As we conclude this series and get to the bottom of the basket, we find another peculiar item – the fig. There seems to be two camps surrounding the fig: “those are delicious” and “mulhgh ulk hoolgh” (unintelligible puking noises). For the sake of this final message of our 4-part series, I hope you can at least tolerate talking about them if you are in the latter camp.
Fig trees got a lot of biblical play. They were always being talked about and used in stories as well as illustrations. Jesus even cursed a fig tree causing it to whither overnight for not producing fruit (more on this later).
There are plenty of interesting facts about the fig tree and its luxurious fruit. Among them are that they do not continue to ripen off the vine so must be picked at just the right time, their flower is in the fruit, and they are a high fiber-no fat-potassium packed little nugget!
It was listed in the promise land produce and is actually the most written about and referenced fruit in all scripture. The fig was a symbol of fertility, abundance, and sweetness – all characteristics of life in God.
Another interesting fact is that some brands of fig trees produce two harvests in a year. The first is around late spring/early summer and the second is late summer. The second crop often give better tasting ones but the first still brings edible opportunities!
The story referenced earlier gives some startling perspectives. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people treated him like a king on parade. After the fanfare he left the city that evening and went out to a suburb of Jerusalem and stayed the night. The next morning, he was hungry and saw a fig tree with leaves in the distance. Thinking he would get breakfast from it, he saw there was no fruit on it when he got to it and looked closely. So, he cursed it saying, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” (Mark 11:1-25)
They went on into the city and he vehemently opposed what was taking place in the temple, making a scene and disrupting everything that was going on, even flipping tables and turning over benches. He called the people out about their motives and shallow and impure religious activity. Then he left and they once again went to the suburb for the night.
The following morning, they passed the fig tree that Jesus had the encounter with and it was withered at the roots. The disciples of cursed marveled at this site and called attention to it. Jesus very casually turns it into a conversation about their personal faith and the possibilities with their praying.
As it stands in context, this story gives us pause on a few distinct things. Let’s look at the tree, the temple, and the truth of prayer.
The Tree. I think this was a foreshadowing for the disciples of what they were about to witness walking into the temple in Jerusalem. The tree gave the appearance of fruit, but NONE was found. It was in the season of the first harvest and showed all the signs of a mature fruit producer. Those in the temple appeared to be busy with holy things, but they were empty spiritually, full of self-full motives and sinful desires. Jesus made a very clear statement, both with the tree and in the temple, of the reality of this kind of life.
The Temple. The temple was to be a holy place, set apart for special use and communication with the Lord. Later in the New Testament, Paul made a distinction that our bodies have become the temple of the Lord giving implication of the same sentiment and demand. The people had turned it into a dark place of deceit. John records Jesus saying the enemy came to “steal, kill, and destroy.” (John 10:10) Jesus is saying that there is no life in where there should be, in what appears to be a source of sustenance.
The Truth of Prayer. Going back to the tree, Jesus changes the direction of this little demonstration. He shows his disciples that the posture in which we come to God and the requests we make to God go hand in hand with our faith in God. If we are serving ourselves, our faith in God is also for our own good. And if we are praying for that (self-promotion and self-preservation) then that’s good as a fruitless fig tree. That’s what the people in the city temple were doing.
So, ask yourself these 3 questions:
1. Am I praying more from of place of self-centeredness more than I am for the will of God?
2. Am I living in a den of dishonesty – what darkness has covered the truth in my life?
3. Am I posing as a fruitful person but inside, under the surface, there is nothing productive?
See what God would say to you in these questions and ask the Holy Spirit if there is something that is needing change in your life. Let me know where you find yourself in this story. I am praying the Lord would lead us all to a more fruitful life!
May you and I find ourselves full of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and overflowing with life for others!
#Fig
#NotACookie
#FruitBasket
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
0 Comments