Confronting Fruitlessness

Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc.
Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: February 5, 2006

Confronting Fruitlessness
by Dan Trygg

"On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard it." Mark 11:12-14

The account of the cursing of the fig tree occurs only in Matthew and Mark. It appears in Matthew as if it was an instantaneous event which happened on the day after the cleansing of the temple. From Mark’s account, however, we learn that Jesus cursed the tree on the morning of the day He cleansed the temple, and the effect of that curse was not discovered until the next day. Matthew abridged the account, combining the two experiences into one synopsis. In actuality, the two separate incidents sandwich in Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. The lesson drawn from the incident has to do with asking in faith, but I believe the account has a broader significance beyond this immediate lesson.

The background for this episode was that Jesus and the disciples had spent the night in or near Bethany, about two miles from Jerusalem. Apparently, He did not have breakfast, for He was hungry. Seeing a single fig tree in leaf at a distance (Matt. 21:19), He went out of His way to see if there was any fruit on it. The whole incident seems kind of strange, especially when Mark tells us that it was not the season for figs. Normally, early figs do not ripen until the latter part of May or June, and the main crop is not harvested until the fall. So, the timing of this was way early, since the Passover was in April. "What was Jesus thinking?" you might ask. Well, there is another side to this story. Everyone in that part of the world would also know that the early figs emerge in the early spring, before the leaves, and then develop when the leaves come out. If there were leaves on the tree, there should have been figs. Armed with this knowledge, seeing the fig tree in leaf, Jesus proceeded to see if "consequently" (Mk. 11:13) He would find any figs on it. Finding none, He responded, saying, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." His disciples heard this comment.

Then He entered the city and went into the temple. He cleansed the temple, casting out those buying and selling in the Court of the Gentiles, turning over the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. He was not permitting anyone to carry anything through the temple courts. He began to teach, quoting from Isaiah 56:7, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations" but accusing them of making it like a "den of robbers", a quote from Jeremiah 7:11. Their unfaithful forefathers had trusted in the misguided belief that God would spare them from judgment, simply because they had the temple of the Lord in their midst. They were keeping an outward show of religious service, but they were oppressing the powerless, practicing injustice, shedding the blood of the innocent, and serving false gods. Through Jeremiah, God made clear that He desires obedience. Religious rituals, the equivalent of "playing church" in our day, will not blind His eyes to their hypocrisy and sin. He pointed to the destruction that happened to Shiloh, where the tabernacle of the Lord had been some 500 years earlier, during the time of Samuel and Eli (I Sam. 1-4). Did the presence of God’s ark spare those who spurned God, and did wickedly, in that generation? No. Neither would God spare the generation of Jeremiah’s time, nor that of Jesus’ time, …nor will He spare us, if we do not truly walk in His ways. Singing praise songs, going to religious meetings, while living in contradiction to God’s ways, is viewed by the Lord as a mockery and a burdensome aggravation to Him (Isa. 1:10-15).

Unlike the first time Jesus cleansed the temple, three years earlier (Jn. 2:13-22), on this occasion the focus of His concern seems to be different. The motivation for His actions there was the zealous passion He had for His Father’s house. He saw the practice of buying and selling sacrificial animals in the temple courts as an offense to the holiness of that place. Here, at the second cleansing, there is an added concern. By turning the Court of the Gentiles into a marketplace, where the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals were actively pursuing their activities, and where people were passing through carrying their packages and purchases on their daily business, the Court of the Gentiles had come to be all but obliterated by the noise and traffic. Most of the Jews had no concern about this, having disdain, not love, for the people of other nations. This was not God’s heart, however. The temple was meant to be a place of prayer for all peoples. This was recognized from the very beginning. Even in Solomon’s dedication prayer for the first temple, he specifically asked that if foreigners should come from far away to pray toward this place, that God would hear their prayer and answer them, so that "all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to reverence You" (I Kg. 8:41-44). Even though Herod had recognized this enough to build a large courtyard for God-seeking foreigners to gather in the temple of Jesus’ day, this space was "appropriated" for "temple business", leaving no place for non-Jews to pray and worship. Jesus put a halt to this, stopping the merchandising and not allowing people to carry things through this area (Mk. 11:16), in effect sanctifying afresh the courtyard that was supposed to be dedicated to the Gentiles. What messages do we send to outsiders and newcomers? Do we make room for them, and draw them near, or are we arrogant and make them feel like they are not welcome? Do we squeeze them out by our "business for God"?

