I recently posted a note on Facebook about the cursed fig tree in Mark 11:12-14. I have always been
bothered by this passage, thinking that it seemed unfair of Jesus to curse the poor tree. So, it caused me
to look a little further BECAUSE I believe several things:
- God is always good
- God is always right
- God always does what is best
God always has a lesson for us to learn
Here is the passage:
Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig
Mark 11:12-14
tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He
found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat
fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.
The following are notes from David Guzik, a commentator on Blue Letter Bible:
Seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it:
Blue Letter Bible
Essentially, the tree was a picture of false advertising, having leaves but no figs. Ordinarily this is not
the case with these fig trees, which normally do not have leaves without also having figs.
For it was not the season for figs: It wasn’t that the fig tree didn’t have figs because it wasn’t supposed
to. The problem is that it had leaves but didn’t have figs. The leaves said, “There are figs here,” but the
figs weren’t there.
WOW! That was so helpful. Before reading this, I reasoned that the passage made no sense. It was the
spring of the year. Of course, there would be no fruit. So, the first lesson is a practical one:
KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!
Don’t just assume the worst because you do not have all the information. How often do we do that!
Assumptions can be so deadly to relationships as well as to the cause of Christ.
But wait! There’s more!! Guzik goes on:
Lesson Two Part of Bible study is looking beyond the written words to the message of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus often taught using parables. He explains why:
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Matthew 13:15
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them’
He knew that those who truly wanted to hear the truth would get the message. But wait! There’s more:
In all works in the ministry of Jesus, this is the only destructive miracle. The Old Testament is filled with
Blue Letter Bible
miracles of destruction and judgment, but Jesus most perfectly showed us the nature of God. If this w
the only miracle of its kind, we must see there was a great and important lesson in it. God doesn’t
approve when there is profession without reality, talk without walk. (Guzik)
“There is no more warrant for criticizing our Lord for destroying a tree for the purpose of teaching, than
there is for objecting to a Christmas tree for our children, or the plucking of petals from a flower in a
lesson on botany.” (Morgan)
Ah! Now we see the whole picture! Simply reading the passage without thought or study may leave out
the true message for us.
We are in the most sacred week of the year for Christians of all stripes. As born-again believers, let’s
take what’s left of this week and dig into God’s Word. Some of you may have done something special
prior to Resurrection Sunday. Some call it Lent. We give up things or do things that help us to prepare
our hearts for God’s message. Deadlines are so helpful. They push us to do what needs to be done.
So here it is: are you all leaves? If so, what can you do about it? ��
Do you want to know God? Know God’s Word! Do you want to be more than leaves?
Follow the Lord’s leading. He has something for all of us to do. Find your niche and you will find joy in serving Jesus.
Of all days, today is the day we reflect on all that God has done for us in sending His Son. We remember all that Jesus has done for us on the cross. Oh, may we desire more than just leaves!
Beyond Common Sense 