THE FIG TREE INCIDENT

Why do you come to church? There are some who come to church because it is what they have always done. There are others who come to church because they think that it is expected of them. There are others who come to church for the purpose of pleasing their spouse or their parents. There are some who come to church kicking and screaming and fighting all the way! And there are those who come to church because they think that if they do they gain favor with God.

For me, yes I am paid to be here. And I probably don’t tell you often enough how grateful I am with the sacrificial way in which you support our family! But even if I wasn’t paid to be in church on Sunday, I’d still be in church on Sunday. There is no place I’d rather be! I concur with the psalmist who wrote:

Psalm 84:10 NKJV

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

But the sad truth is that it is relatively easy to convince ourselves, and others as well, that we are a Christian simply because we go to church on a regular basis.

The spiritual leadership of the nation of Israel thought that they were blessed by God simply because they were descendents of Abraham. They thought they were something special because their people had been chosen by God in a way in which no other nation has been. They had received the Law of Moses. They had received the covenant of circumcision. On and on the list could go. But the fact of the matter is that the nation as a whole was spiritually barren. They had outward signs of religious fervor, but they were spiritually dead.

Today, we begin a new series, which I am calling the Final Week. Leading up to Easter we journeyed with Christ on His final journey to Jerusalem. And now we come to His final week. Please turn in your Bible to ’m referring to this passage as The Fig Tree Incident. This was the first of many things that took place on one very long day. As a matter of fact I almost named this series ONE VERY LONG DAY!

As we go through our passage this morning I want you to see how Jesus used a barren fig tree as a teaching moment for His apostles. He used it to teach them about the importance of fruitfulness, the distinction between true fruitfulness and false impressions of fruitfulness, and the importance of praying in faith in the service of His kingdom.

This morning we will look at the incident report, the danger of a mere perception of fruitfulness, the misguided astonishment of the twelve, and true spiritual fruitfulness.

Let’s read our passage together.

THE INCIDENT REPORT

I. THE INCIDENT REPORT

As foster parents of some very active preschool boys we frequently have to fill out incident reports. We got in trouble last summer for not filling out a report for something that we did not even know had occured. On once occasion as the boys were visiting their mother, she noticed a fresh scratch on one of their necks. Now this little one had just woken up from a nap and then went straight to visit, so we did not even notice this scratch. But mom got upset and reported us to Child Protective Services, which then launched a month long investigation of us as foster parents.

The point I’m trying to make is that sometimes things which seem rather incidental have an importance that we may easily miss. Our passage this morning is one such passage. Let’s consider

a. The Timing and Occasion

Commentators do not agree on the exact timing of things that occured during the final week before the cross of Christ. Traditionally the Triumphal Entry is thought to have occured on a Sunday. But some commentators believe that it occured on a Monday. For these latter commentators, the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem being on a Monday helps to solve the seeming absence of anything occuring on Wednesday of Holy Week.

Let me try to explain. If the Triumphal Entry was on a Sunday, as traditionally held, then, following the chronology of Marks Gospel (who seems to have been more chronologically minded than Matthew), the Cleansing of the Temple occured on Monday, along with the cursing of the fig tree. And then everything that occured from happened on Tuesday, which was apparently one very long day. And the events of occured on Thursday, and the crucifixion, as detailed in occured on Friday. That means that there is no record of events that occured on Wednesday of that week. And this does seem odd since every other day of the week in given a great deal of attention in the biblical records.

However, if the the Triumphal Entry occured on Monday, then it fits nicely into the chronology, with details being given for each day of the week.

One other chronological note to discuss is the seeming difference between Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts of the Fig Tree Incident. Our text in Matthew seems to present verse 18-22 occuring all at once, after the cleansing of the Temple (). But Mark presents the cursing of the tree to have occured on one day, prior to the Cleansing of the Temple, and then the conversation regarding the disciples amazement (verses 20-22) occuring on the following day.

There is, in my mind, a very simple explanation for these textual differences. Throughout their entire accounts Mark gives more details about the narrative sections while minimizing the details of the discourses. On the other hand, Matthew minimizes the details of the narrative sections but gives greater detail to the discourses. Mark organizes his account chronologically, but Matthew organizes it thematically. And in Matthew’s mind it is important to see the Cleansing of the Temple, and the Cursing of the Fig Tree in the same context.

Let’s turn our attention now to

b. The Humanity of Christ

Notice for a moment. The simple fact that Jesus became hungry emphasizes His humanity. Because Jesus’ deity comes shining through on so many occasions because of the marvelous signs and wonders that He performed, it is rather easy to forget that not only was He fully God, but He was also fully man. He had to be in order to be a sympathetic high priest on behalf of His own.

