NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Part VI

Verses 18-19a: So, at daybreak, Jesus was on His way back to Jerusalem. He was very hungry, and when He saw a fig tree beside the road He went to get a fig from it. But there were no figs on the tree. There were only leaves.

The Latin word used here for “daybreak” is “prima luce”, which means “first light.” Getting up early in the morning was not odd or unusual in those days. When the sun rose, so did most people so they could go out in the fields, the vineyards, or on the waters to begin their work. Even Julius Caesar was an early riser. It is said of him: “After he had weighed anchor at the beginning of the second watch, he reached land at daybreak and brought in all the ships in safety.”¹ And since we have noted that area around Bethany was famous for its figs, this fits well into what Jesus did next.

The Greek text says that Jesus saw “one” fig tree. This could either mean it stood alone, or that He focused on one of the fig trees in the grove near the road. Mark tells us in his Gospel that it was still a long way off from where they stood when Jesus spotted it.² In speaking of the figs around Bethany, the Rabbis said: “One may eat dried figs until the unripe figs of Beth Hini are finished. Said Rabbi Judah: The unripe figs of Beth Hini were not mentioned except in connection with tithing, for we learned, The unripe figs of Beth Hini and the dates of Tobanya are subject to tithe.”³

Agriculturists tell us, that the common fig tree has all female flowers and needs no cross-pollination by another tree or by insects. This tree is quite unusual, however, because it generally bears two crops, the first appearing in spring on new shoots that grew since winter, and the second crop develops in late summer or early fall, from flowers that bloomed in spring on old branches from the previous season. The first crop usually is smaller, acid-flavored and inedible. The second crop is the tree’s main, edible crop, which should be allowed to ripen on the tree before picking.

But we are also told that the fig tree should bear fruit before the leaves grow. If the tree has leaves but no fruit, the tree is barren. That’s why many scholars say that it is most likely that this barren fig tree was a symbol of Israel, representing the empty and fruitless spiritual state of the people. Although this fig tree was resplendent in its abundance of rich, green foliage, yet in spite of its lofty pretensions, this tree could bear no fruit. It was barren, even though it had the look of respectability.

In fact, we find an interesting description of a particular species of figs in their writings. We read where it explains: “White figs which take three years to fully ripen have the seven year law applied to them in the second year of the seven-year cycle, since they ripen once in three years thus, if the fruit emerged during seven year cycle it takes the rest of that year and the next for it to ripen and then it is picked the following year. Rabbi Yehudah says: White figs [which take two years to fully ripen] have the law of seven year cycle applied to them in the year following the seventh year since they ripen once in two years. They said to him: This [that we identify the fig with the year that it emerged rather than the year that it was picked] was only said in regard to the species of white figs, however, are treated as vegetables and are identified as being of the year they are picked.”⁴

While we have no firm evidence, could it be possible that this was a white fig tree representing Israel which takes three years to fully ripen, and with Jesus coming to the end of His three year ministry sees that all of His miracles and teachings have borne no fruit, so He declares that Israel will never blossom and bear the fruit expected for His kingdom. But we do know that within some 35 years from that day, Israel ceased to be a viable nation, it’s Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were scattered to the far extremities of the earth. At the same time, we are informed that there was also a wild fig tree that bore its fruit twice a year.⁵ While it was not yet the season for cultivated fig trees to produce fruit, it may have been that the second crop from this wild fig tree was due, but it failed to produce any. In either case, our Lord had an answer for it when His disciples inquired as to why He caused the tree to die so suddenly.

However, not all Jewish scholars see it this way. Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham takes issue with what Jesus did here. He says: “Jesus acted here neither as a Divine person nor as a man in whom the Divine Spirit dwelt. For He surely might have known that the fig-tree bears its fruit only at the appointed season; nor would any discreet person cast a curse on a tree merely for being thus disappointed. Moreover, if Jesus, by His mere word, was able to render a tree barren, might He not as well, by the power of His word, have made the tree bring forth its fruit at the bidding of the moment, in order to appease His hunger? I, having once made use of this argument with a Christian, he explained it away by asserting that the passage has only a spiritual signification, and that the fig-tree named was but a symbol used by Jesus to represent the Jewish nation, in like manner as the prophets designate them the ‘vine-tree,’ and that Jesus had cursed Israel for having rejected Him as their spiritual teacher, I rejoined that, in our prophecies regarding the time of the expected and true Messiah, we are promised that in the days of the Messiah, knowledge, and prophecy shall increase and prevail throughout the world; as it is said: ‘You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the Lord your God, and none else, and my people shall then never again be put to shame. And then I shall pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.’⁶ From this prophecy, it is clear that many of the indispensable conditions, requisite for the advent of the Messiah, had not yet been fulfilled, but were still to come.”⁷

Again, we see where a critic of Jesus fails to understand the spiritual implications because of his focus on natural connotations. Had Jesus turned this barren tree into a fruitful one at His bidding, then it would have signified that the Jewish nation would suddenly believe in Him and follow Him. What our Lord was showing is that not even His word was enough for some Jews, they were barren and had no possibility of bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God.

