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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The next day as they were leaving 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.
When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.”
Mark 11:12-14, 20-23
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we look at an event that started on the Monday of Holy Week as Jesus was making His way into Jerusalem with His disciples. This preceded what we looked at in yesterday’s message as Jesus saw the marketplace set up in the Court of the Gentiles and cleared out the money changers and other vendors because the location had been designated by God as a holy place of prayer.
Here was the initial matter detailed in the first part of our passage for today:
The next day as they were leaving 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.
When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. Mark 11:12-14
On the surface, this is confusing. Why would Jesus curse a fig tree and condemn it to never bear fruit again?
The answer comes in knowing a little bit about the fig tree and how it functions, particularly when it comes to fruit bearing. Unlike many trees who produce leaves before bearing fruit, the fig tree is just the opposite. Even though the figs might not be completely ripened, they would grow and appear in advance of the leaves. And so when Jesus saw the “fig tree in leaf” but figless, we find Him cursing the tree in earshot of the disciples. This led to the return to the tree on Tuesday morning and the second half of our scripture passage from Mark’s Gospel:
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Mark 11:20-23
To the astonishment of the disciples, the fig tree that was very much alive on Monday was now “withered from the roots”. We read where Peter speaks out loud what everyone else was thinking which led Jesus to turn the matter into a teaching moment.
You see, it was completely improbable and even impossible for a seemingly healthy tree to completely wither all the way to the root in just a mere 24 hours. But the point Jesus was making was that when one has faith in the Lord through which all things are achievable, the improbable becomes probable and the impossible possible. Jesus tells His followers (and us) that even mountains can be moved with someone maintains their faith. Such is its power.
Before I close, we need to go back to the fig tree for the second lesson to be learned in this story.
Jesus cursed and condemned the fig tree because it didn’t produce the fruit it was expected to produce. Moving to the Gospel of Luke, we find some reinforcing words from Jesus in regard to how nature’s fruit producing elements are comparative to a person’s work for the Lord. Look at His words from the sixth chapter:
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:43-45
Just as a tree is recognized and identified by its fruit, so too is a servant of the Lord. A true laborer for the cause of the Lord and His Gospel will produce good works, works in step with the Lord’s will, using the talents and gifts He has given, whether time, talent, or treasure.
A good servant “brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart”, a good manifested and developed by the Lord Himself. Led by the Spirit, He produced the fruit born out of righteousness.
Conversely, a person who refuses to allow the Lord to lead them will follow their own desires or worst yet, the desires of Satan. The product will be evil sinfulness born “out of the evil stored up” in their heart. Their actions would be defined by fruitlessness like the fig tree that Jesus reviled.
So there you have it. Two takeaways from the Tuesday of Holy Week and the matter of the fig tree outside of Jerusalem.
First, we can’t underestimate the power found in faith and we won’t do it if we don’t lose sight of the One who we place our faith in, the Lord through which all things can be done.
Second, the Lord doesn’t favor anyone who fails to bear fruit for Him in the way they live. A life rooted in Him will always produce good fruit, the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). One absent of Him will always produce sin, a sin He detests.
In sum, don’t lose a grip on the power of faith and always strive to bear fruit by allowing the Lord to lead you. This is the calling of the Word today for us.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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