Chapter Eleven
Mk. 11:1. When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sends two of His disciples
Mk. 11:2. And He says to them: Go into the village that is directly before you; and entering into it, you will immediately find a young donkey tied up, on which no one among men has sat; untie it and bring it.
Mk. 11:3. And if anyone says to you, "Why are you doing this?" — answer that He is needed by the Lord; and immediately he will send him here.
Mk. 11:4. They went and found a young donkey tied at the gate outside on the street, and untied it.
Mk. 11:5. And some of those standing there said to them: What are you doing? Why are you untying the colt?
Mk. 11:6. They answered them just as Jesus had commanded; and they let them go.
Jesus often came to Jerusalem at other times as well, but never with such glory as now. Before, on account of the envy of the Jews, He concealed Himself, but now, since the time of suffering determined by Him Himself had come, He goes openly, so that they, if they wished, might understand His glory and through the fulfillment of the prophecies upon Him might come to know the truth. And if they did not wish to understand, then so that this circumstance might serve toward their greater condemnation, as those who did not believe even after such glorious miracles. For see how many signs there are here! The Lord told the disciples that they would find a young donkey; He said that they would be hindered, and then, when the disciples would say that the Lord requires it, they would be permitted to take it. For it is no small thing that the apostles were allowed to lead away the colt; this could not have been, had the power of God not been acting upon its owners, moving them to release the colt; they were poor, working people. And one must know that the Lord did not do this without purpose, for before He had not required a colt, but on foot He traversed Galilee and Judea many times, but through this He was showing that He would gain mastery over the gentile nations, who were unsubmissive and untaught, like young donkeys: they were bound by their sins "in the street," that is, in this life, "at the gate," that is, outside the Church. But the disciples loosed them through baptism and faith, and they bore the Lord upon their shoulders, and the apostles placed upon them their garments, that is, all the true rules of virtue. Before, the gentiles, being naked, were unseemly and committed lawless deeds, but from the time they were brought to Christ by the apostles, they learned to walk with propriety, and therefore Christ was borne by them. And who were the owners of the colt who hindered the apostles from taking it? Without doubt, the demons. However, the apostles were stronger than they.
Mk. 11:7. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and Jesus sat upon him.
Mk. 11:8. And many spread their garments on the road; while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Mk. 11:9. And those who went before and those who followed cried out: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Mk. 11:10. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!
As long as the common people remain uncorrupted, they recognize what is beneficial. This is why they now pay honor to Jesus, each according to his ability. But what did they say as they glorified Him? They borrowed their song from David, and the word "Hosanna," according to some, means "salvation," while according to others it means "a song." But the first opinion is better, for in the one hundred and seventeenth psalm it says: "O Lord, save us," which in Hebrew is written "Hosanna." They called Christ's Kingdom the "Kingdom of David," first because Christ descended from the seed of David, and second because David means "strong of hand." And who else is so strong of hand as the Lord, whose hands have accomplished such wondrous works? But let us also spread our garments, that is, our flesh, for the flesh is the garment of the soul, and let us submit it to the Lord. Let us pave the path of our life by cutting branches from the trees, that is, by imitating the lives of the saints. For the saints are like trees from which one who imitates their virtues cuts branches. But let our deeds, both those that precede and those that follow, be to the glory of God. For some showed a good beginning in their earlier life, yet their subsequent life was not the same and did not serve to the glory of God.
Mk. 11:11. And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple; and when He had looked round about upon all things, as it was now eventide, He went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
Mk. 11:12. On the next day, when they had come out of Bethany, He was hungry;
Mk. 11:13. And seeing from afar a fig tree covered with leaves, He went to see if He would find anything on it; but when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not yet the season for figs.
Mk. 11:14. And Jesus said to it: henceforth let no one eat fruit from you forever! And His disciples heard it.
Jesus entered the temple and soon went out of it again, showing by this that He was already leaving it to desolation and plunder. He departs to Bethany, which means "house of obedience," for, leaving the disobedient and hard-hearted, He now goes with His disciples to those obedient to Him. But let us also examine the account of the fig tree, for here something seemingly strange and harsh appears. First, Jesus was hungry early in the morning; second, He demands fruit when the season for figs had not yet come; and furthermore, He punishes an insensible tree. For in what He says and does here, there was a special providence. Until now Jesus had often worked miracles, but only for the benefit of people. But the disciples had not yet seen Him do harm to anyone. Now, in order to show the disciples that He can also punish, and that, if He wished, He could in a single hour destroy those intending to crucify Him, He manifests His power upon an insensible tree. And the miracle was truly great in that a tree so full of sap withered at once, for the fig tree is more full of sap than almost all other trees. That He hungered early in the morning — this He permitted His flesh to experience by a special providence; and He seeks fruit prematurely on the fig tree for the purpose, as I said above, of showing the disciples that He can also punish. And this fig tree was at the same time a figure of the Jewish synagogue, which had only leaves, that is, the Law, which provided nothing but a shadow, while they bore no fruit at all. But Jesus hungered for their salvation. He says: "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" (John 4:34), and this will of God consists in converting sinners. Since, however, the synagogue had no fruit, it was cursed and withered, having (no longer among it) neither prophets nor teachers.
Mk. 11:15. They came to Jerusalem. Jesus, entering the temple, began to drive out those selling and buying in the temple; and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves;
Mk. 11:16. And He did not allow anyone to carry any vessel through the temple.
Mk. 11:17. And He taught them, saying: is it not written: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations" (Isa. 56:7)? But you have made it a den of robbers.
Mk. 11:18. And 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.
John also narrates the expulsion of the money changers by Jesus, but he speaks of this at the beginning of the Gospel, whereas this one (Mark) speaks of it toward the end. Therefore one must think that this (latter) expulsion was the second, which serves to the greater condemnation of the Jews, since they did not repent despite the Lord having acted thus with them on more than one occasion. He calls the Temple a "den of robbers" on account of the covetousness of the money changers. For the robber race is given over to plundering. And since the sellers in the Temple also traded in sacrificial animals for the sake of gain, they too were called robbers. The "money changers" were engaged in the exchange of money. The Lord presents the prophet Isaiah as well as their accuser, who says: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Is. 56:7). Let us therefore pray that we too may not be cast out of the church! For many come to our church as well in order to sell what is good and buy what is bad. There are also those who, arranging and managing church affairs, have tables full of money: they do everything out of greed. Overturned also are the seats of those who sell doves, that is, the thrones of hierarchs who sell spiritual gifts, for the dove is an image of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord cast out such a bishop from his bishopric, for cursed is he who ordains for money. In like manner, he also sells his dove who sells to the devil the grace and purity received in baptism. For this reason he too is cast out of the Church.
Mk. 11:19. When evening came, He went out of the city.
Mk. 11:20. Early in the morning, passing by, they saw that the fig tree had dried up from the roots.