Let no one eat fruit from you ever again

 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."

- Mark 11:12-25

On Saturday we read that Jesus and the disciples came to Jericho as they traveled toward Jerusalem.  As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.  Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer.  Rise, He is calling you."  And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.  So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

 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.  That it was not the season for figs means that the fig tree had sprouted an early full foliage.  This would indicate readiness for a first crop, but this tree had borne no fruit.  Finding not a single fig, Jesus condemns it.  It's a figurative act; in Scripture a fig tree is often a symbol of Israel (Hosea 9:10), my study bible notes.   The tree looks beautiful and promising.  But there is no fruit, a kind of image of response to Christ's ministry.  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 which people purchased for sacrifices.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins.  The Roman coins bore the image of Caesar (worshiped as a god), and so were considered to be defiling to the temple.  The cleansing of the temple, my study bible tells us, points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  Each person is considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19).  Therefore it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of "earthly" matters.  This is Jesus' first act, after His entrance into the Holy City (Mark 11:1-11).   Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7, 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 says that the cursing and withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act, which signifies the judgment of Israel.  It says that the disciples need to learn that the old covenant with Israel is becoming "obsolete" and will "vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13).  These apostles will establish His Church, which will ultimately be filled with both Gentiles and Jews.  They need assurance that they are following His will.  The fig tree will be an image fixed in their minds for the future.

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."   My study bible notes that while it is not recorded that an apostles literally moved a mountain, patristic commentators are clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen.   (There are certain saints said to have made crevices appear in mountains.)  Furthermore, not everything that the apostles did was written down.  Beyond its literal meaning, Jesus' promise is an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of life.  Theophan comments, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for spiritually profitable things.  The inclusion of the command to forgive reminds us that it is not our will we pray be done, but God's (Matthew 6:9-10).

What is a miracle?  Is it a kind of miracle that the fig tree withered so fast?  Jesus' withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act, but we must always remember that it is a prophetic act given to us by the Son.  It is Christ who has taught us something, and holy power at work.  Since it is He who has taught us to pray to Our Father, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we can assume that in the withering of the fig tree Jesus is following the Father's will, as He does in all things.  Here is the key to prayer:  St. Paul teaches that "the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27).  The withering of the fig tree is a prophetic act as it comes from that which is the Law, in a sense, the command of God.   It is an expression of the fact that God has come into the world as incarnate human being.  Christ's ministry has first come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, those whom He loves.  But the response -- at least from the leadership -- is rejection.  We know also that in various towns where great works were done by Christ, His ministry has also been rejected (Matthew 11:21).   It is one thing to be astonished at His healing power, but another to bear spiritual fruit.  When the power of God is at work in us or amongst us, its rejection is more than simply a "no" to something we're not ready for:  our rejection becomes a refusal of an opportunity, of a kind of command, of a power that will have repercussions in our lives.  This is the essence of a prophetic act:  that God acts and our response to accept or reject has a deep and profound impact on our lives, our reality, our time and place, our future.  We reject life itself, a truer and deeper reality than what we see and know in a temporal sense.  Saints are those who so align their will to God's purposes at work within them, that holy power infuses their own prayer, their capacity to act.  Prophecy works not through a depth of understanding alone, but through this type of devotion, full dependency upon God's power and the work of Christ and the Spirit in the world.  Let us consider what it means to truly serve, and the power that is in that service -- especially when we pray to our Father, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."