In my opinion the traditional Christian understanding of the chronology of the major events at the end of Jesus’ life is generally correct. The triumphal entry probably occurred on the Sunday before the Passover meal which was on Thursday evening. Jesus was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday. There are a variety of questions that can be raised about this chronology, particularly from a comparative reading of the Gospel accounts. Some argue that the triumphal entry occurred several weeks prior to the crucifixion.¹ There are difficulties in reconciling John’s account as to the relationship between the crucifixion and the Passover meal.² There are several problems of harmonization in the events leading from the entry to the cross.³ But it is beyond my scope to deal with these issues in any detail. I will assume the parameters described above and comment primarily on Mark’s apparent chronology of the intervening details.

1. THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY (11:1–11)

¹ As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. ³ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’ ”

⁴ They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, ⁵ some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” ⁶ They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. ⁷ When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!^a”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^b

¹⁰ “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest!”

¹¹ Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The triumphal entry, as it has traditionally been called, is not named for Jesus’ choice of mounts, which was a colt (probably of a donkey)⁴ rather than a great steed. It is named for the processional of the many who hailed Jesus as he came down the Mount of Olives toward the holy city. This event was a major turning point in that Jesus was publicly hailed with acclamations appropriate for the messiah. His decision to ride in on a colt so as to create a processional and in order to fulfill Zech 9:9 would presumably have encouraged those who wondered if he might be the messiah. Without explicitly making the claim, he was stirring up messianic speculation.

1–6. The Mount of Olives is a low mountain (elevation 2500 feet) located east of Jerusalem. Bethany is less than two miles from Jerusalem on the eastern side of the mountain. Bethphage was between Bethany and the city, probably about one mile east of the temple (which was on the eastern edge of the city).⁵ It is possible that Jesus had made prior arrangements with the owner of the colt. In any case he knows that whoever sees the disciples untying it will permit them to take it. The translation “The Lord needs it” may be misleading. “The Lord” translates ὁ κύριος αὐτου̂ (ho kyrios autou), literally “his lord (or master).” E.A. Judge argues that it is not a reference to Jesus as “the Lord,” but a reference to Jesus as a “legitimate claimant (‘the master’) who promises to return the animal when finished with it.”⁶ The fact that the colt had never been ridden is meant to honor Jesus, as in 1 Sam 6:7 the ark of the covenant was placed on a new cart and pulled by oxen who had never been yoked. The disciples found the colt just as Jesus had told them.

7–10. Mark’s account of the acclamation given to Jesus is brief. Many people were there and they honored Jesus in two ways. First, they spread their cloaks or fresh cut branches from the fields to make a carpet for him to ride on.⁷ Second, they formed a processional in front of and behind him and shouted words of acclamation with an allusion to Ps 118:25–26. “Hosanna,” found at the beginning and end of the acclamation, transliterates a Hebrew phrase found in Ps 118:25. In the context of Jesus’ entry into the city it is a shout of acclamation.⁸ In v. 10 “Hosanna” is expanded with “in the highest,” meaning “in the heavens.” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” is from Ps 118:26. The appropriateness of the use of Ps 118 is seen in the fact that in 12:10–11 Jesus himself cites Ps 118:22–23.

In the context of the processional and praise of Jesus, the first part of v. 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” is messianic. That is, those in the processional were acclaiming Jesus as the messiah, who would establish the kingdom of David.⁹ His mode of entry into the city encouraged this acclamation.

11. 11. Mark’s account does not say much concerning the day of the triumphal entry. Jesus did enter the temple and look around. But since it was already late in the day, he and the twelve left the city to go to Bethany for the night. He did not spend the night in Jerusalem until the night he was betrayed. Each evening he went to Bethany (11:11–12, 19; 14:3). This may be due to a desire to avoid the authorities at night, or because of the overbooking of lodging within the city due to the Passover, or simply because Jesus desired to be with someone who lived in Bethany. In 14:3 he was in Bethany at the house of Simon the Leper. John 11:1 identifies Bethany as the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
12. CURSING THE FIG TREE AND CLEANSING THE TEMPLE (11:12–19)

¹² The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:

“ ‘My house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations’^a?

