ARE YOU DELIVERING WHAT YOUR WORSHIP PROMISES?

Mark 11:12-14

¹² On the next day, when they had come from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ Seeing a fig tree in leaf in the distance, he went to see whether he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

empty vending machine

It is annoying and irritating to have your heart set on a snack from a vending machine, and then find it empty when you get there. Fig trees were the vending machines of the first century. Jesus expressed his frustration at the tree – which looked promising from a distance, but proved empty up close.

Jesus had survived a 40 day fast at the beginning of his ministry. It’s hard to believe that a little hunger at this point would cause him to lose control. There must be something significant he wanted to teach his apostles. My guess is that it had to do with that crowd who had just ushered him into Jerusalem the previous day. Their worship looked great at first, but what would they be saying about him at the end of the week?

LORD, we want to deliver what we promise with our words of worship.