Mark 11:12-14 – When there’s no fruit look at the root

These three verses had generated much debate. There are people who would object to this account of Jesus speaking negatively over the fig tree. To them it is inconceivable that the Lord would ever curse a fig tree just because he could not find fig on it. What makes it more difficult to accept was the fact that we are told that it was not even the season for figs.

We need to remember that Jesus Christ is never an irrational or frivolous person. He is our purposeful Lord. Hence He had a reason for doing what He did. He used this visual parable to send a message concerning Israel. The fig tree was a symbol of Israel. Many Old Testament passages such as Jeremiah 29:17; Hosea 9:10, 16; and Joel 1:7 support this fact. Israel was commissioned by the Lord to be a blessing but was obviously far from fulfilling it. So Jesus saw their fruitlessness and prophesied her outcome as a nation.

The account tells us that while He was leaving Bethany, probably after a time of prayer, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree that was leafy and luxuriant He approached it to look for fig, even though it was not the season for the fig to grow on the tree. He approached the tree because He saw it as a perfect illustration of Israel which He was about to prophesy. The Lord knew what He was about to do would arouse the curiosity of the disciples, especially when it was not the season for figs. He wanted to use that incident to point to a deeper significance concerning Israel. So He said to the tree in the hearing of His disciples, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!”        

Israel was liken to that barren fig tree. It was covered with leaves. Its temple was magnificent and full of ceremonies but they fail to fulfill the purpose it was called and made for. So when the Lord was pronouncing negatively on the fig tree, He was saying exactly what God said of Israel in Jeremiah 8:13:-

“I will surely snatch them away,” declares the Lord;

“There will be no grapes on the vine

And no figs on the fig tree,

And the leaf will wither;

And what I have given them will pass away.”

What can we take away from this account? Looking good and impressive on the outside does not mean a person is bearing fruit that’s pleasing to God. This is a call for us who seek to please the Lord to scrutinize and examine carefully what is truly inside of us. We need to ensure that we are properly connected to the Lord so that we can be bearing genuine fruit. Don’t just be like an impressive flourishing tree that looks good on the outside only. Seek to be one that’s fruitful and can be a blessing.

And according to Psalm 1, a believer whose delight in in the Word of the Lord and meditate upon it day and night, shall be like a tree, firmly planted by the stream of water. He shall be a tree that yields fruit in its season and its leaf will never wither and whatever he does, he prospers.