By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 11:20-21
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.”
(ESV)
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the
United States. Its history goes back to
the time of the pilgrims who were the first Europeans to settle in the country giving
thanks to God for His provision. The
tradition of a feast during this time is due to their desire to share the
abundance of God’s provision with others.
As those reading this post who live in the United States prepare to
celebrate the holiday, I encourage you to pause from the busyness of preparing
for the holiday and give thanks to God for all He has done for you, especially for
sending Jesus to die for our sins. I
also invite those reading this from outside the United States to join us in
giving thanks to God. I also encourage
everyone to make it a habit to daily give thanks to God for all He does for
us.
The text for this post involves
Jesus cursing a fig tree and the lessons we can learn from the withered fig
tree. The unusual aspect of Jesus’
cursing the fig tree is that he curses the fig tree for not providing figs at a
time when the tree would not normally produce fruit. The fig tree also teaches us the importance
of having faith in God to move the mountains or obstacles that hinder our relationship
with God. The fig also teaches us the
need to have forgiving hearts so our prayers to God have no roadblocks on their
way to God. Jesus uses the illustration
of cursing a fig tree to show the power of prayer.
The fig tree teaches us that,
1) The
Lord expects Christians to be fruitful even when out of season (Galatians
5:22-23; 2 Timothy 4:2) – Jesus Curses the fig tree for not producing figs
during the season when the fig tree would not produce figs (Mark
11:13). At first, this might appear
to be some form of fig tree abuse which today would mean some special interest
group would have condemned what Jesus did on social media and possibly even taken
some legal action against Him. However,
to truly learn this lesson from the fig tree, we must interpret it symbolically. The symbol of fruit on the tree refers to one
being fruitful as they serve God. For
Christians, these fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians
5:22-23). While there is no law
against one having these fruits in their lives, a corrupt world may have a
corrupt definition of these fruits and make accusations against Christians demonstrating
these characteristics in their lives. However,
even in a climate of the misunderstanding of a believer demonstrating these
fruits, a believer must demonstrate them as a witness for Christ. The lesson from the fig tree is that
Christians must bear the fruits of the Spirit and preach the Word of God both
in season and out of season (2
Timothy 4:2).
2) The
Lord expects Christians to have faith in God and not the abilities of self or
others (Matthew
6:33) – Jesus’ initial response after Peter pointed out that the fig tree
Jesus cursed had withered was to “Have faith in God” (Mark
11:22). While Peter focused on the
withered fig tree, Jesus attempts to change His focus to having faith in
God. While Jesus is God in the flesh (John
1:14), His curse of the fig tree occurred as a man having faith in God the Father
to do what He asked. In Mark
11:24, Jesus expands upon his telling the Disciples to have faith in God by
using the illustration of telling a mountain to move with undoubting faith in
God. However, this is not an open
invitation to ask God for whatever we desire to fulfill our happiness but occurs
in the context of one seeking intimacy with God (Matthew
6:33). Our faith in God must not be a
faith that uses God to fulfill personal gain but instead faith in God as our
savior desiring to fulfill His will in our lives, bearing fruit pleasing to God. The fig tree withered because it did hot bear
fruit pleasing to God.
3) The
Lord expects Christians to pray in faith without doubting what they pray for will
happen (John
15:7; Matthew 18:19). A prayer
offered with doubt is like one begging for something without the expectation of
receiving it. Unfortunately, our prayers
to God are often a form of begging from God with doubt and not something
offered with faith that God hears us and wants to answer our prayers. James
5:16 reminds us that the fervent prayers of a righteous person have great
power. The fig tree teaches us not to
pray with doubt but to pray with faith and expectation God hears us and loves
to answer our prayers.
4) The
Lord expects Christians to forgive so nothing hinders our prayers (Matthew
5:23-24; 6:12-15). While our prayers
have power, there is a condition, confession of our sins to one another (James
5:16). A heart of unforgiveness poisons
our fruit making us unappealing to others.
It is also a form of hypocrisy as we are not forgiving others as the
Lord has forgiven us. The fig tree
teaches us not to pray with hypocrisy due to unforgiveness in our hearts but to
forgive others as per the pattern of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew
6:12-15).
Granted the fig tree is not human
and incapable of teaching about prayer but makes an excellent illustration of
the importance of being fruitful, having faith in God, praying in faith without
doubting, and forgiving others. Jesus
was not cruel when he cursed the fig tree for not having fruit out of season
but instead used it as an illustration of the importance of having faith in
God, praying without doubting, and having a heart of forgiveness like our
Savior. Through following these
illustrations, one can lead a fruitful Christian life both in the good and bad
seasons of life.
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