Jesus and the Barren Fig Tree
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Matthew 5:3-5
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:
James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Today we will be reading from Mark 11:12-25
Last week we started taking a look at the final week of Jesus’ life here on earth before His death on the cross. And we saw that there were things taking place in the Temple which were so evil that Jesus declared the place to be a “den of robbers”!
The outer court, which was to be the court of the Gentiles, had been turned into a market place selling animals which could be used for sacrifices. These animals needed to be perfect but surprisingly imperfections were found on all incoming sacrificial animals. This made it necessary for the person bringing the sacrifice to purchase “unblemished” sacrifices from the marketers.
Also, any monetary offerings had to be made in the local currency so the money changers were able to set exorbitant exchange rates.
In addition to all of this the outer court was also being used as a thoroughfare for the transport of goods through the Temple instead of having to go around the Temple.
All of this SHOULD have been prevented by the priests who were in charge of the Temple but instead of stopping it they enabled it and profited from it.
It was more than Jesus could stand!
Today, we will be taking a look at two linked events that took place before Jesus arrived at the Temple and after He left the Temple.
Now, remember from last week that prior to what is taking place in this reading Jesus had come into the temple the previous evening, He had looked around the Temple and had then gone out to Bethany for the night.
So, let’s pick up this account in … Mark 11:12-25
(Prayer for help)
Now, let’s look at two segments of what we just read.
Mark 11:13-14, 19-20 where it says,
“Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, (Jesus) 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. Then He said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And His disciples heard Him say it.”
“When evening came, they went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’”
What is the purpose for this incident?
We know that Jesus is able to do tremendous miracles. Is this just another one of His miracles or does it have some other meaning as well?
Did Jesus always curse things and people when He was frustrated with them?
Did Jesus always talk to trees?
Would He have said “thank you” to the tree if it did have figs?
Some would claim that this never happened. They might claim that it was added into the Gospels in order to make Jesus more than a man.
What did the disciples expect? They probably thought that the tree would never produce figs again but nothing more.
In this event we see a pattern of what would become of the old covenant. The Jews had abandoned the old covenant. Perhaps they were still going through the motions but they were not producing any “spiritual fruit” and had not been for a long time.
They had become intimately involved with the world.
They had compromised their relationship with God for a lucrative relationship with the evil king Herod.
Herod was building their Temple and they needed to bring in money to keep their benefactor happy.
OK. So, what does this incident with the fig tree have to do with anything other than Jesus might have been irritated with the fig tree?
Jesus never let’s anything go to waste.
Jesus’ interaction with the fig tree was an illustration of what would soon be happening with the Old Testament manner of interacting with God.
First, let’s examine some things about the fig tree.
It had lots of leaves and looked healthy. At this time of year it would be possible for the tree to have some very immature figs. These figs would taste terrible but if someone was truly hungry they could be eaten.
Because this tree looked healthy from a distance it held the promise of some food but in reality it had nothing worthwhile at all. It did not even have immature figs. It was a false hope.
Jesus curses the tree and His disciples hear it.
What did they expect? They expected that the tree would go on but that it would continue to be barren and never produce fruit again.
But what REALLY happened? When Jesus pronounces a curse on a fig tree that fig tree is in big trouble.
What happened to the fig tree? Mark 11:20 says, “the fig tree withered from the roots.”
Not only was the tree unable to produce fruit any more the leaves were withered and somehow it appeared that the entire tree was withered starting at the roots and going to the tips of the smallest branches.
A few Bible translations such as the RSV say that “the fig tree withered away to its roots” but the original Greek uses the word “ek” which is, “A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative.”
So, the withering of the entire tree started from the roots and went all the way up through the tree until it was entirely dead.
The example of the fig tree was truly a prophecy of the death of the Old Testament Covenant between God and Israel.
Many people don’t want to think of God as Someone who would pronounce curses, but He does.
Deuteronomy 27:15
“Cursed is anyone who makes an idol …”
Deuteronomy 27:16
“Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.”
Deuteronomy 27:19
“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.”
Jeremiah 17:5
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from Yahweh.
Malachi 1:14
“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to Yahweh.”
And, He cursed the Fig tree.
The fig tree looked like a healthy tree that would be good for food.
In the same way the Jewish religion looked as spiritual and healthy as any other religion but its roots had withered and would wither some more.
