Leaves Without Fruit: When Jesus Inspects the Tree—and the Temple
Mark 11:12–20

What do you do when Jesus draws near, not to admire appearances, but to inspect reality? In Mark 11:12–20, the King who rode into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna” walks out of Bethany hungry, approaches a fig tree full of leaves, and finds nothing but empty promise. Then He steps into the Temple and flips a whole system that looks religious from a distance but has lost its roots. They should be about prayer, repentance, righteousness, and welcome for the nations.

This week, Pastor G walks us through Mark’s “sandwich” structure (fig tree → Temple cleansing → fig tree) to show the same diagnosis (hypocrisy) in two places: visible religion without real fruit. It’s a sobering warning, and a mercy, because Jesus confronts what’s hollow so He can restore what’s holy.