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Doomed People
345
one tree appeared to be in advance 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 pretentious foliage, nothing more.
Christ uttered against it a withering curse. “‘May no one ever eat
fruit from you again,’” He said. RSV. Next morning, as the Saviour
and His disciples were again on their way to the city, the blasted
branches and drooping leaves attracted their attention. “Master,”
said Peter, “behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered
away.”
Christ’s act in cursing the fig tree seemed to the disciples unlike
His ways. They remembered His words, “The Son of man is not
come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
Luke 9:56
. His
works had been done to restore, never to destroy. This act stood
alone. What was its purpose? they questioned.
“As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked.”
Ezekiel 33:11
. To Him the work of destruction and
the denunciation of judgment is a “strange work.”
Isaiah 28:21
. 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, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the face
of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Saviour desired
to make plain the cause and the certainty of Israel’s doom. For
this purpose He made the tree the expositor of divine truth. The
Jews laid claim to righteousness above every other people. But
they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain.
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They spread their pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance
and beautiful to the eye, but they yielded “nothing but leaves.” The
Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple and impressive cere-
monies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but humility, love,
and benevolence were lacking.
Why This One Tree Was Cursed
The leafless trees raised no expectation and caused no disap-
pointment. These represented the Gentiles, who were as destitute
as the Jews of godliness; but they made no boastful pretentions to
goodness. With them “the time of figs” was not yet. They were