The Greatest Commandment and the Poor Widow's Offering

Continuing a Bible study of the gospel accounts:

(Mark 12:28) And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"

In the last post Jesus had been answering questions of the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees that had been designed to trick Him, but of course Jesus had answered them brilliantly.  This scribe had heard Him talking with those groups of people and had been impressed with how He answered.  He may have also been trying to test Jesus, or perhaps he had heard enough to know that Jesus had great wisdom and knowledge about the scriptures and actually asked his question in earnest, wanting to know the most important commandment of all.

(29) And Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.'"

Jesus answered the scribe by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 where Moses wrote his exhortation to obey the commandments, statutes, and judgments of the Lord.  He declared that the God of Israel was the one true God of the universe and there was no other.

(30) "'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment."

Jesus continued quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5:  "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."  Jesus answered that that was the first and greatest commandment, to love God with all the affections of the heart, all the powers and faculties of the soul, and with all the strength of conviction showing forth in actions.

(31) "And the second like this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Jesus went on to add that there was a second most important commandment, and He quoted Leviticus 19:18, to love one's neighbor as himself.  Jesus added that there were no other commandments greater than those two.  That is because all the commandments are based on those two principles.  If one loves God with all his heart, soul, and might, then he won't worship idols, he won't take God's name in vain, and he'll want to honor God's Sabbath.  If he loves his neighbor as himself, he will honor his parents, he won't kill, he won't commit adultery, he won't steal, he won't lie against his neighbor, and he won't covet what others have.  All the commandments, as well as all the statutes and judgments of the Lord, are summed up in these two commandments.

(32) And the scribe said to Him, "Well, Master, You have said the truth, for there is one God, and there is none other but He. (33) And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

The scribe told Jesus He had spoken well.  My first thought was, "How dare this man tell Lord Jesus whether or not He had spoken well?"  But then I realized that the scribes were part of the group that also consisted of Pharisees and chief priests who were trying to destroy Jesus.  However, this scribe recognized the truth.  Not only did he compliment Jesus on being well-spoken, but he confirmed with his knowledge of the scriptures that what Jesus had said was indeed truth.  That was unusual for a scribe to admit that.  He confirmed what the scriptures had said about there being only one God, and how we were to love Him with all our hearts, souls, and mights.  We were to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Additionally, these things were far more important to God than sacrifice and burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6).

(34) And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no man after that dared question Him.

Jesus recognized that the scribe had answered wisely and told him that he was not far from the kingdom of God.  This particular scribe appeared to be a prudent, sensible, and pious man, almost a Christian.  With such a heart and sensibility, he surely eventually came to believe in and confess Jesus Christ.  It's not enough to just believe the scriptures.  Satan believes the scriptures.  But that belief in the Word of God will lead us to salvation in Jesus Christ.  After His conversation with the scribe, no one else asked Jesus any questions.

(35) And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that scribes say that Christ is the Son of David?"

Jesus further answered, turning His attention to teaching the people in the temple.  He began what seemed a paradoxical question and asked how it was that the scribes said that Christ was the Son of David.

(36) "For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit on My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'"

Jesus then quoted David who said by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 110:1, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit on My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'"

(37) "David therefore himself calls Him Lord; and how is He his son?" And the common people heard Him gladly.

Jesus went on, confirming what David had said in the psalm, that Christ was his Lord, and then posed the question that how then Christ could be David's son.  David, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recognized that the Christ was His Lord, at that particular time in David's life, a thousand years before Christ came on the scene.  How then could Christ be his son?  The answer, of course, was that Christ could not be a mere man.  He was the Son of God, God Himself, existing since the beginning of time, and coming to earth as Jesus Christ the Messiah at that particular time.  The "common" people in the temple listened to Jesus with great pleasure and satisfaction, probably meaning to differentiate them from the other scribes and Pharisees and chief priests who were surely not pleased with the things Jesus taught.

(38) And He said to them in His doctrine, "Beware of the scribes who love to go in long clothing and love salutations in the marketplaces."

Jesus went on teaching the people that they should beware the scribes who went around in long flowing robes to be seen and greeted with respect in the public places.

(39) "And the chief seats in the synagogues and the uppermost rooms at feasts."

Jesus went on describing the showy scribes the people should be wary of; they also loved the best seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts where the rulers and elders of the people sat.

(40) "Who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers; these will receive greater damnation."

