Category theology

Mar 25 2013

Was Jesus Too Harsh in Cursing the Fig Tree?

As we progress through Passion Week, I cannot help but to ask this question about the events which took place on Passion Monday.

Jesus was returning to Jerusalem the day after His triumphal entry, and the Bible tells us that he went to look for fruit in a fig tree but He found none.

“When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”” Mark 11:13-14

At first glance one may be shocked at the fact that Jesus was looking for figs when it was not the season for figs as Mark states.  Do we have an illogical God? Why would Jesus look for fruit in this fig tree before its season?

The answer lies in some simple facts about the fig tree and its season of fruit.

1. The season for collecting figs began right after Passover, so they were just about to enter the season.  For that reason alone figs should have been present on the tree.

2. The fig tree produces its fruit before its leaves.  The fact that the tree was full of leaves indicates that fruit should have been present.

3. A clue is given in Mark 11:13 that attests to the expectation of the presence of fruit: “And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it.” The sign was the fact that the tree was in leaf.  The expectation is that the fruit must be present, hence the logical action to look for figs.

Everything that Jesus said and did had deep meaning, and such was the case with the cursing of the fig tree.

First, there is symbolic meaning here about those who appear to have the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, but they do not.  The result of hypocrisy is the presence of leaves not fruit.  Leaves are merely the advertisement for fruit in the case of the fig tree.  This must be a stern warning to all believers that if we have the Holy Spirit in us, we must also have the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit to bless others with it.

Second, the fig tree is a metaphor for the nation of Israel in the Old Testament.  The cursing of the fig tree may very well represent the judgement of God upon Israel for their fruitless faith or lack of faith. Israel was an idolatrous nation which repeatedly rejected God despite miraculous interventions by God on their behalf.  Even their godliness in the time preceding the coming of Christ was an empty exercise in ritualism and legalism.

Jesus cursed the fig tree because it did not produce fruit at the appropriate time.

But in the new covenant He sent us the Holy Spirit who lives in us… and if He lives in us we must produce fruit, because He will return one day and He will seek the fruit of His work.

And that glorious work we celebrate this Passion Week.

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Mar 21 2013

Jesus Died Just Like a Lamb – Guest Post, Tibi Fodor

Delight in Truth friend and follower Tibi Fodor recounts a heartbreaking experience after witnessing the slaughter of a lamb as a child, and contrasts it with the slaughter of a pig.  Tibi equates the submission of the lamb to its demise in the way the Lamb of God submitted to the crushing will of the Father:

The living word of God, both in the Old and New Testament, calls the Son of God, Jesus Christ, a lamb (John 1:29, John 1:36) and also compares Him to a sacrificial lamb (Isaiah 53:7).

As a young kid I witnessed the slaughter of pigs and a lamb – the latter of which I don’t want to see again.

As was often the custom in Romania in the rural countryside, in the cold winter days prior to Christmas, farmers would slaughter the farm-grown pigs in preparation for the holidays. And if the family needed an expert, my dad was the man. The general population did not have guns in communist Romania, so the goal was to slaughter the pig in a way that would cause the animal to die quickly: a knife with a long, well-sharpened blade, a well-aimed and decisive cut would do the job.

Nobody enjoyed the slaughter of the pig, but it was quite something to watch, and with a one-eyed and somewhat hesitant look, I peeked at the event when I was about 6 years old. The pig, I was told, was well over 120 kilograms (about 250 pounds). Once lured by my grandma to the slaughtering place (she had fed the pig daily and, sadly, the animal seemed to “trust” her), my dad and his brothers quickly pinned the pig down on its side with their cumulative body weight. The screams of the fighting animal quickly became choked by brightly colored red blood; white snow became a puddle of red and the pig slowly but surely seemed to give its last breath.

The pig had the strength to “fight” and “will” to resist until its last breath, but the slaughter of a lamb is not anything like the slaughter of a pig – or any other animal. It’s something I don’t want to see again.

The white and curly lamb was held not by many, but only by my dad. It didn’t have to be lured, but followed faithfully to its place of slaughter. There were no animal screams when the cut was made, but only an eerie silence. The lamb never fought, never resisted. What was once a pure, milky-white coat was now tainted with red.

The lamb had peacefully surrendered to the slaughter. While holding the lifeless, limp body, my dad said he does not want to do this again – and as far as I know, that was the only time he had slaughtered a lamb.

What a difference between the sacrifices of these two farm animals!

Our savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had surrendered his life to the will of God and to the agonizing death of the crucifixion just like a lamb!

If the sight of the slaughter of an innocent lamb kindles emotions of sorrow, how much more must my heart ache for the suffering of my Christ? Jesus was without blame, without sin, yet he was chosen to die for my sins before the creation of the world.

If I am to follow my Christ, the Son of God, I must be like a lamb and surrender not to the will of mankind, but to the will of my heavenly Father, my God – just as the Lamb of God had done.

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