The Needs of Jesus in Mark 11 Turned into Object Lessons.

It was a busy week for the Lord as He made His way into Jerusalem for His passion. He did not miss one single opportunity to employ teachings that would change the world forever. Here, in one chapter, needs arose and Jesus used them as object lessons for the disciples, and for us.

The Need of a Donkey
3 And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. 4 And they went their way , and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.

The Need for Decency
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught , saying unto them, Is it not written , My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

The Need of a Fig
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry : 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came , if haply he might find any thing thereon : and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

The Need to put the Critics in Their Place
27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying , If we shall say , From heaven; he will say , Why then did ye not believe him? 32 But if we shall say , Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell . And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

At least 4 occasions for needs of the Saviour arose in this couple of days. We could summarize these 4 needs as; Worship, Prayer, Faith, Authority. Jesus used these four occasions to model these all important aspects of our spiritual lives in the everyday occurrences that come our way.

I am sure, if we are paying attention, we will find this day wrought with opportunities to exercise our need to worship the Lord, bathe a matter in prayer, have a little faith and tap into the authority of God in our lives.