What Ailed the Fig Tree?

Fig trees are grown for their fruit. They have no value otherwise. ¹⁸ Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. (Prov 27:18). Don’t miss the comparison. Whoever cultivates fig trees gets figs as his reward. Similarly, a faithful servant gets his master’s recognition. Every investment is tied to specific expectations.

Recurring Theme

The fig tree is a recurring theme in biblical symbolism. Of all trees in the Garden of Eden, only the fig tree is identified by name. Adam and Eve wove themselves aprons from its leaves after they disobeyed God’s command and became aware that they were naked. This is the tree that Jesus cursed because He didn’t find any fruit on it when He was hungry.

¹² The next day, as they were coming back from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³ He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs. ¹⁴ Jesus said to the fig tree, “No one shall ever eat figs from you again!” And his disciples heard him. (Mark 11:12-14)

The previous day, Jesus had made His famous “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem riding on a donkey amid shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is the coming of the kingdom of our father David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” At dusk, He went to the temple courts and carefully observed the state of things. He planned to return and set the house of God in order. On His way back the following morning, Jesus did something prophetic and alarming. He spoke to a fig tree that was all nice and leafy but without fruit; “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

His next stop was the temple. Here, He furiously cleared merchants and their wares.

¹⁵ When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and began to drive out all those who were buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons, ¹⁶ and he would not let anyone carry anything through the Temple courtyards. ¹⁷ He then taught the people: “It is written in the Scriptures that God said, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.’ But you have turned it into a hideout for thieves!” ¹⁸ The chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard of this, so they began looking for some way to kill Jesus.

Did you notice that? When Jesus cleaned out the house of prayer, religious leaders immediately hatched a plot to kill Him. They were the robbers who had turned God’s house into a den!

²⁰ Early next morning, as they walked along the road, they saw the fig tree. It was dead all the way down to its roots. ²¹ Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus, “Look, Teacher, the fig tree you cursed has died!”

Den of Robbers

Traditional Jewish worship helps us grasp how trade came about at Jerusalem’s temple. Israel offered animal sacrifices. By God’s command, Moses had documented detailed requirements in the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Numbers. Owing to the complexity and diversity of sacrifices, an entire tribe of Levi was set apart for priestly service. All day every day, hundreds of priests and their aides served at the altar and around sacred things. This began in the desert as Israel journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. Later on, King Solomon built the first temple. Its dedication offers a glimpse of the scale of the sacrifices.

⁶² Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. ⁶³ Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord. ⁶⁴ On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. (1 Kings 8:62-64)

Worshipers came from different regions. Ferrying animals from far away was strenuous and slow. It was more convenient to buy animals around the temple, offer their sacrifices and head out. Visitors  from other nations needed Forex services to swap their foreign currencies. What a business opportunity! Unscrupulous moguls set up shops to exploit worshippers. They turned God’s house of prayer into a commercial center!

Leafy Fig Tree With No Fruits

It’s odd that Jesus sought the fig tree for something to eat. Scripture has no other reference of Him searching for food to satisfy physical hunger. Even more surprising is that He sought figs at the wrong season. An ordinary Palestine native would have known the right season for figs. Wouldn’t Jesus? But the Lord wasn’t looking for figs to eat; He was making an illustration. That is why He spoke loudly enough for His disciples to hear.

At a different instance, Jesus had told His disciples that His food was to complete His Father’s assignment (John 4:34). That analogy helps us answer two essential questions:

• How could Jesus look for fruit on a fig tree out of season?
• How could He curse a tree for not having fruit when it wasn’t supposed to have any?

Cursing of the fig tree was a prophetic act, closely linked to what He did at the temple immediately afterwards. The goal of this message is to explain that link.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they died spiritually, just as God had warned them. Instantly, they became more sensitive about their physical state than about their spiritual state. Their spirit being acquired a corrupt nature. The love connection between them and God was lost. In place of purity and confidence, they gained a new sense of shame and guilt. Fig-leaf-aprons could not compensate for their loss of spiritual innocence. God killed an animal (perhaps a sheep) and used it’s skin to make them suitable clothes. That was the first pointer to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who would be slain for the sins of the world.

Adam and Eve sought the fig tree for a covering of their shame; a rational attempt to solve a spiritual problem. It didn’t work. It couldn’t work. Jesus is called ‘the last Adam’. He approached the fig tree to expose the error of Adam’s logic. Fig leaves could not cover spiritual bankruptcy caused by disobedience. The ‘fig tree’ was a disillusionment for anyone looking to repair the ruptured relationship with God. The corrupted religious system at the temple was a leafy but fruitless ‘fig tree’. Its’ pretentious form had no nourishment for the steady flow of hungry worshipers.

Corrupt Human Efforts

Jesus cursed the fig tree shortly before He straightened out the temple. The leafy tree typified futility of a religious system. The grand temple with its beehive of religious activity had nothing to feed spiritual seekers. The house of prayer had been taken over by murderous robbers. Profiteers would kill the Son of God before they’d release the temple for its intended purpose. Jesus foretold destruction of the temple. In AD70 Roman authorities tore it down. Israel has never had another temple ever since!

Only a few days later, Jesus became the redemptive sacrifice for man’s sins. As He hung on the cross, His blood replaced the types and shadows symbolized by animal sacrifices. Christ’s blood became the cleansing agent for man’s sins. Animal sacrifices were no longer necessary as a temporal covering of man’s sins. Jesus restored man’s lost relationship with God. Worship moved from a walled stone temple to hearts of individual believers. The imagery of Adam’s fig tree was debunked. A new way back to God was paved by the blood of the Son of God.

People still seek ‘leafy fig trees’ that Jesus cursed. Many a ‘fig leaf’ have been woven to conceal spiritual emptiness. And how attractive those aprons always are! So green and assuring. But they are empty and futile. Form is not substance. Leaves are not fruits. When your spirit thirsts for God, it’s a live fountain you need, not window-dressed pictures of religious water. Jesus has become our bridge back to the Father. We have no business trying to create alternative methods. We now repent, yield to God, and return to His original assignment.