In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Matthew 21:18-22
This
story seems a little out of character for the patient, even-tempered Jesus,
doesn’t it? I mean, cursing a poor,
defenseless little fig tree…really? But if you look a little deeper you see
what’s happening; Jesus is on His way to cleanse the Temple of moneychangers,
over-charging sellers of sacrificial animals, and hypocritical elitist rulers
of the religious system. Cursing the fig
tree is a warm-up. Jesus is doing
stretches before the big game, and He uses the fig tree to school his disciples
on what will be happening, and how their faith must develop if they are to
carry on the work of delivering the message of Good News in faith, and
faithfully.
Another
issue that presents itself is the fact that God requires fruitfulness,
particularly of those who profess to have faith, and be leaders. In that region of the world there is more
than one kind of fig tree. Some (perhaps
many) types put out their figs even before the leaves appear. The fruit is edible, but not nearly as tasty
as the later ripened crop. The fig tree
in this account already has its leaves, an announcement that the fruit is
there, and probably already ripe. Jesus
finds a stick waving leaves, bearing no fruit.
So,
why curse the tree? Jesus is not just
doing stretches for the big game later at the Temple; He is teaching. The fig tree is a picture of the Pharisees,
Sadducees, and Elders at the Temple, proclaiming God is there, but ignorant of
the reality that God had turned His back on that place until it could be
cleansed.
Sadly,
the Temple has a lot of contemporary places of worship as offspring of that fig
tree! The Scriptures may be read and
even revered, but it is far from lived by many who proclaim Christ as Lord.
It’s
one thing to recognize you’re a long way from being a fruitful Christian and
center your life on surrendering to Christ’s teaching…to grow mature through
discipleship, prayer, and study of God’s Word.
It’s quite another thing to wave your fig leaves announcing your
accomplishments for the kingdom of God and be as barren as what Jude[1]
called bragging clouds, rolling across the landscape,
promising rain, but delivering nothing but more dust.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road
today. Have a blessed day!
Title image Pixabay.com W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on spiritual fruitfulness: The Ruins of Old Courage and Grounding Prayer and
It’s the Circle of Life
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