Apostolic Prayer: Mark 11 Meditation

Gospel of Mark teaches the Prayer of Faith

Key scriptures:

11:1 When they were getting near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent ahead two of His disciples

2 And instructed them, Go into the village in front of you, and as soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, which has never been ridden by anyone; unfasten it and bring it [here].

3 If anyone asks you, Why are you doing this? answer, The Lord needs it, and He will send it back here presently.

4 So they went away and found a colt tied at the door out in the [winding] open street, and they loosed it.

5 And some who were standing there said to them, What are you doing, untying the colt?

6 And they replied as Jesus had directed them, and they allowed them to go.

7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their outer garments upon it, and He sat on it.

8 And many [of the people] spread their garments on the road, and others [scattered a layer of] leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

9 And those who went before and those who followed cried out [ [a]with a cry of happiness], Hosanna! [Be graciously inclined and propitious to Him!] Praised and blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 Praised and blessed in the name of the Lord is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna (O save us) in the highest [heaven]!

[Here again what displayed in the eyes of the Jews is Jesus fulfilling yet again the prophecies of Isaiah and scriptures. Jew cannot take this any longer, their leadership are at stake. People will all come to Jesus, if they don't use any evil way they can to destroy this man. At the same time, the general public is not prepared for the message Jesus is bringing them either. Jesus is bringing the baptism of fire, fire that tests the heart whether we will agree with God's ways of the Spirit? Or continue in the carnal selfish ways? He comes as a humble king disguising as a peasant and a broken man riding on a donkey. This is the fire that God is testing the Heart of Jews, will you accept that I answer your prayer not in your terms not in your ways by God's way? I want humility! I want patience! I want you to see and believe. And the word of the Lord tested the Jews, and they did not past the fire. So God will have to cut off the branch and wait till the nations come in to revive it again. Jesus will have to discipline the nation until they recognize who they rejected was their king. But the second time, He will come and all Jews will repent and cry out Hosanna to the Highest, that Jesus can finally come and receive His Holy Temple. The message here is baptism of Fire!]

11 And Jesus went into Jerusalem and entered the temple [[b]enclosure]; and when He had looked around, surveying and observing everything, as it was already late, He went out to Bethany together with the Twelve [apostles].

12 On the day following, when they had come away from Bethany, He was hungry.

13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree [covered] with leaves, He went to see if He could find any [fruit] on it [[c]for in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. But when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come.

[The background of the story is important. It is prophetic in nature. What Jesus did was a prophetic act and statement to the believers. Here Jesus coming to the Temple which is the house of prayer for all nations. It is the place which should bear fruit and birth the Kingdom of God, which is symbolized by the Fig Tree. However Jesus did not find it bearing fruit, because it was not yet its season! This is speaking of Israel's salvation time was not yet. The Father was going to hid His salvation yet for another time, therefore allowing the hardness of Jewish people.]

14 And He said to it, No one ever again shall eat fruit from you. And His disciples were listening [to what He said].

15 And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple [area, the [d]porches and courts] and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the [[e]four-footed] tables of the money changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves;

16 And He would not permit anyone to carry any household equipment (Goods/baskets) through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane].

17 And He taught and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have turned it into a den of robbers.

18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard [of this] and kept seeking some way to destroy Him, for they feared Him, because the entire multitude was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

[Now here we begin to see Jesus coming to seek for fruit in the temple, yet He found it not bearing fruit of life, deviated from original intention. He found people went there for selfish gain, doing carnal activities, using the holy place for money. Other's even bringing the household equipment/baskets/goods to travel through the Temple or use them as instruments for selling and buying. People were not giving the glory and the fear that is due to the name of God, dumbing down the function and the holiness of the glory of the temple. Jesus cannot be more furious. He is the same today for His church today. Oh that the prayer room will be kept sacred and holy unto Him. Oh the the church will know they are a body called out a holy priesthood set apart unto God to be a house of all prayer for all nations. Only then the church will bear fruit, and when Jesus come He will find faith on the earth! He will find fruits of life produced from His Holy Temple which is the church. Only a fervent God fearing priests, who abides in the Vine, participate in the ministry of the Son (Namely the Great High Priest - Psalm 2, the function of the Son is Intercession), can bear much fruit, can produce lasting results of spiritual impact to all the nations of the world. Let this be a lesson to the us today!!

19 And when evening came on, He and [f]His disciples, as accustomed, went out of the city.

20 In the morning, when they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree was withered [completely] away to its roots.

