Title: The Cursing of the Fig Tree

Scripture Reading: Mark 11:13-14
“And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.”

Main idea: A warning against Fruitless Life

Christ’s humanity
We read that “Jesus was hungry” (Mark 11:12). His hunger portrays his humanity. Jesus can sympathize with our human experience and daily needs. When we pray to him, expressing our weaknesses and troubles, we can be confident that he knows what we are facing. He has faced it too (Hebrews 4:15). He feels pity, anger, hunger, and weariness.

Unfruitfulness in religion
Mark tells us by noting that it was not the time for figs. It is the time of Passover, in April, and Jesus, like anyone living in Palestine, would know that ripe figs do not appear until June. Why, then, is Jesus looking for fruit? The meaning of his action comes to light only when considered against the Old Testament background. In the prophets, Israel is often symbolized by figs or a fig tree (Jer 24:1-8; 29:17; Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:7). The fig tree is a symbol of Israel. In the account that follows; in speaking of the fig tree, Jesus will be speaking of the fruitlessness of Israel—and of our fruitlessness as well. Jesus’ search for ripe figs recalls God’s desire to find in Israel the fruit of righteousness and covenant fidelity, and his grief at not finding it.

Jesus Pronouncing Judgement on unfruitfulness
Why curse a fig tree for not bearing figs out of season? Jesus surely knows it is not fig season. This detail is a clue for us to look beyond the surface meaning and to see its symbolic meaning. The word “season” (kairos) is not the botanical term for the growing season but the religious term found in Mark 1:14-15 denoting the time of the kingdom of God (Mark 13:33). The barren fig tree represents the barrenness of temple Judaism that is unprepared to accept Jesus’ messianic reign. The withering of the fig tree is a symbol of God’s judgment against Israel and the temple for the injustices perpetrated there (Joel 1:7-12; Jer 8:13; Hosea 2:14). Moreover, in Mark, fruitfulness is an image for responding to Jesus in faith (Mark 4:1-20; 12:1-12). The tree’s lack of fruit thus signifies the absence of faith and prayer that Jesus finds in the temple (Mark 11:17-18).

“Let no one eat fruit from you ever again”
Jesus’ pronouncement upon the tree, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again” is a prophetic signal that Israel’s temple worship and sacrifices, with all their earthly splendor, are drawing to an end. And we are told that the fig-tree was found “withered from the roots” (Mark 11:20). We cannot doubt for a moment that this whole transaction was a picture of spiritual things. It was a parable in deeds, as full of meaning as any of our Lord’s parables. When our Lord looked on the church in Sardis in Revelation 3:1: He said “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” God desired the fruit of righteousness (Isa 5:7), but when Christ looked Jerusalem and its temple He found it barren (Mark 11:15-17), despite its outward beauty (Mark 13:1), and thus pronounced divine judgment on it, symbolized by the withering of the tree.

Application
God once had a physical temple in Jerusalem. He now has a perfect temple in heaven. That temple is Jesus, as He Himself said in (John 2:18-22). He now has a spiritual temple, which is the church (1 Cor 3:16). He now has a personal temple scattered all around the world as a witness that He is indeed the Savior for all mankind. That temple is you and me (1 Cor 6:19-20). That temple is anyone who recognizes that they are not their own, for they were bought with a price, the precious blood of “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7), “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet 1:19). There was a message in that withered fig-tree for all worldly and false Christians. Like a fig tree with many leaves yet no fruit, the religious displays to the world many impressive activities of devotion and self-denial, but under the leaves of external religion the Lord sees that there are no fruits of Christian love for God and man. It would be good if everyone who is content with a reputation for being alive, when in reality they are dead, would only see their own faces in the mirror of this passage. Let us take care that we each individually learn the lesson that this fig-tree conveys. There must be fruit in our hearts and fruit in our lives, the fruit of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, and true holiness in our lives. Is your godliness a matter of mere leaves? What spiritual fruits is Christ producing in you?

Let’s pray together
Heavenly Father, Your desire for us is to be fruitful. Remove all barrenness from us, Lord. Help us Lord to be fruitful.  In Jesus Name Amen.