That You May Know - Pt 18

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:18-22 ESV).

Our reading today describes one of the most enigmatic miracles of Jesus. However, it has much to say about the character of our Savior. The meaning, though widely varied, is pretty simple. Fig trees are for making figs. We plant apple trees because we want apples, peach trees because we want peaches, orange trees because we want oranges, and fig trees because we want figs. We might as well ask what good is an apple tree that doesn't produce apples? You might as well cut it down. Or curse it, as Jesus did the fig tree. Jesus knew the fig tree was barren the moment he saw it. Since the leaves and the fruit typically appear at about the same time, he could see the emptiness and uselessness of the tree at first glance. Cursing the fig tree was Jesus' way of saying that the whole nation of Israel had become spiritually barren before the Lord. They had the form of religion but not the reality. They knew the right words to say, but their hearts were far from God. It was a symbolic pronouncement of judgment. Some have protested that this was the act of a capricious demi-god. They would argue that the fig tree, after all, was doing what God had ordained that fig trees should do. If it was bearing no figs, that was perhaps because there had not been enough rain that year; or because someone else had already passed by and picked all the figs; or simply because fig trees don't fruit at the time of Passover; they fruit in the autumn. However, their argument lacks the basic understanding of the relationship we enjoy with the Lord. Bearing fruit is not a result of anything within the fig tree that has not already been placed there by God. So it is with believers. We cannot blame God for our failure in the simple act of honesty. He gives us the Holy Spirit that we might have the power to transcend the natural and achieve that which is supernatural. Jesus makes that very clear in the last verses of our reading. Jesus sees the heart. Our words and actions are empty if they are not rooted in the faith of belief. It calls us to a real relationship with Jesus, not a religion!