one day He will be your Judge. [ref] (quoted verbatim)

Jesus came to offer himself as the Savior. Those who reject him as such, however, must one day face him as Judge.

DO (hands)
??? What would you do if you knew the president of the United States was coming to visit you tomorrow morning? What are you doing for the King of kings and Lord of lords who has already come in the flesh, is present in spirit now, and will one day return?

SEE (head)
Leaving Bethany where they had spent the night, Jesus and his disciples again head into Jerusalem. Along the way, Jesus stops at a fig tree and, finding it fruitless, pronounces a curse upon it. He then returns to the Temple and this time drives out the merchants and the money changers. Jesus' enemies respond by plotting his death.

A fig tree ... only leaves (v. 13). The cursing of the fig tree was actually an acted parable related to the nation of Israel. Fig trees normally produce a large amount of fruit twice a year, including late in the spring. This incident occurred during early spring (mid-April), when the tree's leaves would have started budding. Jesus was not expecting mature ripened fruit but, rather, the edible buds that would have indicated a soon-fruitful tree. But there were no buds. [ref] [ref] ("An absence of these buds despite the tree's green foliage promising their presence indicated it would bear no fruit that year." [ref]) As one source puts it: "When [Jesus] came to the tree 'he found nothing on it except leaves,' not even green, unripe fruit ... Jesus would not have blasted this tree if it had had even a little immature fruit on it. But here was this tree with its grand display of foliage which was nothing but empty pretense; whereas it led one to expect that it might have at least a few figs that were already fit to eat it had absolutely nothing at all, 'nothing but leaves'!" [ref]

"Jesus' strong denunciation of the tree ... was a dramatic prophetic sign of God's impending judgment on Israel ... The promising but unproductive fig tree symbolized Israel's spiritual barrenness despite divine favor and the impressive outward appearance of their religion (cf. Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10, 16; Micah 7:1)." [ref] [ref] As another source explains: "Jesus' harsh words to the fig tree could be applied to the nation of Israel and its beautiful temple. Fruitful in appearance only, Israel was spiritually barren. Just as the fig tree looked good from a distance but was fruitless on close examination, so the temple looked impressive at first glance, but its sacrifices and other activities were hollow because they were not done to worship God sincerely (see Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10, 16; Micah 7:1)." [ref] The irony is thick: "The pretentious fig tree had its counterpart in the temple where on this very day (Monday) a lively business was being transacted so that sacrifices might be made, while at the same time the priests were plotting to put to death the very One apart from whom these offerings had no meaning whatever." [ref]  

The OT prophets often compared a lack of righteousness to a fruitless tree and, conversely, fruitfulness was used to illustrate God's blessings bestowed in response to faith and obedience. Some three years prior to this incident, John the Baptist had heralded the coming of the Messiah. Included in his message was a dire warning to the religious leaders (and all of Israel): "Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). Since that initial call, Jesus had spent virtually every waking moment calling Israel to repentance and salvation. But still Israel continued producing only leaves of promise; there was no fruit in keeping with repentance. And so God had no choice but to judge her unrepentant attitude, which he would do through the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70.

The temple ... a den of thieves (vv. 15-17). The cleansing of the temple was an indisputable sign of Jesus' authority - "by this action Jesus as the Messiah claimed greater authority over the temple than that of the high priest" [ref] - as well as a condemnation of the corruption that had become so thoroughly embedded in Israel's religion. As one source puts it: "The people as well as the temple authorities were guilty of graft, extortion, and desecration of the house of prayer. Jesus assumes and exercises Messianic authority and dares to smite this political and financial abuse." [ref]

