Jesus Christ is Lord: Jesus and the Fig Tree.

Chapter 30 – Jesus and the Fig Tree.

This morning, my Wife, Shirley, and I were both reading in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, as part of our New Testament reading for the day. This is the chapter where we find the account of Jesus and the fig tree. Both of us were drawn to the story to the extent that we stopped to talk about it. We have found that when a certain passage in our daily reading jumps out to both of us, to the point where we stop to discuss it, the Lord is wanting us to dig a little into the deeper meaning of that passage. Allow me to provide some context at this point, before getting into the story of the Fig Tree:

Jesus and His disciples had just entered Jerusalem where He had immediately gone to the Temple. This is the time when He over-turned the tables of the money changers who were using the Temple to conduct their dishonest business! In doing this, He was fulfilling a prophecy from Isaiah 56:7, which is quoted in Matthew 21:13 in the New Testament:

Matthew 21:12–13 (NLT)
¹²Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. ¹³He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

Jesus went on to do some things that infuriated the religious leaders, seen in Matthew chapter 21 below:

Matthew 21:14–17 (NLT)
¹⁴The blind and the lame came to him in the Temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. ¹⁶They asked Jesus, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Haven’t you ever read the Scriptures? For they say, ‘You have taught children and infants to give you praise.’” ¹⁷Then he returned to Bethany, where he stayed overnight.

Okay, on with the account of Jesus and the fig tree. The next morning Jesus and His disciples were leaving Bethany where they had spent the night. They were walking down the Mount of Olives where Bethany is located, and they… on second thought, instead of me trying to convey the story, I’ll let you read it for yourself:

Matthew 21:18–22 (NLT)
¹⁸In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, ¹⁹and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. ²⁰The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” ²¹Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. ²²You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

There are two things that Jesus says in this passage that I would like to address:

1. The withered fig tree
2. Casting mountains into the sea

I’ll address number two first: Is Jesus suggesting that we should go around casting mountains into the sea, or other things of that nature? Of course not! Jesus Himself said that He only did the things that the Father wants Him to do! If you have faith — and the Father wants you to step out in that faith and do what He has empowered you to do — you can do it through the power of the Holy Spirit!!!

Now I’ll address number one: the withered fig tree: Did Jesus curse the fig tree because He hates fig trees? Of course not. He was using the fig tree as a metaphor to teach a lesson to the disciples. Jesus would often accomplish more than one result from one action. That’s the Jesus I serve; He doesn’t waste time or effort!

So, what is the metaphor in this particular situation?
The fig tree looked very good on the outside. The leaves were lush and green. From all outward appearance, it should have had ripe, luscious fruit! But it didn’t have fruit at all.

Think back now to the beginning of this post. The people in the temple appeared to be serving God.

• The money changers and sellers appeared to be doing a good service for God. But on the inside, they were cheating people and trying to make dishonest gain. They were like a fig tree with bad, rotten fruit!
• On the outside, the religious leaders were wearing fine clothes and appeared to be pure before God. However, they were allowing the money changers and sellers to use the Temple for their own gain, not as a house of prayer. They were like the fig tree: looked good on the outside, but their fruit was either bad or nonexistent!

This parable caused me to take a look at myself. Do I appear to have it all together on the outside? Do I produce good fruit or, for that matter, any fruit at all?

Dear Heavenly Father, I realize that appearances can be deceiving. Please help me to bear good fruit and not be so concerned about outward appearances. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.