THE CALL TO FAITH

THE CALL TO FAITH

Mark 11:1-25

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

Palm Sunday, March 16, 2008

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” says the book of Ecclesiastes in a familiar passage. And in that familiar passage, it is also stated that there is “…a time to be silent and a time to speak.”[i]

After so many occasions when Jesus told His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ - to be silent about it - the time to be silent was no more. Now was the time to sound forth the news that Jesus was in fact the long-awaited Messiah and King. The day we call Palm Sunday was a day when secrecy was cast to the wind. Jesus deliberately arranged the details of His entry into Jerusalem so that His true identity would be made clear to all, from the fulfilled prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, to greetings in the way of royalty, to the cries of “Hosanna” and “Save (us)” or “Save (now)!” from the Messianic psalm of Psalm 118.

If anyone doubted this new stage of openness on the part of Jesus as the Messiah, there came about the demonstrable event of the very next day. We are told that Jesus on Monday “overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves” – as Temple authorities had been changing money into Temple coinage and selling animals for sacrifice for a tremendously huge profit. This occurred in the court of the Gentiles, the only place where Gentiles were allowed. With demonstrated zeal and authority, Jesus rebuked them and reminded them of the Scripture in saying, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

In the midst of such public events, however, Jesus wanted to teach His disciples a vivid lesson about faith. It began on Monday, when Jesus and the Twelve were leaving Bethany to return for Jerusalem. “Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, (Jesus) 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. Then He said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And His disciples heard Him say it.”

On the Mount of Olives, fig trees are found to be in leaf by early April. But these same trees would not have any ripe fruit until two months later in June. So, what would Jesus be saying here?

In the prophetic books of the Old Testament, fig trees were often associated with Israel and with judgment.[ii] What Jesus was doing here was that He was acting out a parable. The presence of leaves might indicate the presence of fruit, as some fig trees do bear fruit out of season. The fig tree thus reminded Jesus of the acts of hypocrisy on the part of the Jewish leaders.

During the next morning on Tuesday, as they were passing by that same tree, the twelve discovered that the tree had “withered from the roots.” As the spokesman for the group, Peter spoke out and said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” The meaning of the parable is suddenly becoming clear, quite clear. As judgment came upon the fig tree, so would judgment fall on Israel.

As one commentator puts it, “Just as the leaves of the tree concealed the fact that there was no fruit to enjoy, so too the magnificence of the Temple and its ceremony conceals the fact that Israel has not brought forth the fruit of righteousness demanded by God.” [iii] What we see then is a declaration by Jesus that the fig tree’s fate would be the Temple’s fate – and the Temple was in fact destroyed by the Romans forty years later in 70 A.D.

This opens up an even more pertinent teaching moment for Peter and the others as Jesus calls them to faith: “Have faith in God. 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. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.”

Just as the withered fig tree was a staggering and extravagant object lesson, Jesus continued in using figurative language to put forth another teaching moment before His beloved disciples. Now, He does not mean that the Mount of Olives could be hurled into the Dead Sea, nor will the mountains literally move if we have enough faith. Nor does this mean that we will receive anything and everything we ask for in prayer. If this were true, prayer would be transformed into a kind of magic and even more so, God would be changed into a kind of celestial Santa Claus who would be required to fulfill our every wish. What then, would Jesus be saying to Peter, the Twelve, and to us?

THE CALL TO FAITH

First of all, there is a call to faith as we hear the words, “Have faith in God.” Jesus calls to the Twelve and to us to place our faith in God. But what is faith? We use the word so often, but what do we mean by it? Is it hope or desire or even wishful thinking on our part?

I appreciate how William Hendriksen describes faith for us in saying that it is: “The soul’s window through which God’s love comes pouring in; the open hand whereby man reaches out to God, the Giver; the coupling that links man’s train to God’s engine; the trunk of salvation’s tree, whose root is grace, and whose fruit is good works.”