Each pilgrim coming to the Temple to offer a sacrifice during Passover would be in need of two things: 1) an animal without spot or blemish, and 2) acceptable currency with which to purchase the animal (and pay the Temple tax). "They paid high prices for these sacrificial animals. True, a worshipper could bring in an animal of his own choice. But if he did that he was taking a chance that it would not be approved." [ref] [ref] Enter the merchants (who sold "wine, oil, salt, approved sacrificial animals and birds" [ref]) and the money changers. "Money from three sources circulated in Palestine in New Testament times: imperial money (Roman), provincial money (Greek), and local money (Jewish). ... Greek and Roman currency .... featured human portraits [and so was] considered idolatrous." [ref]  Hence "in the temple area foreign money was not accepted in payment. ... So the money-changers would exchange foreign money for Jewish, charging a small fee for the favor. This business ... was very profitable. It presented abundant opportunity for cheating the unsuspecting pilgrim." [ref]

And so rather than simply offering a much-needed service, under the direction of the high priest, both the merchants and the money changers took advantage of the patrons by charging exorbitant rates. (Popular opinion was rightly "critical of the Jewish high priesthood," regarding "it in various ways as corrupt." [ref]) Their booths were set up in the only place Gentiles were allowed in the Temple: "the large outer court of the Gentiles surrounding the inner sacred courts of the temple itself." [ref] [ref] [ref] [ref] Thus "the market filled their worship space with merchants so that these foreigners, who had traveled long distances, found it impossible to worship. The chaos in that court must have been tremendous." [ref] To add insult to injury, "people loaded with merchandise were taking shortcuts through this area, making it a thoroughfare from one part of the city to another." [ref]

Jesus' cleansing of the Temple was actually a number of things, including:

• a religious event intended to cleanse the Temple of impurities, whether commercial or sacerdotal
• a messianic event intended to include the Gentiles in the scope of the Temple's activities
• a prophetic event intended to announce the destruction of the Temple and its eschatological restoration
• a political event intended to disrupt the commercial and sacerdotal activities of the Temple because they had become oppressive and exploitative [ref] (quoted verbatim)

Do Christians today have the right and/or obligation to act as Jesus did in cleansing the Temple? Here there is much wisdom to be found in the comments of John Calvin:

[Jesus] declared himself to be both King and High Priest, who presided over the temple and the worship of God. This ought to be observed, lest any private individual should think himself entitled to act in the same manner. That zeal, indeed, by which Christ was animated to do this, ought to be held in common by all the godly; but lest any one, under the pretense of imitation, should rush forward without authority, we ought to see what our calling demands, and how far we may proceed according to the commandment of God. If the Church of God have contracted any pollutions, all the children of God ought to burn with grief; but as God has not put arms into the hands of all, let private individuals groan, till God bring the remedy. I do acknowledge that they are worse than stupid who are not displeased at the pollution of the temple of God, and that it is not enough for them to be inwardly distressed, if they do not avoid the contagion, and testify with their mouth, whenever an opportunity presents itself, that they desire to see a change for the better. But let those who do not possess public authority oppose by their tongue, which they have at liberty, those vices which they cannot remedy with their hands. [ref] (quoted verbatim)

Planning how to kill him (v. 18). "The leading priests and teachers of the law" (Mark 11:18; "[t]he chief priests and the scribes" NASB) were afraid to arrest Jesus openly because of his popularity with the "Passover pilgrims" who had come "from all parts of the ancient world." [ref] They were afraid of sparking a riot or rebellion. [ref] BC More than that, however, they feared losing their religious monopoly: "[The Sanhedrin] was filled with the fear that Jesus would draw all the people to him and thus rob the Sanhedrin of its standing and its authority. The Sanhedrin saw a dangerous rival in Jesus. ... When the teaching [of Jesus] takes hold of people, they are in a fair way to turn away from all other authorities and to follow Jesus alone. That was exactly what the Sanhedrin feared." [ref] They responded by "consider[ing] how they could assassinate him" (v. 18, NET). Following his cleansing of the temple, "people could not ignore Jesus or be indifferent to him. They had to take sides. Either Jesus was a subversive radical who must be restrained (death is an effective restraint), or he was someone to be listened to, believed, and followed." [ref]

HEAR (heart)
His "Good" Right Arm

The story is told of Sid, a man who seemed to be dogged by trouble.

