Sandwiched around the episode where
Jesus comes to the temple, is a curious interaction with a fig tree. There are a number of difficult questions
stemming from the interpretation of this passage. Why Jesus would chose to express himself in
such a way? What does it mean? What did the poor fig tree ever do to deserve
such a fate?
First of all, Jesus often chose to
express himself through symbolic actions, actions that were often miraculous in
nature. The gospel of John refers to
them as signs. In this particular
instance, Jesus is using the fig tree, and its cursing, to symbolize the
religion of his day. His critique has
less to do with orthodoxy, or right belief, than it does with orthopraxy, or
right practice. What does the cursing of
the fig tree mean? What is it supposed
to represent? Quite simply, it is meant
to illustrate a religion that gives false hope.
What do I mean when I say that the
religion of Jesus’ day gave false hope?
It is true that it is hard to make such a blanket statement. After all, many found a great deal of hope in
not only holding the right beliefs, but in adhering to the right
practices. However, for a great deal of
society, the national religion had ceased to provide any hope for the
future. This is why Jesus curses the fig
tree, to provide a lesson that gives a visual explanation of how contemporary
religion falls short. When we see the fig
tree, we see a tree that has leaves, and yet no fruit. It is promising from afar, and yet
disappointing upon closer examination. When
we consider that Jesus cursed the fig tree on the way to the temple, and that
the results became evident on his return from the temple, it becomes evident
that the fig tree and Jesus trip to the temple are meant to interpret one
another.
Jesus chooses the fig tree to illustrate
the fate of the temple, and indeed the old way of doing things, because it was
an illustration they would understand.
Indeed, Israelite history is replete with horticultural symbolism pertaining
to the health of society and its religious life. The prophet Hosea would state that “Ephraim
is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit.” (Hosea 9:16)
In speaking of God’s punishment of the wicked Bildad the Shuite says,
“His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.” (Job 18:16)
Just prior to a call for repentance, the prophet Joel says, “the vine
dries up; the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up,
and gladness dries up from the children of man.” (Joel 1:12)
Jesus is attempting to speak the language of the people, and to describe
the illness that pervades their religion in terms that they are familiar
with.
Jesus doesn’t just use the fig tree to illustrate
the “state of religion” in Israel, and specifically Jerusalem. He also uses it as an object lesson in what
it means to have faith. In Luke, the
apostles say, “Increase our faith!”, and Jesus replies, “if you had faith like
a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘be uprooted and
planted in the sea’, and it would obey you.”
(Luke 17:6) Jesus’ response here to
Peter’s observation that the fig tree has withered is very similar, as he seems
to say that there is often a disconnect between our faith that exists in our
head, and our actions. It would be easy
to misinterpret what Jesus is trying to say here, and draw the conclusion that
unanswered prayers are in some way our fault.
Is it true that if our prayer goes unanswered, it is because we didn’t
believe enough? It’s tempting to follow
that train of thought, but when we look at the life of Jesus, we see that is
not the case at all. Jesus prayed in the
garden for the cup of suffering to pass from him, and yet he still had to
endure the cross. A better interpretation comes if we notice the sequence of faith
and believe. The reference to one who “believes”
in v. 23 points back to faith in v. 22, and ahead to the imperative “believe”
in v. 24. In the original Greek, the
connection is more obvious as pisteuein (“believes”,
in v. 23), pistis (“faith” in v. 22),
and pisteuete (believe, in v. 24) are
all from the same root. Regardless of
the language, Jesus is teaching us our faith isn’t tied to miracles, or even
answered prayers. We can take a cue from
Jesus in the garden, and trust that even when we don’t get the answer we want,
in some way God is still working to bring about good. When the faith in our head becomes
so strong that our belief governs our actions, or to say it another way, when
our faith goes from being a noun to a verb, that is when the truly miraculous
happens.
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