1L.1
Annie Dillard is a popular U. S. author.[i] When Dillard was a teen she attended church services regularly. But one day she quit. She couldn’t stand the hypocrisy of some of the church members who came on Sunday mornings just to show off their clothes. So that morning, Dillard met with the assistant minister to officially quit church. Dillard recalls, “He heard me out and then said, ‘You’re right, honey, there is a lot of hypocrisy.’” Then he handed Dillard some books by C.S. Lewis, a respected author who wrote thoughtfully about Jesus and the Christian faith. The minister asked Dillard to read Lewis’ books, explaining, “This is rather early of you to be quitting the church. I suppose you’ll be back soon.” He was right. After Dillard plowed through four of the C. S. Lewis volumes, she returned. Her rebellion lasted just one month.
1L.2
There are times when we get fed up with religion. We can’t stand its hypocrisy. We feel like quitting. And sometimes it’s only a thoughtful reexamination of Jesus and the Christian faith that brings us back.
1T.1
The ten conflicts in Mark’s Gospel between Jesus and the religious leaders allow us to do just that. [PP 10 Conflicts Chart] Ten times in Mark’s Gospel we find Jesus and religion in conflict. These conflicts allow us to do a thoughtful reinvestigation of Jesus and the Christian faith.
1T.2
This morning’s conflict takes place in the most religious setting possible: the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. [PP text and reference] 27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32But shall we say, ‘From man’?”— they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Mk. 11:27-33 ESV)
1T.3
Mark indicates in verse 27 that “they came again” to Jerusalem. This is the third visit by Jesus to Jerusalem in Mark’s closing chapters. First, in Mk. 11:11 Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly and visited the temple. He returned to nearby Bethany. Second, in Mk. 11:15 Jesus again visited Jerusalem and the temple. There, he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling pigeons in the temple courts and he lamented, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” Later, he left Jerusalem. Now, in Mk. 11:27 Jesus returns to the temple a third time.
1T.4
In general, the setting is the Jewish temple built by Herod. Herod’s motive in building this temple was more political than spiritual. Herod wished to placate his Jewish subjects by constructing a sanctuary as magnificent as the original temple built by King Solomon.[ii] And as we’ll see in just a moment, just as the temple’s beginning was less than spiritual, so were the leaders overseeing the activities at the temple.
1T.5
[PP Herod’s Temple 1] More specifically, the setting for this conflict is probably what is called “Solomon’s Porch” in the temple. Herod’s temple consisted of several courts. First, there was the Court of the Priests near the Holy Place. This was the location of the altar for sacrifices. Second, there was the Court of the Women. This was the location of the chests where people made their temple offerings—where the story in Mk 12 takes place regarding the widow’s offering. [iii]
1T.6
[PP Herod’s Temple 2] The next court was the large outer Court of the Gentiles. This outer Court of the Gentiles was widely used. On its eastern edge was a place called “Solomon’s Porch.” This is where Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers and the chairs of those selling doves during his second visit to the temple. And this is most likely where Jesus is in today’s text.[iv]
1T.7
As Jesus returns to this spot where one day earlier he did the equivalent of running into a crowded worship service and publicly tongue-whipping the church leaders and tossing around the coffee pots and the communion trays, Mark tells us in verse 27 that the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him. Mark mentions three types of people who marched up to Jesus at Solomon’s Porch: the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. All three were members of what was known as the “Sanhedrin.” [PP Sanhedrin image] The Sanhedrin was a council in Jerusalem that functioned as the central authority for the Jews. The Sanhedrin was their Supreme Court. It was made of seventy members, plus the president.[v] And those members consisted of three types of people. First, there were the chief priests or high priests (the acting high priest and those who had been high priests). Second, there were the elders (tribal and family heads). Third, there were the scribes (the legal experts).[vi] Thus when Mark tells us that the chief priests and the scribes and the elders approached Jesus in Solomon’s Porch, he’s telling us that Jesus is about to be confronted by the highest authority in Judaism. The Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, has come to put Jesus in his place.
1T.8
[PP text and reference] 28and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” (Mk. 11:28 ESV) The phrase “these things” refers to what Jesus did on his second visit to the temple. The phrase “these things” refers to Jesus overturning the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those selling pigeons. And the Sanhedrin now demands: Who gave you the authority to do that?
1T.9
In their minds there are only two answers to that question: heaven or humans. Things like what Jesus did yesterday in the temple are either commanded by heaven or simply planned by humans. They either have a heavenly authorization or a human authorization. These leaders from the Sanhedrin believe that Jesus can only point to the latter. Jesus had no heavenly authorization for the cleansing of the temple. Jesus had no divine command to walk into this Court of the Gentiles and tell the religious leaders all that was wrong with temple worship.