[Jesus says, any branches that does not bear fruit will be cut up and thrown in the the fire. Jesus came to gather the branches that do not abide and burn them. He is here at the threshing floor with winnowing fork, separating chaffs and burn them. This is the meaning of baptism of Fire!! Fire to separate, those who have fire and functioning and bearing fruit, and those who don't have fire, are dried up and burned away. Jesus standing at the door of the church and knock.]

21 And Peter remembered and said to Him, Master, look! The fig tree which You doomed has withered away!

22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].

23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.

24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and [g]let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop.

26 [h]But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.

[Peter understands the teachings of Jesus, the lesson He was showing His disciples. Will I find faith when the Son of Man return? Will you not watch with me for an hour? Disciples understand that what Jesus is looking for in His house is a people that will a strong agreement with His heart (that is faith), which will stand through the trials and difficulties and stay faithful in the place of prayer. Jesus is looking for a people that will build up to be His Holy Temple, in which God's Spirit can dwell, and that is a House of Prayer for all nations. That in order to bear much fruit and produce lasting spiritual results is the life of prayer abiding and contending fervent intercessory prayer like Jesus demonstrated in His life time. When Jesus left, the disciples followed this footsteps and went into that upper room. They cried in one voice. Jesus you said to wait and to pray, whatever we ask you will do!! They contended day and night for the faith was strong, God you are not a man and you cannot lie, all your promise are yes and Amen. We are here to see the promise come through now!! They press in the prayer of faith, and not wavered. They believed Jesus' words with every breath and energy within their souls and stormed heaven's gates. God purposefully gave us promises, so that it'll let us know what is His will. And if we pray according to His will, He will answer. This is the criteria of prayer, must be according to His will. And through the word, He is testing the believers who will truly believe, like He tested Joseph. Who will be faithful and believe till it comes through? Now only 120 past the tests in Acts 1-2, and they saw it through and fulfilled their purpose -- a birthing house for the nations of the earth -- the temple of the Holy God. And God was not ashamed to gave them what they asked for and made their joy complete that day. Now will you be faithful and believe till the end? Come on let's pray with Real Faith and press through till the end.

Why emphasizing on forgiveness while talking on the glorious subject of prayer? Prayer is the temple the house of God. The essence of the Temple the foundation of it, is forgiveness. Jesus was also prophesying of Himself as the High Priest that will die and at once forgive the nation of Israel of their sins. This is the example that Jesus demonstrated, and therefore the whole church will have to walk in this essence of forgiveness in order for prayer to work. God's heart is that all will be saved and non will perish. That His church will be a House of prayer for the nations of the earth, that all their sins may be washed away and come to reconciliation with the Father.]

27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And when Jesus was walking about in the [[i]courts and porches of the] temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him,

28 And they kept saying to Him, By what [sort of] authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do them?

29 Jesus told them, I will ask you a question. Answer Me, and then I will tell you by what [sort of] authority I do these things.

30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer Me.

31 And they reasoned and argued with one another, If we say, From heaven, He will say, Why then did you not believe him?

32 But [on the other hand] can we say, From men? For they were afraid of the people, because everybody considered and held John actually to be a prophet.

33 So they replied to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus said to them, Neither am I going to tell you what [sort of] authority I have for doing these things.

[Jesus was convicting them by referring them to the prophets and the scriptures of old. They know that John says I am the voice of the wilderness preparing for the Son of men. And that after him will come the real King of the Jews that will show them the way. The one that will come and baptize them in fire and restore the temple. Jesus was convicting them of the truth of who He is. Even though they knew these scriptures yet out of Jealousy they will not let go of their prestigious positions and let a young man be their king let alone leader, out of pride and insecurity they ignore all facts of the prophetic word and reject the Son and His baptism of fire. Jesus was confronting their hearts. They've shown that the are dry branches and will be gathered out to be burned. John came to baptized us in water, but Jesus came to baptized us with fire. This is the exact point Jesus is making. Guys by what authority? I am the builder of the temple, I am the one to empower you with real fire and glory to restore the intention of this temple, without me and my baptism you cannot fulfill your call as a nation! You are missing the only thing you need that is standing in front of you!! I am the real High Priest that carry the fire to the Alter of incense and minister before the Ark of Covenant. John came as a witness to baptized you with water of repentance (ceremonial clean), so you can come into the Holy place to be baptized in fire, to become real priests unto the Father and join my ministry. The disciples remembered that "Zeal for His House has consumed me" this is the baptism Jesus is carrying. Zeal and passion for God and His house, such fiery desire to be completely His and to fulfill His desire. This is the baptism of fire we are receive today. To be qualified and to be empowered to be a real priests it is the fire for His house He is baptizing us, with real zeal and power to minister before God and men. To God to be zealous for His heart, to men to be zealous for His truth and calling them to love God.]