We see this same exposition in the writings of one early church scholar. He writes: “It was not because Christ cursed it that the tree produced no fruit; instead, because the tree first produced no fruit, Christ cursed it to ensure that it would produce no leaves. Likewise, it wasn’t because God abandoned them that the Jews squandered His righteousness; rather, because they failed to produce the fruits of righteousness, God abandoned them to ensure that they would not have the appearance or reputation of righteousness. Just as it would have been better had there never been a tree at all than for there to have been a tree which produced no fruit according to its kind, so also would it have been better had there never been a man of God than for there to have been a man of God who did not live in accordance with God. If those who are not yours in the first place fail to obey you, you suffer nothing. You will suffer severely, however, if the one who belongs to you despises you and serves another instead. In this way, God’s wrath was not kindled nearly as much by the fact that people who were strangers to him openly served the devil as it was by the sight of his own possession doing the devil’s will.”⁸

Verse 19b-20: So Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again produce fruit!” The tree immediately dried up and died. When the followers saw this, they were very surprised. They asked, “How did the fig tree dry up and die so quickly?”

It looked good but it was all show. As a sign of His disgust, Jesus simply spoke to the tree saying that it would never bear fruit. The quickness with which this tree withered and died astounded Jesus’ followers. When they asked Jesus for an explanation, He more or less told them: “No faith, no fruit.” Then He goes on to tell them about the power of faith, no matter how small the amount. So often we read this scripture but fail to notice the crucial point. Most everyone knows about when Jesus said that even with little faith we can “move mountains,” but He qualifies that by specifying, if you have faith and “do not doubt,” and couples that with, “if you believe.”

This is the main point of His discourse in response to the disciples who were marveling over His making the fig tree wither. But the human ego always looks for the spectacular. The Empire State Building, in New York City, in all its grandeur would not exist were it not for the unseen foundation that lies blocks below the street. It is obvious that Jesus was not advocating that His disciples go around killing fig trees or getting rid of mountains, they all served a needed purpose; His emphasis was on the power of faith in which there is no doubt, and how it should be put it into action by believing that what you have faith for will happen.

Augustine has a lengthy exposition on this act by Jesus of putting a curse on this fig tree. He writes: “Now in order to convey this truth⁹ the Lord acted prophetically. By this, I mean that in reference to the fig tree, it was not His will merely to exhibit a miracle but rather through this sign to convey an intimation of that which was to come. He often taught and persuaded us by such means. So even when our will’s resist, He persuades us and brings us to faith.”¹⁰ By this we understand, that Augustine believes, as we do, that Jesus never did anything without it having a purpose and meaning related to His reason for coming to this world and its ramifications on the rest of the world’s existence.

Augustine continues: “We first ask how was it the tree’s fault that it had no fruit? Even if it had no fruit in its proper season, its season of mature fruit, still the tree would bear no fault. For the tree is without sense and reason, so it could not be blamed. But to this perplexity is added another, which we read in the narrative of the other Evangelist who expressly mentions this: ‘It was not the time for that fruit.’ For this was the time when the fig tree was just shooting forth its tender leaves, which come, as we know, long before the fruit. This sequence has a spiritual meaning. The time for fruit was soon coming with the day of the Lord’s Passion, which was at hand. And so to make this clear, the Evangelist, to his credit, notes that ‘the time of figs was not yet.’ So then, if it was only a miracle that was being demonstrated and not something to be prophetically prefigured, it would have been much more worthy of the clemency and mercy of the Lord if he had found a withered tree and restored it to life. This would seem more in accord with his healing of the sick, cleansing lepers and raising the dead.” In other words, Jesus was not fooled by the season. Rather, He wanted to teach a lesson so He chose the right object to fit that purpose.

Augustine goes on: “But to the contrary, as though against the ordinary rule of His goodness, He found a green tree, not yet bearing fruit, even before its fruit-bearing season but still awaiting the hope of fruit, and what does he do? He withers it straight away! This is a prophetic anticipation of things soon to come, by which he in effect says to us: ‘I have no delight in the withering away of this tree. By doing so I want to convey to you that I am not acting absurdly but for a lesson you might take more seriously. It is not this literal tree that I have cursed. It is not on an insensible tree that I have inflicted punishment. Rather, I have made you fear, whoever you are who considers this matter, that you should not fail Christ when he is hungry and that you might hope to be in the coming season of fruit than to be in the preparatory season of leaves.’ …”

Then Augustine finishes: “Therefore, beloved, I must tell you and teach you according to my poor abilities that which the Lord has given me for your benefit. I must convey to you what you may hold as a rule in the interpretation of all Scripture. Everything that is said or done is to be understood either in its literal signification, or else it signifies something figuratively; or it may contain both of these at once, both its own literal interpretation and a figurative signification also.…Thus Christ, wishing to convey this lesson to us, wanted us to produce fruit and in this way set forth for us a figurative fiction which is not a deceiving fiction but a fiction worthy of praise.”¹¹

So the lesson here was not what Jesus did to the empty tree, but why He did it. Obviously, had He not intended to teach about the power of faith, He would never have given it as His answer for why it was done. That’s why in reading about Jesus’ miracles we must always look for “why He did it” instead of concentrating on “what He did.”