The other day someone asked me a question. It was a cynical convince me type of question but one that is still worthy of consideration. In The Gospel of Mark Christ was hungry facing the week of His death and He saw a fig tree. Mark 11:12 - 21 KJV
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Now the question as it was put to me is this "How could a benevolent being curse this tree or curse anything for that matter?"
What really strikes me as odd here is how our societal views have so influenced our views of God, Jesus and satan. We envision Christ as all love and blessings, benedictions and wisdom. Yet we forget He was the Son of God raised by a carpenter. So you can pretty much forget the wimpy Christ. Carpenters had to have muscle and grit, not to mention Christ had been doing this for 30 yrs and was in His physical prime. Trust me He was a full grown adult man.
Just as satan is not the little red guy with horns and a pitchfork. We have to get rid of these images. We have been wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God. Therefore God can not be an amorphous blob, Christ wasn't a wuss, and satan is not just a prankster.
So here we have the situation of Christ being hungry just after his triumphal entry in Jerusalem. He sees a fig tree in the distance and walks to it to see if it has any figs. It does not. The fig tree was not doing it's job which was to bear fruit, to feed man and sustain life. Christ was looking for this tree to do it's job and feed Him. Since the fig tree was not doing it's job it is of no use to anyone. Then when He pronounced it's fate we see this as a simple determination of a lack of usefulness. When you don't do your job, meet your purpose then what use are you?
Now when you say it like that it sounds harsh. Especially in this nation where we give out trophies for participation so no one feels left out. However, in the real world you must have a purpose ,a use, a reason for going on and being where you are.
Christ used the tree as an example. He did this often through parables, healing (such as the man who was blind merely to be a testimony to God's power) and now through deed.
The failure to bear fruit was a sad yet very auspicious thing. We have here a full idea now of what happens to those who fail to bear fruit. Those who fail to live up to their purpose. They are then not useful for anything or anyone. We are grafted into the family of God through our adoption by believing in Christ. We are therefore to bring forth fruit, to glorify the Father and further His work.
We are part of a greater purpose and we are to be set about bearing fruit.
We can bear fruit through the witness, the example we show, through our tithe, and through our faithfulness to Him.
It is a sad epitaph for anyone to be labeled useless and without purpose, but what is even sadder is when we do it to ourselves. When we take ourselves out of the usefulness and fruit bearing all by our own actions and choices. When we get to the point that even God sees no further use for us. You say that can't happen, that God would never. Yes He would. He will. He specifically tells us that there is a time when He shall stop calling, stop speaking to our hearts, and give us over to a reprobate heart.
That is the lesson of the fig tree folks, God has us here for a purpose. Find that purpose and stick with it. When we are stale and not yielding productively then we are of all men most bitter.
12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
13 And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.
14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.
19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.
20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Now the question as it was put to me is this "How could a benevolent being curse this tree or curse anything for that matter?"
What really strikes me as odd here is how our societal views have so influenced our views of God, Jesus and satan. We envision Christ as all love and blessings, benedictions and wisdom. Yet we forget He was the Son of God raised by a carpenter. So you can pretty much forget the wimpy Christ. Carpenters had to have muscle and grit, not to mention Christ had been doing this for 30 yrs and was in His physical prime. Trust me He was a full grown adult man.
Just as satan is not the little red guy with horns and a pitchfork. We have to get rid of these images. We have been wonderfully and fearfully made in the image of God. Therefore God can not be an amorphous blob, Christ wasn't a wuss, and satan is not just a prankster.
So here we have the situation of Christ being hungry just after his triumphal entry in Jerusalem. He sees a fig tree in the distance and walks to it to see if it has any figs. It does not. The fig tree was not doing it's job which was to bear fruit, to feed man and sustain life. Christ was looking for this tree to do it's job and feed Him. Since the fig tree was not doing it's job it is of no use to anyone. Then when He pronounced it's fate we see this as a simple determination of a lack of usefulness. When you don't do your job, meet your purpose then what use are you?
Now when you say it like that it sounds harsh. Especially in this nation where we give out trophies for participation so no one feels left out. However, in the real world you must have a purpose ,a use, a reason for going on and being where you are.
Christ used the tree as an example. He did this often through parables, healing (such as the man who was blind merely to be a testimony to God's power) and now through deed.
The failure to bear fruit was a sad yet very auspicious thing. We have here a full idea now of what happens to those who fail to bear fruit. Those who fail to live up to their purpose. They are then not useful for anything or anyone. We are grafted into the family of God through our adoption by believing in Christ. We are therefore to bring forth fruit, to glorify the Father and further His work.
We are part of a greater purpose and we are to be set about bearing fruit.
We can bear fruit through the witness, the example we show, through our tithe, and through our faithfulness to Him.
It is a sad epitaph for anyone to be labeled useless and without purpose, but what is even sadder is when we do it to ourselves. When we take ourselves out of the usefulness and fruit bearing all by our own actions and choices. When we get to the point that even God sees no further use for us. You say that can't happen, that God would never. Yes He would. He will. He specifically tells us that there is a time when He shall stop calling, stop speaking to our hearts, and give us over to a reprobate heart.
That is the lesson of the fig tree folks, God has us here for a purpose. Find that purpose and stick with it. When we are stale and not yielding productively then we are of all men most bitter.
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