We do not expect
Jesus to curse fig trees, or indeed anything else. However, the day after being
cheered into Jerusalem, having gone back to Bethany overnight, Jesus is
returning to Jerusalem. He is hungry and, seeing the fig tree up ahead, hopes
he might be able to satisfy his hunger. However, when he reaches the tree, he
discovers that it only has leaves and no fruit, although that is not surprising
as it is not the season for figs. But Jesus states that this tree will not bear
fruit in future.
It is
interesting that it is noted that his disciples heard what he said. That
suggests that this is not what they expected to hear.
In many ways,
this is one of the strangest episodes in the Gospel story. However, one viable
explanation is that this was an acted parable, and that Jesus is using the fig tree
to try and explain what is happening. It is certainly true that the fig tree
was sometimes used as a symbol of Israel. As Donald English (The Message of Mark) points out – “Shortly Jesus would enter
the temple and find much to disappoint him, as he had with the fig tree.”
It may be that Jesus’ words are simply a
statement of fact rather than, as has sometimes been assumed, a curse, and it
may be that the important thing is the parallel with what is going to happen to
Jerusalem, and he uses this tree to tell the story for the moment. As English
suggests it may be that we should take this story and see – “in its
starkness and destructiveness a solemn warning of what was in fact to happen in
the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.” Shortly, in verses 20-25, an explanation
will be offered, but not yet.
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