Jesus completed His warning about those scribes who also enriched themselves by devouring widows' houses and estates through fraud, all the while wearing a mask of piety making long prayers.  These particular scribes would receive greater damnation than other sinners because they used the Lord God as a means to do their wickedness.  They used the holy, merciful, loving, just, and perfect God to trick people into giving them the desires of their worldly sinful hearts, thus twisting and demeaning what it meant to follow God.

(41) And Jesus sat opposite the treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many who were rich cast in much.

Jesus sat across from the treasury of the temple and watched people casting their offerings of money into it.  He saw that many rich people cast in a great deal of money.

(42) And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites which make a farthing.

As Jesus watched, a poor widow came through to cast in her offering of two mites.  A mite was a small brass coin, the smallest in use among the Jews.  Two of them made a farthing which was not the same as a British farthing.  The original Greek word used for farthing was "kodrantes" which meant "quadrans" which was one fourth of an as, which was a Roman copper coin worth about one third of a cent.

(43) And He called His disciples and said to them, "Verily, I say to you that this poor widow cast more in than all those who have cast into the treasury."

Jesus called His disciples' attention to the widow and told them that with her two mites, one third of a penny, she had given more to the temple treasury than anyone else who had given that day.

(44) "For all cast in of their abundance, but she of her poverty cast in all that she had, all her living."

Jesus gave the disciples His rationale for saying that the woman had given the most.  Everyone else that day had given out of their abundance, out of the money they did not need, just a portion of all the money they had.  That poor widow had given all she had, the entirety of what she had to live on, which demonstrated her trust in God to supply her needs.  God, Jesus, in this incident, looks upon the heart of man.  He doesn't count the pennies and reward most to those who gave the most pennies.  Certainly, all offerings given in sincerity to help the cause of God would be pleasing to Him.  However, a person who gives all, denying self, just as the disciples had given up all to follow Jesus, those people do the most to advance the kingdom of Christ.

The widow's offering in giving all she had really sums up this post, the second part of Mark, chapter 12.  She was the exact opposite of the scribes Jesus had described who went around with a great show of religion and piety.  This woman with her poor pittance was much more pious than all of them.  She also displayed what Jesus called the greatest commandment, she loved God with her all.

Questions About Paying Taxes and Resurrection

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 12:1) And He began to speak to them by parables. "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, and dug a place for the wine vat, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went into a far country."

At the end of the last chapter Jesus had just refused to answer the question of the chief priests and scribes about His authority to do the things He did, because they would not answer His question that would have answered their question, but of course, that's not what they really wanted.  He now began to tell them a parable about a man who had planted a vineyard.  The man put a hedge around it, dug a place for a wine vat, built a tower, and then leased it out to farmers.  He then went away to a faraway country.

(2) "And at the season he sent to the farmers a servant, that he might receive from the farmers of the fruit of the vineyard."

Jesus continued with His parable.  At the season when he might expect fruit, the man sent a servant to the farmers at his vineyard in order that he might receive fruit from it.

(3) "And they caught him and beat him and sent him away empty."

However, the farmers caught the servant, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

(4) "And again he sent to them another servant, and at him they cast stones and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated."

The man then sent another servant to the farmers, but they cast stones at him and wounded him in the head, and also sent him away empty-handed after treating him so shamelessly.

(5) "And again he sent another and him they killed, and many others, beating some and killing some."

The man continued sending servants expecting the farmers to finally listen to them, but they beat them, and even killed some of them.  Of course, this is a picture of Father God preparing this perfect place for His people to use and then He sitting in heaven afar and letting His people work it.  When He sent His prophets to be a check on the fruits of their labor, they persecuted and killed them.  God continued to send prophets to try to make the people listen, but they either persecuted or killed them all.

(6) "Having therefore still one son, his well beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will reverence my son.'"

The farmers having rejected and killed all his servants, the man lastly sent his beloved son to them, expecting them to surely respect his son.

(7) "But those farmers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'"

The farmers knew that was the heir who came to them, but they decided to kill him, thinking the inheritance of the vineyard would be theirs.  This was certainly a direct condemnation of the chief priests and scribes who had just proved at the end of the last chapter that they knew who Jesus was, yet they wanted to kill Him because He was a threat to the little kingdom in the temple they had set up for themselves.

(8) "And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard."

Those farmers took the beloved son of the man and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.  That, of course, is exactly what the chief priests and scribes were going to do to Jesus.  They would kill Him and get Him out of "their" temple.

(9) "What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do?" "He will come and destroy the farmers and will give the vineyard to others."

