Lessons from the fig tree

The Spirit in our lives

Lesson text

Mark 11:12–25 (KJV 1900)

12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves. 18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine. 19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.

20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Focus verse John 15 5

John 15:5 KJV 1900

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Fruit. Nature’s dessert. (love)

Favorite probably peaches (pop, shiloh) canned or frozen....!

Big pear tree. Going to apple orchids. bees buzzing around fallen fruit.

drying fruit. Big long sheets of tin, sheets or material. Grandmother put up between house and clothes line before chicken pen. take them in as sun began to fall… mad rush if cloud burst came up.

fig

The fig tree (ficus carica) grew well in the hill country and produced two crops a season. Early ripening figs were regarded as delicacy because of their sweetness and were eaten fresh. Figs ripening in the later harvest were often dried and strung into a chain, or pressed into hard round or square-shaped cakes called a develah, and stored as a major source of winter food. The blocks of dried fig were sliced and eaten like bread

used to bring peace

1 Samuel 25:18 “18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.”

quick sustenance

1 Samuel 30:12 “12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights.”

figs were brought to Moses by spies from promised land

figs were brought to celebrate ark coming to jerusalem

hezikiah was told to lay a fig cake on him for ealing

Jesus walked up to Fig

The time of year was Passover (cf. 14:1), the middle of the month of Nisan (April). In Palestine fig trees produced crops of small edible buds in March followed by the appearance of large green leaves in early April. This early green “fruit” (buds) was common food for local peasants. (An absence of these buds despite the tree’s green foliage promising their presence indicated it would bear no fruit that year.) Eventually these buds dropped off when the normal crop of figs formed and ripened in late May and June, the fig season. Thus it was reasonable for Jesus shortly before Passover (mid-April) to expect to find something edible on that fig tree even though it was not the season for figs.

cursed it 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Often times we miss the context of scripture.

Grandmother would stop working in the house, yard, garden, etc.. every day about 3:15.

What if I used in a sentence, Grandmother stopped working in the middle of the afternoon with 2 five gallon buckets of okra to cut up? or Grandmother said time to stop and there were still peas to shell, green beans to snap, and tomatoes to wash.

You might come up with all types of reasons that pertain to your life for the reason you think she stopped. (heat of the day, lazy, take a nap, feed the animals, gather eggs)

you would interpret my statements or questions about grandmother stopping working about 315 based upon the situations in your life.

You would have to have been in the house with grandmother to know what those statements meant. Momma knows, Philip would know if he were here, Wanda might know, Loretta and Sherry (some of mommas cousins would know), but everyone else would be left guessing based upon their circumstances.

Grandmother would stop to get herself ready for Granddaddys arrival. He normally got home between 345 and 400. She would stop and wash herself up. take down and comb her long, long hair. She wanted to be ready for Granddaddy when he got home.

such is the way about scripture. We often miss some key point that you would have to have lived in that time or knew it to catch the point.

God created a beautiful garden for mankind. Wonderful fruits! They could eat anything. God told them in Genesis 2:16

Genesis 2:16 (KJV 1900)

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (Hebrew Eat, eat)

The doubled word is for emphasis. There are not words like more, bigger, most etc. The word is doubled. Eat and eat and eat. Eat and enjoy, Eat eat eat eat eat!

There were trees here and trees there. An Abundance of fruit! (imagine living in the middle of a candy store if candy were good for you) There were also 2 trees that were featured right in the middle of the garden.

Genesis 2:9 “9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Genesis 2:9 (GW) 9  The LORD God made all the trees grow out of the ground. These trees were nice to look at, and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the middle of the garden.

mankind could have gorged themselves from morning to night on any type of fruit imaginable. There was only one tree that was forbidden and it was NOT the tree of life. Adam and Eve could have stuffed themselves full of the fruit of the tree of life from morning til night day after day, but based upon the statement that God made when he drove them from garden they never had.. God said lest he take hold of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever.

They were commanded to stuff themselves from the trees of the garden. The tree of life was there. They were actually commanded to eat eat of every tree INCLUDING The tree of life but did not.

You know the story.. They did eat of the one tree that they were commanded not to eat, The tree of knowledge of Good and evil.

They sewed leaves together and made themselves an apron covering because they were naked and knew it.

God came in through the Garden and Mankind according to KJV Genesis 3:8 “8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”

Hebrew states : בְּ·ת֖וֹךְ עֵ֥ץ הַ·גָּֽן

In middle tree of the garden. Etz is tree. Etzim is trees. In middle tree of the garden.

