20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” – Mark 11:20-25 ESV
When Jesus departed the temple, He and the disciples returned to Bethany for the evening. The next morning, which was probably Wednesday, they made their way back to the city of Jerusalem. After His symbolic exit from the temple the day before, Jesus likely entered the city through the Lion’s Gate rather than the Golden Gate, which led directly into the temple complex. He and the disciples would have taken the same path through the Kidron Valley and the Garden of Gethsemane, so eventually, they came to the spot where Jesus had cursed the fig tree the day before. To the disciples' shock, the fig tree was “withered away to its roots” (Mark 11:20 ESV).
Just the day before, this same tree had been in perfect health, covered in green leaves and full of life. Yet despite its outward vitality, it bore no fruit. This tree, unlike all the other fig trees in the garden, had bloomed early. Under normal conditions, leaves would indicate that figs would be present. But when Jesus approached the tree the previous day, He found it completely barren. So, He had cursed it.
Peter was the first to recognize the dramatic difference in the tree’s appearance. He recalled what Jesus had said to the tree 24 hours earlier: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again” (Mark 11:14 ESV). Surprised by the tree’s sudden demise, Peter let Jesus know that His curse had worked. He called out, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered” (Mark 11:21 ESV). Overnight, the once-lush tree dropped all its leaves and lost every ounce of life-giving sap. It had withered away, from the roots up.
So much is going on in this scene. The tree is the obvious focal point, and Jesus uses the opportunity to convey two different messages to His disciples. One concerns fruit, and the other, faith. The tree was dead because it failed to bear fruit. It had all the appearances of fruitfulness but, upon closer examination, proved barren. For Jesus, the tree was an apt symbol for the fruitlessness of the nation of Israel.
Keep in mind that Jerusalem was literally overflowing with pilgrims who had come to celebrate the Feast of Passover. As faithful Jews, they practiced all the prescribed feasts and festivals, and regularly brought their tithes and offerings to the temple. They tried to keep the Mosaic Law and, when they failed, they counted on their sacrifices to assuage God's righteous wrath.
Three years earlier, John the Baptist had confronted a group of Pharisees who showed up in the wilderness of Judea where he was preaching and baptizing. When John saw them, he responded in prophetic anger.
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” – Matthew 3:7-10 ESV
As the religious leaders of Israel, these men were thought to be icons of virtue and the symbols of moral rectitude. But John recognized them for what they were: withered, lifeless trees incapable of bearing good fruit. Their flowing robes and outward displays of righteousness were nothing more than “green leaves” that gave the impression of faithfulness without fruitfulness.
Jesus later picked up on this same theme, warning His disciples to watch for false prophets, and He told them exactly how to spot these dangerous charlatans.
“You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” – Matthew 7:16-20 NLT
Jesus had also warned His disciples that only those who abide in Him can bear good fruit. Those who refuse to abide in Him and fail to produce fruit will be dealt with severely by God.
“He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” – John 15:2 NLT
The Jewish people were God’s chosen vine, but they had failed to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. When God sent His Son, the people of Israel rejected Him. So these fruitless “branches” would be cut off, eliminating any hope that they would ever produce good fruit.
The apostle Paul would later elaborate on this “cutting away” of the fruitless branches. In his letter to the Gentile believers in Rome, he reminded them that they were branches grafted into the olive tree of Israel. To make room for them, some of the natural branches had been removed.
Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root, do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. – Romans 11:17-20 NLT
With the cursing of the fig tree, Jesus was making a statement about the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel.His foray into the temple complex the day before had revealed just how spiritually fruitless Israel had become. They were rotten to the core, down to the very roots. Their religious leaders were exactly what John the Baptist had called them, a brood of vipers. Their venom had poisoned the people, leaving them as withered and lifeless as the cursed fig tree.
But none of this was on Peter and his companions' minds as they stood looking at the dead tree. They were fixated on how quickly it had died after Jesus had cursed it. Jesus knew they were more interested in His display of power than in any lesson He might be trying to teach them. So, rather than expounding on Israel's fruitlessness, Jesus took the opportunity to teach His disciples about faith.
“Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” – Mark 11:22-23 NLT
First, He pointed them to God. He wanted His disciples to understand that God must be the focus of their faith. The people of Israel became fruitless because they failed to stay focused on God. Remember what Paul said: “They [Israel] were broken off because of their unbelief, but you [Gentiles] stand by faith” (Romans 11:20 NLT).
The real point of Jesus’ lesson was God's power. We place our faith in God because He is all-powerful and nothing is impossible for Him. Jesus used an impossible scenario to describe God's unfathomable power. If the unlikely situation arose where a mountain needed to be moved from one place to another, God could make it happen. The lesson Jesus was trying to teach had nothing to do with getting whatever we pray for. He was not suggesting that His disciples had a blank check from God to fulfill their hearts’ desires. They were to focus their faith on God, not for what they could get from Him but because He was the sole source of all their needs. Having the power to curse a fig tree would become a curse itself if God were left out of the equation. God is not to be viewed as a source of power to accomplish our desires. He is to be the focus of our faith and the object of our affections. His power is not why we love Him, but it is always at the disposal of those who do love Him.
This desire to tap into God’s power for personal gain is seen in the story of Simon the magician recorded in Acts 8.
A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic. – Acts 8:9-11 NLT
When this influential magician heard Philip preach the gospel message, he believed, placed His faith in Christ, and “began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed” (Acts 8:13 NLT). Sometime later, Peter and John arrived in town to observe Philip’s ministry. When they saw that the new Gentile believers had not yet received the Holy Spirit, “Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17 NLT). Blown away by this supernatural display of power, Simon was determined to get his hands on it and was willing to pay.
“Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” – Acts 8:19 NLT
But Peter rebuked the misguided magician, saying, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought” (Acts 8:21 NLT).
Simon missed the point. Fruitfulness is the byproduct of faith. Power is not a commodity to buy and use for our own benefit. It is a manifestation of God’s presence and the byproduct of our faith in His matchless power and provision. As long as the disciples kept believing in God, they would experience His power flowing through their lives and producing the fruit of righteousness.
But Jesus also wanted His disciples to understand that while their access to God would place His power at their disposal, it came with conditions. The privilege of entering into God’s presence through prayer could prove dangerous. Trying to use God’s power for selfish reasons is always a risk. That is why James wrote, “you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure” (James 4:2-3 NLT).
But we must avoid an even more dangerous tendency. God’s power is not to be used to seek revenge on your enemies. That’s why Jesus warned His disciples, “whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25 ESV).
Jesus didn’t use God's power to wither the fig tree because He was angry; He did it to teach His disciples a lesson. Jesus never used God's power to seek revenge or call down divine wrath on His enemies. Yet, He knew that this would be a temptation for His disciples. In fact, just days earlier, as they made their way to Bethany, Jesus sent a few of His disciples into a Samaritan city to find accommodations for the night. When they returned, they announced to Jesus and the other disciples that the Samaritans wanted nothing to do with Jesus. This news infuriated James and John, the “Sons of Thunder,” and they asked Jesus for permission to use divine power to destroy the entire town.
“Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” – Luke 9:54 ESV
But Jesus rebuked them for their spirit of revenge and their desire to use the power of God for self-centered purposes. If they had recalled His Sermon on the Mount, they would have responded differently.
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:44-45 ESV
Faith and fruitfulness. These two vital characteristics are inseparable. Without faith in God, you cannot produce fruit, and the absence of fruit is evidence of a life devoid of faith in God. But as Jesus had told His disciples, God would be glorified by their future fruitfulness, and the key would be their faith.
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” – John 15:7-8 ESV
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