1T.10
But before Jesus answers their question, he asks them to render a similar judgment about a similar event. The event Jesus presents is “the baptism of John.” Mark tells us about John baptizing at the beginning of his Gospel: 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mk. 1:4-5 ESV). These members of the Jewish high court believed that John never received heavenly authorization for baptizing all those people. John’s only permission came from humans. But, they are unwilling to admit this because they fear what the people will do to them if they denounce the baptizing John was doing. Because they refuse to publicly declare their answer to Jesus’ question, Jesus refuses to answer their question.
2T.1
What’s going on here? First, let’s consider the cleansing of the temple by Jesus and the baptizing of people by John. Those two events are central in this debate. This whole debate rages around the cleansing of the temple Jesus did one day earlier and the baptizing of people John did years earlier. Both events share something in common. They are both efforts at what I’ll call “realignment.” Realignment is when you take something that is crooked and make it straight again – you align it with a standard. In the one hand, you have a straight line. In the other hand, you have this crooked thing. Realignment is putting that crooked thing back into parallel with that straight line. Both the cleansing of the temple by Jesus and the baptizing of people by John were efforts at realignment. Both were attempts to realign individuals and institutions. [PP John’s baptism & Jesus’ temple-cleansing = realignment of religious individuals and institutions.]
2T.2
In the simplest of terms, as he baptized, John was telling religious individuals this: “Here is God’s picture of what it means to be human. Here is God’s vision for your life. This is the life you were made to live. Now, here’s the life you are living. Here’s your vision. Here’s your picture of what it means to be human. You need to repent, or turn, and be baptized. You need to allow God to bring your story into alignment with his.” As he baptized, John was involved in the realignment of religious individuals.
2T.3
And in simplest terms, as he cleansed the temple, Jesus was telling a religious institution this: “Here is God’s picture of what it means to be his people. Here is God’s vision for the temple on earth. This is the mission the temple was built for. Now, here’s the mission you leaders are promoting. Here’s your vision for this temple. Here’s your picture of what the temple is about. You need to repent, or turn. You need to allow God to bring the temple’s story into alignment with his.” As he cleansed the temple one day earlier, Jesus had been involved in the realignment of a religious institution.
2T.4
Importantly, for the most part, both John and Jesus were realigning religious people, not pagan people. This was not John and Jesus going to people who knew nothing of God and telling them it’s time to realign. This was John and Jesus going to religious individuals and to a religious institution. John and Jesus went to people who believed they had already got everything right with God. They had already got everything the way God wanted it to be. And to these religious individuals and to this religious institution John and Jesus were saying: “You’ve got it wrong. You’re still off-course. You need to let us realign you with God’s story.” That’s what the baptizing by John and the temple-cleansing by Jesus were all about.
2T.5
But these religious leaders from the Sanhedrin would hear none of this. John’s baptizing had nothing from heaven in it. Neither did Jesus’ temple-cleansing. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, there never had been a need for that kind of realignment.
3T.1
And therein lays one of the great dangers of religion. Religion is what happens when individuals and institutions believe there is no more need for realignment. [PP Religion is what happens when individuals and institutions believe there is no more need for realignment.] Religious individuals and religious institutions are those who believe that all the alignment that needs to be done has already been done. And when someone like John comes along and tries to reveal ways in which those individuals have strayed from God’s dream, they reject him. They cannot believe he’s got any heavenly approval. And when someone like Jesus comes along and tries to reveal ways in which that institution has strayed from God’s dream, they crucify him. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, there never had been a need for the kind of realignment John and Jesus brought.
3L.1
Religious institutions are more interested in preservation than they are in restoration. They are more interested in maintaining than they are in realigning. Rather than constantly seeking to identify areas of institutional life that need to be transformed, they instead focus on preserving the institutional life they have. And if anyone comes along arguing differently, they are to be crucified.
3L.2
That’s what happened in many white churches in the South in the 1960’s. They could not fathom that they had completely missed the boat when it came to race. They could not grasp that they were just as out of alignment as our culture was when it came to the treatment of blacks. And many churches chased away people acting in the spirit of John and Jesus, urging those churches to change, to repent, and to realign when it came to race.
3L.3
And that’s what happens to religious individuals as well. They get baptized. They attend church services. They put money into the collection tray. They say grace at meals. But when some preacher or family member or friend suggests they may want to do something about their language at work, or their treatment of their spouse, or their short fuse, the religious individual rejects the counsel. As far as he is concerned, he’s already realigned everything that really matters. Religion is what happens when individuals and institutions believe there is no more need for realignment.
4L.1
But following Jesus is just the opposite. [PP Following Jesus is what happens when individuals and institutions believe there is a need for constant realignment.] Following Jesus is what happens when individuals and institutions believe there is a need for constant realignment.