As literally as I can break the hebrew down, it states: Hid the adam (man) and his wife from the face of yhvh God in middle tree of the garden.

They hid themselves in their newfound knowledge that they knew the difference between right and wrong more than God.

I saw something in the scripture while reading this weeks lesson. I knew the answer before I researched it but I did research it to verify.

I dug into the Talmud which written discussions of jewish rabbis discussing the hebrew law and its finer points. These discussions were the guide to daily life for the jews. Although the discussions began to be written down in the 2nd and 5th centuries, most of the these were from memory that were passed down from just before Jesus time to right after Jesus time.

Based upon the scripture that caught my eye, I knew the answer before I looked it up but I did verify. In the Talmud, a teacher by the name of Rabbi Nehemiah is recorded as saying that the fruit of tree of knowledge of good and evil was a fig. This is because that they were never said to have come down out of the tree from which they go the fruit.

They sewed them fig leaves (from the tree they were in) and tried to hide in the tree that they were in.

It was said that they were cursed while still in the tree, the fig tree. Cursed is every man that hangs on a tree.

This was a teaching during the time of jesus. Not saying that all jews believed this but there were many that were being taught this in the time period of Jesus.

Jesus

This text scripture that I read today occured probably 2 days before Jesus was to lay down his life, pay the debt owed by mankind due to the decisions made in the Garden of Eden and since. He was about to buy back (or redeem) mankind and return the opportunity to have the choice to be in the presence of God

Romans 3:23–24“23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

Jesus knows that his time is about to arrive. He sees this fig tree as he is leaving Bethany to go down the mt of olives and into Jerusalem. Scripture simply says he was hungry. He sees this fig tree that had leaves. Remember the buds of the fig tree were edible and appeared before the tree had leaves. If jesus saw leaves, he could expect something edible on the tree. When he got there, there was nothing, which meant there would be no figs on that tree that year at all.

Here is what caught my eye. Mark 11:14 “14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

Jesus said unto the tree. This is there for a reason. Mankind had tried to cover himself from his original sin with the fig leaves. A portion of the people of that time believed that the Fig was the fruit eaten by Mankind at the beginning.

Jesus says. No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever!

John 6:54–56 “54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”

Probably less than 48 hours Jesus would be saying...

Matthew 26:26–27 “26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;”

There will be an Tree of Life option again but first the sin has to be removed. Interesting that he went straight to the temple, and cleared out the corrupt practices of the rulers of the temple. He pointed a light directly at the rulers of the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

By their fruit will you know them...

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh

The fruits of the flesh are obvious with a decided dark tint and feeling. An absence of the light of God. As one said...

Gal 5:19-21 (TS2009)

19And the works of the flesh are well-known, which are these: adultery, whoring, uncleanness, indecency,

20idolatry, drug sorcery, hatred, quarrels, jealousies, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions,

21envy, murders, drunkenness, wild parties, and the like – of which I forewarn you, even as I also said before, that those who practise such as these shall not inherit the reign of Elohim.b Footnote: bSee 1Co 6:10.

These are dark traits which debase the human condition. These traits also debase others that are around are involved. Dark, foreboding, heavy, identity robbing, peace robbing, demoralizing traits that led one further and further from the light of God.

The holy Ghost would be falling in a couple of months. With the Holy Ghost would come an outpouring of psyche changing, outlook changing, family changing, community changing, world changing fruits being displayed for the world to see. With this change would be a continual drawing nearing to the light of God

Hebrews 10:22 “22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

What a change!

Jesus looks at the fig tree and says actually to the tree..

Mark 11:14 “14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

John 1:1–5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

And the Word looks at the tree and says No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever!!!

He took upon himself the choice of mankind with all of its darkness and took it to the tree. Cursed is every man that hangs on the tree!

Mark the same writer as the text of our lesson said that

Mark 15:44 “44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.”

Mark 11:20 “20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.”

He took the death decision of all mankind. He took a world of negative dark decisions

John 1:10 “10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”

He took their decision that brought darkness, despair, and no hope and said. John 14:27 “27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The Holy Ghost fell 50 days later and there was now a different fruit. Not one of death and disappointment and the knowledge of good and evil, but one of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance from the Word of life for in him was life and the life was the light of men.

The Day the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Dried up!

Mark 11:12–14 “12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. 14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

Mark 11:20 “20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.”

Romans 14:17 “17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

TRUTH ABOUT GOD

God created us to produce fruit.

TRUTH FOR MY LIFE

I will bear fruit.