The Fig Tree

WHY DID JESUS CURSE THE FIG TREE? WHAT DID THE TREE DO?

There are 3 insights we need to understand in the story of the Fig tree –

1. The Fig tree

2. Temple of Jerusalem

3. The Fig tree

Fig tree stood as a symbol of Israel.

Biblical References:

In the Old Testament

1. Jer. 8:13 - “I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them

will be taken from them.”

2. Hos. 9:10 - "When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.

So, Israel was the chosen of God and fig tree stood as a symbol of Israel. The cursing took place after Palm Sunday. On Palm Sunday, Jesus had a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Four days before crucifixion cursing takes place and the withering takes place before the cleansing of the Temple. The cleansing of the Temple because money lenders had turned it into a den of thieves and there were shrewd marketing that was going on and exorbitant rates were imposed on the pilgrims for the sacrificial animals, who came to worship. The whole scene angered Jesus.

What is it we learn from the Fig tree?

Mk.11:11-25

¹¹Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. ¹²The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³Seeing 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. ¹⁴Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

¹⁵On 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, ¹⁶and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷And 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.’” ¹⁸The 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. ²⁰In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹Peter 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. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

We see the triumphant entry of Jesus in

Ref.: Mk.11:11 – Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

That is very unusual and is very interesting, because He didn’t do anything there, but just had look around and went to Bethany. It’s actually seems a little weird for that 11^th verse to feature there. When Jesus entered the temple the temple no doubt had its most beautiful beauty, it was alive, but not alive to God, just like the fig tree, it was all fake, just like some fruits give a fake appearance.

About the Fig Tree

Coming to the fig tree we need to know that there are 3 crops of figs in a year that normally grows in Israel.

In the fig tree, what happens is that the tree first produces those tender small nubs, fruit like bulbs. So, we can assume that if the tree has leaves, the fruits have already come, because only after the fruits come, the leaves come. And in verse 13 it says Jesus spots from a distance a fig tree with leaves, he goes to find out if it had any fruit. Every traveller in Jerusalem knows that if the fig tree has leaves then the fruits will be there. He spots it from a distance and Jesus moves towards the fig tree and every reason to believe it had fruits. And on reaching there He finds that it has only leaves and no fruits. It was so unlikely of Jesus, the word of God tells us that He was hungry and when He had looked into it, He cursed the tree.

So, what we learn from that fig tree is that it had a false appearance. It had an appearance of fruitfulness, but it was deceptive and it lacked fruit. Jesus was irritated at it’s a false appearance of bearing the fruit. It was not yet the season for figs, but it made itself appear from a distance that it can offer something substantial, nothing but the leaves. It was all pretense.

The tree was like a hypocrite. It showed itself in fullness, but it was not. So, there was a false appearance on the fig tree. In many places, Jesus spoke about hypocrisy. This tree depicted that. He called the pharisees and all those religious people in Mt. 23:27 & 28, the Word of God tells, “²⁷Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

The fig tree depicted like whitewashed tombs. Like these, the fig tree looked beautiful on the outside, but on closer examination it was a lie. It had nothing. The parable makes a point to tell us it was not a season of figs. This tree gave a false appearance of being more advanced, more fruitful than those around it. The other trees didn’t have leaves, but this one had. So, it had given a false appearance. It appeared to have figs, when all around it did not. It made itself ought to be something, it wasn’t and Jesus had no tolerance for hypocrisy. One lesson that we all must learn from this. He called the Pharisees as hypocrites because at that point of time, they called themselves as leaders of the law, but they were dead inside and were not fulfilling what God wanted them to fulfil. Are we living a fruitful life?

The first thing we discussed is it had a false appearance. Second thing is it had a biblical hypocrisy and now the third one is living a fruitful life. Jesus cautions us Himself that we should be careful to give the world an appearance of having the fruit of the spirit in us of living a fruitful life, but on a closer examination, we are no different from that of the world. We cannot show off the appearance of having a fruitful life. But when people look closely, there is nothing but leaves. Remember dear friends that the fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - Gal. 5:22-23.

Are we walking in the fruit of the Spirit? Are we truly living a fruitful life or a life of hypocrisy? Father God is very fond of family relationships. Throughout the bible, we can see that Jesus always wanted this family relationship. He was very interested in that. Jesus wanted to say something before He died. He wanted to tell the heart of God, He wanted to tell the cry of God’s heart, He wanted to emphasise that and He took this as an opportunity. Do we know the reason why He ever came to Jerusalem, and looked around and went back? Every word that is put in the bible has a purpose and there is something that God wants to convey. And He went back to Bethany. Now on the way He finds this tree.

