As we return to the Gospel of Mark in our worship services we can refresh some ideas we’ve earlier touched on. In discussing chapter 5, I had earlier written about Mark’s “sandwich” writing style…
I’ve come late to the table when it comes to the panini. I’m not sure exactly when I discovered these marvels, but I know that others have been singing their praises long before I got on the bandwagon. Well, strike up the band, cause I’m on board now!
What’s not to love? Bread, glorious bread! And, inside, warm, toasted meats with cheese oozing. Goodness! I’m making myself hungry.
One odd note I have noticed about the panini… I’m not sure if it is the bread or the insides that I like more. Sometimes it’s a no-brainer: the bread! But, often I find myself drooling over the goodness inside. Maybe that’s just the glory of a panini—the best part is when it comes together as one.
In the past studies, we have noted the Gospel writer’s use of a literary tool, “the sandwich.” In “the sandwich,” an author begins one story (the top slice of bread), shifts to a totally different story (the meat/cheese), before returning to his original story (bottom bread). The idea is that the two stories interact or interpret one another, so that by consuming the whole, you are getting something more meaningful than just one or the other. The whole sandwich is better taken together than the parts.
This Sunday, we will be looking at one of the more famous Markian sandwiches—the intertwined stories of Jesus and the fig tree and the cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11:12-25). And, I find myself with a familiar conundrum: which story do I focus on? Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree sure seems out of place, out of character, demanding some explanation. On the other hand, His cleansing of the Temple was a dramatic moment which cannot be ignored. Like consuming a panini, I go back and forth—sometimes the bread, sometimes the insides.
But, of course, the glory of a panini is in taking it as a whole, and we will experience this excitement as we look at Mark’s sandwich.
Could Mark have recorded these two events as separate stories? Of course. The drama of Jesus’ interaction with the fig tree and His teachings on faith are truly insightful. The purification of the Temple, Jesus’ attack on the false worship there, should move us to self-examination in powerful ways. Then, why did Mark choose to wrap them together? Here is truly an instance of when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Jesus has come to save, and the scope, breath, and depth of that salvation is brilliantly displayed in the interweaving of these two events.
Come, let us consume this sandwich together and praise the Lord of salvation we find there!
In preparation for our worship this Sunday please read Mark 11:12-25.
- What reasons are given in this passage for Jesus cursing the fig tree? What motivated Him to do so? Why is this so very jarring?
- Some people look at the cleansing of the Temple as an example of Jesus’ human nature—He simply lost His temper in the face of the sinful selfishness of the people. What evidence would you use to challenge this notion? What does Mark say that would point in another direction?
- Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56 to explain His reaction in the Temple. Look through that chapter in Isaiah. What is the driving force of that chapter, and how does it impact Jesus’ Temple actions?
- Verse 23 surely seems to indicate that with faith anything is possible. Yet that is not our daily experience. Why? What hinders our faith? Also, how might this verse be misconstrued? (e.g., what does “believes in his heart” mean?)
- Verse 25 seems to introduce a separate question—what does forgiveness have to do with faith and prayer? How does this shape what we mean by belief/faith as discussed earlier in the text?
By Henry Knapp