One day he was arrested for burglary and taken before a judge.

Sid's attorney argued that his client had not really broken into the lady's home. He had merely inserted his right arm through an open window and removed a few small items, including a newspaper and a tangerine. And since Sid's arm is not Sid, asserted the attorney, Sid should not be held liable for something a member of his body did.

The judge was not convinced but decided to follow the defense attorney's logic nonetheless. He sentenced Sid's arm to one year's imprisonment, and gave Sid the option of accompanying the limb or not, as he saw fit..

Whereupon Sid, a Korean war veteran, stood up, removed his prosthetic right arm, handed it to the judge, and walked out of the courtroom a free man. [ref] (paraphrased)

Every person stands guilty before God. We all deserve to be imprisoned forever. But, thanks be to God, Jesus has dealt with our sin by taking upon himself the punishment we deserve. He gave far more than his right arm - he gave his very life. While on earth, Jesus made the same offer to the nation of Israel that he has been making to all of humankind ever since: salvation through personal, committed faith in himself.

Today countless people seek a middle way such as the one Sid found. By deciding beforehand to ignore Jesus' teaching, people are able to avoid making a decision for or against him. However, "[w]hen Christians tell the real story, there is no middle ground. Either Jesus is God's Son, the world's Savior, or he is a befuddled, perhaps demented, imposter." [ref]

DO (hands)
"God will not let his Temple serve as a refuge for robbers. The Temple will not protect the wicked who show in the very Temple how they regard the God of the Temple. The church has no refuge for sinners who go on in their sin and think that they are safe when they run to the church; and certainly not for the sinners who support the church by desecrating the church and justify their desecration by crying, 'It is for the church!'" [ref] 

"[Jesus] stood against lack of faith and altering the purpose for worship. Those who use the church people or the worship gathering for social, political, or financial advantage are clearly wrong. God opposes those who attempt to leverage power or status or to meet their need for self-importance in his house of prayer." [ref]

SEE (head)
The next morning, as Jesus and his disciples again head for Jerusalem, they pass the fig tree that Jesus had cursed only the day before. The disciples notice that it is now completely lifeless - it will never have the opportunity to bear fruit again. Jesus takes advantage of their amazement to teach them about the power of prayer. Sincere prayer, uttered in faith, will move mountains.  

Faith ... this mountain (vv. 22, 23). Jesus commanded, entreated, or exhorted ("'Have'" = imperative [ref]) his disciples to "'Have faith in God" (Mark 11:22), with "faith" being defined as: "to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance." [ref] As one source puts it: "Faith that rests in God is unwavering trust in His omnipotent power and unfailing goodness." [ref] Such faith, said Jesus, can move a mountain. While Jesus was speaking figuratively, he was using an actual mountain as an illustration. Which one? While a common answer is the Mount of Olives, at least one viable alternative is the Temple Mount; "Why should not 'this mountain' refer to Israel's most famous mountain, on which is situated the temple establishment, with which Jesus has come into serious conflict?" [ref] While there are a number of "rabbinic and Jewish parallels to the saying about moving mountains," these refer to skill or strength, leaving "Jesus' point that faith can move mountains" without parallel. [ref]   

