Grow to Good Harvest

Mark 11:12-14…20-21 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it…20 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
 
MANY have criticized this passage as untrue because Jesus’ curse on the tree was in springtime. Common knowledge is that fig trees do not bear fruit in the spring. Or do they? Interpreters understand that when Jesus went to the fig tree, he’s wondering, “Where are the figs?” because he expects figs to be on the tree. He should know whether it is time for the figs or not. The truth is that there are different varieties of fig trees. Figs were present all year in Judea.
   The phrase it was not the season for figs refers to the time to gather figs. An unusual feature of the fig tree is that it bears fruit before it produces leaves. Thus, when Jesus saw the leaves, Jesus expected fruit from the lush-looking tree.
   This story is not about our Lord’s hunger as a man. It is about Jesus’ hunger for souls as the Lord of the harvest. Jesus’ frustration and judgment of the “no fig” fig tree illustrates God’s response to faithless, fruitless people. For nearly 2,000 years God had been growing his people to bear fruit for his kingdom. But their desires were nearly always out of season with God’s commands. They continued to reject him, even as he walked into their lives. God judges the fruitless life that has rejected his life-giving gospel.
   Pay attention. This brief moment teaches a terrifying lesson. How quick God is to judge empty, hypocritical lives. The unrepentant will wilt under God’s judgment. God warned Judah in the days before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, “The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape.” (Jeremiah 46:6) And God is warning the entire world today of eternal exile from his eternal home: Matthew 7:23 “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Those whose faith is weak and fruitless will be condemned. Jesus has warned you.
   Jesus wants your faith to be in season with his purpose. Do you have a bigger faith than you did last year, last month or yesterday? Has anything changed in your life to strengthen your trust in what Jesus can and will do? Jesus wants you to be rooted in him, strong and sure of who you are. God has planted you and is preparing you for the eternal harvest: Revelation 22:2b On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
   God’s life-giving goodness awaits you when you root your life in Jesus to be productive and fruitful.