In Mark 11:11-17, Jesus approached Jerusalem for the last time. Upon entering the city, He went to the temple only to find spiritual neglect. That evening He restfully spent the night in the community of Bethany, but not happily.
When He journeyed to Jerusalem the next day it seems that a justifiable, "divine crankiness" had set in. He began the day cursing a fig tree which disappointed Him for lack of fruit, and ended the same day using deliberate physical force to clear the temple of merchants crouching on "prayer property."
Now I am reticent to apply an unflattering human trait to the Son of God, yet gospel writer Mark took great pains to associate Christ prior day's evaluation with His unusual behavior. It seems Jesus gets a justifiably perturbed when unfruitfulness is present, and prayerlessness becomes routine.
Now it is important to note that no one died, nor did anyone experience ultimate judgment. God just decided to yank a little slack out of the mercy leash. Still, this passage does freshly inspire me to live my life trying to make God smile. Live right, live well...
