Curse of the barren fig tree

(Mk 11: 12-14, 20-26) "The next day, when they left Bethany, he was hungry." And when he saw a fig tree with leaves on sight, he went to see if he might find something in it, but when he came to She found nothing but leaves, for it was not a time for figs, and Jesus said to the fig tree, "Let no one eat of you any more." And his disciples heard it ...
And going through the morning, they saw that the fig tree had dried from the roots. Then Peter, remembering, said to him: Master, look, the fig tree that you cursed has dried up. Jesus answered and said to them: Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and will not doubt in his heart, but will believe that what he says will be done, what he says will be done to him. Therefore, I say to you that whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it, and it will come to you. And when you are praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your offenses. For if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. "

Introduction

The day before Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem and had gone directly to the temple, where he observed everything that was done there. Marcos tells us that it was already getting dark, so, although there were many things that he did not like, he did not do anything on that occasion. He went to Bethany, probably to the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, where he spent the night. The next morning, he returned to Jerusalem with the clear intention of expressing his total disapproval of the way in which the religious leaders of Israel had turned their Father's house, the temple, into a den of thieves.

Source

However, Mark has placed what happened in the temple between two incidents that took place along the way. It is about the story of the curse of the barren fig tree.
Perhaps we could ask ourselves what importance a fig tree may have on the road from Bethany to Jerusalem so that the evangelist may mention it on two occasions. Furthermore, this miracle, which is the last that Mark gathers (if we except the resurrection), is very different from all the others we have seen so far, since Jesus uses his power to destroy and curse, instead of blessing and giving life . What is the purpose of all this?
The fig tree is a symbol of Israel
Throughout the Old Testament, God had referred to his people Israel under the simile of a fig tree.
(Hos 9:10) "As I found grapes in the desert, I found Israel: as the early fruit of the fig tree in its beginning I saw your fathers ..."
The prophet Jeremiah had a vision in which he saw two baskets, one full of figs good as figs, and one of bad figs that could not be eaten. Some symbolized the people of Judah who had been deported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon but who had remained faithful to God, and the others, to the rest who had remained in Jerusalem with King Zedekiah, but who had departed from the will of God (Jer. 24: 1-10) (Jer 29:17).
In fact, what Jesus did with the fig tree on the road to Jerusalem was the same thing that the prophet Jeremiah had announced that God would do with his people Israel:
(Jer 8:13) "I will cut them off completely," says the LORD, "there will be no grapes left on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf will fall, and what I have given them will pass over them."
Therefore, the curse of Jesus to the fig tree, we must understand as a symbol of God's judgment against his people Israel.

A fig tree with leaves but no fruit

1. Why did Jesus look for figs if it was not yet time?
   Some have wondered why Jesus cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit, if, as Mark indicates, "it was not time for figs."
   To understand it, we must first know certain important aspects of the relationship between the leaves and the fruit of the fig tree. In Palestine, when spring arrives and the first fig leaves appear, they are accompanied by small nodules or edible buttons. If these small figs do not appear at that time, this indicates that the tree, in spite of having leaves, will be sterile and will not produce fruit.
   Therefore, when Jesus approached the leafy fig tree, he had every reason to think that he could find these little edible figs. However, after inspecting the fig tree, "nothing found but leaves."

2. A symbol of the religion of Israel

As we have already said, the fig tree was a symbol of Israel: many leaves, but without fruit.
The previous night Jesus had had occasion to verify this in his visit to the temple. And just at this moment he was going to go there again to make one of the most serious accusations we can imagine: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves" (Mr 11:17). ).
All those perfectly organized rituals that took place in the temple, only served to hide the lack of true spiritual life.
Even the way he had been acclaimed the day before when he came to Jerusalem as the one who came "in the name of the Lord" was completely superficial, and it was not long before he changed it with cries of "Crucify him, crucify him!".
The abundance of its leaves made it think that it had fruit, but it really lacked it. He promised a lot but he gave nothing.

1. An official inspection before the trial.

Some have said that if Jesus was omniscient, why "he went to see if perhaps he found in her something" of fruit.
To answer this, we must bear in mind that the Lord was acting in a "graphic" way in order to teach his disciples something of the utmost importance and that they should not forget. In fact, we could say that it was something so important that he repeated the "class" twice in a row, since the inspection of the fig tree and the temple meant to teach the same thing.
The abundance of leaves had not managed to prevent his evil from being seen from heaven, and God himself was going to check it out by means of an official visit before issuing his judgment. The language is full of solemnity if we compare it with the one that was pronounced before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
(Gen 18: 20-21) "Then the LORD said to him, Because the cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is increased more and more, and their sin has become exceedingly grievous, I will come down now, and see if they have accomplished their work according to the cry that has come to me, and if not, I will know. "

