“Hosanna!” (Mark 11)
Mark 11
This is a recap of our Bible Caller Club meeting on April 21st, 2026 over this passage. If you want to join the club and attend future meetings and study with us via phone, click here.
1. What’s happening in this passage?
In Mark 11, we see Jesus entering Jerusalem initially as conquering King. He curses a fig tree, representing the Jewish leaders who should have beeb bearing fruit for God, but had not. He then enters the temple, the figurative heart of Israel, and begins to cast out those doing business there, which represents the cleansing that Jesus wants to do for Israel if they welcome His Kingdom, and Kinship. But He is met with a challenge to His authority by the Pharisees, who are afraid of Him because they don’t want to loose their authority. The Kingdom of God will not be coming to the heart of Israel after all. The fig tree is withered to the root.
2. What is God revealing about humanity?
We often like welcoming Jesus into our lives (the triumphant entry) when we believe that He will be a King that does exactly what WE want, and in the ways we want (they believed He would have a physical Kingdom to defeat the Romans). But when He begins to try to capture our hearts rather than our enemies, we often try to take authority back for ourselves. When we do, we become”cursed” just like the fig tree, and we bear no fruit.
3. What is God revealing about Himself?
He is the conquering King, but His Kingdom does not appear in the ways we expect. It appears in submission, sacrifice, and service. He challenges our hearts, examining them for anything unclean, and wants to help us “cleanse the temple.” He will prevent fruit being born in the lives of those who reject His authority, but welcomes us to have faith that when we believe in Him and His authority, we bear much fruit.
4. How should our lives change?
Welcome Jesus’ Kingdom into your heart. Allow Him to have a triumphant entry! Praise Him, have faith in Him, and most crucially, submit to Him. Do not push back against His authority, attempting to retain control for yourself, but submit to His cleansing and allow Him to bear fruit in your life through faith.
