229 - The Fig Tree Cursed by Jesus#
229 - The Fig Tree Cursed by Jesus
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Mark 11:12-14
12 The next day, when they came out from Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 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. 14 In response, Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for preparing this time for us to share Your words here together, leading each of us to receive the supply that comes from You. We come empty and leave full. Lead every brother and sister who seeks You, for You know what we need in our hearts, and You provide for us in due time, renewing our minds. Thank You and praise You! Bless this time, we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
The topic of sharing is: The Fig Tree Cursed by Jesus
Last time we also shared this passage, and the teaching was about faith and declarations. Today, through this passage, I want to share another aspect that many people do not understand: why did Jesus curse that fig tree? First, let’s look at the background of the story. At the time Jesus spoke this, He had already entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. What identity did He enter with? He entered Jerusalem as a king, as the Messiah. This was different from His previous visits to Jerusalem, where He came to preach, to evangelize, and to teach people. But this time, entering Jerusalem with great fanfare on a donkey was to fulfill the prophecy of the coming Messiah in the Old Testament.
He entered the temple as the Messiah, as a king. This is why He could overturn the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves in the temple. This was not a new occurrence; selling things had been happening before. Did Jesus know about it? In the past, He did not enter as a king, but now He did, which allowed Him to do this.
Sometimes Jesus came as a servant, and sometimes as a king. For example, when Jesus performed His first miracle, turning water into wine, when Mary said there was no wine, what identity did she speak to Jesus from? She spoke as a mother. Jesus replied to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” The original meaning is “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” He said this as God. Asking God to do something for you is not about commanding God to act like a servant; it is about calling upon Him. The true Lord is Jesus.
Now Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king, and He could do what a king does. What was the purpose of Jesus coming to this world? Was it to find trouble? On the first day, riding on a donkey into Jerusalem, He did this. To others, it seemed like He was looking for trouble; just riding in on a donkey, and they didn’t even know who He was? Just looking for trouble, and then He cursed the fig tree. When people did not recognize His kingship before, He did not do this. Suddenly, entering as a king, He looked around and saw that the trees were different. Is that how it was? No, brothers and sisters, why did Jesus come to this world? Was it to find trouble? Was it to bring curses upon us? No.
Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
This proves that even when Jesus overturned tables and cursed the fig tree, His purpose was still to save the lost. This purpose has never changed.
Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
This also illustrates another point: Jesus overturning those tables was not saying, “I am the king, you must listen to Me.” Cursing that fig tree was not a warning, “Be careful, if you don’t obey, this is your end.” Jesus did not want people to serve Him in that way; rather, He came to serve us and to give His life as a ransom for many. The purpose of Jesus coming was to supply people, to help people, to save people. Some things you may not understand about why Jesus did this, but understand that it was certainly not to bring curses or to deliberately find fault with you. He sometimes rebuked the Pharisees, but was the purpose of the rebuke to hate them and wish for their death? No, it was also to hope they could be saved and receive God’s grace. Hallelujah!
Many times we misunderstand grace, thinking that grace only speaks good words. But among brothers and sisters, sometimes when you love someone, you may need to rebuke them harshly, but the purpose of the rebuke is not to bring them down; rather, it is because they are already on the edge of a cliff, and it is to make them turn back, which the Bible calls repentance. Amen! At that time, the Israelites had been under the law for nearly 1500 years, and they were very clear about the service in the church. God had clearly written in the law what they should do, but when Jesus came, what did He see?
Mark 6:34 says,
When Jesus came out, He saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.
What did Jesus see? What was the state of this group of Israelites? Were there churches? Yes, there were magnificent churches, there were priests, prophets, and all kinds of worship rituals, but the people were still wandering. Which part was problematic? The people in between were problematic, proving that God’s supply was already complete; it was just that people were unwilling to do things according to God’s way.
In verse 12, they came out from Bethany, and Jesus was hungry.