1. A serious exhortation for all of us.

The people of Israel had to be vigilant and bear fruit at the time of God's visit. But the Church must also take this warning seriously. Christ can come at any time, in an unexpected way, and what he will seek is our fruit. He will not settle for us having beautiful temples, very beautiful and well-organized cults, and he will not be impressed by our music or the social relevance we have achieved.
(Mt 7: 21-23) "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and did many miracles in your name? Then I will declare to you: I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. "
Remember that baptism, being members of a church, participating in the Lord's Supper and assiduous practice of external forms of Christianity, can be only leaves if there are no fruits of the Spirit of God in our lives.
(Mt 7:16) "By their fruits you will know them ..."
(Ga 5: 22-23) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
"Jesus was hungry"

Another detail that strikes us is that the cause that gave rise to the curse of the fig tree was the fact that Jesus was hungry.
It is true that this shows us the perfect humanity of Jesus, like other occasions in which he tired, slept, sat, was thirsty ... But it does not seem that this is the fundamental purpose when including this detail. In addition, this would be the only occasion in which Jesus performed a "destructive" miracle and thinking about his own needs.
Therefore, we believe that this is also part of the graphic language Jesus was using. In that case, we should not think so much about his physical hunger, but the deep desire he had to find among his people Israel some fruit that would give glory to God. And by the fact of "being hungry", we deduce that he had been looking for some manifestation of this type for a long time without having found it.
"Never ever eat any fruit of you"
Following the interpretation of this symbolic act, we must realize that the curse on the fig tree was intended to illustrate God's judgment on the nation of Israel to which the fig tree represented.
A few days later, Jesus told another parable in which he again referred to the Jews who rejected his Messiah, and spoke very clearly about the curse that was going to fall on them for this reason:
(Mark 12: 9) "What, then, shall the lord of the vineyard do? He shall come, and destroy the husbandmen, and give his vineyard to others."
Israel had been chosen to receive and transmit the truth of God in the midst of a world of pagans and idolaters, but he had forgotten his mission and had given himself up to spiritual pride and ceremonial formalism. They had abundant foliage, but they lacked the fruit of faith and love. This provoked the final edict of the mouth of the Lord: "Cut it off, why does it also render the earth useless?" (Lk 13: 6-9).
The fulfillment of this curse culminated in the year 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the world. But before this, God had given "his vineyard to others," to the Gentile Church.
Let us not forget, however, that this is not the end of Israel, as Paul endeavors to explain in chapters 9 through 11 of Romans.

(Ro 11: 25-27) "For I do not want you, brethren, to ignore this mystery, lest you be arrogant in your own eyes: that hardening in Israel has become part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and then all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer shall come from Zion, who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: and this shall be my covenant with them, when I take away their sins. "
The Jewish people have been temporarily cast aside, but when Christ returns to reign, the nation will be reborn and restored to a position of favor with God.
"In the morning they saw that the fig tree had dried up"
When the next day they returned to the same route to Jerusalem, they discovered that in just twenty-four hours, that leafy and vigorous fig tree had dried from the roots.

And although what Jesus had told him was that "never ever eat any fruit of you", it did not make sense either that an unsuccessful tree occupies a place on earth unnecessarily.
All this makes us think seriously about God's judgment on this world.
"Jesus answered and said to them: Have faith in God"

1. Jesus' response in its context

Now Jesus responds to the disciples, although they had not asked any questions. And from here he starts talking about faith, prayer and forgiveness. How does this relate to the previous incident?
At first glance it seems that there is not much connection, but if we look at the context, we can realize that the Lord was teaching his disciples how they should react to Jewish unbelief and rejection by God of his people Israel. Undoubtedly, the principles that the Lord expounded here were very useful at the beginning of Christian preaching, and have continued to this day: faith, combined with prayer and forgiveness.

1. What did they have to have faith for?
   Of course Jesus was not teaching them the secret to curse fig trees or to throw mountains in the sea. This would not make any sense, nor was it the purpose of the Lord.
   The Jewish nation had been cursed by God because they did not have faith. They trusted in their works and also in their religion, but not in God. This was the fundamental reason why the judgment came over them.
   At the same time, we must understand that faith is the only means by which we can bear fruit for the Lord and be delivered from spiritual sterility.
   And finally, faith in God can lead us to overcome the difficulties we always encounter in Christian service.
   He who believes and will not doubt will be done what he says
2. Every miracle is produced by faith in God
   True faith comprises the smallness and uselessness of man to achieve the works of God, and for this reason rests in his power and grace. Here is the secret to every miracle produced by faith in God.