Look now at as we consider

c. The Sovereign Authority of Christ

The fact that Jesus had the authority to curse this lone tree, and immediately after it was cursed the tree withered, indicates His sovereign authority. In other words it points to His deity. Much like the work of Christ as the agent of creation, He spoke the word and it happened. It also points to His right to sit in judgment.

Let’s think, for a moment, about

d. The Cursing of the Tree

For many it seems so out of character for Jesus to curse an innocent tree. That is perhaps because they have a flawed view of who Jesus is; of who God is. Though I don’t recall all of the content of these books, their titles speak volumes; one was written by J. B. Phillips titled: YOUR GOD IS TOO SMALL. The other was written by Mark Buchanan titled: YOUR GOD IS TOO SAFE. The point of both of these works is that we often paint a flawed picture of who God is, or who Christ is.

As it related to Christ, perhaps a flawed understanding of what it means to be meek is the basis for misunderstanding. So often we equate meekness with weakness, or perhaps what we might refer to as being a wimp. But that is not what it means to be meek. Meekness is restrained power. The best picture I can think of for meekness is a horse that has been saddle broken. Just because the horse has been trained to use self-control doesn’t mean that it has lost its power. I would argue that it is more powerful because of its tempered control!

It seems to me that Jesus determined to use this unfruitful fig tree as a teaching moment for the twelve. As the Creator of the world He had every right to cause this tree to wither away so that it can be used for His own purposes.

Colossians 1:16 CSB

For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.

An interesting thing about fig trees is that they actually bear unripened fruit before they bear leaves. Now this fruit was not very tasty, but if a person was hungry enough it could satisfy their hunger cravings until they were able to find something more substantial to eat. Mark explained to his readers that it was not the season for figs. And yet the fact that the tree was in leaf gave the impression that it must have fruit. The fact that the tree had leaves but it did not have fruit indicated that it would not bear fruit at all that year.

Let’s turn our attention to

e. The Reason this Incident was Important Enough to Warrant and Incident Report

I understand that the Holy Spirit is the true author of all Scripture, and that He, being in fact God, does not do anything without a purpose. But what I’ve wrestled with is why this seemingly incidental incident was so important as to warrant a place in two different inspired accounts of Scripture. There has to be something more to it than what meets the eyes. So much of my study this week was focused on this.

Because I understand that the Holy Spirit is the true author of all Scripture, and that He, being in fact God, does not do anything without a purpose.

D. A. Carson provides this helpful insight:

“That it was not the season for figs explains why Jesus went to this particular tree, which stood out because it was in leaf. Its leaves advertised that it was bearing, but the advertisement was false. Jesus, unable to satisfy his hunger, saw the opportunity of teaching a memorable object lesson and cursed the tree, not because it was not bearing fruit, whether in season or out, but because it made a show of life that promised fruit yet was bearing none.”

In the context of Matthew’s Gospel Account, it was the religious leadership of Israel that made a show of life that promised fruit, but they were in fact barren. Their barrenness is indicated in the Cleansing of the Temple, and in their insistence that Jesus tell the people to stop referring to Him as the Son of David.

The nation of Israel, being the uniquely chosen ones of God should have paid closer attention to the Word of God which described His expectations regarding true righteousness. Consider

[1] Carson, D. A. (1984). Matthew. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke (Vol. 8, p. 445). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Psalm 1 ESV

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The sad truth is that, like this fig tree which did not bear fruit, the nation of Israel was barren as well. But God had showed them His requirements over and over again.

Micah 6:8 NIV84

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Let’s consider

II. THE DANGER OF A MERE PERCEPTION OF FRUITFULNESS

a. Appearances are Deceiving

b. Spiritual Barrenness is Odious to God

i. Think about the Church of Laodicea, and Christ’s determination to spew them out of His mouth

c. Hypocrisy Brings Judgment from God

III. MISGUIDED ASTONISHMENT

We see in verse 20 that the disciples were astonished by the fact that this fig tree which Jesus had cursed had withered so quickly. But their astonishment was, in my mind, misguided.

a. Missing the Point

We’ve seen time and time again where the apostle missed the point of what Jesus was doing. And I believe that is the case here as well. Many have described the Fig Tree Incident as being an object lesson, or a living parable. In other words Jesus was using the barren tree to teach a spiritual truth. And these men needed to understand that truth.

b. The True Reason for Astonishment

What is the true reason for astonishment? Jesus never performed a miraculous work simply for the sake of the work. He refused to perform on demand when a sign was required by the Pharisees to validate His claim to be Messiah.

What we should be most astonished about is that God, through Christ, would choose to love us at all. As with the nation of Israel, there is nothing particularly special about us that He should choose us His own, and yet that is exactly what He has done.

