LESSON III.—SABBATH, OCTOBER 21, 1899.
THE BARREN FIG TREE, AND TEMPLE CLEANSING.
12 "And on the morrow, when they were come out from Bethany, He hungered. 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs. 14 And He answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward forever. And His disciples heard it." 15 "And they come to Jerusalem; and He entered into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and them that bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; 16 and He would not suffer that any man should carry a vessel through the temple. 17 And He taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, for all the multitude was astonished at His teaching." 19 "And every evening He went forth out of the city." 20 "And as they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto Him, Rabbi, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith cometh to pass; he shall have it. 24 Therefore I say unto you, All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them. 25 And whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." 26 "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." 14 "And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were moved with indignation, 16 and said unto Him, Hearest Thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further. - As the shades of evening drew on, where did Jesus and the twelve go to spend the night? Mark 11:11.
- In His hunger of the following morning, to what did Jesus resort for relief? Verses 12, 13. (Luke 13:6-9.)
- Finding no figs on the tree, what did Jesus say concerning it? Verse 14. Note 1.
- Going into the temple, what did Jesus immediately begin to do? Verse 15.
- How far did He carry this matter? Verse 16.
- What reason did He give for doing thus? Verse 17. Note 2. (Isa. 56:7; Mal. 1:14; Jer. 7:8-11.)
- Immediately after the cleansing of the temple, who came to Jesus? For what purpose? Matt. 21:14.
- While this was going on, how did the priests regard the situation? Mark 11:18.
- What demonstration took place among the children who thronged about Jesus? Matt. 21:15.
- When the priests came to Jesus and made complaint against this, what did He say? Verse 16. (Ps. 8:2.)
- The next morning (Tuesday), as Christ and the disciples returned to the city from Bethany, what did the disciples observe? Mark 11:20.
- When Peter called the attention of Jesus to the remarkable condition of the fig tree, what simple yet significant reply did He make? Verses 22, 23.
- What did He then say should be the condition of mind of those who pray? Verse 24. (James 1:6, 7.)
- What feelings did the Saviour say we should cherish toward others if we would receive benefit from our prayers? Verse 25. (Col. 3:13.)
- If one does not do this, what will be the result? Verse 26. (Matt. 18:35.)
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," chapters 64, 65; "Spirit of Prophecy," vol. 3, chapters 1 and 2. 1. No man eat fruit, etc.—Jesus knew before reaching the tree that it bore no figs. But its outward appearance, by having leaves in advance of other trees, proclaimed that it did have fruit on, altho the time of figs was not yet come. The tree had a designed purpose,—that of bearing fruit. By not doing so, it transgressed the law of its being while presenting a boastful and deceitful show of superiority over its neighbor trees. By this it had forfeited its place in creation, and so by the word which produced it, the penalty of removal was pronounced. This fitly represented the Jews of that day, as well as professed Christians of to-day who claim to have more light and truth than others. God had borne with the Jews many years, but, as in the parable in Luke 13:6-9, the time was present when it was proper to say, "Cut it down." So it will be with all who do not meet the design of their being. 2. My house a house of prayer.—Three years before, at the beginning of His ministry, Christ had done the same thing, but apparently with little lasting effect, for the same abuse had been restored. Had the first cleansing been regarded, the fig tree would have borne fruit, and no place would have been found for the second cleansing. But before being put to death, Christ had a public work to do in the very court of the temple, in order to confirm before all the people His Messiahship, and as He could not do this in the midst of wicked desecration, this cleansing was first necessary.