When people are hungry, they look for something to eat. Jesus was hungry too, and He went to find something to eat. He saw a fig tree from afar, and it had leaves, so He went to see if He could find anything on it. When He got to it, He found only leaves, no fruit. Here, there is a spiritual meaning: this was the spiritual state of the Israelites at that time: they were hungry and wanted to eat, but they found no fruit to eat, only leaves. These leaves represented the glorious temple, the complete worship rituals, and the high priests, scribes, and elders, but there was no life.
The people had problems and were isolated; when they faced difficulties, they were driven out; they were of low status and ignored. The social situation at that time was like this. So when Jesus came, He saw that this group of sheep should not be like this. Why did God choose the Israelites first? To bless this group of Israelites, so that after they received blessings, they could bless all nations. If the Israelites had acted according to God’s way, there would not have been such poverty in their land.
I suggest you read Deuteronomy carefully. You may not like reading those verses, but they are very important for you. If you are in business, you should read that book even more, as it hides God’s abundant blessings in material things. The Israelites, including today’s Jews, actually accept Jesus very little, but why are they so blessed materially by God? It is because they have followed the laws and statutes recorded in Deuteronomy.
For example, if you treat people with kindness, you often bring forgiveness and show mercy to the poor. If a boss treats employees this way, people may not stay just for the money. If you act like the old rich man, saying, “I give you money, you must listen to me, or I will deal with you,” then the workers will not work sincerely. God has already told them these laws in Deuteronomy, saying, “When you harvest your grain and forget a sheaf, the Bible clearly says not to go back for it, but to leave it for the poor among you.” In this way, the poor can receive some supply.
Where do their expectations lie? This year there is no good harvest, and they are relatively poor, so they look to see if there are leftovers in other fields, so the poor can receive some supply. God had given them these laws from the beginning, but in the end, they became self-serving, including in the church. In this text, the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. How hungry had the people become? When Jesus came, many people were displaced and could not find supply.
When Jesus made the truth clear and supplied them, how many people followed Him? Too many. How thirsty were those people? When Jesus went to the river, they went to the river; when Jesus went up the mountain, they went up the mountain; when Jesus spoke all day, they listened all day. Who should have been doing these things? The priests, scribes, and Pharisees should have been supplying the people, but they did not do it. The people were so hungry that they could not find supply in the synagogue and were wandering everywhere.
After Jesus came, He saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Were there really no shepherds? Yes, those shepherds were not acting as shepherds anymore. So He began to teach them many things, proving that this group of people did not truly lack food or clothing; it was because there was no supply in truth. Is this the same in our time?
A few days ago, someone published an article titled “Empty Seats in the Church,” pointing out our sins, saying that the internet is too developed now, so people have fallen away, and they are unwilling to gather in churches, leaving many empty chairs. The pastor said, “You all need to turn back, come back.” This is a phenomenon. From another perspective, why don’t people go back? At the time of Jesus, the churches were also magnificent, but there were not many people inside. Ordinary people did not have the qualifications to enter, nor did they dare to enter. Even if they did, they would not gain anything because the teachings were all about condemnation. This is similar to Jesus now; Jesus was hungry and should have received supply from those serving, but there was none. The Israelites were the same.
They had problems and could not find God or the way to solve their issues. The very people who should have supplied the people, the Pharisees and scribes, lived in the temple but did not bring any supply to the people. Now they only had leaves; the leaves were already well done, so the leaves represented the nation of Israel, the Israelites, the temple, and the holy city. All four aspects are included. Jesus wanted to find fruit on the fig tree. What does the fruit on a tree represent? It is meant to supply others. The fruit of the fig tree is not for itself but for others to eat. Why did God give the land of Canaan to the Israelites? Why did God choose the Israelites? God had a hope for them, which was that they would bear much fruit and be His people among all nations, serving as a channel of blessing to others.
