Mark 11.13-14 13 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. 14 Then he said to
the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard
him say it. (NIV)
His disciples heard him say it: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Maybe they wondered
what He meant because the next day Peter
remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has
withered!” (v21) Jesus never said why He cursed the fig tree. Maybe Jesus
said what He said and the disciples thought: there He goes again! Whatever the
case it appears it didn’t make much of an impression on them at the moment.
A friend of mine, just yesterday, asked me: why did Jesus curse the fig tree? I don’t
exactly know. Jesus was making a
point but apparently it was lost on most of His hearers. Mark points out, it wasn’t even the season for figs. It
didn’t seem to be the tree’s fault; it only grows figs in the season set by the
One who cursed it.
Some further study lends some perspective on this curious
little incident – it wasn’t the time for
figs but the tree looked as if it was
fruitful. Well, didn’t Jesus walk in omniscience during His time on earth? Wouldn't He have known? Not necessarily. Jesus walked in complete obedience to the One who led Him
during those days. Jesus set aside His omniscience as the God-man who walked in
humble submission to the every will of God. Could Jesus Christ have been that vulnerable? Are we?
The story is set in what revolves around it: the hypocrisy of the times. The record
shows that the Pharisees, Sadduccees, and Herodians; as well as the priests, scribes,
and teachers of the Law repeatedly accosted Jesus about who He was and why He did
what He did. They did so as leaders of the people of God. They
looked good but in reality were not: they didn’t even recognize the Lord of
Glory – and they should have. The tree looked good but was fruitless.
One of the things the modern Church must learn is she is
not ancient Israel. What happened in the Gospels was meant for Israel because
their Messiah had come to them to help them return to God. The Church is not
waiting for her Messiah, He’s already come; that’s why she is the Church.
John 1.17 says: grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. If there was one thing Judaism had become, it was other than grace and truth; it was hypocrisy. And so if there is a lesson from the fig tree for us
today it might be this: don’t look like
the real deal and come up short – look like the real deal and deliver the real fruit that real people are so desperate for: the grace and truth of God.
Religion looks like the real deal but it doesn’t deliver.
We in God’s Church, must be the real deal and deliver the goods or else we’re no
better than the religious leaders of Christ’s day and a cursed fig tree.
Father, help me in Jesus to be the real deal. Hypocrisy
never wins. May I walk today in grace and truth because of Who You are in me
and who I am in You – Amen.
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