Why Jesus Cursed a Fig Tree? – Mark
The Mystery of Why Jesus Cursed a Fig Tree
Pastor Jerry Wells | Together Church OKC |
March 3, 2024 | Series: Mark
Introduction
Mark 11:12-33
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 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.
14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.
15 So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.'”
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.
19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
27 Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.
28 And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:
30 The baptism of John — was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
31 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
32 But if we say, ‘From men'” — they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.
33 So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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Body
A mature fig tree in Israel was a very large tree that was large enough for people to rest in its shade. (ex: Nathaniel’s calling) These fig trees would normally produce a delicious fruit that could serve as a good breakfast. The leaves on a fig tree were an indication that a tree might have fruit even when it was not in season. (see Mark 11:13)
When Jesus came to this tree because he saw it’s leaves and discovered it had no fruit, He decided to use it as an object lesson.
Here is the lesson.
The fig tree was used by the ancient prophets of Israel as a symbol for Israel.
Hosea 9:10
10 “I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, and separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved.
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It was God’s purpose for Israel to be His chosen people that would reveal His glory to the world. When God delivered Israel from Egypt and brought them into the wilderness, He delighted in them like any hungry traveler would delight in a fruitful tree that he found in the barren wilderness. But instead of producing fruit that glorified and pleased God, Israel had become a fruitless fig tree that was an abomination to God. They turned to Baal worship and all the abominations associated with Baal worship. This included engaging with temple harlots and child sacrifice.
Jesus was using this image of the fig tree and its condition to describe Israel’s spiritual condition. Instead of being a nation that produced fruit that led the world to know God, they were hypocrites. They became like what the prophet Isaiah said they were in the 8th century BC.
Isaiah 29:13
And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
So, Jesus finished His object lesson by cursing the fig tree. He said, may no one ever eat fruit from you again. (see Mark 11:14)
God expected Israel to be a righteous people because He made a covenant with them that was based on His law. His law was the root of their spiritual tree. But that root had failed to produce the righteousness in Israel that God desired. Jesus knew it was time for the old covenant of the law that was based on works to be replaced with a new covenant based on faith in Him. This is why He said to the tree, may no one ever eat fruit from you again. The disciples heard this but did not understand it. (see verse Mark 11:14)
If anyone is having trouble understanding Israel’s hypocritical spiritual condition, in the very next story Jesus led His disciples to the temple where they would experience another object lesson. (see Mark 11:15) Since it was the Passover, based on the law of Moses, it was mandatory for Jews to come to the temple to offer a sacrifice for their sin. The temple was located on a very large area of land that is called the temple mount. This area is approximately 35 acres of land. The temple mount was also known as the court of the gentles because the gentiles could not enter the outer court of the temple.
The majority of the two plus million Jews that traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover did not bring with them animals for the sacrifice they were required to make based on the law of Moses. So, in this large area the Jewish leaders had turned it into a market area where the people could purchase their sacrifice at an overinflated price. The people also were forced to exchange Roman money with the emperor’s likeness for Jewish money to buy these sacrifices and in this exchange the venders were making an exorbitant profit. This practice was exploiting the poor and the foreigner which was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (see Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34).
This fulfilled this prophecy by Jeremiah…
Jeremiah 7:9-11
9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know,
10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?
11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the Lord.
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Instead of honoring the Lord through the Passover celebration the religious leaders of the Jews were using the Passover celebration to serve their selfish ambitions. And the people of Israel were cooperating with this ungodly practice. This fulfilled this prophecy by Isaiah…
Isaiah 1:11-15
11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.
12 “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?
13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
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The gentile court was supposed to be a place for Jews to share with gentiles the truth about God and a time for prayers to be offered for the Gentiles. Instead, it had become a robber’s den. So, with great passion, Jesus cleansed the temple of this evil hypocritical practice.
The next day, Jesus and His disciples passed the fig tree that He had cursed the day before. (see Mark 11:20) What had been a beautiful large tree full of leaves had dried up and withered from the roots.
This sudden withering of the fig tree was a sign of two things.
- It was sign of what going to happen to Israel and its sovereignty as a nation.
Jesus predicted that Israel as a nation would not just be servants to the Romans but would lose its sovereignty and the temple would be destroyed.
Luke 21:6
6 “These things which you see — the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
NKJV
In 70AD, the Identity of Israel as a nation was lost with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans. Israel was a people without a land and they would remain this way until 1948. And the temple has never been rebuilt. And to this day, the nation of Israel does not live by the laws that they received from Moses.
- It was a sign that the law of Moses had failed to produce the righteousness in His people that God desired.
The disciples of Jesus were impressed by the withering of the fig tree but at that time they did not have a clue about its meaning as it related to the old and the new covenant.
