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Humble Hero
one tree appeared to be ahead of all the others. It was already
covered with leaves, giving promise of well-developed fruit. But its
appearance was deceptive. Jesus found “nothing but leaves.” It was
a mass of showy foliage, nothing more.
Christ pronounced a withering curse on it. “May no one ever
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eat fruit from you again,” He said. NRSV. Next morning, as the
Savior and His disciples were again on their way to the city, the dead
branches and drooping leaves attracted their attention. “Rabbi,” said
Peter, “look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
To the disciples, Christ’s cursing of the fig tree seemed unlike
what He would usually do. They remembered His words, “The Son
of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
Luke
9:56
. He had always worked to restore, never to destroy. This act
stood alone. “What was its purpose?” they questioned.
“‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked.’”
Ezekiel 33:11
. To Him the work of destruction and
the pronouncing of judgment is a “strange work.”
Isaiah 28:21
, KJV.
But in mercy and love He lifts the veil from the future and reveals
the results of a course of sin.
The barren fig tree, making a great show of foliage in the face
of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Savior wanted to
make plain the cause of Israel’s doom and its certainty. To do this,
He made the tree the teacher of divine truth. The Jews claimed righ-
teousness above every other people. But the love of the world and
the greed of gain corrupted them. They made a show of spreading
their branches high, appearing lush and beautiful to the eye, but they
yielded “nothing but leaves.” The Jewish religion, with its magnifi-
cent temple and impressive ceremonies, was indeed impressive in
outward appearance, but it lacked humility, love, and benevolence.
Why This One Tree Was Cursed
The leafless trees raised no expectation and caused no disappoint-
ment. These represented the Gentiles, who had no more godliness
than the Jews, but who made no boastful claims to goodness. With
them “the season for figs” was not yet. They were still waiting
for light and hope. God held the Jews, who had received greater