But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’^b” ¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

¹⁹ When evening came, they^c went out of the city.

The two stories of the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple form another occurrence of Mark’s occasional sandwiching of two stories. The cursing of the fig tree (vv. 12–14) and the next day’s sighting of the withered tree frame the story of the cleansing of the temple. As usual, the two stories are thematically interrelated. In fact, the cleansing of the temple provides the clue to understanding what would otherwise be Jesus’ most enigmatic miracle (since it seems so out of character).

12–14. The initial time reference sets the events of vv. 12–19 on Monday, the day after the triumphal entry. V. 13 is somewhat enigmatic. Why would Jesus look for figs when they were out of season? Gundry argues plausibly that Mark deliberately does not say Jesus looked for figs, but rather that he looked for “something” (τι, ti). The earliest figs do not ripen until June. Jesus was looking for the buds which form just before and as the tree leafs. These buds may appear as early as March 1st and, although they are only marginally edible, people do eat them.¹⁰ The Mishnah refers to eating the buds when they mature, turning rosy.¹¹

Regardless of the season, making a fig tree barren seems quite out of character with Jesus’ use of his miraculous powers. But the next event in Mark’s Gospel suggests a symbolic meaning for Jesus’ unusual action. Like the two-part healing of the blind man in 8:22–26, the oddity of the fig tree miracle turns out to have a purpose. The cursing of the fig tree symbolizes God’s judgment on Israel for not bearing the fruit he wanted from the temple. It foreshadows the cleansing of the temple and ultimately the prophecy of its destruction in chapter 13. Mark observes that the disciples heard Jesus’ remark in order to set the stage for Peter’s observations about the tree on Tuesday morning (v. 21).

15–16. The temple and its precincts were grand and imposing. The area enclosed by walls had been expanded by Herod the Great to a large irregular quadrangle containing approximately 35 acres.¹² Jesus did not, of course, enter the temple itself (only priests did that), but rather the area within these walls.

The temple tax and the payments for animals sold for sacrifice were paid in shekels.¹³ Since shekels were not part of the normal Graeco-Roman coinage those who came to the temple needed to exchange their money. Those who came from a distance or who did not raise animals would need to purchase animals for sacrifice.¹⁴ (Mark refers specifically to the sale of doves, which were required for some offerings and an option for the poor for others.)¹⁵ These commercial activities were conducted in the Court of the Gentiles, the largest area within the temple walls.

Jesus’ actions are subject to more than one interpretation.¹⁶ He apparently did not disagree with the temple tax (cf. Matt 17:24–27) nor would he have disagreed with selling sacrificial animals to those who needed them. He probably objected to doing these things in the Court of the Gentiles. This interpretation may be supported by his citation of Isa 56:7 in which the house of God is described as “a house of prayer for all nations.” He may have considered the prices to be oppressive or exploitative. This interpretation is supported by the allusion to Jer 7:11 in his statement that they had turned the temple into “a den of robbers.” The fig tree incident suggests Jesus’ actions represent a symbolic destruction of the temple, a prophetic action demonstrating God’s judgment not only on the commercial activity, but on the temple and its authorities in general.¹⁷ More than one of these views may be correct. They are not mutually exclusive.

1. 16 in particular is subject to two competing interpretations. The most likely view compares Jesus’ concern to Mishnaic regulations against entering the temple area with a staff, sandals, or a wallet or using the forecourt of the temple area as “a short by-path.”¹⁸ According to this interpretation, Jesus was concerned with actions that desecrated the sanctity of the Court of the Gentiles. A less likely view takes the term σκευ̂ος (skeuos), which the NIV translates “merchandise,” to mean “vessel” and to refer to the sacred vessels used in worship. According to this view, Jesus was virtually halting temple worship itself.¹⁹
2. 17. The teachings Mark provides cast light upon the cleansing. The citation is from Isa 56:7, which in its Old Testament context refers to foreigners who serve God and offer sacrifices to him. God intended for his temple to be a place of worship not only for Jews, but also for men and women of other nations. The Court of the Gentiles, in which the commercial activities were conducted, was the place of worship for foreigners.

