[Transcript note: The first 30 minutes, consisting mainly of Don’s introductory remarks, were unfortunately not recorded. Don repeated much of the material from previous sessions, so not a lot was lost. In addition, the scriptural references Don made during his opening remarks were captured and are appended to the beginning of this transcript, as a way of providing the exact Scriptural context for the discussion.]
Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:18-22)
The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 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. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.
When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city.
In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:12-25)
After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
“‘But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.’” (Jeremiah 24:1-10)
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. 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. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. (Revelation 22:1-3)
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Robin: A maple tree in my back yard was very beautiful in the Fall, until one got up close and saw the blackspot blight on the fallen leaves. We were told that in order to rid the tree of blight we had to rake up every single one of the blighted leaves, otherwise the fungus would grow on the leaves again in Spring.
Dave: The leaves on the fig tree in the story were clearly enticing from a distance, as Jesus saw them. It appeared to be a healthy, fruit-bearing tree, but it was in fact devoid of nourishment. It’s like false teachings—they look good but have no substance, no sustenance.
Owen: …Like people who seem good on the outside but are trying to lead one astray.
Donald: Leaves have their season, their cycle. You don’t expect to see leaves on a tree in Winter, or leaves on the ground in Summer.
Anonymous: Jesus cursed the temple years before its destruction. Perhaps he was telling the disciples that the temple was like the fig tree—all show and no substance—but now was not the season for its destruction.
Jay: This story is easier to understand if we focus on the fruit. It’s the responsibility of individuals to bear fruit, and if they don’t, they have no good end. It’s shallow and superficial, but that is the common understanding. What mars that understanding is that the tree was not in season for fruit. This individual tree could not be blamed for not fruiting out of season. To keep it in context, it’s important to remember that Jesus went on to relate the story to faith, not to fruiting. The story is about fruit, but the lesson is about faith. To muddy things further: If Christ had faith there would be fruit on the tree, why was there none?
Michael: The story is more or less meaningless. I don’t see it as a teaching moment. Jesus simply did something strange. The lesson on faith seems to me unconnected with the tree.
Owen: The story is connected in showing that Jesus was able to cause the tree to wither through faith that he could do so. The lesson was that with enough faith, you can cause a tree to wither.
Donna: To me, it’s all about deception (of the fig tree) and faith.
Robin: In Genesis, Eve saw that the fruit looked good so she ate it. The appetizing appearance of the fruit helped to deceive her. She did not have enough faith in God to believe his warning—the deceptive fruit overcame her faith.
Donald: The fig tree story is very unsettling. An angry God who curses trees—or people—when they are essentially blameless does not describe the God I have faith in. We would not curse a child for its immaturity, would we? I expect to be held accountable for things I know and am responsible for, but this story is out of bounds.
Robin: Could the story be about Judaism having no fruit?
David: The story is showing the mind of God. Is it any wonder we can’t understand it?
Dave: This was Jesus’s last week before the crucifixion. He has cleaned up the temple, and is running short of time, so the tree gets short shrift. He had imparted his knowledge to the disciples, and was feeling a sense of urgency, so dispensed with the formal niceties of teaching and got straight to the point.
Donna: The tree was ahead of the season for fruit. If we get ahead of God, ahead of the season He has planned for us, who is taking us there?
Michael: The story relates that Jesus was hungry. He was also close to his crucifixion, so he was spiritually hungry—he needed spiritual sustenance. The Gospels do not show him to be a “foodie” with respect to ordinary food. At the temptation, he rejected Satan’s offer of bread with the remark that he already had enough spiritual bread, thank you. Hence his impatience with the tree that only appeared to offer bread (fruit) but did not have the sustenance he needed.
Anonymous: I think Luke’s mention of the tree being out of season was hint that the story is not about fruit.
Dave: I think the key word is “immediately”—the tree withered immediately. I think the point was that with faith, things would happen immediately. This surprised the disciples.
Anonymous: If we separate ourselves from the vine by not having faith in God, we die.
David: The story makes sense only if we take the fig tree as representing the church, but even then, it is questionable. And perhaps that’s the point! The Bible is a book of questions, not answers. It encourages us, through such apparently confusing stories, to explore our faith and confront our doubts. This passage serves that purpose, though I maintain that its real lesson is to show that the mind of God is unfathomable—as the Daoist in me knows that the Dao, the Way, is unfathomable.
Donald: I remain troubled by the notion that a God who knows how and why we think would expect us to be responsible for things not in our control.
Robin: The Jews were the faith-bearers, yet they had not enough faith to recognize the Messiah in their midst.
David: There is no season for a religion, a church, a house of God. God is the fruit of the church. He should be in it all the time; if not, curse it and let it wither!
Jay: The lesson Christ taught in this story is directly about faith, not about the church. The tree was withered by faith. It’s that simple.
Owen: We may be over-complicating this.
David: If the tree represents the church, and the fruit represents God, it starts to make sense, to me.
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