Mark 11:12-14 (NKJV) The Fig Tree Withered
(Matt. 21:18, 19)
12 Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 And seeing from afar a fig 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. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.
V12 “Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.” Jesus spent the night in Bethany. Now, Monday, the day after the Triumphal Entry, He begins to return to Jerusalem. Maybe Jesus was hungry because they left Bethany very early.
V13 “And seeing from afar a fig 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.” Looking ahead, Jesus recognizes a fig tree.
(Bridge Dictionary): “Healthy fig trees bore fruit for about ten months of the year, though they lost their leaves and grew new ones according to the season (Mat 24:32). Jesus on one occasion was disappointed when he found that a fig tree that should have had fruit on it (even though the season for picking the fruit had not yet arrived) had no fruit at all. He saw the fruitless tree as symbolic of Israel, a nation that was useless to God. It produced no spiritual fruit and would fall under God’s judgment (Mark 11:12-14; cf. Luke 13:6-9).”
V14 “In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.” The word of Jesus. God’s voice, His word, is powerful over everything. Psalm 29:1-11 shows the many actions of God’s voice. Why did Jesus curse the tree? It seems most reasonable that it did not have fruit. Jeremiah 32:17 (EHV) Ah, LORD God! You are the one who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. There is nothing that is too difficult for you.
See the Bridge Dictionary comment in V13.
Other comments:
(Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible) “Christ went to the temple, and began to reform the abuses in its courts, to show that when the Redeemer came to Zion, it was to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The scribes and the chief priests sought, not how they might make their peace with him, but how they might destroy him. A desperate attempt, which they could not but fear was fighting against God.”
(Holman Commentary) “Mark made sure that the reader knew that all the disciples heard Jesus pronounce judgment upon the fig tree. They understood the symbolism. The fig tree had long been a symbol of Israel’s peace and security (cf. Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10). Jesus’ curse upon it meant that Israel “would not again be the primary instrument of accomplishing God’s purpose” (Brooks, Mark, p. 182).”
(ESV Global Study Bible Notes) “Since the fruit of the fig tree begins to appear about the same time as the leaves, the appearance of leaves in full bloom means that the figs should already have been growing. But Jesus found nothing but leaves on the fig tree. This symbolizes the hypocrisy of those who seem to be bearing fruit but in fact are not. Jesus has in mind especially Israel, since in the OT the fig tree often serves as a symbol for Israel (e.g., Jeremiah 8:13; Hosea 9:10, 16; Joel 1:7).”
We learn:
- The authority of the Lord Jesus.
- How He uses life’s objects to teach a principle.
Questions:
- Are we hypocrites?
- Are we bearing spiritual fruit?