I recently received a lot of encouragement from messages I preached last week in Dallas, Texas, and at the Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. Some people watched these messages live or on YouTube and suggested that I share the same biblical insights with the people at Grace Church. As I reflected on this and realized that next week we’d be skipping Ephesians due to Resurrection Sunday, I thought it would make sense to follow the pattern of Passion Week, addressing both this Sunday and the next. We’ll pick up Ephesians in a couple of weeks.

I invite you to open your Bible to Mark 12. We’re going to dive deep into this passage. To set the scene, it’s Wednesday of Passion Week. Jesus knows He is about to be crucified—He’s told His disciples this several times, including in Mark 10:32-34, where He explained the details of what would happen: “We are going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn Him to death, hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock, spit on, scourge, and kill Him. But three days later, He will rise again.”

As they head toward Jerusalem, Jesus makes it clear He will be arrested, condemned, crucified, and resurrected. When they arrive in Jerusalem, it’s not a Sunday, but a Monday. Initially, it seems the people aren’t planning to crucify Him. In Mark 11:7, when they bring a colt to Jesus, He rides into Jerusalem, and the people spread their coats on the road and shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

On Monday, it seemed like the people were welcoming Him as their King. But by Tuesday, things take a different turn. Mark 11:15 says that Jesus enters the temple and begins driving out those who were buying and selling, overturning the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. He wouldn’t let anyone carry merchandise through the temple. He then teaches, saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a robber’s den.”

The chief priests and scribes hear this and begin plotting to destroy Him because they are afraid of Him—since the crowd was astonished at His teaching. Jesus knew He was going to die. At first, it seemed unlikely, with the people hailing Him as their King. But instead of blessing the nation, He judged them by condemning their temple operations, which were central to their religion. He called it a “robber’s den,” which only escalated the hatred against Him, eventually leading to His execution on Friday.

There was another incident on Monday before the temple confrontation. Mark 11:12 tells us that after entering Jerusalem, Jesus went to the temple, looked around, and then left for Bethany with His disciples as it was late. The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus became hungry. He saw a fig tree in the distance and went to see if it had any fruit. But when He reached it, He found only leaves—since it wasn’t the season for figs. Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again,” and His disciples heard Him.

The next morning, as they passed by, they saw that the fig tree had withered from the roots up. Peter pointed this out, saying, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered.”

Jesus knew He was going to die. On Monday, He arrived to accolades, with people hailing Him as the promised Son of David, coming in the name of the Lord to establish the kingdom promised to Israel. But by Tuesday, He cursed the fig tree and assaulted the temple. The fig tree’s curse symbolized God’s judgment on Israel, as the Old Testament prophets like Hosea, Nahum, and Zechariah referred to Israel as a fig tree. This was the opposite of what many expected: rather than being made a king, Jesus condemned their religious system.