The Cursed Fig tree

 

Two Passages of Scripture
Matt Ch. 21 vs. 18 - 22
18/ Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19/ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20/ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21/ Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22/ If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Mark Ch. 11 vs. 11 - 12 & 20 - 24
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. ------
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/ "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24/ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

These two passages describe a miracle which Christ performed in the presence of his disciples

A miracle which many people would be happier if Christ had not performed it, or at best if it had not been reported in scripture

William Barclay in his commentary describes this incident as
"The most difficult story in the gospel narrative."

It would seem that these two accounts of this miracle are found difficult because they appear to show Jesus in an unfamiliar and uncharacteristic situation.

Here was Jesus seeming to use his Godly powers for his own ends

To gratify a feeling of disappointment at finding no figs when He was feeling hungry,
He performed an unreasonable and unjust act by cursing a fig tree that had no fruit.
Even when as it is pointed out in Mark 12 v. 13
It was not even the season for figs

The question must be asked
Did Jesus really expect to find Figs?

Surely He must have known the tree was incapable of bearing fruit in April.
Which was Passover time

Apparently the first ripe figs are generally gathered in June.

Jesus was in fact well aware of the seasons appertaining to the fig tree's life cycle as we shall see in a minute.

Why then did Jesus do this to the fig tree.?
When on a previous occasion He wouldn't use His power to change stones into bread to satisfy His hunger.

Yet here he condemns a fig tree to never bear fruit again and it withers and dies.
WHY

This miracle is often considered to be a lesson in faith, as in both accounts Jesus speaks to his disciples afterwards about the things they could do if they had Sufficient faith without doubting

Mark Ch. 11 vs. 22 - 23 & Matthew Ch. 21 v.21
Mark 22/ "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23/ "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. -----------Matt. 21/ Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

I believe ( And this is with the help of my new found friend " The interlinear Greek new testament" ) that this is not the case.
To explain why, I must Digress a little from my main message.

I believe that the words in Mark Ch. 11 vs. 22 - 23 & Matt. Ch. 21 v. 21 are statements of *Fact*, rather than a suggestion of what we Disciples might do if we had sufficient faith.

The A.V. The R.S.V. and The N.I.V. Translate
Mark Ch.11 v. 22 with the words ' Have faith in God ' suggesting if only we could increase our faith we could do all these things

This can cause us a problem and a little anxiety !

The literal Greek translation to that verse is
'Have Faith OF God
And, if we had the faith OF  God Not doubting, would no longer a problem

We , don't have the faith OF God

With the faith OF God all these things would be no problem at all

Hebrews CH. 11 v. 1 Says
"FAITH is the assurance of things hoped for." There is no doubt in your mind if you have Assurance .
If we had Complete Assurance we would have the Faith OF God

Therein lies the problem
But Jesus did have the faith OF God Hence he could do these things

To resume
If it wasn't to encourage us to go about trying to move mountains.

Then we need to look a little deeper into the reason for what Jesus did to the fig tree.

One thing we learn as we read Scripture is that Jesus never acted without a purpose

We also know that He was in the habit of using parables to point us to particular truths.

So it seems reasonable to me that if this incident was not an act of irritability by Jesus
It would most certainly have been a lesson in the form of a parable.

A Pictorial parable

It also seems rather significant to me that in the two Gospels that report the incident of the withered Fig tree.
We also find the words

"Now learn the lesson of the Fig tree"
Matt. Ch. 24 v 32 & Mark Ch. 13 v. 28

Whilst the context there deals with the last days and Christ's second coming the suggestion is that we need to be watchful and ready when that day comes.

So let us try to Learn the lesson of the Fig tree

The Fig tree was quite an ordinary tree

The common Fig tree
It's mentioned regularly throughout the bible

In Genesis we read Adam and Eve used it's leaves
In revelation John uses the Fig tree as an illustration of the winding up of the universe Ch. 6 v. 12 ff

"When the sixth seal was opened the stars of the sky fell like the Fig tree sheds its winter fruit, and the sky vanished like a scroll that is rolled up"

Figs were of course part of the staple diet both fresh and dried.
The spies also brought figs out of Canaan along with a large cluster of grapes and pomegranates.

Dried Figs were used as food by Abigail. A poultice for boils by Hezekiah.
Fig trees were used as a symbol of prosperity during Solomon's reign.

A fig tree was also a place to sit and pray under. In fact no Vineyard worth its salt would be without a Fig tree.

There is I am sure a lesson to be learnt from all of these accounts, But here we are concerned with,

The Fig tree that withered.

-------------------------------

Jesus had Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem
Where He knew and had told his Disciples that he must suffer and die

Luke tells us in Ch. 19 That as Jesus drew near to Jerusalem "He Wept over it"

Why do you think he wept ?
Scripture in Johns Gospel Ch. 1 tells us that

Verse 10
"He (that is Jesus ) was in the world and the world was made thro Him . and yet the world Knew Him not"

Verse 11
"Jesus Gods Son had come to His own home and His own people didn't receive him"

This Jesus had said
"How many times have I wanted to put my arms round you as a hen gathers her Chicks. But you wouldn't let me"
And Jesus wept
Can you imagine His sorrow.
The whole history of the Jewish race was the same

Time and time again God had relented and forgiven them.
And time after time Israel had turned away from God and gone their own way 

Psalm 78 vs. 5 - 42
5/ He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,

6/ so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7/ Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8/ They would not be like their forefathers--
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

9/ The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
10/ they did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by his law.
11/ They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
12/ He did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13/ He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand firm like a wall.
14/ He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15/ He split the rocks in the desert
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16/ he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.

