And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:13 NKJV.

I loved this today in You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “Can We Recognize His Presence? The world in which we live today and about whose suffering we know so much seems more than ever a world from which Christ has withdrawn Himself. How can I believe that in this world we are constantly being prepared to receive the Spirit? Still, I think that this is exactly the message of hope. God has not withdrawn Himself. He sent His Son to share our human condition and the Son sent us His Spirit to lead us into the intimacy of His divine life. It is in the midst of the chaotic suffering of humanity that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, makes Himself visible. But can we recognize His Presence?”

When we are deceived, we can’t see the truth. Loving Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, makes the difference. And in our chapter, Mark 11, Jesus and His disciples have arrived. As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” v. 1-3. And so it happened and as He went into Jerusalem on the colt, the people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” v. 9-10. Can you imagine? What was foretold by the prophets is happening, (Zechariah 9:9, Psalm 116:25-26). And the next day, because life keeps moving forward, two events showed the lack of the fruit of God for us: A fig tree and the Temple Court of the Gentiles. When Jesus and the disciples passed the fig tree with leaves but no fruit to feed them, v. 12-13, He said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” v. 14. And the next day the tree was withered. And the temple courts? On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as He taught them, He said, “Is it not written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7). But you have made it a ‘den of robbers’ (Jeremiah 7:11). v. 15-17. The fig tree was filled with leaves but had no fruit; the temple court was filled with money changers and merchandise to buy at exorbitant prices but had no room for faithful worship of God for all nations – no fruit of true worship of God. How do we get that way? It’s all too easy. And so Jesus taught His disciples what was most important and it wasn’t that the tree had withered! “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” v. 22-25. And the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? What did they want to know? “By what authority are You doing these things And who gave You authority to do this?” v. 28. That is a really important question! Who indeed gave Jesus that authority? Who do we recognize as authority in our own lives? And what fruit does that authority bear in us? Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism – was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell Me!” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’…So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” v. 29-33.

They couldn’t see the Son of God for Who He was. They believed the lies of the deceiver of Eve and all of us. The question is will we stay in that state of being or will we turn to the Creator God of all that exists and trust Him to lead us into the truth of His love and His authority for what is worship of Him for us? We have so much to learn and we can’t appreciate any of it without Him helping us. Imagine being there in those temple courts and hearing the Son of God questioning those who thought they were in authority. And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” What lies do we still believe of God? “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.