Having cleared the courtyard, the blind and lame came to Him there, and He healed them (Matt. 21:14), which became an exciting sign to everyone, Jew and Gentile. His bold and authoritative action, accompanied by these miracles, inspired the children to begin taking up the cry of the previous day, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" At this, the scribes and chief priests were indignant, but when they tried to get Jesus to stop them, He rejected their admonition. He even quoted from Psalm 8:2, challenging them, "Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have prepared praise for Yourself?’" The remainder of the verse, which He did not quote, says, "…in answer to Your adversaries, to make the enemy and vengeful to cease." In other words, the praise of the children would put the mouths of His enemies to silence. Note, that the verse is a reference to what God is doing for Himself (Psa. 8:1), an indirect claim to Deity by the Lord Jesus, and certainly a further aggravation and challenge to His adversaries. Mark records that from this time the chief priests and the scribes "began seeking how to destroy Him" (Mk. 11:18). Jesus, however, left the city and lodged in Bethany.
When the Lord and the disciples were coming into town in the morning, they passed by the fig tree, and noticed that it had withered, from the roots. Remembering, Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, behold, the fig tree You cursed has withered!" Because this event was so remarkable to Peter and the disciples, Jesus used it as a lesson regarding faith. Most versions translate the next brief sentence as "Have faith in God." That is not exactly what the Greek says here. A more accurate rendering would be, "Have faith of God." The question that the interpreter must ask is whether Jesus means "have faith that pertains to God" or "have faith which is from God, i.e., God’s faith". The word "have" also is capable of a broader understanding. It can mean "grasp, seize or lay hold of" or "hold on to, possess, or keep". So, is Jesus saying, "grasp faith or trust which comes from God", or is He saying, "hold on to the faith you have in God"? Either alternative is a viable option. We know that "faith" is listed as one of the spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12:9.

This understanding of receiving an "injection of faith" or some kind of "impartation of faith" seems to be illustrated in Acts 3, when the apostles healed the lame beggar. As Peter attempts to explain what happened, he says, "and upon the faith of His name this one whom you behold and know, …the name of Him strengthened, and the faith the through-Him-[faith], gave to him this wholeness before you." It sounds very much like Peter is saying that God provides a faith to do the miraculous, which we then need to act upon in order to see the miraculous working of God. This notion would be supported by what Jesus taught regarding how He did His miracles. He said that He did nothing from Himself, but He did what He saw the Father doing (Jn. 5:19). It also fits with Luke 5:17, where we are told that "the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing". If you put these pieces together, the issue regarding a miraculous working of God involves more our catching hold of and applying the power that He makes available at a given time, than it is about convincing ourselves strongly enough what God can do, so that somehow He is compelled to do it, …or the idea that we have the power in us and can unleash it at will, if we are strongly convinced enough. This does not mean that we must just "happen upon" times and places where God would desire to expend His power. We are intercessors, priests and partners with God, and He desires to work with us. It does mean, however, that we are dependent upon His working, which we can ask for. When it is present, we must then take hold of it and express it as the Holy Spirit would prompt us to do, in order for it to be activated and the power of the Spirit to flow. This is not meant to be taken as a hard and fast formula, but rather for us to begin to think in different ways about such scenarios.
Interestingly, Matthew’s account says, "have faith… and do not hesitate/doubt/evaluate", while Mark has "and does not doubt/hesitate/evaluate in his heart". Apparently we either need to be entirely convinced, or at least we must be very decisive. In any case, we need to remain steadfast in order to see God work. We cannot be halting, hesitating or wishy-washy. We must take firm action. Note, too, that this is not just a "head game". This is not just "mind over matter" within our heads. We must express outwardly our inner leading. We must take definitive action.

Although neither Mark nor Matthew record an explanation of the cursing of the fig tree, the meaning seems quite clear, especially in the context. Like Israel, the fig tree appeared to be mature enough to have fruit, to have even surpassed the other trees in this regard. On closer inspection, however, it was found only to be an empty show. It appeared as though it should have fruit, but it had no more fruit than the other trees around it, which were still barren of leaves. Israel, so proud of its religious history and identity, was no better than the Gentiles, as far as bearing the genuine fruit of righteousness. Though proud of its outward show, it was cursed for its fruitlessness, and would soon shrivel and all but disappear. How about us? What will Jesus find when He comes to look for fruit in our lives?