Oh, fig

Mark 11: 12: "The next day as they were coming back from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. He saw in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, so he went to see if he could find any figs on it. But when he came to it, he found only leaves, because it was not the right time for figs. Jesus said to the fig tree, "No one shall ever eat figs from you again!" And his disciples heard him."

I've read this many times and each time it is like a stop sign held out in front of me. My initial reaction often is, huh?

I mean, come on. Jesus is so much like me that he will curse a little tree that hasn't produced fruit even when it wasn't time for the fruit to be made and ripened? That's Jesus. Really?

But like much of scripture, the hard lessons are explained elsewhere. If one goes just a bit farther, to the 20th verse, after Jesus had gone to the temple and done some overturning of tables and such, we read, "In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” "Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

And you go, oh. Huh?

Jesus curses a fig tree and it dies without bearing fruit. Seems dramatically harsh, huh? Seems, still, so un-Jesus like. I mean, what didn't the fig tree do that it could have done? It couldn't produce fruit because it wasn't in season. It wasn't it's fault, right? It has a proper excuse, right?

Commentaries will tell you the fig tree represented the nation of Israel. That the nation had rejected the Messiah.

But, but how on earth could these fishermen and other commoners possibly get the symbolism? How an we?

I think the key line in all of this is "And his disciples heard him."

Though they might not have understood, they heard. They saw the power of a god who can curse and send away. Further if one notes that the proper order for fig trees is fruit first, around Passover, then glorious leaves, one gets the context.

Let's sum it this way: How many of us as Christians have made a wonderful display but have no fruit to show for it? Isn't that the way of the church today? Could Jesus have been making a comment on us just as much as he was supposed to be making a comment on the Jewish state?

Just saying.