THE MYSTERY OF THE FIG TREE

Figs are fruits mentioned in the Bible that are still familiar today, whether they are soft, juicy, fresh figs or the sweet, chewy, dried variety. Fig trees are a common sight on the biblical landscape and often symbolized safety and prosperity.

And then there’s the time that Jesus was leaving the small town of Bethany and noticed a fig tree. He was hungry and rummaged through the leaves, looking for fruit. There was none, so He cursed the tree: “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately, the tree withered.

It seems a rather tough judgment on the tree, and quite unlike the parable He told about another fig tree that was given a total of four years to prove itself. We don’t know all of the reasons why Jesus issued such a sudden and irrevocable judgment, just as Jesus’ contemporaries didn’t know why 18 men were killed by a falling tower in what seemed a random disaster.

It’s tough when disaster strikes in our own life. We lose a loved one, our health, our job, a relationship, and we try to figure it out. Perhaps someone gives us a book giving “Reasons for Sickness” or advertising “11 Steps to Healing.” But “figuring it out” doesn’t always seem to be part of God’s plan. He doesn’t always let us in on what He’s thinking; sometimes He expects us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”

God may not always give us explanations, but He promises to always give us Himself. “Fear not, for I am with you,” He tells us. “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

What I Want
Once it was the blessing,
Now it is the Lord;
Once it was the feeling,
Now it is His Word.
Once His gifts I wanted,
Now the Giver own;
Once I sought for healing,
Now Himself alone.

Once ’twas painful trying,
Now ’tis perfect trust;
Once a half salvation,
Now the uttermost.
Once ’twas ceaseless holding,
Now He holds me fast;
Once ’twas constant drifting,
Now my anchor’s cast.
—A. B. Simpson (1843–1919)

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Matthew 21:18-20 (NIV) 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.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

Luke 13:6-9 (NIV) Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;