2. THE BARREN FIG TREE CURSED Mark 11:12-14 (Matthew 21:17-22) 12 And on the morrow,--The day after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Monday, April 11, A.D. 30. [He arrives at Bethany on Friday, April 8, six days before the Passover feast. The next day a feast is made for him at the house of Lazarus and his sisters. Mary anoints his feet with ointment and wipes them with her hair. Sunday, April 10, he makes his entry into Jerusalem, numbers accompanying him who had come with him from Jericho. Others had come into the city of Jerusalem before the Passover to make ready for the feast, who heard of his coming and went out to meet him. These had come from the communities in which he had done many of his works. He seems at no time to have had a large following in Jerusalem. The influence of the priests, scribes, and Pharisees was great in Jerusalem, and hindered many from following him. [We are now within the last six days of the life of Jesus, and during the forty days after his resurrection to his ascension. This period, in one sense, is the most important period of his earthly life. It was the closing period. He was making ready to leave the world. He had come to the world to teach men the way of life, and in these last days he anxiously and impressively delivered his last teaching. He had come to the world to suffer, to die the shameful death of the cross at the hands of those he came to save. His betrayal, trial, shameful indignities, his condemnation, his crucifixion, death, and burial, with much of his most earnest teaching, were crowded into this eventful week. These, together with his resurrection, appearance to his disciples, and commission to them were among the last of his works on earth. Never were more important truths revealed, nor lessons of greater import to man learned. The space devoted by the four writers of his life to this period of time shows the importance attached to it. Matthew gives from Chapter 21 to the close of the book. Mark from Chapter 10 to close. Luke from Chapter 19 to close, and John from Chapter 12 to close to the last few weeks of his life up to his ascension. This period stands as the culminating period of his life and of the revelation of God to man. All the Old Testament scriptures were written to prepare the world for Jesus; all foretell of his coming, and of the blessings he would bring to the world. His life would have been meaningless and a failure had he not died, rose again, and ascended to his Father. His resurrection was the crowning proof of his claims to be the Son of God.] when they were come out from Bethany,--He and his disciples had spent the night at Bethany and were now on their way to Jerusalem. Matthew tells us that it was in "the morning," the early morning between daybreak and sunrise. Luke (Luke 21:38) states that the people came early in the morning to hear him. he hungered.--Hunger was a part of his humiliation. This shows the human, not the divine, nature in Jesus. Thus he became perfect through suffering, and able to sympathize with us in every trial. His hunger was marked, and seems to have been intense. It was real hunger. 13 And seeing a fig tree afar off--In the distance. The fig tree was one of the most common and valuable trees of Palestine (Deuteronomy 8:8), and was a symbol of peace and plenty (1 Kings 4:25). Matthew (Matthew 21:19) says: "And seeing a fig tree by the way side." That is, in the distance, in front of him, standing by the side of the public road. having leaves,--Its fruit begins to appear before leaves come forth. Having leaves, appearing healthy and luxuriant was a sign it had fruit on it. So they turned aside in search for fruit. he came, if haply he might find anything thereon:--The meaning is, judging from its appearance, probably it had some ripe fruit on it. We are not to suppose that the Master was ignorant of, or could not have known, the true condition of the tree, but that he intended to teach the disciples and others a needed lesson from it. and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season of figs.--McGarvey says: "The fact it was not yet fig time made it the worse for this tree. On this kind of tree the fruit forms before the leaves, and should be full grown before the leaves appear: so this tree, by putting on its foliage before the time of figs, was proclaiming itself superior to all the other fig trees. This made it a striking symbol of the hypocrite, who, not content with appearing to be as good as other people, usually puts on the appearance of being a great deal better." It was barren, and therefore worthless. This was the point Jesus was emphasizing and from which he drew his lesson. Its signs were false, its general appearance deceptive. It was thus an emblem of the hypocrite, and particularly of the Jewish people, with their high professions, their show of ritual and formal worship, without the fruits of righteousness. (Jeremiah 2:21; Luke 13:6-9.) The Jews professed to be worshipers of God--they had all the outside appearance--all the signs, but they were barren of the fruits of righteousness. This was the point Jesus drove home to the J ews. 14 And he answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit from thee henceforward for ever.--There was no vindictive feeling connected with this expression, nor any implied in the word "cursedst" as used by Peter in verse 21. He called this cursing the tree. The word "curse" does not imply here anger, or malice. It means only devoting to this destruction, or this withering away. And his disciples heard it.--He intended for them to hear it. He spoke it for their benefit. This was the sentence of a judge. The disciples were impressed by it. [Jesus came to this tree and found it had no fruit, green or ripe. It was a barren tree that bore no fruit. So it was useless. He cursed it and dried it up to teach the end of the human beings that bear no fruit to God.]