Instead of explaining the meaning, Jesus uses this miracle as an object lesson to teach them about the power in prayer they would have when when they were on mission for Him. Whatever stood in their way from accomplishing their mission of proclaiming His gospel could be removed through prayer, even if it was a mountain. And all these apostles minus one would experience this power in prayer beginning at Pentecost and throughout the rest of their lives.
Jesus then revealed to them a spiritual problem that would hinder their prayers. As they were on mission for Him He knew they were going to suffer persecution like He was about to endure. To be effective in prayer they had to forgive those who persecuted them in the same way He would forgive those who persecuted Him.
The last story in our text reveals how desperate the leaders of the Jews were to get rid of Jesus. A large delegation of the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes came to Him and confronted Him. The actions of Jesus to assert His authority had made them desperate to find a charge they could use to get the Romans to condemn Him. If Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews, they had what they needed and could arrest Him and perhaps have Him executed before the Passover began. But Jesus understood their plan and did not cooperate with them. He would not give them what they needed until it was the right time for His crucifixion to occur on the day of the Passover.
Conclusion
Aren’t you grateful that the old covenant law has been replaced by the new covenant of grace based on faith in Jesus Christ! Listen to what Paul said…
Romans 3:20-26
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
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What the law could not do to make us right with God, Jesus has accomplished. And by placing our faith in Jesus, all His righteousness is imputed to our account.
Our righteousness is complete in Christ because all His righteousness has been credited to our account.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
KJV
This relieves us of the burden of obeying the 613 commandments in the law of Moses.
This relieves us of the burden of fearing the judgment of God for our sin.
As Paul said…
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
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But this is not the whole gospel.
Romans 6:1-4
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
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When we receive Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, we become a new creation.
Who I Am In Christ!
IN CHRIST…
- I am chosen and adopted by God. (Romans 8:15; Gal. 4:4-5)
- I am a child of God, a member of His family. (John 1:12)
- I am a citizen of God’s Holy nation, His eternal Kingdom. (Eph. 2:19)
- I am an heir to God through Jesus Christ. (Gal. 4:7)
- I am seated with Christ by His throne in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2:6)
- I am a royal priest in God’s household, a minister of God. (I Peter 2:9)
- I am the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. (I Cor. 6:19)
- I am one with the Holy Spirit of God. (I Cor. 6:17) His righteous nature is my nature. (2 Peter 1:4); His mind is my mind. (1 Cor. 2:16); His purpose is my purpose. (Eph. 3:10-11); His fruit is my fruit. (Gal. 5:22-23).
- I am a saint, a holy one of God. (Eph. 1:1)
- I am gifted by the Holy Spirit. (I Cor. 12:7).
- I am a significant member of the church, the body and bride of Christ. (I Cor. 12:12-14)
- I am called by God to make disciples for Jesus Christ, my life has purpose. (Matthew 28:19-20)
- I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:16)
Because of the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we do not have to be hypocrites like the Jews had become!
This is why Paul could say to the church….
Romans 12:9-21
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can become a fruit bearing tree that honors God with the fruit of our lives as we abide in Him.
What should you do when you feel like a hypocrite?
As we follow Jesus, our minds are renewed with the truths in scripture. (See Romans 12:12). This is a spiritual process that begins the moment we receive Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and we are born again of His Spirit. And it continues until we are free of these mortal bodies.
As we discover these truths, the Holy Spirit does not condemn us for our sin but He convicts us of our sin. When we fail, we can feel like hypocrites.
What should you do when you fail and you feel like a hypocrite?
God will give us grace to change and to grow spiritually when we humble ourselves and admit we have been wrong. Sometimes this change is immediate. At other times, this change is a process that takes time and a lot of soul searching.
- Our part is to confess our sins to God and to one another. (see James 5:16)
As we confess our sins to God and to one another, God gives us grace to change.
- Our part is to get the spiritual help we need to change. (see 2 Timothy 2:2)
The opposite of hypocrisy is sincerity and one of the signs that we are not hypocrites like the Jews in the temple is that instead of hiding our sins, we confess when we are wrong and get the help we need to change.
We know from biblical prophecy that before Jesus returns, God will cause the fig tree of Israel to be fruitful. But it will not become fruitful because of the law of Moses. They will recognize Jesus as their Messiah and they will become a fig tree that produces eternal fruit for His glory.
If God is so gracious to a hypocritical nation like Israel, who saw His miracles, who received His laws, who heard His prophets, and who killed His Son, shouldn’t you believe that despite your failures, if you are in Christ, God has not given up on you!
If you will not give up on yourself and you will walk in humility with God and with others, you will become this fruit bearing tree that will be pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ when He returns for us.
Invitation
- Invitation to put your faith in Jesus Christ.
- Invitation to confess your failures to the Lord and to His church.
- Invitation to get connected to Together Church