The Blasted Fig Tree
There’s a lot of debate about this story in Jesus’s life. Some say it shows Jesus getting seriously irked by an inanimate object that had no reason to have figs on it, since it wasn’t fig season; therefore, Jesus was just a man who got mad for no good reason—clearly refuting any claims of divinity. Others say that it was a clear demonstration of his divinity that he could choose to kill a living and flourishing tree. I’m sure there are other interpretations as well, but these are the two I’ve heard the most.
The basic story, told in the gospels of Matthew and Mark, is this. Jesus was travelling to Jerusalem and was hungry. He saw a leafy fig tree and went to it to pick the fruit. There was no fruit. Jesus cursed the tree, saying that no one should ever eat from it again. The tree withered and died. The disciples were astonished at the death of the tree.
Now, it clearly states in Mark’s gospel that it wasn’t the right season for figs. This immediately brings a question to the mind of anyone who has ever cultivated a fig tree. Why was this fig tree all leafy if it didn’t have fruit on it, and if it wasn’t even fig season? You see, the healthy fig tree puts forth its fruits before it puts out leaves. The leaves show up after the fruit is well-started, and will be at their fullest peak when the fruit is ripe. A tree that leafs out without having fruit on it—especially if it leafs out in the wrong season—is often diseased, or too old to bear any longer.
Now, let’s look at the scenario. Jesus is walking down the road hungry. He sees a tree that is boldly proclaiming to the world that it has ripe, delicious fruit on it. He goes to the tree to partake of its bounty, and the tree is bare of fruit. This tree, by its leafy, out-of-season promise, is proclaiming a lie to the world—and it has deceived its Maker. (Remember that, in Christian doctrine, Jesus is the living embodiment of Truth; he is also co-creator with God the Father.) Therefore, the tree, a diseased and tainted organism, must be purged. What gardener or orchardist would not do the same—rip up a tree that was diseased, dying, or tainted, to make way for new growth or a change of crop, and to protect healthy plants nearby? Does not the vine-dresser prune dead branches, or those that bear deformed or tasteless fruits?
There’s a further lesson in this story. The disciples were amazed that Jesus had the power to kill a tree just by saying “No one will eat from you again.” Jesus used the incident to illustrate to his disciples that, with enough faith, they can destroy that which is evil and tainted by simply speaking the words—Heaven will honour their requests if those requests are made with complete faith.
The text does not indicate that Jesus was angry at being deceived by the tree; and, as we are specifically told of Jesus’s emotions in other texts (such as his anger at the money-changers, his deep sorrow at the death of Lazarus, and his pity for the rich young ruler), it seems reasonable to expect that if Jesus had been angry with the tree, it would have been noted here.
Furthermore, it is a misunderstanding of scriptural teaching to say that anger is a sin. Scripture says, “Be angry, but do not sin.” In other words, when you get angry, fine, be angry, but don’t use that anger as an excuse for evildoing.
Thus, the story of the blasted fig tree is not an example of unmitigated fury levelled at an innocent, harmless plant by an overwrought teacher, but is, rather, a deep spiritual lesson on truthfulness, fruitfulness, and faith.