Mark 11:12-14 — The Hypocritical Tree Withers

Mark 11:12-14

Fig tree with new leaves

On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.

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.

And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

This passage had in the past been a difficult one for me to figure out. What was the Lord doing? He was hungry and wanted figs and seeing a leafy tree went to see if there were any figs but there weren't. So He cursed the fig tree, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."

Why did he do it? It was a physical parable or at least a physical conclusion to a parable he had previously spoken. It also smacks of the prophetic object lessons found in the Old Testament. In this case, it was a message about Jerusalem and also a teaching for his disciples about being ready in season and out of season. There is no time when he may not require us to serve him. We too, face the curse of permanent un-fruitfulness if we present ourselves in leafy 

Modern Israeli farmers emphasize maximum fruitfulness

 fullness and yet provide no sustaining fruit. Jesus was looking for the early ripe figs that ripen with the leaves—the first fruits but did not really expect to find any. This is a physical parable about the spiritual condition of Israel—fruitless. It is reminiscent of the fruitless vine in Isaiah 5, and certainly, the fig tree is an oft-repeated O.T. symbol for Israel. Luke 13:6-9 contains a verbal parable of the fig tree and again the issue is fruitfulness or the lack of it.

We don't know when the Lord will call on us to provide fruit. The fruit is for God's glory (John 15:8). He is the master. We need to be ready because we might not get another chance to serve.

Lord Jesus, please grant us sense enough, and strength enough—by the Holy Spirit—to be fruitful for you in all seasons of this life that you give to us. Amen.

Bonus:

When I was a graduate student, I was assigned to write a paper addressing a skeptical argument against Jesus’ divinity based on his occasional displays of anger and violence (i.e., thus they argued he couldn’t be the sinless Messiah). One part of the paper addressed this passage and I include an excerpt from that section below…

The Gospel Accounts Give Evidence That Jesus Destroyed a Fig Tree 

We will readily stipulate to the Gospel evidence in Matthew 21 and the more detailed account in Mark 11 that Jesus, upon encountering the fruitless fig tree on his way into Jerusalem, declared that no one should eat of its fruit again. Its demise was apparent right away, as the next morning it was completely shriveled up. Some skeptics say that this was a violent act by Jesus against an innocent fig tree that disqualifies him from being the sinless Son of God. It is hard to see the logical connection between this manifestation of Jesus’ power and their conclusion. Skeptics have not made their case. It remains to be seen whether this was an act of disqualifying violence or an appropriate object lesson in keeping with the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and the character of a Holy God. 

It has been claimed that Jesus violated the Law of Moses by destroying a fruit tree, but this certainly is not the case. [Deuteronomy 20:19-20 directs that only non-fruit-bearing trees may be cut down when laying siege to a city. That requirement is casuistic and does not apply since Jesus was not laying siege to a city.] In any event, there was no fruit on the tree. The misunderstanding here comes when we think Jesus was making an unrealistic demand on the tree. However, fig trees around Jerusalem have early fruit by the time they are in full leaf. While it was not the normal time for the trees to be in leaf at that time of year, this one was in full leaf, yet it had no fruit. Jesus' motivation was always to show mercy and extravagant grace. This must surely be the acted-out conclusion to his parable of the unfruitful fig tree in Luke 13:6-9. This parable and its acted conclusion are in total agreement with a number of Old Testament passages, including those when God speaks of seeking fruit on the fig tree and finding none (e.g., Joel 1:12; Jeremiah 8:13; 6:6; Isaiah 5:1-5; Hosea 9:10-11). This was no act of anger and violence; rather it was the resigned judgment of one who had long been merciful. So much more could be said about this than this paper can allow. However, the 19^th Century scholar Alfred Edersheim paints such a vivid word picture that I must allow it.

But in the present case, there was neither old nor new fruit, 'but leaves only.' It was evidently a barren fig tree, cumbering the ground, and to be hewn down. Our mind almost instinctively reverts to the Parable of the Barren Fig-tree, which He had so lately spoken. To Him, who but yesterday had wept over the Jerusalem that knew not the day of its visitation, and over which the sharp axe of judgment was already lifted, this fig tree, with its luxuriant mantle of leaves, must have recalled, with pictorial vividness, the scene of the previous day. Israel was that barren fig tree; and the leaves only covered their nakedness, as erst they had that of our first parents after their Fall. And the judgment, symbolically spoken in the Parable, must be symbolically executed in this leafy fig tree, barren when searched for fruit by the Master. It seems almost an inward necessity, not only symbolically but really also, that Christ's Word should have laid it low. We cannot conceive that any other should have eaten of it after the hungering Christ had in vain sought fruit thereon. We cannot conceive that anything should resist Christ, and not be swept away. We cannot conceive that the reality of what He had taught should not, when [the] occasion came, be visibly placed before the eyes of the disciples. Lastly, we seem to feel that, as always, the manifestation of His true Humanity, in hunger, should be accompanied by that of His Divinity, in the power of His Word of judgment.[1]

---

[1] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993), 732-733.