Making Room for Jesus / Mark 11:1-26

Alright, church. Grab your Bibles; we’ve got some work to do this evening. Mark chapter 11 is where we’re going to be.

As you’re turning there, I want you to consider an image. Imagine that as you’re turning in your Bible right now to Mark chapter 11, the lights go off. It gets dark, smoke begins to fill the stage, laser beams turn on, strobe lights start flashing, and a deep beating bass drum starts pounding. Then I come out and say, “Hey, who’s ready to get this party started?” trying to emotionally provoke a response from you. First, you’d probably throw up in your mouth a little and think, What church did I just come to? But then you might be impressed by the entrance, right?

We are a society that loves big entrances. It was five years ago this week that arguably one of the best basketball players in the history of the NBA sat down in front of millions on television and said, “I’m taking my talents to South Beach.” Why? He could have done what the other hundred athletes in the NBA do: sign his deal and get on to playing basketball. Maybe you’re a baseball fan. Maybe you’re a Giants fan or a Dodgers fan. If you’ve ever been to a live baseball game, each batter has their own walk-up song—rap, country, techno, whatever it is. It’s their little fifteen-second musical intro to get them mentally focused. Or maybe you go all the way back to when I was a kid and you think of the early days of the WWF. Boy, those guys knew how to come into the ring! Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Junkyard Dog. Half of you are thinking, Who are those people? But they came with pop and sizzle.

Today, you’re going to see an entry into the final week of Jesus’ life that is completely unassuming. Your Bible heading probably says “The Triumphal Entry” above Mark 11. Those headings were added later to help us navigate the text, just like the chapter and verse numbers. They aren’t in the original manuscripts. I think a better name would have been “The Unassuming Entry.” Even though it is significant in so many ways, people missed it.

The bottom line in our time together is this: if you think your religious activities, your religious words, or your religious show earn you something with Jesus, they don’t. They don’t at all. Jesus is going to address this in a variety of ways, showing us the upside-down thinking of the Kingdom of God. It’s not about pop and sizzle; it’s about humility and following the Servant King. It’s not about our business, our economy, or what we do with our money for Jesus; it’s about making room in our hearts for Him to be the one thing we worship. Then, we’ll see a stark illustration of what happens when God’s people fail to bear fruit.

The Unassuming King

Look with me at the first three verses of Mark 11.

Mark 11:1-3 (NASB)

As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, and said to them, ’Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied [there], on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it [here]. ’If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.’

Jesus sends His disciples to find a colt on which no one has ever sat. That means it is wild, untamed, and unbroken. It probably needed extensive training before anyone could ride it, but our King can tame the untamable. Notice Jesus’ supernatural foresight: He knows exactly where the colt is, what the owners will say, and how they will respond.

Mark 11:4-7 (NASB)

They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. Some of the bystanders were saying to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ They spoke to them just as Jesus had told [them], and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it.

They bring the colt to Jesus and throw their cloaks on it, showing honor, authority, and respect.

Mark 11:8-10 (NASB)

And many spread their coats in the road, and others [spread] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 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!’

To understand what is happening here, you have to realize that the Passover festival has begun. Literally everybody and their mother is coming to Jerusalem. This was the time when the high priest would sacrifice the Passover lamb to atone for the sins of the nation. Jew and Gentile alike flooded the city. Historians estimate nearly a million people packed into Jerusalem during this time, which was unheard of in the ancient world.

The religious temperature was at its absolute peak. Think of the heightened spiritual awareness people feel around Christmas or Easter, full of Christian language and activity. That was Jerusalem during Passover.

Yet, here comes Jesus riding on a colt. This fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 that the King would come lowly, riding on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9 (NASB)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout [in triumph], O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The people wanted a completely different kind of leader. They didn’t want a king on a donkey; they wanted a conqueror on a white warhorse—groomed, trained, saddled, and battle-ready. They wanted a political Messiah who would overthrow the Roman Empire, establish the nation of Israel, and take charge like a powerful new ruler.

Instead, Jesus comes unassumingly. The crowd shouts, “Hosanna!” which means “God save us!” They were chanting the Hallel Psalms—Psalms 113 through 118—as they ascended the temple steps.

Psalms 118:25-26 (NASB)

O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

It was loud, emotional, and intensely religious. But it is entirely possible to have religious words and religious actions while your heart remains miles away from God. A religious show might make us feel good in a crowd, but it is never a substitute for individual commitment to God. They rolled out the red carpet, but they completely missed who Jesus really was.

Making Room in the Temple

Look at verse 11:

Mark 11:11 (NASB)

Jesus entered Jerusalem [and came] into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

If this had been a true political triumph, the crowd would have crowned Him right then and there. Instead, Jesus walks into the temple, looks around like a tourist taking everything in, and leaves because it was late.

He saw the hubbub of commerce. Three types of currency were in circulation at that time: Roman, Greek, and Jewish. But the temple tax could only be paid using Jewish coins. So, if you were visiting from out of town with Roman or Greek money, you had to visit the money changers. Naturally, those exchangers charged hefty fees to make a profit. Furthermore, worshipers needed animals to sacrifice—pigeons, doves, or bulls. Vendors realized that prime real estate was right next to the altar, so what was supposed to take place outside the temple had moved directly onto the Temple Mount.

Herod had expanded the Temple Mount to thirty-five acres. God designed the layout so that Gentiles—which includes you and me, those outside the covenant of Israel—had a specific place to seek and worship Him called the Court of the Gentiles. It was a massive outer courtyard. But the religious leaders had filled that exact space with livestock, bird cages, and currency exchange tables.