When Jesus makes the accusation, “You have made it ‘a den of robbers,’ ” he alludes to Jer 7:11. There, in Jeremiah’s famous temple sermon, God asked Jeremiah’s contemporaries, “has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?” It is worthy of note that the following paragraph in Jeremiah’s sermon prophesies the destruction of the temple. The destruction Jeremiah predicted took place in 587/6 b.c. In Mark Jesus will later (chapter 13) speak privately to his disciples about the destruction of the temple that would take place in a.d. 70.

18. 18. The chief priests and teachers of the law recognized that Jesus’ condemnation applied especially to them. They became fearful of Jesus’ growing popularity with the crowds and therefore sought a way to kill him. This last comment by Mark echoes the plotting of the Pharisees and Herodians in 3:6.
19. 19. Jesus and his disciples left the city to spend the night in Bethany (see 11:11–12; 14:3).
20. A LESSON FROM THE WITHERED FIG TREE (11:20–25)

²⁰ In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

²² “Have^a faith in God,” Jesus answered. ²³ “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.^b”

Tuesday morning begins with the completion of the story of the fig tree. I have already commented on the symbolic meaning of the cursing in connection with the cleansing of the temple. In the conversation which follows the disciples’ sighting of the withered tree, Peter makes a remark about the withering as illustrative of Jesus’ power. This then becomes an opportunity for Jesus to teach a lesson about faith.

20–21. The morning marks the beginning of a third day, Tuesday. Having provided only eight verses with material from Monday, Mark dwells on Tuesday from 11:20 to 13:37. On the way back into Jerusalem the disciples saw the withered fig tree. Peter’s remarks about it set the stage for Jesus’ subsequent comments.

22–24. Mark repetitively emphasizes the importance of faith and this is perhaps the most striking treatment of this important aspect of the Christian life. Jesus exhorts the disciples to have faith in God.²⁰ Using the Mount of Olives as an example, Jesus says that one who has faith without doubt could even command the mountain to throw itself into the sea.²¹ Two parallel statements urge the disciples to greater faith: “if anyone … does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him” and “believe that you have received [whatever you ask for in prayer], and it will be yours.” Both statements have a hyperbolic element. In the first case a hyperbole is found in the request of a mountain jumping into the sea. In the second a hyperbolic element is found in the tense of the verb receive: “believe that you have received it.”²² A literalistic understanding of these two statements would involve faith not only in God but also in our own ability to ask for the right things. Jesus’ own example in Mark 14:36 suggests that faithful prayer is made with the qualification that God’s will be done (cf. Matt 6:10). However, it is important not to blunt the force of these verses in Mark 11. Many times Christians do not receive what they ask for because they doubt God’s ability or concern. These verses, along with James 1:5–8, are clarion calls to faith in God.

25. 25. This verse is connected to the context by emphasizing another aspect of effective prayer. If we want God to forgive us, we must forgive others. Prayers are hindered both by lack of faith and by an inability to forgive, common maladies among ancient and modern people.²³
26. ANOTHER SERIES OF CONTROVERSIES WITH THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES (11:27–12:44)

Mark 2:1–3:6 contains a series of five controversies between Jesus and the religious authorities culminating in their decision to destroy him. The controversy continues in the succeeding narrative in 3:22–30; 7:1–23; 8:11–13; 9:14; and 10:1–9. It resumes with a vengeance after the cleansing of the temple which provoked the opponents of Jesus to begin looking for a way to kill him right away. The last story of chapter 11 and all seven segments of chapter 12 describe elements of the conflict during the last week.

1. The Question about Authority (11:27–33)

²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The attacks made by the religious authorities typically take the form of questions. The question about the authority for Jesus’ actions stems naturally from his bold act of cleansing the temple. It gets to the heart of the issue between Jesus and the religious authorities. They do not believe his teachings and actions are authorized by God.

27–28. For the third day in a row Jesus went into the temple. The questions were asked by the triumvirate first encountered in 8:31 in Jesus’ prediction concerning his death: the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. The two questions were interrelated. They wanted to know what authority Jesus had to do these things and who gave it to him. The questions arise from Jesus’ presumptive act of cleansing the temple on the day before.

