Mark 11:11-12
11:11 a The account ends surprisingly: The exuberant crowd disappears and Jesus’ actual entrance into the Temple is anticlimactic in comparison to his approach. Apparently, in the minds of the people, nothing important had taken place. Jesus’ looking around prepares the reader for God’s judgment on the Temple (11:15-17 b).Summary for Mark 11:12-25: 11:12-25 c In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ messianic entry into Jerusalem is intimately associated with the cleansing of the Temple (see 11:15-17 d; cp. Matt 21:1-17 e; Luke 19:28-48 f). In John, however, the account of the cleansing is recorded early in Jesus’ ministry (John 2:13-22 g). It is uncertain whether there were two separate cleansings of the Temple (an early event recorded in John and this later event recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke) or just one cleansing recorded at different places by John and the synoptic writers.
• In Mark’s account, the cursing of the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14 h, 20-25 i) forms an inclusio (bookends) around the cleansing of the Temple (11:15-19 j). Mark thus indicates that Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple should be interpreted in light of his cursing of the fig tree—as an act of judgment rather than reformation.
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