After the twelve came back from their mission in which Christ had sent them out two by two to preach in the cities, towns, and villages of Galilee, they came back with a report of the marvelous things that God had accomplished through them. Even demons obeyed when they were cast out of a possessed person. To this Jesus said:

Luke 10:20 ESV

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Let’s consider now what

IV. TRUE SPIRITUAL FRUITFULNESS

In verse 21-22 Jesus spoke about three things all of which are the part of true spiritual fruitfulness. First, true spiritual fruitfulness is

a. Conditioned on the True Source of Spiritual Power

And the channel of true spiritual power is faith. Faith is described by the author of Hebrews as:

Hebrews 11:1 CSB

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.

There is a qualifier to faith in our text: “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt...” We will address this more in a few moments.

James 1:5–6 NASB95PARA

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

James 1:5–7 NASB95PARA

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

James 1:5–8 NASB95PARA

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Second, true spiritual fruitfulness is described as

b. The Ability to Move Metaphorical Mountains

What do you think Christ meant by moving mountains? Leon Morris wrote:

“There is no record of any disciple ever moving a literal, physical mountain; for that matter, Jesus himself is not said ever to have done such a pointless thing. But throughout the history of the Christian church mountainous difficulties have often been removed when people have prayed in faith. There can be no doubt that it is this to which Jesus is referring.”

What were some of the mountainous difficulties that Jesus and the apostles were facing at this point in time?

Jesus was facing the cross, fully knowing what was coming

I have to believe that His time in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane helped provide the strength that was needed to endure the cross (from the perspective of His humanity)

The disciples were about to face the problem of doing ministry without the physical presence of Jesus

We know from the book of Acts that prayer was a source of strength and courage for them

The disciples were about to turn the world upside down with the spread of the gospel message

What are some of the mountainous difficulties that we are facing?

Our declining numbers may be seen as a mountain to be moved

Our aging population is certainly a mountain that stands in our way

With both of those comes the financial difficulties that we have been weathering

Between the fire, the flood, and the health issues of several folks, including those in my own home, this has been a tremendously difficult year for me personally

I’m sure that there are many other mountains that we could mention. But regardless of what mountain stands in our way, Christ has called us to persevere in the mission which He has given us. Sometimes I wonder if we have stopped believing that God can use us to move mountains!

When a mountain of any sort tries to impair our given mission, our first response should be to pray!

Third, true spiritual fruitfulness is bound to

c. The Prayer of Faith

James addressed praying for wisdom to move the metaphorical mountains that we face. Notice how he ties this to the prayer of faith:

James 1:5–8 NASB95PARA

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

When we bring our petitions to God in prayer, which is something that we told to do, do we actually pray believing that God will answer our prayers? Or do we approach pray with more of an attitude of wishful thinking?

As we close this morning I want to point out that there are, in mind, two types of unfruitfulness. The first is the type that was dealt with by Christ in this passage, and it refers to those who are not true believers. They think that they are religious and that because of their own attempts at good works they are in a right standing with God. But they are deceived. On the day when Christ will separate the sheep from the goats (which, by the way was the ending of a discourse that was given on this same, very long day), Jesus will say this to those who are described as being goats:

Matthew 25:41 NASB95PARA

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

Matthew 25:46 NASB95PARA

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

At that time they will cry out that they have a right to entrance into the kingdom of heaven:

Matthew 7:21–23 NASB95PARA

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

This all reflects on one kind of unfruitfulness. And if you realize today that this describes you, that, perhaps, you have been deceiving yourself regarding your relationship to Christ. Then I invite you to repent and believe the gospel! Repent of your attempts to merit God’s favor by your own works of seeming righteousness. And place your faith and hope in Christ’s righteous work for your salvation.

But I believe that there is a second kind of unfruitfulness that is specific to those who ARE TRUE BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST. And what is more, I think most all of us experience this kind of unfruitfulness from time to time. Perhaps it would be better to refer to it has being less productive rather than totally barren. But all of us experience times when our walk with the Lord is not what it should be like. These times lead to a season of seeming barrenness in our walk with Christ. Sometimes these seasons are caused by grief, anxiety, health issues, and especially unrepentant sin.

If you find yourself in such a season due to grief, remember

Psalm 30:5 NKJV

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Sometimes that night is a very long night. But eventually joy will come.

If you find yourself in such a season due to anxiety, whether it be caused because of health concerns, financial concerns, family concerns, or a whole host of other things, remember

1 Peter 5:7 NIV84

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

If you find yourself in such a season due to unrepentant sin, remember

1 John 1:9 NASB95PARA

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let’s pray.

Closing Song: Blessings

The LORD bless you , and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious unto you, look with favor on you; and give you peace, and give you peace.

The LORD bless you , and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious unto you, look with favor on you; and give you peace, and give you peace.