The Fig tree

Thoughts from this post came from a certain sight I saw near my housing estate. There is this leafless (and fruitless) tree and it stood out in the greenery there and it led me to think of the incident when Jesus withered the fig tree.

Matt 21:18-22

Early in the morning, as he 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.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

My first response towards this passage was this: Did Jesus just do that to show his authority? I took a closer look to see things a little clearer.

Throughout the bible, the words 'fig tree' appeared several times.

It appeared in Deuteronomy 8:8 when there was the narration of the promised land. It appeared in 1 Kings 4:25 where it stated that under King Solomon's reign 'each man under his own vine and fig tree' (where in obedience of God's word, one experiences true peace). The destruction of fig trees, on the other hand, were mentioned in Jeremiah 5:17, Jeremiah 8:13, Amos 4:9, Joel 1:6-7. Here we see that fig tree is a sign of prosperity and peace but at the same time it provides visual reminders of divine judgement.

Here, in Matthew chapter 21, the barren fig tree symbolises divine judgement on Israel because of her spiritual fruitlessness (= lack fruits of repentance...see Matt, Luke 3:8) despite an abundance of spiritual advantages. Jesus' act therefore illustrates God's judgement against earthly Israel for shameful fruitlessness, exemplified in the rejection of their Messiah.

The very last part of the scripture seems related to John 15:7-8.
(see underlined and bold parts)

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

God calls us to go into habitual, persevering obedience (which is one meaning of abide) and bear much fruit for Him. And it is only possible to bear fruits when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour and choose to abide in Him, stop walking in the dark and walk in the light, with the abundant grace that he gave us.

May it be our prayer that we will bear fruits of repentance and much more for Him.