29–30. Jesus answered their question with one of his own, calculated both to indirectly answer their question and to simultaneously embarrass them before the people. He refuses to answer their question directly unless they answer his. The reference to John’s baptism is a metonymy²⁴ for all of John the Baptist’s work. “From heaven” is a common Jewish circumlocution for “from God,” used in order to preserve the sanctity of the divine name.²⁵ It too is a metonymy. Jesus wanted to know if one who gave John the Baptist his authority was God. Since John testified to Jesus (1:7–8) the correct answer to Jesus’ question would lead to the correct answer about Jesus’ own authority.

31–33. Jesus knew the dilemma he was creating for the religious authorities. They, of course, did not believe John was authorized by God. On the other hand, John’s status as a prophet sent by God was widely accepted (Mark hyperbolically says “everyone”) among the people. The religious authorities were concerned about public opinion (cf. 11:18; 12:12, 38–40; 14:1–2) and refused to answer Jesus’ question.^[1]

 

¹ Lane, pp. 390–91, 401, 405, 489.

² See the discussion in Blomberg, Historical Reliability, pp. 175–178.

³ Some of these issues are taken up in Blomberg, Historical Reliability, pp. 113–189.

^a A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise; also in verse 10

^b Psalm 118:25, 26

⁴ Lane, p. 391 n. 2.

⁵ On these three locations see Rousseau and Arav, Jesus and His World, pp. 15–16, 18–19, 210–212.

⁶ E.A. Judge, “The Regional Kanon for Requisitioned Transport,” in New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity, ed. G.H.R. Horsley (North Ryde, Australia: Macquarie University, 1976), p. 43. Of course Jesus is “the Lord.” The question is how kurios should be translated in this particular context.

⁷ Compare 2 Kgs 9:13: “They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, ‘Jehu is king!’ ”

⁸ Lane, p. 397.

⁹ Gundry, p. 632.

^a Isaiah 56:7

^b Jer. 7:11

^c Some early manuscripts he

¹⁰ Gundry, p. 636, based on eyewitness information from B.W. Bacon and others. The major option to Gundry’s approach is that of Lane, who argues that Jesus had no expectation of finding anything to eat on the fig tree. “The unexpected and incongruous character of Jesus’ action in looking for figs at a season when no fruit could be found would stimulate curiosity and point beyond the incident to its deeper significance” (p. 400).

¹¹ Shebiith 4.7.

¹² Sanders, Judaism, p. 58.

¹³ Gundry, p. 642.

¹⁴ See Deut 14:24–26.

¹⁵ Lev 1:14; 5:7, 11; 12:6, 8; 14:22, 30; 15:14, 29; Luke 2:24.

¹⁶ William R. Herzog, II, “Temple Cleansing,” in DJG, pp. 817–821.

¹⁷ Ibid., p. 817.

¹⁸ Berakoth 9.5. There is, of course, a dating problem for materials from the Mishnah, which was written about a.d. 200.

NIV The Holy Bible, New International Version

¹⁹ Wise, “Temple Cleansing,” p. 818.

^a Some early manuscripts If you have

^b Some manuscripts sins. ²⁶But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins.

²⁰ Some ancient witnesses have the less likely reading, “If you have faith in God.” The meaning would be virtually the same.

²¹ Cf. 1 Cor 13:2 “if I have a faith that can move mountains.”

²² The tense of ἐλάβετε (elabete) is aorist. There are unlikely variants using the present tense (“believe that you are receiving it”) and the future tense (“believe that you will receive it”).

²³ V. 26 is omitted in modern translations because it is omitted in the best manuscripts and appears to be a scribal addition. The teaching of v. 26, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins,” is implied by v. 25 and taught explicitly in Matt 6:15, the probable source of this scribal addition.

²⁴ A metonymy is “a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated.” Collegiate Dictionary, p. 732.

²⁵ Cf. Dan 4:26.

^[1] Allen Black, Mark, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1995), Mk 11:1–16:8.