Jesus’ Important Lesson of the Fig Tree

 “Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry.  Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.’”

Matthew 21:18-19

Dear Family & Friends,

Object lessons prove to be an effective way of teaching a lesson or making a point, and Jesus often used them. His lesson of the fig tree portrays two types of responses to God.

An Eventful Week

It had already been an eventful week. Jesus fulfilled Scripture by openly entering the city of Jerusalem with much fanfare, riding on the back of an unbroken donkey colt. Upon arrival He entered the temple and disrupted the hubbub by overturning the moneychanger’s tables and berating the merchants for making His Father’s house of prayer into a den of robbers. He healed the blind and lame who came to Him in the temple area, soliciting songs of praise from children. All this activity riled up the religious leaders and threatened their power over the people.

When evening fell, Jesus and the disciples slipped out of the city and retired at the nearby town of Bethany. In the morning, they started back to Jerusalem and on the way Jesus became hungry.

The Object Lesson of the Fig Tree

Seeing a lone fig tree by the side of the road, Jesus approached it to look for some fruit. But there was nothing on the tree except leaves. As the disciples watched, Jesus spoke to the tree saying, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” Immediately the fig tree withered.

Shocked and confused, the disciples asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”

Jesus used this event as an object lesson to explain the difference between  a superficial show of spirituality and the power of true belief in God.

Two Types of Responses to God

The Scribes and Pharisees made a huge show of their religious piety. Yet rather than leading people into a relationship with God, they exploited them for their own personal gain and power. Their many rules were just like the leaves on the fig tree – green but producing no spiritual fruit. They had corrupted God’s truth for their own advantage, but they completely overlooked the fact that the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

The disciples, on the other hand, approached God differently. Through their interactions with Jesus, they had learned that it is by grace that a person may approach God through faith. This relationship and privilege could only be achieved through Jesus. It was not a result of their own works but solely as a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Jesus ended His object lesson with the shocking words, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

 Incredible Holy Spirit Power

Just a short time later, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the ministry of the disciples began to gain traction and bear incredible fruit. Acts 1:8 records the resurrected Christ’s words to the disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Ghost has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Through the testimonies of these disciples and the accompanying outpouring of the Holy Spirit’s power, many mountains were moved. Thousands of people were reconciled to God through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Even now, seekers still read the disciples’ testimonies in the gospels and find life in Jesus.

 Personal Application for Today

What does the lesson of the fig tree mean to us today?

Some, like the Jewish religious leaders, try to obtain eternal life through their own religious efforts. All their work will produce nothing substantial when it comes to spiritual things.

But those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross receive the Holy Spirit and the privileges associated with this relationship. These include access to the all-powerful God in prayer. By asking and believing, true disciples receive answers to prayer and bear much fruit.

Jesus’ object lesson of the fig tree portrays two types of responses to God: people who produce leaves and people who produce fruit. Which one are you?

Love,

Mama