All leaves, no fruit. The leaves gave the appearance of fruit but, in reality, it was empty. 21:18–22; Mark 11:12–14, 20–25). But what will the Lord find upon close inspection? The tree bears no fruit because it is not the season and Israel does not welcome the Messiah because that would contradict God’s plans. Why should Jews be treated well when God has determined that they should reject the Messiah? Jesus Curses the Barren Fig Tree by Damien F. Mackey “It has puzzled people for generations why Jesus was so upset with a fig tree that by nature should not have had figs or leaves…”. Jesus cursed the fig tree because it had the appearance of fruitfulness, but it was deceptive. In this inverted miracle we see precisely the stakes not only of failing to produce fruit, but of giving a fruitful impression and failing to back it up. Jesus deals with this mismatch in a shocking episode in the Gospels: the cursing of the fig tree (Matt. After His royal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went to Bethany to spend the night. “And as they [Jesus and His disciples] passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. JESUS: THE DESIRE OF ALL THE AGES Part 64 - Cursing the Fig Tree By Larry Chambers The story for this column is found in Matthew 21:18-21; Mark 11:12-21. We didn’t go to movie theaters much in 2020, but good movies were still released. Jesus has pursued the children of God with compassionate seriousness (Luke 13:34). 12:10; Ezek. My children recently became excited about limes when they learned they could sell limeade and make their riches. In just two chapters, Jesus will call the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness." It’s about us. But the root may be withered. Jesus Curses the Fig Tree “Early in the morning, as He was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. The fig tree symbolizes Israel. And it’s not being punished. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is described as God’s vineyard, tree, or planting (Judges 9:8–15; Isa. A few days later, Jesus confronts the root of corruption itself in a garden on a high place. The first is that this incident is an example of the common Marcan theme of apocalyptic determinism. 17:2–10; 19:10–14). Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Did the tree that Jesus cursed wither immediately or overnight? 27:6). Why? The next morning, they return to Jerusalem along the same road. It’s about us. Greg Lanier (PhD, Cambridge) serves as associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. A lack of fruitfulness is a sign of God’s curse for their rebellion (Deut. 12:10; Ezek. He saw a fig tree in the distance, and so went to the tree to see if He could find some fruit on it. 8:12; Ezek. 17:2–10; 19:10–14). Immediately: Matthew 21:19, “Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered. With this web of background images, light bulbs would’ve immediately gone on in the minds of Jesus’s disciples as he re-enacted Israel’s history by cursing the fig tree. Jesus in the Garden. After Jesus had extended an extra year to the nation, its leaders had still not shown any fruit of repentance. And that made it all the worse. 1:11; 4:17; Heb. Israel is to be cursed because it “bears no fruit” by not welcoming the Messiah — but clearly the tree here isn’t being given the choice to bear fruit or not. Will he find only leaves? As any agrarian Israelite knew, the firstfruits of the harvest belong to God (Ex. “Rabbi, see!” he exclaims, “the fig tree that you cursed has withered.” —Mark 11:21. It lacked fruit. 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