ear Friends,

Good morning!  We’re in a little sequence of actions of Jesus that are each a signal of who He is and what He is up to.  Yesterday, He entered Jerusalem on a donkey, greeted by the worshipping crowds.  It was His messianic entry.  Today we get two more signs. One of them is exceedingly strange, and the other is one all of us have wanted to do at one time or another.

12The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. 15On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: " `My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it `a den of robbers.'" 18The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19When evening came, they went out of the city. 20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!" 22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins"

We shall return to the story of the showdown in the temple tomorrow, and to the fig tree the day after. All three parts, as we'll see, form one story.

The opening part, in which Jesus curses the fig tree, is difficult. In fact, it certainly appears like a stupid thing to do. Cursing a plant because it is not bearing fruit out of season is, well, not impressive behavior. I've found that often when a passage really bothers me in the Bible, lots of revelation waits within that passage. But you have to dig a little, and the main help will be from someplace else in the Bible. Our grandparents used to say we needed to let scripture interpret scripture, and that is very smart.

A fig tree. "I've found that often when a passage really bothers me in the Bible, lots of revelation waits within that passage."

There are a few passages in the prophets about the Lord and fig trees which help explain what Jesus may have been up to. From Hosea ( 9:10 ) comes this:

10"When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert; when I saw your fathers, it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.

The speaker in this passage is God, who was delighted by Israel in the desert, especially at Mount Sinai, when the people accepted Him as their God and received His covenant.  So now Jesus as Lord has come to the temple, seeking Israel, and hoping, in his hunger, to find the early fruit on the fig tree – but this version of Israel has no such fruit.  So He curses the tree that promised Him food and didn’t deliver.

From Jeremiah (8: 13) comes this:

" `I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD.There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.' "

To this day, this passage is read in synagogues each year to remember the destruction of the temple, where the worship of God had become so barren.  Both the destruction of Solomon’s  temple in 587 bc and the later destruction of this temple in ad 70 were understood to be acts of judgment by God on what was going on within the religion at the time.  The image of the withering leaves of the fig tree is an image of what God promises in this prophecy to do with a religion that has lots of show and no fruit.

And from Ezekiel (17:23-24) comes this:

23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. 24All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. " `I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.' "

Here the reference is to a tree being planted on the mountain height of Israel, on Mount Zion, where the Temple is.  God’s hope is that the tree will become a home for “birds of every kind.”  Jesus is about to walk into the court of the Gentiles within the temple, the place where people from everywhere on earth were to be welcomed to God’s house.  But something is amiss with the tree on the mountain of Israel.  The prophet Ezekiel hears God saying, “I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.”  So Jesus enacts this very prophecy, drying up the green and fruitless tree. 

So this action at the fig tree is meant to be both a preparation for and a comment on the big action that is coming up in the temple. When we get to the temple tomorrow with Jesus, we will find a vast system of sacrifices and business all being carried out according to some set of rules.  It will be impersonal and very profitable to those who run things, but there won’t be prayer or welcome or any relating with God. 

There’s a big difference between institutional piety and faith, as we are about to learn.

See you tomorrow.

Love,

Jeff