God hoped that the Israelites would be a blessing to all nations, but unfortunately, by the time Jesus came, they had no fruit, only leaves. Under grace, if we do not receive anything ourselves, we should not supply others. If you only supply others with leaves, those leaves are inedible and toxic; whoever eats them will be poisoned. Giving others leaves will only bring them more sadness and pain.
If others have nothing to wear and are in rags, giving them leaves, like Adidas or whatever brand of pants, will not bring them any comfort but will deeply hurt them. So leaves are not desirable. Brothers and sisters, I hope you first receive supply from Jesus. Do not only have leaves; leaves spiritually represent pride, self-righteousness, and mere knowledge without life. Having too much knowledge can lead to pride. If you know Jesus through knowledge, you will bring life to others. Under grace, many people possess only knowledge; the knowledge of grace is still knowledge and can also lead to pride, “I know how much of the Bible I have read, how many times I have read it, I understand the original text, I want to pursue a deeper understanding of the Bible…” So what?
The part that is truly lived out in your life is the part that is your fruit. You say about declarations, “I can say one hundred and eight kinds.” So what? When encountering problems, knowing one is enough; if you know many verses but do not use one when facing problems, that is more meaningful and practical than knowing a thousand verses. The scribes and Pharisees understood various rituals and ways to worship God, but they did not know that all these were meant to point to Jesus. They pushed Jesus aside and learned these things, leaving people with knowledge but no life, creating a group of people who all think they are remarkable, knowing how much theological knowledge…
So I want to solemnly tell everyone: You come to listen to the word not to learn theological doctrines; these will not save you when you encounter problems; nor to learn more biblical knowledge; this knowledge will not save you when you face issues. Through preaching, it is more about knowing the life of Jesus. Knowing Jesus means knowing He is life, knowing His power, and then applying it in life. Hallelujah!
Through these words, know Jesus more, know life; only the word of life can save you. If you read the Bible carefully, especially in the Book of Judges, it mentions the characteristics of the vine, mainly for making wine; the characteristics of the olive tree, mainly for making oil; the fig tree is meant to bear fruit. God’s ultimate purpose for the fig tree is to let it bear much fruit, becoming help and supply for others.
The entire nation of Israel before God is like a fig tree placed before Jesus. Unfortunately, this fig tree now has only leaves, which proves that its history is very long. The more leaves there are, the more you know, right? The longer the history, the more they have experienced the law for nearly 1500 years. The outside leaves are very flourishing, with a magnificent temple, the holy city, and various doctrines formed. They even fought with each other over doctrines, the Pharisees and Sadducees often quarreling over doctrines. All these had become established, but they were just leaves, external things, and unfortunately, there were only leaves without life. Were the twelve disciples who followed Jesus like this too? Yes, do not think their lives were any better.
Mark 13:1-2 says,
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Brothers and sisters, did Jesus hate the temple so much? No, there is nothing wrong with a temple. At the beginning, building the temple was also something God agreed with. God was very pleased when Solomon built the temple, so on the day the temple was completed, the glory of God descended and filled the entire temple, proving that God did not dislike the temple; what God hated was having a temple without God, having a building but not being holy. This temple could no longer be called a holy temple; it had no difference from an ordinary building. Including the disciples, what were they boasting about? “Teacher, look at what massive stones!”
Brothers and sisters, when you come into a church, what do you boast about? Is it hearing what kind of truth about Jesus? If you go to that place and say, “Look! This is our church, isn’t it beautiful? Thirty million! This is our piano, thirty thousand; this is my microphone, eighty thousand…” You are boasting about leaves; these are merely leaves, meant to help people know the truth. Up to now, the disciples could only boast about these things because there was nothing else to boast about. Brothers and sisters, I hope that after you go out, you only boast about the truth of Jesus Christ, for that will bring life to others.