4L.2
John Ortberg tells of a man who has just been appointed as the new CEO of a company.[vii] The outgoing CEO says to him, “Sometimes in this job you’ll make wrong choices. You’ll mess up. When that happens, I have prepared three envelopes for you. I left them in the top drawer of the desk. The first time you mess up, open envelope #1. The second time you mess up, open #2. The third time, open #3.” For the first few months, everything goes fine. Then the new CEO makes his first mistake, goes to the drawer, and opens up envelope #1. It contains a sheet of paper with these words on it: “Blame me.” So the new CEO does: “This is the old CEO’s fault. He made these mistakes. I inherited these problems.” Everybody says, “Okay.” Things go fine for a while, and then the new CEO makes his second mistake. So, he goes to the drawer and opens up envelope #2. This time he finds a sheet with these words on it: “Blame the board.” And he does: “It’s the board’s fault. The board has been a mess. I inherited them. They’re the problem.” Everybody says, “Okay, that makes sense.” Things go fine for a while, and then the new CEO makes his third mistake. So, he goes to the drawer and opens up envelope #3. Its message reads: “Prepare three envelopes.” Following Jesus is not about assigning blame or passing the buck or ignoring mistakes. It’s about constantly owning up to mistakes and failures. It’s about humility and a constant willingness to say, “We are wrong” or “I am wrong” and letting Jesus bring us back into alignment.
4L.3
A study in 1996 asked Americans if they thought incivility was a serious problem.[viii] 89% of Americans felt there were too many people acting in an uncivil way toward each other. But when asked if they thought their own behavior was uncivil, only 1% said “Yes.” Following Jesus is for those with the courage to say “Yes, I am part of the problem.”
4L.4
The result of choosing Jesus over religion is spiritual institutions like churches which are persistently open to further steps of realignment. Like a painting with smudges, dirt, and wear, these churches are willing to admit their flaws and eager to ask Jesus for change and transformation. They are humble churches always asking Jesus to identify what’s flawed, what’s filthy, what’s crooked, and to asking him to realign.
4L.5
The result of choosing Jesus over religion is spiritual individuals constantly open to personal realignment. They persistently seek to learn of smudges, dirt, and wear in their life and they regularly ask the great painter Jesus to restore and clean their canvas. They are humble and willing to admit their flaws.
4L.6
Gary Thomas writes about a businessman who grew tired of getting hammered by angry customers who expected five-star service at Motel 6 prices. [ix] One day, the man became oddly detached during a customer tirade. He felt as though he were watching a movie. In fact, he couldn’t help but think that the angry woman’s antics made her look like a monkey. That gave him an idea. He hung a giant mirror behind the front desk where he worked—and the customer tirades stopped. When people saw how rude and hateful they looked while yelling and screaming at this man, they stopped yelling and screaming. Following Jesus means living with an always-present mirror. Jesus wants to help us see our institutions and ourselves for the way we truly are so that with his aid we can be brought back again and again into alignment.
4L.7
Ignatius Loyola was one followed Jesus rather than merely becoming religious. In the 1500’s while recovering from a war injury, Ignatius read the life of Jesus. He was inspired to form a new society. He called it “The Society of Jesus.” And everyone in this society was committed to one fundamental practice: realignment. In fact, twice a day, they practiced something called “The Examen.” Twice a day, using “The Examen,” they would stop and ask Jesus: “What have I done in the last few hours that was not in alignment with your will? And how can the next few hours be more in alignment with your will?” The entire society was built on this one simple habit. Twice a day, they would stop and essentially ask Jesus: “What have I done in the last few hours that was not in alignment with your will? And how can the next few hours be more in alignment with your will?”
4L.8
As I close this morning, I’ll ask you: Are you going to be satisfied with just being religious or are you really going to follow Jesus? You can leave here this morning pretending that everything in your life is just as it ought to be. You can pretend that everything needing realignment in your life has already been realigned. Or, you can confess that there’s still some crookedness in you. There’s still an area of life that doesn’t quite line up. You can cry out for Jesus to bring that part of your story into alignment with God’s. The way to begin realignment is through what John advocated—repentance and baptism. The way to continue realignment is to invite Jesus to do in your life what he did in the temple—radical house cleaning. You could start that process by sharing your crookedness with someone this morning.
[i] Philip Yancey, Books & Culture, Christian Reader, Vol. 34.
[ii] Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1246). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[iii] Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1246). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[iv] Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1246). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[v] Myers, A. C. (1987). The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (912). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.
[vi] Wood, D. R. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1996). New Bible dictionary (3rd ed.) (1060). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.
[vii] John Ortberg, in the sermon “Guide,” PreachingToday.com
[viii] U.S. News & World Report (4/22/96). Leadership, “To Verify.”
[ix] Gary Thomas, The Beautiful Fight, (Zondervan, 2007), 63.
