The Barren Fig Tree

Matthew 21:18-22

Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He hungered.

And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.

 

And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. 

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

I believe that this thought unit has been placed rather perfectly in the context of chapter 21. At the beginning of chapter 21 in verses 1-11, Jesus has His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and is welcomed like a king by the Jewish people. The same people who great Jesus as He enters the city as the same people, who in verses 12-17 are using the temple as a market. Immediately following verse 17, the next thought unit, verses 18-22 take place which is stated above.

First of all, let’s look closely at what has happened. Matthew records that in verse 18 that Jesus was hungry as He and His disciples walked back to Jerusalem from Bethany. Verse 19 says: “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it.” Which in this case could mean that He went to fig tree. And when he came to the fig tree, He noticed that it had nothing to eat. Now if this was my first time reading through this passage of Scripture, I would guess that Jesus would perform a miracle so that the tree would bring forth fruit for Jesus and His disciples so they could satisfy their hunger, but that is not what He does. He then does the exact opposite of what we expect Him to do. He destroys the fig tree! He literally curses it! This is the only time in the Gospel where Jesus uses His power to destroy part of His creation. The gospel account is full of recordings of when Jesus healed people, but here, Jesus cursed a tree. I think the reason why this story is not preached on a lot or told to kids as a Bible story is that many people find this passage disturbing because at face value, this does not represent who a lot of people want to think Jesus is and they don’t spend digging into the passage. 

“Does the destruction of the fig tree mean anything?” 

The answer is ironic and as well as it is an illustration. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s prophets frequently used the fig tree and its fruit as images of Israel’s relationship to God and Israel’s judgment. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all use the fig tree in this manner.

In this passage, Jesus foreshadows the judgment of His hypocritical people when h destroys the fig tree, but what strikes me as interesting is that Jesus’ lesson isn't a jump onto another spiritual truth, but connected with the rebuke of Israel for her lack of bearing fruit. You see, what the nation of Israel didn't have was true "faith," in the sense of a commitment to her Messiah. They are willing to welcome Jesus as their king but then they use His temple as place for greed and dishonesty. This fruitlessness shall bring their destruction.

“What does Jesus’ answer mean?”

Jesus answers His disciples’ bewilderment by saying, “Verily I saw unto you, if ye have faith and doubt not. . .” Which the nation of Israel did not have--faith. “ye shall. . .do this which is done to the fig tree.” What Jesus says here is just as important as what Jesus does not say. Jesus does not sit and explain to the disciples His reasoning for destroying the fig tree; He just alludes to the fact that fruitlessness will be punished. The fig tree stands for the nation of Israel and the fruitlessness, obviously, stands for the doubt and lack of faith that the nation of Israel has committed.

                Matthew chapter 21, verse 21 continues in saying. “but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” We have all heard the famous verse in Luke 17 about all we need is faith the size of a Mustard seed, but that is in the context of faith in prayer! Fruitfulness will be rewarded. Prayer with true faith avails much. Jesus continues saying, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ye shall receive.” Honestly, what could we, as believers want more? True faith in prayer will bring blessing. Granted, this does not mean that we can pray for whatever we want and claim that God will answer whatever we ask Him to do, but in honest faithful prayer, God will answer.

"What does this passage mean for me?"

First of all, God punishes fruitlessness, severely. As this passage foreshadows the judgment of Israel for her fruitlessness, so does this passage give us a warning about fruitlessness in our own lives. Similar to what the nation of Israel was called to do but failed to do, so we are called to continually show forth the praises of God by lives lived in distinctive fruitfulness. The lack of fruit by Israel called for the curse of Christ and honestly, it's no different today.

Secondly, Jesus shows us how He rewards fruitfulness. When we produce lives that exhibit trust, dependence, and faith in God, God will reward us through answering honest prayer. Let our goals be to exhibit fruitfulness in our own lives, to avoid displeasing God, but also to reap His reward.