You can see this on the horizon in Matthew 3:7-10 where it says,
“But when (John the Baptist) saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. THE AX IS ALREADY AT THE ROOT OF THE TREES, AND EVERY TREE THAT DOES NOT PRODUCE GOOD FRUIT WILL BE CUT DOWN AND THROWN INTO THE FIRE.’”
Just 40 years after Jesus cleared the Temple the essence of the Jewish religion in its Old Testament form would cease to exist.
There would be no more Temple.
There would be no more priesthood.
And about 600 years after that a pagan shrine would be built in the same spot and it is still there today.
There could be no more sacrifices because the priesthood ceased to exist when the last Temple was destroyed in AD 70 by Rome.
There could be no more priests because only those who were direct descendents of Aaron could be a priest and all of the genealogical records were destroyed when the last Temple was destroyed. So, no one knows what tribe they belong to.
Never again would the high holy feast days be celebrated as described in the Old Testament Scriptures. Yes, they would all take place but more as a shadow of what they were supposed to be.
There would be no more animal sacrifice for individual sins or for the sins of the nation of Israel.
You see, once Jesus the Messiah came, the Old Covenant ceased to be a way to God and Jesus became the Way, the Truth and the Life; the Only path to the Father.
The fig tree Jesus cursed was gone for good and so was the Old Covenant.
That does NOT mean that the Jewish religion ceased to exist, it was now redirected to pass through the Messiah, the New Covenant. Jesus, the Messiah, was and is the fulfillment of salvation that God planned from the beginning.
So, what does all of this mean to us?
We are all “fig trees”.
What does a fig tree need to exist?
1) It needs life that comes only through Jesus, the Creator of all that exists.
2) It needs a healthy root system in fertile soil.
3) It needs a breeze to bring the CO2 that is necessary for the chemical process that takes place in its leaves
4) It needs to produce fruit in order to be useful to the creation God has made
So, if we are “fig trees” what do we need?
1) We need to be saved! Until we come to Jesus for salvation we are just a dead “fig tree”, we have no life.
- We are born spiritually dead and in need of salvation
- Don’t panic, God wants you to be saved more than you could ever imagine
- That is why He sent His One and Only Son to pay the penalty for your sin
- His Grace causes you to be aware of your sinful nature, this is called conviction. It is highly uncomfortable but it is necessary to make you aware of your condition of separation from God
- His Grace enables you to come to Jesus for forgiveness and to bring you from eternal death to eternal life
OK, now that you are saved what do you need next?
2) You need a healthy root system that can produce a trunk and branches and leaves
- How do we get a healthy “root system”
- We dig into God’s Word for nourishment
- We pray for guidance and direction through God’s Word
- We join ourselves together with a healthy Church that loves, honors and obeys the Lord.
Once we are spiritually alive through being born again and once we have a healthy root system that causes us to grow, what else do we need?
- We need the Holy Spirit to blow His breath through our leaves
- Just as the fig tree needs the CO2 in the atmosphere we need the Holy Spirit flowing in us and through us
- We needed the Holy Spirit throughout this process but we may not have realized His presence until now
- Or at least we may not have appreciated the Holy Spirit and His life sustaining grace
OK, we are now spiritually alive because we are saved, we have a healthy root system because we are grounded in the Word of God, we have a healthy prayer life and are involved with a fellowship of believers and we have the Holy Spirit Who is active in our lives.
So, what else do we need?
- We need to produce fruit!
- John 15:5-8, “I Am the Vine, you are the branches …”
- Galatians 5:22-23, “The fruit of the Spirit is …”
Jesus walked up to the fig tree hoping to find fruit. It had no fruit so He cursed the tree.
Yahweh worked with Israel for literally thousands of years hoping they would produce fruit for the Kingdom of God. Hoping that they would demonstrate His goodness to the nations around them. Hoping that His name would be great among the nations.
But, most of the time it was the same as when Jesus went to the temple and found it transformed into a den of robbers.
What about when Jesus walks up to you? Will He find fruit or just something that looks like a healthy tree on the outside but has no fruit?
There are many who call themselves Christians but they have no eternal life within them, their roots are dead, they do not interact with the Holy Spirit and they produce no spiritual fruit.
Here is a prayer that Paul prayed his brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is a prayer that we pray for you.
This is a prayer that we need you to pray for us and for each other.
It is found in Philippians 1:9-11
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.”
If your heart is open to the Holy Spirit, He is examining your spiritual condition, your spiritual life, your usefulness in the Kingdom of God, right now.
Is there anything you need to change with the help of the Lord?
If there is, will you let Him change whatever is necessary?
Final thoughts and leading to communion.
