The Day Jesus God Mad...

In the final week of Jesus’ earthly life, scripture records many important events that occurred. In Mark 11:1-11, we see that Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey to Messianic shouts by the crowds.  Later that week, as all four gospels tell us, Christ will have been crucified on a Roman cross and buried. Then, three days later He will have risen from the grave. However, between these momentous events, there were other smaller, but significant happenings that also occured. One such happening was the cursing of the fig tree which occurred the morning after the triumphal entry as Jesus and the disciples were returning to Jerusalem from Bethany (where they were staying this specific week). Let us look together at this brief passage: “On the following day, when they came from Bethany,  Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it” (Mark 11: 12-14). Now, when reading about this fig tree cursing, you may be asking what is going on and wondering if Jesus was simply having a bad morning. After all, He was hungry and His actions seemed a bit extreme and out of character. However, given that our Lord is perfect in every way, we must recognize that He was not having a bad human reaction to a temporary situation (hunger) or having a bad moment in time; instead, He was appropriately addressing the barren spiritual condition of Israel, God’s chosen people.

In order to fully understand the above passage, we must understand two important concepts. First, in the Old Testament, Israel is symbollically equated with a fig tree. One passage where we clearly see this is Jeremiah 8:13 that states the following: "When I would gather them (Israel), declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them." Addtionally, it is important to understand how a fig tree produces fruit. One commentator describes it this way: “Fig trees in Bible lands produced an early edible fruit before the leaves appeared. It was a harbinger of the regular crop, here described as the Season for figs. If no early figs appeared, it was a sign that there would be no regular crop later on” (MacDonald 1282). In the case of this fig tree, leaves were present, but there was no fruit. Additionally, we must recognize how faithful God was to Israel, His chosen people.  By reading the Old Testament book of Exodus, we see that God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, fed them with manna and led them by a cloud and fire. Later on, we see that He gave them the the promised land (filled with milk and honey) and proclaimed His Word to them repeatedly through the prophets. Yet, despite all that He did and spoke, those whom He entrusted with His Word and a promised Deliverer had a history of rejecting His prophets, ignoring the miraculous and worshiping false gods. Stated succinctly, their self-righteousness (the fig tree’s leaves) covered their fruitlessness. They (Israel) rightly claimed their inheritance as God’s chosen people, but were spiritually dead and yielded no fruit! Hence, Jesus’ cursing of this tree metaphorically and symbolically illustrates His judgment on the Israeli people. 

Now, at this point, you may be asking how this short passage applies to those living today. After all, this event took place approximately 2,000 years ago and most of us are not associated with the physical nation of Israel. However, we must remember that God's timeless truths apply to all people throughout all time periods. Because of this, if we desire to bear the spiritual fruit that pleases God, we must, in addition to seeing God's works and hearing His word, have the appropriate heart posture and make the proactive decision to absolutely follow what God’s word says. More specifically, we must reevaluate all areas of our lives and willingly make painful adjustments to align with God’s calling. For example, following God may require you to change your parenting habits or reassess your hobbies (or at least the amount of time you spend doing them). Perhaps you need to rearrange your schedule to spend more time with your spouse or to more consistently serve God and/or your church family. Finally, you may need to reprioritize your finances to better honor God with the resources you have been entrusted with. In summary, we must seek God with our whole heart and allow Him to change us so that we will produce the bountiful spiritual fruit that is pleasing to Him.  Brothers and sisters, have you made this all important decision to absolutely follow what God's word says or, like the Old Testament Israelites, is your life barren? And, if it is barren, will you begin taking the steps needed to produce the spiritual fruit that pleases our Lord?....

To listen to this entire sermon, click here.