The Fig Tree With No Figs

The Fig Tree With No Figs

Nothing is more disappointing than expecting something great and getting nothing in return. I’m not talking about ordering a meal that looked good but wasn’t or buying a car that turned out to be a lemon. I’m talking about God and how He feels about His creation.

Jesus was nearing Jerusalem on His way to the cross. He knew that the time of His death was near. He had worked toward this end for a long time. What was it that most disappointed Him about His three years of ministry in Judea? Was it the lack of faith He saw? Was it the city of Jerusalem? The lack of understanding among His followers?

No, He felt compassion for the people, wept for Jerusalem and worked tirelessly to teach His Disciples. The thing that angered Him the most was the corruption and greed among the religious leaders. He called them “blind guides”, “whitewashed tombs” and “hypocrites.”

Matthew 23:13

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Wait a minute … isn’t this supposed to be about a fig tree? What does that have to do with the religious leaders and their corruption?

It has everything to do with them. You see, in the parables and teachings of Jesus, the religious system was represented by a fig tree. Jesus expected the teachers and leaders to be producing fruit. He expected them to be leading others to God, teaching good things and helping the needy.

That’s not what He found. What He found was a system that was just like a fig tree that looked healthy and productive but was dead inside. It was a fake … a sham. What happened next would send a message to the whole world as Jesus revealed God’s judgment on the corruption and greed of a nation that took God’s love and turned it into a wealth producing enterprise.

That’s tomorrow.