At this point, the Lord Jesus wanted to find fruit. But they only had leaves, only these magnificent buildings, complete laws and statutes, and nothing else. I hope you are not here to learn knowledge but to understand the life of Jesus, giving others life as well. What do leaves represent? Let’s take a look at the first appearance of fig leaves in the Book of Genesis.
Genesis 3:6-7 says,
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
This is the first appearance of fig leaves in the Bible, used to make loincloths. Here, I have a bold assumption, just my own assumption: when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that tree might be a fig tree, because later it says they knew they were naked and sewed fig leaves together.
Why did they use fig leaves to make loincloths? Was it a decoration? It was a real appearance of shame. The fig tree is also the first ordinary tree name that appears in the Bible, but unfortunately, what was recorded that time was humanity’s shame, which is the result of self-righteousness. When a person displays self-righteousness, faith cannot operate.
Last time I mentioned that Jesus said, “What you believe you will receive,” which speaks of faith, declaring by faith. Why did they not have faith? It was because they were filled with self-righteousness, so they had no faith. Now Jesus wants their faith to operate, so He must first remove their self-righteousness. Where does self-righteousness come from? It does not come from Jesus; it comes from the law.
Galatians 3:12 says, “The law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them.”
No matter how many laws a person follows, is there anything to boast about? Even if you follow all the laws, you are just living; there is nothing to boast about. But under grace, if God gives you a little, it is enough for you to boast about Jesus Christ; that is the difference.
Romans 5:20-21 says,
20 Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sin reigns and brings death. When a person is under the law, it shows more self-righteousness, leading to death. The more self-righteous a person is, the more death they bring to others. For example, when a person is more proud, do you like that person? The more pride they have, the more reasons they have to hurt you, which is of no benefit to us. We receive more humiliation and derogatory words. There is no faith under the law.
To find faith, do not look for it in the law, because doing these things will lead to life. Once you focus on your own actions, faith cannot operate. When Jesus taught faith through these words, He cursed the unfruitful fig tree to tell the disciples that if their faith wants to operate, they must first curse the self-righteousness within. So Jesus first cursed that tree before He began to teach them about Godly faith.
Jesus cursed to remove all self-righteousness from within people. When a person is self-righteous, they do not need the grace that comes from Jesus’ sacrifice; they can rely on themselves. But when we rely on Jesus’ grace, you cannot be separated from what Jesus has done for you, including His sacrifice, bloodshed, and sacrifice. The purpose of the curse is to bring death; sin reigns and brings death. When a person’s self-righteousness completely dies, they can rely on God’s grace. It is not necessary to emphasize grace; some people overly emphasize the law. The focus is on fruit. Are there fruits under the law? Yes, the fruit of death. Sin reigns and brings death, revealing sin. Is it only under the law that sin can be revealed? Without the law, people do not know what sin is, so the law reveals more sin in people. The ultimate result of this sin is the fruit of death. The law reveals human corruption, self-righteousness, and pride.
In Galatians chapter five, there is a contrast: one is the fruit of the flesh, and the other is the fruit of the Spirit, nine fruits. What is the purpose of the comparison? Under the law, people rely on themselves and can only bear the fruit of death, but under grace, it is the fruit of righteousness. The Lord Jesus hopes that we, like the tree, will have leaves and fruit. A fig tree with leaves will surely have fruit, but the Israelites had a misconception that having leaves was enough. It is not about striving to learn more biblical knowledge, understanding more original texts, or grasping more doctrines; that is not important. Understanding this is good, but it should be through this to know Jesus. If you merely think that having more knowledge means God is with you, is that wrong? God being with you has nothing to do with that. Amen!
Look at the history of Israel at that time, Jerusalem, the temple. They always had a misconception: “We have our ancestor Abraham, complete laws and statutes, Moses’ law, and the temple. Does that mean God is not with us?” Isn’t this what they often boasted about? In the four gospels, the Jews often boasted about these things, “My ancestor is Abraham…” So they despised being Jesus’ disciples, saying, “You are Jesus’ disciple; we are Moses’ disciples.”
