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Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it.
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying, to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city.
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
- Mark 11:12-26
On Saturday, we read that when Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, "Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it. And if anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it,' and immediately he will send it here." So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it. But some of those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, loosing the colt?" And they spoke to them as Jesus commanded. So they let them go. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and He sat on it. And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." And His disciples heard it. My study bible says here that the fact that it was not the season for figs means that this fig tree had given out an early foliage (indicating a first crop) but that there was no fruit on it at all, no figs. In Scripture, Israel is often associated symbolically with a fig tree (Hosea 9:10 compares the people to the early fruit on a fig tree). Fruitfulness has ceased, so the Kingdom will be taken from her and given to another people who are called to bear spiritual fruit (see Matthew 21:43, Galatians 5:22-23).
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught, saying, to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. When evening had come, He went out of the city. Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals for sacrifice. Money changers would exchange Roman coins -- which bore an image of Caesar and thus were considered to be defiling -- for temple coins. Jesus also stops those carrying wares for sale. All of this trade is ostensibly done for pilgrims coming for the Passover, but clearly profit is being made. My study bible says that Jesus' cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits -- and as we are each considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), so it applies as well to our hearts and minds. Clearly Jesus has angered the scribes the chief priests by His teaching! Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." My study bible calls the cursing and withering of the fig tree a prophetic act signifying the judgment of Israel. The New Covenant will be established by them in His Church, wherein both Jews and Gentiles are to be spiritually fruitful. The Old is obsolete; the image of the fig tree will be an image of their minds that they are doing His will. (See Hebrews 8:13.)
Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." My study bible calls this promise of Christ an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life. Theophan has written of this passage: "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things. Jesus emphasizes with the vivid illustration of the fig tree the power of prayer and faith -- but this is a faith in the will of God, not something that emphasizes our own whims or desires.
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Again, there is more emphasis and teaching on prayer: forgiveness is indispensable to the act of prayer, to the dialogue with God. All of our relationships also come before God in prayer, "giving up" our own grievances to the judgment of God, even as we are also forgiven -- our own offenses being the business of God!
If we take a good look, everything in today's reading is really about prayer. There is first of all the fig tree, an illustration of something that "looks good" but doesn't produce any fruit -- spiritual fruit. The fruit of the fig is perhaps the sweetest there is, and it corresponds with the disappointment of a tree that gives no fruit but produces much foliage, a show beautiful leaves. Again, it's rare that we get a glimpse of what Jesus thinks -- and here it's the expectation of first fruit on a fig tree. The tree becomes an illustration about the leadership, here at the end of His earthly ministry in Jerusalem just before He goes to the temple. In that respect, the cleansing of the temple is a reflection of this prophecy in the fig tree. What is to be a house of prayer for all the nations is blighted by the greed of those in charge and the way that it's run; His first act in the city is to cleanse the temple of those who trade on the desire for prayer of the pilgrims by making profit from them: selling to the poor for sacrifice what they can't necessarily afford. These are the "thieves" who take from those who come for prayer at the Passover. The scribes and priests respond with anger, a conviction to be rid of Jesus. The fig tree in the morning becomes another occasion for teaching on prayer and faith, the power of a heart aligned with the desires of God. Forgiveness is an indispensable part of this teaching, giving up our own grievances for the judgment of God, God's will on how we conduct ourselves with respect to others -- and also upon our own conduct and grievances we may be responsible for. All of this is relationship in prayer, in dialogue with God, every bit of it: from the conduct in the temple to the example of the fig tree that is fruitless. The point of faith and prayer is spiritual fruitfulness, what we bear into the world via our faith. Do we use it to gain off of others who come to us also for our help in relationship to Christ? How does our prayer life work? Do we take everything to God? In what do we put our trust, our faith? How does our faith work in our lives? Let us consider the "wholeness" of the system of faith Jesus teaches: the power and necessity of prayer at all times, the faith and trust we put in God, giving all things - both grievances and our own errors - to God in prayer. It all works together, and it's all about relationship. It teaches us how our relationship in faith and prayer to God is totally at one in a system of relationship to our fellow human beings, our neighbor, those whom we know. This is the fullness of a system of faith and prayer, it can't be divided up between one compartment and another. And we're to be like a fruitful fig tree, pleasing to the One that gives us life and sustains us. The fullness of the lesson is that we can be busy with all kinds of "works" -- looking good and full of foliage and promise -- but still minus the real fruits of a prayerful life of faith. We always have that challenge, and it always comes down to the faith of the heart, as Jesus says, and that real relationship we find in our prayer lives. It's there that we let things go that we need to, that we go for counsel and good judgment, that we learn real righteousness and relatedness. What will it be for you?
