18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He *said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
This is Monday, the day after the Triumphal Entry. And some of us, myself included, wonder if He was just a little petty here. Then, we read in Mark 11 that it was not time for figs, so expecting a fig out of season makes Him seem almost irrational. One mitigating explanation is that even though it was not “fig season,” the tree had developed leaves, which usually indicated that it bore fruit. So it was a “false witness” against itself.
Well, that helps a little, but still why the little tantrum? Then Begg explained some significant background. It was from the following Scriptures. What happened next? Read v. 23:
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
Recall that yesterday, He had just thrown the money changers and merchandisers from the Temple. Now He is faced by the very instigators of the travesty that He had cleansed. “What gives You the authority to do this?” (They probably did not capitalize, “You.”) Then He avoided a trap question they posed, and we are now back to “today.”
In answer to the question, He told two parables. The first was of two sons, one of which promised to help his father, and one who refused. They later reversed their positions and the one who refused, actually obeyed. “Which did the will of his father?” They correctly identified the one who did obey, even after initially refusing.
His next parable was even more pointed. A landowner planted a vineyard. (He exchanged grapes for figs, but the story is identical.) The tenants refused to render the fruit to the owner. His question to them is what would happen to the unrighteousness land tenders. And they admitted that they would be thrown out and punished.
The final parable to add here is the one about a fig tree planted in a vineyard. (Luke 13) The owner came over three years looking for fruit and finding none. He agreed to let the tender fertilizer and husband it for one more year, then it would be cut down.
So Jesus had come to the Temple two times, once in the beginning of His ministry and the second here. (And He had been there many times is not mentioned.) Since He had not only found no fruit, it seemed like the tenants were being very antagonistic.
Conserquently, the story about the fig tree was included in Matthew and Mark was aimed at exposing the “failure to flourish” by the Jewish leaders. It all fits together now.
Hosea 9:10 explicitly correlates Israel with grapes and figs.
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved.
They turned from God and became detestable. The fruit that He expected from Israel was rotten and repulsive. His response was to “cut it down.” And Jesus’ visual parable with the tree warned that the time was close. And in fact, AD 70 ushered in the complete destruction of the Temple, the City, and the nation. (Sounds like Daniel 9:24 doesn’t it? It is.)
Jesus used every possible method to shake the nation back to sanity, even the withering of a fig tree. The Jews had shown promise, but not deliveed. The time was coming when the threatened disaster would literally splatter them across the globe.
This was not an irrational outburst. It was a calculated call to anyone who was astute enough to listen. Jesus used every tool in His arsenal to call the nation to repentance. Thank you for the insight, Alistair Begg.
And God is calling people today. We are not the nation of Israel, but He is still dedicated to producing useful fruit to attract unbelievers to hear and respond to the Gospel. Incidentally, the picture of fruit was repeated in Galatians 5:22, 23. Be fruitful.
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