Mark 12:1-12 - The Wicked Tenants

Jesus is teaching in the temple. He has just been confronted by representatives of the Sanhedrin asking him, demanding to know, by what authority he does these things. “These things” certainly includes his teaching, but it also includes his overturning of the tables of the money changers and his driving out those who sold animals there. “These things” include his pronouncement of judgment on those who were in charge of the temple, and the temple itself.




Jesus’s response to the challenge of his authority was to ask his challengers whether John the Baptist was from God or not. They declined to answer and so Jesus declined to answer their challenge. Inherent in the answer to Jesus’s question was the answer to their challenge to Jesus. But because they did not want to face up to his question, they exposed themselves as unworthy to challenge Jesus on his authority. Chapter eleven ended right there.

But when chapter twelve begins the scene has not changed. We are still in the same place—the temple grounds, probably Solomon’s porch—and at the same moment. Immediately after their challenge Jesus turns to the crowd and gives a devastating parable. That parable is the subject of this sermon I preached back in December. It is the parable of the wicked tenants.

The audio of this sermon. Is found at the link below. When you click on the link a new window will open up in your browser. The website opened is located within the domain of SoundCloud and it will allow you to either stream the sermon for immediate listening or download it for later. I hope you will take the time to do that. Just click the link below. God bless.

Click here: Mark 12:1-12 - The Wicked Tenants


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Mark 11:27-33 - The Authority of Jesus

An alternative title I gave to this sermon was “Jesus—Lord of the Temple.” This is the last of four sermons from Mark 11, four sermons dealing with Jesus’ inspection of and judgment of the Temple and his rejection of Second Temple Judaism. The Message of the entire chapter could not be more clear. What was taking place was not the true worship of Yahweh God of Israel and Yahweh God of Israel has come to judge and replace it with what God intended for it to be all along. 




But this last sermon from chapter eleven is less about the Temple and more about the one whom the Temple represented and pointed forward to—namely Jesus. Here is a portion of my introduction to this sermon:

“As I’ve already said, the temple was the center of Jewish worship. It had replaced the tabernacle which had dated back to the time of Moses. It was the center of all priestly activity and the priests rotated in and out of service there on an annual basis. And the Jewish people made regular pilgrimages there from as far away as Rome, wherever they had been scattered in the dispersion. At least once, if not twice a year the faithful would make the long trek up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover or Yom Kippur or whatever the occasion might be.

And now Jesus has come and made inspection, and rebuked its leadership and pronounced doom upon it, and in so doing has displayed an audacious claim to authority. Who does he think he is? Well, he’s acting in the role of a prophet, but as we will see as we consider this incident this morning, he is claiming even more authority than that. So let’s look at it.“

I hope that you will take the time to listen to the audio of the sermon, which I’ve linked below. Just click the link and a new window will open up in your browser and you’ll be able to stream the audio or download it for later listening. God bless you!

Click here: Mark 11:27-33 - The Authority of Jesus


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Mark 11:12-14, 20-25 - Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

The week before I preached this sermon, when I put the sermon text and title on our church sign, I thought about calling it “Jesus Curses” just for the fun and the reaction. But since I don’t really like the idea of turning the church into a circus I didn’t do it. But in this portion of Mark 11 Jesus does curse. He curses a fig tree. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree? And why here in Mark 11? Well, that’s what this sermon is about.




What makes this particular incident even more difficult to comprehend is the apparent “innocence” of the tree. Mark informs us that it wasn’t even the right time of year for ripe figs, but Jesus looks for figs and, not finding any, curses the tree for its fruitlessness. On the surface it all seems rather odd. However, there is a point to it. All of it is tied into the temple and what Jesus is doing there. For a full explanation just listen to the sermon. I’ve linked the audio below. Just click and go. God bless!


