Mark 11:1-11 Context is critical to understanding the Bible. Read the passage in context and from start to finish. I covered the idea of Coronation day in a previous study on Matthew 21. I am encouraging you to read through that commentary to gain an understanding of the prophesies that are associated with this passage. The concepts of Coronation day and the donkey where studied when we looked at the Matthew passage.

Timing is always a key to understanding the scriptures. The Jewish people were obviously going through a coronation ceremony when they welcomed Yeshua into Jerusalem. The problem of the ceremony was that it was about six months off on the Jewish calendar. Or it would seem so. The Jewish people certainly acknowledged the king on the Jewish calendar on Tishrei 1 and 2, but this was the celebration of the coronation of the king. This is one of the main elements of Rosh Hashanah. This takes place during the Gregorian month of September.

The king did not take office at this time. New kings were coronated officially just prior to Passover. The Jewish people would welcome the king into office at Passover. The month of Nisan was considered to be the beginning of the year of the kings. With this taken into consideration to throws a new twist on Passover.[i] The study of this subject is difficult. It hinges on the Passover though. When the Passover was first implemented, God changed the first of the year from Tishrei 1 to Passover (Ex 12:1-2). The celebration of the new year still takes place in Tishrei (September), but the new year does not officially take place until Passover.[ii] When the subject of coronation of the Kings is done in the Bible with this taken into account, it helps understand why they cleaned house after coronation. They were acting in accordance with the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Yeshua would be recognized as King by the people as He entered Jerusalem five days prior to Passover (John 12:1, 12). For a deeper study look at the study in Matthew which also includes the new notes from this study.

Mark 11:12-14; 20-22 The Fig Tree. When fig trees are discussed in the scriptures, they indicate a time of prosperity. The cursing of the fig tree may be symbolic of Yeshua declaring the end of the current era of prosperity for the Jews. Shortly after His death, burial and resurrection, Jerusalem will be destroyed (70 A.D.).

I did a small search through the scriptures on “fig”. The findings were interesting. The fruit is often mentioned as a common staple. Yet, the phrase “and everyone will sit under his vine and under his fig tree” occurs several times (1 Ki 4:25; 2 Ki 18:31; Micah 4:4; Nah 3:12; Hab 3:17; Hag 2:19; Zech 3:10). When destroying the prosperity of Egypt, it is stated that God struck down their vines and their fig trees, thus indicating an end to prosperity (Ps 105:33).

The most interesting verse from the Old Testament regarding the fig tree is almost quoted exactly in this passage (Jer 8:13). God brings a message of judgment against Judah since they had embraced pagan worship. They became involved in sun and star worship. Torah was moved to the back burner and almost completely forgotten. This was a blending of God’s instructions with the pagan religion. How do we know this? Jeremiah calls it “continual apostasy” (Jer 8:5). Read the entire passage for context (Jer 8:1-13).  The teachers (scribes) twisted the Word of God to a point where it turned it into a lie.

During Yeshua’s day sun worship was not taking place, however, twisting of the scriptures was taking place (Jer 8:8-9).  Oral Torah had morphed to the point to where it brought bondage to the people instead of life and liberty. Yeshua taught Torah. I have taught and firmly believe that Yeshua did not teach anything new in the New Testament. Everything He taught can be found in Torah or in other Old Testament scriptures except for the concept of the extra mile. Yeshua sought to return the people to pure Torah as it was originally written. When we read of the constant conflict between His teaching of Pure Torah and the Oral Torah that the religious leaders were teaching, Jeremiah 8 begins to make sense. Yeshua was declaring through the example of the fig tree that the time for the “lying pen of the scribes” had come to an end (Jer 8:8). The self-serving system that was in place was about to be demolished (Jer 8:9-10). Yeshua declared through the example of the fig tree that the current season would soon pass away along with its fruit (Jer 8:13).

I have often wondered at change that many Messianic believers today make. Many of us who embrace Torah and recognize the feasts and festivals of the scriptures find in them life and liberty. They are a breath of fresh air to the stuffy doctrine that has been passed down and developed in the Christian Church as a whole. The doctrine of the Church is heavily influenced by “replacement theology”. This simply means that the Jews had their chance, they blew it. God forfeited their right to become chosen people and Christians take their place. This is the greatest heresy ever conceived of. Christians are merely beginning to embrace the concepts of Torah. God has graciously allowed us to join with the Jews in an opportunity to have liberty and eternal life (Ro 11:17-27).

It is also sad to remark that a large portion of the liturgy and teaching of the Christian church revolves around pagan feasts and festivals. It is abundantly clear that Christmas, Easter, Valentines Day, All Saints Day, and a myriad of others developed as pagan worship was blended with Christian worship. Almost all of these feast days originated with the sun worship from the Greek and Roman Empires. The root of this pagan religion is found in Ba-al and Asherah worship from the Old Testament. The gods changed their names as they morphed through the changes of human rule, but their nature stayed the same. It is easy to trace sun worship back to the flood.

Another aspect of modern Christian theology is that it is heavily influenced by the Plato and Socrates. For example, our view of God and life is more platonic than it is Hebrew. God is often seen as an uncaring deity that prods people for fun instead of the caring, intimate God that we have. Life is seen as a play where we are “shadows on a wall” playing out our scripts. The connection between intimacy and life is lost even though this is the main message of Christianity. We are often trying to manufacture life from liberty without going to the roots of Torah. A study of Plato’s teachings causes many Christians to believe that he was right on the mark with his teaching. They do not realize that we are justifying theology based upon Plato by teachers that have abandoned Torah. Plato was not on the mark! Paganism was blended with Christianity and a study of Plato opens our eyes to that deception.

Many Christians will tell you that they are “New Testament” Christians meaning that the Old Testament is no longer valid. The depth of their study goes to a cursory reading of the scriptures through snippets caught as the preacher pounds the pulpit on Sunday mornings. Do you realize that less than four percent of all Christians have actually read the entire Bible from cover to cover?

Perhaps you are wondering what my tirade is all about in this discussion. The fig tree that we are looking at in this discussion is a picture of the Christian Church today (Jer 8). Yeshua declared judgment on the religious leaders and religious system of the Jews in His day because of their perversion of Torah. He came to teach pure Torah and it was rejected by the religious leaders. Therefore, God put an end to the system through the Roman Empire at 70 A.D.

Today, Messianic Christians have not returned to pure Torah, but rather to the regulations and writings of the Rabbi’s. Walking into a Messianic church is often like walking into a synagogue. The Messianic’s have embraced Jewish customs found in the Bible. They have also embraced the prayers, teachings and the very doctrines that are taught in the Talmud, which is simply Oral Torah written down. Why are we as believers returning to the Oral Torah that Yeshua fought against? Why do we refuse to return to the written Torah as Yeshua taught that brings life and liberty? Instead, we are learning how to pray the Jewish prayers and blessings in Hebrew. Our songs are morphing to Hebrew as well. I believe that we should return to the Jewish Roots (Jer 16:16). Yet, instead we embrace the very Oral Torah that Yeshua preached against. If I had a do-over and was able to wind my life back forty years, this would be the message that I would hammer from Christian Pulpits. It is time to return to the ancient paths and teach the scriptures as they are written.

[i] https://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2009/04/passover-coronation-day-for-jewish.html, accessed 7/20/19

[ii] http://www.alexisrael.org/pesach-happy-new-year, accessed 7/20/19