Jesus posed the question about what the lord of the vineyard would do after the farmers had rejected all of his servants and killed his beloved son.  He would naturally come and destroy the farmers, and then he would give the vineyard to others.  According to the account in Matthew, Jesus posed the question, and the chief priests and scribes answered it, thereby incriminating themselves.  Indeed, that was what was to happen to them, and God's gospel would be given to the Gentiles.

(10) "And have you not read this scripture? 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. (11) This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.'"

Jesus asked them if they had read a particular scripture, and He quoted Psalms 118:22-23.  In spite of their actions in rejecting Jesus and even killing Him, He would become the cornerstone of the church.  "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."  It is positively marvelous that the Lord would come to earth, suffer immensely and ultimately die to save us all.  It is extraordinary to think that even in death, Jesus would rule and be the cornerstone of the church.  It was all amazing, and it was God's plan all along.

(12) And they sought to lay hold on Him, but feared the people, for they knew that He had spoken the parable against them; and they left Him and went their way.

This infuriated the chief priests and scribes because they knew Jesus's parable had been about them.  They would have liked to have taken hold of Him at that moment but feared the people.  Rather than learning from the parable, they chose to ignore its message, and instead, just grew angrier.  However, for the time being, they left Jesus and went their way.

(13) And they sent to Him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch Him in His words.

The chief priests and scribes, afraid of the potential uprising of the people against them, sent some Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus with the mission of catching Him in His words.  The two groups opposed each other but were united against Jesus.  The Pharisees were for the Jewish church and the Herodians were for Herod and the government, that same old church vs. state that has always existed.  By sending two groups with opposing views, they imagined Jesus would make one of them angry enough to want to see Him destroyed.

(14) And when they had come, they said to Him, "We know that You are true and care for no man, for you regard not the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth; is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?"

They approached Jesus with compliments, calling Him a Master of God's ways, true and upright, having regard for no man, for example, Caesar.  Therefore, they wanted to know, was it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar?  Of course, this was not a sincere question but intended to be a trap.  If Jesus had said no, then the Herodians would have apprehended Him as an enemy to the government, but if He said yes, the Pharisees and all the Jews would have been against Him, as they were looking for deliverance from the yoke of tax collectors who were viewed as sinners.

(15) "Shall we give or shall we not give?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring Me a penny that I may see it."

When they asked Jesus whether or not they should pay taxes to Caesar, He saw right through their hypocrisy, and asked why it was they wanted to trap Him.  He asked them to bring Him a penny.

(16) And they brought it. And He said to them, "Whose is this image and superscription?" And they said to Him, "Caesar's."

They brought Jesus the penny and He asked them whose image and inscription were on the coin.  They answered that it was Caesar's.

(17) And Jesus answering, said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at Him.

Jesus answered their question by telling them to give to Caesar what was Caesar's and give to God what was God's.  Demonstrating that it was Caesar's face on the coin, the circulation of that money was from him and should be returned to him as judged by his government.  Therefore, pay the appropriate taxes.  However, give to God all that is His, which is basically everything.  Caesar had no control over the consciences and hearts of men.  He had no control over the souls of men.  Therefore, give to God what is His judged by His commandments.  The people marveled at the wisdom of His answer and His avoidance of the trap.

(18) Then came to Him the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection, and they asked Him, saying, 

Then the Sadducees came to Jesus.  They were a religious sect who did not believe in a resurrection.  They followed only the Mosaic law very strictly, and because it did not teach resurrection, they did not believe in it, denying the scriptures and the prophets.

(19) "Master, Moses wrote to us if a man's brother dies and leaves his wife and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring to his brother."

The Sadducees recited to Jesus the law of Moses which stated that if a man died and left a wife but no children, his brother was to take her as his wife and raise up children in his brother's name (Deuteronomy 25:5).

(20) "Now there were seven brothers, and the first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring."

The Sadducees then began to relate a hypothetical situation in which there were seven brothers.  The first brother married, but then died leaving a wife with no children.

(21) "And the second took her and died, and neither did he leave her any offspring. And the third likewise."

They went on with their hypothetical case. The second brother indeed took the woman to be his wife, but then he also died, leaving her no children.  Then the third brother stepped up and married her, but the same happened to him.

(22) "And the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all, the woman died also."

The Sadducees carried their example to an absurd limit, saying that all seven brothers subsequently took the woman as wife, and all died, leaving no children.  Finally, the woman herself died.

(23) "In the resurrection, therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as wife."

Since the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, the hypothetical situation they supposed was surely designed to show an unsolvable difficulty in the idea of resurrection.