It should be noted that Jesus' declaration was made "on the recognized premise that petitions must be in harmony with God's will (cf. Mark 14:36; Matthew 6:9-10; John 14:13-14; 15:7; 16:23-24; 1 John 5:14-15). This enables faith to receive the answers God gives. God is always ready to respond to obedient believers' prayers, and they can petition Him knowing that no situation or difficulty is impossible for Him." [ref] As another source puts it: "Jesus is saying that the greatest possible difficulties can be removed when a person has faith (cf. James 1:6)." [ref] The emphasis is not on what we can get but, rather, on what God can do. Many times God fails to work as we, with our limited understanding, would prefer - a very good thing, indeed(!) As C. S. Lewis has noted, prayer is so powerful that God reserves the right to overrule our requests lest we misuse that power. [ref] Both the Bible and Church history are replete with examples of "the impossible" becoming possible as God works in and through ordinary people. [ref] In the case of Jesus' first disciples in particular, "he was referring to prayers that the disciples would need to endlessly pray as they faced mountains of opposition to their gospel message in the years to come. Their prayers for the advancement of God's kingdom would always be answered positively - in God's timing." [ref]  

Jesus was not making "a guarantee that the disciples could get anything they wanted simply by asking Jesus and believing. God does not grant requests that will hurt people or that will violate his own nature or will. Jesus' statement was not a blank check." [ref] Along those lines, one source offers the following helpful insights regarding this often-abused teaching of Jesus:

If the promise of Christ, "Whatever you ask for … it shall be yours" seems almost unbelievable, it should be borne in mind that such praying and asking must, of course, be in harmony with the characteristics of true prayer which Jesus reveals elsewhere; in fact, it must be in line with all of scriptural teaching. Accordingly it must be the expression of:

• humble, childlike trust; note "believing that you received it," and cf. Mark 10:15; also Matthew 7:11; 18:3-4; James 1:6.
• a sincere heart and mind (Mark 12:40; cf. Matthew 6:5).
• a will to persevere (Mark 13:13; cf. Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8).
• a love for all concerned (Mark 12:31, 33; cf. Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 6:32-36).
• submission to God's sovereign will (Mark 14:36; Matthew 6:10; 26:39). [ref] (quoted verbatim)

Have faith ... forgive (vv. 22, 25). Jesus taught that there is a direct causal relationship between God's forgiveness of our sins against him and our forgiveness of other's sins against us. "For a person to pray while bearing a grudge is like a tree sprouting leaves and bearing no fruit (11:13). True faith changes the heart. Real prayer dismantles pride and vengeance, filling the holes with love. Real faith seeks peace." [ref] Thus Jesus taught that the two key elements in prayer are faith in God and forgiveness. Faith means "firm persuasion," [ref] and includes trusting God to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This includes moving a mountain of difficulty, [ref] as well as moving within our own hearts such that we refuse to harbor grudges against those who have committed a mountain of wrong against us. Mountains can be moved one rock at a time, and hearts can be healed one act of forgiveness at a time. Both faith and forgiveness call for the type of commitment available only to those who persistently, prayerfully seek God's will rather than their own. [ref]

HEAR (heart)
In an insightful comment, E. Stanley Jones asserted that prayer amounts to surrendering to God's will and then cooperating with that will. The person in a boat who tosses a hook on shore and then pulls on the line does not pull the shore toward him but, rather, pulls the boat toward the shore. In the same way, prayer is not pulling God to one's own will but, rather, catching hold of God's will and pulling oneself toward it. [ref]

Prayer is God's way of bringing us closer to him, not our way of bringing God closer to us. Getting close to God requires lots of effort on our part: patience, persistence, and faith. As we draw close to God, he will strengthen and direct us, and we will find ourselves seeking his will more and our own will less.

DO (hands)
"For our churches to have prayer power, there must be harmony and forgiveness evident in the body of believers. Let go of hurts, abandon grudges, and forgive others." [ref]

SEE (head)
Jesus and his disciples are walking through the Temple when suddenly they are confronted by a contingent of religious leaders. They want to know by whose authority Jesus had cleansed the Temple. Jesus responds by asking them about the baptism of John the Baptist. They choose not to answer Jesus, and so he chooses not to answer them.