Click here: Mark 11:12-14, 20-25 - Jesus Curses a Fig Tree


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Mark 11:11-19 - Judgment of the Temple

If you’re keeping track, this is the 45th sermon I preached from the gospel of Mark and I preached it back in November. This is the second sermon in Act 3 of Mark’s gospel. Act 3 covers chapters 11-16–the final week of Jesus’ life on earth. In the last sermon he entered Jerusalem on what is now known as Palm Sunday. That pericope ended ominously with Jesus entering the temple and looking around before leaving the city for the night. In this sermon Jesus enters the temple again, the next day, and this time renders a verdict on it. I called the sermon the “Judgment of the Temple.” Below is my introduction.




“This is another of those incidents recorded in all four gospels. Mark, along with Matthew and Luke, place it within the passion week. John has it early on (in chapter 2) of his gospel. While it is not impossible that Jesus did this twice, we already know that the gospel writers did not shape their gospels chronologically. That’s the stuff of biography—and modern biography is not what the gospels are. 

Although many well-intentioned and sometimes excellent synopses have been attempted to harmonize the gospels, in the end that’s not the way the evangelists intended to tell their history, nor is it the way God chose to inspire the texts. That sort of expectation is something we moderns bring with us to the text. What we are given are gospels, not biographies, and they are very powerful just the way they are written, just the way God intended. So whether Jesus did this once or twice, in the end is irrelevant. And what we believe on the matter is certainly not a test of orthodoxy.

Last week we entered Jerusalem with Jesus. He entered as Messiah—made his entrance, orchestrating it exactly so—so as to fit the Messianic prophecies. His entrance was a proclamation. Messiah had come. The Kingdom had come. Everything that happens from now until the beginning of chapter 13 centers around the Temple and all of it is significant in our understanding of the kingdom Christ came to bring, its nature, and its relationship to Old Testament Israel.

Now let’s start with the last verse we covered last week when we looked at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. . . .”

I’ve linked the audio of that sermon below. I hope you will take a few minutes and listen and that God’s word will be a blessing to you.


Click here: Mark 11:11-19 - Judgment of the Temple


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Mark 11:1-11 - The Triumphal Entry

This is the 44th sermon I preached from the gospel of Mark. It is the opening scene of the final act. This is from the introduction:

“So we have arrived at Jerusalem and Act 3 of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus will not leave here until after the resurrection in chapter 16. This last week will take up fully one third of his gospel. We have before us a climactic scene and at the same time an opening scene. This stage in the life of Jesus will bring to an end his earthly ministry, but it will also usher in the age to come.

Perhaps in recording the events here in the order that he does, Mark has an Old Testament passage about the Messiah in mind. Think about last week and the healing of blind Bartimaeus and couple it with this week and the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Mark has them happening on the same day, one in the morning, the other in the evening. Now listen to the words of Isaiah 29.

In that day the deaf shall hear

the words of a book,

and out of their gloom and darkness

the eyes of the blind shall see.

The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,

and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

—Isaiah 29:18-19

Something momentous is occurring and yet at the same time it is subdued. The message is clear—Messiah has come, but it is also downplayed and, in Mark’s gospel at least, goes hardly noticed. Let’s look at it.”

The audio file from the entire sermon is linked below. I hope you will take the time to listen and be blessed by the word of God. To listen, click the link.

Click here: Mark 11:1-11 - The Triumphal Entry

Mark 10:46-52 - The Healing of Bartimaeus

This sermon brought to an end Jesus’ journey from Caesaria Philippi to Jerusalem. We have been on that journey since the end of chapter eight. Chapter eleven will begin with Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city. But before we arrive, we must pick up one more disciple along the way.



This is one of my favorite stories from the gospel. It is rich and inspiring and encouraging. It is also a beautiful picture of grace. Bartimaeus, of course, represents us and also, in contrast to the other disciples, he represents an ideal of what a disciple should be. I preached this sermon about three months ago but it is still fresh on my memory. What a delightful story! I hope you will listen and be encouraged in your faith on your journey following Christ.

To listen to the audio, just click the link below. God bless you.


Click here: Mark 10:46-52 - The Healing of Bartimaeus


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