(24) And Jesus answering, said to them, "Do you not therefore err? Because you do not know the scriptures neither the power of God."

However, there was no difficulty, and Jesus told them they erred in their thinking because they neither knew the scriptures regarding the future state, nor did they know the power of God in Whom all such difficulties disappear.

(25) "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels which are in heaven."

Jesus explained that in their resurrected bodies there would be no marriages, but they would be more like the angels in heaven.  1 Corinthians 15:50 stated that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom.  The flesh expects there to be sensual pleasures to be satisfied, but Christians know there is so much more than we have ever known.  The world tries to measure God and heaven with their worldly views, but Christians know there awaits us an unimaginable glory in heaven and in the presence of Jesus that no mere human could ever envision.

(26) "And concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?"

Jesus went on, knowing their non-belief in a resurrection of the dead, and asked if they had ever read the account in Moses about God appearing to him in a burning bush.  He quoted Exodus 3:6 where God called Himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

(27) "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living; you therefore do greatly err."

God had spoken to Moses in the present tense, "I am..."  He did not say He "had been" the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He at that present time He spoke was Abraham's God; He would never have been God to a dead body rotted away in the ground.  Therefore, Abraham must be living, so the Sadducees had erred in their thinking about the particular hypothetical they had proposed to Jesus, and also in their general belief that there was no resurrection.

In this first part of the twelfth book of Mark, we found Jesus putting to shame and folly all the questions and actions of the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees.  When you have real truth, God's truth, there are no difficulties.  There may be things that we don't fully understand, but we can rest assured, it is the way God said it is, and there is nothing that can truly disprove it.  I will end this post here and continue chapter 12 in the next post.

Christ's Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem and His Cleansing of the Temple

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 11:1) And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent forth two of His disciples.

In the last chapter and post, Jesus and His disciples had been on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus boldly leading, and the disciples fearfully following, knowing what fate awaited Jesus in Jerusalem.  They came near to Jerusalem at Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives.  The limits of Bethany reached to the Mount of Olives, and Bethphage bordered Bethany and was a suburb of Jerusalem.  From there Jesus sent out two of His disciples.

(2) And said to them, "Go your way into the village opposite you and as soon as you have entered it, you will find a colt tied, on which no man ever sat; loose him and bring him."

Jesus gave directions to the two disciples that they were to go into the village directly opposite them.  As soon as they entered the village they would find a colt, the colt of a donkey, according to the account in Matthew 21:2, tied and one that had never been ridden or even sat upon by any man.  They were to untie it and bring it to Jesus.  The animal used for Jesus's purposes was not to have already been used for domestic or agricultural purposes.  The account in Matthew said that they took the colt and its mother, but as it was the colt only used for Jesus's purposes, Mark just spoke of the colt.  

(3) "And if any man says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say that the Lord has need of him, and immediately he will send him here."

Jesus told them that if anyone questioned why they were taking the colt, they were to tell them that the Lord had need of it, and they would allow them to immediately take the colt.

(4) And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside in a place where two roads met, and they loosed him.

The two disciples went forth and indeed found the colt as Jesus had said, tied by the door on the intersection of two roads.  They untied the colt.

(5) And certain of them who stood there said to them, "What are you doing loosening the colt?"

Just as Jesus had said might happen, some people there who saw the disciples untying the colt asked what they were doing.

(6) And they said to them just as Jesus had commanded and they let them go.

They answered just as Jesus had told them to, that the Lord had need of the colt, and surely, they let them go just as Jesus had said they would.

(7) And they brought the colt to Jesus and cast their garments on it, and He sat upon it.

They then brought to colt to Jesus.  They threw their outer garments on the colt to act as a saddle, and Jesus sat upon it.

(8) And many spread their garments in the road, and others cut down branches off the trees and strew them in the road.

Many of the people who were there spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road, also.

(9) And those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

The people who went ahead of Jesus and those who followed Him shouted, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"  That exclamation of adoration and a wish for prosperity was a prophetic quote from Psalms 118:26.

(10) "Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"

The people continued crying out that this kingdom of their father David came in the name of the Lord.  The Jews generally spoke of their father as Abraham, but by calling out David as their father, they acknowledged that Jesus was the expected Son of David, the Messiah.  They cried out "Hosanna" again, and this time adding "in the highest."  It was a term of adoration, but also a wish of prosperity, so it was if they were praising God in the highest heavens and wishing that His kingdom greatly flourish and prosper.