They took these things as their pride, looking down on others. They had no rest in the temple, but Jesus did not dwell in the temple; He returned to Bethany. The Bible clearly says He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. He should have returned to the temple, but those self-righteous people thought Jesus was unworthy to dwell there and did not allow Him to reign in the temple; they only wanted Moses’ laws and statutes.
What Jesus saw in the temple was not God’s supply but a marketplace, a market of various human interests, with no God, a market aimed at human benefits, with flourishing appearances but no life. I hope everyone comes not just to hear more words but not to pursue something fresh this week. I am not saying I cannot talk about these things; I want to tell everyone that knowing more history does not mean you have more life. It is about chewing on what you know repeatedly, letting Jesus’ life live out in you, which will be beneficial to others and to yourself. Amen!
When Jesus came to that fig tree and saw only leaves and no fruit, He said to it, “From now on, no one will eat your fruit.” Our Lord Jesus faced the most trouble from the Pharisees and scribes during His time on earth. Strictly speaking, these people represented the entire Jewish faith. When seeing the Pharisees and the worshippers in the temple, it was clear that they represented their faith. After you go out, you also represent your faith; your life also represents your faith. Jesus came to His own, but these Pharisees did not receive Him. Later, these people said, “Crucify Him, kill Him…”
When Jesus came to that fig tree and saw no fruit, He cursed the fig tree to let the Israelites understand one thing: do not be fascinated by your leaves. God hoped they would wake up; rather than not bearing fruit, it was better to let them wither from the root, stripping away all their self-righteousness. Now do you understand? Why did Jesus say to the Pharisees and scribes, “Woe to you, hypocritical scribes and Pharisees”? It was seven woes, right? Jesus meant to strip away all their self-righteousness so they could learn to rely on Jesus, removing their self-righteousness, hoping they could rely on God.
At that time, Jesus made a prophecy in Matthew 23:37-39,
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
This is Jesus’ prophecy about Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was the holy city, the place that received prophets, but unfortunately, they did not allow prophets there; instead, they killed the prophets and stoned those sent to them. What is the purpose of this temple? If the church becomes a society, full of intrigue and power struggles, what is the purpose of the church? It would be better to tear it down. Jerusalem has now become corrupted.
“I often wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” A hen puts her chicks under her wings to protect them. We have seen news reports where a hen was burned in a fire, but a group of chicks ran out from under her wings, proving that the hen sacrificed herself to protect these chicks. Our Lord established the temple and sent prophets to tell us a correct way of living, a prosperous way of living.
But when the prophets came, how did the Israelites respond? They killed them, stoned them. “I often wanted to gather you under My wings to protect you, but you were not willing.” So when the Israelites suffered, was it God sending down suffering? No, it was like a hen protecting her chicks. Imagine this scene: a hen says to a chick, “It’s raining, hurry over here.” The chick looks at her and says, “I’m not going.” If it gets sick from the rain, is that God’s doing? Our Lord wants to protect us, but people are unwilling.
So later it says, “See! Your house is left to you desolate.” The reason this tree was cursed was not because the Lord was looking for fault; it was because it was indeed occupying land without bearing fruit. The curse came upon them because of their self-righteousness. Amen! “I tell you, from now on, you will see Me no more.” Here, there is actually a prophecy telling us: the purpose of Jesus coming to the world is to supply us, to save us, so that we can live a prosperous life through Him.
The Israelites rejected Jesus and even killed Him. At that time, the Israelites had a very cruel prophecy. When Pilate said, “This man is innocent,” they said, “Let His blood be on us and on our children.” They cursed themselves. “From now on, you will see Me no more.” When a person rejects Jesus, a curse comes upon them. Jesus is the beginning and end of the gospel; if you reject Jesus, it is equivalent to driving away the gospel, the good news, leaving you with bad news. Thus, a series of bad news continuously happened to them.
