Sometimes what you expect is not what you get. You come to a situation that promises one thing, but you find another altogether. Monday of Passion Week proved that way for Jesus.
(Photo: Fig tree in Israel. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
After His Triumphal Entry on the colt, Jesus entered the Temple area in Jerusalem and found the Court of the Gentiles—the area for Gentiles to worship God—filled with markets and moneychangers.
The next day, Monday, Jesus returned to Jerusalem along the same road He had traveled before. He saw a fig tree in leaf, which typically indicated that it would have unripe figs to eat. But the tree offered only leaves.
No fruit for breakfast. So Jesus cursed the tree. His disciples heard Him.
We should hear Him too.
Jesus’ words indicate what He is looking for in our lives.
Why Curse the Tree?
Mondays are tough for most folks. Was that all it was for Jesus—just a bad morning? Why did Jesus curse the tree that morning just for having no fruit on it?
He was teaching His disciples. (And us.)
Jesus cursed the tree, not in a fit of anger, but in order to represent what He had seen the day before in the Jewish leaders and the Temple. There was no fruit present in the leaders of Israel when all indications suggested otherwise. Plenty of leaves, but nothing of substance.
(Photo: Fig on a tree. Courtesy of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands)
What Jesus is Looking for in Your Life
Only a few days later, Jesus would tell His disciples that He chose them for a particular reason:
You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain. —John 15:16
Jesus desires the same for us. He wants to find us fruitful, not just leafy. In fact, He said that’s why He chose us.
The lives of the religious always bear leaves but not always fruit. May our lives today offer Jesus more than fig leaves!
When Jesus looks at our lives, He wants to find our faith lived out in authenticity.
Tell me what you think: What motivates you to bear much fruit for God? To leave a comment, just click here.