June 21, 2009
Sermon #790
Fig Leaf Religion
Mark 11:12 - 24 (NKJV) 12Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it. 15So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”
18And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19When evening had come, He went out of the city. 20Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
ILL: There are many kinds of parables. Some are told as stories, some are acted out, some are illustrated by actions. What we have just looked at is a parable that is illustrated by actions. Jesus is the creator of the earth.
John 1:1 - 14 (NKJV) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus made the fig tree. He knew how it worked and He knew its times and seasons. Mark writes, “When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.” Yet Jesus cursed the tree – the only negative miracle He ever preformed – and the giver of Life brought death. WHY?
The fig tree is a type of Israel
The fruit of the tree can be both good and bad
Hosea 9:10 (NKJV) 10“I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved.
Jeremiah 24:1 - 10 (NKJV) 1The Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.” 4Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.
6For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. 8‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”
The fruit of the temple (religion) had become bad fruit and therefore was cursed.
Mark 13:1 - 2 (NKJV) 1Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” 2And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
ILL: Titus of Rome in 70AD fulfilled this word.
The second symbol of the fig leaf
Genesis 3:1 - 13 (NKJV) 1Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The original clothing was righteousness
Psalm 132:8 - 9 (NKJV) 8Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 9Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And let Your saints shout for joy.
Who were they hiding their nakedness from? - God
ILL: All self – righteousness is an attempt to hide from God! But when you are wearing only a “fig leaf” there is an awful lot of you exposed.
ILL: All religion is a fig leaf!
Some Religious “fig leaves”
Baptism
1 Corinthians 1:14 - 19 (NKJV) 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
ILL: When I was eight years old my mother told me “Paul Jr. you want to go to heaven when you die so you must be baptized. They bought me a white suit which I liked. Then they put me under water and wet my new suit which I did not like. Now that I was “baptized” I could go to heaven. That wet white suit did not make me righteous but for twenty years I thought it did!
Romans 10:5 - 13 (NKJV) 5For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
ILL: “But pastor I was baptized as a baby” So What! What someone else did for you cannot make you righteous.
Church membership
ILL: Attending a garage will not make you a car! The Baptist used to sing “Will there be any stars in your crown?” And the Methodist sang, “No not one!”
What you eat or drink or wear
Romans 14:14 - 18 (NKJV) 14I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
ILL: When I was a Mormon I could not drink coke, tea or coffee and get a temple recommend so that I could go to a higher heaven. When I in a Baptist church I could not dance, go the the movies, or play sports on Sunday. I would not lose my salvation – maybe? Grandmother was a Methodist so she had to wear long black dresses, Mary’s Mother was a Pentecostal so she could not wear makeup.
ILL: All of these things are “fig leaves” attempts to appear righteous!
The Olive tree
Zechariah 4:1 - 7 (NKJV) 1Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. 7‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
This ties into what Jesus said after cursing the fig tree
Mark 11:20 - 24 (NKJV) 20Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” 22So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
The Grace of God “Righteousness” is like olive oil – you cannot see it but it protects and makes you shine
ILL: It’s all faith!
ILL: When the storms of life come fig leaves wash off and sink but the storm just runs off the oil and oil always comes to the top.
Hebrews 1:8 - 9 (NKJV) 8But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
ILL: Why they could not see, or understand Jesus. All the clothing and tapestry of the priests could be seen but not the anointing. It’s not physical therefore not recognized. When all you are wearing is oil you embarrass people. It’s like the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes everything was fine until they released that he wasn’t wearing any!