So, actually the one thing that God is teaching us as a lesson is spot the real thing. In this case, it is spot the true worship. From the fig tree, the lesson that we are going to learn is that God is trying to insist on us to worship Him truly. Let us notice how to spot the real thing. How to spot true worship? Now in verse 12-14, we see Jesus is hungry, and in the distance He notices a fig tree covered with leaves. He spots a fig tree with leaves. So, He went to see if he could find anything on it. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season. He knew that it was not the season for figs, yet He looked for figs. And then He did. What did He do? He cursed the fig tree. Is that not odd? Why Jesus takes out His anger on a poor tree? Is that not odd to curse a tree? Why at all curse it? It doesn’t look worthy of Jesus at all to have done that. Sometimes we wonder why Jesus could not control His anger there.

Mark mentions that it was not time for figs and Jesus was still looking for figs in a tree, when season was not there. In fact it is the only place in all the Gospels where Jesus uses His miraculous power for wounding rather than healing. Why the Divine over reaction by Him. What’s going on? Was He hungry? The fact is He really didn’t harm the tree? He was actually speaking the truth about it. The fig trees bear two kinds of fruits. As leaves start growing in, with them the little nubs grow. They are called pre-figs. And they are edible and travellers ate it often whenever they came to Jerusalem. And of course then comes the grown up figs. It wasn’t a season of figs, but the leaves indicate it’s a season for the little nubs. When the leaves are there, these small little nubs will always be there. So, Jesus, on close examination saw that the tree didn’t bear the fruit, which means the tree was dead. From a distance it looked ok, but it wasn’t doing ok and it was not doing what it was supposed to do. By cursing it, He said it was a dead tree, no matter how full the leaves are.

The fig tree as we understood in the Old Testament was the symbol of Israel and their standing with God. Like Adam and Eve after their fall, this fig tree though it was full of life was only used to cover their nakedness. It was the same with the temple in Jerusalem. The temple built in Jerusalem so magnificently and held with pride and esteem by the Pharisees was also alive, but lifeless. This is the reason the fig tree was put before the temple. Jesus wanted His disciples to see this. Why? It is possible for each one of us to be outwardly religious and inwardly we can be dead. We need the reality with Jesus, not appearing of reality with Him. In other words, an intimacy with Him and we need to be able to bear fruit. So, going back to verse 11, why did Jesus go to the temple, look around and then go back and come back the next day? The reason is because, this tree was going to serve as an object of lesson, about the hypocritical temple in Jerusalem. He wanted tell a story through a story to them, of their hypocrisy. From far the temple looked good, but it didn’t bear fruit. True worship bears fruit, promotes life with God. We see in verses 15-19, Jesus began to drive away all the people. What Jesus said becomes true the next day, the tree withers.

Ref.: In Mal.3:1-3 - ¹“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. ²But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. ³He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.

That was the fulfillment of the prophecy, which was given against the people of Israel. Jesus had to go into the temple to cleanse and purify and tell them that He is God. He went into the temple and He knew that He had a mission. He knew that He was sent by God and that He had a mission and that He had to act. He knew that the temple was a place of worship and life. It was a place where sacrifices were made to grant purification and forgiveness to those who came there. It is place where sinners met with God.

Its deadness was not a problem. He could ignore it, but He had to confront it because God’s glory was at stake. Sinners couldn’t get closer to God, because Pharisees and Sadducees were putting on so many rules and regulations and there would not allow people to come closer to God. The very idea of God bringing people closer to Him and the place of worship every year they come and pray and that was diluted because of these leaders.

Ref.: Is. 56: 7 - these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.”

It had been written that it is should be a house of prayer for all nations. It was not alone for Israelites.

Ref. Mk.11:17 - 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.

It was a house not to the Jews alone, but a house open to the Gentiles, like us. When God gave the structure of the temple to Moses, it had 4 sections. Every layer took people closer to God. First the Gentiles, who stays in the outer court, then the Jews will go before them, the priests go into the holy place and then the High Priests go into the sanctuary only once a year and that too only on the day of atonement. So there were four sections in the temple built by Solomon. And the curtain separated the Holy of Holies, which was a representation of the distance between God and the sinful man. It was the place where the Manna was kept. The entry to it was only on one day by the High Priests.