He also states that faith found in the Bible was “the means of Abraham’s justification; the magnet that drew Moses away from the pleasures of Egypt, so that he threw in his lot with God’s sorely afflicted people; the force that overthrew Jericho’s wall; the secret that enabled Ruth to make her stirring confession; the weapon that killed Goliath and destroyed Sennacherib’s host; the deciding factor in Carmel’s contest; the shield that protected Job in the midst of his trials; the muzzle that closed the mouth of Daniel’s lions; the remedy that cured the centurion’s servant and many others.”

In addition, Hendriksen states that Scripture also describes faith as “leaning on the everlasting arms; committing one’s ways to the Lord, trusting in Him, knowing that He will do whatever is best; receiving the kingdom (or rule) of God as a little child; being sure of what we hope for, and being convinced of what we do not see; the victory that overcomes the world.” [iv]

Faith is all of this and most of us, I suppose, understand the kind of faith to which we are called. And the realm where faith is so often exercised? It is that of prayer.

THE CALL TO FAITH-FILLED,

BELIEVING PRAYER

At first glance, the promise of Jesus is astounding: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” It’s a promise so astounding that some commentators have stated that such a promise was restricted to the Apostles only, looking to all of their Spirit endued signs and miracles. But many more have been convinced that such a promise is given to all of us, when held in harmony with the characteristics of true and sincere prayer that the Bible reveals elsewhere.

For example, the Westminster Larger Confession asks the question, “How should we pray?” Revealing the many characteristics of prayer that are found in Scripture, the answer is given: “In prayer, we should approach God with a reverent awareness of His majesty and a deep sense of our unworthiness, inadequacies and sins. Our hearts should be filled with repentance, thanks, and confidence, and our prayers should be marked by understanding, faith, sincerity, fervor, love, and perseverance, while we wait on Him and humbly submit to His will.” [v]

Prayer, you see, is as multi-dimensional as is our relationship with God, who delights in our prayers. Our posture in prayer will always reflect the depth of the relationship we have between ourselves and God. If it is a superficial relationship, our prayers will be superficial. If it is a deeper relationship, our prayers will also run deeper.

Perhaps a parallel passage will help us on this subject of faith and prayer, one taken from the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus gives yet another invitation for us to pray: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” What a wonderful, seemingly open-ended invitation! But Jesus goes on to say, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” [vi]

Most parents know full well about giving to their children – the delight in having their children ask them for things; the delight of parents in giving them what they ask for; but also having the wisdom, discernment and love to know what is best, including when to withhold, or when to give something entirely different. We can go to our heavenly Father in prayer with faith-filled confidence in knowing that the same principles apply – that He delights in our asking, finds joy in giving to us, and in the depths of infinite wisdom and love, knows what is best for us, including when to withhold or when to give something else.

The confidence of faith, you see, lies not in expecting to have precisely what we ask for just because we think we have the faith to believe it. No, the confidence of faith lies in expecting to have what is best for us because we have placed our faith not in the prayer itself, but in God.

I was reminded of this the other day as I was reading J.I. Packer’s book, Praying: Finding Our way through Duty to Delight. In this wonderful book, Dr. Packer speaks of the reality of prayer in not being answered according to the terms of our own asking. Dr. Packer then cites the experience of one who wrote that he had asked

for strength that he might achieve; he was made weak that he might obey. He asked for health that he might do greater things; He was given infirmity that he might do better things. He asked for riches that he might be happy; He was given poverty that he might be wise. He asked for power that he might have the praise of men; he was given weakness that he might feel the need of God. He asked for all things that he might enjoy life; He was given life that he might enjoy all things. He has received nothing that he asked for, but all that he hoped for. His prayer is answered. [vii]

Before a withered fig tree, Peter and the other disciples heard the call from Jesus: “Have faith in God.”

Dear friends, let us remember that this is a call for us as well, as we hear the Lord saying to us: “Have faith in God!” “Have faith in God!”