Mar 11:10-26  Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.   And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.   And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:   And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.   And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.  And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;   And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.  And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.   And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.   And when even was come, he went out of the city.   And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.    And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.   For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.    Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.   And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.  But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

We are going to look at what happened when Jesus entered Jerusalem on his triumphal entry. Jesus enters the temple see the state of the people and as he is leaving He curses a fig tree. The next day the tree is deed. The question is why did Jesus curse the tree and what is the meaning; significance of it?

The tree was full of leaves, giving every indication of life
but it possessed no fruit

 

(Mat 21:18 KJV)  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

(Mark 11:12 KJV)  And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

 

(Mat 21:19 KJV)  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

(Mark 11:13 - 14  KJV)  And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.   And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

 

The next morning after the triumphal entry Jesus approaches the city and see a fig tree hopping to find fruit and finding noun He curses the tree.

Why approach the tree when it was not the time for figs?

Because in early varieties, the fruit often emerges even before the leaves, and in all varieties fruit appears within the leaves.

But why did He curses the fig tree?

Because it was a picture of Israel which looked spiritually and alive but had failed to produce fruit.

  

Like the fig tree, leaves and fruit appear together so if we apply this to Israel, we see that God intends spiritual fruit to be produced by true religion not just the appears; leaves.  Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations”. But instead of such fruit the greed of Israel’s leaders had made the temple Court of the Gentiles a marketplace; indeed a “den of robbers”.  

It was not the time for figs or leaves to appear. By the tree having leaves, it was like many people, pretending to have fruit. Just like the pharisees who be-tended to be holy and right but whose lives were fruitless.

 Jesus gave no explanation to the disciples of why he cursed the tree. They entered Jerusalem where Jesus cleanses the temple.  From a distance the daily activity at the temple gave every appearance of spiritual life; like the fig tree, but upon closer look there was no fruit to be found.  

(Mat 21:20 KJV)  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

(Mark 11:20 - 21  KJV)  And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.

 

(Mat 21:21 KJV)  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

(Mark 11:22 - 23 KJV)  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

 

The following day the disciples seen that the tree was withered. Jesus answered them and said if you believe and do not doubt, you can have what ever you say. Jesus said in Mat 17:20 if you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed; thats just have a little faith nothing shall be impossible to you. Jesus said that we can remove mountain if we have faith; that is we can remove any problem by faith. All we have to do is talk to our mountains; we have to speak in faith and not doubt in our hearts. Jesus went on to say in Mark 11:24 "Therefore"  That is because we have this power to say something and have it come to pass we should go to God in prayer about things. We should have the mind of Christ; what would he do. we read in Acts 9:40  "But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up." We can see that Peter did not just rise Tabitha from the dead, he first prayed to God then turned to her.

(Mark 11:24 KJV)  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mat 17:20  And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

 

 

W e b s t e r , s       D i c t i o n a r y

Faith:             1)   unquestioning belief that does not                       requir proof of evidence             2)   anything believed             3)   complete trust, confidence, or                              reliance

Confidence:             1)   firm belief; trust; reliance             2)   the fact of being or feeling certain

 

S t r o n g , s          D i c t i o n a r y

Faith: persuasion, i.e. credence; mor. conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), espec. reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstr. constancy in such profession; by extens. the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

 

The opposite of faith is unbelief

Faith is believing in God with confidante trust

Faith is confidante trust in God

 
 

(James 2:18 KJV)  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

(James 2:19 KJV)  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

 

 

(Mark 11:22 KJV) And Jesus answering saith unto them,  Have faith in God.

(Mar 11:22 RYLT)  And Jesus answering said to them, 'Have faith of God;

In the Greek Mark 11:22 could be translated as "Have faith of God" or "The God Kind of Faith" rather than "Faith in God". The Etheridge translation agrees with this the Etheridge is an English's translation of the Peshitta Bible. The Peshitta is Aramaic Bible of the the 2nd century AD.

(Mar 11:22 Etheridge)  And Jeshu answered and said to them, Let there be in you the faith of Aloha.


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