Now here we find, Jesus is standing on the outer court. He is standing where we stand as Gentiles and driving out all the den of robbers. Now we are the Gentiles and the temple was the only place where we could find God and the leaders were there to help. But they didn’t do what they had to. They changed their procedures for sacrifices, they made profit out of selling of all these in the name of worshipping God. The temple didn’t happen all of a sudden. It took years to build it. Similarly, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Only on a compromise, step by step, we can get closer to God. We can make Jesus’s name become mild in our lives rather than holy commands. We can let feelings rule our actions. We can keep God at a distance.

Jesus came to remove the barriers of worship. True worship is not merely how we are feeling about God, but how open we are to God and how open we are making it for others to come closer to God. A true worship is not showing being religious, but a God glorifying life from us. If the people leave the Church because the bible makes it hard, it’s between them and God, but if we make it hard for people to worship then that is what Jesus is trying to do away with. So the fig tree represented this temple, especially her leaders they were all hypocrites. It was already predicted that the temple will be destroyed. Now passing again by the fig tree again, Peter notices that it has withered and died and says so.

Ref.: Mk.11:21- ²¹Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” ²²“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

When Peter says so in Mk.21, we can see to our amazement in Mk 11:22, that Jesus changes the topic like any of us tend to do at times. An unusual response from Jesus was “Have faith in God”. Faith is the key to Heaven. Faith is a must in every believer. It’s the gift of the Holy Spirit. This faith is moving mountain faith. That’s why He said in Mk:11:23-24 - “²³Truly 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. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

What relationship does it have with the fig tree and the temple? ‘This mountain’ means the dead worship that was done in the temple. In the temple, there was no direct access to God. As earlier informed, there were the four layers that each one had to go to the temple. This fig tree symbolised the deadness of Israel’s true worship. We have to have that true hunger for God; otherwise we may not be able to bear fruit. He became our meeting place.

Jesus did not want that big temple. He was not after the grandeur of the temple. He just needed a cross. The curtain was torn from top to bottom at time of Jesus death. In fact, God tore it. Have faith in God. Jesus died, the temple died. Jesus became an access point to God. Why did He do that is because we need to be brought nearer to God. He came for us sinners. The curtain tore at the temple when Jesus died because God wanted us to be near to Him. God loves to bring sinners to Himself. A great writer wrote like this, “We were made not primarily that we may love God, but God may love us.” True worship is getting closer to God.

As revealed in Mk.11:24, whatever we ask, we need to believe. Our heart may be den of thieves, but we need to do receive the cleansing by His death on the cross. Jesus brought a robber to heaven, and so He can bring all of us as well to Him. If we want to be this life bearing fruit, we must allow Him to prune us. Christianity is fruit bearing and we will be known by our fruits. Jesus also said that He is the vine and we are the branches. He will prune us so that we can bear much fruits. It brings glory to God. That is what He wants from each one of us. In fruitfulness, Jesus is the vine, just abide in Him. In prayer, we produce more fruit, because we draw from the source. As we continue to bear fruit, He will prune so that we bear more fruits. We draw spiritual nourishment from Him and like the tree we can bring forth good fruits.

Pruning in the bible is God is the Gardener and He will prune us. He will take away the dead things and He sees that new growth comes. He will see that dead is removed so that fruit can grow in abundance. Pruning is nothing but cutting away dead and overgrown branches or stems to increase fruitfulness and growth. He prunes us by removing our shame, our old habits, and heals our emotional wounds, … . We start growing in Him and allow Him to produce more fruits. We need to go for a cleansing and not just follow religion. It is for us to be the tree that will bear fruit that will last. In Mt.21:43 - “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. In Jer. 8:13 - I will take away their harvest,

declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.

The above is the crux of the whole parable of the fig tree. Trees bear fruits even before leaves open. So, if trees are there, fruits should be there too. If we have hypocrisy in our life, false appearances of being more religious or leading people to sin we need to go for a cleansing before the Father. Jesus has shown each one of us in this fig tree, that sinners don’t follow religion. In true worship, our Lord is exalted and He is so happy when we come transparent before Him with nothing, just emptiness, true from our heart, heart of worship, so that our body, the body of the temple of Holy Spirit will be fit for true worship. We don’t get everything we deserve, but we get everything Jesus deserves.