17/ But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
18/ They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
19/ They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?
20/ When he struck the rock, water gushed out,
and streams flowed abundantly.
But can he also give us food?
Can he supply meat for his people?"
21/ When the LORD heard them, he was very angry;
his fire broke out against Jacob,,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22/ for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
23/ Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24/ he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25/ Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26/ He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and led forth the south wind by his power.
27/ He rained meat down on them like dust,
flying birds like sand on the seashore.
28/ He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29/ They ate till they had more than enough,
for he had given them what they craved.
30/ But before they turned from the food they craved,
even while it was still in their mouths,
31/ God's anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

 

32/ In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33/ So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
34/ Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35/ They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36/ But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
37/ their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38/ Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39/ He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.

40/ How often they rebelled against him in the desert
and grieved him in the wasteland!
41/ Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42/ They did not remember his power--
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

This Psalm Sums up the history of Israel

No wonder Jesus wept

All of this must have been in the mind of Jesus as He approached Jerusalem

He came as He always had with a message of Salvation and reconciliation but they still rejected Him.

God had favoured Israel with revelations not granted to other nations and he looked now for fruit

Israel had been entrusted with the oracles of God for the children yet unborn

Was it unreasonable to expect some return for His investment
In Isaiah Ch 5 vs. 1 - 7 we Read

I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2/ He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3/ "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4/ What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5/ Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard: :
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6/ I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it."
7/ The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

The owner of the Vineyard had come back expecting to find fruit
But the tree had all the signs of holiness 'BUT NO FRUIT'

Plenty of leaves to show
Temple worship, Laws and ordinances, Fast days and festivals,
Plenty of profession but no practice, with all this in mind Jesus sees a Fig tree

And as always looking for something to use as an illustration
Here was a time honoured symbol in Israel

So he points out to His Disciples in a visual parable the punishment for not bearing fruit

You shall henceforth bear no fruit

For not using the talents that they were given
"That which they had will be taken away"

The Joy of the Lord that comes with fruitful service will no longer be available,

Those who profess a faith but show no fruit.
The ability to bear fruit will be taken away

Even the world today, looks at those who profess to have the Lord in their lives, and says to itself where is their fruit.

As the body of Christ on earth. The Church has been entrusted with the Good news of salvation

We need to learn the lesson of the Fig tree

God spoke thro Jeremiah Ch. 15 V. 6 to Judah
"You rejected me says the Lord you keep going backward so I have stretched out my hand and destroyed you"

For not going forward God withdrew his support

Will this be the fate of "The Church "

In John Ch. 15 V 16 Jesus said
"I chose and appointed you that you might go and bear fruit and that your fruit may abide"

John Ch. 15 v. 8
"By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

In Psalm 78 Israel was commanded.
Not asked. But Commanded.
"To pass on the law to the next generation"

Jesus formed His Church and told us to
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel"

If we feel incapable of doing this. We need to read Acts. Ch. 1 v 8 again
"You will receive power when the Holy spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses to the ends of the earth"

Has the holy spirit come upon you yet. Do you feel like weeping over the state of the world, as Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

The primary task of the church today is the same as it was for Israel that is to witness to the world,
to pass on to the nations of the yet unborn. The knowledge of the love that Jesus has for them.

We Must learn the lesson of the Fig tree

If we don't then we shall suffer the same fate as Israel

Apathy and disinterest appears to be a big problem in the Church nowadays,
Many people seem to want to belong but not be involved.
If a Church doesn't Grow its generally the minister who gets the blame, when He or She is probably the mainstay of the few who are seeking to keep the work going.

We are a priesthood of all believers we all have our part to play.

As a Body we are told the hand cannot say to the foot I have no need of you.
But the opposite is also true The Foot ought not to say to the hand you have no need of me.

Is ours just a show of Christianity.

Does the district in which you are placed, just see leaves and branches, and no fruit

The word to Adam and Eve is as relevant to us as it was to them at the beginning of time.

But perhaps in a slightly different way.

Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.

In closing I'd like to read again the story of talking trees
From Judges Ch 9 vs. 7 - 15
7/ Jotham --------- he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, "Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. 8/ One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, `Be our king.'
9/ "But the olive tree answered, `Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'
10/ "Next, the trees said to the fig tree, `Come and be our king.'
11/ "But the fig tree replied, `Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'
12/ "Then the trees said to the vine, `Come and be our king.'
13/ "But the vine answered, `Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'
14/ "Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, `Come and be our king.'
15/ "The thornbush said to the trees, `If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'

The point of the story is clear
If we of our own free will choose someone to Reign over us we should be willing obey their commands.

Now if we have of our own free will have chosen Jesus to rule over us we really need to learn the lesson of the Fig tree.

And seek to bear fruit suitable for the purpose for which we were cultivated.