Read
Jesus Puts a Curse
(Matthew 21.18,19)
12When Jesus and his disciples left Bethany the next morning, he was hungry. 13From a distance Jesus saw a fig tree covered with leaves, and he went to see if there were any figs on the tree. But there were none, because it wasn't the season for figs. 14So Jesus said to the tree, “Never again will anyone eat fruit from this tree!” The disciples heard him say this.
Jesus in the Temple
(Matthew 21.12-17; Luke 19.45-48; John 2.13-22)
15After Jesus and his disciples reached Jerusalem, he went into the temple and began chasing out everyone who was selling and buying. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and the benches of those who were selling doves. 16Jesus would not let anyone carry things through the temple. 17 Then he taught the people and said, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house should be called a place of worship for all nations.’ But you have made it a place where robbers hide!”
18The chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses heard what Jesus said, and they started looking for a way to kill him. They were afraid of him, because the crowds were completely amazed at his teaching.
19That evening, Jesus and the disciples went outside the city.
Reflect
Many people find this incident with the fig tree baffling. Why does Jesus curse it? What did the poor tree do to deserve such judgment? What is even stranger is that it was not the season for figs, so Jesus had no reason to expect to find any. What are we supposed to learn from this?
The key to properly interpreting this story is found in a literary technique that Mark frequently uses throughout his Gospel. When Mark wants to highlight something, he uses a device called the “sandwich” technique. He mentions one thing (the fig tree), then moves on to something else (the temple cleansing), then comes back to the first thing (the fig tree, verses 20-21). When Mark uses this technique the events have to be interpreted together. This means that the cursing of the fig tree cannot be understood apart from the cleansing of the temple.
In the Old Testament, Israel was often pictured as a fig tree. When the tree bore bad fruit, it was judged by God. Jesus passes the fig tree on the way to Jerusalem. When he enters the temple, far from finding good “fruit,” he finds that Gentiles are being excluded, and the house of prayer has become a place of extortion. The result is that Jesus drives out the money changers – he “withers” the ungodly activity in the temple. Going up to the temple should have been a highlight: it should have been a time of meeting with God in a place characterized by holy prayer, sacrifice, and worship. But the temple was like a fig tree with no fruit; it was good for nothing except judgment. The cursing of the fig tree symbolizes Jesus’ judgment on the temple.
Respond
God, thank you for sending Jesus to purify your people and to make us truly holy. Help us to dedicate ourselves to true purity, prayer, and worship. May we not be like a fig tree that has leaves and looks good from afar, but has no fruit. Amen.
Steve West
Steve West is the Lead Pastor at Crestwicke Baptist Church in Guelph, Ontario, as well as an adjunct professor at Heritage College and Seminary (Cambridge) and Toronto Baptist Seminary.