Mark 11:1-11
When 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 has yet sat; untie it and bring it here. And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?' say, ‘The Lord has need of it'; and immediately he will send it back here." They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. And some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. And 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!" And 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.

† The triumphal entry fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, declaring Jesus as the humble yet victorious King.
† The people shouted for salvation, yet many would soon reject Him.
† His entrance into the temple signaled coming judgment on its corruption.

Mark 11:12-14
On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing from 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. And He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening.

† The fig tree symbolized fruitless Israel, outwardly alive but barren.
† The curse foreshadowed the judgment coming upon Jerusalem.
† This acted parable pointed to the end of the Old Covenant age.

Mark 11:15-19
Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple grounds. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because the entire crowd was astonished at His teaching. And whenever evening came, they would leave the city.

† The cleansing of the temple exposed its corruption and misuse.
† His actions directly challenged the authority of the religious leaders.
† This was a prophetic act of judgment against the temple system.

Mark 11:20-26
As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. And being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree that You cursed has withered." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to 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 to you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your offenses."

† The withered tree confirmed the fate of fruitless Israel.
† Faith could move mountains — including the looming obstacle of the temple system.
† Forgiveness marked the new covenant community in contrast to the hard-hearted leaders.

Mark 11:27-33
They came again to Jerusalem, and as He was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?" But Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me." They began discussing this among themselves, saying, "If we say, ‘From heaven,' He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?' But shall we say, ‘From men'?"—they were afraid of the people, for they all considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things."

† The leaders' refusal to answer exposed their cowardice and unbelief.
† They feared people more than God, revealing their hypocrisy.
† Jesus' authority stood self-evident, confirmed by His works and fulfillment of prophecy.

How it applies to us today:
† Mark 11 reveals Jesus as the King who entered Jerusalem, judged the temple, and declared the coming end of fruitless religion. The fulfilled perspective shows us that His warnings were realized in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed. For us today, this chapter calls us to bear fruit in His kingdom, trust His authority, and live by faith that forgives and overcomes.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

Source Index
† Josephus, Wars 6.4.3
† Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius 300
† Tacitus, Histories 5.13
† Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.36.1