Jesus curses?
It seems like many people who call themselves Christian, fake abiding and trusting in Jesus. Am I the only one who thinks this? Churches seem to be packed with people who act like they have their junk together, when in reality they don’t. In the bible those people were referred to as the religious people. It’s the people that Jesus warned us about, and it’s the very people that worked the hardest to kill Him during His ministry. Does it not blow your mind that the people that tried to kill Jesus were the ones that knew Scripture the best and had been so religious for so long they felt some sort of entitlement to their religion?
It was in this context that we find the crazy story of Jesus and the fig tree. Do you remember it? Mark 11: 12-21.
The disappointment of Jesus with the fig tree is an extremely significant event we Christians need to understand. At first glance, one might think Jesus is upset with an actual tree that failed to feed Him when He was hungry, but the fig tree and its fruit play a much larger role.
When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He symbolically placed a curse on Israel. The fig tree (Israel) failed to bear fruit even though its leaves indicated it was in season (the appointed time for the coming of the Messiah). Due to its lack of fruit, the fig tree was cursed to wither. Likewise, Israel placing her trust in her religion rather than her Messiah led to her eventual destruction at the hands of the Romans in A.D. 70.
Now, let’s deal with what seems like the hard question here. Why did Jesus curse the fig tree if it was not the right season for figs?
I don’t know a lot, but being from the country, I know that the fruit of the fig tree generally appears before the leaves and because the fruit is green it sort of blends in with the leaves right up until it’s almost ripe. When Jesus approached the fig tree, the text indicates that the tree had plenty of leaves! Researching this idea, I found that R.K. Harrison, writing in the
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, explains that various kinds of figs grew in Palestine during the first century. One very important aspect of fig growth has to do with the relationship between the leaf and the fruit. Harrison notes that the tiny figs, known to the Arabs as taksh, “appear simultaneously in the leaf axils.” This taksh is edible and “is often gathered for sale in the markets.” Furthermore, he notes: “When the young leaves are appearing in spring, every fertile fig tree will have some taksh on it…. But if a tree with leaves has no fruit, it will be barren for the entire season.”When Jesus approached the leafy fig tree, He had every reason to believe that something edible would be on it. However, after checking it out, Mark records that “He found nothing but leaves.” No taksh were budding, as they should have been if the tree was going to produce edible figs that year. The tree appeared to be fruitful, but it only had outward signs of bearing fruit (leaves) and in truth offered nothing of value to weary travelers.
Therefore, when Jesus and His disciples saw from a distance that the tree had leaves, they would have expected it to also have fruit on it even though it was earlier in the season than what would be normal for a fig tree to be bearing fruit. Because of the climate there, sometimes fig trees produced two to three crops of figs each season. There would be an early crop in the spring followed by one or two later crops. In some parts of the area, depending on climate and conditions, it was also possible that a tree might produce fruit ten out of twelve months! This also explains why Jesus and His disciples would be looking for fruit on the fig tree even if it weren’t in the main growing season. The fact that the tree already had leaves on it even though it was at a higher elevation around Jerusalem would have seemed to be a good indication that there would also be fruit on it!
When we look at this story in its context, the barren fig tree seems to apply to the pretentious religion of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Following Jesus’ curse on the fig tree, the text says that Jesus went to Jerusalem and began to drive the moneychangers out of the temple (Mark 11:15-19). In essence, the activities in the temple that once had been fruitful and wholesome had become empty of value and useless. What was intended to be good had become bad because they (the religious people) began placing their trust in the activities, programs, and traditions rather than what all that was originally pointing to.
Thank you for helping me to understand this scripture better. I can see the symbolic link between the fig tree and Israel now. From a distance the fig tree and also the temple in Jerusalem appeared to bear good fruit, but with a closer look there was no fruit! Wow, this is an awesome reminder of what we as Christians need to include in our prayer life: to keep our focus on Jesus and living a holy life instead of becoming relgious. Thanks again!