12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.”
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city. – Mark 11:12-19 ESV
After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus did a quick tour of the temple complex, then returned to Bethany with His disciples. Evidently, they stayed at Lazarus's home in Bethany. The next morning, Jesus and His disciples returned to the city, passing through the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley, and into the eastern gate. But Mark records a somewhat strange incident as they made their way back to the city, noting Jesus’ hunger. Mark could have known this only if one of the disciples he interviewed for his gospel account told him, and the only way the disciples could have known of Jesus’ hunger is if He had said something about it that morning.
Having made His hunger known, Jesus spied a leaf-covered fig tree in the distance and made His way to it “to see if he could find anything on it” (Mark 11:13 ESV). The context indicates that He was looking for fruit to satisfy His hunger. But when He and the disciples arrived at the tree, they found it had leaves but no fruit. This point matters because when a fig tree's leaves begin to appear, the fruit is not far behind. But this tree, though covered in leaves, had no figs, and Mark makes sure his readers know that “it was not the season for figs” (Mark 11:13 ESV).
The important fact was that the tree looked fruitful. Its foliage suggested it was fruit-bearing as well. However, this tree had bloomed out of season. From a distance, it looked fruit-bearing, but on close examination, it proved disappointing. It lacked what was necessary to satisfy Jesus’ hunger. So, Jesus cursed it.
“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” – Mark 11:14 ESV
At first glance, it might appear that Jesus had either an eating disorder or an anger problem. After all, He cursed a tree for failing to bear fruit out of season, and all because He was hungry. But Jesus orchestrated this entire scene to drive a point home to His disciples. His actions were premeditated and reflected His knowledge of the prophet Hosea's writings.
They have deeply corrupted themselves
as in the days of Gibeah:
he will remember their iniquity;
he will punish their sins.
Like grapes in the wilderness,
I found Israel.
Like the first fruit on the fig tree
in its first season,
I saw your fathers.
But they came to Baal-peor
and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame,
and became detestable like the thing they loved. – Hosea 9:9-10 ESV
Hosea was warning the people of Israel about God’s pending judgment because of their sin and rebellion against Him. While at one time they had been faithful and fruitful, they had ended up seeking other gods and committing spiritual adultery. They were like a fig tree that bore fruit in season and then had suddenly lost its capacity to bear fruit at all.
Jesus designed this entire scene as a powerful object lesson for His disciples, but it came in two parts. The real point of the lesson would not be revealed until sometime later. In the meantime, Jesus and His disciples continued their walk to the city, most likely entering the eastern gate, which opened directly onto the temple grounds. Once inside, Jesus encountered a familiar scene that caused His blood to boil. There, in the Courtyard of the Gentiles, were the same moneychangers and other vendors He had cast out a year earlier.
During the Passover season, tens of thousands of pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the temple. Because many had to travel long distances, they couldn't bring their sacrificial animals. So the priests set up a market within the Courtyard of the Gentiles where pilgrims could buy sacrificial animals at exorbitant rates. Because only local currency was accepted, pilgrims had to exchange their foreign coinage with a temple-approved moneychanger. Of course, this service came with a high surcharge.
Jesus was infuriated by the carnival-like atmosphere and the blatant displays of greed and graft that filled the temple grounds. And, just as He had done before, Jesus cleaned house.
Jesus entered the temple area and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts… – Mark 11:16 NLT
We can only imagine the chaos Jesus caused as He ransacked the stalls of the various vendors, upsetting their tables, and letting loose the sacrificial animals. He became a one-man wrecking machine, disrupting this Sanhedrin-sanctioned display of corruption and vice. And all the disciples could do was stand back and watch in slack-jawed amazement. But had the disciples understood the motivation behind Jesus’ actions, they would have joined Him in His efforts.
The location of this scene matters; it took place in the Courtyard of the Gentiles. This was the only area on the temple complex where non-Jews could enter. Any Gentiles who wished to worship the God of the Jews were free to do so, but they were restricted to this one area. In a sense, they were treated as second-class citizens. And the transformation of their courtyard from a place of prayer into a place of commerce was more than Jesus could stand. His righteous indignation stemmed from His understanding of His Father’s love for all people. Jesus quoted from Isaiah 56 to reveal the nature of His wrath.
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.” – Isaiah 56:6-7 ESV
The temple priests were more than willing to profit off the Gentiles who came to offer their burnt offerings and sacrifices to Yahweh. They gladly sold them sacrificial animals above market value and filled the temple treasury with the tidy profits. But amid the chaos and confusion, the people's prayers were drowned out, and the Son of God's anger spilled over.
He accused the religious leaders of Israel of turning His Father’s house into a “den of robbers.” This time, Jesus quotes from the book of Jeremiah.
“Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” – Jeremiah 7:8-11 NLT
God had condemned the people of Israel for their hypocrisy and for treating the temple as some kind of talisman or good luck charm. They were guilty of violating every one of God’s commands and then returning to His temple as if they were innocent of any wrongdoing. In a sense, they were using the temple like a hideout, a place of sanctuary they hoped would protect them from the punishment they deserved for their crimes against God.
And here, hundreds of years later, Jesus echoed the words of His Heavenly Father and condemned the Jews of His day for continuing the apostasy of their ancestors. Nothing had changed, and the proof is in the reaction of the religious leaders.
And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. – Mark 11:18 ESV
Rather than displaying remorse, these men sought revenge. They showed no signs of regret or even a hint of conviction. In their minds, Jesus was the guilty party; He was the one who deserved to die. So, with Jesus’ last public outburst fresh on their minds, they began to plot His demise. But Jesus simply walked away, leaving a path of destruction in His wake. He left the temple grounds, never to return again.
Jesus' departure from the temple recalls another instance when the prophet Ezekiel received a vision from God. In that vision, Ezekiel caught a glimpse of God's glory filling the temple.
…the cloud of glory filled the inner courtyard. Then the glory of the Lord rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the entrance of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the Lord. – Ezekiel 10:3-4 NLT
But as Ezekiel kept watching, something significant and disturbing happened. The glory of God slowly moved toward the east gate, which opened onto the Kidron Valley. Then, the glory of God departed; God Almighty vacated the premises.
Then the glory of the Lord moved out from the entrance of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim. And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the Lord’s Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them. – Ezekiel 10:18-19 NLT
Mark records that when evening came, Jesus and His disciples “went out of the city” (Mark 11:19 ESV). Jesus walked out the same gate He had walked in, and He never entered the temple grounds again. The glory of God had left the temple and would never return. That same temple, which the Jewish people revered and worshiped, would soon become a pile of rubble, destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. And to this day, the Jews have no temple. The glory of God, as revealed in the Son of God, has taken up residence in all those who have become the children of God. We are His temple, His dwelling place, a point the apostle Paul regularly drove home in his letters.
For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” – 2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT
Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT
Jesus left the temple that day and never returned. His departure signified that the sacrificial system could not remedy the sins of God’s people. A greater sacrifice was necessary, and He would make it, and the author of Hebrews explains why.
For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God…
“For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” – Hebrews 10:4-7, 10 NLT
Jesus would be back, but not to the temple mount. Instead, He would go to Mount Calvary, where, as the Lamb of God, He would take away the sins of the world.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