Many things can be noted about Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  The Holy Spirit of God had to be moving among the people who just let the disciples take the colt.  Likewise, the Spirit was moving among all the people who threw their garments and branches along the road and cried, "Hosanna!"  Those same people might include some who would soon afterward cheer at His crucifixion.  However, Jesus was indeed king, and this represented that.  However, this king did not go into Jerusalem in a royal carriage with six white horses.  He came very simply on a donkey!  And a borrowed donkey at that!  With borrowed garments for a saddle!  His pomp and circumstance consisted of borrowed garments and branches off trees.  He came simply to save His people, not to rule over them.  The colt Jesus chose to make His entry into Jerusalem was one that had never been ridden, was not broken, yet it allowed Jesus to ride with no problem.  Jesus had dominion over all.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, added some insights.  He suggested that perhaps the choice of the colt of a donkey or ass as it is written in KJV, might signify His power over the spirit of man who is born like a wild ass's colt (Job 11:12).  Was it a mere coincidence that the colt was brought from a place at a crossroads where two roads met?  Mr. Henry also suggested that this might signify the fact that man has two choices about which way to go, and Jesus came to direct him toward the right road.

(11) And Jesus entered into Jerusalem and into the temple; and when He had looked around on all things, and now the eventide had come, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple and looked all around it.  He may have spent a good bit of time there as it might have been evening when He left Jerusalem with His disciples and went to Bethany.  Evening is the meaning of eventide in our time.  However, the prominent meaning and translation used almost 100% of the time in scripture is "hour."  The hour had come for Jesus's suffering and death, and He had looked around His temple, as He was Lord of the temple, and then left and went to Bethany with His disciples.

(12) And on the next day when they had come from Bethany, He was hungry.

The next day they left Bethany where they had stayed the night and went back to Jerusalem, and Jesus was hungry.   

(13) And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came if perhaps He might find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season of figs.

Jesus saw a fig tree from afar having leaves and He went to it to see if perhaps He might find any figs on it, but He found nothing but leaves.  Then comes the phrase "for it was not the season of figs."  Why would Jesus expect to find figs if it wasn't the season for them?  And of course, Jesus would have known without going to the tree whether or not it had fruit, so He was obviously using the fig tree as a lesson.  After much study, I think I understand why Jesus expected fruit even though it wasn't the season yet.  The tree was flourishing with leaves which was indicative of an early bloomer which would indicate fruit.  And it was not yet the time for harvesting the fruit, so it would not be that all the fruit had been gathered from it.  One other possibility is that it was not a good season for figs.  But this tree had all the flourishing outward signs that it had figs.

(14) And Jesus answered and said to it, "No man will eat fruit of you hereafter forever." And His disciples heard.

Jesus spoke to the fig tree and actually cursed it, saying that no man would ever eat fruit from it again.  His disciples heard Him say it.  That great showy fig tree that was fruitless was an illustration of the Jewish church at the time of Jesus that was full of outward shows of religion but was fruitless when it came to the real things of God.  Jesus had just been to the temple and looked all around it.  Perhaps He was contemplating all the outward signs of religion and piety, but knowing from His experience with the scribes and Pharisees, that the temple was fruitless and therefore useless.  If a church was not going to produce fruit for God, then it might as well be destroyed, never to deceive people again.

(15) And they came to Jerusalem and Jesus went into the temple and began to cast them out who bought and sold in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them who sold doves.

The fig tree had evidently been on the way to Jerusalem, as Jesus and His disciples then entered Jerusalem.  Jesus went into the temple and it seems immediately began to cast out people who were buying and selling there.  He had been in the temple the day before looking around and observing all.  He had now come to clean it out.  He overthrew all the tables and chairs of those who sold merchandise in it.  The fact that they sold doves there looks as if they were selling souvenirs or relics of the temple.  They had turned the sacred temple of God into a commercial enterprise.  The account in Luke said that Jesus had even made a scourge of small cords to drive the merchants and buyers out of the temple.  We don't ever see Jesus really angry, but that time He was full of righteous anger.

(16) And He would not allow any man to carry any vessel through the temple.

Additionally, Jesus would not let anyone carry any vessels through the temple.  These could have been other wares that were sold or perhaps vessels for carrying merchandise.

(17) And He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called for all nations the house of prayer'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

Jesus began to teach them the prophetic words in the scriptures.  He quoted Isaiah 56:7, "...My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people."  However, Jesus said that they had turned it into a den of thieves, which was also a prophetic statement from Jeremiah 7:11, "Is this house which is called by My name become a den of robbers...?"