Priests ... teachers ... elders (v. 27). The men who confronted Jesus represented the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court (NASB: "chief priests ... scribes ... elders"). [ref] As one source explains:

The chief priests constituted a group or order consisting of the present ruling high priest, those who had formerly occupied this high office, and other dignitaries from whose ranks the high priest was generally selected. The custody of the temple had been entrusted to these people, mostly Sadducees. It is not strange that the scribes, mostly Pharisees, are also mentioned, for these were the men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law. Their teaching was done in both temple and synagogue. The elders, too, were present. In ancient Israel an elder was the head of a tribe or of a tribal division. In fact, every city or town of any importance soon had its ruling elders. With the establishment of the Sanhedrin the more prominent local elders became members of this august body. We might call them the Sanhedrin's "lay members." [ref] (quoted verbatim)

Rather than a simple fact-finding committee, "[t]his was an angry official group sent on an official mission to question Jesus regarding his actions." [ref] They "began saying to Him, 'By what authority [exousia: "the right to control or govern over" [ref]] are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority [exousia] to do these things?'" (Mark 11:28, NASB). "The questions the religious leaders asked were perfectly valid questions to check for a false prophet or false teacher, but their sinister motives made it an evil test." [ref] The religious leaders challenged Jesus' authority to do "these things" - that is, Jesus' right to cleanse, heal, and teach: to cleanse the temple, perform miraculous healings, and teach about God's kingdom (see Matthew 21:12-17, 23-27). [ref] [ref] As usual, they were trying to trap Jesus, hoping he would "[say] something for which he could be arrested." [ref]  "[N]o matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him." [ref] As another source puts it: "The Sanhedrists were acquainted with the authority on which Jesus acted; they were not inquiring for information. Their one purpose was to deny him this authority, for to admit it was to accept Jesus as the Messiah sent of God, against which everything in them rebelled." [ref]

At this point Jesus' popularity prevented the religious delegation from arresting him outright. And so it is likely they were hoping Jesus would answer in such a way as to lose his popular support - and hence clear the way for his arrest. [ref] "[T]he high priest and his ranking priestly associates possessed ultimate authority on the Temple Mount." [ref] They were hoping that Jesus would either condemn himself by admitting that he had no legitimate authority to cleanse the temple, or that he would claim "a 'right' superseding that of the chief priests, a claim that would have made him politically vulnerable." [ref] As one source puts it: "If Jesus were to answer that his authority came from God, which would be tantamount to saying he was the Messiah and the Son of God, [the religious leaders] would accuse him of blasphemy and bring him to trial (blasphemy carried the death penalty, Leviticus 24:10-23). If Jesus were to say that his authority was his own, they could dismiss him as a fanatic and could trust that the crowds would soon return to those with true authority (themselves)." [ref]  

One question (v. 29). Jesus responded with a question of his own regarding the baptism of John. While it is true that "counterquestions [were] a common Rabbinic debating technique," [ref] [ref] it is also true that "when Jesus employs this method he in every instance vanquishes his opponents, and this certainly was not true with respect to rabbis in general" [ref] (italics in original). (Examples: Mark 2:8-10, 19-22, 25-28; 3:23-30; 8:12-13; 10:3-12; 11:29-33; 12:24-27. [ref]) We may also wish to note that "[Jesus'] counterquestion is the opposite of an evasion. Jesus merely returns the question of the Sanhedrists to them by substituting John the Baptist for himself. ... The correct answer to the question about John was the correct answer to the question about Jesus. All he would need to do was to hand it back to the Sanhedrists." [ref] Jesus question "forced those seeking his death to reveal their unwillingness to believe him." [ref]

Jesus' counterquestion had to do with the source of John's authority as a prophet. Put simply, Jesus was asking: "Was John a true and lawful prophet of God, or an impostor?" [ref] "A subtle irony is involved: these men ask of Jesus what they ought already to know from John." [ref] Jesus' question created quite a quandary for the religious leaders. On the one hand, an endorsement of John's ministry would amount to a public proclamation that 1) Jesus was the Messiah, [ref] and 2) they (the religious leaders) were a bunch of unrepentant snakes (see Matthew 3:7-10). [ref]  On the other hand, to deny the legitimacy of John's ministry would be to pit themselves against overwhelming public opinion that John was a prophet. "If the Sanhedrists would have denied the divine origin of John's baptism, this would have spread like wildfire, and no one could predict what the inflamed multitudes would do" [ref] - including throwing a hard rock party (see LUKE 20:6). Not to mention the fact it would invite God's judgment against their refusal to listen to both John and Jesus. [ref] [ref] [ref]

