Hello Rio!
When I was a kid, my dad was often amazed at how quickly his four sons destroyed new things. We routinely heard the line: “This is why we can’t have nice things.” One time, my brother Matt lost a new pair of shoes in the ditch behind our house after they were swallowed by the deep mud. For years to come, any question about the location of an object was met with hilarious sarcasm: “It’s probably out back in the ditch!” My brothers still laugh whenever we imagine all the treasures my dad claims are buried in that ditch!
Have you ever noticed that our God is constantly throwing things into the sea?
In Genesis, God submerged the wicked earth beneath the flooding seas after providing an ark for Noah. When God defeated Pharaoh at the Red Sea, Moses sang about Pharaoh’s army being “thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:1). When Jonah rebelled against God, he too was hurled into the sea (Jonah 1:12). Already, in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus warned that those who cause little ones to stumble would be better off being “thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42).In Revelation, we are told that Babylon will be like a stone thrown into the sea (Revelation 18:21). In the final judgment, the Apostle John also tells us that Satan, hell, and death itself will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:10-14), but those who trust in Christ will be spared.
When God throws something into the sea, it’s meant to be a picture of His judgment.
In this week’s passage (Mark 11), Jesus rebuked the wickedness of the Temple Mount. On his way into Jerusalem, he cursed a barren fig tree. Its leaves looked healthy, but it bore no fruit. Then he walks into the Temple Mount, where He cleansed the temple and rebuked its corruption. The religiosity of the temple had become like that cursed fig tree. It was beautiful on the outside, but it was not bearing fruit. Later, as the disciples marveled over the withered fig tree, Jesus responded:
“Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”
What does that mean? Surely this is not intended to be some sort of Christianized Jedi power. If you live near Broward’s Mount Trashmore, you’re not going to move the landfill by believing really hard! Jesus is being specific here. They are walking toward the Temple Mount where He is about to pronounce an intense judgment upon all of the self-righteous religious leaders. In that context, Jesus declares that FAITH can throw “this mountain” into the sea.
Jesus is teaching his disciples that real faith in Christ will triumph over all the requirements of the Temple Mount. The book of Hebrews affirms that the temple would no longer be necessary. Jesus is our high priest (who intercedes for us); Jesus is our sacrifice (who atones for our sin); Jesus is our temple (where we encounter God); and Jesus has fulfilled the entirety of the Law on our behalf. Our Savior’s death and resurrection has rendered the Temple Mount useless. In Christ, that mountain — along with all its burdens, corruptions, hypocrisy — can be thrown into the sea. It is no longer an obstacle to our salvation! Praise be to God!
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes a similar statement: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). What’s so bad about the mulberry tree? The mulberry tree was made famous by Ovid — the most famous Greek poet of Jesus’ lifetime. He wrote a poem called Metamorphoses in which a young couple (Pyramus and Thisbe) committed suicide beneath a mulberry tree after a tragic misunderstanding. Think Romeo & Juliet. The last lines of the poem include the words of Thisbe and the subsequent response of the Greek gods.
“And you, O tree, now shading
The body of one, and very soon to shadow
The bodies of two, keep in remembrance always
The sign of our death, the dark and mournful color.”
She spoke, and fitting the sword-point at her breast,
Fell forward on the blade, still warm and reeking
With her lover’s blood. Her prayers touched the gods,
And touched her parents, for the mulberry fruit
Still reddens at its ripeness, and the ashes
Rest in a common urn.
The mulberry tree was a symbol of tragedy and death in the days of Jesus. When He declared that the mulberry tree could be thrown into the sea by faith, Jesus was declaring that faith alone has the power to overthrow tragedy, death, and heartbreak. How? Because Jesus was slain for you, and the power of His blood touched the heart of God Almighty! In response, our God doesn’t just memorialize the deaths of His beloved; Our God forever overthrows the deaths of His beloved.
So let’s draw near to the One who walks atop the Sea and invites His disciples to do likewise!
Love y’all!
Pastor Sam