Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. (Mark 11:12-13; Matthew 21:18-19)
It's so nice to read that Jesus was hungry. He is the Son of God, but He is also the Son of Man, For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,... (Hebrews 4:15) Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, ... For in that He Himself has suffered,... (Hebrews 2:17-18) Jesus experienced every feeling and emotion we experienced, ...but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
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. (Mark 11:13-14; Matthew 21:19) Immediately the fig tree withered away. (Matthew 21:19) What does this mean? Later, after Jesus and the disciples leave Jerusalem, return to Bethany, and then return to Jerusalem the next morning, Peter will make an interesting comment: Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” (Mark 11:20-21)
The original Hebrew word cursed that is used by Peter is only used twice in scripture. It means to execrate, to declare to be hateful or abhorrent; denounce; to feel loathing for; abhor. Remember, Jesus is going to Jerusalem, knowing that in just a few days the Jews are going to murder Him, His own people. The fig tree represents the Jews. Seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, but when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves. "The fig tree (Israel) failed to bear fruit (faith) even though its leaves indicate it was in season (the appointed time for the coming of the Messiah). Due to its lack of fruit, the fig tree withered." (read "Jesus and the Fig Tree")
And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” (Matthew 21:20) The fact is, the Jews had not wither away so soon. God had been very patient with them, but He prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah about some "good figs" and some "bad figs". He promised the good figs, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive... For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:5-7)
"‘And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord... I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’” (Jeremiah 24:8-10) God made it very clear to the children of Israel what kind of people they were to be, because through them the whole world would come to know the One True and Living God. Their refusal throughout most of their existence to do as God had commanded lead them into repeated captivity. They were under Roman captivity while Christ Jesus, the Son of God, the promised Messiah was with them, and they still didn't believe, even though God has provided more than enough proof during the three years of Christ's earthly ministry.
Remember Jesus taught the disciples in a previous lesson, He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9; see THE GOSPEL: Become Fruitful or Perish) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (II Peter 3:9)
God gave the Jews and He continues to give all of us up to today time to make a choice, either to become "fruitful" and live, or to remain "unfruitful" and suffer the consequences. So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree,... (Matthew 21:21) What will we who believe and have accepted Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord also be able to do? Let the study continue...
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