Mark 11:12-26
Jesus Curses a Fig Tree and Clears the Temple Courts
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
19 When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [26]
It was near the time of Passover and the Israeli people were milling around...Jesus was hungry...And then He found a fig tree..Jesus cursed the fig tree because it was not bearing fruit...Some may ask why He didn't heal the fig tree and allow it to prosper with new figs...But He didn't and He chose this path of cursing it, causing it to wither and die...
In this cursing, we can believe that some of us can appear not to be what we really are...We may at times put on a show or face and not be ourselves...This particular fig tree was full of leaves, yet it did not have one fig on it...Upon closer inspection of different things and when we get to know people better, we find out how things and people really are...They often are not what their original appearance is telling us...
This lesson of Jesus, may be about Israel and their trying to be good and how they struggled to follow God in the past...They were around to observe Passover time, as they should have been...Israel is the nation of God...Israeli's people are God's people...God wants us to be fruitful and follow Him, but we struggle to be obedient, just as the Israeli nation at times struggled to follow the One True God...We struggle in helping and loving our neighbors...And when Jesus saw the moneychangers He became even more upset...This was the time of Passover and a time of being sacred and holy...So sometimes lessons are better learned in a negative way than a positive way...
And when we think about our own personal lives, and the decisions we make -are they fruitful for ourselves, for others and for God?...Do we show love, forgiveness, and mercy toward all neighbors?...Or are we too, like a tree full of leaves, bearing no fruit for Jesus?...