Jesus was hungry (11:12). Remember, He was human. But His hunger led Him to an opportunity to teach His disciples. He saw that it had leaves and expected fruit when there was none.
Some have tried to explain this parable by explaining the nature of fig trees. Some say the leaves come first, which we saw on the fig trees in the Garden Tomb when we were there. Others say that in April/May there is no fruit, but then there are 2-3 harvests (June, August, September). Here is one of my favorite commentators, John Phillips, from his Matthew Commentary.
In a suitable location a tree bore three crops a year and ripe figs hung on it for ten months of the year. It was barren for two months (April and May) before the first crop ripened. The first crop ripened toward the end of June; the second crop ripened in August; the third crop, often small and of little commercial value, ripened in September and hung all winter on the tree.
Moreover at least two varieties of fig trees were found in the Holy Land, and one variety (mentioned in Isaiah 28:4) produced what was called “the first ripe fig before summer”; one of the features of this variety was that its fruit appeared before its leaves.
Personally, I am comfortable not having a complete understanding of these details. Jesus didn’t tell us what variety tree this was. We do know it is Passover time, so likely April. There was no fruit, so Jesus cursed the tree. In Luke 13:6-9, when the fig tree was unproductive, He did not curse that tree. But He did this one, this time.
Think about that as we move on to the second cleansing of the temple (11:15-19). The second cleansing. The first is recorded in John 2 where Jesus accused the Jews of making the temple a “house of merchandise.” In the second cleansing Jesus quoted Jeremiah 7:11, 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.’ Jeremiah said those words as part of God’s message to Israel that a severe judgment was coming that would result in the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem.
The point is that the first cleansing was to get the attention of the Jews as to their heinous sin and Jesus’ authority. The second cleansing was to say, this temple is going to be destroyed just as the first was. Going back to the fig tree, He cursed it this time because the time had come when God was going to judge the nation. It is not particularly important the details, whether it’s fig season or not. The point is that the nation, represented by the fig tree, is unproductive. It is not glorifying the LORD. Thus, the decision has been made. It happened in 70AD!
Like Israel we have been chosen to bear fruit for the Lord (Jn. 15:16). Let us live our lives accordingly (2 Peter 1:5-9).
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