In AD 70, Roman General Titus led an army to besiege Jerusalem, and soon Jerusalem was destroyed. At that time, the Roman general did not want to destroy the temple or tear down all the stones. After a fire burned down, it was discovered that the temple was covered in gold, proving that the temple was indeed worth boasting about.
If your house walls were painted in gold, you would definitely tell your guests, “Look at the walls, they are all gold.” So they had something to boast about. After a fire burned down, it was found that the real gold flowed into the cracks of the stones, so all the stones were torn down, and all the gold inside was taken out. He did not really want to destroy the temple; he was just after the gold inside, resulting in the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. After the temple was destroyed, all the priests and scribes who were worshipping in the temple were killed. This curse was not because Jesus wanted to curse them; it was because they chose a cursed life. At that time, those who truly believed in Jesus had already been forced to leave Jerusalem.
Because great persecution began, those who truly believed in Jesus could not stay in Jerusalem; the ones persecuting them were these people. Now do you understand why the curse came upon them? Because they did not want Jesus, so ultimately these curses fell upon them. They rejected the gospel and were unwilling to live under God’s protection, which was their self-righteousness that led them into a curse, but this was not the Lord Jesus’ wish. Amen!
The sentence we just read refers to “From now on, no one will eat your fruit.” Do you understand? What I have unraveled for you now is the spiritual meaning. When the temple was still there, and all the rituals were still in place, they boasted about the temple and Moses’ law, using these things to condemn the people, bind the people, and strike the people. Then the Lord Jesus said, “From now on, no one will eat your fruit of condemnation.” So it was destroyed, and there was nothing left to boast about.
Now can they still condemn the people? No, because the temple was destroyed. Now they cannot boast about Moses’ law anymore because there is no place for them to gather in the magnificent temple, nor is there an opportunity for them to sell cattle, sheep, and doves or exchange money in a market. All of this was destroyed. Now the true gathering is in a new temple, the church. Amen! This temple is what Jesus referred to when He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” referring to His body. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, where you gather is not important; what matters is who you worship. Who is your Lord? If you say you want to go to a magnificent church, I do not oppose that, but if there is no Jesus inside and what is preached is something else, then whether you worship or not is the same. At that time, they condemned themselves and judged themselves. After several decades, in AD 70, Israel officially ceased to exist.
So, does this cursed fig tree still have a chance to live? We think it is over; once cursed, it is doomed, and there is no chance to live again. Let’s look at a passage of scripture. Ezekiel 37 is a prophecy. At that time, God said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” In the wilderness, there were very dry bones. At that time, He asked Ezekiel this question: “Can they live?” Ezekiel was wise; he said, “O Lord God, You know. If You say they can live, then they can live.” If you have such a thought, like, “Lord, this is impossible,” what can the Lord do?
Ezekiel 37:11 says, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, “Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!”’”
Isn’t this the cursed fig tree? Now is there no hope at all? In the eyes of people, it is over; it is doomed. It is completely withered, dried up from the root. How can it live? It is impossible. But God said to him, “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.’”
Look at verse 13, “O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Does this group of Pharisees and scribes know God now? No, they do not know. They will go through a process of death and resurrection before they can know this Lord. “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live.” Now this Spirit is the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus. The Bible clearly states that the first Adam became a living being, and the last Adam is a life-giving spirit. Jesus is that life-giving spirit. When a person is dead and completely withered, if the Spirit of Jesus enters, they will live. Just like that tree, even if it is already withered, as long as God’s Spirit enters, it will come back to life. “I will place you in your own land, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.
