Cursing the Fig Tree - Matt 21:17-22; Mark 11:12-14;20-26

Now we come to a part of the scriptures that I truly have not understood at all, ever, and honestly, it made me feel like Jesus was kind of being a jerk about it, but then again, this was previously, before I loved him. After arriving triumphal at Jerusalem and claiming the spiritual realm for Himself, Jesus goes to the temple, then returns to Bethany to spend the night. The next morning, they left Bethany and headed to Jerusalem but “he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.” Wait, what? Jesus was hungry so he went to a tree for food, there was no food, so he cursed it? How did the thought process go from “I’m hungry” to “you’re dead forever because you don’t have any figs.” That seems like quite a stretch for me.

Remembering that the Savior might have been feeling a heightened sense of emotion at this time, having just declared Himself as the Messiah, knowing what all that entailed, all the pain that he knew was coming with the atonement, and having just wept for the fate that awaited Jerusalem. At his possibly enhanced emotional sensitivity, going to the tree with hope for food, and then being disappointed, he was probably acutely aware of the symbolism that the tree showed. The IM explains, “The leaves on the fig tree indicated that it should have had fruit, but it did not. With its misleading appearance, the tree symbolized hypocrisy, and its fate perhaps represented what awaited those who professed righteousness, yet plotted the Savior’s death.” Still kind of abstract for me.

I appreciated a statement made by the Christian Courier in the article “Why did Jesus ‘curse’ the fig tree?” saying, “Christ’s action was not a purposeless act of intemperance. It represented a strong object-lesson that the disciples needed to learn.” I always feel like such a jerk when I look at something the Savior did and think “that doesn’t make any sense.” But because this article addressed the thought that I had, it made me feel better knowing that I was not the only person who construed this event in a negative way.

Jesus fully expected fruit to be on the tree because, as the article states from Alfred Edersheim “In Palestine the fruit appears before the leaves,” and continues, “thus, to see a leafed fig tree (even at an unseasonable time) warranted the assumption that there would be fruit on the tree.” The article explains that Jesus went to the fig tree looking for some food, even though we’ve seen Him be omniscient before. It comments, “One must conclude that this circumstance reveals that though he was deity, Jesus did not exercise the full range of his divine powers constantly. He did not know the details regarding this tree until he was in close proximity.”

Jesus is pretty disappointed that there is no fruit and “curses” or pronounces judgment on the tree. But the next day, when Jesus and company leave Bethany again to go back to Jerusalem, they pass the same tree and “they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.” One point from this event is taught by the IM which says, “Elder James E. Talmage stated that another truth we learn from this account is that Jesus had ‘power to destroy by a word.’ This truth helps us appreciate that His willingness to be arrested and crucified just a few days later was ‘truly voluntary.’” It’s interesting to think about all these experiences the disciples had, but how they just didn’t see that Jesus was willingly going to die. I guess it’s because the concept is so against our nature, the human ones, which it’s not really possible for us to think about someone giving up their life willingly.

Another interesting point was from a comment on an article about the cursing of the fig tree which says, “Jesus cursed the fig tree which was all leaves and no fruit. In the Bible, fig leaves stand for works of self-righteousness. Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together, to cover themselves. Fruit refers to fruit of the Spirit. A ‘fig tree in full leaf’ represents those bustling with religious activity but having no ‘fruit of righteousness… In cursing the fig tree, Jesus provides a visual example of the necessity of faith that enables fruit-bearing. The Creator knows it was not the season for figs. He also knows the righteous in Christ yield fruit all year round- whether in season or out of season. The lesson we must not fail to learn from the fig tree is: mere lip-service to profess Jesus as King is not enough. We must bring forth fruits of repentance and prove our faith with works- otherwise our faith is dead like the withered fig tree.”

Jesus has also used the metaphor of a tree many times, such as “the ax is laid at the root of the tree,” or the parable of the vineyard where they graft in different branches into different trees or the Nephites being a “branch of Israel.” So looking at it in that light, it’s not really that difficult to put the cursing of the fig tree into a place that makes sense, it’s definitely in line with a theme that runs throughout the scriptures. I’m glad to have finally made more sense to an event that always bugged me.