2. Mountains thrown into the sea

The Lord referred to this type of miracles in the following way: "Verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and will not doubt in his heart, but will believe that what he says will be done, what he says will be done. " What did the Lord mean?
Well, this saying about the faith that can move things also appears in (Mt 17:20) and (Lc 17: 6), and in each of the occasions it has small differences. In reality it was a phrase that the Jews used frequently referring to suppressing problems or overcoming difficulties. Therefore, we should not interpret these words literally, because what the Lord meant is that if we have true faith, prayer has the power to resolve any difficulty and overcome it.
For example, one of the biggest problems that man has is his own sins. These are like a great mountain that prevent him from approaching God, but he prepares to throw them into the depths of the sea when we put our faith in him:
(Mic 7:19) "He will have mercy on us again, will bury our iniquities, and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

And the same can be said of the difficulties we find in the Work of God. We can see a very comforting example in the words of God to Zerubbabel after the people of Israel had returned from captivity amidst much weakness and enemies:
(Zechariah 4: 6-7) "Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will be reduced to the plain, he will draw the first stone with acclamations of: Grace, grace to her."
We must not detract from this promise or detract from it. In both the physical and the spiritual realms, the apostles had already been doing things that we could consider "impossible." Peter walked on the water by faith (Mt 14:29), the twelve saw how the demons were held in the name of Jesus (Lk 10:17) and the whole book of Acts is proof that what Jesus He said here it was true.
And in the lives of all of us there are times when God makes us see clearly that his will is that we do something in particular. In that case we can be fully confident that this something will be done. In this sense, Jesus tells us: "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it will come to you."

1. Believe and not doubt

The Lord said that doubt was a serious obstacle to receiving what we ask for by faith. You can doubt God and also what we ask. This is manifested when we pray for something that we do not have much interest in and therefore we are not perseverant and we quickly get tired. Santiago expressed it in the following way:
(James 1: 6-8) "But ask with faith, doubting nothing, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, which is swept away by the wind and thrown from one place to another. so that he may receive anything from the Lord, a double-minded man is inconstant in all his ways. "

1. Asking to have faith in God has certain limitations.

Having said all this, we must also clarify that the Lord was not guaranteeing us a "magic formula" to get everything we want.
(Jam 4: 3) "You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask evil, to spend on your pleasures."
Notice that when Jesus teaches how to "move mountains" by faith, he said explicitly: "Have faith in God." It is God who does it and our trust is based on him and his revealed will. This is something very different from "autosuggestion," which is really a form of faith in ourselves and our ability to be convinced of something we want. On the contrary, our trust should be based solely on God and his revealed will.
As we are going to see, the same Lord Jesus Christ established certain moral guidelines that we must respect if we want to receive what we ask for. He said that there is a kind of filter that our prayers must pass through:
(Jn 15: 7) "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done to you."
Pray with faith does not mean only to be sure that what we ask will happen, but we must also make sure that what we ask is adjusted to what God has revealed. Because we must not forget that faith is basically our response of trust to what God tells us.
What we have just said is one of the things that are often confused and that ultimately has serious consequences. Let us give an extreme example that we have seen on several occasions: a mother says that she does not believe in God because she put her faith in him so that her sick son could be healed, and although she prayed insistently for it, finally the child died. In dealing with such a case we do not want to appear cold or insensitive, but we must necessarily clarify some things. We have said that faith is our response to the revealed will of God. Now, had God revealed to this woman that her son was not going to die if she had faith? What he had was faith or a strong autosuggestion marked by the intense desire to see his son healthy? We do not want to seem indifferent to human pain, but we can not fail to say that an incorrect teaching about what Jesus really said will cause a lot of harm to people, to the point that they can turn away from the Lord because they consider that he has let them down.
The prayer of faith necessarily implies to be in agreement with the will of God, only then we have full guarantee of receiving what we ask for.
(1 Jn 5: 14-15) "And this is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, and if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have made. "
And we find another moral condition below.

"And when you are praying, forgive"

Of course, we can not pray to ask for the curse of God on a person, but quite the opposite. In fact, holding a grudge in our heart against another person will cause our prayers not to be answered as we expect. That is, before praying to God, we must do everything in our power to seek peace with all our brothers, sincerely forgiving us in what they have offended us and asking for their forgiveness if we, consciously or unconsciously, have offended them. .
Remember that the promise had a special application to the apostles and to the first disciples. Could they forgive those who in a few days were going to kill their beloved Master?
There are many other places where the importance of forgiveness is highlighted.
(Eph 4:32) "But be kind to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, as God also forgave you in Christ."
(Col 3:13) "Supporting one another, and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another, just as Christ forgave you, so do you."
And while it is true that we do not earn God's forgiveness by forgiving others, it is also true that if we are not able to forgive others, it will seriously question whether we ourselves have been forgiven.