SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
READ Mark 11:1-33
- [vv. 1-11) Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for the final time. There are clearly lots of different expectations about His coming to the city. List all the ones you can imagine people had.
- What were Jesus’s expectations, do you think? [The clearest evidence we have of what Jesus was thinking is from Matthew 23:37-39 where He describes feeling like a mother hen: God wants to gather the chicks together, but they are all running from Him.] How does knowing this about God’s motive change the way we read this story and maybe read our own story with God too?
- If you had to identify the most important aspect of Jesus’s arrival in verses 1-11, what one word would you use? How does your one-word theme contribute to the story that follows in verses 12-33?
- (vv. 12-26] Jesus condemns a fig tree for not being ready for Him. [The story is not as anti-fruitarian as it sounds! Middle Eastern fig trees normally sprout leaves in March and about that time also begin to develop though not very tasty “early figs” that apparently are what Jesus expected to find.] But with the disappointment and the cursing of the fig tree bracketing the story of the corruption of the Temple, how do you think the two stories – tree and temple – fit together?
- The story puts our own experience of the gospel in sharp focus. Did we make ourselves ready for God’s coming to us? If not, how have we been made acceptable for God and made ready for His use?
- [vv.27-33) Mark adds this final story about the religious leaders’ sadly predictable response to Jesus, questioning His right to assert His role as King and Messiah. The striking thing about it is God’s willingness to engage with those who have so blatantly failed Him if they will turn from their stubborn independence and receive His mercy. For those of you who wouldn’t describe your story as one of spiritual or moral success, how is even this part of the story an encouragement?
READ Revelation 3:20
- Praise God that Jesus came for people whose joy would not be in something they had made or worked for, but in the joy of discovering His suitability as King and Priest for His people. Ask the LORD to restore to you that same joy of your salvation to you this week.