Why did Jesus curse a humble fig tree?
Jun 8, 2020 11:03:14 #
The New Testament describes Jesus on his way to the Temple in Jerusalem, when he suddenly gets hungry. Seeing a leafy fig tree with no fruit he curses it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again" (Mark 11:14). This is an odd story because throughout the Gospels, we are used to seeing Jesus heal, not curse. What is the meaning of this curse and why did Jesus specifically choose a fig tree?
The Sweet Fruit of Harmony
To this day, figs are a common sight throughout the Land of Israel and it is prized above other fruits as a symbol of bounty. Its fruit is sweet and its ample canopy is one of the best sources of shade in the hot Middle Eastern sun. Unsurprisingly, the Bible’s ultimate expression for peace and security is for each man “to sit under his own fig tree” (1 Kgs 4:25).
A Better Jerusalem
When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he was displeased with the corrupt worship he observed in the Temple. He taught his followers that in the Kingdom of Heaven, a true “house of prayer for all the nations” would replace the current Temple. As a prophet of peace, Jesus had no desire to destroy the Temple. Instead, he performed a small symbolic act, destroying the fig tree that was intended to represent peace in the Land.
Savor the original word of GodThe Gospel of Mark tells us that the fig tree was fruitless because “it was not the season for figs” (Mark 11:13). But now, for the first time in 2,000 years the Jewish people have returned to their land, and the fig tree is again giving its succulent fruit. Now is the time to savor the Word of God in its most authentic form. Enroll in our live online courses and return to biblical Hebrew!
The Sweet Fruit of Harmony
To this day, figs are a common sight throughout the Land of Israel and it is prized above other fruits as a symbol of bounty. Its fruit is sweet and its ample canopy is one of the best sources of shade in the hot Middle Eastern sun. Unsurprisingly, the Bible’s ultimate expression for peace and security is for each man “to sit under his own fig tree” (1 Kgs 4:25).
A Better Jerusalem
When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he was displeased with the corrupt worship he observed in the Temple. He taught his followers that in the Kingdom of Heaven, a true “house of prayer for all the nations” would replace the current Temple. As a prophet of peace, Jesus had no desire to destroy the Temple. Instead, he performed a small symbolic act, destroying the fig tree that was intended to represent peace in the Land.
Savor the original word of GodThe Gospel of Mark tells us that the fig tree was fruitless because “it was not the season for figs” (Mark 11:13). But now, for the first time in 2,000 years the Jewish people have returned to their land, and the fig tree is again giving its succulent fruit. Now is the time to savor the Word of God in its most authentic form. Enroll in our live online courses and return to biblical Hebrew!
Jun 9, 2020 12:28:13 #
Jun 10, 2020 04:42:53 #
The image is taken from the Old Testament symbol of the fig tree representing Israel, and the cursing of the fig tree in Mark and Matthew and the parallel story in Luke are thus symbolically directed against the Jews, who have failed to recognize or accept Jesus as their Messiah and King based on the multiple ancient Old Testament prophecies He has fulfilled.
Thus, instead of merely cursing and killing a lowly fig tree, Jesus is saying that Judaism itself is cursed and will die off — "dry up at the roots," as a later passage explains when the disciples see the tree the next day (in Matthew, the tree dies immediately).
In the Jewish scriptures the people of Israel are sometimes represented as figs on a fig tree (Hosea 9:10, Jeremiah 24), or a fig tree that bears no fruit (Jeremiah 8:13), and in Micah 4:4 the age of the messiah is pictured as one in which each man would sit under his fig tree without fear; the cursing of the fig tree in Mark and Matthew and the parallel story in Luke are thus symbolically directed against the Jews, who have not accepted Jesus as their King.
At first sight the destruction of the fig tree does not seem to fit Jesus' behavior elsewhere, but the miracle stories are directed against property rather than people, and form a "prophetic act of judgement."
Mark uses the cursing of the barren fig tree to bracket and comment on his story of the Jewish temple: Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem when Jesus curses a fig tree because it bears no fruit; in Jerusalem he drives the money-changers from the temple; and the next morning the disciples find that the fig tree has withered and died, with the implied message that the temple is cursed and will wither because, like the fig tree, it failed to produce the fruit of righteousness.
At verse 28 Mark has Jesus again use the image of the fig tree to make plain that Jerusalem will fall and the Jewish nation be brought to an end before their generation passes away.
In Matthew 24:32–35 the author follows Mark closely in presenting the "lesson" (in Greek, parabole) of the budding tree as a prophetic sign of the certain coming of the Son of Man.
In summary, Jesus was offering a spiritual lesson through the internal meanings of the things He did: a lesson about the empty external nature of the Jewish faith at that time, the nature of the new faith He was in the process of building, and the nature of the “temples of faith” we should all be cooperating with God, in building internally, one stone at a time, within ourselves.
Thus, instead of merely cursing and killing a lowly fig tree, Jesus is saying that Judaism itself is cursed and will die off — "dry up at the roots," as a later passage explains when the disciples see the tree the next day (in Matthew, the tree dies immediately).
In the Jewish scriptures the people of Israel are sometimes represented as figs on a fig tree (Hosea 9:10, Jeremiah 24), or a fig tree that bears no fruit (Jeremiah 8:13), and in Micah 4:4 the age of the messiah is pictured as one in which each man would sit under his fig tree without fear; the cursing of the fig tree in Mark and Matthew and the parallel story in Luke are thus symbolically directed against the Jews, who have not accepted Jesus as their King.
At first sight the destruction of the fig tree does not seem to fit Jesus' behavior elsewhere, but the miracle stories are directed against property rather than people, and form a "prophetic act of judgement."
Mark uses the cursing of the barren fig tree to bracket and comment on his story of the Jewish temple: Jesus and his disciples are on their way to Jerusalem when Jesus curses a fig tree because it bears no fruit; in Jerusalem he drives the money-changers from the temple; and the next morning the disciples find that the fig tree has withered and died, with the implied message that the temple is cursed and will wither because, like the fig tree, it failed to produce the fruit of righteousness.
At verse 28 Mark has Jesus again use the image of the fig tree to make plain that Jerusalem will fall and the Jewish nation be brought to an end before their generation passes away.
In Matthew 24:32–35 the author follows Mark closely in presenting the "lesson" (in Greek, parabole) of the budding tree as a prophetic sign of the certain coming of the Son of Man.
In summary, Jesus was offering a spiritual lesson through the internal meanings of the things He did: a lesson about the empty external nature of the Jewish faith at that time, the nature of the new faith He was in the process of building, and the nature of the “temples of faith” we should all be cooperating with God, in building internally, one stone at a time, within ourselves.
bahmer wrote:
The New Testament describes Jesus on his way to th... (show quote)
Jun 10, 2020 08:42:07 #
Zemirah wrote:
The image is taken from the Old Testament symbol o... (show quote)
Amen and Amen thanks for that Zemirah that enlightens that prophecy for us all.👍👍👍👍👍
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