Now we are targeting the fig tree; they have self-righteousness within. After God completely cursed their self-righteousness, even the roots withered. Do you know how long it has been withered? Around AD 70, they lost their nation, and it was not until 1948 that they regained their nation, nearly two thousand years of withering. Historians will tell you that if a country is without a nation for 500 years, it will never have a chance to regain it. Israel was nearly without a nation for two thousand years. Did they regain it? This has already been fulfilled. In other words, they have gone through winter, and when the fig tree begins to sprout and grow leaves, you will know that summer is near.
This is what the Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 24: “Learn this parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.” Before that, what was there? In winter, all the trees look dead, especially the fig tree, which looks bare and has nothing. It looks just like that cursed fig tree, completely withered, appearing dead. But by the beginning of the next summer, you will find that suddenly it has sprouted a tender shoot, which proves that summer is near. Amen!
This is another prophecy. What does Jesus want to tell us? Israel indeed rejected Jesus in the past, and they all withered. They can no longer spread the law of curses to condemn the people. Later, that group of people accepted Jesus and established the New Testament church, which still exists today. So after Israel ceased to exist, they regained their nation. What kind of foreshadowing is this? It is to tell us: the resurrected Israel, the day of the Son of Man is near.
When you see the moment the Jews accept Jesus, know that the second coming of Jesus is near. Amen! They rejected Jesus the first time and completely withered, but later they will be resurrected and ultimately accept Jesus as their Savior. This is a prophecy in the Bible. They have not all accepted Jesus yet, but one day this group of Israelites will certainly accept Jesus as their Savior. Now we who accept Him are blessed; we are under grace. One day they will also put aside all their self-righteous laws and truly accept Jesus, and they will receive life.
The purpose of Jesus coming is very simple: He came to give life to the sheep and to give it more abundantly. In the past, the scribes and Pharisees in the temple did not allow them to receive life. Jesus personally supplied them with life and cursed away all those self-righteous things, letting them become withered. Now, as long as you accept Jesus, God will also let your life be resurrected. Hallelujah!
Let’s look at the last passage of scripture, which mentions something in John 15:1-5.
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
How can we bear fruit? Yes, it is to constantly connect with the vine of Christ. “If you do not abide in Me, you cannot bear fruit.” Is this not the conclusion? This is what we need to learn. Many people still live by relying on themselves. You may be spiritually in Jesus, but if you live outside of Jesus, you still cannot bear fruit. The reason lies here.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Amen! Jesus also hopes we bear much fruit. How do we bear fruit? It is not that you connect more with Me and grow more leaves, boasting about leaves. He did not say that, right? It is to bear much fruit. We do not boast about these external leaves; we rely on the fruit that Jesus Christ boasts about. Many people only have leaves, the decorations of the temple, the amount of wealth, but lack life. We must first enrich our lives. Hallelujah!
Luke 12:15 says, “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’”
Does having a lot mean one has life? Not necessarily. But if you have the life of Jesus, then everything you have is abundant. How can you bear much fruit? Return to Jesus Christ. We need to constantly remind each other that we are people in Christ, connected with Jesus, continuously correcting and renewing ourselves with His word. So it says, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.” This is one reason we gather often.
Many times we rely on ourselves, which can produce some self-righteousness. But when you come into Jesus Christ and are renewed by this word, you are in life. I mean, you can live out this word of life. So I hope that what you boast about is no longer what you currently possess but that you possess Jesus Christ! Thank and praise the Lord! Jesus came to give you life and to give you His abundant life. When you boast about yourself, you will fall under a curse. But when a person boasts in Jesus, they will be in God’s abundance.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! Thank You for helping us, letting us see through the metaphor of the fig tree that what we can boast about is not external decoration but the life within. The degree of prosperity within directly determines the degree of prosperity outside. Lord, we do not want to live under a curse; we are willing to constantly connect with You, be renewed by You, and receive Your supply every day. Your cursing of the fig tree is to tell them that relying on themselves cannot bring any boasting, and it is also to hope they can rely on You. Everything I have is supplied by You. I am willing to learn to rely on Your grace every day, and all glory belongs to You. We pray in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen!