“Fruitful Faith”
(Matthew 2118-22; Mark 11:12-24)
Over the last four years, my wife, daughter, and I have raised
chickens. Well, in honesty, my wife and daughter do the majority of the chicken
raising. I eat the eggs. This being the case, I get frustrated when our hens
fail to produce eggs. I do understand the cycle of seasons regarding the laying
of eggs. Chickens do not tend to lay eggs in the colder temperatures. Since we
do not provide our hens with a heat source during the winter months, I do not
expect an abundance of eggs. Sometimes, during the warmer months of the year, the
hens fail to provide my breakfast. Perhaps they have their reasons. I do not
fully understand the laying patterns. Nevertheless, this frustrates me. We give
them food and water. They do not provide in turn. In my mind, they fail at
their created purpose. I just want some eggs!
I wonder if Jesus felt similarly when he passed by the fig
tree on the day following his donkey ride. He had stayed the night in Bethany.
On his way back to Jerusalem, his body expressed a desire for nutrition. He
wanted some breakfast. So, he approached a fig tree, hoping to find some sweet
fruit. He did not find any. So, in what appears to be a vindictive moment, he
cursed the tree. “May you never bear fruit again!” In Matthew’s account of this
incident, the tree immediately withers.
Matthew and Mark share this story in the context of another
incident—the flipping of the merchant tables at the Temple. When Jesus flips
the tables, he judges the religious practices of first-century Judaism. This
incident with the fig tree also offers commentary on their faithless religious
practices. Jesus does not throw an out-of-character or out-of-context temper
tantrum here.
The fig symbolized Israel in Old Testament prophecy. In Hosea
9:10, the prophet compares Israel to the early fruit on a fig tree. Hosea
infers God’s delight in discovering the people of Israel. After this statement,
the prophet emphasizes how Israel has been unfaithful through its worship of
shameful idols. Israel had been like the delicious fig, but had rotted over
time. Their faith in the One God had failed because they tried to depend on
other gods. Jesus’s disciples knew of this prophecy and would have applied it
to the current circumstance. They would know Jesus’s action toward the fig tree
served as a commentary on Israel’s failure to follow God wholeheartedly.
The fig tree grew throughout Palestine. It provided shade
during the summer months and fruit during the spring and then again in late
August. In the spring, when this incident took place, fig trees often produced
small immature figs called taksh.
These small fruits were edible, but did not bring the pleasure of the juicy
crop harvested in August. When Jesus saw the leaves on the tree, he also
expected to see fruit. This early fruit guaranteed a later harvest.[1]
The absence of this early fruit indicated that a sickness had already overtaken
the tree. Jesus’s curse likely hurried along the process toward decay.
The tree’s quick decay astounds the disciples. After they
express their shock, Jesus instructs them about authentic faith. They can
imitate the fig tree in fruitlessness and fail to fulfill their created purpose,
or they can faithfully follow Jesus as authentic disciples. Jesus encourages the
latter. They can demonstrate this through empowered prayer.[2]
To help his disciples understand this, Jesus directs them to
the nearby Mount of Olives. He states that genuine faith can cast a mountain
like the Mount of Olives into the sea. Jesus does not imply that faithful
disciples will cast mountains into bodies of water; instead, he employs a
common figure of speech. Removing mountains symbolized the ability to achieve
what seems virtually impossible. Jesus assures that a disciple with authentic
faith, aligned with God’s will, can accomplish what appears impossible.[3]
Jesus challenges us toward authentic faith as well. Like
Israel, in Jesus’s day or Hosea’s day, we commit to other ideologies or
allegiances. These distract us from entering into a genuine relationship of
discipleship with our Lord. Too often, Jesus looks upon us and sees no evidence
of fruit. We fail to produce according to God’s purpose. Jesus calls us to pray with power so that we
can do amazing things in his name. Jesus equips us to serve with power. We need
to use our various talents to worship God and bring glory to his name. Each of
us has been created as unique beings to honor God uniquely. We can all produce
fruit as members of his kingdom. Pray to God and allow him to reveal what mountains
he desires you to move.
Prayer: Creator,
you have made each of us for a purpose. That purpose comes true in all power
through our humble service to you. Direct our hearts away from other
allegiances. Grant your people authentic faith. Take away the rot in our lives
and instead produce abundant fruit. We pray this in the name of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
[1]
Robert H. Mounce, New International
Biblical Commentary: Matthew. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1991), 197-198.
[2]
Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary:
Matthew. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 694.
[3]
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background
Commentary. (Downers Grove: IVP, 1993), 102.
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