Curses!

The Monday of Holy Week

A mature fig tree.

Read it: Mark 11: 12-19

Jesus travels this morning into Jerusalem from Bethany, and on the way sees a fig tree that has its leaves out in the spring. We are told that it was “not the season for figs,” but a fig tree in leaf normally would already have little, edible, "figlets" that would become figs and were a simple treat to eat. This tree didn't have them, and so Jesus curses it, because it held the promise of fruitfulness without the reality. This isn’t a “temper tantrum,” but rather a precursor for what is about to happen next.

Arriving at the Temple, Jesus, for the second time, attacks the commerce taking place in what is often called "cleansing the Temple." He did this at the beginning of his ministry as well (see John 2). While most Bibles have a description that calls this “Jesus cleanses the Temple,” he doesn’t really cleanse it. He "curses" it with words taken right out of Isaiah and Jeremiah rebuking the Israelites for their unfaithfulness. As the rightful King of Israel arriving on Palm Sunday, he had looked with a look of evaluation (see the text) the evening prior before going to Bethany. Now, he returns and renders his judgment: the Temple's role was finished. This beautiful edifice looked "fruitful" religiously, but in fact it had become the opposite through the corruption and unbelief of those who controlled it.

The fig tree was a long-established symbol of the nation of Israel. The Temple was the heart of Israel's worship of their God. Through these actions Jesus was passing divine judgment on both the nation and its worship. While both showed the promise of bearing fruit, neither actually did so.

As we consider our walk with Christ during this Passion Week, we might want to do some "fruit inspecting" concerning ourselves. Do we profess great love for Jesus, but manifest little evidence of it in our lives? Paul was not above warning professing believers to do self-examination to see if we have true faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). But even true believers must sometimes acknowledge that our fruitfulness has been adversely affected by a lack of abiding in Christ. Perhaps our prayer might be that the Father--whom Jesus calls the Vinedresser (John 15:1) might come and do his work of pruning us as branches so that we might bear more fruit (John 15:2).