Verses 12 through 19 of the 11th chapter of Mark tell two short stores; one of Jesus cursing a fig tree and the other of Jesus clearing out the temple. These two stories give insight as to the values and priorities held by Jesus.The first story to be examined is the cursing of the fig tree. As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Bethany, it is told that Jesus became hungry. He found a fig tree but discovered it was barren. Jesus then curses the tree, saying, May no one eve eat fruit from you again. Despite the brevity of the story, it gives insight to Jesus character. Based on the scripture, it would seem that Jesus became frustrated or upset with the lack of fruit on the tree. His curse shows a bit more of His human side; frustration that turns into anger. It appears that Mark makes an attempt to show that it is uncharacteristic of Jesus to become mad at such a seemingly trivial thing by mentioning, his disciples heard him say it. This story appears to simply prove that Jesus is actually human. Later in the chapter, though, Jesus refers back to the fig tree, and uses its example to teach His disciples a lesson on faith. Jesus more than likely planned this when He first cursed the tree.The second story tells of Jesus return to the temple in Jerusalem. Upon His arrival, Jesus found merchants buying and selling inside the temple. He became enraged, and 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. This display of rage shows the thing that Jesus is most adamant about: keeping separated the things that are Gods and the things of the world. Jesus saw the worldly merchants defiling the temple, and cleansed it in order to keep the temple holy. Jesus risks being seen in a fit of rage and sacrifices his image of being above most emotions in order to fix the problem. However, instead of staying angry, Jesus sits do...
