Withered fig tree

The Fig Tree

                On Palm Sunday after the triumphant - really anti-triumphant -entry, Jesus went into Jerusalem and visited the temple. According to Mark he looked around for a bit but as it was getting late he and his disciples went back to Bethany for the night. Next morning he went back into town and Mark relates an interesting little story about a fig tree. Generally, if my memory serves me correctly, this story doesn't get much time-play during lent.

                But I like figs. One memorable, culinary moment while in Israel was buying a pot of figs at the Tel Aviv markets, sitting on the Mediterranean beach and eating my fill of figs (Actually it was more than my fill). Oh, the joy of juicy, plump, purple figs! And here on the beach, with the gentle breezes coming in off the water, this story came to mind. When looked at closely, it is a strange story. Here it is from Mark's Gospel (11: 12-14 and 20-21).

¹²The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. ¹³Seeing 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. ¹⁴Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.  .......

²⁰In the morning as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered."

                The way Mark relates this story is interesting. He begins the story, then relates the episode about Jesus clearing the temple of its commercial activities and causing quite a stir in the temple's forecourt. It was next morning that the story saw its completion. Here we meet a technique Mark uses in his writing which has been called the Markan frame. He intertwines two incidents so that one will help in the understanding and interpretation of the other. He will begin story one and then interrupt it by relating story two. Finally he will come back and conclude story one.

                This is one of several instances of this technique found in this Gospel. By writing in this way Mark is encouraging his readers to consider both stories as being related to one another and in doing so see how by being taken together they might arrive at a better understanding of his message. But back to the fig story.

This fig tree fresh and flourishing with figs aplenty, just waiting to turn purple, will bring pleasure to many.

Hello! Something interesting here when we first start reading the story.               Why should Jesus be hungry? It's only a few kilometres to Jerusalem, say, an hour walk. Seems a little unlikely that Jesus should become hungry during this time. Or is this an indication that one should view this story as something other than an actual episode in Jesus' life? Is it the parabolic meaning of the story which is important rather than the specific facts of the story itself?

                Knowing that the gospel writers would lean very heavily on their scriptures (i.e. our Old Testament) to present their Jesus story one should consider how the Old Testament references might provide some insight. Here a fig tree is in the limelight. The prophet Hosea describes how earlier the Israelites were something special. He writes: “they were like grapes in the wilderness and like the first fruit on the fig tree” (9:10). But later on because they “consecrated themselves to Baal”, because of their wickedness, he views them in a different light: “Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit”(9:16). Certainly elements of Mark's story here.

                Mica also uses fruit tree images to describe God's hunger and how it can be satisfied. However because of Israel's moral corruption his hunger is not satisfied. “Woe is me!” he writes, “For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the vintage has been gleaned; there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fruit which my soul desires."

                There is Old Testament precedence for using the image of a fig tree to present a message. It is not surprising that it is used in this manner for the fig is a tree widely grown throughout the Mediterranean region.

                Jesus saw the leafy fig tree. As this was Passover time, i.e. the month of Nisan (March/April) the tree would have been sprouting new leaves after lying dormant throughout the winter months.

BUT! And here begins a very curious aspect to this story. Jesus went to find fruit but found none. Mark makes a note: It was not fig season. Logically Jesus should have known that the tree would not yet be bearing fruit, but he went to check. Then as we see in the very next verse he curses the tree. This seems to be very strange behaviour on the part of Jesus and has caused much consternation on the part of bible commentators, when the story is taken literally.

                It is interesting that Luke omits this story completely. Was this story unknown to him? This does not seem very likely if we accept that he relied very heavily on Mark's gospel and he himself indicates that he researched widely for his information. Or did he too have problems with it and decide to leave it out all together? Luke does include a short parable about a barren fig tree (13: 6-9). Because some commentators find this episode of Jesus so “incredible” that they reject the historicity of the whole episode. They see it rather as a rewriting of the tradition which Luke chose to present as a parable.

                Its position as a frame around the story of Jesus' disruption of temple life, does point clearly to its meaning. The temple, God's dwelling place, should be solely the focus of the worship life of the Jews. But its role had been diluted and it was now seen as the centre of collaboration with the idolatrous Roman occupation. As such it was not carrying out its true purpose. This prostituted role should be halted. The temple has no future if it continues to ignore its real purpose. If, as most scholars seem to agree, Mark wrote his gospel around 70AD when the temple had been completely destroyed by the Roman forces, his readers would have quickly seen the significance of this story.

                The fig tree has withered. But I must applaud the fig tree which brought forth the delicious figs I enjoyed on the shores of the Mediterranean.