Mark 11:12-19

Judgment against a fruitless tree and a filthy Temple Mark 11:12-19: The human side of Jesus is seen often in the gospels. Early the next morning as he journeyed from Bethany to Jerusalem He was hungry. He saw a fig tree that had leaves but no fruit. The tree was not doing what fig trees were supposed to do. It was condemned and the next day it had dried up from the roots. Just like the fig tree Israel did not do the job God sent them to do. They were to exalt God in their nation and also before the Gentiles. God's desire was to draw all men unto Him. (Isaiah 56:1-6) Like the fruitless tree they failed.

In the temple Jesus found people buying and selling. They had turned the house of prayer into a den of robbers. A den of robbers is where the robbers go to escape, not where they go to do the robbing. The den was a place of safety. They went there to hide their evils. Is it the case that anyone ever attends church services just to hide their evils and feel safe thinking that no one will ever know? The hatred that the religious leaders felt for Jesus increased after He cleansed the Temple. They were now "seeking a way to destroy Him." When the evening came Jesus again went out of the city.