(18) And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him, for they feared Him because all the people were astonished at His doctrine.

The chief priests and scribes heard Jesus teaching and took counsel together discussing how they might destroy Him.  They feared Jesus because all the people were awestruck by His teaching, His doctrine which was the true doctrine of God.  The people had never been taught these things before, and the chief priests and scribes did not want to lose their gig.

(19) And when evening had come, He went out of the city.

In the evening Jesus and His disciples again left the city to spend the night elsewhere, probably in Bethany again.

(20) And in the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

In the morning as they were on their way back, they passed by the fig tree Jesus had cursed the day before, and it was all dried up.

(21) And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away."

Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree the day before and pointed out to Jesus that the tree He had cursed had withered away.

(22) And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God."

Jesus spoke to all His disciples as they had all heard Him curse the tree and now observed in one day it had withered and dried up.  He told them to have faith in God.

(23) "For verily I say to you that whoever shall say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatever he says."

With that faith in God's word, even they could move mountains, if they did not doubt, and believed that what they said would come to be, they indeed would have whatever they said.  The key is having faith in God to do what God says and believing that any obstacles in the way of achieving that purpose can be removed with a word, and it will.  The faith is in God's word and in His will.  It does not mean that we can say to a tree, "Drop a million dollars from your branches," and it will happen if only we truly believe.  I believe this scripture has been taken out of context by many.  It must be within God's will, and also note Jesus's example was about moving mountains, moving obstacles in the way.  It was not "Give me."

(24) "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them."

Note that it's in prayer and communion with God, and knowing God's purpose, when we can confidently ask for what we need, believe that we will receive it, and we will.

(25) "And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, that your Father in heaven also may forgive you your trespasses."

Jesus added that when they prayed, they should also forgive anyone who had done anything to them that caused them to hold anything against them, for bitterness in the heart would surely be a hindrance to prayer and confidence that they might receive that for which they prayed.  It's what Jesus told us when He taught us how to pray in the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).  In verses 14 and 15, He added that if we forgave others, our heavenly Father would forgive us our sins; however, if we did not forgive others, neither would our heavenly Father forgive us.

(26) "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Indeed, Jesus did confirm that if they refused to forgive others, God would likewise not forgive them.

(27) And they came again to Jerusalem, and as He was walking in the temple, there came to Him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders.

Jesus and His disciples then came to Jerusalem and Jesus went into the temple.  It seems that immediately the chief priests, scribes, and elders confronted Him.

(28) And said to Him, "By what authority do you these things? And who gave you this authority to do these things?"

It was indeed a confrontation.  The chief priests, scribes, and elders demanded to know by what authority Jesus did the things He did, perhaps most pressing on their minds was His most recent act of cleansing the temple.  There was also the preaching and teaching in "their" temple and the miracles He performed.  They also wanted to know who gave Him that authority.

(29) And Jesus answered and said to them, "I will also ask of you one question, and answer Me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things."

Instead of answering them, Jesus told them that He wanted to ask them a question first, and if they answered Him, then He would tell them by what authority He did the things He did.  Jesus so often answered a question with a question.

(30) "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer Me."

It was a simple question designed to make them think about the absurdity of their question to Him.  The correct answer to His question would naturally lead to the correct answer to theirs.  The preaching and teaching of John's doctrine, calling for repentance and the coming of the Messiah, and the baptizing of souls for the Lord; did that all come from heaven or from men?

(31) And they reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we shall say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'"

The chief priests, scribes, and elders reasoned among themselves about how they should answer Jesus, which proved they weren't interested in truth; they only wanted to entrap Him.  Amazingly, they actually knew that John had prophesied and taught about the coming of Jesus.  They knew the truth about Jesus!  Yet, their lust for power and for things the way they always were trumped their desire to know the Messiah!  They reasoned what Jesus would rightly say and knew that would convict them because they had not believed John.

(32) "But if we shall say, 'Of men;'" they feared the people for all men counted John to have been a prophet indeed.

On the contrary, they reasoned that if they said John's baptism and teaching was merely an invention of men, they would be ostracized by the people who all considered John to be a prophet of God.

(33) And they answered and said to Jesus, "We cannot tell." And Jesus answering, said to them, "Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Knowing they had been boxed into a corner, that neither answer would entrap Jesus, but only serve to convict themselves, they told Him they didn't know the answer.  Jesus told them, knowing that both sides knew full well the truth, that as they had not answered His question, He would not answer theirs.