In the end, it was the religious leaders' absolute refusal to believe that prevented them from recognizing the legitimate authority of both John and Jesus. [ref] "By suspending judgment, these religious leaders showed that they really rejected John and Jesus as God's messengers. Throughout their history most leaders of Israel repeatedly rejected God's messengers, a point Jesus made in the following parable (Mark 12:1-12)." [ref] Here we find a specific instance of a general principle: "Christ's opponents failed to see the truth because they hardened themselves against it. The reason why many people know so little about Jesus and about the joy of living the Christian life is that they refuse to submit themselves to his will." [ref]  As Jesus said elsewhere: "'My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own'" (John 7:16-17). [ref]

HEAR (heart)
The Open Door

The story is told of a girl who turned her back on her widowed mother who had worked so hard to bring her up, and left home without telling her mother where she was going. Night after night the mother waited for the girl, but she did not come back.

In her perplexity and sorrow the mother went to her pastor to ask his help. He suggested that she have some pictures taken of herself and bring them to him, which she did. Then he asked her what message she wanted to send her lost girl. In tears the mother said, "All I want to tell her is 'Come back.'" "Write that on each picture," said the minister, and then he proceeded to send these pictures to places of amusement in other large towns which he felt the daughter was most likely to frequent. He requested that the picture be posted on the bulletin board where it could be easily seen.

One night, the daughter came to one of these places and was attracted by something familiar about the picture on the bulletin board. Little did she imagine that it could be her mother's picture. She came closer to it, and there it was - her own mother, looking much older than when she had left. The she saw what was written on it, "Come back," and knew it was addressed to her. She could not proceed with her plans for that night. With a heart burning with remorse, she went back to her room, packed her clothes, and took the first train home.

Arriving in the early hours of the morning, she was surprised to find the door of the little apartment open; in she went. There was her mother in tears, not sleeping, but sitting up, praying for her prodigal daughter. She threw her arms around her, and the first thing she asked when she could speak was, "Mother, why did you leave the door open?" "Oh, Louise, the door has never been closed since the day you left. I left it open all the time expecting your return. I didn't want you to find it shut when you came back." [ref] (paraphrased)

To reject Jesus Christ is to reject God's love and to wander aimlessly in a world filled with many distractions but no real peace. To embrace Jesus Christ is to experience the patient, long-suffering love of God that is something like returning home after a long absence to find the front door unlocked in anticipation of our return.

DO (hands)
"These religious leaders [who confronted Jesus] were concerned about authority. They wanted to keep theirs, and they knew Jesus' teaching was challenging their power structure. Their actions illustrate the potential for spiritual blindness of those in power in the church. Although bishops, pastors, and deacons hold important positions, wrong motives can render them ineffective. These Pharisees had the power to renew Jewish faith, but they would neither change the religion nor let anyone else do it. They challenged Jesus' authority, but they had no real spiritual insight or power of their own. If you hold a position of leadership in the church, base that authority on a heart for God and a desire for service." [ref] 

"These religious leaders were afraid of the crowd's reaction. They had not loved the people or led them properly. All they wanted was to stay on top. Proverbs 29:25 says, 'The fear of others lays a snare' (NRSV). Christian leaders must not give in to public opinion and pressure. They must stay faithful to God whether people praise or condemn. Don't use people to gain support. Don't let circumstances or people's expectations sway you. Stand true to God, and you will have no need to fear the crowd." [ref]