The Judging Jesus
As we move toward Easter, many people will have Jesus on their minds. And we should. We think about the Suffering Servant who is our Redeemer. And we should. We think about the Risen King. And we should. But one aspect of Jesus that we don’t think a lot about toward the end of His earthly life is Jesus as Judge.
At least two events in the last week of Jesus’ earthly life show Him to be the Judge. One is when He clears out the temple because of the corruption that has engulfed the worship of God’s people. The other is when He curses a fig tree for having leaves but not having any fruit.
When it comes to the temple, Jesus says: “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers’” (Mark 11:17, NIV). Jesus threw out the money changers and those profiting from the religious system showing that the worship of God is supposed to be focused on God not on us. We should approach Him with reverence and awe, not with selfish motives. Worship should be about honoring the Lord and submitting our lives to His will. Anything that is self-serving in worship is misplaced and dishonoring to God.
When it comes to the fig tree, the tree had leaves which is evidence of the fact that the tree should have fruit. So, Jesus curses the tree for appearing outwardly to be fruitful by having the leaves, but the reality was the tree was unfruitful. (See Mark 11:12-14, 20-25)
Throughout the Old Testament, the fig tree was a symbol used to represent the nation of Israel. Here, Jesus uses the tree as an illustration to show that though the people of Israel were going through the motions of doing the outward things of serving God, the reality was that they were not bearing any fruit of actually submitting to God in their lives.
By implication, Jesus is saying that outward show does not impress Him if it does not come with the inward reality and the inward submission to God as Lord of our lives. God looks directly into our hearts and sees the “real me.” He is not fooled by any show or actions done to convince others that we are something we truly are not.
As we approach this Easter season, may we worship out of a heart that is totally submitted to Christ in our lives. Let us not go through the motions of “religion” to impress others. Instead, let us allow the Lord to grow in us a heart that is genuinely seeking Him, serving Him, loving Him, and worshipping Him. Does Jesus need to clean out your heart like He did the temple? Does Jesus find outward leaves for show but no fruit in your life? Let Him cleanse you so that you can sincerely worship Him this Easter!