Read
Jesus Puts a Curse
(Mark 11.12-14,20-24)
18When Jesus got up the next morning, he was hungry. He started out for the city, 19and along the way he saw a fig tree. But when he came to it, he found only leaves and no figs. So he told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” Right then the fig tree dried up.
20The disciples were shocked when they saw how quickly the tree had dried up. 21 But Jesus said to them, “If you have faith and don't doubt, I promise you can do what I did to this tree. And you will be able to do even more. You can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will. 22If you have faith when you pray, you will be given whatever you ask for.”
A Question
(Mark 11.27-33; Luke 20.1-8)
23Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
24Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. 25Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
They thought it over and said to each other, “We can't say God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn't believe John. 26On the other hand, these people think John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.” 27So they told Jesus, “We don't know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won't tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”
Reflect
Someone has said that a text taken out of context can be a pretext for anything! So we need to be careful to consider Jesus’ challenge to the disciples about “mountain moving faith” within the setting of the ongoing story.
Here’s the deal. “Mountain moving faith” is rooted in an authentic, growing relationship with the Lord.
We are not maturing into God’s purposes for us if we cultivate a spirituality that only plays well on the surface. This is what we see in the passage today. Lots of leaves, but a fig-less fig tree out of step with nature. Seriously religious folks, passionate about keeping their turf tidy and protected, but oblivious to the Son of God standing right in front of them.
A quick explanation. There were figs and then there were figs. Each year, these trees produced “early figs” that were barely edible and then later bore a crop of delicious “good figs”. No “early” figs (as was the case with this tree), no “good” figs later! (R.T.France, Matthew, The New Testament Commentary Series)
So, Jesus’ prophetic drama continues. The cursing of the tree is Act 3. Act 2 was yesterday’s rampage in the temple; Act 1, the ride into Jerusalem. Enter now the “doctrine inspectors”. They weren’t actually concerned about his teaching. They only wanted to humiliate him because of his grace earned popularity with the people. Jesus refuses to play their game. Instead, he “pulls back the leaves” and exposes the shallowness of their sincere but misguided spirituality. Are they ever embarrassed … and angry!
The point? Jesus was expecting the fig tree to be living out the purpose for which God created it. He wasn’t looking for fully- formed fruit—only the “early figs” indicating that better fruit was coming. Perfection is not his expectation of us, but evidence of ongoing maturity is.
Respond
Creator God, I open my heart to experience whatever will help me to mature. Scorching sun or driving rain. Storm or breeze or calm. Enable me to live a life worthy of your name, pleasing you in every way… bearing fruit in all that I am. Through Jesus the Lord.
Keith Elford
Keith Elford serves as the bishop of The Free Methodist Church in Canada. His mandate is to oversee a diverse group of godly, competent leaders who, using a variety of approaches, work together to see healthy churches developed within Canada and beyond. Prior to being elected as bishop in 1997, Keith was a pastor for 24 years, serving congregations in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. He regularly writes for The Mosaic, a Free Methodist publication.