Jesus saw this, and it stayed with Him overnight. Look at what happens the next day in verse 15:

Mark 11:15-17 (NASB)

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He [began] to teach and say to them, ’Is it not written, ’MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS ‘? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.’

Jesus returns and clears the court. In other Gospels, we read that He fashioned a whip. In righteous indignation, He flips over the tables, scatters the coins, and opens the cages. People had also been using the Court of the Gentiles as a shortcut to carry goods across the city, so He blocked the thoroughfare.

Then He quotes Isaiah 56:

Isaiah 56:7 (NASB)

Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.’

Jesus uses their own Scriptures against their religious hypocrisy. Who has the authority to walk into the temple and call it “My house”? Only Jesus.

This isn’t just an object lesson on the dangers of greed. Jesus was literally clearing out the clutter to make room for outsiders to worship the one true God. He made room for you and me. He declared that His house must be a house of prayer and communion with God, not a place of empty religious hustle.

Look at how the religious leaders responded:

Mark 11:18-19 (NASB)

The chief priests and the scribes heard [this], and [began] seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. When evening came, they would go out of the city.

They didn’t just want to silence Him; they wanted to destroy Him. Yet they were paralyzed by fear because the crowds were astonished at His authority.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

Now let’s back up to the story of the fig tree that frames this temple cleansing. Look at verse 12:

Mark 11:12-14 (NASB)

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went [to see] if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again!’ And His disciples were listening.

This incident seems strange at first glance. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree for not having fruit when it wasn’t the season for figs? Critics have tried to use this passage to claim Jesus made an error. But if you understand agriculture—and living here in the Central Valley, we know the hard work of growing food—the context makes perfect sense.

In Israel, fig season runs through June, July, and August. However, in April (the month of Passover), fig trees produce a pre-fruit crop known as the breba on the previous year’s growth, alongside full foliage. This early crop was often eaten by travelers and the poor. More importantly, if a tree had a full canopy of leaves in April, it was an outward promise that the tree had early fruit and would yield a full harvest in the summer.

Jesus walked up to a tree that looked vibrant and healthy from a distance, but upon closer inspection, it had leaves and no fruit. It was all show. So, He cursed it.

Look at what the disciples discover the next morning:

Mark 11:20-21 (NASB)

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots [up]. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered.’

The tree had withered completely down to its roots. Jesus used this living parable to show what happens to a religious system that puts on a great outward display of spirituality but bears no actual spiritual fruit.

Faith That Moves Mountains

Jesus immediately turns this into a lesson on genuine kingdom living:

Mark 11:22-24 (NASB)

And Jesus answered saying to them, ’Have faith in God. ’Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be [granted] him. ’Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be [granted] you.

How do you know if you are bearing fruit rather than living as a religious hypocrite? It begins with faith. Jesus tells them, “Have faith in God.”

Now, many churches take these verses completely out of context. If I wanted to manipulate you, I could stand up here and say, “If your faith is big enough, you’ll find that spouse! Your cancer will vanish! You’ll land that dream job and make millions! Just have enough faith and empty your pockets into the offering plate!”

That is a lie from the pit of hell. If you ever attend a church that measures God’s blessing by the amount of money you give, run away. This church was built on the backs of college students who didn’t have money, but who gave the only thing that truly mattered: their very lives.

Jesus is using hyperbole—an exaggeration for emphasis—to teach His disciples that God can accomplish what seems humanly impossible. He wasn’t promising a prosperity gospel; He was preparing these men for the brutal persecution ahead. Within a week, Peter—the one pointing out the withered roots—would deny knowing Jesus three times to a servant girl. Jesus was anchoring their faith in the power of God, because their own strength was about to fail them.

Forgiveness as Fruit

Then Jesus gives them the second vital mark of a fruitful life:

Mark 11:25 (NASB)

’Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

I am convinced that if we are not careful, church, the sin of gossip will destroy us from the inside out. When we feel entitled to share information that isn’t ours to tell, or when we cut people down with slanderous opinions, we destroy community. The church quickly degenerates into an immature junior high lunch table full of division and cliques.

That dynamic ends when we choose to forgive. Does forgiveness mean forgetting overnight? No. But we forgive because we have been forgiven an insurmountable debt. These disciples were about to step into a hostile world and offer God’s grace to the very people persecuting them.

We cannot earn forgiveness from Jesus. It doesn’t matter how many times you attend church, how many chapters of Scripture you read, or how many theology books you study. Forgiveness is an unearned gift received by faith through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When you realize that you were a sinner facing condemnation and yet received complete mercy, you are empowered to extend that same grace to people who don’t deserve it.

They teach you in preaching classes never to preach a message that hasn’t first wrecked you personally. This week was deeply convicting for me. I was wrestling with my own faith regarding a difficult situation, and I was also furious because someone had gossiped about me just to look important. I was angry. I was ready to hold onto that grudge.

Then I read verse 25, and the Holy Spirit convicted my heart: You want to preach on this? What about verse 25? I had to lay down my anger and forgive.

The true marks of a follower of Jesus are unwavering faith in God and radical, freely offered forgiveness.

Where do you need to respond tonight? Does your faith need to be renewed? Do you need to trust Jesus with an impossible situation? Or is the Holy Spirit bringing a specific face to your mind right now—someone you need to call and say, “I forgive you”?

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for Your Word. We are grateful for Scriptures that challenge us, shape us, and reveal the truth of our hearts. As we respond tonight, help us examine the fruit we are bearing. We don’t want to be like that fig tree—putting on a flashy religious show while remaining spiritually barren. Strengthen our faith in You, and make us a people defined by radical forgiveness, remembering just how much You have forgiven us. We pray these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.